#2022-cba

#2022-cba

When Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping recently, reporters said the British prime minister was shocked at his Chinese counterpart calling Crystal Palace Palace, liking Manchester City and Arsenal and supporting Manchester United. The reasons can be guessed. Fan Zhiyi was popular at Selhurst Park in the late 1990s, Sun Jihai was a cult hero at Maine Road and Manchester United had Dong Fangzhuo. The president of the world's second most populous country and second biggest economy didn't, however, mention Everton.

It was pretty hard a year for me and for the team, of course. But I think just this year, it's been such a different experience, and I've really enjoyed it so far. The way we are with each other, it's so positive and so much joy in our room. I think it shows on the ice, and we've been able to have some success, but now it's time to keep it going and make that push.

The 26-year-old left wing has only played in six games for the Sharks this season, but he has made his brief time count, scoring all three of the Sharks' goals on Saturday in a 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning for his first career hat trick. He has six total goals this season, including one in Tuesday's win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Thursday marks the second day of the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympics in Milan Cortina. On Wednesday, Slovakia stunned the hockey world by defeating Finland 4-1 in the first game of the tournament. Then, Sweden survived a spirited effort from the host Italians, winning 5-2 after allowing the opening goal in the first period. With four games on the schedule on Thursday, that means eight teams are in action, consisting of all four from Groups A and C.

They now face Germany to wrap up round robin play, with the second overall seed in tournament play up for grabs. It doesn't seem like they will get the top seed due to goal differential, as Canada has a 2 goal advantage with France up next. It's unlikely the Rangers are able to make up that differential against Germany. That's fine. Team USA has been shaky at times, especially in net, but it's more about how they play in the elimination tournament.