Best negotiated outcome

Three Stars 1. Tyler Toffoli , Montreal Canadiens. This signing has worked out better than Montreal could have ever hoped. With his two goals on Friday night — the only two goals in 2-1 Montreal win over the Calgary Flames — Toffoli topped the 20-goal mark, giving him 21 for the season in only 38 games. Going back to the 2019-20 season Toffoli has now scored 29 goals in 44 games since being traded away from the Los Angeles Kings. This has been one of the best free agent signings of the year. Montreal’s win gives it a six-point lead over the Flames for the fourth playoff spot in the North Division while still having three games in hand. Montreal has to be happy with its playoff chances at this point. 2. Jeremy Swayman , Boston Bruins. With Jaroslav Halak still sidelined, Swayman has stepped into the lineup and been absolutely sensational for the Bruins. He stopped all 25 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the New York Islanders on Friday to record his first career shutout. … [Read more...] about The Buzzer: Swayman stays hot for Bruins; Toffoli leads Canadiens

NBC’s coverage of the 2020-21 NHL season continues with Saturday’s matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. Penguins-Sabres stream coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here . It might be an understatement to say the 2020-21 season has been a major disappointment for the Sabres. After making a couple of big splashes in the offseason to add Taylor Hall and Eric Staal to the lineup, pretty much everything went wrong for the roster once the puck dropped on the season and things quickly devolved into chaos. The Sabres enter Saturday’s game against the Penguins with the league’s worst record and are set to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 10th year in a row. The organization probably needs a rebuild to recover from its previous rebuild. Jack Eichel is done for the season. Hall and Staal were traded before the trade deadline. They remaining roster is simply playing out the season … [Read more...] about NHL On NBC: How coaching change is helping Sabres finish strong

Tommy Lloyd has secured his first pledge as head coach at Arizona. This morning, four-star big man Dylan Anderson has announced that he will stay close to home and commit to Lloyd and the Wildcats. The 7-foot product of Gilbert (Ariz.) chose Arizona over the likes of Gonzaga , Kansas , Michigan , and North Carolina . The Arizona men's basketball program has been recruiting Anderson for some time as they extended the big man an offer while he was in the eighth grade. " It was a pretty great accomplishment getting that  offer because I was in the 8th grade and was offered by a big-time D-I school," Anderson said in a previous interview with Jason Scheer. "The big message they portrayed since then is that they know what type of player I can be to any program and they want to try their best to keep an Arizona player at Arizona.” It does not come as a surprise that Anderson is Lloyd's first commit as head coach of the Wildcats. Anderson's father expressed to … [Read more...] about Four-star center Dylan Anderson commits to Arizona

There are 27 teams in this Major League Soccer season and there’s enough intrigue around the new season to justify at least one thought on the task at hand for every team from Atlanta to Vancouver (unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of time). [ MORE: 2021 MLS schedule ] Which, by the way, is one of the longest road trips in MLS, the equivalent of going from Old Trafford to the Camp Nou, returning to Manchester, and then doing half of a second trip to Barcelona. [ MORE: European transfer prospects in MLS ] That’s not as much of a thing this MLS season, though, where the Western Conference and Eastern Conference are staying apart during the regular season, and the league’s three Canadian teams are posting up with American hosts for the start of the season (Vancouver will play early home matches at Real Salt Lake, Toronto at Orlando and Tampa, and Montreal at Inter Miami). More MLS Barnsley has ‘first right’ to sign USMNT’s Dike, fee not... CONCACAF … [Read more...] about A six-pack of MLS questions as the 2021 season is upon us

Going NASCAR Cup Series racing is never easy. Even with Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Jordan on your side. New organization 23XI Racing and driver Bubba Wallace began their partnership with much fanfare, but are still seeking their first top-10 finish after eight races this season. However, there have been signs of progress over the opening stretch. Wallace and his No. 23 Toyota have shown top-10 speed in several races, including last week at Martinsville, where he led a career-high 23 laps before finishing 16th. Wallace agrees that the results could be a little better. But in his mind, those will come as both he and 23XI master the little things necessary to one day run with the Cup elites. “We’re figuring out what we need to secure those spots earlier in the race and go fight for something much greater than we have been,” Wallace said Friday during a media teleconference. To that end, maximizing his car’s potential is on Wallace’s mind as he heads to Richmond … [Read more...] about Learning process continues for Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing