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The challenges — and opportunities — that Oregon State and Washington State face in building winners

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1 year ago

December 18, 2023

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Kyle Bonagura
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Kyle Bonagura

ESPN Staff Writer
- Covers the Pac-12.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Attended Washington State University.
Adam Rittenberg
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Adam Rittenberg

ESPN Senior Writer
- College football reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.

Dec 18, 2023, 08:00 AM ET

ON THE NIGHT of Nov. 18, the national spotlight shined on Corvallis, Oregon.

Oregon State proudly showcased its 11th-ranked team and its $162 million renovated stadium, packed with fans clad in black and orange and undeterred, as Pacific Northwesterners are, by the steady rain that fell. The Beavers pushed then-No. 5 Washington to the brink, shutting out the Huskies’ powerful offense in the second half, before falling 22-20.

Two weeks later, Oregon State found itself under a different set of clouds. Jonathan Smith, who had helped the Beavers rise to national prominence as a quarterback and then a coach, had left for Michigan State, a move officially consummated hours after the Beavers’ 31-7 loss to rival Oregon, but in the works long before then. Key players had entered the transfer portal, including starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, gifted backup Aidan Chiles and leading tackler Easton Mascarenas-Arnold. Oregon State didn’t have a coach or a 2024 schedule, and its future as one of two left-behinds in the dissolving Pac-12 seemed hazy at best.

“Once Jonathan left, there’s an anxiety that ensued about, ‘Oh my goodness, what’s next? What’s going to happen?'” athletic director Scott Barnes said.

There was a similar panic on the Palouse. Although Washington State didn’t go through a coaching change, it also had lost its starting quarterback, Cameron Ward, and other notable players to the portal. Questions loomed about WSU’s schedule, roster and resources as it teamed with OSU in a legal battle for control of the Pac-12.

Shoulder to shoulder, Oregon State and Washington State are entering uncharted territory for major college football programs. They do so with young, defensive-minded coaches — Oregon State promoted popular defensive coordinator Trent Bray, a former Beavers linebacker, to replace Smith — as well as revamped schedules and an optimism that they cannot only survive the Pac-12 purge, but thrive in their new realities. They do so with control of the Pac-12 and its assets, after the Washington state supreme court decided Friday not to review a lower court’s ruling that determined the conference board would consist of only OSU and WSU.

Earlier this month, both teams reached a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference that will see them add six games against MWC schools to their schedules next season. It’s a move that provides OSU and WSU a stopgap until their long-term future can be determined.

But significant challenges await, especially around building rosters through the portal and high school recruits and convincing current players to stay, which makes the offseason even more important.

“We’ve tried to attack every point of, ‘Hey, this is our conference, this is our situation, this is what the lawsuit means, this is what we’re trying to do,'” WSU coach Jake Dickert said. “This is the bridge here, as we’re calling it.”

BARNES SENSED THE mood around Oregon State shift as soon as he promoted Bray, who had crafted a solid defense in his second coaching stint at his alma mater. Bray knew the players, the school, the fan base and the recruiting realities. After the hire, Barnes immediately excused Bray from Sun Bowl preparations so he could dive into the personnel puzzle. (Interim coach Kefense Hynson will prepare the team for the bowl game.)

Bray has spent the past few weeks re-recruiting the roster, adding transfers and shaping the 2024 recruiting class. Although he has had to combat some negative recruiting — “Oh, you’re a Mountain West team now,” is the primary potshot — the transfers and high school players interested in joining Oregon State are, in some cases, easier to sway than the existing Beavers players. The Beavers have added transfers such as Colorado offensive lineman Van Wells, a multiyear starter, and productive Middle Tennessee defensive back Jakobe Thomas. High school recruiting has been slower, but over the weekend the Beavers’ class expanded to nine recruits with the commitments of Adam Hawkes, Will Haverland and Cornell Hatcher II, though they did lose Terrell Kim.

“Because they didn’t live that carpet being pulled out from under ’em, like our players on our roster, with the conference realignment and all that stuff, they can look at it as, ‘OK, you’re still in this Power 5 space,'” Bray said. “We get to build a schedule, so the opportunity to make it to the expanded playoff is probably better now than it was if we were in the Pac-12, or, really, if we joined the Big Ten.”

