The San Diego Padres have hired Jayce Tingler of the Texas Rangers as their next manager, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Tingler, 38, was the Rangers' major league player development field coordinator this season and currently is managing Leones del Escogido in the Dominican winter league.

He replaces Andy Green, who was fired Sept. 21 after going 274-366 with the team since he was hired ahead of the 2016 season. Rod Barajas served as the Padres' interim manager for the remainder of the season, which marked the team's 13th straight year without a playoff appearance.

San Diego finished last in the National League West at 70-92, 36 games out of first place.

Former Padres player Mark Loretta and Atlanta Braves third-base coach Ron Washington had also interviewed for the opening.

The Philadelphia Phillies are hiring former New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi as their next skipper, a source confirmed to ESPN. A formal announcement is expected later Thursday.

Girardi replaces Gabe Kapler, who was fired after two disappointing seasons. The Phillies went into last season with high hopes after signing Bryce Harper but still missed the playoffs, finishing at 81-81 and in fourth place in the National League East.

Girardi also interviewed with the New York Mets, who still have an opening, and the Chicago Cubs, who went with David Ross. The Phillies reportedly also talked to former major league managers Buck Showalter and Dusty Baker.

Girardi, 55, managed 10 years with the Yankees from 2008 to 2017, winning a World Series championship in 2009. He had a 910-710 record over that span.

He began his managerial career with the Marlins in 2006 but was fired after one season.

Girardi played catcher in the big leagues from 1989 to 2003 and hit. 267. He won the World Series with the Yankees in 1996, 1998 and 1999 and was an All-Star for the Chicago Cubs in 2000.

HOUSTON -- The Astros' collapse in Game 2 of the World Series was a multipronged catastrophe.

Justin Verlander tried to throw a runner out from his behind and hit himself in the leg. Jose Altuve was thrown out at third in a possibly ill-conceived attempt to steal the base. There was Alex Bregman's throwing error, leading to a run. There was the ongoing postseason struggles of righty Ryan Pressly, and none of the relievers who followed him could stem the tide. There was a passed ball by Martin Maldonado on a strikeout that led to a run. It was not a championship-level performance.

The Nationals batted around two innings in a row, turning a 2-2 game into a nine-run rout. It was a Texas-size butt-whupping in Houston, a 12-3 thrashing that sends the Astros off for what they hope will be three games in D.C., but they need to win at least one for that to happen. And if they don't win two, Wednesday's debacle will have been the last game of the season at Minute Maid Park. Houston finds itself down 2-0.

"Clearly the Nats have outplayed us," Astros manager AJ Hinch said. "Bottom line. They came into our building and played two really good games. We're going to have to try to sleep off the latter third of this game because I don't want to lump this into a horrible game. It was a horrible three innings for us."

A good chunk of the 43,357 on hand didn't stick around to see the finish. After the game got out of hand, someone from the third deck above the press box threw a bottle, sending the ushers scurrying. Someone shouted up to them, "Y'all must be from New York!"

Then an irony: When Bregman fielded a Kurt Suzuki grounder cleanly and threw him out to lead off the ninth, the fans erupted in a Bronx cheer. When that sarcastic din died down, Washington's Michael A. Taylor hit a long home run off the facing in left field. It was that kind of night.

"We have a great ballclub," Verlander said. "We've had plenty of ups and downs during the season and obviously it's magnified in the World Series, when you're not clicking on all cylinders. I don't think anyone should go home tonight feeling bad about themselves. We don't have time to do that."

It has not been a pleasant World Series week for the Astros, the team that entered the postseason as the consensus choice to win it all. Houston won 107 games with one of the 15 best run differentials of all time. But instead of chatter about a budding dynasty, or whether the Astros are the best team of the 2010s, the bad news has piled up like rotten garbage.

The troubles started before the World Series began, before the clubhouse celebration following Houston's American League pennant had even subsided. They started when one of their executives touched off a crisis with behavior that can most charitably be labeled as ill-considered. From the start, that shifted external focus on baseball's pinnacle event to things no one on the team wanted to be dealing with.

Maybe that didn't impact the Astros on the field, but it certainly cast a pall over the proceedings. Verlander was asked whether the controversy affected the Astros and he said simply, "No. Not in here."

