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Oilers turn back to Stuart Skinner in goal in must-win Game 6

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Edmonton Oilers, facing elimination against the Florida Panthers in Game 6 on Tuesday night, have flipped back to Stuart Skinner as their starting goalie.

Skinner was pulled in Games 3 and 4 in Florida and was benched in favor of backup Calvin Pickard in their Game 5 loss in Edmonton that gave the Panthers a 3-2 series lead.

“Feeling good coming into tonight. I definitely know that I have the confidence in my teammates and coaching staff,” Skinner said after Edmonton’s morning skate. “I think there’s obviously a lot of belief here still.”

Skinner was benched after the first period in Game 4, having given up three goals on 17 shots. Pickard stopped 22 of 23 shots as the Oilers won in overtime to even the Stanley Cup Final at 2-2. Pickard got the start in Game 5 in Edmonton, giving up four goals on 18 shots in a 5-2 loss, which put Florida in a position to raise their second straight Stanley Cup over the Oilers.

Skinner was also pulled in the third period of their Game 3 blowout loss in Florida after giving up five goals on 23 shots. He said it was hard watching Edmonton play from the bench over the past three games.

“My job is to stop the puck when I’m told to go in the net. Sometimes I get told that I’m not [in the net]. For sure, it’s disappointing,” Skinner said. “I’ve just got to stick to what my job is. [Those decisions] are over my pay grade. Whenever they tell me to go on the net, I’m definitely not going to say ‘no.'”

Knoblauch said after Game 5 that “there’s no fault at Calvin at all on any of those goals.” But with their season on the line, the Oilers coach decided to go back to Skinner.

“Stu has been in a lot of high-pressure games. He’s played really well,” Knoblauch said. “We looked at the amount of elimination games he’s played in. I think there were six last year. Every game that he played in, they were really solid if not spectacular performances. So, season on the line, we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.”

Three of those elimination games came against the Panthers, who failed to close out Edmonton in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final after building a 3-0 series lead, needing to win in Game 7 to hoist the Cup for the first time as a franchise. Skinner was great in their Game 6 win in Edmonton, stopping 20 of 21 shots to force a winner-take-all game.

He’s trying to repeat that feat one year later and extend the Stanley Cup Final to a seventh game back in Edmonton on Friday night.

“He’s amazing in the playoffs and had incredible games this year. There’s just a trust factor that we know that he can get the job done for us,” Oilers star Leon Draisaitl said. “In Game 4, he was amazing in the first period. It was us that let him down. It doesn’t seem fair, right? So, we have full belief in him.”

Skinner, 26, was the Oilers’ primary starter in the regular season with a 26-18-4 record in 51 games and was their starter to begin the first round against the Los Angeles Kings. But after giving up 11 goals in the first two games of the series, he was replaced as starter by 33-year-old backup Pickard, who has played for six NHL teams in 10 seasons. Pickard went 6-0 until an injury in the second round against Vegas gave Skinner the starting job again.

Overall, Pickard is 7-1 with a .886 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average. Skinner is 7-6 with a .891 save percentage and a 2.99 goals-against average.

In other Oilers lineup changes, defenseman John Klingberg draws in for defenseman Troy Stecher, while forward Kasperi Kapanen replaces winger Viktor Arvidsson up front.

The Panthers have struggled with closing out opponents over their past two runs to the Stanley Cup Final. They needed seven games to eliminate Edmonton last year. They lost Game 6 at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round and lost Game 4 at home in the Eastern Conference Final to Carolina. In both instances, they eliminated their opponent in the following game.

“We’re going to have to do a great job of matching their desperation,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “At the same time, we go into every series planning on playing seven games. We want to approach each game the same as the one before and that’s what we’re going to do tonight.”

Halloween Decor Drops Are Here Starting at $7

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Our writers and editors independently determine what we cover and recommend. When you buy through our links, E! may earn a commission. Learn more. 

If you’ve been wondering what is Summerween? Here’s the short answer: it’s Halloween… but in July. The trend started with the cult-favorite animated show Gravity Falls and has since taken over TikTok, Pinterest, and now? Your favorite stores. Summerween is all about bringing spooky vibes to the sunniest season—because who says ghosts only come out in October? Target and Michaels just dropped early Halloween decor with prices starting at $7, and yes, it’s everything.

