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The San Jose Sharks won the Draft Lottery on Tuesday and general manager Mike Grier already has an idea of who he’ll be selecting with the No. 1 pick: Boston University centre Macklin Celebrini.

“I would think so ,yeah,” Grier said when asked if he anticipates using the top pick on the 17-year-old forward, college hockey’s youngest Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner and NHL Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked prospect.

The Sharks retained their position in the lottery and are scheduled to pick first in the NHL draft for the first time in franchise history following a season in which they finished last in the overall standings.

Though from North Vancouver, B.C., Celebrini is no stranger to the Bay Area or Grier, who also played at Boston University.

“I was thrilled. It’s a big moment for the organization and the fans here to have the opportunity to draft someone like Macklin,” Grier said. “It was a tough year for us. To have this opportunity, we couldn’t be more excited.”

Celebrini’s father, Rick Celebrini, is currently vice president of player health and performance for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and the youngster spent a year playing for the Sharks’ junior team.

“Obviously, they’re a great organization. If I’m fortunate enough to get drafted there, I’d be very lucky,” the younger Celebrini said.

San Jose had an 18.5-per-cent chance to win the lottery, and a 25.5-per-cent chance to pick first.

The lottery proved anti-climactic with no changes to the draft order. The Chicago Blackhawks, who selected Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick last year, retained the No. 2 selection, followed by the Anaheim Ducks. The Montreal Canadiens have the No. 5 pick, the Ottawa Senators got No. 7 and the Calgary Flames will select at No. 9.

It marked the first time since the 2010 draft lottery that the order of selection went unchanged. The NHL’s newest market, Utah, stayed put at No. 6. Salt Lake City landed an NHL franchise with the relocation of the Arizona Coyotes last month.

The league on Tuesday also announced what has been in the works for some time: the draft will be held at the Sphere in Las Vegas June 28 and 29. It’ll be the first event televised at the venue.

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This marked just the second time in franchise history — and first since San Jose’s inaugural season in 1991-92 — the Sharks finished last overall in the NHL standings. In missing the playoffs for a fifth straight season, the Sharks are in a total rebuild mode entering their third offseason under Grier. San Jose is coming off a season in which its 19 wins were the third-fewest in team history in a full NHL season.

Grier fired coach David Quinn last month, and previously began overhauling his roster by trading high-priced stars such as Tomas Hertl, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Timo Meier.

The lottery results also led to the Sharks securing a second first-round pick, No. 14 overall and held by Pittsburgh. San Jose acquired the selection in a trade that sent Karlsson to the Penguins, who had the right to retain the selection only if it landed in the top 10 of the draft order

Celebrini completed a season in which he finished third among Division I skaters with 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 68 games and earned both Hockey East’s player and rookie of the year honors.

Listed at 6-feet and 190 pounds, he has the opportunity to become just the fourth NCAA player — and second forward — to be selected first overall, and first since Michigan defenseman Owen Power went No. 1 to Buffalo in 2021. The only other college forward drafted first was Michigan State’s Joe Murphy by Detroit in 1986.

Celebrini was college hockey’s youngest player last season and is regarded as being a “strong skater with a fluid stride, elusive speed and quickness,” according to a Central Scouting report.

“He possesses that rare, elite ability to thrive with his skills and smarts while competing with a consistent passion to face every challenge head on and generate results, all the while making himself a better player,” said Central Scouting chief Dan Marr.

Michigan freshman defenceman Artyom Levshunov, who is from Belarus, is ranked second among North American prospects, followed by Medicine Hat Tigers centre Cayden Lindstrom.

Central Scouting’s top European skater is 6-foot-7 defenceman Anton Silayev, from Sarov, Russia.

The NHL Draft order will be as follows.

