Wild aim to end playoff woes vs. Dallas | News, Sports, Jobs

AP photo: Referee TJ Luxmore (21) looks on as fights break out between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild in the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas.

As playoff races were raging down the stretch, Commissioner Gary Bettman pointed out that the NHL in years past has had first-round matchups decided on the final day of the season.

Needing until the final day is true once again, with three matchups yet to be determined before the playoffs begin this weekend. A look at the matchups (division and seeding noted):

West: Dallas (Central 2) vs. Minnesota (Central 3)

Dallas (50-20-12, 112 points): The Stars won’t have injured center Roope Hintz for at least the first two games and top defenseman Miro Heiskanen’s return timing is also uncertain but Dallas is still stacked. Strengths: Jake Oettinger can be a wall in net, especially in the third period, and winger Mikko Rantanen has shown he’s a proven playoff performer. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnson both scored more than 40 goals. Weaknesses: Injuries may just be too much for Dallas, taking out too many key players against another top team.

Minnesota (46-24-12, 104 points): The Wild are 0-9 in their past nine playoff series and have not advanced past the first round since 2015, though this time they have elite D-man Quinn Hughes after a December trade. Strengths: Top wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy are dominant forces, as is Hughes back on the blue line with Brock Faber. Weaknesses: Depth down the middle at center sticks out like a sore thumb, as does Minnesota’s inconsistent goaltending since the Olympic break in February.

Whyno’s pick: Dallas (-100) is a slight favorite but is banged up at the wrong time for this kind of series. Wild in seven.

West: Vegas (Pacific 1) vs. Utah (wild card 1)

Vegas (39-26-17, 95 points): Firing Bruce Cassidy and hiring John Tortorella with eight games left worked out and then some as the Golden Knights won seven of them to win the Pacific Division. Strengths: The high-end talent of Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone makes Vegas championship caliber, and this core isn’t far removed from winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. Tortorella cannot be considered anything but a strength, too. Weaknesses: Goaltending is a problem after the fourth-worst team save percentage in the league this season; Carter Hart is likely to be the guy in net.

Utah (43-32-6, 92 points with 1 game remaining): The Mammoth qualifying in the franchise’s second season in Salt Lake City is cause for celebration, and taking that step shows evidence of GM Bill Armstrong and the front office building a contender. Strengths: Their top forwards are excellent, from captain Clayton Keller and budding young star Logan Cooley to Nick Schmaltz and JJ Peterka. Mikhail Sergachev is a true No. 1 defenseman who can produce offense. Weaknesses: Like a lot of teams, Utah has relied a lot on its starting goaltender, with Karel Vejmelka starting the most games of anyone at the position in the league.

Whyno’s pick: Vegas (-190) should be able to ride experience into the second round and possibly beyond. Golden Knights in four.

What is left to determine

The final two matchups in the West will be settled Thursday night.

Colorado, the Presidents’ Trophy winner, will face Los Angeles, Anaheim or two-time defending conference champion Edmonton. The other two teams will play each other.

East: Carolina (Metropolitan 1) vs. Ottawa (wild card 2)

Carolina (53-22-7, 113 points): The Hurricanes are in the postseason for an eighth consecutive year since Rod Brind’Amour took over as coach, and as the top seed in the East they have home-ice advantage through the conference final. Strengths: They have experience, with three trips to the East final over the past eight years and have seven 20-goal scorers led by Seth Jarvis with 32. Weaknesses: Goaltending is still a question mark, as is the reputation the team has developed for being unable to score when the competition gets tougher.

Ottawa (44-27-11, 99 points) The Senators were 15th out of 16 teams in the East on Jan. 25. They won 20 of their next 29 games to clinch a spot. Strengths: Travis Green’s team plays hard, and when Linus Ullmark is on his game in net they can beat anyone. Injuries down the stretch only showed how much organizational depth they have. Weaknesses: Ottawa has taken the seventh-most penalties of any team in the league and is the fourth-worst at killing them off. They also expended a lot of energy making up ground.