Whether you’re into cute pumpkins or full-on haunted mansion gothic decor, there’s no better time to embrace your hot ghoul summer. No tricks here—just treats, thrills, and an excuse to start celebrating spooky season a few months early. So light a fall-scented candle, queue up a summer-themed horror flick (AKA Sleepaway Camp), and lean into the weird and wonderful world of Summerween.

Smugglers deploy ‘taxi boats’ to collect migrants off the French coast

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Andrew Harding

Reporting fromFrench coast, south of Calais

A number of French gendarmes watched the boat being boarded but declined to intervene

As the weather in the Channel clears, the French police are struggling to halt a potentially record-breaking surge of people from reaching the UK in small boats organised by a growing network of smuggling gangs. Downing Street said on Tuesday the situation was “deteriorating.”

Although the French authorities claim they’re now intercepting more than two thirds of those boats before they reach the sea, the smugglers are now changing tactics to launch so-called “taxi boats” from new sites, in new ways, and with ever greater speed.

Instead of inflating their boats in the dunes along the coast, close to police patrols, the gangs are launching them from better hidden locations, often dozens of kilometres from the main departure beaches.

They then cruise along the coastline, like taxis or buses, picking up their paying customers who now wait in the sea, out of reach of the police.

Marianne Baisnée/BBC Six French gendarmes stand facing the sea, their backs to the camera. In the distance you can see a large inflatable boat close to where dozens of people are gathered in waist-deep waterMarianne Baisnée/BBC

French police say the boats are too vulnerable to be stopped at sea without the risk of drownings

Just before sunrise, last Friday, we encountered a group of perhaps 80 people gathered in calm, waist-deep water, off a beach near the village of Wissant, south of Calais. There were several women and children in the group, from countries including Eritrea and Afghanistan.

We counted eighteen French gendarmes watching them from the shore, declining to intervene.

An inflatable taxi boat, operated by a smuggling gang, had just arrived by sea and now circled repeatedly. Over the course of perhaps ten minutes, one man sitting at the front of the boat appeared to usher people forwards, to clamber onboard in relatively organised, even orderly, groups.

Several children clung, occasionally crying, to their relatives’ shoulders.

“Yes, to England,” one Afghan man told me, patiently waiting his turn, his eyes focused firmly on the boat.

The taxi boat system appears to give the smugglers a little more control over what has often been a chaotic, and dangerous process, involving large crowds dragging boats to the water and then scrambling onboard.

A little over a year ago, I watched the result on a nearby beach when about a hundred migrants tried to pile onto the same boat. Five people, including a seven-year-old girl, were trampled or suffocated to death.

Lea Guedj/BBC A group of people stand in waist-deep water with an overloaded inflatable boat in front of themLea Guedj/BBC

After launching from hidden sites, the taxi boats cruise France’s coastline picking up customers

On Friday morning, Colonel Olivier Alary stood, dry-footed, watching the taxi boat load up. He explained that the current operational rules for his forces were clear. They would intervene to rescue someone if they were about to drown. They might even attempt to stop the boat if it became trapped on a sandbank. But it was simply too risky, for all involved, for the police to try to reach the boat now it was afloat.

“The police will be able to do more… if the rules governing our actions at sea are changed,” said Alary, referring to the French government’s declared intention to revise those rules, possibly in the coming weeks, to give the police more leeway.

“It’s essential that we don’t create panic and endanger these people further. If the rules change to allow us to intervene against these taxi boats, as close as possible to the shore, then we’ll be able… to be more effective,” said Alary, as the fully loaded boat finally set off north-westwards, towards the English coast.

Although some officers say there is already some wiggle-room for the police in terms of how strictly they interpret the existing rules, many are fearful that they might face serious legal trouble.

“I can understand an average British person watching this on television might say, ‘Damn, those police don’t want to intervene.’ But it’s not like that. Imagine people on a boat panic and we end up with children drowning. The police officer who intervened would end up in a French court. It’s a complicated business, but we can’t fence off the entire coastline. It’s not the Second World War,” said Marc Musiol, of the police union, Unity.

“If we don’t have the orders, we don’t move. Even if there’s one centimetre of water, we don’t intervene. It’s frustrating,” said his union colleague, Marc Alegrè.