1. San Jose Sharks
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. Columbus Blue Jackets
5. Montreal Canadiens
6. Utah
7. Ottawa Senators
8. Seattle Kraken
9. Calgary Flames
10. New Jersey Devils
11. Buffalo Sabres
12. Philadelphia Flyers
13. Minnesota Wild
14. San Jose Sharks (via Pittsburgh)
15. Detroit Red Wings
16. St. Louis Blues
17. Washington Capitals
18. New York Islanders
19. Vegas Golden Knights
20. Chicago Blackhawks (via Tampa Bay)
21. Los Angeles Kings
22. Nashville Predators
23. Toronto Maple Leafs
24. Montreal Canadiens (via Winnipeg)

Picks 25 to 32 will be determined following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The 2024 NHL Draft is scheduled to take place from June 28–29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas and can be viewed on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.

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Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson was feeling under the weather and missed the team’s practice Tuesday as they prepare to host the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Game 1 of the series is set for Wednesday night.

Pettersson played in all 82 games during the regular season and finished third on the team in scoring with 89 points (34 goals and 55 assists).

He also had just 12 penalty minutes and was named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to “the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”

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The 25-year-old Pettersson had zero goals and three assists in six games during the first round against the Nashville Predators.

Watch the Canucks host the Oilers in Game 1 Wednesday starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.

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The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.

According to the CFL, Kelly is also suspended for Toronto’s two pre-season games for violating its gender-based violence policy. Kelly must undergo confidential assessments by an independent expert and attend mandatory counselling sessions conducted by a gender-based violence expert.

Both the counselling sessions and assessments must be satisfactorily completed before the CFL will consider Kelly’s reinstatement, the league added in a statement. Otherwise, it reserves the right to modify his discipline.

Kelly, 30, was the CFL’s outstanding player last season after leading Toronto to a league-best and franchise-record 16-2 record. But the Argos’ season ended with a 38-17 home loss to eventual Grey Cup-champion Montreal in the East Division final.

Kelly’s agent, Chris Lambiris, expressed surprise at the suspension and said that he and his client would explore the appeal process.

“We will continue to do more fact-finding surrounding the decision before making a more in-depth statement,” Lambiris said.

There was no announcement regarding any penalties or sanctions against the Argos. But the league added their conduct in this matter, as laid out by the investigators, will be reviewed with the club.

“The club will respectfully abide by the League’s decision,” the Argos said in a statement. “The Toronto Argonauts and MLSE share the CFL’s commitment to providing healthy and positive work environments.”

Neither Kelly nor the CFL Players’ Association were immediately available for comment.

The CFL’s decision to launch its investigation came after the complainant filed a statement of claim with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, alleging a pattern of harassment by Kelly, beginning with unwanted romantic advances and escalating into instances of threatening language.

The coach said the Argos did not act when told of Kelly’s behaviour and claims assistant general manager John Murphy said she “opened a can of worms that didn’t need to be opened.”

CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the league’s investigation revealed definite violations of its gender-based violence policy.

“It was important that we performed our due diligence to properly review this matter from all points of view,” Ambrosie said in a statement. “That in-depth investigation found that Mr. Kelly unequivocally violated the CFL’s gender-based violence policy.

“Mr. Kelly’s suspension is the direct result of his behaviour. The addition of mandatory counselling focuses on his need for self-reflection and understanding of his actions. He must take full advantage of this.”

The complainant said she was informed in January her contract with the club would not be renewed. The complainant had joined the franchise in 2018 and said her contract had previously been continually renewed.

The complainant is seeking $80,000 from Kelly and a total of $85,714 from the Argos. The Canadian Press does not publish the names of alleged victims of harassment or sexual assault unless granted permission.

TSN also reported the complainant is also seeking $10,000 worth of punitive damages.

The broadcaster also said Kelly recently filed his defence in the lawsuit and denied making “any romantic or sexual overtures” towards the plaintiff, including workplace sexual harassment.

Kelly stated the complainant “advanced these spurious claims against him purely to draw the attention of the media to what was otherwise a very routine termination situation.”

In their defence filing, the Argos claimed they had “no knowledge” of any behaviour from Kelly that violated the CFL’s gender-based violence policy or breached the Ontario Human Rights Code. The team also claimed its conduct with the plaintiff was “all times fair, reasonable, lawful and undertaken in good faith.”

Kelly, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., signed a three-year, $1.85-million extension with Toronto last season that made him the league’s highest-paid player. This off-season, though, Kelly restructured his contract with the team.

The CFLs announcement comes with CFL rookie camps slated to open Wednesday. It’s unclear if Kelly will be in attendance at the Argos’ camp, which is being held at the University of Guelph.

With Kelly starting 16 of Toronto’s 18-regular-season games in 2023, first-year backups Cameron Dukes and Bryan Scott both played sparingly. Dukes made two starts, completing 63-of-96 passes for 760 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing 35 times for 126 yards and eight TDs.

Scott didn’t complete any of the four passes he attempted last season.

The CFL’s suspension of Kelly comes roughly two weeks after it handed retired defensive lineman Shawn Lemon an indefinite ban for betting on league games in 2021, including one he played in.

Defensive back Chris Edwards, then of the Argos, was suspended for six games following the ’21 season for his role in an altercation with a fan following the East Division final. But it was reduced to three games.

Following last season, Edwards, then with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, received a three-game suspension for striking opponents and inciting a non-football altercation during the East Division semifinal. Edwards retired in February.

In 2022, Saskatchewan defensive lineman Garrett Marino received a four-game ban from three separate suspensions following his actions in a game versus the Ottawa Redblacks. The penalty was the league’s most severe total discipline ever implemented for in-game behaviour during one contest.

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CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks have re-signed forward Lukas Reichel to a two-year contract.

The team announced the deal on Tuesday. It runs through the 2025-26 season with a $1.2 million cap hit.

The Blackhawks were hoping for a breakout performance from Reichel this season, but he struggled with inconsistency for much of the year. Reichel, who turns 22 on May 17, finished with five goals and 11 assists in 65 games.

Reichel’s development is an ongoing issue for Chicago as it tries to take its rebuilding project to the next level. The Blackhawks set a franchise record for losses by going 23-53-6 this season.

The contract gives Reichel some security as he prepares to play for Germany at the upcoming world championships in Czechia.

The 6-foot Reichel was selected by Chicago with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 draft. He has 12 goals and 20 assists in 99 NHL games.

As usual, the Edmonton Oilers’ power play is a hot topic. It made mincemeat of the Los Angeles Kings’ second-ranked penalty kill, scoring on 45 per cent of its chances (9 of 20) in the first round.

But the Oilers’ penalty kill was perhaps even more impressive considering its modest success rate during the regular season. That unit, which ranked 15th in the NHL at 79.5 per cent, killed all 12 shorthanded situations it faced against the Kings. The Oilers’ five-game streak without allowing a power play goal is tied for the longest in the franchise’s playoff history. (Edmonton went 16-for-16 over five games in the second round against the Anaheim Ducks in 2017.)

“There was a level of instinct to it, closing time and space quickly,” Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse told reporters. “We weren’t sitting back and letting (the Kings) pick their plays and (get) set and (do) the things they wanted to exploit. … Guys were getting to loose pucks. They were blocking off lanes. I think there was a pretty good cohesion with the group.”

A porous penalty kill, which operated at 70 per cent through the first month of the season, contributed to Jay Woodcroft’s undoing as Oilers coach. After Kris Knoblauch took over in mid-November, the Oilers’ kill improved to 81.7 per cent over the remainder of the regular season — seventh-best in the league.

The Oilers locked down the slot against the Kings, who registered only seven power play shots on net from that area in the first round. That translates to 0.58 shorthanded slot shots against per two minutes — the top mark among playoff teams. (Edmonton allowed an average of 0.92 shorthanded slot shots per two minutes in the regular season — 0.87 in 69 games under Knoblauch.)

It was a group effort; six different forwards and four different defencemen averaged at least one minute of shorthanded ice time per game for the Oilers during the series.

The Vancouver Canucks’ power play was ineffective against the Nashville Predators, going 2-for-13 (15.4 per cent) over six first-round games. Their No. 1 unit, however, is stocked with top-end talent — Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, among others.

Edmonton’s penalty killers will have to be at their best again.

“We’re prepared,” Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais told reporters. “We’re structured and we play on our instincts, too. We’re not robots. Sometimes stuff is going to happen, and you just have to be able to react to it.”

All stats via Sportlogiq

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The Edmonton Oilers could be starting their second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks without forward Adam Henrique in the lineup.

Henrique, who is dealing with an ankle injury, missed practice Tuesday and although Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has not ruled him out for Game 1, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reports that it’s unlikely that he will play.

Henrique had a goal and an assist in the Oilers’ first game against the Los Angeles Kings but went pointless through the remaining four meetings of the first-round series.

The 34-year-old Henrique was acquired from Anaheim Ducks ahead of the trade deadline in March in a deal that also involved the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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He had six goals and nine points in 22 regular-season games with the Oilers down the stretch.

The Canucks host the Oilers for Game 1 Wednesday starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Watch live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.

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ROME — Canada’s Leylah Fernandez made an early exit from the Italian Open on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-1 first-round loss to Romanian veteran Ana Bogdan.

The 21-year-old from Laval, Que., struggled with her serve. She won 56.1 per cent of first serve points and was broken five times on eight changes.

Bogdan saved five of six breaks and won 56.1 per cent of total points to wrap up the match in one hour 42 minutes.

Fernandez’s career record in the main draw of the WTA 1000 clay court event fell to 1-3.

Fernandez, ranked 34th in the world, has an 8-10 record this season.

She has won multiple matches at just one tournament, when she advanced to the quarterfinals in Doha, Qatar in February.

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When she picked up her phone to make the call, Taylor Heise had just learned that Toronto had chosen her team as its first-round playoff opponent. As the No. 1 seed, Toronto had its pick between either third-placed Boston or fourth-placed Minnesota, and went with the latter, Heise’s team. The standout forward, Minnesota born and raised, took the decision the way you’d expect.

“They obviously picked us for reasons that, you know, they think we’re not as good, they think they can beat us,” Heise told Sportsnet by phone on Monday night. “I think we’re really going to take that to heart. It’s going to come with a lot of animosity from us, I think.”

Get ready sports fans, because it all gets going on Wednesday. The PWHL’s first-ever post-season opens Wednesday night, with Toronto hosting Minnesota in that 1 v. 4 matchup. Third seed Boston will then visit No. 2 Montreal for Game 1 of their semi-final series at Place Bell on Thursday. 

Each series is a best-of-five, with the top-ranked team hosting the first two games and the fifth, if necessary. 

As we look at each playoff team and the matchups ahead, let’s start with the State of Hockey: 

Minnesota

Heise’s home team led the PWHL standings in the early days of the regular season, and looked to be a lock for the playoffs through March. That they were the last team to qualify, ultimately needing a loss from Ottawa in the last game of the season to get here, is the result of a dreadful five-game losing streak to close out the short 24-game campaign.  

Minnesota hasn’t won since a shootout victory over Montreal on March 24, ahead of the nearly month-long break in April for the world championship. But this team is stacked with talent — Heise is one of five Team USA players on the roster, in addition to fellow forwards Kendall Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek, and Grace Zumwinkle, and goalie Nicole Hensley. If they can find their rhythm again, Minnesota can beat anyone, including top-ranked Toronto. 

The team boasts a solid one-two punch in net, in Hensley (2.19 GAA in 14 starts) and Maddie Rooney (2.08 GAA in 10 starts). Their 54 goals against in the regular season are second-best only to Toronto. 

On the offensive end, it’s the rookie Zumwinkle who led the team with 19 points in the regular season, while Coyne and Pannek each chipped in with 16. Heise finished with 13 points in 19 games (she missed five games in February due to injury).

Minnesota should also get added scoring from reserve player Abigail Boreen, who can be activated for a single series in the playoffs per PWHL rules. Boreen starred for the University of Minnesota, and since she’s still a full-time student, she wasn’t eligible to sign a standard player agreement. During her three 10-day contracts with Minnesota this season (the maximum allowed), Boreen appeared in nine games and had five points, including four goals.

On Monday, a day after learning they were in, Minnesota had a practice. Heise said there was a lot more pep in everyone’s step. 

“It’s a clean slate,” she said of the playoffs. 

Minnesota better hope so, because they have to turn things around to make this a series against the league’s top team. One major key will be improving on special teams: Minnesota has a woeful 67.2 per cent efficiency rate on the penalty kill, and 8.3 per cent on the power play.  

Toronto

The No. 1 team in the regular season is riding a four-game win streak heading into the playoffs and out-scored their opponents 18-7 in that stretch. Toronto boasts the top two point-getters and goal-scorers in the league, in forwards Natalie Spooner (20 goals, seven assists) and Sarah Nurse (11 goals, 12 assists). Nurse and Spooner play on a line together with Emma Maltais, whose 19 points paced all rookies (tied with Zumwinkle). 

Firepower is Toronto’s thing: Their 69 goals led the league. Spooner is scoring at more than a goal-per-game clip in her last seven contests, with eight goals, including two on May 1 in the most recent meeting against Minnesota. 

Solid defence is also Toronto’s thing: Their 50 goals against were the fewest surrendered in the PWHL. Goalie Kristen Campbell hasn’t given up more than two goals in any of her last five starts, and served up a league-leading three shutouts this season. Campbell played all but two games for Toronto in the regular season. 

Toronto is coached by Team Canada’s Troy Ryan. Seven members of Toronto’s team — defenders Renata Fast and Jocelyne Larocque, Campbell, plus forwards Spooner, Nurse, Maltais, and Blayre Turnbull — were also on the Canadian team that beat Team USA for world championship gold last month in overtime in Utica, N.Y. 

Speaking of OT, Toronto’s record there is a sparkling 4-0. 

Montreal

Montreal earned the right to host after locking up the second spot in the standings, six points ahead of Boston.  

This team boasts a potent and balanced attack led by a trio of Team Canada stars. Clutch captain Marie-Philip Poulin’s 23 points in 24 games were good for second overall in the league, while Erin Ambrose, the league’s second-most productive defender, and forward Laura Stacey each pitched in with 18 points. 

In net, Ann-Renée Desbiens is one of the world’s best, and a big-game player who backstopped Canada to that latest world championship win. Her Montreal teammates figured big there, too: Ambrose scored the winner in the gold-medal game in OT, and Poulin had two goals. 

A massive offensive addition for Montreal late this season was forward Mélodie Daoust, who signed a 10-day contract and was at a near point-per-game clip in six games. The former Olympic MVP, now 32, is one of the team’s reserve players and, like Boreen in Minnesota, can be activated for one series in the post-season. 

Montreal might choose to activate Daoust for Game 1 against Boston, or if things get desperate in the series, but the ideal scenario would see them save her for the final. Only time will tell. 

Montreal also has depth up front capable of providing scoring, like forwards Kristen O’Neill and Mikyla Grant-Mentis, who signed with Montreal last month after she was released by Ottawa. 

They also have a solid backup option in net if necessary: Elaine Chuli played in just eight games this season, but she was stellar, with a 6-1 record and a sparkling league-best 1.61 GAA.

Boston

This team clinched a playoff berth in its regular-season finale with a massive 4-3 win over Montreal on May 5, and heads into the post-season with momentum. Over its last five games, Boston suffered just one loss in overtime. 

It’s a roster full of big names, including captain Hilary Knight, defender Megan Keller, and goalie Aerin Frankel, all of whom star for Team USA. Boston was paced in scoring by Swiss star Alina Muller and her 16 points, while Finnish forward Susanna Tapani finished with 13 points and Canada’s Jamie-Lee Rattray had 11. 

They’ll hope to have Loren Gabel (seven points in 17 games) back in the lineup, but the forward hasn’t played since March due to injury and remains day-to-day. Forward Taylor Girard (six points in 23 games) is in the same boat after missing the last game of the regular season. 

Frankel is one of the best goalies in the world, and her 2.00 GAA and .929 save percentage each ranked third-best in the league. 

Boston had to scramble to get here, but the team that suffered a lot of one-goal losses earlier in the season is now perhaps at its peak when it matters most. 

What they’re hoping to find in the playoffs is the back of the net. Their 50 goals in 24 games ranked last in the PWHL, and Boston fared particularly badly with the player advantage: Their 7.5 per cent efficiency on the power play ranked last in the league. 

Head-to-head:

Toronto won three of four games against Minnesota in the regular season, with that lone loss coming the first time they played, in February.  

Montreal vs.

Boston is a lot tighter in that respect: The teams split their games in the regular season, and three out of four were decided by a single goal, while two of those games went to overtime. 

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The Ottawa Senators have hired Travis Green for their vacant head coaching position.

Green’s contract with the Senators will run through the end of the 2027-28 season.

“After speaking to several highly qualified candidates, it became clear that Travis is the right fit to lead our group,” said president and general manager Steve Staios in a statement. “As we’ve routinely stated, developing a winning culture is paramount to our aspiration of achieving sustained success. Travis has a burning desire to win, is passionate about teaching and holds his players to a very high standard.”

Green, 53, most recently was the interim head coach of the New Jersey Devils after replacing Lindy Ruff on March 4. During his time as interim coach, Green led the Devils to an 8-12-1 record over 21 games.

He also served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks from 2017-22. He held a 133-147-34 record over 314 regular-season games with the Canucks and a 10-7 record in the post-season.

Ottawa fired head coach D.J. Smith last December with the team struggling toward another losing season. Jacques Martin, who previously served as Senators head coach and recently joined Smith’s staff as a senior adviser, took over on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.

Green played 14 seasons in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. In 970 career games, Green had 193 goals and 455 points.

The three highest-scoring players in the regular season are also all finalists for the Hart Trophy.

The NHL announced Tuesday that Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche are the finalists for the Hart, which is awarded annually to “the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.”

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Broadcast schedule

Tampa’s Kucherov led all players in scoring with 144 points this season, 54 points ahead of his second-closest teammate. The 30-year-old finished with 100 assists, a feat matched by McDavid but only ever done by three other players: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr. Kucherov has won the Hart Trophy once before: the last time he led the league in scoring in 2018-19.

McDavid, 27, is a three-time Hart Trophy winner who led the Oilers in scoring and willed them back to the playoffs after the team briefly sat in 32nd place in the standings one month into the season. He finished the season with 100 assists and 132 points, crossing the 100-point mark for the seventh time in nine seasons.

MacKinnon, 28, has never won a Hart Trophy but has been a finalist three previous times. This season, MacKinnon set new career highs in Colorado with 51 goals and 140 points, and posted a 35-game home point streak that was the second-longest in NHL history.

The debate around the Hart Trophy at the end of the season was loud with plenty of other players making cases to be included among the finalists. Some players who didn’t make the cut include the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews, who set a salary-cap era record with 69 goals, the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin, who finished fourth in scoring with 120 points, and Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, the favourite to win the Vezina Trophy.

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There’s no need to bury the lede here: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander versus Luka Doncic is an individual matchup that should dominate basketball headlines for years to come and Round 2 with big stakes couldn’t have come fast enough.

Yes, in case you missed it, Round 1 was when Team Canada squared off against Team Slovenia at the FIBA World Cup this past summer. Gilgeous-Alexander thoroughly outplayed Doncic, scoring 31 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 14-of-16 at the line to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals in a 100-89 victory. Doncic, meanwhile, finished with 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting, four rebounds, and five assists, as well as an ejection.

By becoming the youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series — and doing so with a sweep no less — the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder showed they are a team that can be both extremely young and extremely good.

Dallas caught a break when Kawhi Leonard was ruled out for the Clippers, but that’s also pretty much the norm now when facing the other L.A. team and shouldn’t be held against them. The pairing of Doncic and Kyrie Irving showed exactly why they present a daunting task for any opponent, and that’s going to make everything happening on the perimeter in this series all the more fascinating.

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Broadcast schedule

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Dallas Mavericks

Season series: Thunder won 3-1

Dec. 2 OKC @ DAL: Thunder won 126-120
Feb. 10 OKC @ DAL: Mavericks won 146-111
Mar. 14 DAL @ OKC: Thunder won 126-119
Apr. 14 DAL @ OKC: Thunder won 135-86.

Betting line:

Mavericks +110 to win series
Thunder -130 to win series
Game 1: Mavericks +3.5/Thunder -3.5 O/U 218.5
All odds courtesy Bet365

Series schedule:

Game 1 @ OKC: Tuesday May 7 @ 9:30 p.m. ET
Game 2 @ OKC: Thursday May 9 @ 9:30 p.m
Game 3 @ DAL: Saturday May 11 @ 3:30 p.m.
Game 4 @ DAL: Monday May 13 @ 9:30 p.m. ET
Game 5 (if necessary) @ OKC: Wednesday May 15 @ TBD
Game 6 (if necessary) @ DAL: Saturday, May 18 @ TBD
Game 7 (if necessary) @ OKC: Monday, May 20 @ TBD

Pulse on Thunder

While Orlando and Minnesota received deserved plaudits for their respective defensive efforts in the first round, the Thunder quietly posted the best defensive rating of any team. Yes, the New Orleans Pelicans certainly missed Zion Williamson, but Oklahoma City’s defence allowing just 95.1 points per-100 possessions to a team that has had plenty of experience playing without Williamson is still an impressive feat.

The Thunder finished with the fourth-best defensive rating in the regular season, forcing turnovers at a league-best rate. Gilgeous-Alexander was among the league-leaders in steals during the regular season while the perimeter defence of Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams was absolutely stifling. That, combined with Chet Holmgren’s ability to both defend in space and protect the rim, make Oklahoma City the type of matchup Dallas doesn’t want to see.

Then there’s the offence. Led by the uber-efficient Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder finished with the third-best offensive rating at 120 points per-100 possessions. The Hamilton, Ont., native can break down any defender and either gets all the way to the basket or makes the right pass time and time again when opponents are forced to send help. Oklahoma City ranked third in the regular season in three-point shooting percentage.

Holmgren complicates matters even further for opponents, his three-point shooting forcing opposing bigs to stretch out to the perimeter and opening up a bevy of driving lanes and making life that much easier for his teammates to finish around the basket. This is one specific area that Oklahoma City will look to batter Dallas with, as the injury to Maxi Kleber leaves the team with two non-spacing bigs in Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.

Then there’s Jalen Williams, who has had a breakout campaign averaging 19.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, and his excellent two-way play could prove a decisive factor in this series. When Gilgeous-Alexander was out of the lineup in the regular season, Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault was more than happy to put the ball in the hands of Williams and let him go to work.

Pulse on Mavs

Dallas may just not be able to put its best foot forward in this series due to injury. Kleber’s dislocated shoulder takes away a key reserve who would have been all the more important in a matchup against Holmgren, Tim Hardaway Jr. was absent for the final four games of the Clippers series and, most importantly, Doncic said on the record after Game 4 of the first round that his knee is “not good.”

Being the MVP candidate he is, Doncic still averaged 29.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 9.5 assists, but shot just 23.9 per cent from the three-point line on 11.2 attempts from deep. Doncic did also say he was sick for about a week and Mavs fans will be hoping at least that is in the rearview mirror now.

Kyrie Irving has been great so far, averaging 26.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting 51.4 per cent from the field overall and 44.9 per cent from deep.