Both Oregon State and Washington State see a viable CFP path in their future and have been outlining that possibility to current and potential players. The teams on Thursday released their 2024 opponents, which include each other, a batch of Mountain West matchups and other power-conference opponents, including rivalry games with both Oregon and Washington. Oregon State will face Purdue and Cal, while WSU will host Texas Tech.

A two-team Pac-12 isn’t expected to meet the criteria for its champion — if one is even crowned — to qualify for playoff purposes, but both programs feel they will be uniquely placed to contend for playoff appearances as at-large teams.

“We showed our team Washington’s schedule and Oregon’s schedule and USC’s schedule and the theme is they probably have to be 11-1 to make the playoffs,” Dickert said. “Well, we’ve got an opportunity to go out here and play a couple Power 4 teams and these nonconference deals, and you rip off a bunch of wins, you got an opportunity to make the top 12.”

Dickert brought up Liberty, which didn’t play any Power 5 opponents this year but received the Group of 5’s berth in a New Year’s Six bowl, where it will take on Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.

“They ripped off an undefeated season and they’re No. 18 [in the AP poll],” he said. “So our schedule is gonna give us an opportunity to make the playoff and everything’s got to be designed around that.”

Bray’s general pitch to play for Oregon State hasn’t changed, despite the circumstances. Oregon State is “a place of substance,” he said, rooted in player development and seeking those “interested in the long game, not just the quick fix, the quick buck.” At the core is an opportunity to reach the NFL, which drew Uiagalelei from Clemson last winter. Oregon State has had eight players selected in the past four drafts.

The NFL ties helped Oregon State retain running back Damien Martinez, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection who has 2,167 yards in his first two seasons with the Beavers. Martinez, a 232-pound battering ram from Lewisville, Texas, likely would have his pick of transfer destinations.

“It’s the best place for him to get to where he wants to be in the end, which is the National Football League,” Bray said. “He hasn’t bought into all the hype of, ‘You gotta be here, you gotta be there.’ He’s like, ‘No, I can do everything I want to do right [at Oregon State].'”

WSU will live in that same space, hoping to lean into a player development model, while plugging in transfers where it makes sense. The main difference is they can no longer recruit to the strength of the conference.

“I think perceptually, you feel like you lose that power chip of, ‘Hey, a Group of 5 transfer knows that you’re going to play against elite competition or a high school kid knows we’re different than some of those other schools that we’re playing,” Dickert said. “I think we understand the challenge of what that means and we’re just selling ourselves a little bit more than selling the league.”

Although Oregon State endured significant portal losses this month, the program has dealt with them before. Mascarenas-Arnold, who committed to transfer to USC late Saturday, is a first-team All-Pac-12 performer, just like linebacker Omar Speights, who started 39 games for Oregon State before transferring to LSU in January. But Oregon State has produced first-team All-Pac-12 linebackers in each of the past four seasons, and Bray is confident he will “get someone to play that role.”

The Beavers have added several transfers with starting experience and also saw several 2024 recruits decommit after Smith’s departure. But Bray is encouraged by who is showing interest in the program, both “the overall number and where they’re from.”

“It looks like a dark time, [but] I think we can actually improve our roster with some of the guys we lose, and some of the guys that are interested, that we can take,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to get better, to be honest.”

WHEN WSU CAME up just short in a 24-21 Apple Cup loss to Washington, it represented the end of a disappointing season that had started with four straight wins. The Cougars had climbed to No. 13 in the AP poll — two spots behind Alabama — but a stretch of six straight losses followed as momentum faded and they finished with a 5-7 record.

By the time the Apple Cup arrived, Dickert already knew Ward would be moving on. WSU was able to land Ward as a transfer from FCS program Incarnate Word, in part because there was a modest NIL package involved. But that type of process is expected to be rare.

“[WSU’s NIL offering is] definitely nothing in the recruiting realm like other people and what you’re hearing, where they can go out and pay for a bunch of guys to come in,” Dickert said. “So, that’s just the realistic state of where we’re at.”

After two strong seasons in Pullman, Ward’s services would be worth millions of dollars in NIL money. Even though he had a positive experience at WSU, the life-changing money that was available elsewhere made his departure a straightforward business decision.

“We planned for that, we prepared for it, we communicated greatly with him and his family,” Dickert said. Such is the financial reality at both schools.

When Ward officially entered the portal on Dec. 1, Uiagalelei was already there and Chiles joined them on Dec. 6. All three were among the most heavily sought-after quarterbacks in the transfer market (Chiles has since committed to play for Smith at Michigan State).

It’s impossible to say, definitively, how things might have played out had the Pac-12 not fallen apart, but competitiveness within the NIL marketplace is only set to play a bigger role in college football in the coming years.

“I think we’re more competitive than we were last year,” Dickert said. “Everything I do now, I kind of compare it to Oregon State, because they are our peer competitor. I think they’ve been more invested in it. We have enough to make sure when our guys are on the field and make plays, I believe they’re going to be compensated for that.”

Dickert said the Cougars intend to add a quarterback through the transfer portal (OSU likely will, too). But other than some specific needs — like wide receiver and defensive back — he has spent the bulk of his time on the recruiting trail focused on high school players.

It’s not the glamorous lifestyle that some colleges often try to portray it to be.

“As it’s always been, we’re flying commercial, that stuff has never changed,” Dickert said. “I’m not on the [private jet]. Sometimes that means I’m in 36F in the back. Our program has a little blue-collar approach to it.”

SINCE SEPTEMBER, WHEN OSU and WSU filed for a temporary restraining order against the Pac-12 and commissioner George Kliavkoff to prevent the conference from holding board meetings including the 10 departing schools, OSU and WSU have been operating more like partners than rivals at the university and athletic department levels.

Friday’s ruling from the Washington state supreme court represents their biggest collective win. With control of the conference board comes control of the conference’s finances, turning the tables on the departing schools in a way most of them probably were not anticipating when they sought out safe harbor during the Pac-12’s summer collapse.

As the legal battle played out, the coaches mostly kept their distance — even while fielding questions about what it all meant on the recruiting trail.

“Obviously, it’s a big part of our future is securing that lawsuit and what comes with it,” Dickert said. “And I don’t know all the particulars about it. I just know it’s a big part of our future that we’re fighting for. It’s very important for not just the football program, but Washington State University at large.”

What happens next is shrouded in mystery. The schools have made clear their intent to rebuild the Pac-12, but their plan for the existing revenue is unknown. They already blocked a customary midyear conference-wide distribution before the Supreme Court ruling was issued and now that they have full control, there is widespread speculation that full shares won’t be distributed around the conference. At minimum, a portion of the conference revenue is expected to be set aside to account for pending liabilities, and there also looms the possibility further revenue could be withheld as a punitive measure.

The prevailing sentiment seems to be: Who can blame them?

In all instances of conference realignment, each school has made decisions based on what is in its own best interest. If OSU and WSU play hardball with revenue from the Pac-12 — a conference that the other schools willingly withdrew from — it would represent more of the same.

It’s a state of affairs that UCLA coach Chip Kelly couldn’t help but express his embarrassment over while discussing what has transpired ahead of the Bruins’ game against Boise State in the LA Bowl on Friday.

“A bunch of people couldn’t keep this conference together, and that’s sad,” said Kelly, whose athletic director, Martin Jarmond, was instrumental in UCLA’s move to the Big Ten, which helped set everything in motion. “This conference has been together since 1915, and we’re supposed to be the smart ones. I heard [Iowa coach] Kirk Ferentz talking in front of Congress when they were talking about realignment and NIL and he said, ‘We ought to be the dumbest people in the world.’

“This is an amazing game. We keep trying to screw it up. I’m talking the administrators and coaches, it’s on us. The fact that there is not going to be a Pac-12 next year, the fact that Washington State is not going to be in a conference next year, the fact that Oregon State is not going to be in a conference, we failed.”

OREGON STATE AND Washington State are separated by the Cascade mountain range and several hundred miles, but the schools are linked, at least in the foreseeable future, through shared circumstances. University presidents Jayathi Murthy and Kirk Schultz issued joint statements throughout the late summer and fall. Barnes and WSU athletic director Pat Chun talk “multiple times a week and sometimes multiple times a day,” Barnes said.

Bray’s path is intertwined with both schools. His father, Craig, was a longtime college coach who logged two stints as a Washington State assistant. Trent Bray graduated from Pullman High School, less than two miles from WSU’s Martin Stadium, and verbally committed to play for the Cougars before switching to Oregon State when Craig left to become the Beavers’ defensive coordinator.

Oregon State and Washington State are still bullish on their futures, despite the Pac-12 dissolving and a long-term outlook that Barnes admits has “yet to be determined.” The Beavers have won 25 games since the start of the 2021 season, their best stretch since 2006 to 2009, when the team averaged nine wins per year. Despite the disappointing end to this season, Washington State reached bowls in each of the previous seven full seasons.

Donors and fans remain engaged for both. Barnes expects to sell out all seven home games in 2024.

“The momentum we’ve had is palpable,” he said. “Although there’s been some ebbs and flows, as people’s emotions take hold in reading the latest on the ticker. … Fans, although they’ve been concerned, every piece of information we provide them creates more enthusiasm toward that momentum.”

Sports

The secret to Corey Perry’s continued playoff success at age 40

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5 hours ago

May 25, 2025

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The secret to Corey Perry's continued playoff success at age 40

Ryan S. ClarkMay 25, 2025, 07:30 AM ET
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DALLAS — Imagine having a career that’s so strong that you’re not even aware that your next goal further enhances your Hall of Fame résumé.

That’s Corey Perry at the moment — and here’s why. His five goals during the 2025 playoffs have placed him in a tie for the second-most goals among the Edmonton Oilers. It further reinforces the narrative that the Oilers might be the deepest of the four remaining teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It does something else too. Although each of his five goals has come with its own sense of significance, Perry’s next playoff goal will be even more special, because he’ll be tied with the legendary Jean Béliveau for the most postseason goals by a player in their age-39 season, according to QuantHockey.

“I think it’s just a love for the game. That’s why I want to play the game for as long as I can,” Perry said. “Once this game passes you by, it’s over, it’s done. There’s no coming back and I’ll move onto something else. That’s why what I want to do is play hockey, have fun and just be part of something.”

Postseasons create champions, challengers — and those who wish they could be either one. They create nostalgia for those who have won a title and are seeking another, and yearning for those who have yet to lift a Stanley Cup.

This particular postseason has provided Perry with the opportunity to grab one more before he eventually calls it a career. He is one of just 30 players that is part of the Triple Gold Club: winning a Stanley Cup, an Olympic Gold medal and the IIHF Men’s World Championship.

While this is still technically his age-39 season, he did turn 40 back on May 16. That makes him the second-oldest player still remaining in the playoffs, behind Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns.

Perry made his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005. He scored his first career goal five days later against the Oilers. He has since gone on to score 447 more, register more than 900 points and added a Hart Trophy as regular-season MVP, in a career that is either the same age or older than current young NHL stars such as Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

The notion that Perry’s career is now old enough to play in the NHL adds to the discussion about how and why he is able to perform at such a high level at a time in which more teams are trying to get younger.

“He’s been around so long that he understands that you need to find a role,” Oilers defenseman Troy Stecher said. “He won a Hart Trophy when he was in Anaheim, and he was the best player in the league then. Anyone coming here understands that [Connor McDavid] and [Leon Draisaitl] are probably going to get the majority of power-play time and offensive draws.

“I think with being the player he is and being around for so long, he’s done such a good job of finding a role and excelling in that role. Not just accepting it, but thriving in it.”

OPTIONS ARE EVERYTHING in the postseason. Possessing as many of them as possible enhances a team’s chances of winning.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch explained that the veteran winger provides the team with additional line combinations because of his versatility. He can be used on the fourth line or the top line, which is a prime example of how the Oilers have tapped into their depth to reach consecutive conference finals.

That’s when something else becomes clear: Playing Perry alongside Draisaitl and McDavid gives the Oilers three Hart Trophy winners on a single line.

It’s a distinction that no other active lineup in the NHL can claim.

“Throughout the playoffs, we’ve moved him around the lineup with Leon and Connor or just with Leon or with [Mattias] Janmark,” Knoblauch said. “Whatever position he’s been in, whether it’s the first or fourth line, he’s been able to give us quality minutes.”

Corey Perry gives Oilers 2-0 lead with his second goal

Corey Perry scores his second goal of the first period to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead over the Golden Knights.

A player doesn’t get to be an eight-time 30-goal scorer without talent for finishing scoring chances. At 30 years old, he had 34 goals in 82 games in the 2015-16 season, but he scored a combined 36 goals in the next two seasons — which signaled that he might need to reconfigure how he gets those goals going forward.

Perry started to operate more in a bottom-six role in which he was asked to provide more secondary and tertiary goals than that of a primary scorer. A sign that he was gaining comfort in that new role was when he reached double figures twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2021-22 and 2022-23).

It’s why the Oilers acquired him last season as they sought to add more depth in their eventual run to the Stanley Cup final with the idea he could return in 2024-25.

QuantHockey’s data shows that there have been 136 players who have had an age-39 season in NHL history. Perry’s 19 goals this season is the same amount that Jaromir Jagr scored in his age-39 campaign in 2011-12. Perry played 81 games this season, which ties him for 10th place with Brett Hull (2003-04).

Of the 27 players who have scored more goals in their age-39 season than Perry, 12 scored more than nine power-play goals. In Perry’s case, he did the majority of his work away from the power play, with 13 of them coming in 5-on-5 play. Perry is tied with Patrick Marleau and Gary Roberts, as they all had four goals with the extra-skater advantage.

“He’s reliable because he’s smart. He can read the play,” Knoblauch said. “Obviously, the speed isn’t there like other players. But he thinks at it so much better than others. One [thing] Corey is really good at is scoring goals. This year being pretty much in a fourth-line role to score 19 goals. I’m not sure how many he had on the power play in the regular season, but it was very low. For him to do that in his role says a lot.”

STARTING HIS CAREER with the Anaheim Ducks gave Perry the platform to become one of the best players of his generation, win a Stanley Cup and become someone whom Oilers teammate Evander Kane said is a future Hall of Famer.

It also gave him a front-row seat to study how future Hall of Famers such as Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Teemu Selanne prolonged their careers.

Niedermayer played until he was 36. Pronger made it to 37, whereas Selanne became one of 12 players in NHL history to play until he was 43.

“When you’re 22 years old, you’re sitting back and just watching. You don’t really do any of it but you might do some of it,” Perry said. “But when you see them do it everyday and continue to do it and when you get to a certain age, you’ve got to put in the work. If you don’t, these young guys coming in are bigger, faster and stronger, and you’ve got to keep up and do it at a high level.”

Every generation of players has its life cycle. Perry was part of the famed 2003 NHL draft class that gave the league future stars such as Patrice Bergeron, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Pavelski, Zach Parise, Brent Seabrook, Eric Staal, Ryan Suter and Burns.

At one point, each of those aforementioned players were franchise cornerstones, and many won Stanley Cups. For the reverence they earned, they also understood what came with aging in a way previous generations didn’t quite encounter in the same way.

The group entered the NHL at a time in which younger players didn’t receive the most minutes, nor were they paid the most money. It’s a complete contrast to the contemporary landscape in which teams place a premium on younger players being trusted in key roles early, which then translates to signing bigger contracts.

A byproduct of that shift was that it heightened the expectations for players of a certain age to meet a physical threshold by placing a premium on body maintenance. It’s why many of them were able to play beyond age 35 by taking on various roles on their respective teams — and not necessarily on the top line or pairing.

Even then, there are limits. Parise and Pavelski retired at the end of last season not having won a Stanley Cup. Fleury, who won three Cups, announced his retirement this season. Burns, Perry and Suter are still active. So what’s the secret?

“It’s the off-ice work. It’s dietary. It’s everything,” Perry said. “It’s just about doing those different things that you can to keep your body in the best shape.”

Corey Perry tips in power-play goal for the Oilers

Corey Perry gets the Oilers on the board with a power-play goal in the second period.

Kane, who turns 34 in August, said that as someone on the back half of his career, he’s starting to understand that age is just a number. But, there are advantages to having older players in a dressing room because of their range of experiences.

Over the past two years, the Oilers have been the oldest team in the NHL. Elite Prospects lists them as having an average age of 30, while last season’s team averaged 29.2 years. Possessing that much experience has fed into a blueprint in which 11 of the players that the Oilers dressed in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals have more than 70 games of playoff experience.

Four Oilers — Darnell Nurse, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl and McDavid — have combined to appear in 342 playoff games. Perry has 227 games of postseason experience.

Another detail that the 6-foot-3 and 205-pound Perry provides to the Oilers is size. The Oilers are the fifth-tallest and fifth-heaviest team in the NHL. The team that was tallest and heaviest this season was the Vegas Golden Knights — a club that the Oilers beat in five games in order to advance to the Western Conference finals.

“With Pears, he’s been really good and really good in front of the net,” Kane said. “He’s been scoring some big, key goals at key moments for us which is obviously huge. He’s a guy that’s going to be in the Hall of Fame someday, right? He’s been a superstar player in the league for some time.

“When you have that type of pedigree and you’ve been in the league that long, you understand how to play the game and when you have different skill sets, not just one, you’re able to contribute in different ways and he’s able to do that.”

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Stars-Oilers Game 3 preview: Which team wins this pivotal showdown?

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5 hours ago

May 25, 2025

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Stars-Oilers Game 3 preview: Which team wins this pivotal showdown?

May 25, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

We’ve got a series, folks! The Edmonton Oilers rallied back from a 6-3 loss in Game 1 in dominant fashion, winning Game 2 over the Dallas Stars 3-0.

That sets up a pivotal Game 3 in the Western Conference finals Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+), as both teams look to gain an edge.

Here are notes on the matchup from ESPN Research, as well as betting intel from ESPN BET:

More from Game 2: Recap | Grades

Matchup notes

Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers
Game 3 | 3 p.m. ET | ABC/ESPN+

With the series tied 1-1, the series winner odds on ESPN BET have flipped: The Oilers are now -140 favorites (previously +160), and the Stars are +120 (previously -190). The Oilers’ Cup winner odds are now +200 (+350 after Game 1), while the Stars’ are now +325 (+200 after Game 1). Connor McDavid (+300) has the second-shortest odds to win the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky tops that table at +250.

The Oilers are 9-2 in their past 11 games this postseason after beginning the playoffs 0-2 and have run their record to 3-2 in Games 2 of a conference finals/Stanley Cup semifinals after losing the series opener. The other wins were in 1987 and 1991.

The Stars were shut out for the fourth time this postseason. No team has ever been shut out four times prior to reaching the Stanley Cup Final. The most was three, done by the 1950 Detroit Red Wings, 1997 Red Wings, 2012 New Jersey Devils … and 2020 Stars.

By blanking the Stars in Game 2, Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner recorded a shutout in his first three wins of a postseason, the ninth goaltender to pull off that feat. The previous eight: Marty Turco in (2007, Stars), Nikolai Khabibulin (2004, Tampa Bay Lightning), Ed Belfour (2004, Toronto Maple Leafs), Patrick Lalime (2002, Ottawa Senators), Brent Johnson (2002, St. Louis Blues), Martin Brodeur (1995, Devils), Turk Broda (1950, Maple Leafs), Dave Kerr (1940, New York Rangers)

Leon Draisaitl and McDavid are the fourth set of teammates in the past 25 years with 20 points in consecutive postseasons, joining Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2008-09), Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel (Penguins, 2017-18) as well as Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point (Lightning, 2020-2021). The Penguins won the Cup in two of those seasons (2009, 2017), while the Lightning won in both 2020 and 2021.

Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard registered his 23rd career multipoint playoff game, all in the last four seasons. This is the most in a four-postseason span by a defenseman in Stanley Cup playoffs history — the old record was 22, by current Oilers assistant coach Paul Coffey.

Stars winger Mikko Rantanen failed to score a goal for the fifth consecutive game after scoring nine in a previous six-game span this postseason. The five-game goalless drought is Rantanen’s second-longest streak in his tenure with Dallas, behind a seven-game streak from March 14-26. Rantanen has one goal in seven games vs. the Oilers this season (two with Colorado, one with Carolina, four with Dallas).

Heading into Game 3, Miro Heiskanen has 13 career multipoint games in the playoffs, tied with Sergei Zubov for the most by a defenseman in North Stars/Stars franchise history.

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger is climbing the leaderboard for playoff wins by a U.S.-born netminder. His 32 are tied for fourth with Jon Casey and Frank Brimsek, behind Tom Barrasso (61), Jonathan Quick (49) and Mike Richter (41).

Scoring leaders

GP: 13 | G: 6 | A: 14

GP: 15 | G: 9 | A: 11

Sports

Which NL powerhouse has the edge? Sizing up 7 games in 14 days between the Dodgers and Mets

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5 hours ago

May 25, 2025

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Which NL powerhouse has the edge? Sizing up 7 games in 14 days between the Dodgers and Mets

Jorge Castillo
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Jorge Castillo

ESPN Staff Writer
Alden Gonzalez
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Alden Gonzalez

ESPN Staff Writer

May 23, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are about to see a whole lot of each other.

The defending World Series champions and the team they beat to win the National League pennant last fall play three games this weekend at Citi Field and four games at Dodger Stadium starting June 2. For those of you scoring at home, that’s seven matchups in a span of 14 days.

Both teams enter Friday’s opener in back-and-forth battles for first place in their respective divisions. How will their head-to-head play dictate the state of the NL East and West? Will they clash again come October? And who has the edge — both for now and if/when they cross paths in the playoffs?

ESPN MLB writers Jorge Castillo (based in New York) and Alden Gonzalez (based in Los Angeles) answer a few key questions about the Mets and Dodgers.

What has stood out most to you about each team’s strong start to the season?

Castillo: The starting rotation was identified as the Mets’ weakness before the season, especially after Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas sustained injuries during spring training. That has not been the case so far. Instead, the Mets own the best rotation ERA in the majors with a quintet of Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning toeing the rubber. The group has stumbled recently, and its innings total ranks in the bottom half of the majors. But the collective performance has allowed the Mets to overcome slow starts from various position players — most notably, Juan Soto.

Gonzalez: The emergence of three young players in particular: Dalton Rushing, Hyeseong Kim and Andy Pages. Rushing, the team’s most promising prospect outside of Roki Sasaki, torched Triple-A and prompted the Dodgers to cut ties with their longtime backup catcher, Austin Barnes. Kim, signed out of South Korea last offseason, did the same, then performed so well in the majors the Dodgers swallowed the remaining $13 million or so in Chris Taylor’s contract. Pages, meanwhile, went from being uncertain if he’d crack the Opening Day roster to establishing himself as an everyday player.

Their success underscores what has made the Dodgers the Dodgers: No matter how bloated their payroll, how poor their draft position or how often they trade prospects for veterans, they always seem to have that next wave coming.

Despite all the positives so far, what is your biggest concern about each team?

Castillo: Regression seems inevitable for the Mets’ starting rotation (unless it’s going to maintain an ERA under 3 all season). Add that to the recent bullpen injuries — namely losing A.J. Minter for the season — and the defense’s troubles, and run prevention could become a bigger issue for the Mets as the season progresses. Defensive lapses were apparent during last weekend’s Subway Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, when Mark Vientos made two errors that cost runs and Pete Alonso’s errant throw allowed the go-ahead run to score in the finale. Francisco Lindor, a perennial Gold Glove contender, hasn’t been himself at shortstop, and the corner outfield spots are below average. It’s a recipe that would call for more offense.

Gonzalez: When the Dodgers concluded their fourth homestand of the season earlier this week, 14 pitchers resided on their injured list — seven in the rotation, seven in the bullpen. Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Sasaki are all nursing shoulder injuries with nebulous timetables, severely compromising the rotation and forcing the bullpen to lead the majors in innings. That bullpen, meanwhile, is without four critical high-leverage options in Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates, leaving Dodgers manager Dave Roberts with few, if any, trusted right-handed options to hold leads late. Dodgers pitchers continue to get hurt at an alarming rate. And not even this team can overcome that rate of injury.

