Rogers had an MVP-caliber start to the season. Now, there is serious doubt whether he will return to help the Packers make the playoffs. What kind of impact can the loss of Rogers, who was playing at an MVP level, have on a team? WEEK 7 NFL PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread | Survivor pools Let’s take a look at the updated NFL playoff picture entering Week 7....
Dalton is already having a great season for the undefeated Bengals. Through seven games he has thrown for 1,992 yards with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. Dalton has thrown for more than 300 yards in three games this season and he’ll likely have a fourth 300-yard passing game against a Browns secondary that is missing two of its best players. WEEK 9: Picking games, straight up | Picks against the spread | Flaws to fix...
“Complete failure to adhere to the protocol,” Winston told USA Today on Tuesday. “Show me someone that says, ‘No, the Rams did exactly the right thing.’ They didn’t. Everybody knows they didn’t. So, there has to be discipline then, right? Because when a player doesn’t do something that he’s supposed to do, he gets fined for that when it comes to health and safety.” MORE: Week 13 Power Rankings | Tom Brady wants receivers protected from low hits...
It’s not easy being a hockey hipster. Sometimes it can be rather exhausting keeping your finger on the pulse of the hockey world, accurately gauging the appreciation level of certain players and teams. It’s a dynamic process, and it’s constantly fluctuating. For instance, Clarke MacArthur would’ve most definitely been atop this list prior to the season, but casual hockey fans should be aware of his prowess at this point (on-pace for nearly 30 goals and 60-plus points, playing on Ottawa’s top line)....
That format features a 3-on-3 tournament between All-Star teams from the NHL’s four divisions. The Atlantic and Metropolitan teams will play each other to determine the finals representative from the Eastern Conference, and the Central and Pacific teams will face off to decide the Western Conference winner. Each game will be played in two 10-minute halves, with the winners facing off in a championship game that night. Here’s everything else you need to know about the 2017 NHL All-Star weekend....
With the 11-game slate, there is a enough room to set up a few different lineups that are outside the limits of being safe, and with things looking so wide open, particularly at the winger position, even the chalk plays are a bit more spread out than usual. Also, because of the volatile nature of goalies (and other reasons), there will be more information on social media coming later this afternoon and this evening....
Between July 23 and 24, more than 200 prospects will be selected by the NHL’s 32 teams as they look for the next great player to fill their lineup. While there are 224 spots for selections, the No. 11 pick has been forfeited by the Coyotes for violating the NHL’s combine testing policy. NHL DRAFT 2021: Latest rumors, trades and more Unlike the last two drafts, where Jack Hughes and Alexis Lafreniere were the longstanding No....
As the first big event of the offseason gets closer and closer, it’s time to learn about some of the top prospects who will be selected. Most hockey fans know the name Shane Wright, who has long been considered the No. 1 pick in the draft, but there are a plethora of other names to know for Day 1 of the draft. Players have been going up and down in mock drafts and scouts’ final rankings....
Tavares, set to become an unrestricted free agent following nine seasons in New York, has been the subject of intense speculation around his decision the past year. But Tavares, who still has about three weeks until free agency opens, may not be in such a rush to leave after all. According to a report by TSN’s Darren Dreger, Tavares has turned his attention toward signing an extension with the Islanders....
Here is a betting preview for the day’s card. Lines are current as of Saturday night. Check our live odds page for updated numbers from Las Vegas. Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens, 6:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN Best Tampa Bay line: +113 (Atlantis Reno)Best Montreal line: -120 (Wynn, CG Technology)Total: 5 (under -155) Analysis: We haven’t seen a total of 4.5 in this year’s postseason, but this series is quickly approaching that....
Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty dropped the gloves with Rangers rookie Jimmy Vesey just minutes into Game 6 of the teams’ Eastern Conference playoff series. Things get chippy after the whistle as the pair exchanged cross checks and it resulted in a rare playoff bout between skill players. Pacioretty created the spark the Habs needed as Alexei Emelin scored moments later to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. Vesey gets some major stick taps for standing up to Pacioretty, but the Canadiens captain easily owned the fight....
Boston built a 3-1 series lead, then watched as it evaporated on the heels of a hot Frederik Andersen. There was a point when it appeared Toronto might complete the job, taking a one-goal lead on a highlight-reel breakaway goal from Kasperi Kapanen, then held it to start the third period — 20 minutes from the franchise’s first playoff series victory since 2004. MORE: Jake DeBrusk gives Bruins two more reasons to ‘celly’ into second round...
Six different players scored for Washington and Braden Holtby stopped 33 of the 35 shots that he faced to help the Capitals improve to 7-1 away from home this postseason. Tom Wilson got the road team off to a fast start by redirecting a Matt Niskanen point shot past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy just 28 seconds into regulation. The divisive forward undid some of that good work a few minutes later, taking a goaltender interference penalty that led to the Lightning’s first goal....
Ondrej Palat found himself in good company thanks to a pair of early goals he scored in Wednesday’s Game 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. Palat struck twice to put the Lightning up 2-0 just 3:19 into the first period, giving him the fastest pair of goals to start an NHL playoff game in over two decades. NHL DRAFT 2018: SN’s Mock 2.0 | Prospect rankings...
After the road team won each of the first four games of this series, the Lightning defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 at Amalie Arena on Saturday, pushing Washington to the brink of elimination and taking a 3-2 lead. After playing 12 subpar periods at 5-on-5, the Lightning scored three goals in that phase of the game, matching the most they have in any game of this series. And where the Lightning were victims of allowing goals late in periods at the start of this series, they turned the tables on the Capitals, scoring a goal in the opening minute of the first and second periods to blitz the Capitals and build out a cushion....
San Jose seemed to have all of the momentum in the second period after Logan Couture netted two goals in under two minutes to tie the game until Bortuzzo put St. Louis back on top with a top-shelf backhander in the last five minutes of the period. The 15th goal of Bortuzzo’s career was his first in 30 postseason games and his first since Feb. 14. The Blues now have 37 points from defensemen during the 2019 playoffs, one behind the Sharks for the most in the NHL....
Schwartz scored St. Louis’ final four goals of the series, including a hat trick in Saturday’s clinching 3-2 Game 6 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The center poked a loose puck past netminder Connor Hellebuyck 23 seconds into the contest. Jets head coach Paul Maurice challenged the score, arguing goalie interference, but the goal stood. Scoring quickly has been a theme in this year’s first round. In addition to Schwartz, five other players have scored in the first minute of a game this postseason, the most in a first round....
As the Bruins tried to tie Monday’s game in the final seconds, Marner stopped two David Pastrnak goal attempts to preserve a 3-2 win. Pastrnak’s first attempt hit the Maple Leafs winger in the back of the leg, knocking him to the ice; Marner then used his chest to block a second attempt as time expired. Entering Monday’s tilt on their home ice, the Maple Leafs needed a top-shelf effort from everyone on the roster....
After clinching the Presidents’ Trophy in early March, the Lightning finished the season with 62 wins and tied the 1996 Detroit Red Wings for the NHL record. Now all they have to do is win the Cup — which the Red Wings did not accomplish. They’ll face the Columbus Blue Jackets, who didn’t clinch a playoff spot until Friday night in a dramatic game against the New York Rangers, in the first round....
San Jose’s 10th-year forward achieved just that Thursday night in the Sharks’ 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Couture scored from point-blank range on a rebound of a Timo Meier shot for his third of the series to give San Jose a 2-0 lead in the first period. The game continued to head in the right direction for the Sharks but took a turn for Couture in the third period when he took a high stick to the face from Jonathan Marchessault....
