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Your daily dose of all things Boston sports from one fan's perspective...
 Winslow Townson, USA TODAY Sports For the second time in his career, David Pastrnak has been named the NHL's First Star of the Week. The Bruins' winger recorded a league-leading nine points (six on the power play) in three games from October 14-20, which included a four-goal game.
Overall, Pastrnak recorded seven goals (four on the power play) and two assists during Boston's 1-0-2 week. Pastrnak leads the Bruins with nine goals and 15 points through their first eight games.
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Michael Dwyer, Associated Press
The Celtics locked up forward Jaylen Brown on Monday, signing him to a four-year contract extension worth up to $115 million.
Per The Boston Globe, Brown is guaranteed $103 million with his new deal, including an additional $12 million based on incentives.
Boston had until 6 pm ET on Monday to sign Brown to a rookie-scale contract extension. If they hadn't, Brown would've been a restricted free agent next offseason. Brown, the number-three overall pick in 2016, averaged 13 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season. "Jaylen has made tremendous strides over the last three years and has become a fantastic player for us on both ends of the court,” said Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. "He’s a great person and hard worker who, at 22 years old, can score and defend against the best players in the NBA. “Jaylen is a true professional who did a great job accepting his role last season, and he is a major part of our championship goals.”  Winslow Townson, USA TODAY Sports In a move that surprised hardly anyone, the Red Sox officially released Steven Wright on Friday, several outlets reported.
The 35-year-old was projected to make $1.5 million in arbitration for 2020. Wright had been a member of the Red Sox since his Major League debut in 2013, going 24-16 with a 3.86 ERA across 347 2/3 innings. An All-Star season in 2016 for Wright (13-6, 3.33 ERA in 24 games/starts) ended nearly six weeks early after he injured himself pinch-running. Following that, things were never the same for him. He struggled in April 2017, posting an 8.25 ERA in five starts before undergoing left knee surgery, ending his season. In 2018, a 15-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy combined with more knee issues limited him to only 20 games (four starts). This past season, Wright went 0-1 with an 8.53 ERA in six games out of the bullpen. He missed the first 80 games due to a suspension, and last pitched on July 13, as injuries once again affected his season. Wright will undergo Tommy John surgery in the offseason before attempting a comeback. 
The Lightning's Tyler Johnson and Bruins' Danton Heinen battling for the puck on Thursday night. Elise Amendola, Associated Press
The Bruins fell short of their third straight win on Thursday night, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in a four-round shootout.
David Pastrnak scored two power play goals for the second straight game, adding an assist as well. Patrice Bergeron notched a goal and an assist, while Brad Marchand and Torey Krug recorded two helpers apiece.
Tuukka Rask stopped 33 shots in the first three periods plus another three in overtime. He's now 3-0-1 with a 1.72 GAA and .946 save %. Through seven games into the season, Pastrnak leads the Bruins with eight goals and 13 points. Marchand leads in assists with seven, while Bergeron and Krug have five apiece. Boston's next two games are against the Toronto Maple Leafs, starting Saturday in Toronto and ending Tuesday in Boston. After that, the Blues will be in town on Saturday for the team' first meeting since last season's Stanley Cup Final.  Brad Mills, USA TODAY Sports/Reuters After completing their sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS on Tuesday, all the Washington Nationals can do now is wait to see who their opponent will be in this year's World Series.
For the Nationals, this is the first time in franchise history that they've reached the World Series. From 1969-2004, they were the Montreal Expos before relocating to the nation's capital in 2005. Washington becomes the last National League team to reach a World Series, and the second-to-last in MLB (Seattle Mariners). Either the Houston Astros or New York Yankees will face the Nationals. In the ALCS, the series is currently 2-1 Houston, with Game 4 tonight in New York following yesterday's (Wednesday) rainout. The stars of the Nationals have not disappointed this month. Between Max Scherzer and Steven Strasburg, the two have a combined 5-0 record over eight games (six starts) with a 1.71 ERA, while Howie Kendrick (NLCS MVP), Anthony Rendon, Juan Soto, and Ryan Zimmerman have combined for 28 of the team's 43 RBIs. Regardless of who the Nationals face, it promises to be a very exciting World Series. Go Washington. Adam Silver Says There's "No Chance" That Rockets GM Daryl Morey Will Be Fired For Hong Kong Tweet10/17/2019 
Kiyoshi Ota, Bloomberg.com
NBA commissioner Adam Silver cleared the air on Thursday at the Time 100 Health Summit, saying there's "no chance" that Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey will be fired—or even disciplined—for his since-deleted tweet expressing support for the protesters in Hong Kong.
