ST. LOUIS -- Jack Hughes picked up the stick and examined it outside the St. Louis Blues locker room. The 18-year-old phenom, expected to be the first overall pick in this month's NHL draft, had seen all manner and sort of hockey stick, including during the recent IIHF world championships.

But none like this.

"Ryan O'Reilly's stick is pretty cool. Straight curve, and then it has something pretty weird going on at the toe," said Hughes, who visited the Blues and Boston Bruins before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, a game in which O'Reilly would score twice.

Upon first glance, O'Reilly's stick looks like a manufacturing error. The blade's curve is nearly flat, but the end of it features a harsh toe hook, looking very much like the wood was warped.

"It's a little weird," O'Reilly said. "I think everyone hates it. But it works for me."

Calling his stick "unique" would be underselling it. As far as O'Reilly can tell, he's the only one with a stick like this. Others have tried to use his style. Inevitably, they reject it for a more traditional curve.

O'Reilly created the toe hook by heating up a plastic template sent to him by Warrior, who manufactures his sticks, and sending it back. He said the basis for the curve was the stick used by former NHL great Jeremy Roenick, but he added the hook at the toe.

"I've been using it for, like, 10 years now. Just gives me a little more control. I use a pretty long blade, and I just had the idea of putting the toe in to make it easier to handle the puck in certain areas," he said.

It's one of the most unusual blades in the NHL, and Hughes wasn't the only prospect marveling at it on Monday.

Dylan Cozens, a center who expected to go in the top five, said the blade struck him as weird.

"With that little toe hook at the end. You don't see that with too many players. It's crazy," he said. "It must be pretty good for toe drags or something. But it works for him."

"It's something that I've never seen," said Kirby Dach, a center projected to be drafted in the top 10. "It's something that you do with a mini stick, where you heat it and curve it right at the toe. It was cool to pick his brain on that."

O'Reilly said the comments from the prospects reminded him of his experiences as a young player, when he first spied the stick of Alex Ovechkin.

"In juniors, when I saw Ovechkin's curve, I saw how much of a hook that was. It's just a big hook," he said. "I remember being obviously impressed with how he plays it."

When it comes to NHL stars and their sticks, there's no one size that fits all.

"He said it works for him," Dach said. "I mean, guy put up 80 points this year. It seemed to work."

Was there any doubt that this series was going to be a long one? After laying an egg in Game 3, the St. Louis Blues bounced back with a 4-2 win in Game 4 that left the home crowd singing along to "Gloria," and the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins tied at two games apiece.

Here's everything you need to know about how Game 4 played out in this edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily.

Jump ahead: Last night's game | Three stars
Play of the night | Social post of the day

About last night ...

Game 4: St. Louis Blues 4, Boston Bruins 2 (series is tied 2-2)

Boston goalie Tuukka Rask called St. Louis the more desperate team on Monday, and he's probably right. The Blues benefited from some lineup maneuvering by coach Craig Berube -- Vince Dunn, making his Stanley Cup Final debut returning from injury, and Zach Sanford, a nice boost on the second line, both assisted on the first goal -- as St. Louis scored 43 seconds in (thanks, Ryan O'Reilly), then weathered some attacks from Boston, including a short-handed goal. (If you're looking to criticize something about the Blues' game, look to their power play, which was rough to watch.) In the end, it was O'Reilly who scored again for the game winner. The veteran center, who had just three playoff goals entering this game, buzzed all night.

The Blues, with renewed discipline, have now scored in the opening two minutes of a game six times in the playoffs, and at least once in all four rounds. They're 5-0 so far when doing so. Rask, by the way, looked vulnerable for the first time in a while. It was the first time he allowed three goals in regulation since the second round against Columbus. And once again, Jordan Binnington and the Blues prove they rule the ice when rebounding after a loss this postseason.

Three stars

1. Ryan O'Reilly, C, St. Louis Blues. O'Reilly did something only three players had done previously: score in the opening minute of a Stanley Cup Final game and later score the eventual winner in the same game. (The others: Fernando Pisani in 2006 for the Oilers, Bernie Geoffrion in 1958 for the Canadiens and Sid Smith in 1951 for the Maple Leafs.)

2. Alex Pietrangelo, D, St. Louis Blues. The captain had two assists, and was 23 seconds shy of playing a ridiculous 30 minutes while taking a whopping 34 shifts.

3. Zach Sanford, LW, St. Louis Blues. Stanford drew into the lineup in Game 3 thanks to Oskar Sundqvist's suspension. He played so well, Blues coach Craig Berube promoted Sanford to the second line in Game 4. He did not disappoint, adding a nice boost to the line.

Play of the night

Ryan O'Reilly with a stellar wraparound goal and the @StLouisBlues take an early lead in Game 4! ��#StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/KjSCxw1slc

- Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 4, 2019

The crowd went absolutely berserk after this goal, just 43 seconds into the game.

Dud of the night

The Bruins losing captain Zdeno Chara in the second period after a puck deflected to his face and he bled profusely. Chara could miss Game 5, which is especially troublesome considering the team is already without top-four defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (concussion protocol). Chara got some stitches and may need dental work later, according to coach Bruce Cassidy. If he cannot go for Game 5, the Bruins will turn to either Steven Kampfer (two games of playoff experience this spring), or a fellow left-handed shot like Urho Vaakanainen or Jeremy Lazon, who both have limited NHL experience.

Social post of the day

Sports: they bring people* together.

*Brett Hull's face and a chinchilla named Boris

(photo is a screengrab from a @YoungPageviews video) pic.twitter.com/BVeqXrKAU9

- Joan Niesen (@JoanNiesen) June 4, 2019

Once again, the crowd in St. Louis was ... a scene.

Quotable

"He's a guy who wants to be out there. He wants to battle and be with the guys. He wasn't gonna miss that opportunity. He doesn't get back on the ice, but he's a warrior. If there's any chance for him to be back, he'll be back. If not, it'll be next man up again. Whoever our next guy up is will have to fill that role admirably -- and they're big feet to fill." -- David Backes on Zdeno Chara returning to the bench to sit with teammates in the third period, even though he was not medically cleared to play.

Paris Saint-Germain's Thomas Meunier has said the Champions League round-of-16 exit to Manchester United earlier this year was the "biggest joke in the history of football."

PSG won 2-0 at Old Trafford in the first leg but fell to 3-1 home defeat in the return to crash out. The clinching goal was scored from a late penalty awarded by the video assistant referee for a handball by defender Presnel Kimpembe.

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And Meunier said this loss was worse than when they threw away a 4-0 first leg lead with a 6-1 defeat at Barcelona in 2017.

"It was the biggest joke in the history of football," the 27-year-old told Le Parisien. "I would have bet €1 million that we would not lose.

"They did not even have chances and they still scored three goals. It was even more shocking than Barcelona."

Meunier said PSG's open focus on European glory has started to create problems because of heightened expectations at the club.

"The Champions League is still the major problem," the Belgium international said. "Winning this competition and being part of the big ones like Real Madrid and Barca, which is what a lot of international communication has focused on, will take a long time. PSG is a club that is growing."

Sources have told ESPN FC that Arsenal and Manchester United are interested in signing Meunier this summer, with PSG open to a deal for around €30m.

Meunier is entering the final 12 months of his contract amid a strained relationship with the club's fans and a lack of playing time.

"I am neither hot nor cold about it [social media criticism from PSG fans]," he said. "Sometimes I have fun with it.

"I have values. When I talk about something, I try to do so as sincerely as possible. It is my world; I am my own person and I will stay this way. The majority of fans support me."

Meunier is with the Belgium national team for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Scotland.

Jurgen Klopp could take a year's sabbatical at the end of his Liverpool contract in 2022 and while the club's owners are hopeful he will commit to an extension, they are minded not to put pressure on him, sources have told ESPN FC.

The 51-year-old, who celebrated his first trophy as Liverpool manager with a 2-0 Champions League final victory over Tottenham last Saturday, has repeatedly stated his desire to take a break from the "very intense" demands of management when his contract expires.

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It is a matter he has considered with his family, and he has mentioned a 12-month rest period would be his preference in the past.

While owners Fenway Sports Group want Klopp to remain on Merseyside beyond the next three years of his contract, they would not want to put him in the position of turning down a new offer.

Improved terms would therefore only be drafted if the German requested it and he has not yet provided any indication as to whether he has changed his mind on having time out after 2022.

Given the strong relationship between Klopp and FSG president Mike Gordon, who stayed at the manager's house on Sunday evening after the team's victory parade, there would not be any formal discussions or a lengthy process if he did decide to extend his commitment.

This is evidenced by how Liverpool handled the six-year contract they gave the Reds boss in June 2016. During a conversation with Gordon, Klopp said he could imagine himself being at the club for the rest of his career. FSG's president then called principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner before a fresh deal was drawn up in a matter of hours. Klopp, who had been on holiday in Ibiza before ferrying to Formentera, signed it on June 16 -- his 49th birthday. The news was only officially announced by Liverpool at the start of preseason the following month.

