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adminSleuthing — Rocket Report: A mysterious explosion in China; Firefly tests new engine Firefly Aerospace has announced a major milestone for its new medium-lift rocket.
Stephen Clark – Dec 1, 2023 12:00 pm UTC Enlarge / Imagery from Europe’s Sentinel-2 satellite shows the aftermath of an explosion on a test stand at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China.Sentinel Hub EO Browser/CC BY 4.0 reader comments 51
Welcome to Edition 6.21 of the Rocket Report!
Someone is always watching, and it’s more difficult than ever to hide bad news. This is one of my mantras as a reporter who will always come down on the side of transparency. We’ve seen space companies and government agencies in the United States try to downplay setbacks, which, let’s face it, are inevitable in the space business. In China, it looks like a recent test-firing of a rocket motor didn’t go well. Unsurprisingly, Chinese officials haven’t said a thing.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets, as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
Something exploded at aChinesespaceport.A Chinese launch vehicle maker appears to have suffered an explosion at a test site at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Space News reports. Satellite images show what are likely test stand facilities and the apparent aftermath of an exhaust plume from a hot fire test on the desert surface. Charred debris can be seen scattered across the surrounding area. The images were published on the social media platform X by Harry Stranger, who uses satellite imagery to track space industry developments. The facility is likely operated by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC), a state-owned enterprise that builds the solid-fueled Kuaizhou rocket.
Sleuthing for evidence … Stranger posted about the explosion on X and used satellite images from several sources to pinpoint the time of the explosion to sometime on November 21 or 22. A similar explosion on the same test stand at Jiuquan occurred in October 2021. We can presume the explosion was likely related to a ground test of solid-fueled motors for the Kuaizhou 1A or Kuaizhou 11 rocket, which can haul payloads of several hundred kilograms to a metric ton into low-Earth orbit. The Kuaizhou rocket family is one of several small Chinese rockets in this lift class. Chinese officials haven’t acknowledged the explosion. It goes to show that you can’t hide an incident of this size.(submitted by Ken the Bin andmartialartstechie)
The world’s spaceports are busier than ever.Led by SpaceX and China, the world’s launch providers have put more rockets and payloads into orbit so far in 2023 than in any prior year, continuing an upward trend in launch activity over the last five years, Ars reports. The flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 22 was the 180th launch of 2023 to put its payload into orbit, eclipsing the mark of 179 successful orbital launches from last year.Global launch activity stagnated after the end of the Cold War, when Russia, and to a lesser extent the United States, cut back on their military space programs. For nearly 30 years, the record number of orbital launches in a calendar year stood at 129, a tally from 1984. In 2005, only 52 rockets made their way into orbit.
No turning back? … SpaceX has launched 89 times so far this year, with 87 successful flights to reach orbit. Chinese rockets are 53-for-54. At this rate, SpaceX is on track for around 100 launches this year, with about 200 orbital missions worldwide. You can bet on more than 200 launches in 2024 if SpaceX achieves its goal of flying 12 times per month, which would give the company 144 launches during the course of the year. China’s launch tally next year will likely be similar to this year’s number.
New money for rocket propulsionstartup Ursa Major.At a time when economic conditions are making it harder for startups to raise money, Ursa Major’s announcement this week of $138 million in fundraising got our attention. Ars discussed the plans for this Colorado-based company in last week’s Rocket Report, when Ursa Major’s CEO said the startup sees an opportunity to use 3D printing to disrupt the industry that produces solid rocket motors for military and spaceflight applications. Since then, Ursa Major revealed Series D and D-1 fundraising rounds that brought in $138 million from venture capital firms and institutional investors. Advertisement
Funding Lynx … Ursa Major says this new funding will go toward the company’s Lynx solid rocket motor program, which will use advanced manufacturing techniques to produce rocket motors ranging in size from 2 inches to 22.5 inches in diameter. Rocket motors of this size can be used in a variety of military missiles, such as air defense units and Stingers, that currently face bottlenecks in production and struggle to meet demand from the US military and allies. Ursa Major is also working on the 50,000-pound-thrust Ripley engine for sale to developers of small commercial launch vehicles, and Draper, a storable liquid engine designed to defend against hypersonic weapons. (submitted by Ken the Bin) The Rocket Report: An Ars newsletter The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger’s space reporting is to sign up for his newsletter, we’ll collect his stories in your inbox. Sign Me Up!
