Connect with us

Sports

Five critical questions as puck drops on new NHL season

NHL: Stanley Cup Final-Edmonton Oilers at Florida PanthersJun 24, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) hoists the Stanley Cup after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in game seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 NHL season is underway and ahead of us is a wild ride until the Stanley Cup is claimed.

Between now and then, there will be all kinds of thrills, surprises and disappointments. As the campaign begins, here are five questions we’ll be tracking.

–Can the Edmonton Oilers take the final step?

The Connor McDavid-led Oilers came so close to completing a huge comeback in the Stanley Cup Final, reaching Game 7 after dropping the first three clashes to the Florida Panthers. That experience, combined with shrewd additions in forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, gives Edmonton every reason to believe its first Cup title since 1990 is possible.

The Oilers have their share of question marks, especially on defense, but it will be no surprise if McDavid, the league’s most dominant player, adds Cup champion to his resume.

–Can the Florida Panthers repeat?

Speaking of the Panthers, Florida paid a heavy price for the crown, with key defensemen Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson departing via free agency, along with forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Kevin Stenlund, Ryan Lomberg and Nick Cousins.

The Panthers have a pair of pending unrestricted free agents in Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett and a restricted free agent in Aaron Ekblad. That is an issue for later, but before then the Panthers have a golden shot to hoist the Cup again.

–Will Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky’s record?

Ovechkin needs 42 goals to surpass Gretzky’s career goal-scoring mark of 894. Can he become the league’s all-time sniper this season? As great has he has been, it appears something of a long shot. Last season, Ovechkin managed only nine goals in the first 44 games before a second-half tear got him to 31.

Ovechkin, 39, has two seasons remaining on his contract and should take the mantle before retiring.

–Whose run of futility will end?

The Buffalo Sabres have missed the playoffs in a league-record 13 consecutive seasons. The Detroit Red Wings last reached the postseason in 2015-16 and the Ottawa Senators in 2016-17. Technically, the Utah Hockey Club, formerly the Arizona Coyotes, reached the playoffs in 2020, but that was because of the expanded playoffs when the league started up following the COVID-19 stoppage. The franchise last made the playoffs during a full season in the 2011-12 campaign.

Can any of them reach the second season? All should be in the mix down to the wire, which is good news for the league. Not all will make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but one or two making a giant leap could be in the cards.

–Which teams are due to step backward?

Every season, one or more clubs take a tumble. Unquestionably, somebody will. Here are our best bets.

The Vancouver Canucks claimed last season’s Pacific Division crown, but it will be a surprise if they repeat, especially with goaltender Thatcher Demko still battling a knee injury that knocked him out of the playoffs.

The Winnipeg Jets were atop the league in January last season, but the offseason was far from kind to their depth, at both forward and defense.

There are other teams who likely will not be able to replicate last season’s success, namely the regular-season champion New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, but don’t bank on either of them falling from the playoff picture.

The Jets and Canucks, however, are prime candidates to suffer the biggest drops in the standings.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Wild D Jonas Brodin out for Game 1, F Joel Eriksson Ek also ailing

NHL: Minnesota Wild at Chicago BlackhawksApr 7, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson (90) moves the puck away from Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) and center Joel Eriksson Ek (14) during the second period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin didn’t travel with the team to Denver and will miss Sunday night’s playoff series opener against the Colorado Avalanche.

Forward Joel Eriksson Ek is listed as questionable to play in Game 1 of the Western Conference second-round series.

Brodin, 32, sustained a lower-body injury during Game 5 of Minnesota’s first-round series against the Dallas Stars. He was hurt while blocking a shot by Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen during the second period.

Brodin missed the clinching Game 6 victory on Thursday. He had one assist in the series.

In the regular season, Brodin had four goals and 18 points in 62 games.

Eriksson Ek was hurt in Game 6 when his right leg smacked into the wall. He didn’t practice on Saturday.

Minnesota coach John Hynes was debating what to do about Ek’s spot with his status unclear.

“I’m kind of going through that a little bit right now,” Hynes said. “So, now you kind of go down that decision-making process of what would we do if he’s not ready.”

Ek, 29, had three goals and five points in the Dallas series. In the regular season, he had 19 goals and 51 points in 70 games.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Cameron Young holds six-shot lead after three rounds in Miami

PGA: Cadillac Championship - Third RoundMay 2, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Cameron Young makes his par putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Romance-Imagn Images

Cameron Young shot 2-under-par 70 on Saturday to remain in control through three rounds of Cadillac Championship at Miami.