As a result, the French forces, now patrolling more than 120km (75 miles) of coastline in northern France, focus all their attention on trying to intercept the smugglers’ boats before they launch.

And while that interception rate is rising, the smugglers are changing their own tactics fast.

Marianne Baisnée/BBC A man in his fifties dressed in police uniform, with a bullet-proof vest, stands on the sand of a beach looking out to seeMarianne Baisnée/BBC

Colonel Alary’s unit uses infra-red drones to spot and track migrants gathering in groups along the coast

We’d first joined Colonel Alary and his men soon after midnight on Friday. It was the fourth full night our team had spent on the beaches in recent weeks.

Alary’s unit was busy using infra-red drones, paid for by the British government, to spot and track several hundred migrants who’d gathered in smaller groups along the coast, having arrived by bus and on foot over the course of Thursday afternoon and evening.

On a monitor, we could clearly see one group, gathered around a makeshift campfire in a forest near the beach.

“But it’s the smugglers we’re after. If we move towards the migrants now, they’ll just disperse,” said Alary.

Then, at around five in the morning, to the visible frustration of the police, reports came in of a successful taxi boat launch further up the coast.

“Let’s go,” said Alary.

We arrived, some minutes later, at a shingle beach beside the old fishing village of Audresselles, just south of Cap Gris-Nez. A black Volvo V50, doors open, was stuck fast, up to its axles in pebbles.

The car had clearly been driven at high speed, across the main road and straight towards the sea.

Marianne Baisnée/BBC Two police officers walk towards an abandoned black car sitting on a shingled beach, one door still openMarianne Baisnée/BBC

Officers found an abandoned black car on the beach

“They’re adapting, again,” said Colonel Olivier Alary, inspecting the black cords that the smuggling gang had used to tie a large inflatable boat, precariously, to the Volvo’s roof.

The smugglers had evidently inflated the boat in a shed or farm building close by, then driven it the short distance to the beach, untied it, dragged it the last few metres to the water, and were safely on their way within a matter of seconds, heading north to collect their paying passengers from other points along the coast much like bus or a taxi – hence the “taxi boat” nickname.

“This is the third time it’s happened in this area,” grumbled Alary, of an emerging new tactic used by the smugglers.

The police, armed with night-vision binoculars and drones, have become skilled at spotting the moment the smugglers start to inflate their rubber boats. This normally happens in the dunes and forests on the coast or beside rivers and canals. It is a period of maximum vulnerability for the gangs and their clients.

Using up to six electric pumps per boat, the smugglers can often finish the job in less than fifteen minutes. But the inflated boats are large, unwieldy, and hard to move by hand.

The police often have time to intercept the inflatables before they’re dragged towards the water, usually by a dozen or more people. Officers, sometimes using pepper spray and stun grenades to clear a path, then slash the boats with knives to render them unusable. The BBC has seen police body-cam footage showing people hurling rocks at officers and even holding a young child in front of the police to try to stop them.

According to the French police, the gangs – which we understand are now growing in number in the Calais area as demand for crossings increases – have not only begun inflating their boats in secrecy, hidden in buildings close to the beaches, but have threatened local farmers who have objected to their presence.

While some of these taxi boat launches – designed to exploit the French police’s unwillingness to intervene at sea – take place close to the main migrant departure areas around Calais and Boulogne, some boats are now setting off from much further away.

On Friday morning, Alary told us, there had just been a successful taxi boat launch from Cayeux-Sur-Mer, a village about 100 kilometres south beyond the river Somme. He anticipated that it would arrive here around noon and start trying to pick up passengers near Boulogne.

One unintended consequence of the smuggler’s growing dependence on the taxi boat system is that it gives young men an advantage over women and children, who often struggle to climb onboard from the sea.

“I’ve tried [to cross] twelve times now,” said Luna, a Somali woman from Mogadishu. She described incidents of police violence on the beaches and the experience of being left behind while men clambered onto the boats.

“Sometimes the police are very violent. I’ve been hit myself. They put tear gas – something in the air – you can’t breathe. Sometimes the boat is very far [out to sea]. That’s why women and children are left behind so many times. It’s so dangerous, so risky. We cannot swim. I don’t want to die,” Luna said, as she waited for a meal at an informal migrant camp near Dunkirk.

She added that after one and a half months trying to complete the journey to the UK, she had no plans to quit.

Line graph shows the number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats over the last four years, from 45,000 people in 2022 down to 16,500 so far in 2025. In 2024, the total number was about 37,000.

Meanwhile, having failed to stop the taxi boat launch on the shingle beach at Audresselles, Colonel Alary was not yet ready to give up either.

“Let’s go. The boat is going north towards Cap Griz Nez. We’re going to try to intercept them,” he said, as his team rushed towards their cars.

While we followed the police, we could see the boat – a thin black smudge on a milky sea – to our left. But by the time we’d got to Wissant, 15 minutes later, it was already too late. The migrants were in the water, and the taxi boat was already half full.

All in all, it had not been a good night for the French police. Alary’s forces claimed four successful interceptions on land. But along the whole coast, a total of 14 boats had made it to sea, carrying 919 people to the UK.

Marianne Baisnée/BBC Two men sit in the patrol boat, with a second patrol boat on the water across from themMarianne Baisnée/BBC

The numbers of small boats crossing the Channel is soaring, despite efforts to stop them

Later that morning, on a brief trip to sea on a police patrol boat, Colonel Alary reflected on the battle to stop the smugglers.

There were so many challenges – from the heavy equipment worn by police which made it dangerous for them to enter the water safely, to the inherent instability of the inflatable boats, which made them too vulnerable to stop at sea without risk of drownings.

But Alary said the UK itself held the key to solving this crisis.

“It should be kept in mind that 30% of all the migrants entering the European Union end up here, in the Calais area. They travel from all over Europe to come here… because the United Kingdom is attracting them. England is attractive. It encourages migrants to want to join it. The solution is to make England less attractive, then people would remain [at home or in the EU].”

That belief – in the UK’s magnetic pull for migrants – remains the conventional wisdom among both French officials and many of those risking their lives to cross the Channel.

On a much windier day last week, on a beach beside an old Bourbon-era fort in the village of Ambleteuse, I met a former fisherman, Stéphane Pinto, who is now the local mayor.

“For migrants, the UK is still seen as an El Dorado. The British need to address this issue more forcefully,” he said. If it didn’t, Pinto warned of growing violence between police, local communities, and a rising wave of migration from an increasingly troubled world.

“This is no longer just a problem linked to dictatorship or war. It is growing due to what’s happening globally: climate change, the collapse of economies in some countries, and so on. We feel there is a new wave growing today, and unless we really tackle it, we will sadly only be spectators of what will happen in the coming years.”

Appeals panel scrutinizes judge’s block on Trump national guard deployment

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) got a frosty reception at a federal appeals court Tuesday afternoon as it scrutinized a lower judge’s ruling blocking President Trump’s federalization of the National Guard in Los Angeles. 
 
The three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit appeared inclined to let Trump maintain control of the guardsmen, weighing the scope of the president’s discretion in times of conflict and whether the courts have the authority to intervene at all. 

The judges seemed to believe Supreme Court precedent provides the president with broad authority to declare emergencies that can trigger the ability for him to deploy the troops. 

“Those are maybe good arguments for the Supreme Court to reconsider those cases,” Judge Eric Miller, one of Trump appointees on the panel, told California’s lawyer.  

“But they’ve told us repeatedly that when there is a case that is directly applicable to an issue, even if we think it’s been undercut by later developments…we’re supposed to follow the applicable case and leave it to them to overrule it,” Miller added. 

The judges repeatedly stressed an 1827 Supreme Court decision, Martin v. Mott, that gives the president exclusive authority to decide whether an exigency justifying the use of military power has arisen. 

Samuel Harbourt, California’s attorney, insisted “it was a very different case.” 

“If we were writing on a blank slate, I would tend to agree with you,” Jennifer Sung, an appointee of former President Obama, told him. “But the problem that I see for you is that Mott seem to be dealing with very similar phrasing about whenever there is an invasion, then the President has discretion, and it seemingly rejected the exact argument that you’re making.” 

Judge Mark Bennett, the other Trump appointee, questioned whether the courts could intervene in the Los Angeles deployment even if there was some limited role for judicial review. 

“With the facts here and the language in Martin v. Mott, how can that test be met here?” he asked. 

Trump deployed the National Guard over a week ago as protests erupted in Los Angeles over the administration’s immigration raids, devolving at times into violence. 

He cited a statute that allows the guard to be federalized when there is a rebellion or when the president can’t execute federal law with regular forces.  

Tuesday’s arguments followed a district judge’s order directing Trump to return control of California’s National Guard to Newsom.  

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, an appointee of former President Clinton and the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, called Trump’s takeover illegal and said it exceeded the scope of the statute. 

The Justice Department appealed the ruling within minutes of its release, and the 9th Circuit panel granted the government’s request to temporarily halt the ruling as its request for a longer pause is considered. 

Brett Shumate, who represented the government at Tuesday’s arguments, said Breyer “improperly second-guessed” Trump’s judgment about the need to call up the guard, interfering with his commander-in-chief powers.  

“It upends the military chain of command. It gives state governors veto power over the President’s military orders. It puts article three judges on a collision course with the commander in chief. And it endangers lives,” Shumate said.  

California also argues that regardless of whether the triggering conditions were met, Trump did not follow the statute’s mandate to issue his order “through” the state’s governor. California says that requires Newsom to consent, which he did not. 

But at least some of the judges appeared skeptical of that argument, too. 

“It’s a very roundabout way, I mean, of imposing a consultation requirement,” said Miller. 

The appeals court could now rule at any time. Before adjourning, the panel noted Breyer is moving quickly to a Friday hearing on whether to grant a longer injunction. His ruling would moot the current appeal. 

And if the administration loses, they asked for the deployment to remain intact until they have an opportunity to file an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court. 

Analyst Report: Trane Technologies plc

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Analyst Report: Trane Technologies plc

PlayStation’s concert series is coming to the US

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Sony is bringing its PlayStation concerts to the US this fall, where you can hear live performances of tracks from franchises like God of War, The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, and Horizon. Ticket pre-sales for PlayStation: The Concert begin on Wednesday, and you can see the full list of current tour dates on the PlayStation website.

In addition to music from those big tentpole games (and the setlist better include Ghost of Tsushima’s incredible title drop), the concerts will showcase “fan-favorite themes from Bloodborne, Astrobot, Journey, Uncharted, and Helldivers 2, offering a rich and diverse journey through the PlayStation universe. A live band will play the music while “the latest LED technology and state-of-the-art multi-layered projections” will turn the stage into “a mesmerizing visual masterpiece.”

These sorts of video game concert series are becoming increasingly common. Square Enix put on a FFVII Rebirth-focused tour, for example – I went to it last year, it was fun! Kojima Productions is putting on a Death Stranding 2 concert series that will begin a world tour later this year. And after the brief orchestral performance of Balatro’s soundtrack at The Game Awards last year, I’m hoping that Jimbo hits the road with his band someday, too.

2025 Stanley Cup Final: Preview for Panthers-Oilers Game 6

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Will Tuesday night’s matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers be the final game of the 2024-25 season? Or will there be one more on Friday?

The Panthers lead 3-2 in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final ahead of Game 6 (8 p.m. ET, TNT/Max). If they win, they skate the Cup on home ice. If the Oilers win, Game 7 is back in Edmonton.

Here are notes on the matchup from ESPN Research, as well as betting intel from ESPN BET:

More from Game 5: Recap | Grades

Matchup notes

Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers
Game 6 | 8 p.m. ET | TNT/Max

With a 3-2 lead ahead of Game 6 on home ice, the Panthers are now -400 favorites to win the Cup and the Oilers are +300; those numbers are adjusted from prior to Game 5, when both clubs were -110. As for the Conn Smythe Trophy, Sam Bennett remains the leader, but his odds have shifted from +150 to -190. Brad Marchand (+300), Connor McDavid (+700) and Leon Draisaitl (+700) round out the top four.

The Panthers are seeking to become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions by beating the same team since the Montreal Canadiens did so against the Boston Bruins in 1977 and 1978 — for the Habs, those were titles No. 2 and 3 of four straight earned between 1976 and 1979. A Panthers win would be the fourth Stanley Cup for a team based in the state of Florida this decade (the Tampa Bay Lightning won in 2020 and 2021).

The Oilers are facing elimination for the first time in the 2025 playoffs. Last year, they were 5-1 when facing elimination — including three wins in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final after falling behind 3-0. Road teams facing elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final have gone 6-6 in the past 12 occurrences.