For evidence of that, you can look at the competitive Game 1: a 5-4 Washington win that was in doubt until the last out. However, there was a dark cloud over that loss. The Astros saw their unflappable ace, Gerrit Cole, give up his most runs (five) since May 22 and lose a decision for the first time since that date.

Then came Game 2, a manure show in every respect, with a lot of possible sources for the postgame stench. Verlander wasn't bad -- four runs over six innings -- but he wasn't lockdown, and in taking the loss, he set a record for most World Series starts without a win (six).

"It's going to be tough," Verlander said. "Obviously you don't want to be down two games to none, but we are. I think the message to everyone here is don't hang your head. We didn't play our best baseball, things didn't go our way. We've got an off day tomorrow. We don't have time to feel bad about ourselves."

So the Astros are in an 0-2 hole, which is bad enough, but in reality it's worse than that. The Astros are in an 0-2 hole despite having Cole and Verlander on the mound for the first two games. There's all sorts of history with that:

• They became the first teammates to win 20 games during the regular season but then lose Games 1 and 2 of a World Series since Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers in 1965 against the Twins. (The Dodgers won that series.)

• This was the 14th time this season that the Astros started Cole and Verlander in consecutive home games, and the first time they lost them both.

Over two nights, the Nationals extinguished the firewall that Cole and Verlander provided all season. If the series goes long enough, they'll both get another chance. But for the series to go long enough, the onus is on an Astros offense that has been sporadic the entire month of October, a collective slumber that is on the verge of becoming something more insidious.

"We've already talked as a team," shortstop Carlos Correa said. "We've got to go out there, keep our heads up and play good baseball. Take care of business. We're such a great team that we're not going to let a 2-0 deficit get to us."

The bottom line is that over their first 13 postseason games, the Astros' offense has scored 48 runs, an average of 3.7 per game, and Houston has been outscored overall. The Astros averaged 5.7 runs per game during the regular season. Sure, they have faced good pitching. It's the playoffs. That will happen. The Rays came at them with a machine-like pitching staff operating with a collective hive mind and vicious stuff to boot. The Yankees presented them with one of baseball's hardest-throwing staffs. In the first two games against Washington, they've seen Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg and a resurgent bullpen.

You know what? The Nats have seen good pitching as well. And after averaging 5.4 runs during the regular season, they've put up 5.2 during the playoffs. With Cole and Verlander down for the next couple of games, the Astros' bats had better show up or their return trip to Houston will be to begin the offseason.

"I feel like we haven't been good at all, throughout the whole playoffs," Correa said. "That's got to change. We're running out of time. That's got to change now and we've got to go out there and score a lot of runs."

The Astros' collective slash line this postseason is .216/.292/.370 over 489 plate appearances. That number of plate appearances is roughly what a semi-regular player would compile over the course of a regular season. Only he wouldn't -- with those numbers, he'd probably hit the waiver wire before he was allowed to play that much. That is the Houston playoff offense, circa 2019.

There is some evidence that bad luck has played into this. According to Baseball Savant, after Game 1, the quality of the balls Houston had hit into play should have resulted in a .248 batting average, which would be the best of the 10 playoff teams. Instead, the actual average was .213. The shortfall of 35 batting points was more than twice that of any other playoff team.

It didn't get better on Wednesday. Baseball Savant recorded an expected batting average of .360 for Houston. Instead, the Astros went 9-for-37 -- a .243 average. On the flip side, the Nationals had a .225 expected average in Game 2 but went 14-for-40 -- a sparkling .350 average. Through Game 1, Washington's real average (.244) was 12 points better than their expected average (.232).

When asked what has surprised him about the Nationals, Astros catcher Martin Maldonado said, "I would say everything that they've hit is a hit."

The Astros can't dismiss this all to luck, though, and hope things even out in the end. They are one more ill-fated game from falling into an 0-3 pit of despair. There are things that have gone astray that are under Houston's collective control. Their chase rate is 5% higher than it was during the regular season. They are swinging and missing 5% more often as well.

"First and foremost, this is baseball," Astros outfielder Michael Brantley said. "You take the highs with the lows. We've got to get focused on Game 3. I have faith in my teammates, and we'll be ready to go."

