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NHL Morning Skate – April 12, 2023

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NHL Morning Skate – April 12, 2023

* The Bruins’ unforgettable season continues as the franchise set yet another NHL record, this time for most points, while Linus Ullmark established a new League mark for fewest games to 40 wins.

* The Panthers and Jets secured the 14th and 15th berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, meaning only one spot is up for grabs as the NHL moves into the final three days of the regular season.

* The NHL is officially headed Down Under! Melbourne, Australia will host two preseason contests between the Coyotes and Kings in the 2023 NHL Global Series – Melbourne from Sept. 23-24, which will mark the first-ever NHL games played in the Southern Hemisphere.
 

ULLMARK, BRUINS CARVE NAMES ATOP ANOTHER NHL RECORD
Two days after setting the League record for wins in a season, David Pastrnak (0-2—2) and Linus Ullmark (19 saves) helped the Bruins (64-12-5, 133 points) add another ribbon on their historic season by recording the most points by a team in a campaign, besting the 1976-77 Canadiens (132 points).

* David Pastrnak boosted his season totals to 60-51—111 (81 GP) and joined Connor McDavid (64-88—152 in 81 GP) as the second player this season to record 60 goals and 50 assists. Prior to 2022-23, the last campaign to feature a player reach those numbers was 1995-96: Mario Lemieux (69-92—161) and Jaromir Jagr (62-87—149).

* Ullmark (40-6-1) became the second goaltender in Bruins history with a 40-win season, joining Pete Peeters (40-12-9 in 1982-83).


 

JETS, IDLE PANTHERS CLINCH BERTHS IN 2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

The Jets (46-32-3, 95 points) earned a victory versus the Wild to clinch the Western Conference’s eighth and final berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the idle Panthers (42-31-8, 92 points) locked up the Eastern Conference’s seventh postseason spot by virtue of the Devils defeating the Sabres and the Blackhawks beating the Penguins in regulation.

* Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped 33 shots Tuesday including making a highlight-reel stick save on Mats Zuccarello late in the third period, is the only goaltender to have the decision for every playoff win by an active NHL franchise – two netminders did so for defunct clubs (Gary Smith: 3 w/ Oakland Seals/California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons; Roy “Shrimp” Worters: 1 w/ Pittsburgh Pirates/Philadelphia Quakers). Click here to read more postseason #NHLStats on Hellebuyck and the Jets.



* The Panthers are headed to the postseason for a fourth straight year and ninth time in franchise history, marking the eighth consecutive season – and 33rd time in 36 campaigns since the trophy’s inception – that the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Click here to read more postseason #NHLStats about Florida.

FOUR CLUBS CLINCH HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE FOR 2023 FIRST ROUND

The Hurricanes (51-21-9, 111 points) and Devils (51-22-8, 110 points) earned wins to clinch home-ice advantage in the 2023 First Round, while the Avalanche (49-24-7, 105 points) and idle Stars (45-21-14, 104 points) will also start the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs as hosts thanks to the Jets’ victory Tuesday.

* Antti Raanta recorded 20 saves to improve to 19-3-3 in 27 appearances this season (2.23 GAA, .910 SV%, 4 SO) and help Carolina maintain its one-point edge over New Jersey in the race for the Metropolitan Division title. Raanta’s winning percentage of .704 is the second highest among all goaltenders this season (min. 25 GP) behind Linus Ullmark (.816 W%).

* With his brother, Luke, making his NHL debut for the Devils, Jack Hughes wrote his name next to a franchise record with his 97th point of 2022-23 as New Jersey defeated Buffalo to improve to 51-22-8 (110 points). The Devils tied their franchise record for most wins in a season – set in 2008-09 – and moved within two points of their benchmark for most points in a campaign (111 points in 2000-01).




PETTERSSON POCKETING 100TH POINT FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Tuesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the 10-game slate, including Elias Pettersson (38-63—101 in 79 GP) posting two assists to reach the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. Pettersson became the seventh first-time 100-point scorer this season (also David Pastrnak, Nathan MacKinnon, Jason Robertson, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mikko Rantanen & Erik Karlsson), tied for the most in League history (w/ 1984-85 & 1992-93).



COYOTES, KINGS HEADED DOWN UNDER FOR 2023 NHL GLOBAL SERIES

The League and NHLPA announced Tuesday that the Coyotes and Kings will play the first-ever NHL games in the Southern Hemisphere during the 2023 NHL Global Series – Melbourne, with the preseason contests taking place at Rod Laver Arena from Sept. 23-24. Click here for more details on the historic announcement.


 

QUICK CLICKS

* McDavid Moments: 2022-23 Regular Season
* State Your Case: Who wins Maple Leafs-Lightning playoff series?

* Coaches count on video, scouting reports to prepare for playoffs

* NHL on ABC regular-season viewership concludes with double-digit increases

*Connor McDavid extends point streak to 15 games


 

ROBERTSON’S CAREER SEASON CONTINUES ON TNT DOUBLEHEADER
Jason Robertson (46-60—106 in 80 GP), with multiple points in each of his past three road games, will attempt to surpass Dino Ciccarelli (55-51—106 in 1981-82) for the second-most points in a single season in Stars/North Stars history when Dallas takes to the ice in the first of two nationally-broadcasted games on TNT.



* Robertson, who already stands as one of seven different U.S.-born players in NHL history with a 60-assist season before their 24th birthday (including Quinn Hughes: 66 in 2022-23 & 60 in 2021-22), is one of just three to record a 100-point campaign.

NBA Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder (40-42) at New Orleans Pelicans (42-40)

NBA Editor
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NBA Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder (40-42) at New Orleans Pelicans (42-40)

Last season, the New Orleans Pelicans demonstrated that they do not require the frequently injured Zion Williamson to dominate in the postseason.

That’s a good thing because it looks like Williamson won’t play for the Pelicans this time either, starting with the play-in game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

Williamson harmed his right hamstring on Jan. 2 with the recuperation time frame presently surpassing over 90 days. The No. It was the third time in four NBA seasons that the 2019 No. 1 overall pick had played fewer than 30 games during the regular season.

Williamson is out because he doesn’t think he can perform at his best in the most crucial game of the season on Wednesday, when the losing team will be eliminated from the season.

New Orleans (42-40) finished the regular season ninth in the West with nine wins in 12 games, despite the ongoing Williamson drama. Oklahoma City came in 10th (40-42). After the Timberwolves were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday by a score of 108-102 in overtime, the winner of Wednesday’s game will play Minnesota on Friday for a playoff spot.

In the play-in format last season, the Pelicans performed admirably without Williamson, defeating the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers to secure a playoff spot. In the first round, New Orleans surprised everyone by playing the Phoenix Suns, who were the top-seeded team. They won twice by double digits, but they lost the series in six games.

Brandon Ingram (24.7 points per game) and CJ McCollum (20.9) will be the Pelicans’ primary sources of offense once more. However, New Orleans will need to play better than it did Sunday, when it lost to the tense Minnesota Timberwolves 113-108 in the regular season finale.

With back-to-back victories to close out the regular season, the Thunder are ahead of schedule with their major rebuilding project.

Oklahoma City was a consolidated 46-108 the beyond two seasons prior to taking significant steps behind a youthful cast drove by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging a group driving 31.4 focuses per game.

After the regular season ended, few people expected the Thunder to play, and now they have their biggest game in Mark Daigneault’s three seasons as coach.

Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, and rookie Jalen Williams are among the impressive group of young players. Even though Oklahoma City did not have a No. Chet Holmgren, the second-round pick, will miss the entire season because of a foot injury.

Williams, the twelfth generally pick, is anticipating the greater stage.

Three of the four meetings this season were won by the Pelicans, but the most recent one was won by Oklahoma City, 110-96, on March 11 in New Orleans.

NBA Preview: Chicago Bulls (40-42) at Toronto Raptors (41-41)

NBA Editor
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NBA Preview: Chicago Bulls (40-42) at Toronto Raptors (41-41)

Fred VanVleet, a guard for the Toronto Raptors, believes that the nature of the play-in tournament for the Eastern Conference bodes “well for us.”

Toronto, which is scheduled to host the No. 9 seed, 10 seed Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, can “secure in on a certain something” before one more could come into center, VanVleet said.

The winner will travel to Miami on Friday to play the Milwaukee Bucks, the East’s top seed, in the first round of the playoffs. The Intensity fell 116-105 to the meeting Atlanta Birds of prey on Tuesday in the standoff for the East’s No. 7 seed.

“It’s not exactly the playoffs but a similar type of preparation, getting ready for win or go home,” VanVleet said of the upcoming matchup.

Toronto defeated Chicago 2-1 in the regular-season series, winning both games on its home court. Since Toronto’s 104-98 victory at home on February 28, the Raptors (41-41) and Bulls (40-42) have not played each other.

Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls with 23 points, while Pascal Siakam scored 20 points to lead a balanced Raptors offense.

DeMar DeRozan, the Chicago Bulls’ second-leading scorer and a longtime Raptor, attempted just 26 shots and scored 42 points against Toronto during the regular season, 10.5 points less than his season average of 24.5 points per game.

VanVleet repeated the methodology with regards to endeavoring to contain DeRozan and Zach LaVine, Chicago’s driving scorer.

The Bulls feel reenergized after their breakthrough run to the playoffs in 2021 and 2022, when they were inconsistent throughout the season.

Coach Billy Donovan was able to control the minutes as the team adjusted its collective mindset to the novelty of the play-in tournament because Chicago was aware of its seeding several days prior to Sunday’s regular-season finale.

Maintaining that one-of-a-kind focus, something DeRozan learned from participating in a play-in with the San Antonio Spurs two seasons ago, will be crucial for him.

The Bulls arrived at the midpoint of simply 10.4 made 3-pointers per game during the ordinary season, which positioned tied for rearward in the NBA.

That trend can only be improved, as can ball security. 21 Raptors points resulted from the Bulls’ 20 turnovers in the meeting on February 28.

However, Chicago has surpassed No. 1 in the league in allowing the fewest opponent points per game (107.9) since the All-Star break. Toronto, 2 (108.6).

Twins place Joey Gallo on 10-day injured list

MLB Editor
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Twins place Joey Gallo on 10-day injured list

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that they have placed outfielder Joey Gallo on the 10-day Injured List with a right intercostal strain (retroactive to April 8).

Gallo has missed the Twins’ last three games with the injury, after being removed from the game in the sixth inning on April 7 vs. Houston. He has hit .278 (5-for-18) with one double, three home runs, seven RBI, four runs scored and a 1.183 OPS in seven games for the Twins this season.

The Twins will make a corresponding move to fill Gallo’s 26-man roster spot prior to tomorrow’s series finale against the Chicago White Sox.

Washington Nationals recall infielder Jeter Downs

MLB Editor
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Washington Nationals recall infielder Jeter Downs

The Washington Nationals recalled infielder Jeter Downs from Triple-A Rochester and placed infielder/outfielder Ildemaro Vargas on the 10-day Injured List (retroactive to April 10) with a left shoulder strain on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Downs, 24, joins the Nationals for the first time this season after being claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 22, 2022. He entered the 2023 season as one of only three Minor Leaguers with at least 80 doubles, 70 home runs and 100 stolen bases since the start of 2017. Downs was rated as high as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s Minor League system, according to Baseball America, in 2020 before coming in at No. 3 in 2021 and No. 6 in 2022.

Downs appeared in six games for Triple-A Rochester this season, going 2-for-19 (.105) with two doubles, two walks, one stolen base and one run scored. He played five games at shortstop and one in center field.

The right-handed hitting Downs made his Major League debut on June 22, 2022 vs. Detroit and went on to enjoy two stints with Boston last season. He hit .154 (6-for-39) with one double, one homer, four RBI, one walk and four runs scored in 14 Major League games.

A native of San Andrés, Colombia, Downs was selected in the first round (No. 32 overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft. He graduated from Monsignor Edward Pace (FL) High School in Miami.

D-backs roster moves

MLB Editor
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D-backs roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

RHP José Ruiz reported to the team and is active.