Guiding the club to a sixth European Cup title in Madrid will not have acted as a spark for FSG to reward the German -- they would have offered Klopp a new contract after last year's Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev if he had wanted it. The owners believe that the scale of his influence at Liverpool cannot solely be measured by trophies.

They will have optimism that the former Mainz and Borussia Dortmund coach, who spent seven years at both clubs, indicates he wants to surpass that time at Anfield, where he has been since October 2015.

FSG will, however, respect Klopp's decision if he wants to stick to his plan of taking a break when his contract runs out.

So: was Unai Emery's first season at Arsenal better than Arsene Wenger's last?

It should be an easy question to answer because sport usually provides clarity, but at Arsenal such is the pace of change that we tend to read runes, over many decades, rather than arrive at snap judgements. Arsenal fans are more like climate change scientists or evolutionary biologists than football fans; you are forced to compare almost microscopic shifts in pattern, temperature and genes in order to come up with tentative theories that may eventually be disproved in 10 seasons' time.

Is fifth better than sixth? Yes, but only in the way that 15th is better than 16th. Is losing 4-1 in the Europa League final better than losing 3-0 in the league cup, as we did last year? I would argue that it is -- we scored a goal, and it was 0-0 at half-time in the Europa League. I would, however, respect the view of anyone who argued that letting in four goals in 20-odd minutes is worse than letting in three over 90.

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Is our calamitous defence any better? Statistics should be able to clear that up. We conceded 51 goals this season, compared to... oh. We conceded 51 last season, too. Attack? 74 goals scored last season, 73 this. So the attack is worse, except... not really.

Last autumn, after the predictable defeats at home to Man City and away at Chelsea were out of the way, things felt very different indeed. I sit behind the Arsenal manager's technical area but Wenger didn't use it that much, especially in the past few years. Every now and again he would jump off the bench and stomp over to remonstrate with the fourth official, but if technical area action was your thing, then mostly you had to content yourself with watching the tumbleweed.

Emery, however, is a blur of motion, his hands constantly guiding the ball and the players. This felt reassuring in itself, but when it became clear that his number two, Juan Carlos Carcedo, was responsible for free-kicks and corners at both ends of the pitch -- he comes out and Emery drops back, as if the pair are connected mechanically -- Arsenal fans in my area of the ground could convince themselves that Emery was a combination of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, and we were being coached by a team of crack modern technicians. So much was happening between our seats and the touchline that we hardly had time to watch the game.

Before long, the atmosphere in the ground began to change. Wenger's teams were flat-track bullies which tended to curl up and die against better, stronger opponents, and the crowd responded appropriately, with purring appreciation or despairing silence. But in those opening months of the Emery era, Arsenal, often inspired by the warrior-like Lucas Torreira, got stuck in. We came from behind to beat Tottenham and to draw with Liverpool, and the sleepy, stupefied Emirates roared its appreciation.

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If you had asked any Arsenal fan on the night of April 1, after a 2-0 home win against Newcastle that lifted us to third in the league, whether Emery's first season had been a success, they would all have answered in the affirmative. "We're competitive again," we said that night. "We have a very good chance of finishing in the top four and there may be a Cup to come, too. That's all we wanted. To be in the running in April."

As it turned out, we wanted more than that and we'd been kidding ourselves. What we specifically didn't want was to collapse, in a wearyingly familiar fashion, when it mattered. Emery lost 10 games this year, three fewer defeats than in the season before, but four of the 10 came in April. If just one of them -- and I'm looking at you, Arsenal 2, Crystal Palace 3 -- had been converted into a win, we would have finished third. If the woeful 1-1 draw at home to Brighton had finished 2-1, we'd have come fourth. Fine margins, yes, but a Champions League place was presented to Emery on a plate and his team turned up its collective nose. Manchester United and Chelsea might not be so obliging next year, although both teams look to have at least as many problems as Arsenal as things stand.

In the end, it felt like the club suffers from some kind of hereditary disease, passed on from generation to generation. We used to blame Wenger and the kinds of players he liked, the technically gifted, physically unimposing attacking midfielders who seemed to occupy every position on the pitch. Torreira, Granit Xhaka and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are of a different build and complexion entirely but it doesn't make any difference, apparently. The post-Invincibles Arsenal team will always flake out on you when it matters, no matter who's playing or coaching.