Whether it's pitching, a collective funk or a result of a baseball version of hero ball, the Houston offense has not answered the bell. Actually, at times it has -- only to fall back into slumber. The Astros have hit .309/.397/.600 during first innings in October. In the other innings, it's .203/.277/.338.

"There's no frustration," Brantley said. "We've just got to put better at-bats together, one game at a time, one pitch at a time. We've got to put better at-bats together as a unit and we'll do that together."

Part of the problem may be an overreliance on home runs. What happened to the well-balanced Houston offense that can do everything? Twenty-six of Houston's 48 runs (54%) have come via homers; the comparable figure for Washington is 32%.

We've seen the Houston attack in fleeting glimpses, just often enough for the Astros to squeak by the Tampa Bay Rays in the division series and to knock out the New York Yankees in the ALCS. But through it all, the offense gets further and further from its regular-season excellence. And now that they've run into October's hottest team, with Cole and Verlander vanquished, Houston's hitters have to regress to form. Not soon, but immediately, as in Game 3 at Nationals Park on Friday.

"We haven't been in this situation before, but we have to find a way to win," Altuve said. "We have no choice. We're just gonna go out there, one game at a time. We're not gonna think we're 0-2. We're just gonna play one game at a time, one inning at a time, and I think things are gonna turn around for us."

The history of teams that start a World Series with two home losses is dire. Only three times has a club come back from such circumstances: the 1985 Royals, the 1986 Mets and the 1996 Yankees. Yet there is one thing you can say about the Astros. They are confident, even cocky, and rather than a funereal atmosphere in the home clubhouse after the Game 2 thrashing, there was nothing but complete belief that the wins and runs will start rolling on Friday.

"Not a lot of teams win 107 games in a year," Correa said. "This is a special team. It's not just a random team. If there is a team that can do it, it's us."

HOUSTON -- There is no way to spin this other than to point out the obvious: The Houston Astros are in deep quicksand. The Washington Nationals went into Houston, beat Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander and became the first team to win the first two games of the World Series on the road since the 1999 Yankees.

That paints a bleak picture for the Astros, even a 107-win Astros team, even a 107-win Astros team that remains supremely confident that it can win four of the next five games. History suggests something even more bleak than a two-game losing streak might suggest, however. The past 11 teams to win the first two games of the World Series -- regardless of where the games were played -- went on to win it all. Seventeen of the past 18 to win the first two games went on to win it all.

A championship, however, can still be achieved for the Astros, even if the last team to lose the first two games and win the World Series -- the 1996 Yankees -- did it before Juan Soto was born. The 1986 Mets lost the first two at home and beat the Red Sox in seven games. The 1985 Royals did the same against the Cardinals. So maybe the Astros can still pull this off, maybe they can channel their inner Mookie Wilson and find a way. With that in mind, here are three reasons why the Astros can still win the World Series ... and three reasons they won't.

Reason the Astros will win: They believe they will

The Astros are supremely confident. Did you see Alex Bregman's home run trot in the first inning after his long blast off Stephen Strasburg? This is not a team that is shy about letting opponents know how good it is. They remained upbeat after their Game 2 loss -- as upbeat as you can be after a game that was 2-2 in the seventh inning turned into a 12-3 disaster, at least.

"We lost two games before during the regular season. Everyone in here knows how to bounce back," Bregman said. "Lot of baseball left in this series. We're going to go to Washington with our heads held high. Ready to go and get after it. We've lost two games before. I remember when we lost three in New York and next thing you know we're in the World Series in '17. We've been here before."

Carlos Correa put it this way: "Not a lot of teams win 107 games a year, so this is a special team. This is not just some random team, so if there's a team out there that can do it, it's us."

True, no team with at least 107 wins has reached the World Series and lost since the 109-win 1969 Orioles lost to the Miracle Mets. Of course, this a small sample size. The only teams with that many wins to make it to the World Series and win are the 2018 Red Sox (108), the 1998 Yankees (114), the 1986 Mets (108), the 1975 Reds (108) and the 1970 Orioles (108).

Still, if as Yogi Berra said, "Baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical," the Astros are at least in a good frame of mind.

"We don't want to be in this situation, but the chemistry of the team, the confidence between us is still right there and that's the most important thing right now," Jose Altuve said.