Firefly’s fourth launch scheduled for December.Firefly Aerospace is preparing to launch its fourth Alpha rocket in December from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This mission, which Firefly calls FLTA004, or “Ride the Lightning,” will carry into orbit a small technology demonstration satellite for Lockheed Martin. The payload, named Tantrum and funded by Lockheed Martin, will test a new wideband Electronically Steerable Antenna design to demonstrate “faster on-orbit sensor calibration to deliver rapid capabilities” for the US military.
Another responsive launch … Firefly and Lockheed Martin announced the launch contract for the Tantrum mission in June, about six months before the scheduled launch. Firefly’s previous Alpha launch in September was part of a US Space Force responsive launch demonstration, in which the company proved it could integrate a small satellite payload with its Alpha rocket and launch it within 27 hours of receiving launch orders. Firefly says a secondary objective for the next Alpha launch will be to reduce the “total working hours” required from payload arrival at the launch site until launch readiness. “During the final launch operations, the mission team will encapsulate and mate the payload to Fireflys Alpha rocket using a similar responsive timeline,” Firefly said. This matches what Firefly’s CEO, Bill Weber, said following the launch in September. At that time, Weber said Firefly would make its responsive launch capability a standard offering for future missions. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Astra stays alive with $2.7 million in fundraising. Amid its struggle to stay afloat facing dwindling cash reserves and an unfriendly public market, Astra secured an additional $2.7 million from investors, Payload reports. The company will still need to secure long-term financing. This is the latest saga for Astra, which has seen its fundraising spigot dry up after its first orbital-class launcher, Rocket 3, failed to become a viable vehicle. Astra has pivoted to focus on producing small electric engines for satellites and announced mass layoffs earlier this year in a bid to right the ship. Most recently, the company’s cofounders, Chris Kemp and Adam London, offered to take the company private. Asra went public
during the SPAC boom of 2021, when the company boasted a valuation of more than $2 billion.
Separating the wheat from the chaff… Astra is fighting to avoid going the way of Virgin Orbit, which went bankrupt in May. Work on Astra’s new launch vehicle, Rocket 4, has slowed to a crawl. Astra’s spacecraft engines business, which it acquired when it bought Apollo Fusion in 2021, appears to be on more solid footing with demand from satellite constellation manufacturers. More news on Astra is sure to come soon because the company just doesn’t have much financial runway in front of it. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Ariane 6 finally has a launch schedule. One of the most common questions for European Space Agency officials this year has been “when will Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket launch for the first time?” It’s running four years late, and its long-term future is up in the air after ESA recently announced the agency will open some of its launches to other rockets developed by European startups. Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, was unwavering in his refusal to be more specific than “2024” each time a reporter asked about the Ariane 6 launch schedule. Now, with a recent Ariane 6 hot fire test successfully complete, ESA announced Thursday that the first Ariane 6 rocket is on track for launch between June 15 and July 31 of next year.
A seven-minute engine test cleared the way … The seven-minute test-firing on November 23 of an Ariane 6 rocket on its launch pad in French Guiana was the most significant test remaining on the rocket’s road to liftoff, Ars reports. The test lasted 426 seconds while a full-size test model of the Ariane 6 rocket remained on its launch pad. For the rocket to actually take off, it would need to light its four strap-on solid-fueled boosters. That was not part of the plan for last week’s test. The hot fire test lasted about a minute less than its planned duration, which officials from ESA and ArianeGroup blamed on a bad sensor and not a problem with the rocket or its main engine. Advertisement
Firefly’s Miranda engine ignites for the first time.For the first time, Firefly Aerospace has hot-fired the new Miranda engine it is developing to power two new medium-lift rockets being co-developed with Northrop Grumman. The Miranda engine burns kerosene and liquid oxygen but is significantly more powerful than the Reaver engine that Firefly uses on its smaller Alpha rocket. “The turbopump-fed engine test further validates the design of Mirandas startup sequence, transient conditions, and tap-off engine architecture at a larger scale,” Firefly said in a statement. Working at Firefly’s test site in Central Texas, engineers will build up to a full-duration, 206-second Miranda hot fire test to fully qualify the Miranda engine for flight.