Young is up six strokes on a group of three golfers, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, at windy Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster Course.

Young, who’s at 15-under 201, will be looking for his second victory of the season and the third of his career on the PGA Tour during Sunday’s final round.

Scheffler shot 69 to move to second place by the time he finished the round. He’s joined in that position by South Korea’s Si Woo Kim (69) and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan (69).

Young began the round with a bogey on the par-5 first hole but played the next 11 in 3 under.

Scheffler’s round was defined by birdies on three of the four par-5 layouts.

Matt McCarty (69), Ben Griffin (68) and Canada’s Nick Taylor (72) are at 8 under and tied for fifth place. Taylor bogeyed the final hole.

Jordan Spieth took a significant dive, shooting 75 and falling to a tie for 12th at 5 under. He was hurt by two double-bogeys — first on the par-3 fourth hole when he didn’t get into putting position until his fourth stroke and then on the 18th when his approach shot went into the water and he was forced to take a penalty.

Australia’s Adam Scott had the day’s best score with a bogey-free 6-under 66, leaving him at 3 under.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

RJ Barrett, Raptors clash with Cavaliers in unexpected Game 7

NBA: Playoffs-Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto RaptorsMay 1, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) reacts after scoring the winning basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the overtime period in game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

RJ Barrett kept the Toronto Raptors’ season alive with one of the most clutch shots in franchise history, but he isn’t ready to reminisce about the moment yet.

Not with a win-or-go-home Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first round series taking place Sunday night at the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“Forget everything that’s happened,” said Barrett, who is averaging a series-high 24.3 points per game. “Now, it’s one game to win it all.”

The fifth-seeded Raptors earned that opportunity when Barrett’s 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in overtime bounced off the heel of the rim, high in the air and through the hoop to give them a 112-110 victory Friday.

As a result, upstart Toronto has pushed the team with the highest payroll in the NBA to the brink of a devastating end to a season that began with championship dreams.

“Glory to God, that was a fun one, right?” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It was a heck of a fight. We just talked about how much fun this is and how much we loved the challenge.”

Fourth-seeded Cleveland got a clean look at the buzzer, but Evan Mobley’s 29-footer was off the mark, keeping both teams unbeaten at home in the series.

“If I continue to sulk about that (Barrett) shot, it’s over,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said. “Unfortunately, but fortunately, half of the locker room has been through this before. It’s going to test us.

“Protect home court, that’s all you can do. We’ve got to protect home court.”

History is on Cleveland’s side as it has never lost a Game 7 at home, beating the Washington Bullets in 1976, Boston Celtics in 1992, Indiana Pacers in 2018 and Orlando Magic in 2024.

Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Max Strus, Dean Wade and Sam Merrill remain on the roster from the latter, which featured the Cavaliers and Magic winning every game in their respective arenas.

“We’re at home and the ball is in our court,” said Mobley, who is averaging 19.0 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 56.8 percent from the field. “We’ve just got to come together and get a win.

“Don’t get too involved in the magnitude of everything, just protect home court.”

Toronto has only played one Game 7 on the road, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001. Barrett was about to celebrate his first birthday at the time, while Scottie Barnes and breakout performer Ja’Kobe Walter hadn’t been born yet.

Barrett, Barnes and Walter combined to score 73 of the Raptors’ 112 points in Game 6.

“I’ve watched so many Game 7s, you see the intensity on the court,” said Walter, who averaged 22.0 points and made 10 3-pointers in the last two contests. “I’m so excited to be in this moment.”

Barnes has been the most consistent performer in the series, averaging 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists. In a surprising development, he and Barrett have outplayed Cleveland’s star backcourt of James Harden and Mitchell.

Mitchell is shooting just 43.7% on field goal attempts, including 35.3% on 3-point tries; he has only attempted 14 total free throws. He has only taken over in brief stretches of two games, marking a complete turnaround from his brilliant 2025 postseason.

Trade-deadline acquisition Harden has been plagued by careless passes and poor decision-making, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 turnovers.

“I’m a little frustrated, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Harden said. “We can’t dwell on it too long. Just go back home, play one game and win.”

Both squads took Saturday off but will hold shootarounds on Sunday morning.

Raptors small forward Brandon Ingram (right heel) missed Game 6 and will be evaluated after working out with the team. Point guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring) continues to undergo treatment but will sit out the entire series.

The Cavaliers have no injuries and, should they lose, no legitimate excuses.

“This is typical NBA basketball with a four and a five seed going at it,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Now, we’ve got to go out and get Game 7.”

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading