Home-ice advantage seems to be a real thing so far in the NHL playoffs

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Home-ice advantage seems to be a real thing so far in the NHL playoffs

2025-04-24 02:55 Last Updated At：03:12

Home-ice advantage hasn’t really existed over the past couple of years in the Stanley Cup playoffs. In 2023 and 2024, visiting teams won more games than the home teams did.

That’s not the case so far in 2025.

Entering Wednesday, home teams were 10-3 in this postseason. And the teams at home on Thursday in the NHL — Tampa Bay, Ottawa, St. Louis and Minnesota — are surely hoping that trend continues. The Senators are down 2-0 to Toronto, the Blues are down 2-0 to Winnipeg, the Lightning are down 1-0 to Florida and the Wild can take a 2-1 lead in their series over Vegas if they successfully protect home ice on Thursday.

It’s not must-win time for any of them, but there’s certainly some urgency.

“I know it’s been a long time coming for Sens fans,” Ottawa forward Brady Tkachuk said, looking ahead to what will be the first home playoff game for the Senators since May 23, 2017. “We’re going to really need them and I’m looking forward to getting out there in Game 3 in front of our fans.”

St. Louis had chances; it led Game 1 in the third period and went into the third period of Game 2 tied. The Blues hope being at home provides the little extra boost that wasn’t there for Games 1 and 2 in Winnipeg.

“We’re going to have the last line change now,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’re going to go home. We’re going to be in front of our frenzied crowd. And we’re going to have an opportunity to hold serve at home.”

The Lightning are trying to avoid dropping Games 1 and 2 of a series at home for the first time since Round 1 in 2019, when they were the top overall seed but wound up getting swept by Columbus — and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who now stars for Florida.

“The bottom line is we lost,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said after Game 1. “Whether you lose 6-2 or you lose 1-0 in overtime, we lost the game. Turn the page and move on.”

Minnesota can take a 2-1 series lead, after a 5-2 win in Game 2 at Vegas. The NHL said when a best-of-seven playoff series has been tied 1-1, 66% of the Game 3 winners have eventually won the series.

When/Where to Watch: Game 2, 6:30 p.m. EDT (TBS, truTV, Max)

Series: Panthers, 1-0.

Florida got Matthew Tkachuk (two goals, one assist) back for Game 1, a 6-2 road win on Tuesday that gave the Panthers the early upper hand in the series.

Don't tell Panthers coach Paul Maurice that it'll mean much going into Game 2.

“Don't mean to be a downer here, but not a huge believer in momentum,” Really not. Puck drops. That's your opportunity to change momentum and it's going to happen at the opening face-off. Both teams will look at the game and find things they can do better."

Tampa Bay did a lot of things right in Game 1, particularly hold Florida to 16 shots. Problem was, only 10 of them got stopped.

When/Where to Watch: Game 3, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN2)

Series: Maple Leafs, 2-0.

Toronto is in total control of the Battle of Ontario.

This is the 11th time — first since 2002 — that the Maple Leafs grabbed a 2-0 series lead by winning Games 1 and 2 on home ice. In the previous 10 instances, Toronto went on to win the series.

And there's this: Ottawa has never won a series when trailing 2-0. It has happened nine previous times, the Senators lost all nine of those matchups.

To their credit, the Senators are not panicking. “We’ve got to play a little better next game,” coach Travis Green said.

When/Where to Watch: Game 3, 9 p.m. EDT (TBS, truTV, Max)

Series: Tied, 1-1.

If the Wild’s top line has been dominant through the first two games of this series, the opposite is true for the Golden Knights. The line of Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone has not registered a point.

Eichel didn’t even have a shot on goal in Tuesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Wild. He had just two in the opener, a 4-2 Vegas victory.

“They’re elite, world-class players and they’ve got to get going,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’ve got to help them. We’re trying to help them.”

Cassidy believes they could still make a strong impact. So does Minnesota.

“Their top line, frustrated a little bit, but they’re special players,” Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. “They’re going to find ways. ... We’ve got to respect them, but not too much, and play the way we’ve been playing.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 3, 9:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN2)

Series: Jets, 2-0.

St. Louis has successfully come back from a 2-0 series deficit in a best-of-seven once before — 1972 against Minnesota.

So, it is possible. The Blues have to be encouraged that Games 1 and 2 were close. But finding a way to beat the Jets four times in five games will be daunting. And Winnipeg is vowing to keep a simple, effective approach going into Game 3.

“It's just about beating the man across from you, competing every single shift,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said.

