MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Michael Irvin is back at another Miami game, wearing the same long-sleeved shirt, cargo pants and black lace-up boots he has sported at each game since a come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech to end September.
Football players are superstitious, and Miami is undefeated, so Irvin says he has no choice but to keep wearing the outfit, and to keep coming to games. His shirt has gained so much visibility over the last month, as cameras have panned to his exuberant outbursts and raucous cheering, that Miami has fielded questions from fans about where they can buy one like it. The truth is, the white Dri-Fit shirt — complete with orange and green sleeves and an ibis on the back — came from his closet and is not for sale in the team shop.
Thirty minutes before Miami kicks off against Duke this past Saturday, Irvin stands with fellow Canes greats Lamar Thomas and Andre Johnson, inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in August. Then Mike Rumph, who played on the 2001 national championship team and works on the Miami staff, comes over to say hello. Soon others follow: Frank Gore, Duane Starks, Daryl Jones, Rohan Marley.
Different game but same story: Miami alums showing up in full force as the 9-0 Hurricanes make a run at a championship this season.
“When I was playing, that’s how it was, all the guys would come back,” says Johnson, who lives in Texas. “They set an example for me. So I knew when it was my time, I would want to come back and show support. I had a free weekend, so I was like, ‘I’m going to catch a game.'”
Ray Lewis, Clinton Portis, Reggie Wayne, Greg Olsen, Bernie Kosar and many others have been back, too, part of a concerted effort coach Mario Cristobal has made since his return in 2022 to reconnect Miami alums with the team. This past spring, nearly 300 returned for alumni weekend around the spring game.
“Look at the old games in the ’80s and ’90s, and look at the sidelines, at how littered it was with real-deal dudes,” said Cristobal, who played at Miami from 1989 to ’92. ” As a player, I would kill to get over there and watch these guys go at it.”
The same thing is playing out in real time this season. Miami has not won a championship since 2001, but every win this season has brought a little more hope that maybe this will be the year. The alums who set the standard have been waiting decades to see a season like this one.
There has always been a suite reserved for alums for each Miami home game. But this year, many former players have decided to come down to the sideline to watch.
“All the past coaches told us to come back but never showed us the love Mario has,” says Thomas, who played with Cristobal at Miami. “He has embraced us.”
And nobody wears the emotions that come with seeing your alma mater rise again quite like Irvin.
Already this season, cameras have panned to him celebrating with Miami defensive ends coach Jason Taylor after the last-second win over Virginia Tech, laying on the turf in the late stages of a comeback win over Cal, embracing players against Louisville and celebrating against Florida State.
“I’m high intensity and animated, but it’s the emotions and the passion,” says Irvin, who starred as a receiver at Miami from 1985 to ’87 before an NFL Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys. “You’re not going to accomplish anything without that passion. The passion is what pushes you past the pain no matter what the deal is. This team is learning that.”
That takes time, of course. So does building a championship program. Miami had another start like this one in 2017, opening 10-0 with huge home wins over Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, during which alums and fans also came out in full force. But that team lost its final three to close out the season, including a 38-3 defeat to Clemson in the ACC championship game.
That season proved to be an anomaly — it’s the only 10-win season Miami has had since 2003. This year, though, feels different than 2017. Alums can sense that. It is why Irvin grows emotional when he recounts conversations he has had with players throughout the course of the season.
“One of the kids said to me, ‘We love coming out of the tunnel seeing you here,'” Irvin said, wiping away tears. “It means something. We talked for years about the importance of getting back to it on the football field and now that they’re doing it, it’s important for us to show up. I don’t care who it is. You’ve got to show up.”
As soon as the game starts, Irvin takes his customary spot along the sideline. Emotions firmly in check. But he soon gets antsy, and is on the move, walking to the opposite side of the field to follow the Miami offense. When Xavier Restrepo catches a 34-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward to open the scoring, Irvin proceeds to run down the sideline, high-fiving players.
After going up 14-0, Irvin greets every player coming off the field with a, “Way to go, baby!”
