Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar reflected on a thrilling Game 1 win of the Stanley Cup Final in front of his home fans, but said he is wary of the adjustments coming from the reigning back-to-back champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In a see-sawing contest, the Avalanche jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period, before two Lightning goals in under a minute levelled it at 3-3 halfway through the second period.
The third frame was a hard-fought, scoreless battle, setting up a next-goal-wins finish less than 90 seconds into overtime by Andre Burakovsky.
Makar, who has 22 points in 15 playoff games as a defenseman and spent a game-high 28 minutes on the ice in Wednesday's series opener, told ESPN that the atmosphere in the building was like nothing he had experienced.
"It's incredible," he said. "Obviously the fans tonight were insane – I didn't think they could up the level from the past few rounds, but they were able to do that.
"It was definitely electric in that building, and it's incredible playing with a great group of guys in the Final like this."
While he was thrilled with the result, his attention quickly turned to the championship pedigree of the Lightning, and why the Avalanche need to be near-perfect to deny them a three-peat.
"Obviously great teams like them are going to find ways to exploit us defensively," he said.
"You look at their one goal where [Nikita] Kucherov goes around [Devon] Toews, and feeds [Ondrej] Palat backdoor.
"I mean I knew he was going backdoor the whole time, I just wasn't there, so overall it's about staying more mentally prepared and giving them a few less chances than they had."
He added: "They're a great team, they're going to come out with a different game plan, which I'm sure will be beneficial for them.
"We just have to be prepared for that, and obviously we're going to come up with a game plan with what they came at us with tonight. You have to adjust, and that's just the way the playoffs go.
"In order to beat great teams you have to do it, and [Tampa Bay have] been successful in that in years prior, so hopefully we can limit those improvements they make game-to-game."
The Avalanche are now 13-2 this postseason – winners of six games in a row – and have comfortably been the most potent offensive side in their run to the Final.
Averaging 4.6 goals per game, Colorado are well clear of the Pittsburgh Penguins (4.14) and the Edmonton Oilers (4.06), with another big gap to the fourth-placed Toronto Maple Leafs (3.43). The Lightning are eighth this postseason at 3.06.
Tampa Bay have instead been getting it done defensively, conceding just 2.5 goals per game, trailing only the Dallas Stars (2.14) who were eliminated in the first round. Crucially, the Avalanche have also excelled in their defensive end, conceding 2.87 per game.
When asked if the red-hot Avalanche have started to think about lifting the Stanley Cup, Makar said it is far too early for that.
"Not yet – I feel like, overall, this team has been so great at staying in the moment, especially success-wise, not looking too far ahead," he said.
"I feel if we start looking too far ahead then this is a team that's going to exploit those little mental lapses, like they did tonight.
"For us it's just staying mentally locked in on each game, and not focusing on the future, just focusing on what we can control in the present."
Sesko opts for Leipzig stay over Arsenal, Man Utd move due to progress opportunities
Benjamin Sesko remains certain that staying at RB Leipzig is the "right decision" to develop his career after turning down reported Premier League interest.
Slovenia international Sesko joined Leipzig from RB Salzburg in 2023, scoring 14 league goals last campaign, a tally bettered by only seven players in the German top flight.
That form was said to have attracted Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea to the 21-year-old, who instead signed a new five-year contract with the Bundesliga club last month.
Having committed his future to life at the Red Bull Arena, the striker believes Leipzig will provide a platform for his progression.
"I thought it through very well," Sesko said to Nogomania, a Slovenian media outlet. "I believe I made the right decision. I wanted to gain more experience, learn more, and not rush things.
"Leipzig are an excellent club that can provide what I need for the next step. Leipzig's vision is clear; everything is geared towards growth, progress, and high goals. I felt it was right to decide this way."
Sesko's new deal could see him stay with Leipzig until 2029, with Marco Rose boasting one of the world's most exciting prospects up top.
The Leipzig attacker scored from 14 of his 47 shots last season in the league, a conversion rate of 29.8% – the third-best ratio in the 2023-24 Bundesliga among players to have managed at least five goals.
That deadly finishing in front of goal will have Rose excited once more, and Sesko says his boss was key to the decision to stay.
"We talked," Sesko explained. "He told me he wanted me to stay but also said I should decide based on my feelings.
"He said if I felt I needed to move on, I should go, but if not, I should stay. He's an excellent coach who has led many great players.
"I'm glad I decided this way. I did it before the Euro to keep a clear head and focus entirely on the championship."
England recover from nervy start to lead West Indies by 207 runs
England took control of the second Test against West Indies as the hosts established a 207-run lead at the close of play on Saturday's third day at Trent Bridge.
The hosts ended the day on 248-3, aided by two century partnerships from Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett, and Joe Root and Harry Brook. Both Brook, on 71, and Root, on 37, will resume batting on Sunday.
Despite Chris Woakes claiming the wickets of Alzarri Joseph (10) and Jayden Seales (duck) in successive balls, a final-wicket stand of 71 from Shamar Joseph (33) and Joshua da Silva, who was left unbeaten on 82, saw West Indies, who resumed at 351-5, reach 457.
Scores: England 416 & 248-3 (Duckett 76, Brook 71*, Pope 51, A Joseph 2-58) lead West Indies 457 (Hodge 120, Da Silva 82*, Woakes 4-84) by 207 runs
England's second innings, which they began 41 runs adrift, got off to a nervy start as opener Zak Crawley (three) was run out by Jayden Seales at the non-striker's end.
However, much like they did in the first innings, Duckett (76) and Pope (51) settled the hosts down with a 119-run second-wicket stand, before Alzarri Joseph claimed both in the space of eight deliveries.
Still, Brook and Root also produced an important, unbroken 108-run partnership that placed Ben Stokes' side in command heading into day four.
Data Debrief: Successive century partnerships for Duckett and Pope
With a strong finish to their opening innings, the Windies reached 457 - their highest total on English soil since 1995.
England's response was led by Duckett and Pope's impressive stand of 119, their second three-figure partnership of the series.
They became only the ninth pair to make two century stands for England in a men's Test, and first since Joe Root and Alistair Cook achieved the feat against Pakistan eight years ago.
Nadal confirms Swedish Open final spot with another comeback win
Rafael Nadal booked his place in the final Swedish Open after beating Duje Ajdukovic in Bastad.
Nadal came from a set down, as he did in his quarter-final triumph over Mariano Navone, to win 4-6 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court.
Ajdukovic started the faster of the two, winning a break point early on and raced into a three-game lead against the Spaniard.
While Nadal found his rhythm, winning a break of his own in the fifth game, the Croatian was able to hold his serve to take the first set with relative ease.
The 22-time major winner learned his lesson from his slow start, trading blows with Ajdukovic and earning a quick break point of his own in the third game.
Ajdukovic would rally, but another break point from Nadal in the seventh game proved decisive as he saw out the set to take it to a decider.
And it looked as though the Spaniard would ease into Sunday's final as he led 3-0, but Ajdukovic would fight back, going on to win the next three games.
Nadal, however, used all his experience to regain composure before finding a crucial break in the eighth game, ending the contest on serve as his opponent deft touch from the back of the court found the net.
Nadal will face either Thiago Agustin Tirante or Nuno Borges in Sunday's final.
Data Debrief: Nadal back on top
His second as a wildcard after Hamburg in 2015, Nadal has now reached his 72nd ATP event final on clay. It is the second-most of any player on the surface in the Open Era, trailing only Guillermo Vilas (76) over that span.
Nadal's victory sees him reach his first tour-level final for the first time since Roland Garros in 2022 where he beat Casper Rudd for his 14th French Open title.
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