Some of the more excitable members of the Arsenal community -- perhaps those with no interest in evolutionary biology -- want Emery out already. That seems premature to me. Only two of the starting 11 in the Europa final in May were Emery buys although a third, the goalkeeper Bernd Leno, was on the bench, apparently as a sentimental gesture to Petr Cech, and a fourth, Stephan Lichtsteiner, should, I respectfully suggest, never have been signed in the first place.

This summer, however, is critical. My sources inside the club tell me that the decision to release Aaron Ramsey was down to Emery and Emery alone, and that the player was ready to sign a new deal. Emery took one look at him and decided, clearly, that he wasn't worth the money being offered.

Even this seemed exciting at the time, reminiscent of Wenger deciding that Paul Merson wasn't good enough for Arsenal and shipping him out. "Paul Merson! We love Paul Merson! And he's not good enough? Bring it on!" And Wenger did. Unfortunately, Emery took a second look at Ramsey and apparently decided that he was, after all, an important part of his plans and indeed, the business-end of the collapse began with Ramsey's season-ending injury in Naples. Unless Ramsey's replacement is at least as good, fans will quickly resent the loss of someone who could be frustrating, but whose two Cup Final-winning goals, and a decade-long commitment to the club, have earned him Official Club Legend status.

And then there is the perennial Mesut Ozil problem. Ozil is, of course, a genius. That goal he scores when he bounces the ball into the ground and deceives the keeper... who does that? Who can even think about doing that? But he is also absurdly, ruinously absent on big occasions -- compare and contrast with Eden Hazard's performance for Chelsea in the Europa League final -- and you must reluctantly conclude that no team with ambition can afford Ozil, financially or in any other sense. Yet a couple of times this season Emery attempted to play without either Ramsey or Ozil, as next season he surely must permanently, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Arsenal fans are used to pretty sights and if the choice is between fifth place and no Champions League football, and sixth place with the occasional breath-taking moment of beauty, the Emirates crowd may decide that the grass was not, after all, greener.

Two of the best goals I have ever seen were scored this season, under Emery, within 10 days of each other. One was by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, against Leicester, an incredible team goal that involved a flick from Ozil, a dummy by Ozil and an extraordinary sliced pass by Ozil. The other was also an incredible team goal, away at Fulham. It involved a pass from Ramsey, a flick from Ramsey, a headed pass from Ramsey and a back-heel into the net from Ramsey.

I hope that this is the football that Emery wants to play. I hope, too, that he knows the players he wants to play it. Perhaps some of the youngsters -- Emile Smith Rowe, say, or Bukayo Saka, or Reiss Nelson -- may provide the missing Wenger-esque pieces of the Emery puzzle... in which case, we are back to the old club promise of jam tomorrow, and more reading of the runes.

As ever in London N5, the jury is out.

South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the World Cup with a shoulder injury, less than 24 hours before the team's clash against India on Wednesday. Left-arm quick Beuran Hendricks has been approved as his replacement by the ICC's Event Technical Committee of the World Cup.

Steyn had missed South Africa's first two games, against England and Bangladesh, after suffering a second shoulder injury which "has not responded to treatment and has ruled him out of bowling for the foreseeable future," according to a CSA release. The injury had also cut short his IPL campaign with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"Unfortunately, it happened there in the IPL in those two games he played there. If he didn't get picked up to go to the IPL, who knows where Dale would have been right now"

Although South Africa were hopeful Steyn could be fit for Wednesday's game against India - even having him bowl briefly at training on Monday - a decision was made on Tuesday that his recovery was not going quickly enough. Steyn had warmed up and played football with the squad on Tuesday, but did not bowl at training.

"Dale has tried really hard - really hard - to try and get back into the team," South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said of Steyn's long streak of injuries. "It's been a tough two years, and we've got to be strong for him. He's going to need a bit of love. He tried unbelievably hard to get fit for this campaign, which would have been his last World Cup. We've got to be there for him now.

"Unfortunately, it happened there in the IPL in those two games that he played there. If he didn't get picked up to go to the IPL, who knows where Dale would have been right now."

Steyn had played two games in the IPL in April and bowled eight overs in all before he was ruled out of the T20 league with a right shoulder injury that has troubled him for long now.

The news is a serious blow to South Africa, whose campaign has also been hit by injuries to two other fast bowlers. Anrich Nortje, who had originally been part of the World Cup squad, was ruled out of the tournament with a fractured thumb in the week before South Africa departed to the UK. Lungi Ngidi has also since picked up a hamstring strain, which is likely to keep him out of the next few South Africa matches. Vernon Philander is unavailable due to injury as well.