In the absence of Kleber, it’s pivotal that Gafford and Lively II find ways to be net-positives on the court and that will start with their rebounding. They can be monsters on the glass and that is the one area in which the Thunder can be exposed. Oklahoma City finished the regular season as the second-worst defensive rebounding team and fourth-worst offensive rebounding team because of the skill-ball lineups they employ.

X-Factors

Luguentz Dort (Thunder): He has the nickname Dorture Chamber for a reason. The guard matchups for Dort in this series are as tough as it gets in this league and while there’s no stopping Doncic and Irving, the Montreal native will be on a mission to make life as difficult as possible for the two of them.

P.J. Washington (Mavs): Washington finished the first round averaging 10.8 points per game and that was good enough to be the team’s third-leading scorer. Against an excellent defence, Washington’s scoring will be crucial. He’s a very good defender himself, and that two-way ability is going to be much needed in alleviating even the slightest load off Doncic and Irving.

Key to Victory

Three-point line: No team attempted more threes than the Mavs in the regular season. The Thunder don’t take a lot of threes but make them at a high clip. When the three-point math plays in Dallas’s favour, they don’t often lose. How much they need to win that math by is going to be the interesting thing to monitor here.
Iso-ball: In the regular season, only the Clippers played more iso-ball than the Mavs. How Doncic and Irving fare against the likes of Dort, Williams and Cason Wallace is going to make not only for must-see TV but a key storyline in this series.

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Drew Bannister is returning as coach of the St. Louis Blues after getting the interim tag removed from his title and being named Tuesday to the full-time role.

He signed a two-year contract that gives him the chance to oversee a bit of organizational retooling but also show he can get the most out of a roster stocked with veteran talent. The expectation is still for the Blues to contend for a playoff spot in the Western Conference with Bannister in charge.

Bannister, 50, replaced Craig Berube when the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning coach was fired in December. The Blues went 30-19-5 after Bannister took over and finished six points out of a playoff spot.

Three weeks after the regular season ended, and after discussing just two other potential candidates with his inner circle, president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong opted against making another change and decided to keep Bannister in the job.

“You’re just looking, like: ‘Is there any better out there? Is there something different that we’re missing?” Armstrong said on a video call with reporters. “We just came back to our group that Drew had done what we’d asked him to do. We see progression. We see someone that’s earned the right to take the reins and we move forward.”

This is Bannister’s first head-coaching gig in the NHL. He previously coached the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League, St. Louis’ top affiliate, for two-plus seasons.

“(This is) something I’ve been working towards and something that I wanted for myself, my family moving forward,” said Bannister, who played 178 NHL games in the 1990s and early 2000s and was at peace with his status in recent weeks. “It can be a stressful time, but I felt by the end of the year that I’d done a lot of positive things with the players, with the team. Certainly was disappointing the way it ended up for us, but overall I was happy with the strides we made.”

Keeping Bannister fills one of the many potential vacancies this offseason, another of which closed when Ottawa announced the hiring of former New Jersey interim coach Travis Green 90 minutes after the Blues’ news. There have been 16 coaching changes (half the league) over the past year, not counting the need for Winnipeg to find a successor for Rick Bowness, who announced his retirement Monday.

Others could be coming after Toronto lost in the first round for the fourth time in five seasons under Sheldon Keefe. Had his Maple Leafs come back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat Boston in Game 7 on Saturday night, it could have put in jeopardy the job security of Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, who spent two seasons as a Blues assistant on Berube’s staff after his 2019 dismissal in Dallas.

Armstrong said all assistants would return under Bannister, who will be tasked with building lasting relationships with the leadership group of captain Brayden Schenn, All-Star Robert Thomas and defensemen Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk, among others. He likes what he has seen so far in that and other departments enough to trust Bannister with the direction of the franchise.

“He did a very good job in a difficult situation last year,” Armstrong said. “Now having a full training camp and two-year term to put his stamp on this team, we’re looking forward to that.”