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Bruins Break Habs for 6-4 Victory

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Bruins scored four consecutive goals and turned around a 2-1 deficit to hold on and defeat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4, on Thursday night. It was Boston’s ninth consecutive victory in the club’s home-opener.

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Mark Kastelic scored his first pair as a member of the Bruins, including a key insurance marker with 4:00 remaining that halted a two-goal Montreal rally.

Cole Koepke and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and two assists, while Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak (one goal, one assist) each scored their second goal in as many games.

McAvoy became only the second defenseman in Bruins history to score in the first two games of a season.

Nikita Zadorov and Brandon Carlo also had two assists apiece.

Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves in his first start since signing an eight-year, $66 million extension with the Bruins on Sunday.

Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher scored twice and Cole Caufield tallied a goal.

Also for the Canadiens, Boston University product Lane Hutson registered his first multi-point game in his fourth career contest with two assists, while Oliver Kapanen had his first NHL point.

Cayden Primeau (23 saves) lost his season debut.

The Bruins took a 3-2 lead with 1:37 left before the first intermission as Lindholm tipped Zadorov’s point shot through the legs of Primeau.

Benefitting from Zacha’s hard work down low, Pastrnak ripped home a shot in the slot with 4:04 remaining in the second.

Only 55 seconds later, Koepke sprung John Beecher into the offensive zone before following the play and banging home the puck that was left loose to make it 5-2.

Josh Anderson got one back for Montreal at 9:05 of the third, sending a long shot through traffic that deflected past Swayman.

Gallagher tallied from the slot with 4:17 left before Kastelic struck quickly thereafter on an attempted driving pass that deflected off a defender.

The visitors drew first blood 8:26 into the game when Gallagher tipped in a Joel Armia shot.

McAvoy glided across to the top of the left circle to fire in Boston’s game-tying wrister at 11:04.

Montreal regained the lead only 1:14 later as an uncovered Caufield scored a loose puck that stayed at the left post following Kaiden Guhle’s point shot. The star winger now has goals in back-to-back games to begin consecutive seasons.

Kastelic netted the 2-2 goal at 13:24, slotting home a slick wrister after Zadorov slid the puck down from the left point to the top of the circle.

–Field Level Media

Down Goes Draft Kings

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Online gambling institution DraftKings was back online Thursday afternoon after a widespread outage that impacted its sports betting platform for several hours.

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Beginning around 2:00am (ET). Thursday morning, odds across all sports in each of the states in which DraftKings operates were unavailable and replaced by an error message.

“We are aware that customers may be experiencing issues with certain features on our Sportsbook,” the company’s customer support team posted on the social media platform X at 8:29 a.m. ET. “This is currently affecting players in all jurisdictions. We are working on resolving this as quickly as possible.”

The company posted on X that “sportsbook functionality has been fully restored,” at 2:13 p.m. ET.

The 12-hour outage came on a sports day that includes the “Thursday Night Football” game between San Francisco and Seattle to begin Week 6 of the NFL schedule, along with a pair of Major League Baseball playoff games and Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

While numerous DraftKings users took to social media to vent, the issue did not have a significant impact on the company’s stock, which was down only 0.34 percent as of 3:00pm (ET).

–Field Level Media

Bruins Look for 9th Home Opening “W”

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Bruins want to turn the page.

Two nights after largely being dominated in a 6-4 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Boston will aim for its ninth straight home-opening win on Thursday when the Montreal Canadiens visit.

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Defenseman Charlie McAvoy recorded a goal and an assist and was one of four Bruins to find the net on Tuesday, but Florida’s four-goal first period was too much to overcome.

“We weren’t good enough in so many areas,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “They were. Their execution was really good and ours was really poor. I can’t pinpoint why we looked slow, but we looked slow the entire game.”

An eventful offseason saw Boston bring in the likes of center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov, but the biggest splash came Sunday when now-true No. 1 goaltender Jeremy Swayman signed an eight-year, $66 million extension.