The injury to Steyn has left the squad with only four functioning fast bowlers for the India match: Kagiso Rabada, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius and Chris Morris. Batsman Hashim Amla had also missed the previous game after being struck in the helmet in the tournament opener, but is now cleared to play on Wednesday.

The ICC generally does not allow teams to replace players who came into the tournament with injuries, as Steyn had. However, South Africa's doctor Mohammed Moosajee explained that the injury that has now ruled Steyn out is different from the shoulder injury he had had when he arrived in England.

Steyn will now return to South Africa and work with a rehab team before any decision is made on the future of his career. He had said in February that he had no plans to retire from Test cricket, despite the injuries to his right shoulder - in addition to other serious ailments - having frustrated Steyn's career all the way back since 2015. He had first broken his shoulder at home, ahead of a New Year Test in Cape Town, before suffering a much more serious break in the same shoulder towards the end of 2016. A serious heel injury followed, before hamstring strains ailed him as well.

Hendricks has played only two ODIs, the most recent of which came in January. He has only taken one wicket across those two games, but has had more success in 10 T20 internationals, in which he has claimed 18 wickets.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina said Mack Brown has had his right knee replaced by a surgeon who once played for the football coach.

Team spokesman Jeremy Sharpe said Tuesday that the 67-year-old coach underwent the procedure Monday that was performed by one of Brown's former players.

Dr. Michael Bolognesi -- who played defensive back for Brown from 1989 to 1993 -- said the surgery won't affect the coach's summer schedule. He was discharged later Monday afternoon.

"First off, how cool is it that one of our former players replaced my knee yesterday," Brown said in a statement. "We talk about building young men so they can be productive husbands, fathers and citizens. Carolina produces a lot of special people and I'm happy we were able to play a small part in Mike's development because we counted on him and he, along with the rest of the surgical and anesthetic team, did a tremendous job."

Brown said he had planned to have surgery in February but delayed it after he was hired to coach the Tar Heels again. He coached at UNC from 1988 to 1997 and was hired this past November to replace the fired Larry Fedora.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two of the Detroit Lions' best defensive players, cornerback Darius Slay and defensive tackle Damon Harrison, are skipping this week's mandatory minicamp, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday.

Neither player has shown up for offseason workouts this spring, and both have made it known they would like adjustments to their current contracts. By skipping minicamp, they could end up being fined up to $88,650 by the Lions.

Slay has been a constant in the secondary for the Lions since earning a full-time starting role in 2014, his second season in the league. He has made two Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2017. With Glover Quin being cut by Detroit, Slay is also one of the senior players in the secondary.

He has two years left on the four-year extension he signed in 2016 and is scheduled to make $12.55 million in base salary this season and $10 million next season. By skipping offseason workouts, he has already forfeited much of the $250,000 bonus that was worked into his deal.

Slay has also been vocal about wanting a new deal on social media -- often retweeting messages that suggest he should be paid more and about how contracts are handled.

They don't keep their words when they cut us while we in our contracts ... https://t.co/EqsDXgAJ93

— Darius Slay (@_bigplayslay23) May 22, 2019

Harrison was traded to the Lions from the New York Giants last season and, like Slay, has two years left on his current contract. He's scheduled to make $6.75 million in base salary this season and $9 million next season. Like Slay, Harrison has forfeited almost all of his $250,000 workout bonus by skipping the voluntary offseason workouts earlier this spring.

When the Lions traded for Harrison, it shored up the club's run defense, and he has now become an anchor on the club's revamped defensive line, along with free-agent signee Trey Flowers.

During his time as Detroit's general manager, Bob Quinn has never extended a player or given him a new contract with two years remaining on his deal. Slay will be 30 years old when his current deal expires and Harrison will be 32.

Both Slay and Harrison are represented by agent Drew Rosenhaus.

PARIS -- Johanna Konta has reached the French Open semifinals for the first time after beating last year's runner-up, Sloane Stephens, 6-1, 6-4.

It was the 26th-seeded Briton's third win in three meetings against the 2017 US Open champion, all of them this year.

Konta is the first British woman to reach the semifinals at the French Open since 1983, when Jo Durie got there.

This is the first major match in which Stephens failed to break serve since the 2015 US Open, when she lost in the first round to fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe.

Konta has now reached the semifinals at three of the four major tournaments, but she has yet to reach a final.

She will next play either unseeded teen Marketa Vondrousova or No. 31 Petra Martic.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report.