This is exactly how it should be. Democrats and Republicans alike condemned the NBA for bending over backwards to the Chinese government in the aftermath of Morey's tweet, so it's nice to know that basic human rights over large profits is a non-partisan issue.
Silver said the league has already begun to experience "substantial" losses in revenue, as well as the games not currently been shown on the air in China. "We'll see what happens next," Silver said. 
John Tlumacki, The Boston Globe
The Bruins kept on rollin' Monday afternoon at TD Garden, beating the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 to improve to 5-1-0 on the season.
David Pastrnak scored all four Bruins goals (on five shots), setting a career-high and tying a Bruins single-game record with 18 others, the last being Patrice Bergeron almost two years ago.
Two of Pastrnak's four goals (Boston's first and last) were scored on the power-play, his first such ones of the season. The 23-year-old scored a goal apiece in the first two periods before notching two in the final one, the third one being of the unassisted variety.
Torey Krug and Brad Marchand notched two assists each, while Patrice Bergeron recorded one of his own.
Nothing like a great start to the season as the Bruins are showing no signs of a Stanley Cup hangover. Their offense is starting to click, and the goaltending has been great. Exactly what you want if you're a fan. Boston will look to win their third straight game on Thursday night at home against the Lightning. 
Scott Kane, Associated Press
After losing to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday for their first loss of the season, the Bruins returned home on Saturday for their home opener, shutting out the New Jersey Devils, 3-0.
Tuukka Rask made 31 saves in his first shutout of the season, and 46th of his career. Rask has won all three of his starts so far, registering a 1.33 GAA and .957 save %.
Brad Marchand got the scoring started with his fourth goal of the season just 3:33 into the game. Just about eight minutes later, Joakim Nordstrom scored for his first. Patrice Bergeron ended the scoring with his first of the season with 46 seconds remaining in the second period, a power-play goal. Jake DeBrusk (team-leading four shots on goal), Sean Kuraly, Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Chris Wagner all recorded one assist on the night. With the win, the Bruins improved to 4-1-0 on the season. And for the last three times the Bruins have started with that record, they've reached the Stanley Cup Final. Just sayin'. 
Tom Brady, 10/9/19 against the Redskins. Patrick Semansky, Associated Press
Entering last night's game against the Giants, Tom Brady needed just 18 passing yards to pass Peyton Manning for second on the all-time list.
Manning sat at 71,940, with Brady right behind him at 71,923. As expected, it didn't take Brady very long to pass Manning, as he did so in the first minute on his very first pass attempt:
Brady finished the night with 334 passing yards (31-for-41) to put him at 72,257 in his career, which is 2,588 behind Drew Brees for most on the all-time list; Brees has missed the last three games for the Saints with a thumb injury.
Kyle Van Noy (#53) rushes in for a 22-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter off a fumble in New England's 35-14 victory over the Giants on Thursday night. Elise Amendola, Associated Press/Shutterstock
The Patriots opened 2019 with their sixth win in as many games, handling the New York Giants 35-14 at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night.
This marks the fourth time in team history that the Patriots have started off 6-0, the last such occurrence being in 2015. Tom Brady threw for 334 yards on the evening, completing 31 of 41 pass attempts with an interception. In the process, he passed Peyton Manning for the second-most passing yards of all-time. Brady came into the game needing just 18 to pass Manning, who was at 71,940. Despite not throwing a touchdown on the night, Brady rushed in for two of his own on quarterback sneaks. Julian Edelman notched 113 receiving yards on nine receptions for his second straight game of at least 100 such yards. After the game, Edelman said what everybody already knows:
The Patriots have allowed just 48 points through their first six games of the season. That puts them on a pace to allow 128, which would set the NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season; the 2000 Baltimore Ravens hold the current record with 165.
Through New England's six games, their opponents have a combined record of 7-22, with number seven to come next Monday night against the 0-4 Jets (who the Patriots already beat this season). Following that game, however, the next six games are against teams with a current combined record of 18-12, which includes the Chiefs, Cowboys, and Ravens. New England's 190 points on the season are the most in the NFL, 29 more than the Ravens (who've played one less game). Overall, the Patriots have won 19 straight games at Gillette Stadium, including three in the postseason. They have five home games left before the playoffs, and if they win each one, they'll set a new team record with 21 straight regular season home wins. If they do indeed win the next four, they'll have a chance to set that record in the final week against the Dolphins. |
AuthorAn independent journalist and lifelong resident of Massachusetts who's bled Boston sports from an early age. Archives
October 2019
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