Marchand is having a superb Stanley Cup Final, scoring six goals thus far. That marks the most goals in a Cup Final since Esa Tikkanen (1988, also six). Marchand is the first player to score five or more goals with multiple teams in a Cup Final, and his five road goals in this series are the most in a single Cup Final since Jack Adams had six for the Vancouver Millionaires in 1922. With multiple multigoal games in the Cup Final, Marchand joins Jeff Friesen (New Jersey Devils, 2003) and Max Talbot (2009, Pittsburgh Penguins) as the only players to pull off that feat in the past 30 years.

Teammate Sam Bennett is also entering historic territory. With a goal in Edmonton in Game 5, he became the fifth player in NHL history with a streak of six straight road games with a goal. He is also the fourth active NHL player to score 15 goals in a single postseason, joining Zach Hyman (16, 2024), Alex Ovechkin (15, 2018) and Sidney Crosby (15, 2009).

Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky tied the NHL record for most road wins in a single postseason (10). The other five goalies tied atop the list are: Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues, 2019), Braden Holtby (Washington Capitals, 2018), Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings, 2012), Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames, 2004), Martin Brodeur (Devils, 2000 and 1995).

With three goals in this series, Edmonton’s Corey Perry tied Mark Recchi (Bruins, 2011) and Igor Larionov (Detroit Red Wings, 2002) for the most goals by a player age 40 or older in a single Cup Final.

McDavid scored a point in every home game he played since the 4 Nations Face-Off break — a run of 17 straight games, with 36 points in that span. He reached 150 playoff points in 95 games, the third-fastest player in NHL history to reach that benchmark, behind Wayne Gretzky (68 games played) and Mario Lemieux (86).

With one more game-winning goal this series, Draisaitl would become just the third player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) — and first since 1977 — to have three game winners in a single Stanley Cup Final. The previous players to do so are Jacques Lemaire (1977) and Jean Beliveau (1965 and 1960), both of whom accomplished the feat for the Canadiens.

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Oilers coach: We’ve overcome difficult situations before

Kris Knoblauch keeps faith in his Oilers as he reflects on losing Game 5 in Edmonton.


Scoring leaders

GP: 22 | G: 15 | A: 7

GP: 21 | G: 11 | A: 22


Best bets for Game 6

Evander Kane over 4.5 total hits (+107): The Oilers need to be more physical if they hope to have a legitimate shot at pushing this series to a Game 7. Saturday’s team total of 25 hits, including only a pair from Kane, isn’t going to cut it. An aggressive difference-maker when he’s at his best at nearing, but not crossing, the line as he has too often this series, the winger will be one to watch from the get-go Tuesday. Notably, he registered 17 total hits through both overtime games to open this series in Edmonton. Win or lose, Kane is going to serve as a factor. Hopefully for the Oilers, not by earning himself time in the penalty box.

Stuart Skinner under 25.5 total saves (-120): If Skinner — presuming coach Kris Knoblauch goes with his No. 1 netminder to start Game 6 — struggles, or the rest of the Oilers fail to perform well enough out front, he won’t last long enough in the crease to make 26 saves before all is said and done. The leash will be short in this must-win contest. Or perhaps Edmonton’s team defense rises to the occasion and prevents more scoring chances in support of their starting goaltender, as it did in earlier rounds versus Dallas and Vegas.

Connor McDavid first period anytime goal scorer (+600): After Leon Draisaitl scored the opener in Game 1, the Panthers are perfect in four straight games at catching the back of the net first, outscoring Edmonton 11-4 altogether in the initial period. The Oilers understand reversing that trend would go a long way in helping them survive, particularly by forcing Florida to sway from their stifling defensive play. Who better to look to than McDavid, who finally found the back of the net this series in Saturday’s losing effort? The sport’s best player needs to shoot more, and he knows it. He’ll be revved right up to make a statement, early. — Victoria Matiash

Astronaut Sally Ride’s Partner Tam O’Shaughnessy Details Romance 

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Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore Break Silence After Returning to Earth

Sally Ride’s most intimate mission was a private one.

Nearly 13 years after the ground-breaking NASA astronaut’s death, her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy reflected on their joint decision to reveal their 27-year romance to the world.

“Ten days before she died, I asked her how I should be to the public,” the 73-year-old told People in an interview published June 15. “I was holding sort of a public celebration of her life, and then a national tribute at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. And it was like, ‘So who am I?’”

Though many of their “friends and family knew” of their decades-long relationship, Tam still wanted to disclose their connection with earnest respect.

“She told me, ‘You decide what you want to say,’” the children’s science writer continued, “‘how open you want to be about our relationship.’”

Katie Boulter abuse: Tennis players call for social media ID after online abuse

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Speaking after her round-of-32 defeat to Francesca Jones at the Nottingham Open on Tuesday, British number four Harriet Dart called for the introduction of identification measures when creating social media accounts.

“The amount of abuse that we all get is pretty mind blowing,” Dart said.

“The WTA are obviously trying to do something about it with the Threat Matrix system, but until Instagram verify ID or something, sadly, people can keep reopening accounts.”

Boulter’s partner and world number 12 Alex de Minaur said that an increasing number of athletes do not deal with their own social media accounts because of abuse.

“There is a lot of good that comes out of it [social media], but there is also a dark side,” he said.

Speaking before she faces Boulter in the last 16 at Nottingham on Wednesday, British number three Sonay Kartal called for collective action.

“These people can just create endless accounts. And I don’t necessarily know who is to be held responsible, I don’t think it’s solely one person,” she said.

“If I can help report it, if WTA can help report it, we’ll come together and try our best to eliminate it. I think that’s the best way to get rid of it.”

Figures provided by data science firm Signify, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) – show that, in 2024, about 8,000 abusive, violent or threatening messages were sent publicly to 458 tennis players through their social media accounts.

But for Dart, social media abuse goes far beyond tennis.

“This isn’t just a tennis issue,” she said. “This is a global issue, and it’s not just a sport issue. It’s everywhere. It’s even regular people who I’m sure get trolled or whatever by certain people or individuals.

“We live in the 21st century, and are we not ID-ing people on social media. You can connect people, and then people can be found and stuff. Because it’s pretty horrific, the abuse that all of us get. That’s why I feel like a lot of the time, social media can be like a big negative.

“We also have very impressionable young females, young males on social media these days. I am an experienced athlete who’s gone through this for a very, very long time. I know what they say to me doesn’t mean anything.

“But for people who are a lot younger and inexperienced, I think it can be very worrying and very dangerous too.”

British men’s number one Jack Draper shared Boulter’s concerns about future generations.

“I think we’re lucky enough to maybe have grown up into social media, whereas, you know, the generation coming up are growing up with it,” he said.

“So they know nothing different. I think it’s so easy to spread online hate. It’s not easy, especially, I think she said, when you’re younger and you lose a match or something, and you come into the professional tour and getting all this abuse saying they will come around your house and do this and that. It’s not nice.”

World men’s number two Carlos Alcaraz said he doesn’t look at social media after he loses because abuse is “difficult to deal with”.

“I have seen a lot of players that have received a lot of messages from the gamblers, from the people.

“If I have to give an advice, [it would be] not to see social media when things are not going well, because people sometimes can be really dangerous.”

Baby of brain-dead woman delivered in Georgia, relative says

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A brain-dead woman delivered her baby in Georgia after being kept alive on life support for months. 

Adriana Smith, 31, was reportedly declared brain dead in February after suffering a medical emergency linked to blood clots in her brain, according to 11alive. Doctors placed the pregnant mother on life support, citing the state’s Life Act, which prevents abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. 

Smith is expected to be taken off life support on Tuesday after delivering a premature baby boy on Friday. 

Her mother, April Newkirk, said the baby, named Chance, is expected to survive.

“He’s expected to be OK. He’s just fighting. We just want prayers for him. Just keep praying for him. He’s here now,” Newkirk told 11alive.

Chance weighs approximately 1 pound 13 ounces and is currently in the NICU, according to the outlet.

Newkirk said her daughter, who was a registered metro Atlanta nurse, will be remembered for leaving a legacy of kindness. 

“She was a ray of light,” Newkirk said. “She loved to travel, she loved her family. She’s a good mom. And she wanted to advance her education. She loved people.”

She said multiple people have reached out on Facebook to share their memories with Smith while describing her daughter as a “ray of light.”

“I think it means a lot that people reach out to me through email, text messages, Facebook, social media. That says something about her. That says that she was a great person. That, that says a lot. This is a lot. She was special. From the time I had her, she was special, very smart.”