Reason the Astros will lose: The Nationals are really good ... and really hot

We all know about that 19-31 start by the Nationals. If you throw that out the window, then they've gone 84-40 -- a .677 winning percentage that translates to a 110-win pace over 162 games. Go back to the end of the regular season and they've won 18 of their past 20 games, including a record-tying eight in a row now in the postseason.

"When everyone goes back to 19-31, they were saying we need to fire Davey [Martinez] or trade so and so, we need to clean house or clean the front office out whatever it might be," Anthony Rendon said after Game 2. "We kind of got our attitude and said, 'Screw everybody, we're not worried about what's going on outside our clubhouse.'"

Also, you can argue they have the starting pitcher edge over the Astros the next two games. Game 3 lines up as Zack Greinke versus Anibal Sanchez. Greinke hasn't been particularly great this postseason, giving up 10 runs in 14 innings over three starts. He gave up five home runs over his first two outings, and while he escaped with only one run in 4⅓ innings against the Yankees, he also walked four batters. Sanchez will have a two-week layoff since taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Cardinals.

Since Martinez didn't have to use Patrick Corbin in Game 2, Corbin should line up to face Houston's bullpen game for Game 4. That's not necessarily the worst thing for the Astros as they have a deep bullpen and Jose Urquidy looked very good against the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS. Still, Corbin went 14-7 with a 3.25 ERA in the regular season. He's one of the best lefties in the game. You'll take that over a rookie with 45⅓ career innings in the big leagues.

Reason the Astros will win: They've hit into some bad luck (and the Nationals into good luck)

Batting totals through the first two games of the World Series:

Nationals: .307/.366/.547
Astros: .257/.321/.432

OK. Here's the average exit velocity:

Nationals: 88.1 mph
Astros: 88.6 mph

And here are the number of hard outs (balls hit over 95 mph with a launch angle between 3 and 45 degrees):

Nationals: 2
Astros: 8

In the Nationals' six-run seventh inning in Game 2, they had run-scoring hits of 83.5 mph, 75.7 mph and a swinging bunt of 62.8 mph. Good luck. Bad luck.

Reason the Astros will lose: The Nationals can hit

Verlander came away impressed after taking the loss in Game 2. "I guess I hadn't really paid that much attention because they're in the National League, but you start looking at their lineup and kind of prepping for them and I think they're way better than what people give them credit for," he said. "Obviously those guys in the middle get a lot of headlines, but the rest of that lineup, they can hit. And they work you. They have good approaches, they change their approach. They adjust throughout the middle of the game, at-bat to at-bat. It's a grind."

In the regular season, Verlander struck out 55% of the batters he faced after getting to two strikes. Cole struck out 60% after getting to two strikes. In their World Series starts, the two aces have struck out only 12 of 33 batters after getting to two strikes -- 36%.

"Strikeouts are not OK," Martinez said after Game 2. "You're just going to walk back to the dugout. I believe in putting the ball in play and things are going to happen when you put the ball in play, regardless of whether you get a hit or not."

The Astros had the lowest strikeout rate in the majors in the regular season, but the Nationals have had the best two-strike results in the playoffs so far and grinding those at-bats has led to some extra balls in play and some soft hits. They don't always fall in, but they might if you put the ball in play.

Reason the Astros will win: Cole and Verlander

At the minimum, the Astros just have to win one of the next two games before getting back to Cole in Game 5 and Verlander in Game 6. If Houston takes the first two in D.C., maybe the two aces wrap it up with dominant performances. Nothing crazy in that idea.

Reason the Astros will lose: Max Scherzer and Strasburg

This is why it was strange that the Astros were such heavy favorites. These guys are good! They're not exactly Ryan Drese and Mike O'Connor. If the Astros drop one of the next two, then they'll have to beat Scherzer ... then they'll have to beat Strasburg ... then they'll have to win Game 7. Or, as Houston manager AJ Hinch put it, the Nationals "are halfway to a race to four wins." It almost feels as if the Astros are still at the starting blocks and have to chase down Usain Bolt. Good luck -- no matter how many games you won in the regular season.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Kalamazoo Speedway has set its calendar of events for the upcoming racing season.

