2
OCTOBER 5, 2019
By Nicole Yang
BOSTON.COM STAFF
FOXBOROUGH — If Patriots punterJake
Baileyis asked to assume kickoff duties Sunday
against the Redskins, the 22-year-old rookie
will happily oblige.
“I’m comfortable with it,”
Bailey said Friday at Gillette
Stadium. “Coach [Bill
Belichick], I feel like, trusts me with it. I’m
ready to go.”
With veteran kickerStephenGostkowski
placed on injured reserve, the Patriots will have
to turn to either Bailey or newly signedMike
Nugentto handle kickoffs. Bailey, who gained
plenty of experience in the role at Stanford,
said the three keys to the job are distance, hang
time, and direction.
Oh, and serving as the last line of defense
should a returner gain steam.
“Stick your nose in there and make sure
there are no open holes,” Bailey said.
Belichick didn’t say which player will be
kicking off Sunday, but Bailey presents a com-
pelling choice. During his senior season at
Stanford last year, 60 of Bailey’s 72 kickoffs
were touchbacks, and only two went out of
bounds. He averaged 62.7 yards per kick,
which is not too far off Gostkowski’s 64.9.
“It’s been a part of my game ever since I’ve
been at Stanford,” Bailey said in the spring. “It’s
something I would like to continue.”
Nugent didn’t speak to the media Friday, his
second day in Foxborough. The 37-year-old vet-
eran kicked off 14 times with the Oakland
Raiders last season, averaging 61.3 yards. Six
were touchbacks, and none went out of
bounds.
Bailey called Nugent a “really nice guy,” and
said they are working on developing chemistry.
As a holder, Bailey said one of his priorities is to
discern Nugent’s preferences with ball tilt and
lean.
The transition is certainly a quick one, but
Bailey seemed optimistic. Plus, he noted, Gost-
kowski is still around to offer pointers.
“We’ve all been kicking for a lot of our lives,”
Bailey said. “When you go out and practice in
the offseason, you’re kicking with a bunch of
different kickers. That’s good practice, getting
used to different guys.”Edelmanquestionable
For the second straight week, wide receiver
JulianEdelmanis questionable with a chest in-
jury.
Edelmanon Fridaysaidheisfeeling“good,”
though he also argued nobody in the NFL is
feeling 100 percent.
“It’s football,” he said. “When you’re com-
pounding weeks, it’s a dangerous sport. It’s
100-percent injury rate. We all know that...
that’s part of the game. You can go out and ask
everyone here. They don’t feel like they felt in
May.”
Also questionable for Sunday’s game are
running backRexBurkhead(foot), safetyPat-
rickChung(heel), safetyNateEbner(groin),
and linebackerDont’aHightower(shoulder).
Wide receiverJoshGordon(knee) was removed
from the injury report.McCoyundercenter
The Redskins namedColtMcCoytheir start-
er for Sunday’s game against the Patriots over
bothCaseKeenum, who started the first four
weeks, and rookieDwayneHaskins, who de-
buted in relief last week against the Giants. Mc-
Coy, who broke his right leg in December and
needed three offseason surgeries, was the pre-
sumed starter in training camp before dealing
with lingering leg issues. He returned to prac-
tice last week... LinebackerJa’WhaunBentley
called it a blessing to be playing in the same
city as Celtics rookieCarsenEdwards.Both
players attended Purdue, overlapping for two
seasons, and refer to each other as “brothers.”
Edwards even stopped by training camp in Au-
gust. “Him being closer, it’s definitely good for
both of us,” Bentley said. “Him being able to
come to training camp and things like that, it’s
awesome. I’m excited that he’s out here”... An-
other day, another kicker. The Patriots officially
addedYounghoeKooto the practice squad.
Koo, 25, was with the Chargers for four games
in 2017, when he was 3 of 6 on field goals (with
a long of 41) and 9 of 9 on extra points. Koo,
whose first name is pronounced Young Way,
played for the Atlanta Legends of the AAF this
year; the Georgia Southern product holds the
distinction of scoring the league’s first points
with a 38-yard field goal.Jim McBride of the Globe staff contributed.
Nicole Yang can be reached at
[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter
@nicoleyang“I’ve always said the best
teammates are the ones that I
have to think about the least,
because I don’t want to spend
my mental energy on things
that aren’t really my job,’’ he
said. “The same goes on de-
fense. The free safety can’t
rush the passer and the pass
rushers can’t cover the deep
part of the field.
“So I think what makes a
good team is just people doing
their job, doing it the best way
they can, and that’s what my
responsibility is.’’
Meyers, who hasn’t yet had
a huge impact on the offense
(3 catches, 60 yards), was in
agreement with Brady, and
said that building trust is an
ever-evolving process.
“Just the feedback he gives
me on the field, it just tells meuPATRIOTS
Continued from Page 1where he wants me to be, and
at the end of the day, he’s the
one that’s got to throw the re-
ceivers the ball,’’ said Meyers.
“So, if I know what he’s think-
ing and I can just be around
him and listening to him —
like, what’s his thought pro-
cess — then I know where I
have to be, too.
“As long as the coaches see
me doing the right thing and
the coaches trust me, and then
Tom sees me doing the right
thing and Tom trusts me, I’ll
be all right.’’
With New England’s top re-
ceivers dealing with injuries —
Julian Edelman (chest) and
Josh Gordon (knee) were lim-
ited at times in practice —
Meyers could find himself
with a bigger workload this
week. He played the majority
of the second half against the
Jets in Week 3 of the pre-season when Edelman was ini-
tially injured.
Meyers said the injuries
don’t change his preparation
or add any extra pressure on
his shoulders.
“It’s a performance-based
business,’’ he said. “So, every
day we’ve got to come out and
perform and be ready like
we’re going in the next play.’’
Brady remembers very well
being the newbie.
“Those guys are trying,’’ he
said. “They’re young. I was
young. I was trying once, too. I
just didn’t have to play my first
year, so it’s a little different.’’
Apprised of Brady’s com-
ments, Meyers quipped, “That
was a long time ago.’’Jim McBride can be reached at
[email protected].
Follow him on Twitter
@globejimmcbride.FLYERS 4, BLACKHAWKS 3
Chicago........................111—
Philadelphia................121—
Firstperiod—1.Philadelphia,
Konecny 1, 6:24. 2. Chicago, Nylander 1(Kane), 7:44. Penalties — Voracek, Phi
(hooking), 3:16.
Second period — 3. Philadelphia,
Lindblom 1, 6:28 (pp). 4. Philadelphia,
Konecny 2 (Laughton), 18:04. 5. Chica-go, DeBrincat 1 (Kane, Gustafsson),
19:47 (pp). Penalties — Keith, Chi (trip-
ping), 4 :42.Seabrook,Chi(delayof
game), 917:30. Giroux, Phi (slashing), 17:49.:14. Shaw, Chi(crosscheck),
Third period — 6. Philadelphia, Raffl
1 (Pitlick, Hagg), 9:48. 7. Chicago, Kane
1 (Gustafsson, Keith), 17:53. Penalties
— None.
31.Shots on goal — Chicago 11-7-13 —Philadelphia 13-15- 10 —38.
Power plays — Chicago 1-2; Philadel-
phia 1-3.
Goalies — Chicago, Crawford 0-1-
(38 shots-34 saves). Philadelphia, Hart1-0-0 (31 shots-28 saves).
Referees — Jean Hebert, Dan O'Hal-
loran. Linesmen — Brian Murphy, Libor
Suchanek.
A — 17,463 (18,000). T — 2:32.
LEAFS 4, BLUE JACKETS 1
Toronto.......................112—
Columbus...................010—
First period — 1. Toronto, Marner 1
(Tavares, Rielly), 12:04 (pp). Penalties— Barrie, Tor (holding), 4:11. Savard,
Cls (interference), 11:56. Johnsson, Tor
(slashing), 12:45.Nutivaara, Cls (hold-
ing), 18:52. Johnsson, Tor (tripping),
19:07.
Second period — 2. Toronto, Ceci 1
(Rielly, Nylander), 10:35. 3. Columbus,
Atkinson 1, 14:11 (pp). Penalties — Ri-
elly, Tor (holding),14:07. Harrington,
Cls (tripping), 15:44.