Boston dealt Linus Ullmark, the co-No. 1 goalie last season, to the Ottawa Senators in June.

Joonas Korpisalo, who was acquired in the Ullmark trade, made 29 saves at Florida in what Montgomery thought was a solid opening effort.

The problems were “in front of him,” according to the coach.

“You can’t give up four backdoor tap-ins and expect your goalie to make save after save,” Montgomery said. “… We weren’t good enough.”

Montgomery had not announced his Thursday starting goaltender. Swayman did not see any preseason action.

The Tuesday loss was Boston’s first in a season opener since 2018 against another reigning Cup winner, the Washington Capitals. Perhaps some motivation?

“It’s a symbol of what every team in the league is trying to achieve, but at the end of the day, we’re more concerned about the foundation that we build within the group, with the practice and the way we’re going to prepare from the day forward,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said.

The Canadiens visit Boston for the second leg of a back-to-back following a 1-0 home win against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Sam Montembeault made 48 saves — the most ever in an NHL season-opening shutout — while ending Toronto’s 227-game streak of scoring at least one goal.

Despite closing the preseason with a four-game losing streak and seeing the power play go 0-for-30 through six exhibition games, coach Martin St. Louis was largely pleased with his team’s level entering Wednesday, and he had his feelings confirmed.

“This is a very close group, a proud group and this game was an opportunity to show that,” St. Louis said. “This was the first game of the season, and you don’t get to go back and replay it. … There’s a lot of positives.”

There is no longer a three-man rotation in Montreal’s net. Montembeault signed a new three-year deal before Jake Allen was dealt to the New Jersey Devils at last trade deadline.

“I think I showed (last season) that I can be consistent,” Montembeault said. “That’s what I want to do every game again this year. Every time I get the chance to be in net, I want to give the team a chance to win.”

Montembeault, who will share the net with Cayden Primeau, came through on Wednesday. His performance allowed Cole Caufield’s first-period power-play goal to stand up.

Caufield, 23, scored in his third consecutive opener, then pointed to the sky to honor the late Johnny Gaudreau, whose former No. 13 he is now wearing. Gaudreau, a Columbus Blue Jackets star, died in an accident in August at age 31.

“(Gaudreau) paved the way for smaller players and proved we had a future in this game at the highest level,” Caufield posted on Instagram following the tragedy last month. “I will forever be grateful to him for inspiring me and others.”

Montreal defenseman Jayden Struble (upper-body injury) did not play on Wednesday.

–Field Level Media

Patriots Caught by Dolphins in OT

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FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Alec Ingold rushed for a go-ahead 3-yard touchdown with 4:24 remaining to lift the Miami Dolphins to a 15-10 win over the New England Patriots on a gorgeous football Sunday afternoon in Massachusetts.

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Miami (2-3) couldn’t cash in on a two-point conversion after Ingold scored, but it didn’t matter, as New England failed to find the end zone on its ensuing drive.

It looked like Jacoby Brissett threw a 12-yard touchdown pass with 1:03 to go, but Ja’Lynn Polk failed to get both feet down in bounds. The Patriots (1-4) then came up empty on a fourth-and-15.

New England ended up getting the ball back with 29 seconds left and worked down to the Miami 11, but the clock hit zeros as the offense was trying to scramble back to the line of scrimmage.

Jaylen Wright racked up 86 yards on 13 carries for the Dolphins, who totaled 193 rushing yards as a team. Wright took on a larger role in the backfield after the Dolphins lost De’Von Achane to a concussion in the first quarter.

Tyler Huntley completed 18 of 31 passes for 194 yards. He was picked off once. Tyreek Hill hauled in six catches for 69 yards.

Brissett finished with 160 yards on 18-of-34 passing. Rhamondre Stevenson collected 89 yards and a TD on 12 carries.