A potential boost for the Jets: Gabriel Vilardi will be with the team in St. Louis. Vilardi missed the final 11 games of the regular season with an upper-body injury; he had 27 goals for Winnipeg this season.

AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this report. Information from The Canadian Press was also utilized.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Reds pay tribute to Pete Rose a day after he was posthumously reinstated by MLB

2025-05-15 08:19 Last Updated At：08:21

CINCINNATI (AP) — Pete Rose was celebrated by the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night, a day after baseball’s career hits leader was posthumously removed from Major League Baseball’s permanent ineligibility list.

There were chants of “Pete! Pete!” at Great American Ball Park. There was a pregame moment of silence, and a choir from Rose's Cincinnati high school performed the national anthem. And No. 14 was everywhere, from the replica jerseys in the stands to the highlights shown on the videoboard.

It was the type of all-out effort that Rose himself would have appreciated.

“This city was my dad," Rose’s daughter, Fawn, said.

Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin and Eric Davis — who played for Rose when he managed the Reds — shared stories about their former manager during a pregame panel, joined by former Rose teammate George Foster. Members of Rose's family delivered the game ball before Cincinnati's matchup with the Chicago White Sox.

“He played baseball with as much passion and competitive enjoyment as you ever could,” said Reds manager Terry Francona, who played with Rose with Montreal and played for him with Cincinnati. “You wanted to be on his team.”

Rose, who died in September at age 83, played for the Reds in 19 of his 24 seasons, winning two of his three World Series championships with his hometown team. His career was tarnished by a gambling scandal that led to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989.

An investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose — a 17-time All-Star who finished with 4,256 hits — repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager of the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule.

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday he was changing the league’s policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death. Manfred met with Fawn Rose and Jeffrey Lenkov, a lawyer who represented Pete Rose, on Dec. 17.

Manfred “was gracious, kind,” Fawn Rose said. “Really gave me a forum to talk about my dad, not the baseball player, but the father, the grandfather and really what he means to the (fans) of Cincinnati.”

Pete Rose Jr., who appeared in 11 games with Cincinnati in 1997, said he was angry when he first heard about Manfred's decision because he couldn't call his father. But he called the change a step in the right direction.

“Hate to say this, but it’s not going to bring him back," he said. "If they would have said you’re not going to be taken off the list, but you’re coming back, hey bring him back. But nothing but positives today.”

While Rose's gambling ban made him a baseball pariah, that was never the case in a city that proudly embraces its status as the home of the oldest major league team. He was almost uniformly beloved in his hometown for his relentless playing style and his connection to the Big Red Machine — the dominant Reds teams in the mid-1970s.

“My dad used to tell me all the stories of how hard he played every time,” said Reds reliever Brent Suter, a Cincinnati native. “You know, never took a play off, always was running hard 90 (feet), sliding headfirst, you know, getting dirty every game. ... This was a guy who just embodied toughness, grit.”

There were long lines at several gates as the capacity crowd filed into the ballpark. A steady stream of fans stopped in front of Rose's statue for pictures before going inside the stadium.

There was a black tarp with the No. 14 over the pitcher's mound as the players took batting practice.

“I remember his hustle. The headfirst slides. He was a person with not a lot of talent, but he worked so hard,” said Bob Wunder, 65, of Dayton.

Wunder expressed his frustration with the timing of Manfred's decision.

“It’s awful. They should have done it when he was alive," he said. "If I was the (Rose) family, I would say ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ I’m upset that it had to wait until he passed away.”

The change in Rose's status makes him eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame — long a sore spot for Rose's most ardent supporters — but his Cooperstown induction is far from a given.

Rose's case would be considered by the Hall’s Classic Baseball Era committee, which next meets to consider players in December 2027. A 10-person panel selects eight ballot candidates with the approval of the Hall’s board, and the group is considered by 16 members at the winter meetings, with a 75% or higher vote needed.

“I know I oversimplify things. But what Pete did as a player, if he's not in, there is no Hall of Fame,” Francona said. “But I get it. There are some things that ... I'm glad I don't have to make (those) decisions.”

Jerry Casebolt, 80, of Florence, Kentucky, stopped to get his photo taken in front of the Rose statue before the game. He said he was at the 1970 All-Star Game when Rose bowled over Ray Fosse in a memorable play at the plate, and he also attended the game when Rose broke Ty Cobb’s hits record.

The removal of Rose from the ineligible list was meaningful for him.

“It was great to hear the news,” he said. “Just opening up the gates (to the Hall of Fame), but it’s still questionable. Hope he gets in. Shame he didn’t get to see it.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb