Golden Knights’ depth rings true in G1 OT win
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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
LAS VEGAS — Brett Howden‘s game-winning goal less than two minutes into overtime gave the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-3 win Friday night against the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
The sequence that led to the Golden Knights taking a 1-0 series lead was just as quick as overtime itself.
Chandler Stephenson carried possession into the Stars’ zone before playing a centering pass to Mark Stone. He then fed an instant backhanded pass to Howden, who was left alone at the net front. Howden’s initial shot went wide, but he recovered the rebound off the boards and fired a shot beneath the goal line that he banked off Jake Oettinger for the win.
“I just tried throwing it in there and got lucky that it went in,” Howden said. “I think Oettinger put it in himself. I was just trying to throw it in there and see what would happen.”
Howden’s goal is the latest in a narrative that has come to define the Golden Knights during these playoffs: They’re a team that can get goals from their entire lineup. The Golden Knights have had 14 different players score goals these playoffs, equaling the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers (the Stars lead the way with 15).
Stars winger Jason Robertson, who did not score in the second round against the Seattle Kraken, staked his team to a 1-0 lead with less than 90 seconds remaining in the first period from a deflection off a shot from Roope Hintz.
Golden Knights center William Karlsson tied it at 1 in the second period before giving the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead just 1:19 into the third period. Both of Karlsson’s goals were a byproduct of his constant movement. Karlsson carried the puck into the Stars zone and played a pass to Zach Whitecloud. Karlsson kept skating and was able to get to the net front right as Whitecloud’s shot went off the boards with Karlsson there to collect the rebound and fire it into an open net.
His second goal was the result of a blocked shot that led to a 50-50 puck that Karlsson snagged before creating a little bit of separation before firing off a wrister that beat Oettinger for the lead.
“Well, the first goal, I kind of got lucky, I’d say,” Karlsson said. “I’m sure Whitey was trying to put that one on the net. I just wanted to be first for the possible rebound, but it went behind the net instead and perfectly to me. On the second one, I was just kind of backing up and trying to play safe and there was a chance for me to grab the puck. It’s hard to explain but I try to be in the right place and that pays off sometimes.”
Hintz, who had a hand in all three of the Stars’ goals, tied it at 2 before Teddy Blueger scored what looked like the initial game-winning goal with a little more than 10 minutes left in the third period.
Blueger’s goal was his first of the postseason and just his second career playoff tally. But it came at a time that allowed the Golden Knights to take what was ultimately a temporary edge from another source of offensive production.
“I think we have good depth at all positions — goaltending, defense, forwards,” Blueger said. “I think whoever is in the lineup can do the job. That’s probably what it is.”
Blueger’s goal also led to a late push by the Stars. Vegas controlled most of the possession in the game with a shot-share of more than 71 percent in the first period, followed by 55.6 percent in the second in 5-on-5 play, according to Natural Stat Trick. Dallas countered by owning the puck with a 63.4 percent shot-share, which played a significant role in why the Stars had 16 shots in the third compared to the Golden Knights with eight.
Creating and maintaining that level of pressure resulted in the Stars pulling Oettinger for a 6-on-5 advantage that set the stage for captain Jamie Benn‘s game-tying goal. Benn, along with Joe Pavelski and Hintz, were camped at the net front when Miro Heiskanen‘s shot from the point reached Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill to create a scramble on net.
Hintz and Pavelski fought for possession with Pavelski sliding the puck over to Benn, who passed it into the net with 1:59 left in the third. And while Benn’s goal did tie the score, it also represented something else.
Namely? How these playoffs have seen Hintz go from one of the Stars’ most open secrets into a player who has become a front-runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
This was the sixth time Hintz finished with more than two points in a game, and he’s had more than three points in five of those performances. It’s why Hintz will enter Game 2 leading the NHL with 22 points in the playoffs. Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk would be the closest player of those still playing and he’s trailing Hintz by five points.
With Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday between the Panthers and Hurricanes going to four overtimes, there was some expectation that the Stars and Golden Knights could possibly create another lengthy battle Friday.
Instead, Howden ended it early.
“It can’t always be the stars, right? Or the guys that you would expect, and that’s what’s been good about our team,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’ve had different people step up in key moments. It’s the time of the year where you got to enjoy the moment and kind of embrace it. Raise your hand if you had Howden in your pool in overtime? You probably went in a different direction and that’s good for us. That’s why we’ve been able to win.”
Taking Game 1 has not been a necessity for the Golden Knights. They lost 5-1 to open the first round against the Winnipeg Jets before winning in six. But they did win Game 1 versus the Edmonton Oilers before clinching that series in six wins.
Yet here’s why beating the Stars in Game 1’s this postseason comes with a rather intriguing caveat. The Minnesota Wild beat the Stars in overtime to open their first-round series. The Kraken also beat the Stars in overtime to open their second-round series.
Guess how that turned out for the Wild and Kraken? The Stars beat the Wild in six games before ending the upstart Kraken’s season in seven games.
“The good news is that the other two ended the right way,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said when asked about losing a third straight series in overtime. “That’s what we’ll hope for, but you got to win some overtime games too in the playoffs. You can’t go 0-for-3, 0-for-4 in the playoffs in overtime. That’s something we’ve got to get fixed quickly.”
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
Roki Sasaki, the prized Japanese pitching prospect who has had scouts drooling over his potential since high school, has chosen the Los Angeles Dodgers as his major league team, he announced on Instagram on Friday.
Sasaki called this “a very difficult decision, but I will do my best to make it the right decision when I look back after my baseball career.”
The Dodgers, long viewed as the favorites for Sasaki, had recently emerged as one of three finalists for the 23-year-old right-hander, along with the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres. On Friday morning, the Padres began agreeing to deals with their prospective international signees in the Dominican Republic, a clear sign throughout the industry that they were out on Sasaki. The Blue Jays thusly acquired $2 million in international-bonus-pool space — along with center fielder Myles Straw — from the Cleveland Guardians in hopes of enticing Sasaki further.
It ultimately did not matter. A Dodgers team coming off a World Series title with a roster headlined by Japanese countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto again landed one of the biggest prizes of the offseason.
In the Dodgers, Sasaki joins a team that has built a reputation as one of the best at developing talent and one that expects to field an incredibly deep rotation in 2025. Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow return from last year’s group. Ohtani, who will resume his duties as a two-way player, will be added. Blake Snell signed a five-year, $182 million contract in November. Clayton Kershaw is expected to return at some point, as well. And younger arms such as Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Bobby Miller remain in the organization, making it easy for the Dodgers to field a six-man rotation that would lessen Sasaki’s acclimation process.
Because he is under 25 years old and spent less than six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki essentially will sign a minor league contract and follow the path of a player selected in the amateur draft — able to be optioned to the minors, scheduled to earn close to the major league minimum during his first three major league seasons and unable to become a traditional free agent until attaining six years of service time.
Teams were limited to giving Sasaki only their international bonus pools, which ranged from about $5.1 million to $7.5 million at the start of the signing period.
Sasaki features a mesmerizing splitter that has been lauded as one of the world’s best secondary pitches and pairs it with a fastball that reaches 100 mph, adding a slider that has also been deemed a plus pitch. In four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki posted a 2.02 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and 524 strikeouts against 91 walks in 414 2/3 innings.
In an April 10, 2022, start against the Orix Buffaloes, Sasaki pitched a perfect game while setting an NPB record with 13 consecutive strikeouts. Seven days later, he took the mound again and fired eight perfect innings before being removed from his outing. The following spring, Sasaki showcased his talents on a global stage, forming a star-studded rotation alongside Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Shota Imanaga and Yamamoto for a Japanese team that won the World Baseball Classic.
For years, major league scouts and executives descended upon Japan to catch a glimpse of Sasaki and salivated over the possibility of him someday being posted. When it finally occurred in early December, upwards of 20 teams made initial pitches, doing so with videos and letters and even books. Sasaki flew to the L.A. headquarters of his agency, Wasserman, later that month and conducted meetings with at least eight teams — the Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.
Earlier this week, five of those teams were informed they were out of the running, prompting Sasaki to take follow-up meetings in Toronto, San Diego and L.A. before coming to his decision.
Sasaki needed to select his new team between Jan. 15, the start of this year’s international signing period, and Jan. 23, the expiration of his posting window. His presence in the international amateur market left prospective signees of the three finalists in limbo on deals that are verbally agreed to years in advance, causing particular consternation within the Dominican Republic. The Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays needed to not only free up their international bonus pools for the potential of landing Sasaki, but entertain the possibility of trading for additional space in hopes of enticing him further.
Sasaki starred in Summer Koshien, the prominent Japanese high school tournament, and was taken No. 1 overall in the NPB draft in 2019. The Lotte Marines handled him carefully, restricting him to bullpen sessions and simulated games in 2020 and limiting his workload whenever possible thereafter. Sasaki’s numbers were down a bit last year, his ERA rising to 2.35. His four-seam fastball went from averaging roughly 98 mph to 96. At one point, shoulder fatigue cropped up. There are concerns about how Sasaki will handle a major league workload, and many will acknowledge that his command needs improvement.
But few doubt his ceiling.
Within these next handful of years, several prominent evaluators believe, Sasaki could be an annual Cy Young contender.
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
The New York Mets and left-hander A.J. Minter have agreed on a two-year, $22 million contract Friday, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, giving a team starved for bullpen help one of the best relievers on the free-agent market.
The deal, which is pending a physical, includes an opt-out after the 2025 season. SNY first reported the agreement.
Minter, 31, was a key contributor during the Atlanta Braves’ recent run of success, posting a 3.28 ERA across 384 relief appearances since debuting in 2017. He was a member of the 2021 World Series championship club and enjoyed his best full season the following year, pitching to a 2.06 ERA in 75 games. Hip inflammation limited Minter to 39 appearances in 2024, but he was effective when healthy with a 2.62 ERA over 34 ⅓ innings in a setup role.
He joins a club that prioritized acquiring a top-flight reliever this winter to partner with closer Edwin Diaz late in games. Being a lefty checks another box for New York, which, as it currently stands, has just one other left-handed reliever (Alex Young) on their 40-man roster.
The bullpen addition comes a day after the club reached a one-year deal with veteran outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker, who figures to be primarily used as a DH against right-handed pitchers.
Pete Alonso, the Mets’ homegrown star first baseman, remains a free agent. The two sides have attempted to negotiate a reunion, but they’ve recently reached an impasse over money on a three-year contract, according to a source. Without Alonso, the Mets could move third baseman Mark Vientos, a breakout star in 2024, across the diamond to first base with former top prospect Brett Baty, prospect Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna as internal candidates to start at third base.
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