Things start to get a little more tense as Duke jumps out to a 28-17 lead in the third quarter. Irvin watches intently from the sideline, alternating between biting his nails, taking his glasses off, crouching, taking a knee and putting his arms on his head.
He shouts more encouragement: “Let’s go eat!” and “We will get points!”
Finally, a shift: Restrepo scores on a 3-yard pass from Ward to cut the gap to three, then freshman O.J. Frederique Jr. gets a crucial interception to give Miami the ball back. Irvin runs over to Frederique, sitting on the bench, and shouts, “Way to make a play for us! Way to make a play for us!”
“I tell people you can only hope to contain Mike — you can’t stop him,” Thomas says with a laugh. “Mike is just like that. He loves the U. The passion that we have for that school is undeniable. We love it.”
As Miami drives down the field, Irvin grows more animated with every play — stomping, crouching, gesturing and yelling to no one in particular. When Elija Lofton scores to put Miami ahead, Irvin raises his arms in triumph.
But the game is not over yet. After Jacolby George scores off a 49-yard touchdown pass from Ward, Irvin gives him a hug on the sideline.
Restrepo scores again, this time on a 66-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Irvin jumps up and down on the sideline, and high-fives new school president Joe Echevarria. Next comes longtime Coral Gables chief of police Ed Hudak, a fixture on the Miami sideline for decades. As Restrepo comes off the field with running back Mark Fletcher Jr., Irvin hugs them both.
Miami now leads 46-31, and Restrepo has broken the all-time Miami record for career receiving yards. Irvin takes out his phone and poses with Restrepo for a selfie.
“He just said [I was the] best receiver ever in Canes history,” Restrepo said. “He put me on top of that list, he congratulated me. I have so much love for that guy. We see greatness right in front of our face, and they’re very interactive with us. That’s why you come to the U.”
Players like Restrepo also came to Miami to help get the program back to where it belongs. Growing up in South Florida, restoring the tradition and legacy has always been important to him. When last season ended, with his best friend, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, in the transfer portal, Restrepo could have decided to leave.
But he is big on loyalty, and he is big on staying until the job is finished. Miami has never won an ACC championship. But a win every week brings them one step closer to that goal. Restrepo did not work long hours as a child in his backyard, on his high school field, or at Miami to let that slip away. When he saw the Hurricanes had signed Ward and assembled its most talented team since his arrival in 2020, he envisioned the possibilities.
He and his teammates put in the work. The alums who were there in the spring, who watch practice, who have attended games, take great pride in what they are seeing: A team that is holding each other accountable, pushing themselves, with the leaders and depth to get the job done. Mostly, this team reminds them of themselves.
They will keep coming back. Johnson, who had a front-row seat to watch Ward in the spring, says, “Winning cures everything,” Johnson said. “I remember seeing Cam, and I knew we had a great player at quarterback. It’s like anything: When you have a guy that has that impact at that position, you can go a long way.”
“We’re a different brand,” Irvin says. “People wait on Miami. To see this, now? It’s everything.”
Either way, Edmonton carries a 1-0 series lead into Game 2 on Friday night (8 p.m. ET, TNT/Max). Will the Oilers notch another W before the series heads cross-continent to South Florida? Or will the “Comeback Cats” strike back to square things up?
Here are notes on the matchup from ESPN Research, as well as betting intel from ESPN BET:
Following their win in Game 1, the Oilers are now -225 to win the Stanley Cup, with the Panthers adjusted to +185, per ESPN BET. The top of the Conn Smythe Trophy leaderboard (for MVP of the playoffs) has Edmonton’s Connor McDavid at -175, followed by Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky (+375), Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (+450) and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov (+1000).
The winner of Game 1 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final has won 76% of those series (65-20), including the past four and 10 of the past 13.
The Oilers registered 46 shots on goal in Game 1, their most in a Stanley Cup Final game; the previous high was 43 in Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers in 1987.
Florida has scored 51 road goals this postseason, which sets a new Stanley Cup playoffs record, besting the 1993 Los Angeles Kings‘ mark of 49. They are also the first team in NHL history to score three or more goals in nine straight road games in a single postseason.
Draisaitl — who didn’t score at all in the 2024 Cup Final — scored his third overtime goal this postseason, tying the single postseason record held by Mel Hill in 1939, Maurice Richard in 1951, Corey Perry in 2017 and Matthew Tkachuk in 2023.
Defenseman Mattias Ekholm is the 20th different Oilers player with a goal this postseason, tied for third most in a single postseason in Stanley Cup playoff history, and one shy of the mark set by the 2019 Boston Bruins and 1987 Flyers.
Stuart Skinner earned his 26th career playoff win, which breaks a tie with Bill Ranford for second in Oilers history, trailing only Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr, with 74.
Florida’s Sam Bennett scored his 11th and 12th goals this postseason, which breaks the Panthers’ single postseason record held by Matthew Tkachuk in 2023 and Carter Verhaeghe in 2024. Eleven of his goals have been on the road this postseason, which ties Mark Scheifele in 2018 for the most road goals in a single postseason all time.
Brad Marchand scored a power-play goal in Game 1. He’s the only player with at least one power-play goal in each of the past eight postseasons.
Bobrovsky made 42 saves in a losing effort, the second-most saves by a Panthers goalie in a Stanley Cup Final game behind John Vanbiesbrouck, who had 55 saves in 1996 Game 4 vs. the Colorado Avalanche (which went to triple overtime).
Scoring leaders
GP: 17 | G: 6 | A: 22
GP: 18 | G: 12 | A: 6
Best bets for Game 2
Sergei Bobrovsky over 24.5 total saves (-110): After stopping 33 of 36 shots in regulation, the Panthers’ starting netminder went on to deny another nine of 10 in the extra frame of an exceptionally lively Game 1. Only two of Edmonton’s 18 skaters failed to register at least one shot on net, with six defenders accounting for a total of 21. Projecting the Oilers to come out firing once more in front of the home crowd at Rogers Place, Bobrovsky should be in for another busy evening. He just needs to stop 25 of them.
Eetu Luostarinen over 3.5 total hits (-134): Through the 16 full games he’s played this postseason, the physical forward is averaging 4.6 hits per contest. Only teammate Sam Bennett is throwing his body around more. After logging more than 21 minutes in Game 1, there’s less concern that the previously banged up Luostarinen is fit enough to wreak such havoc. Plus, no doubt he’ll notice Oilers forward Evander Kane registered nine hits in the opener. That little extra competitive incentive never hurts, especially following a loss.
Corey Perry over 0.5 total points (Even): Maybe the point streak ends at three games. Or perhaps the just-turned 40-year-old will continue to reap the benefits of replacing an injured Zach Hyman on a top line and power play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. — Victoria Matiash
EDMONTON, Alberta — When Matthew Tkachuk looks around Edmonton before a Stanley Cup Final game, he believes the Florida Panthers aren’t just battling the Oilers.
“It’s us against the 20-plus guys you’re playing against, the 20,000 that are in the rink, the 20,000 that are outside the rink. It’s just us against everybody,” he said Thursday. “That’s what makes playing on the road so fun and rewarding when you can get a win.”
Tkachuk’s Panthers trail the Oilers 1-0 in the series after Wednesday night’s 4-3 overtime loss in Edmonton. It was only the third loss on the road in 11 playoff games for the Panthers, who started each of their previous three playoff series away from South Florida.
“We’ve said it a bunch. It’s that ‘us against the world’ mindset, but you especially feel it being down in a series,” Tkachuk said. “Your back’s not necessarily against the wall, but you treat it as a big-time, must-win [game] in a hostile environment. I feel like that’s when we’re at our best. So, hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”
This Stanley Cup Final rematch is already feeling different than last season’s, which saw the Panthers build a 3-0 series lead. While defending champion Florida believes it has improved since last season, Tkachuk noted that this was a different Oilers team than the one the Panthers defeated in seven games.
“I think everybody saw last night, including us, they are a very, very, very good team. They have some dangerous players. Even when their top guys are playing together, they have other lines that can play. That hasn’t always been the case there,” he said. “They defend hard, block shots, their goalie’s playing well. They’re better. We’re better. I think it’s going to be a great series.”
