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After a record-setting season, the Boston Bruins find themselves on the brink of a first-round upset loss against the Florida Panthers. Can the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners avoid becoming the latest NHL team with the best regular-season record to flop in the postseason? Or will the Panthers pull off the huge upset and advance to the second round?

In the Western Conference, the defending champion Colorado Avalanche are trying to keep their repeat hopes alive against the upstart Seattle Kraken, who are looking to advance in the franchise’s second season.

How has Florida frustrated Boston? Who has been the MVP of the Colorado-Seattle series? Who will advance from the win-or-go-home games? Our reporters and analysts are here to answer those very questions:


6:30 p.m. ET (TNT)

What are the Panthers doing that’s giving the Bruins so much trouble?

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: It’s their approach to the third period. Look at their wins, and a strong third period is at the heart of that success. They scored four goals in the third to win Game 2. They scored four goals again to win Game 6 and force Game 7.

Arda Ocal, NHL analyst: Being physical — every Panthers player had at least one hit in Game 1 and that’s been a theme. Not giving the Bruins much space, being tough and competing with net front, especially Matthew Tkachuk, who has been terrific in his office.

Kristen Shilton, NHL reporter: The Panthers had/have nothing to lose here. That mentality is clearly helping Florida handle the emotional swings of this series better than the Bruins. Many of these Panthers remember how it feels to be under pressure as Presidents’ Trophy winners. Boston tenses up with every back-and-forth frame, every little mistake. Florida has simply stayed in the fight knowing it doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to get it done.

Greg Wyshynski, NHL reporter: Capitalizing on mistakes. Look, I don’t want to take anything away from what the Panthers have done here — especially the part where Tkachuk basically took over the series. But the Bruins played themselves out of Game 2; made critical mistakes in Game 5, including that Linus Ullmark turnover in overtime; and then gave up multiple leads in Game 6. I don’t know if its injuries or the weight of the Presidents’ Trophy or what, but the Bruins have done a remarkable number of un-Bruins-like things to push this to seven games.

What’s your final score prediction for Panthers-Bruins Game 7?

Clark: 5-4 OT Panthers. There’s little reason to think there won’t be tons of goals, given the Bruins and Panthers have averaged a combined 8.4 goals per game since Game 1. And while the Bruins were one of the NHL’s best defensive teams, the Panthers led the league in most danger chances per 60 and have scored 11 goals in their past two games.

Ocal: 4-3 OT Bruins. Panthers push hard — this one has tons of drama — but the Bruins’ record-breaking season rolls on, with plenty to unpack in the first round. I’m curious if Jeremy Swayman starts Game 7.

Shilton: 5-4 OT Bruins. Matthew Tkachuk will lead this spirited Panthers group to a dramatic finale. But with their seasons on the line, I’m betting on Boston’s experience over Florida’s gumption.

Wyshynski: 4-2 Panthers. One team is playing with house money, taking on that “you guys all thought we’d get swept” mindset that Tkachuk put voice to a few games ago. The other team is watching the balloons pop at its coronation party. Do I put my faith in the best regular-season team (from a standings perspective) in NHL history or the unwavering voodoo of the Presidents’ Trophy curse? I choose chaos.


9:30 p.m. ET (TNT)

Who has been the MVP of the Avs-Kraken series so far?

Clark: Philipp Grubauer. The Kraken were in the bottom 10 of team save percentage in 5-on-5 play. So it led to questions. Grubauer has answered those questions by posting a .919 save percentage this postseason after having a .895 save percentage in the regular season.

Ocal: The committee of Kraken scorers — 14 different skaters have goals for Seattle. People counted them out, and they are following up their huge Year 1-to-Year 2 regular-season glow-up with a chance to eliminate the reigning Cup champs in Game 7.

Shilton: Yanni Gourde. The Kraken forward does it all: game-winning goals, blocked shots, takeaways, stick checks, forechecks, backchecks. He’s everywhere, all the time. Seattle wasn’t a team of stars this season, but Gourde has emerged for me as one in this series.

Wyshynski: Jared Bednar. The Avalanche have had to deal with lineup absences and adversity, and the coach has helped keep things from spiraling. He’s done some good life shuffling, including for Game 6. Again, Colorado has been without Gabriel Landeskog for the series and the season; Cale Makar for a one-game suspension; and Valeri Nichushkin for undisclosed reasons after Game 2. He also had to be the one to field questions about Nichushkin’s absence after an incident in a Seattle hotel room, because team management has declined to do so.

What’s your final score prediction for Avalanche-Kraken Game 7?

Ocal: 3-2 Seattle. Grubauer has a terrific game, Jordan Eberle finds the back of the net and Matty Beniers has the dagger.

Shilton: 4-2 Colorado. Pains me to say it, because Seattle is fun to watch. After Game 6, though, and seeing the reigning Stanley Cup champs push back like they did, it’s hard to bet against them doing it again in Game 7. I’d delightedly be proved wrong here, though.

Wyshynski: 3-2 Seattle (OT). The Kraken should still feel good about where their game is, despite not being able to close this series out at home. They’ve played three straight solid defensive games against a high-octane offense. They know how to grind out a win on the road. The loss of Andrew Cogliano to a fractured neck is yet another lineup subtraction for the Avalanche against a deep Seattle team. I think the Kraken pull the upset, but it’ll take overtime. Let’s go with Gourde as the game-winning goal scorer, as he’s no stranger to Game 7 heroics.

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

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Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

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Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

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