The power source for two new rockets… Seven of these 230,000-pound-thrust engines will power the first stage of the Antares 330 rocket Firefly and Northrop Grumman are developing to replace the Antares 230, which launched for the final time in August. The Antares rocket family has exclusively been used to launch Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo ships on resupply flights to the International Space Station. The Antares 230 used Russian engines on its first stage, and Northrop Grumman no longer has access to these engines after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The next three Cygnus cargo ships will launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, and the Antares 330 is due to resume launching Cygnus missions in 2025. After the Antares 330, Northrop Grumman and Firefly are partnering on a Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) to compete for a broader range of launch contracts with NASA, the US military, and commercial customers. Seven Miranda engines will also power the first stage of the MLV, along with a vacuum variant of Miranda on the second stage. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
A Chinesecompany isdeveloping a stainless steel rocket. Chinese launch startup LandSpace has unveiled plans to develop a reusable stainless steel rocket, Space News reports.The Zhuque-3 (Vermillion Bird 3) rocket will use stainless propellant tanks and clusters of Tianque methane-liquid oxygen propellant rocket engines, according to a presentation by LandSpace’s CEO last week.The two-stage launcher will have a payload capacity of 20 metric tons to low-Earth orbit (LEO) when expendable. Recovery of the first stage downrange will allow 16.5 tons to LEO, while a landing back at the launch site will offer a capacity of 11 tons to LEO. A render of the rocket shows grid fins and deployable landing legs on the first stage.
Following the lead … Talk of a reusable stainless steel rocket with methane-fueled engines immediately makes one think of SpaceX’s Starship. LandSpace seems to be a leader among the crop of Chinese commercial startups that are developing rockets outside the bounds of the country’s traditional roster of state-owned enterprises. In July, LandSpace launched its expendable Zhuque 2 rocket, which became the first methane-fueled launcher to successfully achieve orbit, beating a bevy of US rockets to the milestone. Methane is favored for reusable rockets because it leaves less residue inside engines than kerosene fuel. Another Chinese launch company, Space Pioneer, is developing a Falcon 9-class medium to heavy lift kerosene-fueled rocket that could fly next year. LandSpace has not discloseda tentative test launch date and the dimensions of its planned Zhuque 3 rocket, suggesting the plan is at a very early stage, according to Space News.(submitted by Ken the Bin and EllPeaTea)
China is making progress on a Raptor-like engine. China is progressing with a program to develop full-flow staged-combustion-cycle methane engines to power its reusable Long March 9 super heavy-lift launcher, Space News reports. These engines are similar in design to SpaceX’s Raptor, which powers the Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket. The Long March 9 itself appears similar in design and capability to Starship, and China says it will eventually have reusable boosters and upper stages. There are 33 Raptors on SpaceX’s Super Heavy, and the Long March 9, planned for a debut in 2033, will have 26 of China’s new methalox engines.
Design and test… The most recent update on the development of China’s new methalox engine comes from a paper published by authors from the Xian Aerospace Propulsion Institute, a liquid propulsion design unit of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., China’s largest government-owned aerospace contractor. The authors said China’s foundations for developing a full-flow staged-combustion-cycle methalox engine are relatively weak, but this is a focus area for China’s space program. Chinese rocket designers unveiled the new architecture for the Long March 9 in 2022 and 2023, after previously planning an expendable super heavy lift rocket based on kerosene/liquid oxygen engines.(submitted by Ken the Bin and Tfargo04)
Starship V2 in the works. With just two Starship integrated test flights under its belt, SpaceX announced last week that it is already working on a major overhaul of its second-stage Starship vehicle, Payload reports. The design changes will be significant enough to speciate the ship, giving it the title of Version 2.SpaceX plans to finish and launch four or five additional Starship V1 prototypes before transitioning to its V2 product line, Elon Musk said on X. Insights gained from the upcoming flights will be integrated into the next-gen rocket.
What will be on V2?Musk didn’t detail whatwould be incorporated on Starship V2, but we can expect it will fly with upgraded versions of SpaceX’s Raptor engines, called Raptor 3. It may also include nine Raptor engines rather than the six flying on the current iteration of Starship. Musk has previously discussed the possibility of enlarging the propellant tanks on future Starships, increasing the rocket’s payload lift capability. These stretched tanks would allow more methane and liquid oxygen to fit onto the rocket. (submitted by Ken the Bin) Next three lanches
December 1: Soyuz 2.1a | Progress MS-25 | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan | 09:25 UTC
December 1: Falcon 9 | 425 Project & Rideshares | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California | 18:18 UTC
December 2:Falcon 9 | Starlink 6-31 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 04:01 UTC reader comments 51 Stephen Clark Stephen Clark is a space reporter at Ars Technica, covering private space companies and the worlds space agencies. Stephen writes about the nexus of technology, science, policy, and business on and off the planet. Advertisement Channel Ars Technica ← Previous story Next story → Related Stories Today on Ars

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Ryan S. ClarkMay 3, 2025, 07:30 AM ET
Close- Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
Peter DeBoer is always thinking. Especially the night before a Game 7. It’s just that arguably the greatest do-or-die coach in North American sports history is thinking more about what movie he’s going to watch rather than how he’s going to remain undefeated in another Game 7.
Anyone who thinks that the night before a Game 7 consists of DeBoer drinking a sixth cup of coffee while he and his assistants are reviewing game film is mistaken. That process started well before they even reached that point, with the strong reality that it likely started days before they even played Game 1.
DeBoer’s process isn’t dependent on Game 7. It’s something that has been several years in the making but still has room for adjustments. His approach is rooted in how he speaks to players, and the way he makes them feel after speaking to them. It’s how he approaches what goes into coaching, while knowing when to take a step back so his assistants feel empowered to do their jobs without someone looking over their proverbial shoulders.
The plan is simple: Be thoughtful, but don’t overthink.
“I think players want two or three things they can concentrate on,” DeBoer said. “Otherwise, the picture becomes muddy, and that tends to slow your processing down.”
Some variation of that message has defined George Peter DeBoer, an individual who, despite having a law degree, opted to pursue coaching. Not that DeBoer couldn’t have been an attorney. It’s just that becoming a coach has seen him go from what could have been a life filled with depositions to making a living by disposing of his opponents in winner-take-all contests.
DeBoer is 8-0 all time in Game 7s, and he could improve that record to 9-0 should the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. A win would not only mean the Stars advance to the second round, but it would make DeBoer the NHL’s all-time leader in Game 7 victories, an honor he currently shares with Darryl Sutter.
Until then? DeBoer will think about hockey … to a point. When he reaches that point, that’ll be when his mind will shift toward what action, comedy, drama or rom-com he’ll watch to attain a sense of normalcy before trying to pull off the abnormal. Again.
“It’s crazy and I’m sure when I’m done and looking back, it’s going to be one of the things I’m really proud of, and I’m going to tell my grandkids about it hopefully,” DeBoer said of his Game 7 record. “I feel fortunate because I know how hard those players have played in those situations for me and how much work has gone into winning those. Also, how hard the staffs I’ve had have worked, because they don’t get enough credit for that.”
TRUST IS THE WORD that Chandler Stephenson uses countless times over the course of a 10-minute interview about what makes DeBoer the best at winning Game 7s, while also being one of the best head coaches of this current generation of NHL bench bosses.
One item that has made DeBoer one of the premier coaches of this generation is how his teams not only win, but win in quick fashion. In each of the first seasons that he has guided a team to the playoffs, those teams have reached the conference finals.
It’s part of the reason the Vegas Golden Knights hired DeBoer in-season in 2019-20 before the pandemic limited his regular-season mark to 15 wins in 22 games. Stephenson, who was on the Golden Knights when DeBoer arrived, said DeBoer knew how to explain his systems and what he wanted from players without it feeling forced.
“I think that kind of goes into a Game 7. Game 7s are Game 7s,” said Stephenson, who now plays for the Seattle Kraken. “You’re getting everybody’s best, and you’re focusing on yourself. But for him, he has that belief in his system and that you can trust it, it can work, and he makes guys feel confident and feel good about their game. It shows the kind of coach that he is … but he’s also a human being at the same time.”
Where DeBoer’s humanity shines through is the way his three children talk about their Uncle Steve and Aunt Lisa. In this case, Uncle Steve isn’t a blood relative but rather assistant coach Steve Spott.
Spott has been with DeBoer since 1997 when DeBoer was the head coach of the Plymouth Whalers in the OHL. They worked together when DeBoer went to the Kitchener Rangers, and the two reunited in 2015 when DeBoer took over the San Jose Sharks.
Abby DeBoer said her mother, Susan, and Steve’s wife, Lisa, would always do family dinners when they were in Kitchener together whether the team was at home or on the road. The DeBoers would eventually spend Christmases and Thanksgivings with the Spotts or other assistants who became close with their family.
“They’re my brother’s godparents and their son, Tyler, is my best friend,” said DeBoer’s oldest son, Jack. “They have a daughter who is friends with my sister. It’s almost like having another aunt and uncle and another brother and sister. We’re that close. I think if you have that, the stuff at the rink and camaraderie and those Game 7 wins, they come when you have a lot of respect for the people you work with, and your families are as close as they are.”
Jack, who played college hockey at Boston University and Niagara University, said the DeBoer family has also developed a strong relationship with assistant coach Misha Donskov and his wife, Amy. Peter DeBoer and Donskov worked together in Vegas, with DeBoer promoting Donskov to assistant coach after he had previously served as director of hockey operations. Donskov joined the Stars last season and was also with DeBoer as part of the Team Canada coaching staff at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“It’s not just Pete,” Stars forward Jason Robertson said. “It’s the rest of the coaching staff doing their jobs. It’s the leaders in the room. It’s everything. I’d like to say the majority of his teams have been heavy on veterans, and that goes a long way with preparation. But Mish, Spotter, [Stars assistant coach Alain Nasreddine] all do a great job of preparing players in each way. It’s definitely a team effort and a team effort on the ice.”
Stars captain Jamie Benn said what has made DeBoer so successful with how he approaches Game 7s is that he takes everything into account. Benn said DeBoer has made so many notes throughout the first six games that he’s able to provide players with a complete picture of what must be done to advance to the next round.
Benn has been through two Game 7s with DeBoer. The first came in 2023 when the Stars beat the Kraken in the second round, and the second came in 2024 when they defeated the then-defending champion Golden Knights in the first round.
Though the opponents were different, Benn said the underlying theme was that DeBoer prepared his players by providing a level of detail that leaves them feeling that they’ve been set up for success.
“His track record helps,” Benn said. “In the end, he wants us to go out there, have fun and play. Just play our system the right way with details. He boosts his players up for those moments, and we’ve succeeded.”
0:42
Jamie Benn brings Stars level on the power play
Jamie Benn tips it in from close range to tie the score on the power play for the Stars vs. the Avalanche.
Robertson said that although he wasn’t initially aware of DeBoer’s Game 7 record entering the game against the Kraken, knowing that history provided the Stars with even more confidence that they could do it again versus the Golden Knights.
As for the Golden Knights: What was it like for Stephenson and the rest of his former teammates to go from having Game 7 success with DeBoer to being on the losing end?
“It was a little bit of, we know his system and what he wants to do, but it’s such a good system that he runs that it gives Dallas success,” Stephenson said. “It gave us success and all the teams he coached success, because that’s what you should want, and that’s how you should want to play the game.”
IT’S CLEAR IN TALKING to those around him that DeBoer knows when to be a coach, when to be a human being and when to use both to make everyone around him feel at ease knowing that their season is on the line.
But is that the real reason DeBoer has won eight consecutive Game 7s? Or is it something else, like a superstition? More specifically, is the fact that DeBoer always wears a three-piece suit in Game 7s — leading to his trademark look being called a “three-Pete suit” — the reason behind his success?
“My first video coach was a guy named Jamie Pringle. He’s in Calgary now and has been there for 10, 12 years,” DeBoer told ESPN in late March. “We played Calgary on this road trip, and he texted me before the game, ‘Do me a favor. We’re fighting for a playoff spot. Don’t wear the three-piece suit!’ And I didn’t! But we beat them anyway. I’m not sure it helped.”
DeBoer admitted that subconsciously he thinks about wearing a three-piece suit before those Game 7s because it goes back to confidence, and the confidence he wants to portray when walking into the dressing room.
“The players really read off you, and it’s a composure, quiet confidence that’s even more critical when you get into those do-or-die situations,” DeBoer explained.
Broadcasts of NHL games often show coaches intensely looking at what’s going on in front of them, or being actively engaged in other ways. It creates the belief that they might not be approachable or that hockey is all they think about.
Abby DeBoer said she has had friends who were nervous at first to meet her dad because he is this “stern-looking” figure wearing a three-piece suit. But when people get to know him and realize that he’s someone who enjoys life, he’s able to connect with everyone from his children’s friends to his assistant coaches to his players.
“For him, it’s not about being the loudest person in the room or having your voice heard and everyone immediately following,” Abby said. “He’s really open to conversation. He’s really open to feedback. He’s really open to collaboration.”
Oddly enough, something DeBoer’s children say he’s not open to is talking with them about his job in any great detail. Jack and Matt joked that they might be able to get their dad to answer two questions before he moves on to a subject that doesn’t involve what he does at the rink.
That even includes Game 7s.
“I kind of wish I could maybe hear a little more from him sometimes but he’s pretty, ‘Keep hockey at the rink,’ especially with those Game 7s,” said Matt, a junior forward who plays college hockey at Holy Cross. “He’s a calm person. He doesn’t really like to talk about himself or what’s going on at the rink. When he’s home, it’s, ‘Let’s watch a movie or let’s talk about your hockey life.'”
DeBoer is quick to deflect the praise elsewhere when asked what has made him so successful in Game 7s. He credits the fact that he has had good fortune winning those Game 7s in different circumstances, or how he has had assistants who have made players feel at ease, along with the different team leaders he has had over the years.
“Through seven games, we try to present a really clear picture to our group over and over again of what’s working and what isn’t,” DeBoer said. “I’d like to think that by Game 7 of a series that our guys have a really clear picture of how we want to execute or what we want to do.”
DeBoer also says that having home-ice advantage for many of those Game 7s has played a role. Six of his eight Game 7 wins have come on home ice; another took place with the Stars as the “home team” in the Edmonton bubble.
The Stars host the Avs in Game 7 and have won two of the three games this series played at the American Airlines Center.
“I always say home ice isn’t important until a Game 7, and I really believe that,” DeBoer said. “I think in Game 7 it is an important advantage.”
After a 17-year NHL coaching career, DeBoer could use this postseason to fortify what is already a strong résumé. He has won 662 regular-season games, which ranks 17th all time, while his 91 playoff victories are eighth in NHL history.
His time in Dallas has included the Stars advancing to consecutive Western Conference finals; if they can get beyond the Avs on Saturday, they’ll remain on a path for a third straight trip — along with the chance to win the second Stanley Cup in franchise history, which would be DeBoer’s first.
As the rounds continue and the matchups tighten, there’s a chance DeBoer could find himself in another Game 7 situation after Saturday, which led to him being asked another question about his exploits.
Given all the success he has had with Game 7, why can’t his teams close out a series in five or six games?
“Oh, for sure! That’s the funny part of it,” he said. “I get all this credit for winning Game 7s, but I’ve lost a lot of series in Games 4, 5 and 6 too over the years. You’re never as smart as you think you are.”
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Stars-Avalanche Game 7 preview: Key players to watch, final score predictions
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24 mins agoon
May 3, 2025By
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May 3, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
Prior to the start of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, one series stood out from the rest: Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche.
Both teams finished with more than 100 points in the regular season, appeared to be in a championship-contention window and employed Mikko Rantanen at one time during the 2024-25 campaign.
Sure enough, the two clubs have battled in their series — and six games weren’t enough to determine a victor.
Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+) will be Game 7. It is the 199th Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff history, and if you enjoy nail-biters, recent history suggests you are in luck: Since 2022, 11 of the 14 Game 7s have been decided by one goal, including all four in 2024.
To help get you fully prepared for the game, we’ve gathered ESPN reporters and analysts to identify the key players to watch, along with final score predictions for the pivotal clash.
Who is the one key player you’ll be watching?
Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: It has to be Matt Duchene. After scoring 30 goals and reaching 80 points for the second time in his career, he has only one point in the series.
His productivity was key in the regular season, and the Stars could use a strong performance from Duchene in Game 7. Remember what he did against his former team in an elimination game last postseason: The Stars won in double overtime on Duchene’s goal.
Emily Kaplan, NHL reporter: Cale Makar. It doesn’t feel right that the best defenseman in the world, who scored 30 goals this season, doesn’t have a goal this series. He holds himself to a high standard, saying “I have to be a lot better” ahead of the pivotal Game 6. Makar was, picking up three points to stave off elimination, but I still think he’ll get to another gear Saturday.
Victoria Matiash, NHL analyst: Valeri Nichushkin. The Stars have had their hands full trying to stop the second-line power forward — and ex-teammate — when he’s at his most effective. After potting a pair of goals to help propel the Avalanche to Game 7, Nichushkin is poised to add another goal (or two) when it matters most. Like many others in the league, he tends to score in bunches. After not being available for the Avs in recent playoffs, he has extra incentive.
Arda Öcal, NHL broadcaster: Nathan MacKinnon has six goals and 10 points in this series. If there’s one guy with the highest levels of compete and a “never say die” attitude, it’s MacKinnon. MacKinnon’s six goals is one shy of tying the franchise record for most goals in a playoff series (with Rantanen among those that are currently tied for that record).
Kristen Shilton, NHL reporter: This is the moment for Mikko Rantanen. Dallas went all-in when it acquired Rantanen, whom the Stars signed for the long haul so he could be a difference-maker at a time like this.
Rantanen was excellent in helping Dallas bounce back in Game 5, finishing with a goal and two assists. He had four points in the Stars’ Game 6 defeat. That’s the sort of performance the Stars should expect him to replicate in Game 7. Rantanen won a Stanley Cup with the Avs; he knows what it takes to finish a series and advance deep into the playoffs. That experience will be invaluable as well for Rantanen as he leads by example for the Stars.
Greg Wyshynski, NHL reporter: He’s not on the ice, but behind the bench. Dallas coach Peter DeBoer can set an NHL record for career Game 7 wins if the Stars defeat the Avalanche. He’s 8-0 in his career, tied with several players and coach Darryl Sutter for the most career Game 7 wins. DeBoer and former Dallas forward Brad Richards are the only two individuals in NHL history to win their first eight Game 7s.
On one hand, it’s probably not great that so many of DeBoer’s teams have been in “win or go home” series scenarios. On the other hand, it has been the opponents who have gone home every time.
The final score will be _____.
Clark: 4-3 Stars. Granted, anything can happen in a Game 7, especially when a team as powerful as the Avs is involved. The Stars get the nod because they not only have won Game 7s in consecutive postseasons, but their coach Peter DeBoer is 8-0 in these do-or-die games. Again, it’s the Avs and the Stars — which means any number of possibilities could be on the table — but Dallas gets the slight edge.
Kaplan: 4-3 Avalanche. It will be high-octane. The pace in this series has been incredible, but it has often been the Avalanche setting the tone — and I expect them to be flying again. What the Stars have done without two of their biggest stars, Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, shows their depth. But the Avs have too much star power not to get it done.