Whyno’s pick: Carolina (-175) is a justified favorite based on talent discrepancy but it will be a grind. Hurricanes in six.

East: Pittsburgh (Metropolitan 2) vs. Philadelphia (Metropolitan 3)

Pittsburgh (41-25-16, 98 points): The longshot Penguins are giving the trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang another chance after three years without a postseason berth. Strengths: Erik Karlsson has been great at 35, and rookie coach Dan Muse plays a style that allows his team to score in bunches and turn the tide on opponents quickly. Weaknesses: Defending isn’t the Pens’ strong suit, and neither is their goaltending, so they often need to outscore their problems.

Philadelphia (43-27-12, 98 points): The Flyers have been the NHL’s best team since March 7, going 15-5-1 to make it in for the first time since 2020. Strengths: They can lean on experienced elders like Sean Couturier but are in the playoffs because of young, emerging stars Tyson Foerster, Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov. Weaknesses: Goalie Dan Vladar played a ton down the stretch because he needed to, and he and his many of his teammates are largely new to this kind of pressure.

Whyno’s pick: Pittsburgh (-160) has too many players who have been there, done that and could make a longer-than-expected run. Penguins in five.

East: Buffalo (Atlantic 1) vs. Boston (wild card 1)

Buffalo (50-23-9, 109 points): The Sabres bounced back from losing 18 of their first 29 games to end the longest playoff drought in league history and win the division, with Lindy Ruff becoming the front-runner for coach of the year in the process. Strengths: Unlike last year, the players are accustomed to tight games and winning them instead of folding. Tage Thompson can score from anywhere. Weaknesses: A lack of experience tends to show this time of year and how players respond to playoff hockey will be critical.

Boston (45-27-10, 100 points): Back in the playoffs after a one-year blip, the Bruins relied on 100-point scorer David Pastrnak, goaltender Jeremy Swayman and top defenseman Charlie McAvoy to steady the ship. Strengths: They’re well-coached by Marco Sturm, and Swayman has had an excellent season. Weaknesses: They are a solid if not spectacular team that needs to rely on Pastrnak and the top scorers a little too much.

Whyno’s pick: Buffalo (-190) gets it done after getting pushed to the edge. Sabres in seven.

East: Tampa Bay (Atlantic 2) vs. Montreal (Atlantic 3)

Tampa Bay (50-26-6, 106 points): The Lightning endured injuries to the likes of defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh to top centers Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli, and yet they’re among the Stanley Cup favorites thanks to winger Nikita Kucherov, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and roster depth. Strengths: Vasilevskiy gives them a chance to win every game, and the extended absences have shown why coach Jon Cooper is one of the best. Weaknesses: Hedman has not played since mid-March and his status in uncertain.

Montreal (48-24-10, 106 points): The Canadiens won eight in a row down the stretch and 15 of their final 21 games, with Cole Caufield becoming the organization’s first 50-goal scorer since 1990 and center Nick Suzuki crashing the MVP race. Strengths: They move the puck extremely well and quickly and can strike at 5 on 5 or the power play. Weaknesses: They will have to prove they can play playoff-style hockey by defending and getting some stops in net.

Whyno’s pick: Tampa Bay (-235) has the pedigree, but Montreal is hot at the right time. Canadiens in six.

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Behind the Butterfly: Mikal Bridges retrospective

Welcome back to the Butterfly Effect- kind of…

So far we have discussed the Anfernee Hardaway and Stephon Marbury trade to the Knicks that cleared up the cap space to acquire Steve Nash and Steve Nash’s departure to the Lakers.

This time, we aren’t quite done with Nash-adjacent topics, though we are getting a little further away from him. This week, I want to discuss Mikal Bridges. As we already discussed, the pick that became Mikal came to the Suns in the Nash to LA trade:

July 11, 2012 – The Inception

Los Angeles Lakers Trade:

2013 1st round pick (Nemanja Nedovic)
2018 1st round pick (Mikal Bridges)
2013 2nd round pick (Alex Oriakhi)
2014 2nd round pick (Johnny O’Bryant)

The Mikal Bridges pick would go on to be traded on February 19th, 2015 to the Philadelphia 76ers in a three team trade for the Milwaukee Bucks’ Brandon Knight.