Joey Slye’s 38-yard field goal gave New England a 10-3 edge with 11:01 remaining in the third quarter. Jason Sanders answered with a pair of field goals — from 32 and 47 yards out — to make it a one-point game entering the fourth.

Sanders provided Miami with its first lead of the season when he capped the game’s opening drive with a 54-yard field goal.

New England later made the most of a Christian Gonzalez interception that set it up at the Dolphins 43. Four plays after the pick, Stevenson rushed for a 33-yard touchdown to put the Patriots ahead 7-3 with 3:55 left in the first quarter.

Points were nowhere to be found for the remainder of the first half, mainly due to the struggles of both sides’ special teams units.

Miami had a punt blocked, botched a snap on a field-goal attempt and watched Sanders miss a 41-yarder. Slye also missed the mark, pushing a 33-yard field-goal attempt wide right.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Tie 8-Year Knot with Swayman

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Boston General Manager Don Sweeney announced that the Bruins have re-signed goaltender Jeremy Swayman to an 8-year contract extension through the 2031-32 season with an annual NHL cap hit of $8.25 million.

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During the 2023-24 season, Swayman appeared in 44 games with the Bruins, compiling an overall record of 25-10-8 with a 2.53 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. In 12 playoff games, he recorded a 2.15 goals against average and a .933 save percentage.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound goalkeeper has played in 132 career NHL games, all with Boston, posting an overall record of 79-33-15 with a 2.34 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. He ranks fifth in franchise history in goals against average and fourth in save percentage.

Among active NHL goaltenders with a minimum of 25 games played in 2023-24, Swayman ranked in the top-10 in goals against average (8th) and save percentage (T-5th).

The 25-year-old was selected to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game through the All-Star Fan Vote. In February 2024, he tallied a career-high 43 saves in the team’s 4-3 shootout win against the Dallas Stars.

In 2022, Swayman was named to the 2021-22 NHL All-Rookie Team after ranking first among rookie goaltenders with a minimum of 25 games played in wins (23), goals against average (2.41) and save percentage (.914).

The Anchorage, Alaska native was originally selected by Boston in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

BC Eagles Win One #ForWelles

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CHESTNUT HILL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos’ 42-yard touchdown pass to Lewis Bond with 1:28 left in regulation propelled the BC Eagles to a 23-19 win over previously unbeaten Michigan State on Saturday night in Boston. Bond finished with 102 yards on six receptions to lead the Eagles (3-1), catching the game-winning toss over two defenders’ reach and walking untouched into the end zone.

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Michigan State (3-1) moved past midfield on the following drive as quarterback Aidan Chiles (17-of-35, 241 yards) completed three straight passes, but his third interception landed in Max Tucker’s hands in the back of the end zone to clinch the win for the hosts.

Treshaun Ward logged 102 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries to lead the Boston College rushing attack. Castellanos was 10-of-16 passing for 140 yards and the deciding score. It was a see-saw fourth quarter for the Eagles, as Castellanos had a 1-yard keeper stopped short of the end zone at the end of a 12-play drive.

Following the turnover, Michigan State’s 18-play, 89-yard march resulted in a Jonathan Kim 27-yard field goal with 4:12 left. Kim kicked field goals of 41, 26, 51 and 27 yards for the Spartans, who were seeking their first 4-0 start since 2021.

Ky’ron Lynch-Adams rushed for 61 yards on 15 carries, while Jake Velling caught six passes for 77 yards.

Boston College scored 10 points off turnovers to turn around a 13-6 halftime deficit in less than three minutes early in the third quarter. After Carter Davis forced Lynch-Adams to fumble the opening kickoff of the second half, Luca Lombardo’s 39-yard field goal made it 13-9.

Amari Jackson intercepted a Chiles deep ball on the ensuing series, and Ward then ran 36 yards up the sideline for a go-ahead score only 2:38 into the third.

After Chiles missed a wide-open Montorie Foster Jr., Kim nailed an impressive 51-yard field goal to conclude an 8-play drive and tie the game at 16-all.

In the opening quarter, Michigan State forced a 3-and-out to begin the game and then capped a 9-play drive with Kim’s 41-yard kick. Ward rushed four times and made a 4th-and-4 catch out of the backfield to help set up Richard’s 11-yard score on a run to the left with 12:24 left in the first half.

Converting on an 11-play, 64-yard drive that spanned 6:08, the Eagles’ lead was 6-3 as Lombardo missed the point-after attempt after a high snap.

The Spartans responded with a 75-yard drive, scoring on a Chiles 1-yard run at 8:10 of the second. Foster’s 40-yard catch over the middle preceded the touchdown.

Kim’s 26-yarder extended the Michigan State lead with 20 seconds left before halftime.

-Field Level Media

Michigan State Visits Boston College

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BC Eagles Host Spartans for ’24 Red Bandana Game

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Unbeaten Michigan State visits Boston College for the programs’ first meeting since 2007 on Saturday at Chestnut Hill.

Playing its annual Red Bandana Game in honor of Boston College alum and Sept. 11, 2001, hero Welles Crowther, the Eagles (2-1) look to bounce back from last weekend’s 27-21 loss at then-No. 6 Missouri — the first setback under new head coach Bill O’Brien.

“For us to be able to go out there and play a game in honor of (Crowther) is a big deal,” O’Brien said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for Boston College to show off who we are. This is who we are.”

Thomas Castellanos threw three touchdowns against the Tigers and ranks second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with nine on the season. The Eagles led 14-3 before giving up 24 unanswered points.

“We’re never going to accept losing at Boston College, but these guys fought hard,” O’Brien said. “I think if we can do a better job stopping the run, that’s going to lead to more success for us in the future.”

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With last week’s 40-0 win over Prairie View A&M, Michigan State (3-0) has won three straight games under a first-year coach in Jonathan Smith for the first time since Mark Dantonio in 2007.

The Spartans have seen both Aidan Chiles and Tommy Schuster make an impact at quarterback, with the latter debuting with his new team last week — 8-of-10 passing for 97 yards — after transferring from North Dakota.

Chiles threw for 173 yards and a touchdown, following up a 363-yard performance in a 27-24 win at Maryland on Sept. 7.

“We’ve got total confidence (Schuster would) be ready to go out there,” Smith said. “It’s a long season, just like we’re dealing with injuries at different spots, he needs to be ready, and he will be.”

A new Spartan has recently been added to the injury list in offensive lineman Gavin Broscious.

“You probably won’t see him the rest of the year which is unfortunate,” Smith said. “Again, these yearly ones (hurt) because he’d been working really hard.”

Boston College has a 4-1-1 advantage in the all-time series, including a 24-21 win in the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. The QB matchup in that game featured Matt Ryan against Michigan State counterpart Brian Hoyer.

–Field Level Media

Twins Push Towards Wild Card

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After gaining a cushion in the American League wild-card race with their series-opening win, the Minnesota Twins will look for another victory over the host Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

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Minnesota (81-73), which broke through for a three-run 12th inning in its 4-2 triumph on Friday, will now turn to ace right-hander Pablo Lopez with a chance to win the series.

A day after being held to three hits in a 3-2, 10-inning loss at Cleveland, the Twins struck for 13 hits against the Red Sox. The top five batters in the Minnesota order produced two-hit efforts in a result that gave the Twins a one-game lead over the Detroit Tigers for the final AL playoff spot.

“It’s a really important eight games that we have left, so it was a huge (win) for sure,” Twins shortstop Carlos Correa said. “The way everyone came together to make it happen was really special. … The message is simple: Never give up.”

Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner had RBI singles in the 12th inning, while the eight pitchers who followed Twins starter David Festa to the mound allowed a total of five hits and one unearned run in seven innings.