One point of concern for the Panthers after Game 1 was how they squandered a two-goal lead over the Oilers, who rallied to tie the score in the third before Leon Draisaitl’s overtime goal ended it. Florida had been 31-0 under head coach Paul Maurice in the playoffs when leading after the first period or the second period in a game.
“We went through some video and saw the things we can do better through the neutral zone. Maybe a little bit more offensive zone time,” said defenseman Seth Jones. “But they played a good game. They were solid defensively. They blocked a lot of shots. We knew that coming in that there’s not a lot of space out there, not a lot of plays to be made, really. So when we do get those opportunities, we have to try to hold on to the puck and capitalize.”
Tkachuk said the Panthers could be more consistent on the forecheck and earn more zone time to keep the Oilers from counterattacking.
“We did some really good things that we’re going to just have to do for longer stretches of time tomorrow,” Tkachuk said. “They definitely finished better than we did in the game and probably earned that win. They dictated more of the game than we did. It is what it is. Back to the drawing board. Just try to play better than them tomorrow.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Friday night in Edmonton. The winner of Game 1 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final has won the series 76% of the time. The Game 1 winner has won 10 of the past 13 Stanley Cup Final series, including the past four.
The Boston Bruins announced Thursday that they’ve hired Marco Sturm as their head coach, a move that now means every NHL team has a bench boss in place for next season.
Sturm was one of the names who had been long connected with the Bruins, among other teams, in a cycle in which up to eight franchises were seeking a head coach.
He becomes the third coach the Bruins have had since November, when they fired current St. Louis Blues coach Jim Montgomery. The Bruins fired Montgomery after winning eight of their first 20 games, elevating then-assistant Joe Sacco, who was named interim coach for the rest of the season.
Marco’s coming home.
Marco Sturm has been named the 30th head coach in #NHLBruins history.
Sacco, who had been an assistant since the 2014-15 season, took over a team that finished 33-39-10 and was tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for the fewest points in the Eastern Conference. It was also the first time the Bruins missed the playoffs since the 2015-16 season.
There was no indication in the Bruins’ statement about Sturm as to whether Sacco would remain with the franchise.
“Throughout this process, our goal was to identify a coach who could uphold our strong defensive foundation while helping us evolve offensively,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said. “We were also looking for a communicator and leader — someone who connects with players, develops young talent, and earns the respect of the room. Marco impressed us at every step with his preparation, clarity, and passion.”
A veteran of 938 NHL games, Sturm played five of his 15 seasons with the Bruins from 2005 through 2010. He had four 20-goal campaigns for the Bruins in a career that saw him play an instrumental role in helping establish a pipeline of German players to the NHL.
Sturm is Germany’s career leader in NHL games played and is second in points behind Edmonton Oilers superstar center and Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl.
Sturm retired after the 2012-13 season in Germany and transitioned to the next step in 2015-16 when he became the general manager for Germany’s under-20 men’s national team and the head coach for the men’s senior national team. Sturm guided the Nationalmannschaft to a silver medal at the 2018 Olympic Games. It was the first time since 1976 that a German men’s team made the gold medal game and appeared on the podium.
Sturm’s work with Germany led to him becoming an assistant with the Los Angeles Kings. He served in that role for three seasons until the 2022-23 season in which he was named the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
Sturm, who is 46, guided the Reign to the playoffs in every season with the club. He led them to a 43-win season, the most they’ve had under Sturm, before they were eliminated in the first round of the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs.
Now that they have a coach in place, the Bruins can move on to other areas they must address. PuckPedia projects they’ll have $26.2 million in salary cap space to improve upon a team that was 28th in goals per game, was seventh in terms of most goals allowed per game, and had a power play in the bottom five that matched a penalty kill that was in the bottom 10.
“I’m incredibly honored to be named head coach of the Boston Bruins,” Sturm said in a statement. “I want to thank [Bruins CEO and alternate governor] Charlie Jacobs and the Jacobs family, [team president] Cam Neely, and Don Sweeney for trusting me with this opportunity. Boston has always held a special place in my heart, and I know how much this team means to the city and to our fans. I’ve felt that passion as a player, and I can’t wait to be behind the bench and feel it again.”