Third period — 4. Toronto, Marner 2
(Tavares, Muzzin), 2:16. 5. Toronto,
Matthews 3 (Rielly, Marner), 14:
(pp). Penalties — Johnsson, Tor (slash-
ing), 1:01. Anderson, Cls (cross check),1:01. Jenner, Cls (interference), 6:32.
Texier, Cls (slashing), 12:27. Gauthier,
Tor (hi stick), 17:53.
Shots on goal — Toronto 10-9-10 —- Columbus 9-11-9 — 29.
Power plays — Toronto 2-5; Colum-
bus 1-5.
Goalies — Toronto, Andersen 2-0-
(29 shots-28 saves). Columbus, Korp-
isalo 0-1-0 (29 shots-25 saves).
Referees — Chris Schlenker, Trevor
Hanson. Linesmen — Matt MacPher-
son, Kory Nagy.
A — 18,776 (18,144). T — 2:27.
JETS 5, DEVILS 4
Winnipeg................ 0130 —
New Jersey.............1300—
Jets win shootout, 2-
First period — 1. New Jersey, Gusev 1
(Bratt), 18:00. Penalties — Zajac, NJ
(slashing), 1:17. , Wpg, served by Per-
reault (too many men on ice), 7:26.Wood, NJ (cross check), 14:36.
Second period — 2. New Jersey,
Coleman 1 (Simmonds, Zajac), 1:42. 3.
New Jersey, Vatanen 1 (Palmieri, Hall),12:34. 4. New Jersey, Coleman 2 (Sub-
ban, Zacha), 13:52. 5. Winnipeg, Kulik-
ov 1 (Ehlers, Scheifele), 19:49. Penal-
ties — Copp, Wpg (tripping), 16:59.
1 (Pionk, Perreault), 2:41. 7. Winnipeg,Third period — 6. Winnipeg, Roslovic
Perreault 1 (Copp, Laine), 7:17. 8. Win-
nipeg, Pionk 1 (Scheifele, Heinola),
12:35. Penalties — None.
Overtime — None. Penalties — None.
Shootout — Winnipeg 2 (Connor G,
Laine NG, Scheifele NG, Wheeler G).
New Jersey 1 (Gusev G, Hughes NG,
Hall NG, Palmieri NG)
— 30. New Jersey 7-19-12-1 — 39.Shots on goal — Winnipeg 4-15-8-
Power plays — Winnipeg 0-2; New
Jersey 0-2.
Goalies — Winnipeg, Brossoit 1-0-
(39 shots-35 saves). New Jersey, Black-wood 0-0-1 (9 shots-7 saves). New Jer-
sey, Schneider 0-0-0 (21 shots-
saves).
Referees — Eric Furlatt, Dean Mor-
ton. Linesmen — Steve Barton, DevinBerg.
A — 16,514 (16,514). T — 2:37.CAPITALS 2, ISLANDERS 1
Washington.................110—
NY Islanders................100—
First period — 1. Washington, Vrana
2 (Eller, Gudas), 10:25. 2. NY Islanders,
Toews 1 (Beauvillier, Komarov), 12:27.Penalties — None.
Second period — 3. Washington, Os-
hie 1 (Carlson, Backstrom), 17:43 (pp).
Penalties — Eller,Was(hooking),2:23.
Nelson, NYI (tripping), 6:00. Nelson,NYI (hooking), 16:48.
Third period — None. Penalties —
None.
Shots on goal — Washington 10-8-
— 28. NY Islanders 9-9-8 — 26.
Power plays — Washington 1-2; NY
Islanders 0-1.
Goalies — Washington, Samsonov 1-
0-0(26 shots-25 saves). NY Islanders,
Varlamov 0-1-0 (28 shots-26 saves).
Referees — Kyle Rehman, Tom
Chmielewski. Linesmen — Michel
Cormier, David Brisebois.