Who is one x-factor who could make or break each team’s season?

Castillo: Soto, by most standards, is not having a bad season at the plate. Many players would gladly take an OPS over .800. But he signed a $765 million contract to be one of the best hitters in the sport, and he’s been far from one of those. If Soto can unlock his usual form, and there’s nothing in his track record to suggest he won’t, the Mets’ lineup becomes a different animal. Soto, at his best, makes hitters around him better. He works pitchers. He shuffles and he swaggers. The Mets haven’t seen that version yet. The body language isn’t quite right and the production isn’t there. That’ll need to change for them to become legitimate pennant contenders in a loaded National League.

Gonzalez: Shohei Ohtani has been just as much an offensive force as he was last year, when he became the first full-time designated hitter to collect an MVP Award. But there’s a whole other half waiting to be unlocked. Ohtani is going through his pitching progression slowly. At this point it doesn’t seem as if he’ll join the rotation until sometime in July at the earliest — 22 months after his second UCL repair. The Dodgers backed him off his progression ahead of the season opener, they say, in hopes of not wearing him out and providing him with the best chance of being a factor in October. If he looks anything like he did on the mound from 2021 to 2023, he will be.

Who has tougher competition to win their division: The Mets in the NL East or the Dodgers in the NL West?

Castillo: The NL West has more playoff contenders (four to three), but the quality of competition in the NL East is better. The Philadelphia Phillies, the defending division champs, arguably have the best starting rotation in the majors with an experienced lineup that has been through it all. And the Atlanta Braves are back on track, reaching .500 after their ugly 0-7 start to the season, without much contribution from their two best players. Spencer Strider, activated from the injured list this week, has made only two starts. Ronald Acuna Jr. hasn’t played in a game yet. All three teams are real October threats.

Gonzalez: It’s the NL West, because that fourth legitimate playoff contender could end up making a big difference in a tight race. The Mets still have a combined 16 games remaining against the rebuilding Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins. The Dodgers can only beat up on the Colorado Rockies, who they’ll face 10 more times. And while the Phillies are great and the Braves are more dangerous than their record indicates, one can make a case for the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants all being just as good, if not better. Of even more relevance is what the Dodgers will face in the ensuing weeks — 26 straight games against teams with a winning record, with the last 10 coming against division rivals.

These teams play seven times in the next 14 days. Give us your prediction for the series and the stars.

Castillo: This is shaping up to be a battle between a struggling pitching staff (Dodgers) and a struggling offense (Mets). Let’s go with Dodgers 4, Mets 3, because the Dodgers have one more home game. The Dodgers’ big three of Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman will power them to a season series victory.

Gonzalez: Betts got off to a slow start offensively, but he recently unlocked something in his swing and has started to round back into form of late. He’ll put his imprint on these matchups, but the Mets will win most of the games for a simple reason: On days when Yoshinobu Yamamoto does not pitch, the Dodgers don’t really know what they’ll get from their starting pitchers.

Which pitching rotation will be better come October: The Dodgers’ star-studded but oft-injured group or the Mets’ currently producing but lesser-known starters?

Castillo: It’s not even Memorial Day. These rotations could look completely different come October. But, for now, I’ll take the Dodgers. They’re bound to have at least a few of those star pitchers healthy for the postseason. If not, something went terribly, terribly wrong.

Gonzalez: The Dodgers’ priority this offseason wasn’t Soto. It was Snell. They chased him early and lavished him with $182 million because they knew pairing Snell with Glasnow and Yamamoto would give them a devastating trio for October. If those three are available then, I’m taking the Dodgers. But there’s no telling if that will be the case.

If these teams earn a rematch of the 2024 NLCS this October, who are you taking and why?

Castillo: Assuming health, the Dodgers because they’re better in every department.

Gonzalez: The Mets played the Dodgers tough last year, then signed the new Ted Williams. The Dodgers beat them despite a shorthanded rotation, then added arguably the two most coveted starting pitchers in Snell and Sasaki. Now the Mets and Dodgers are separated by one game, with near-identical run differentials. More than four months of the regular season remain. I plead the Fifth.