Outlaw Super Late Models and Template Bodies Late Models will be racing 14 shows each; both up from last year. The Outlaw Super Late Models will have the Klash and possibly three or four 75-lap races paying at least $2,000 to win. The Template Late Model class will have a $3,000 to win event as they will run beside the Outlaw Supers in the running of the Kalamazoo Klash on June 3, along with at least two Big Buck Nights, where they will also race for $1,000 to win.

The Street Stock Class has become ultra-competitive, drawing cars from all over the tri-state area and they are on the docket for 17 events in 2020. Rabers Rumble II is going to be a big one for the Street Stock Class, with additional announcements expected soon for that. Big Buck Nights will also guarantee at least two $1,000 paydays.

Both Front Wheel Drive classes continue to excel, with the Zoo Stocks gaining strength in numbers as well as race events, as they are at Kalamazoo for 18 events next year. Big Buck Nights will not forget about the Zoo Stocks as they will be fighting for some big money on several occasions.  The Outlaw FWD’s will have two high paying Midwest Compact events at Kalamazoo as well as having a couple of their own big paying races in 2020.

Click here for the full Kalamazoo Speedway schedule.

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, has been named the third quarter NMPA Spirit Award winner for his generosity toward United States military members and their families.

Through his KB 100 program, Busch gives 100 race tickets to military personnel for all 36 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events.

Also receiving votes for the third quarter award was Daniel Hemric, driver of the No. 8 RCR  Enterprises Chevrolet, for creating the “Be the Change Scholarship”  with the Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Foundation in Rowan County, N.C.

A third recipient was Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 42 Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, for his work with Credit One Bank for a donation of $25,000 to Meeting Street Academy in Charleston, S.C., in 2018 and ’19.

The NMPA Pocono Spirit Award is designed to recognize character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports. The NMPA membership selects quarterly recipients as well as an overall winner each year. The award is sponsored by Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., and has been presented annually since 1992.

The "October surprise" is an event that can change the trajectory of a political race in the weeks leading up to Election Day in the U.S. It's something stunning and unexpected that alters our preconceptions.

In the NHL, every team has had surprises in the first month of the season. Some good, some bad and some that might have us reconsidering who wins in the end. Here is one "October surprise" for every team in the NHL.

How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits polls ranking teams 1-31, and those results are tabulated to the list featured here. Teams are rated through Tuesday night's games, taking into account overall record, recent success and other factors such as injuries. Previous ranking refers to each team's spot in last week's rankings.

1. Colorado Avalanche

Previous ranking: 2

Defense. The Avalanche are doing things offensively that we expected, from the domination of their top line to their mastery on the power play. But the improvements they've made to their overall depth, and getting good goaltending, has led to Colorado averaging 2.67 goals against per game, down from 2.98 last season.

2. Boston Bruins

Previous ranking: 1

The lack of secondary scoring. We know what the "Perfection Line" does, which is carry this team when the rest of the lineup isn't scoring. Their backs must be tired already. Through nine games, no forward other than Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak or Brad Marchand has more than three points. The defense isn't chipping in, either: Outside of Torey Krug's seven points, no Bruins defenseman has more than two. Hurry back from injury, David Krejci.

3. Washington Capitals

Previous ranking: 7

John Carlson. It's not a surprise that the Capitals' defenseman is having a fine offensive season. Consider that since 2017, in the same 173 games, he has as many points (158) as offensive standard-bearer Brent Burns to lead all defensemen. But Carlson's 20 points in his first 11 games means he's on pace for 116 points this season. So yeah, we'd say that's a surprise.

4. Buffalo Sabres

Previous ranking: 10

Everything. Where do you even start with the surprises here? The record, close to the top of the NHL? The offense, clicking at 3.70 goals per game through 10 games and showing the world they can actually break up Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner and survive? The goaltending, with a .926 team save percentage, as coach Mike Bales works wonders again? It might not be sustainable. It might not last. But for now, the Buffalo Sabres are the October surprise.

5. Carolina Hurricanes

Previous ranking: 3

Erik Haula. In what has become an annual tradition, the Hurricanes pounced on someone else's salary-cap concern to snag a player who immediately excelled in their system. Haula has seven goals in nine games, meshing well with Ryan Dzingel and Martin Necas. And it's a contract year.

6. Vegas Golden Knights

Previous ranking: 4

Reilly Smith. The Knights' winger scored seven goals in his first 11 games this season, spreading them out over six games. Despite playing on that dominant line with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault, it took Smith until Dec. 16 last season to score his seventh.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

Previous ranking: 5

Ilya Mikheyev. The KHL import has seven points in 11 games for the Leafs, but more importantly has become a cult icon for fans and his teammates after lamenting the fact that not enough people in Toronto enjoy his favorite food: soup. This has gotten to the point where Leafs players are pantomiming spooning soup into their mouths when he scores goals.

8. Edmonton Oilers

Previous ranking: 12

James Neal. We would have also accepted "7-2-1 in their first 10 games," but the answer here has to be the "Real Deal," who scored nine goals in his first 10 games and has already surpassed the putrid goal total (7) that he had in 63 games with the Flames last season, a.k.a. a catalyst for the trade that sent him to Edmonton.

9. Nashville Predators

Previous ranking: 6

Betting the over. With a combination of explosive offense and early season goaltending, the Predators are averaging 7.67 total goals per game through nine games this season. Only one game -- a 3-2 shootout loss to Florida -- has gone under seven total goals.

10. St. Louis Blues

Previous ranking: 8

Brayden Schenn. Rewarded with an eight-year contract starting next season, Schenn has six goals in his first nine games. He didn't score his sixth goal until Dec. 5 last season. Four of his nine points have come on the power play.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning

Previous ranking: 9

Kevin Shattenkirk. The buyout bargain defenseman has seven points in his first eight games with the Lightning, including four goals. While his defense remains nothing about which to boast, he remains on the positive side of possession relative to his disappointing teammates.

12. Pittsburgh Penguins

Previous ranking: 11

Sam Lafferty. We know what you're thinking: "What is a Sam Lafferty?" Well, he's a 24-year-old center who was drafted 113th overall in 2014, attended Brown University for four seasons, played 70 games in the AHL last season and has three goals and two assists in eight games for the injury-ravaged Penguins, who have gone 5-3-0 since Evgeni Malkin's injury -- an October surprise in its own right.

13. Calgary Flames

Previous ranking: 13

The penalty kill. So far so good for the Flames' PK, which was 21st in the NHL last season (79.7%) and is third so far this season (88.4%). More impressive: That has happened with the Flames being short-handed 43 times, second most in the NHL.

14. Vancouver Canucks

Previous ranking: 23

J.T. Miller. Miller has flourished with Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson, to the tune of 10 points in nine games. He can be streaky, but this is a solid start. Obviously and totally worth that first-round pick they traded for him (at least this month).

15. Montreal Canadiens

Previous ranking: 17

The power play. Montreal was 14th in the NHL last season at 3.00 goals per game, which is good. They're at 3.67 goals per game this season, which is great. One huge factor: a power play that clicked at a pathetic 13.2% last season is rolling at 27.3%, with nine goals in 33 opportunities.

16. Anaheim Ducks

Previous ranking: 20

Surviving the power outage. The Ducks have gotten the expected great goaltending from John Gibson and Ryan Miller, and have shown good offensive balance in getting goals from 11 different players. But their 6-4-0 start is solid when you factor in that the Ducks are tied with the Senators for the worst power play in the NHL, "clicking" at 4%.

17. Florida Panthers

Previous ranking: 16

Sergei Bobrovksy. In the immortal words of Pete Campbell from "Mad Men": Not great, Bob. The free-agent prize has the worst goals saved above average (minus- 8.29) at even strength in the NHL this season, helping the Panthers to the fourth-worst team save percentage in the league. The good news is that the Panthers went 4-2-3 to start the season despite this.

18. Winnipeg Jets

Previous ranking: 14

Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets are an absolute conundrum this season, with a patchwork blue line and an inconsistent offense putting them right around .500. But Hellebuyck is doing what he can: Through eight games, he has a .947 even-strength save percentage and 5.25 goals saved above average.

19. New York Islanders

Previous ranking: 19

The power play. Through eight games, the Islanders are clicking at 33.3% after finishing near the bottom of the league (14.5%) last season. But the real story here is that in eight games, the Isles had only 12 power plays, by far the lowest in the league. And they scored on four of them. Opponents are averaging just 3.6 PIMs per game against New York through eight games.