A — 13,917 (13,900). T — 2:18.NHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC GP W L OL Pts. ROW GF GA
Toronto 2200 4294
BOSTON 11002121
TampaBay 11002152
Buffalo 1100 2131
Montreal 1001 1034
Detroit 0000 0000
Ottawa 10100035
Florida 1010 0025
METROPOLITAN GP W L OL Pts. ROW GF GA
Washington 2 2 0 0 4253
NY Rangers 1100 2164
Philadelphia 1100 2143
Carolina 1100 2043
NewJersey 1001 1045
NY Islanders 1010 0012
Pittsburgh 1 0 1 0 0013
Columbus 1010 0014
WESTERN CONFERENCE
CENTRAL GP W L OL Pts. ROW GF GA
Nashville 1100 2152
Colorado 1100 2153
Winnipeg 2 1 1 0 2 0 9 10
St.Louis 10011023
Chicago 10100034
Dallas 1010 0012
Minnesota 10100025
PACIFIC GP W L OL Pts. ROW GF GA
*Vegas 1100 2141
Anaheim 1100 2121
Edmonton 1100 2132
Los Angeles 0000 0000
Arizona 1010 0012
Vancouver 1010 0023
Calgary 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 5
*SanJose 1010 0014
* — Not including late game; ROW — Regulation plus overtime wins
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
AtPhiladelphia 4 Chicago 3 Toronto 4 atColumbus 1
Winnipeg 5 atNewJersey 4 (SO) Vegas atSanJose
Washington 2 atNYIslanders 1
SATURDAY’S GAMES
BostonatArizona 9 DetroitatNashville 8
NewJerseyatBuffalo 7 DallasatSt.Louis 8
MontrealatToronto 7 MinnesotaatColorado 9
NYRangersatOttawa 7 VancouveratCalgary 10
TampaBayatFlorida 7 LosAngelesatEdmonton 10
ColumbusatPittsburgh 7 SanJoseatAnaheim 10
CarolinaatWashington 7
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Boston 2 atDallas 1 AtCarolina 4 Montreal 3 (SO)
AtTampaBay 5 Florida 2 AtNashville 5 Minnesota 2
AtNYRangers 6 Winnipeg 4 AtColorado 5 Calgary 3
Buffalo 3 atPittsburgh 1 AtAnaheim 2 Arizona 1Bo Horvat score an OT winner. Parking those
kind of mistakes will help.
RSame old Chris Wagner. The Mayor of Wal-
pole, who broke his arm blocking a Justin Faulk
slapper last May, sealed the win by stuffing Joe
Pavelski and clearing the puck in the final sec-
onds. Wagner had groin trouble last spring. He
had springs in his legs Thursday, and was re-
warded for it.
The Bruins’ five-on-six skaters, with the Dallas
net empty in the last 90 seconds, were Marchand,
Coyle, Bergeron, Wagner, Sean Kuraly, McAvoy,
Carlo, Matt Grzelcyk, and Zdeno Chara. Credit
Wagner, who had a 1:11 shift in the final two
minutes, for climbing into Bruce Cassidy’s trust
tree.
RMarchand may have gone pointless, but his
shot-block on John Klingberg in the final minute
was crucial.
RCharlie Coyle initiated contact on every
shift. That sense of urgency translated to his play-
making. Last spring, he sometimes displayed too
much of his puck-possession skills. He was on the
attack Thursday. A big payday is coming for the
impending free agent if he continues to do so.
RNot only did David Krejci’s absence give
Brett Ritchie a spot in the lineup, but it put him
on the second power-play unit. And he scored an
even-strength goal just 1:09 in. Pretty productive
for less than 13 minutes of work.
Unless Krejci is 100 percent, resting him Sat-
urday against Arizona wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Cassidy could see more of what he has in new ad-
ditions Par Lindholm and Ritchie, while giving
Coyle a bit more responsibility.
RI have Dallas winning the Central. Fast.
Deep. High entertainment value. Pavelski was
one of the summer’s best UFA signings. Roope
Hintz, a breakout player last postseason, is a
monster. Miro Heiskanen will win a Norris Tro-
phy sooner than later. Am I sold on goaltender
Ben Bishop? I am not.
RGood to see Roman Polak out of the hospi-
tal. The Stars defenseman, who went hard into
the boards while trying to check Wagner, suffered
what the team called “a small fracture of his ster-
num.” He will be evaluated in one week.
RCongrats to the Coyotes for finally acquiring
that American-born, former Toronto star they’ve
coveted for years. Phil Kessel, currently riding
with Clayton Keller and Derek Stepan on the No.
1 line, should give Arizona some of the scoring
punch it desperately needed last year.
I doubt it’ll be enough to get the Coyotes to the
postseason, since Kessel thrived in Pittsburgh in
a supporting role. Maybe someday Auston Mat-
thews will lead them to the promised land.
RArizona goalie Antti Raanta is hurt, so Dar-
cy Kuemper is in line to face the Bruins. Arizona
was a 2-1 loser at Anaheim Thursday.
RSmall thing I enjoyed: Krug catching a puck
on the power play, then tossing a behind-the-
back pass to himself. You don’t see that every day.
RSimilarly, the last time the Bruins were in
Dallas, last Nov. 16, Connor Clifton made fun of
something as mundane as a line change. On one
of his first NHL shifts, he skated across the ice,
from the far side to the Bruins bench, and in one
motion, planted both hands on the dasher, vault-
ed over the boards and did a 180-degree turn into
his seat on the bench. “I do that sometimes,” he
said. Cliffy Hockey is delightfully unorthodox.
Follow Matt Porter on Twitter at @mattyports
uBRUINS
Continued from Page 1
Observations
on successful
Bruins’ start
Thursday night game
At American Airlines Center, Dal-
las
FIRST PERIOD
Boston 1, Dallas 0 — Ritchie 1(Coyle) 1:
Penalty — Dallas, Radulov (hold-
ing) 4:
Boston 2, Dallas 0 — Heinen 1
(Grzelcyk, McAvoy) 5:59 (pp)
Penalty — Dallas, Faksa (hi
stick) 17:
SECOND PERIOD
Boston 2, Dallas 1 — Hintz 1
(Janmark, Pavelski) 7:
Penalty — Dallas, Radulov (trip-
ping) 9:
terference) 16:00Penalty — Dallas, Janmark (in-
Penalty — Boston, McAvoy (in-
terference) 17:
THIRD PERIOD
No scoring
Penalty — Boston, Chara (inter-
ference) 0:
SCORE BY PERIOD
Boston .....................2 0 0 — 2Dallas.......................0 1 0 — 1
SHOTS BY PERIOD
Boston .....................6 7 7 — 20
Dallas.......................4 9 16 — 29
Power plays— Boston 1 of 4;
Dallas 0 of 2.
Goalies— Boston, Rask 1-0-0 (
shots-28 saves). Dallas, Bishop 0-
1-0 (20 shots-18 saves).
O’Rourke.RefereesLinesmen— TJ Luxmore, Dan— Tony Seri-
colo, Greg Devorski.
TimeAttendance— 2:33. — 18,532 (18,532).Bruins 2, Stars 1(2018-19 stats)
RWhen, where:Satur-
day, 9 p.m., Gila River
Arena, Glendale, Ariz.
RTV, radio:NESN, WBZ-
FM (98.5).
RGoals:Brad Richard-
son 19, Vinnie Hinostro-
za 16, Derek Stepan 15.
RAssists:Clayton Keller
33, Oliver Ekman-Lars-
son 30, Alex Goligoski
24.
RGoaltending:Darcy
Kuemper (27-20-8, 2.
GAA), Antti Raanta (5-
6-0, 2.88 GAA).
RHead to head:Bruins
went 2-0 vs. Coyotes
last year and have a 14-
game winning streak
against them.
RMiscellany:Phil Kes-
sel, acquired from the
Penguins this summer,
had 33 goals last sea-
son, including a league-
leading 10 winners...
Arizona lost its opener,
2-1, to Ducks Thursday.Coyotes
thumbnailsSTEVEN RYAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Johnny Boychuk and Chandler Stephenson
go their separate ways during this collision.RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGESDanton Heinen got his season off to a good start with a power-play goal against the Stars.
Bailey’s still eager
if needed for more
Punter plenty willing to
show he can kick off too
PATRIOTS
NOTEBOOKMeyersalreadykeentokeys
JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF
Tom Brady gets loose at practice in preparation for Sunday’s game at Washington.