October 5, 2024 - Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The 2024-25 NHL season is underway and ahead of us is a wild ride until the Stanley Cup is claimed.

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Between now and then, there will be all kinds of thrills, surprises and disappointments. As the campaign begins, here are five questions we’ll be tracking.

– Can the Edmonton Oilers take the final step?

The Connor McDavid-led Oilers came so close to completing a huge comeback in the Stanley Cup Final, reaching Game 7 after dropping the first three clashes to the Florida Panthers. That experience, combined with shrewd additions in forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, gives Edmonton every reason to believe its first Cup title since 1990 is possible.

The Oilers have their share of question marks, especially on defense, but it will be no surprise if McDavid, the league’s most dominant player, adds Cup champion to his resume.

– Can the Florida Panthers repeat?

Speaking of the Panthers, Florida paid a heavy price for the crown, with key defensemen Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson departing via free agency, along with forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Kevin Stenlund, Ryan Lomberg and Nick Cousins.

The Panthers have a pair of pending unrestricted free agents in Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett and a restricted free agent in Aaron Ekblad. That is an issue for later, but before then the Panthers have a golden shot to hoist the Cup again.

– Will Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky’s record?

Ovechkin needs 42 goals to surpass Gretzky’s career goal-scoring mark of 894. Can he become the league’s all-time sniper this season? As great has he has been, it appears something of a long shot. Last season, Ovechkin managed only nine goals in the first 44 games before a second-half tear got him to 31.

Ovechkin, 39, has two seasons remaining on his contract and should take the mantle before retiring.

– Whose run of futility will end?

The Buffalo Sabres have missed the playoffs in a league-record 13 consecutive seasons. The Detroit Red Wings last reached the postseason in 2015-16 and the Ottawa Senators in 2016-17. Technically, the Utah Hockey Club, formerly the Arizona Coyotes, reached the playoffs in 2020, but that was because of the expanded playoffs when the league started up following the COVID-19 stoppage. The franchise last made the playoffs during a full season in the 2011-12 campaign.

Can any of them reach the second season? All should be in the mix down to the wire, which is good news for the league. Not all will make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but one or two making a giant leap could be in the cards.

– Which teams are due to step backward?

Every season, one or more clubs take a tumble. Unquestionably, somebody will. Here are our best bets.

The Vancouver Canucks claimed last season’s Pacific Division crown, but it will be a surprise if they repeat, especially with goaltender Thatcher Demko still battling a knee injury that knocked him out of the playoffs.

The Winnipeg Jets were atop the league in January last season, but the offseason was far from kind to their depth, at both forward and defense.

There are other teams who likely will not be able to replicate last season’s success, namely the regular-season champion New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, but don’t bank on either of them falling from the playoff picture.

The Jets and Canucks, however, are prime candidates to suffer the biggest drops in the standings.

–Field Level Media

NASHVILLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Southeastern Conference announced on it will fine both Vanderbilt University and the University of Arkansas for “violations of the league’s access to competition area policy,” or in layman’s terms, for not preventing fans from storming the field Saturday.

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Vanderbilt (3-2, 1-1 SEC) scored the biggest upset in school history, taking down a No. 1 team in Alabama for the first time ever, 40-35. Meanwhile, Arkansas (4-2, 2-1) also recorded a top-five upset (its first in 15 years) by defeating then-No. 4 Tennessee 19-14 in Fayetteville, Ark.

In the wake of both upsets, as is customary in big wins, fans charged the field to celebrate with their teams. In Vanderbilt’s case, the fans took down the goalpost and carried it out of the stadium, eventually depositing it in the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville.

After fans took to the field in Arkansas, Volunteers defensive lineman Omari Thomas was attempting to exit but was seen on video shoving a male fan into a female and both fell to the ground.

Thomas apologized on Sunday.

“I apologize for my actions during the chaotic postgame scene,” Thomas wrote on social media. “Even though we got run into multiple times by fans while trying to exit the field, that doesn’t condone my actions or define my character. I sincerely apologize. I wish Arkansas and their fans all the best.”

Per policy that was revised in 2023, Vanderbilt received a fine of $100,000 as a first-time offender. Arkansas was levied a $250,000 penalty for its second offense. The Razorbacks’ first offense was last November during men’s basketball season when fans stormed the court following an 80-75 victory over No. 9 Duke.

For conference games, the fines are paid to the opposing institutions.

Alabama dropped to No. 7 after the loss. Tennessee fell to No. 8.

–Field Level Media