SI:AM | The NHL’s Newest Superstar

Plus, the Orioles’ underdog run comes to an end.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Do you know who is the last AL East team to win a playoff game? The Yankees.

In today’s SI:AM:

🏒 Connor Bedard’s debut

🧹 The Orioles get swept

⛹️‍♀️ WNBA Finals Game 2 preview

Not a bad debut

The new NHL season got underway last night with a matchup of the Kid vs. the kid.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins faced the Blackhawks and the teenager many are calling the next Sidney Crosby, 18-year-old Connor Bedard.

Bedard was as obvious a choice for the No. 1 pick in this summer’s NHL draft as Victor Wembanyama was in the NBA. He had been just the seventh player in history granted “exceptional status” by Hockey Canada to play major junior hockey as a 15-year-old (usually players have to be 16 to play in Canada’s top junior league) and put up video game stats in his three seasons with the WHL’s Regina Pats. Last season he had 71 goals and 72 assists in just 57 games.

So Bedard entered the NHL with a ton of hype. In the 12 hours after the Blackhawks won the draft lottery in May, the team sold more than $5 million in season tickets, according to ESPN. Last night it was time to follow through on that hype—and Bedard did. Despite what must have been some early jitters (he almost forgot his stick when walking out to the ice for the first time), Bedard recorded his first NHL assist on Chicago’s opening goal in the second period. He also had a game-high five-shot attempts and led all forwards with 21:29 of ice time as the Blackhawks won, 4–2.

His performance earned high praise from one of Pittsburgh’s best players.

“He’s so good, so shifty,” veteran defenseman Kris Letang said. “He’s got great moves. I had to play him hard. He’s really deceptive. You can’t even look at the puck one second, because he’s so fast.”

Bedard has a long way to go before he reaches Crosby’s level, but last night’s debut showed at least that the comparisons aren’t totally off base.

Other NHL story lines to watch this season

More teams will open their season tonight and tomorrow, including the defending champion Golden Knights and runner-up Panthers (both of whom play Thursday night). Here’s what to pay attention to as the season gets underway.

The Bruins’ likely slide

Boston went 65-12-5 last season, setting a new record for most wins in a season before losing to the Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. The underlying numbers suggested that the Bruins weren’t as good as their record indicated, though, and the team lost several key contributors this offseason, notably captain Patrice Bergeron and veteran forwards Taylor Hall and David Krejčí. A step back from last season’s historic winning pace was inevitable, but how far will Boston fall?

Can the Oilers get over the hump?

Last year, Edmonton posted its best regular season since Wayne Gretzky was its captain, but fell short in the playoffs again. The Oilers have the undisputed best player in the league in Connor McDavid and have spent the past couple of years trying to assemble a supporting cast capable of winning a Stanley Cup. Goaltending is still a concern (especially the backup role behind starter Stuart Skinner), but they have the offense to make up for most defensive lapses.

Dallas’s star in net

One team that absolutely does not have goaltending concerns is the Stars. Jake Oettinger is one of the best goalies in the league and somehow elevates his game in the postseason. He had a ridiculous .954 save percentage in the 2022 playoffs and, while that number slipped to .895 last postseason, he still did enough to help get the Stars to the conference final. The Stars, who added former Avalanche and Predators star Matt Duchene to a group of talented forwards this offseason, are projected to be a top team again this year. Come spring, Oettinger should have an opportunity to wow in the playoffs again.

The best of Sports Illustrated

• Today’s Daily Cover, by Rohan Nadkarni, is a profile of Heat star Jimmy Butler, who’s also the guest editor of SI’s NBA preview issue.
• Emma Baccellieri believes the young, inexperienced Orioles getting eliminated by the Rangers in the ALDS shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.
• The Astros are within one game of yet another ALCS appearance thanks to an unlikely hero. Tom Verducci has more on José Abreu’s big game for Houston.
• Michael Rosenberg argues that LIV golfers shouldn’t be surprised they lost the battle for world rankings points.
• Andrew Gastelum spoke with filmmaker Fisher Stevens about his new documentary on David Beckham.
• Ahead of Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, Clare Brennan breaks down how the Liberty can even up the series and avoid going back to Brooklyn down 0–2.
• College basketball season is closer than you think (less than a month away), and Kevin Sweeney previews the men’s side of the ACC.
• Colorado star Travis Hunter is likely to return from injury for the Buffaloes’ next game.
• Longtime ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose has Parkinson’s disease and will not return to the network.
• Former MLB player Steve Garvey is running for Senate.

The top five...

… things I saw last night:

5. Zion Williamson’s big dunk in his first game since January.

4. Adolis García’s three-run homer to blow the game open against the Orioles.

3. Nikita Kucherov’s powerful one-timer.

2. Referee Kelly Sutherland’s message for Connor Bedard before the rookie’s first NHL face-off.

1. Johan Santana’s first pitch before the Twins-Astros game, wearing a Pablo López jersey. (López grew up idolizing Santana and wore a Santana jersey before starting Game 1 of the wild-card series.)

SIQ

The Providence Steam Roller, an early NFL franchise, played their first home game on this day in 1925. Which sport was their home stadium originally designed to host?

• Cricket
• Horse racing
• Baseball
• Cycling

Yesterday’s SIQ: The Dodgers beat the Mets in Game 2 of the NLDS on Oct. 10, 2015, thanks in part to a violent slide by Chase Utley that broke the leg of which New York infielder?

• Daniel Murphy
• Wilmer Flores
• Rubén Tejada
• Kelly Johnson

Answer: Rubén Tejada. In the bottom of the seventh, with runners on the corners and one out, Howie Kendrick hit a sharp grounder up the middle that was snared by Daniel Murphy behind second base. He flipped to Tejada, who could have prevented a run from scoring by turning an inning-ending double play. But Utley, the runner on first, barreled into Tejada with a late slide. Tejada was knocked down and left unable to make the throw to first, allowing Kiké Hernández to score the tying run. The Dodgers went on to win, 5–2, but lost the series in five games as the Mets eventually advanced to the World Series.

Tejada broke his leg on the play and missed the rest of the postseason. Utley was initially suspended two games for the slide, but the ban was rescinded before the start of the new season. MLB also instituted a rule making slides like Utley’s illegal.