Placed RHP Scott McGough on the Paternity List.

The D-backs’ 40-man roster remains at 40.

Red Sox reinstate right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock from 15-day injured list

MLB Editor
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Red Sox reinstate right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock from 15-day injured list

Club Options Right-Handed Pitcher Kutter Crawford to Triple-A Worcester

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today reinstated right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock from the 15-Day Injured List. To make room for Whitlock on the active roster, the club optioned right-handed pitcher Kutter Crawford to Triple-A Worcester following last night’s game.

Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement.

Whitlock, 26, began the season on the Injured List due to recovery from a successful right hip arthroscopy performed on September 26, 2022, by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The right-hander appeared in two Grapefruit League games for the Red Sox during 2023 Spring Training and made rehab starts with Triple-A Worcester on March 31 and Double-A Portland on April 6. Over the two rehab starts, Whitlock allowed two runs, seven hits, and two walks with 14 strikeouts in 10.0 innings. Selected by the Red Sox in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, he is 12-6 with a 2.73 ERA (46 ER/151.2 IP) in 77 career appearances (nine starts) with the Red Sox (2021-22).

Crawford, 27, has gone 1-1 with an 8.00 ERA (8 ER/9.0 IP) over two starts this season, most recently allowing only one run in 5.0 innings Sunday in Detroit. Selected by the Red Sox in the 16th round of the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Gulf Coast University, Crawford owns a 6.11 ERA (62 ER/88.1 IP) over 25 career appearances (15 starts) with Boston (2021-23).

Pirates roster moves

MLB Editor
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Pirates roster moves

The Pirates today made the following roster moves:

  • Claimed RHP Eli Villalobos off waivers from the Marlins – STATS
    Was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis
  • To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates transferred INF Oneil Cruz to the 60-day Injured List – STATS
  • The 40-man roster remains at 40.

NFL Transactions 4-11-23

NFL Editor
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NFL Transactions 4-11-23

​The following are the NFL transactions for Tuesday, April 11. Transactions will be published each day after they are circulated to NFL clubs. This public version will include waiver requests, assignments via waivers, terminations, free agent signings, reserve list and practice squad additions and deletions, and trades. 

FREE AGENCY SYSTEM TRANSACTIONS


SIGNING:  PLAYER WHOSE CLUB RETAINED EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS

DENVER
    Bailey, QuinnTArizona State   


SIGNINGS:  UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

ATLANTA
    Hodge, KhaDarelWRPrairie View   

KANSAS CITY
    James, RichieWRMiddle Tennessee   
         Old Club: NEW YORK GIANTS

Orlando Pride Forward Leah Pruitt Announces Retirement

NWSL Editor
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Orlando Pride Forward Leah Pruitt Announces Retirement

Forward closes four-year NWSL career 

ORLANDO, Fla. — Following a four-year career in the National Women’s Soccer League, Leah Pruitt has announced her retirement from professional soccer, with the Orlando Pride forward moving on to pursue new career opportunities.  

“Leah has been a wonderful part of our Club and we are truly going to miss having her here, but we’re very excited for her and the new opportunities she has ahead. She will forever be a part of our Orlando Pride family,” said Orlando Pride VP of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter. “We’d like to thank her for everything she has done for both our Club and community, and look forward to supporting her as she transitions in this next chapter of her life.” 

“I am blessed and thankful for my soccer career and that I was able to play this game as long as I did. I made friends and memories that will last a lifetime, but I’ve decided that the time is right for me to begin my next chapter, beyond soccer,” Pruitt said. “Thank you to everyone who supported me and to all of my teammates along the way. From youth soccer, college and into the pros, I’ve enjoyed the journey!” 

Pruitt, 25, was acquired by the Pride via trade ahead of the 2022 season and would go on to make 17 appearances across all competitions. The California native scored one goal, a May 22 tally against Chicago, and added two assists. Over the entirety of her career, which also included stops at the North Carolina Courage and OL Reign, Pruitt totaled 50 appearances with five goals and three assists.  

The forward was selected No. 5 overall by the Courage in the 2019 NWSL Draft following a decorated career at the University of Southern California.  

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