Latest news with #schedule
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NHL Releases 2025-26 NHL Regular Season: Islanders Key Dates & Notes
The New York Islanders will begin the 2025-26 season on the road when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 9. New York's home opener will be on October 11 when they host the Washington Capitals. Here are some other key dates on the schedule: Colorado Avalanche forward Brock Nelson will make his return to Long Island on Thursday, Dec. 4. For the Islanders, Jonathan Drouin and assistant coach Ray Bennett will make their returns to Colorado when the Islanders head to Ball Arena on Sunday, Nov. 16. Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson will make his return to Long Island on Sunday, Apr. 12, the second to last game of the regular season. The Islanders will first square off with the New York Rangers on Sat, Nov. 8 at MSG. Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) on X #Isles battle the #NYR, concluding the season series with a home & home: Sat, Nov 8 at MSG, 7 PM Sat, Dec. 27 at UBS, 6 PM Wed, Jan. 28 at UBS, 7:30 Thur, Jan. 29 at MSG, 7 PM If Matthew Schaefer joins the Islanders in the NHL this season, he will face his favorite NHL team growing up, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on Saturday, Jan 3, with his first visit to Scotiabank Arena being on Tuesday, March 17. Other noteables: - 10 of last 12 games at UBS Arena - Home games are back to 7 PM, outside of a few - 5 home games begin at 1 PM - 13 total afternoon starts - 2 seven-game road trips - 15 back-to-backs this season - Columbus Day matinee vs. WPG - Thanskgiving Eve vs. BOS - No game New Year's Eve but host UTAH on New Year's Day *game times are subject to change PHOTO: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why College Football Playoff committee could be tested by these two SEC teams
Billy Napier chuckled when I asked him about Florida's schedule. What else could the Gators coach do but laugh? Florida's gantlet in 2025 projects to be among the nation's toughest, while its fourth-year coach tries to stay off the hot seat. 'I don't have control over' the schedule, Napier said in May as we chatted in a hotel basement during the SEC's spring meetings. Hard to imagine any coach asking for a schedule like the one Napier's Gators will play. Florida will face seven teams expected to be ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches poll. With non-conference games against Miami and Florida State in the mix, the Gators are one of three SEC teams that will play 10 games against Power Four competition. 'Big-picture wise, it can be an advantage or a disadvantage,' Napier said of the schedule, 'based off' how the College Football Playoff committee makes its at-large selections. Oklahoma's Brent Venables can relate. His Sooners will face seven, maybe even eight, teams likely to be ranked in the preseason Top 25. Florida and Oklahoma serve as a backbone of the SEC's quest for the playoff committee to more heavily weight strength of schedule when making at-large selections. The SEC continued its strength-of-schedule drumbeat this week during the conference's media days. PRESSURE POINTS: Alabama, Kalen DeBoer face big questions in post-Saban era GO TIME: Auburn's Freeze ends excuses, but is he ready for expectations? Why Florida, Oklahoma could challenge playoff committee The SEC positioned three 9-3 teams for playoff consideration last season based on schedule strength, but neither Alabama, Mississippi nor South Carolina earned selection. On paper, at least, Florida and Oklahoma will endure a more intense gantlet than those 9-3 SEC teams navigated in 2024. A 9-3 team from the SEC qualifying for the playoff would vindicate the conference's relentless messaging campaign touting its strength of schedule and as it implores the committee to more heavily weight those metrics. In truth, the committee traditionally values the SEC's strength of schedule, but Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina each presented résumés that were too flawed a year ago. Also, it became difficult to distinguish which of those three 9-3 teams most deserved playoff consideration. The committee opted for none of them. Lessons from Alabama, Ole Miss not earning playoff selection I thought the committee erred by awarding the final at-large bid to SMU, which lacked a signature victory despite its 11-2 record, but I didn't interpret the committee's choice as a rule that it would never take a three-loss SEC team instead of a one- or two-loss team from another conference. Florida and Oklahoma, with their capable lineups but daunting schedules, are candidates to become the playoff's first 9-3 qualifier. Each touts one of the nation's most talented quarterbacks, in Florida's DJ Lagway and Oklahoma's John Mateer, a Washington State transfer. Mateer highlighted Oklahoma's portal plunder that transformed its roster after a losing season. Alabama, too, could present a more compelling playoff case if it finished at 9-3 this season, compared to its three-loss résumé from 2024. The Crimson Tide will play 10 Power Four opponents, after facing nine last year. Two of Alabama's three losses last season came against teams that finished the regular season 6-6. Ole Miss, like Alabama, secured a marquee victory against Georgia, but the Rebels lost at home to woebegone Kentucky. Strength of schedule influences the committee's rankings, but losses to bad or mediocre teams become an anchor on a résumé. Interestingly, Oklahoma and Florida landed crippling blows to SEC's quest for four playoff bids last year, by upsetting Alabama and Ole Miss, respectively, in late November. Let Alabama and Ole Miss be a lesson for Florida and Oklahoma: If you must lose, don't lose to the weaker teams on your schedule. Score some wins against Top 25 opponents, let your strength of schedule work for you, and don't lose to Vanderbilt or Kentucky. Oklahoma won't need to worry about that last point. Its schedule includes neither Kentucky, nor Vanderbilt, nor any SEC opponent that's expected to finish among the bottom four of the conference standings. Oklahoma's schedule amounts to 'the biggest challenge in all of college football,' Venables said on the SEC Network in December. That's not hyperbole. I could say the schedules staring down Florida and Oklahoma seem engineered to get a coach fired. Alternatively, they're also designed to nudge a team that finishes 9-3 into the playoff. Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida, Oklahoma could test College Football Playoff committee
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lightning await 2025-26 schedule as NHL announces Opening Night tripleheader
The Lightning are set to find out their full schedule for the 2025-26 NHL regular season on Wednesday, July 16, at 1 p.m. ET. Last year, the Bolts opened the 2024-'25 regular season on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes as the Tampa Bay Area was reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton. The home-opener was eventually rescheduled. While we wait on the new schedule, the NHL has announced that the 2025-26 regular season will open on Tuesday, Oct. 7 with a tripleheader broadcast. The Chicago Blackhawks will take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at 5 p.m. ET. Before puck drop, the Panthers will raise their second championship banner in a ceremony at Amerant Bank Arena. The action continues at 8 p.m. ET as the Pittsburgh Penguins face the New York Rangers in a Metropolitan Division showdown at Madison Square Garden. Capping off the night, the Colorado Avalanche will visit the Los Angeles Kings for a Western Conference battle at Arena, with puck drop set for 10:30 p.m. ET. NHL Network will broadcast a special one-hour edition of NHL Tonight to cover the schedule release, hosted by Jamison Coyle, Mike Rupp, and E.J. Hradek. The special will also be available for streaming on Photo Credit: © David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Just Putting Rims On A Prius': Which NHL Teams Took Shots At The Maple Leafs In Their Schedule Reveal Videos?
For the first time, the NHL had a coordinated schedule release where clubs had a chance to flex their creativity. Of course, this also gave some clubs (not all) a chance to poke fun at the Maple Leafs. Some took the high road, and others did not. Either way, I sat through the other 31 NHL clubs' videos (if they made one, some of them did not participate) to show you what might make for some bulletin board material.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Montreal Canadiens Officially Announce 2025-26 Schedule
The Montreal Canadiens have announced their schedule for the 2025-26 season, meaning that the new campaign is starting to get closer.