20. Philadelphia Flyers

Previous ranking: 18

Possession monsters. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers are the best team in shot attempt percentage in the NHL through their first seven games, getting 56.45% of them at 5-on-5. Credit where its due to Alain Vigneault thus far; last season, they were under 50% and 21st overall.

21. Arizona Coyotes

Previous ranking: 25

The shooting percentage. For a while, it looked like the same old Coyotes, who were getting stellar goaltending but were last in the NHL in shooting percentage. (They were 0.01% away from the NHL basement last season, at 8.3%.) That has perked up in the past few games: It's up to 9.2%, and the Coyotes are averaging 3.00 goals per game.

22. Columbus Blue Jackets

Previous ranking: 27

Alexander Wennberg. The good news is that Wennberg has matched his goal total from last season. The bad news is that goal total is two. But with five points in nine games, perhaps this is the corner turning the Jackets have been waiting for from him.

23. San Jose Sharks

Previous ranking: 21

5-on-5 woes. The Sharks' sloppy start to the season can be tracked to a number of factors, but a primary one is their 5-on-5 play. The Sharks are scoring just 38.46% of the goals there. Look no further than Marc-Edouard Vlasic as a symbol for these woes, as he has been on the ice for two Sharks goals at 5-on-5 and 13(!) for the opposition, the worst differential for any defenseman in the NHL this season.

25. New York Rangers

Previous ranking: 15

Kaapo Kakko. Let it never be said that there isn't a learning curve in the NHL. Through seven games, Kakko has one goal and one assist. He was demoted down the lineup by coach David Quinn, although he recently skated with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad in practice. He'll be fine, but clearly those expecting this NHL-ready 18-year-old to dominate out of the gate have had to readjust those expectations.

25. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 22

Anthony Mantha. Seven goals in nine games for the Red Wings forward. Obviously we knew he could score, with 49 goals over the past two seasons. And obviously, scoring five goals in your first two games is a great starting point. (He has leveled off since, scoring two in his next seven games.)

26. Chicago Blackhawks

Previous ranking: 24

Brandon Saad. Behold, the Saad-aissance! The maligned Blackhawks forward began a reversal of fortunes last season with 23 goals and 24 assists. He has two goals and two assists in seven games this season in a diminished role (15:08 per game), and has been one of the team's most effective forwards. (The less said about Jonathan Toews' start, however, the better.)

27. Dallas Stars

Previous ranking: 26

This start. The Stars are 3-7-1 through their first 11 games and are last in the NHL in offense, with 2.09 goals per game. Counting down the minutes until their CEO starts calling his players out excrementally ...

28. Los Angeles Kings

Previous ranking: 29

The shots. Through nine games, no one is shooting the puck more than the Kings, averaging 38 per contest through nine games. Jeff Carter has taken 33 of them. Alas, only one of those 33 has gone in for Carter.

29. New Jersey Devils

Previous ranking: 30

Tom Fitzgerald. Who among us predicted that the Devils would start the season winless in six games, add their assistant GM to the coaching staff, and then win twice?

30. Minnesota Wild

Previous ranking: 28

Porous defense. Some predictive models had the Wild around the playoff bubble, for the fact that they had the lowest expected goals against (130.24) at 5-on-5 last season. This season, the Wild have stumbled early on the back end, surrendering 3.56 goals per game.

31. Ottawa Senators

Previous ranking: 31

Not much. We knew they'd lose a bunch of games, we knew they couldn't consistently control possession, we figured their power play would rank somewhere near the bottom of the league, and we knew they'd need spectacular goaltending to be competitive. They are who we thought they were.

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has said he wants a team meeting to discuss the bad performance in the Catalan side's 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague in the Champions League.

Barca maintained their unbeaten start to their European campaign with seven points from three matches, but were made to work hard to earn all three points against the group's bottom seed.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring but Barca were pegged back before re-taking the lead and Ter Stegen, who was forced into a good save in the first half, said the team needs to improve.

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"It is normal [to be angry]," Ter Stegen said after the match. "We didn't play at the level we wanted to.

"At least we've got the three points, which is the most important thing. We need to speak about things.

"We have to do that among ourselves, I'm not going to say (about what) here, it's internal. There's a lot to improve. I would like to speak first with the players that have been on the pitch."

Barca boss Ernesto Valverde said his team needs to be more clinical if they want to win these matches by a more comfortable margin.

"We have to keep in mind that Slavia are a side that play with a really high rhythm," he said. "We started well, dominating.

"But they created danger when we lost the ball and in thee second half they took a step forward. Everyone wants to win in a more relaxed way, but the Champions League is difficult.

"We had chances to score more goals, but they went all at it and squeezed us a lot.

"You have to know how to play these games. We lacked some composure in the opponent's half. We had clearer chances than they did, but they could have hurt us. They were like wolves."

Prime Minister's XI 9 for 132 (Nielsen 79, Rajitha 3-21 Sandakan 3-21) beat Sri Lankans 8 for 131 (Fernando 38, Christian 2-16) by one wicket

A sublime 79 from South Australia youngster Harry Nielsen and some last-over heroics from Fawad Ahmed has seen the Prime Minister's XI squeeze home by one wicket with a ball to spare against a rusty Sri Lankan side in the T20 tour match in Canberra.

Kasun Rajitha looked as though he had stolen the game when he dismissed Nielsen off the second ball of the final over with nine still needed for victory. Nielsen had batted magnificently to hold the chase of 132 together while his teammates collapsed against a very skilful Sri Lankan attack. Nielsen was Rajitha's third wicket and it left Ahmed and young ACT player Djali Bloomfield to score nine runs off the final five balls. Ahmed pinched a two through cover before Rajitha missed with an attempted yorker and Ahmed swiped it over midwicket for four. He scrounged two more straight of long-on to tie the scores only for Rajitha to deliver a wide to hand the game back to the Prime Minister's XI.

The home side had done their best to lose it after an outstanding bowling display from the Sri Lankans. Pace and late swing from Rajitha and Nuwan Pradeep reduced the home side to 3 for 26 inside the first five overs. Chris Lynn's lack of recent cricket was exposed as he was clean bowled by a full outswinger from Rajitha that knocked out leg stump. Lynn showed all three stumps and closed the bat face trying to whip to leg.

Rajitha's extra pace and late swing also undid Jason Sangha. He was caught superbly at slip by Kusal Mendis stretching high above his head after Sangha flashed hard on the drive.

Lakshan Sandakan then bowled beautifully to rip through the middle order taking 3 for 21 from four overs. He was helped by some outstanding wicketkeeping from Niroshan Dickwella. He held the outside edge of Dan Christian from a Sandakan slider and produced two excellent stumpings to remove Mackenzie Harvey and Chris Green.

But Nielsen stood firm. He had some luck, dropped in the deep by Bhanuka Rajapaksa off Sandakan on 27. But he showed tremendous skill and composure striking nine fours and a six in his 50-ball 79. The highlight was back-to-back boundaries off Danushka Gunathilaka. He skipped down the track to loft inside out over long-off for six before reverse sweeping the next ball past short third man for four.

Earlier, the Sri Lankans were disappointing with the bat in their first match since sweeping the T20 series in Pakistan.

They faced 52 dot balls in their 20 overs against a Prime Minister's XI attack that only had three internationals.

Gunathilaka felt he was unfortunate to be dismissed in the second over given out caught behind to Bloomfield. He even asked the umpire if there was DRS available before walking off. Mendis really struggled before holing out to deep square off Christian's first ball.

Only Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Oshada Fernando found any fluency, continuing their fine form from the tour of Pakistan. They struck five boundaries and four sixes between them but neither were able to capitalise on their starts. Rajapaksa was undone by a clever piece of bowling from Ahmed. He had late cut the previous ball for four and his eyes lit up again when he saw a similar length, but it was slid through quicker and straighter to knock out middle stump.

Fernando looked in ominous touch, producing classical on drives and reverse sweeps during his 38, but was deceived by a Christian slower ball.

Co-captains Christian and Peter Siddle were so confident the Sri Lankan tail would not wag they bowled spin in two of the last three overs of the innings. The home side also had the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison run out drinks at the fall of a wicket.