Now, so far we have been trying to pull the total on-court value from the trades the Suns have made to see if they have been worthwhile or not. This week, I want to do something different. This week, I want to take the excuse to make a quick journey through the entire career of one of my all time favorite Suns and NBA Champion, Mikal Bridges.

So, we are ditching the rules of the Butterfly Effect for a week. Let’s talk about the trades and performances of Mikal’s career and their impact on the Phoenix Suns.

June 21st, 2018 – The Hometown Hero, Draft Night

The child of a single mom, Philadelphia native Mikal Bridges sits in the green room during the NBA draft. The Ringer has him rated as the 10th best prospect in the draft. Sports Illustrated and ESPN both have him mocked to go 10th in the draft. It seems everyone is in agreement. The 10th pick in the draft should be Mikal Bridges.

And what a perfect fit that would be. Because the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft is owned by none other than Bridges’ hometown Philadelphia 76ers.

Now, the 76ers don’t need Mikal Bridges. They are coming off of a 52-win 2018 campaign that saw Dario Saric and Robert Covington play well as the forward duo in between Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. In fact, only Simmons played more games than this duo for the 76ers this season.

Covington was especially impactful, coming 8th in Defensive Player of the Year voting and making All-Defense 1st team in 2018. He had fully ascended to the title of superstar-role-player.

In some ways, Mikal Bridges may be redundant on this roster. In the Ringer’s 2018 draft guide, their number one comparison for him was in fact Robert Covington.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Bridges is currently one of Philadelphia’s favorite sons.

Just two months before, Mikal was the second leading scorer in the NCAA national championship game. He, alongside other future NBA players Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Eric Paschall, and Collin Gillespie, beat the University of Michigan 79-62. No weak feat, considering that Michigan team sported a few future NBA players as well, including future Phoenix Sun Isaiah Livers.

Bridges, of course, accomplished this great victory at Philadelphia’s own Villanova University.

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While Bridges likely isn’t destined to be an MVP and therefore doesn’t have Derrick Rose to Chicago or LeBron James to Cleveland levels of hometown hero aura about him, he is still a Philadelphia champion, and is available when the 76ers are on the clock at pick #10.

Bridges and his mother celebrated in the green room. Her son was going to be staying in their hometown. Mikal’s mother, by the way, worked in the Philadelphia 76ers human resources department. The connections to Philadelphia seemed never ending.

But, Mikal would not be staying home, he would be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first round draft pick. If you’re curious, that pick ended up becoming Tre Mann.

Mikal presented a professional face to the disappointment of being shipped out by his hometown team.

Years later on Andre Iguodala’s Point Forward podcast, Mikal was a little more honest about how he felt on draft night.

“I was pissed off. I couldn’t control my emotions. After everyone went out, I’m in my hotel room, like, f**k this.”

But, Mikal did come to Phoenix. Despite later saying that Booker was just about the only thing he knew about the Suns, Mikal packed up and headed for the Valley, where he would become a fan favorite.

Mikal made a home for himself in the Suns organization. In his rookie season, he averaged 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists per game. His sophomore season wasn’t much more impressive, though it did come with an increase in efficiency.

In his third season in the NBA, 2020-2021, Bridges began to pop. Increasing his scoring to 13 points per game and continuing to be a great defender, he helped lead the Phoenix Suns to the NBA finals as a key starter.

A proven winner and true iron-man, Bridges played all 22 playoff games for the Suns that year. He was key in the Suns game two victory over the Bucks in the NBA Finals, scoring 27 points alongside Devin Booker’s 31 to take a 2-0 lead.

It’s hard to overstate how much Mikal Bridges was loved in Phoenix. There were times where Suns Twitter and Reddit were filled with people posting nothing but his name in awe of a great play here or there.

While I can’t find the original tweet from the turn of the decade, The Timeline Podcast’s Mike Vigil returned to the trend during this year’s Finals.

2023-2024 – The Centerpiece

When Mikal Bridges was traded to the Brooklyn Nets as the centerpiece (along with Cam Johnson and every pick known or unknown to man) of the Kevin Durant trade, he was averaging 17 points per game and coming off of a 2021-2022 season where he came in second in the DPOY race.

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Many fans were excited about Durant coming to Phoenix. Every fan was sad to see Bridges leave.

In Brooklyn, Mikal shined. He averaged 21 points per game in his two years on the Nets on solid, though lower than normal, efficiency. He wasn’t a superstar. He was a very talented guy playing in a role that he didn’t belong in and still doing well.

While I, and most every Suns fan, was happy to see him do so well on the east coast, the failures of the Suns in the Durant era led to a lot of buyers’ remorse.

It always felt like Mikal belonged in Phoenix in a way that was never true of Kevin Durant.

In July of 2024, the Brooklyn Nets traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for four unprotected first round picks, one protected first round pick, a first-round pick swap, a second round pick, and some salary filler.

It was a gross overpay. One made worse, in my mind, by how many picks the Nets got when they traded for Bridges.

If you count the first round picks that the Nets got for KD, as well as the first round picks that the Nets got when they traded away Bridges and Johnson, who came over in the KD deal, you count up eleven first round draft picks. The Nets traded away Kevin Durant and received back eleven first round draft picks by the time it was all said and done.

But, the deal was done. Mikal Bridges would join former Villanova teammates Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart. The ‘Nova Knicks were born.

Fast forward to today, and those ‘Nova Knicks are champions (except for DiVincenzo, who has spent the last couple of seasons in Minnesota).

Now, I have never cared for the big cities on the coasts. I love rooting against anything Los Angeles or New York. But, I couldn’t help but root for the Knicks during these playoffs once the Suns were eliminated. I wanted to see Mikal achieve what the Suns should have in 2021.

Mikal Bridges has been many things in his career. The hometown hero, the warden, the centerpiece, and now the champion. To me, he will always be an all-time favorite.

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Witness describes deadly shooting after Southgate police confront shoplifting suspect

SOUTHGATE, Mich. – A man, who was suspected of shoplifting, died on Saturday after he was shot by a Southgate police officer outside of a Meijer.

It happened steps away from the Fort Street Dream Cruise crowd.

The shooting happened in the parking lot of the Meijer right off Fort Street around 3:45 p.m. on Saturday.

A group of people was enjoying the start of the cruise and barbequing next to the parking lot when the area turned into a crime scene.

“We were barbequing and the next thing you know, the cops came up and somebody was shot,” a man who witnessed the shooting said.

He asked Local 4 not to share his name.

“It was pretty crazy,” he said. “It went by so quick, we didn’t even really know what was going on or why.”

Officers say they were called to the area around 3:45 p.m.

“Officers were dispatched to the Meijer regarding a retail fraud in progress, a shoplifting,” Southgate Police Chief Mark Mydlarz said.

Police arrived and confronted a man and a woman who they suspected were stealing from the Meijer.

“The male subject ended up pulling out a sharp instrument of some type. At which time, he engaged our officers and one of our officers fired at least one round striking the male subject,” Mydlarz said.

The man was taken to the hospital and died there.

Local 4 is told the officer was not injured and the woman who was with the man is in police custody.

“We had a lot of manpower in for that (the dream cruise),” Mydlarz said. “We are fortunate that because we had all this manpower in that we were able to quickly contain this and get the investigation going, but there is a lot going on, as you pointed out, and it’s taxing our officers no doubt.”

People in the area say they were surprised to hear what happened.

“Surprised, just shocked,” Tammy Foster, who was attending the cruise, said. “Especially a big parking lot with so many people.”

Michigan State Police are now investigating and, as is protocol in these situations, the officer involved is on administrative leave.