Matiash: 3-1 Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon, at his best, is tough to contain when everything is on the line. Even if the Stars stifle the Avs’ top unit, that secondary forward front, including Nichushkin, Brock Nelson, and Gabriel Landeskog, provides too formidable a follow-up punch. Plus, Mackenzie Blackwood, who has strung together few porous starts all season, appears set to provide another stellar showing, similar to the shutout he pitched in Game 4.
Öcal: 3-1 Stars. Jake Oettinger makes 43 saves. Roope Hintz opens the scoring, the Avs tie it up thanks to Cale Makar on the power play. Early in the third, it’s who else but Mikko Rantanen scoring on a breakaway, then Thomas Harley adds an empty-netter and Dallas moves on to Round 2.
Shilton: 3-2 Stars. It never hurts to have home-ice advantage in a Game 7, especially when you’ve played as well in your own building as Dallas did all season. The Stars have been the better team — by a slim margin — in the series, and though it should be a close contest, Dallas has the juice to send Colorado packing.
Peter DeBoer’s perfect coaching record in Game 7s aside, the Stars are practically seasoned vets when it comes to playing in them, while the Avalanche haven’t had the same success closing teams out since their Cup win three years ago. It’ll be a tight battle.
Wyshynski: Stars 4-2. I picked them before the series in seven games and I’ll stick with that. That was a one-goal Game 6 until the empty-netters, despite Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen being the entirety of the Dallas offense. The Stars will need something out of Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment in Game 7. The encouraging thing is that they got something out of all three of them in the Stars’ Game 5 rout, so maybe they just need some home cooking.
Factor in Jake Oettinger‘s 1.54 goals-against average and .956 save percentage in three Game 7 appearances (2-1 record), and I like Dallas to advance.
US
Trump posts AI image of himself as pope on Truth Social
Published
24 mins agoon
May 3, 2025By
admin
Donald Trump has posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed in papal regalia on his Truth Social platform – just 11 days after the death of Pope Francis.
Uploaded onto his account early on Saturday morning, it shows the US president with a large gold cross on a chain around his neck.
From there, it was published, without comment or explanation, on the White House X and Instagram accounts and, though it drew fierce criticism, it was liked more than 100,000 times.
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It comes just a few days after the world leader joked that he’d like to be the pontiff.
Last week, he was asked by reporters on the White House lawn who he would like to succeed Francis and he replied: “I’d like to be Pope. That would be my number one choice.”
He went on to say that he did not have a preference, but there was a cardinal in New York who was “very good”.
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0:19
‘I’d like to be pope’
Mr Trump was quickly accused of mocking Pope Francis’s death, but, by noon, UK time, the post had been liked more than 58,000 times on Instagram.
User comments, however, were mostly negative, with one saying that the image “isn’t funny. It’s not satire. And it’s not harmless”.
Another simply called it “disgusting”, while other reactions included “disturbing”, “disrespectful” and “offensive”.
On X, where the picture was liked more than 78,000 times, a user commented that Mr Trump was “making a mockery of the pious”, while another judged it “not a wise decision”.
The conclave to select a new pontiff will begin on 7 May after the death of Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Argentinian, who became pope in 2013, died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 due to a stroke and heart failure.
Last weekend, the president was criticised for wearing a non-traditional blue suit for Francis’s Vatican funeral and chewing gum during the ceremony.
However, his meeting in St Peter’s Basilica with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the outdoor mass got under way was dubbed “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in St Peter’s Basilica. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office
Read more:
Trump birthday parade planned
Who could be the next pope?
Mr Trump’s own religious views have long been a matter of speculation.
He was raised as a Presbyterian and publicly identified with it for most of his adult life, before, in October 2020, he renounced it and said he now considered himself a non-denominational Christian.
Many have questioned the depth of his faith, but that hasn’t stopped him appealing to conservative Christians and the Christian right, particularly evangelicals, some of whom have helped him get elected twice.

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Earlier this year, Mr Trump shared a bizarre AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform showcasing what appeared to be a vision of Gaza under his proposed plan.
The footage showed the area transformed into a Middle Eastern paradise with exotic beaches, Dubai-style skyscrapers, luxury yachts and people partying – and featured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk.
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