The Twins have the utmost confidence in Lopez, who is 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA over seven straight quality starts since his Aug. 6 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

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Lopez (15-8, 3.84 ERA) had won four straight starts prior to Monday at Cleveland. He pitched 6 1/3 innings in an eventual 4-3 Twins loss, striking out four while allowing two runs on eight hits and two walks.

“He pitched so well until (the seventh),” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Lopez. “A leadoff walk, that’s not … like him.”

Lopez is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox, including a win on May 4, when he fanned eight while tossing six innings of one-run ball.

“I didn’t make pitches when I needed to,” Crawford said. “Obviously, you can’t throw Judge a 92-mile-per-hour fastball right down the middle. I just didn’t do my job (on Sunday).”

The home run ball has been a backbreaker for Crawford. He has allowed five in his past three starts and a major-league-leading 33 on the season.

–Field Level Media

 

Twins Beat Sox in Extra Innings

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Minnesota’s Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner each had RBI singles during a three-run top of the 12th inning, helping to propel the Minnesota Twins to a 4-2 win over the host Boston Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

The Twins (81-73) moved to a game ahead of the Detroit Tigers for the final American League wild-card spot. Detroit lost 7-1 to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Each of the top five hitters in Minnesota’s lineup had multiple hits, including leadoff hitter Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis, who doubled.
With Kyle Farmer placed as the designated runner on second to start the top of the 12th, Buxton and Larnach singled to help bring home the go-ahead run. After Carlos Correa walked, Wallner added an insurance run with another single. Two batters later, Willi Castro hit a sacrifice fly to right to push the lead to 4-1.
Griffin Jax allowed only Connor Wong’s RBI groundout in Boston’s half of the inning to save a victory for Scott Blewitt (1-0).
A two-out hit allowed Boston to take the lead in the fourth. Tyler O’Neill drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on Wilyer Abreu’s single two batters later. O’Neill scored the opening run as Story ripped an RBI single into center.
The Twins tied the score in the seventh. Correa beat out a potential double play, allowing Buxton to score.
After Ceddanne Rafaela’s leadoff double in the Boston seventh, Twins relievers Cole Sands and Jhoan Duran struck out five straight Red Sox before the latter stranded the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth.
Minnesota rookie starter David Festa allowed one run and four hits in six innings, walking three and striking out six.
After the game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said third baseman Rafael Devers is going to have an MRI exam Saturday on his right shoulder and is likely done for the season.
–Field Level Media

J-E-T-S Dominate P-A-T-S

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EAST RUTHERFORD –  (Staff and Wire Service Report) – NY Jets QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns as the New York Jets beat the New England Patriots 24-3 on Thursday night in New Jersey. Rodgers was playing at MetLife Stadium for the first time since tearing his left Achilles tendon in New York’s 2023 season opener. He was injured on the fourth snap in that contest before missing the rest of the campaign.
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     Jets fans had to be pleased with what they saw on Thursday, though, as the 40-year-old completed 27 of 35 passes and was constantly escaping pressure from New England’s front seven. Rodgers was sacked just twice.
     Tyler Conklin thrived in New York’s passing game, hauling in five catches for 93 yards. Breece Hall had 54 yards and a TD on 16 carries for the Jets (2-1), who outgained the Patriots 400-139 and controlled the ball for 40 minutes, four seconds. Hall added four receptions for 29 yards.
     The Patriots (1-2) struggled to get anything going offensively. Jacoby Brissett had 98 yards on 12-of-18 passing and got no help from the running game. New England did not have a rusher break the 30-yard mark.
    No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye made his NFL debut, taking over for Brissett late in the fourth quarter. Maye hit on 4 of 8 passes for 22 yards.
    New York virtually put the game away on its first possession of the second half.  After their defense forced a three-and-out to begin the half, the Jets ate 7:10 of clock during a drive that ended with a 2-yard scoring strike from Rodgers to Garrett Wilson.
    That provided the Jets with a commanding 21-3 lead and prompted the home crowd to get “Aaron Rodgers” chants going later in the third quarter.