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Austria y Argelia empatan 3-3 y ambos avanzan a 16vos de final del Mundial; Irán, eliminado

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KANSAS CITY (AP) — Austria y Argelia firmaron el sábado un vibrante empate 3-3 que benefició a ambos en el cierre de la fase de grupos del Mundial. El resultado selló el boleto de los dos equipos a la ronda de eliminación directa y dejó a Irán fuera del torneo.

El encuentro estaba igualado 2-2 en la recta final y Argelia parecía conforme con el resultado, pero el capitán Riyad Mahrez marcó su segundo tanto del partido cuando quedaba aproximadamente un minuto en el tiempo añadido. Ese marcador puso a Austria al borde de la eliminación, pero entonces Sasa Kalajdzic igualó nuevamente la pizarra instantes después con un remate de cabeza que rescató las esperanzas mundialistas de Das Team.

Marko Arnautovic y Marcel Sabitzer también gritaron goles por Austria, que terminó en el segundo lugar del Grupo J, detrás de Argentina, para clasificarse a la ronda de eliminación directa por primera vez desde 1982. Su premio es un duelo con el campeón europeo España el próximo jueves en Los Ángeles.

Rafik Belghali también anotó por Les Fennecs, que se convirtieron en el noveno de 10 equipos de África en avanzar a la siguiente fase. Terminaron en tercer lugar de su llave y se medirán en dieciseisavos de final a Suiza el jueves en Vancouver.

Irán habría avanzado como uno de los ocho mejores terceros lugares con un triunfo ya fuera de Austria o Argelia. Pero el gol de Kalajdzic en el último suspiro marcó un desgarrador final al camino de Irán en este Mundial.

Los primeros tres partidos del Mundial en Kansas City pintaron la casa de los Chiefs con el celeste de Argentina, el amarillo de Ecuador y el naranja de Holanda. Pero en el cierre de la fase de grupos, el verde de Argelia y el rojo de los austriacos se vieron acompañados por miles de aficionados locales satisfechos de encontrar un boleto asequible.

Muchos de los hinchas locales alentaban a Argelia, que ha establecido su sede de entrenamiento en la cercana Lawrence, Kansas, y ha forjado una amistad única con la pequeña ciudad sede de la Universidad de Kansas.

Pocos de esos nuevos aficionados de Les Fennecs probablemente conocen la “Desgracia de Gijón”.

Sin embargo, los seguidores de Argelia habían esperado 44 años por una revancha mundialista. En España 1982, Austria y Alemania Occidental prácticamente dejaron de jugar después de que el cuadro alemán tomó ventaja de 1-0, debido a que el resultado le otorgaba a ambos equipo un boleto en la siguiente fase a expensas de Argelia, que presentó una infructuosa protesta ante la FIFA y quedó eliminada del Mundial.

Algunos tenían curiosidad por saber si un Mundial ampliado a 48 equipos daría lugar a una “Desgracia de Kansas City”, porque ambos sabían desde el principio que un empate los colocaría en la siguiente fase. En cambio, los 69.045 espectadores fueron testigos de un duelo repleto de drama.

Austria pegó primero cuando Arnautovic recibió a la perfección un pase filtrado entre dos defensores argelinos y quedó mano a mano con el arquero Oussama Benbot, antes de firmar su gol 49 con la camiseta de su selección, ampliando su récord.

Argelia respondió segundos antes del descanso, cuando el disparo de zurda de Belghali venció con facilidad al arquero austriaco Alexander Schlager.

El ritmo desenfrenado continuó en el segundo tiempo.

No conforme con el empate 1 -1, el austriaco Konrad Laimer lanzó un preciso servicio que Sabitzer envió al fondo de las redes para recuperar la ventaja de Austria y las esperanzas de Irán. Pero Argelia respondió minutos después por conducto de Mahrez, quien remató un centro perfecto de Houssem Aouar.

Argelia tomó el control en el tramo final, manteniendo la posesión. Pero cuando parecía que ambos equipos estaban felices de dejar correr el reloj, Mahrez y Kalajdzic les regalaron fuegos artificiales en el tiempo añadido.

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Vea más de la cobertura del Mundial de AP aquí.

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