A little number 86 flying around the ice playing with the puck on his stick? That must be Jack Hughes, right? Actually, it’s Buffalo Sabers rookie, Noah Ostlund.

When the Sabers learned they were losing Josh Norris to injury in Game 3, it caused a bit of panic.

Buffalo is well ahead of Ostlund, whom they selected 16th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. However, a rookie making his playoff debut in place of a proven impact NHL forward is a big question.

Despite his initial nervousness, Ostlund didn’t let the horror of the moment overwhelm him.

“Maybe a little nervousness the first two innings,” Ostlund said with a smile. “But it also goes away very quickly.”

After a scoreless first period on Thursday night, the Boston Bruins took a 1-0 lead on the stick of Tanner Jeannott just over three minutes into the middle frame.

However, the Sabers did not bow. And finally answered.

About seven minutes after the opening goal, Ostlund advanced the puck through the neutral zone and over the Boston blueline to enter the clean zone. He slipped through the Bruins defense and down the goal line with the puck, and fed Bowen Byram at the top of the right circle for a one-time chance that beat goaltender Jeremy Swayman to tie the game at one.

Ostlund’s elusive playmaking certainly took the volatile Swayman by surprise. Nevertheless, he surprised even Byram from close.

“To be honest, he surprised me a little bit there,” Byram said. “I wasn’t sure he would make it to me. It was surreal to have him go through it.”

While the Sabers rookie turned some heads with his vision and playmaking, Ostlund shrugged it off as just another game.

“I looked at him all the way, and then [Josh Doan] Did a good job running the net,” he said. “So that lane opened up.”

The Sabers rookie put the nail in the coffin on Thursday to solidify their 3-1 win and take a 2-1 series lead. After Alex Tuch scored the game-winning goal early in the third period, Lindy Ruff iced Ostlund late in the third period when the Bruins pulled Swayman for an extra attacker.

“For his first playoff game with us, he gets an A-plus,” Ruff said.

Ostlund netted an empty-net goal as time expired to take Game 3 at TD Garden – his first goal in the playoffs.

Ostlund had a promising rookie season. He scored 11 goals and 27 points in 60 games. While he went scoreless in his first eight games since his 2024-25 debut, it’s clear that the Sabres’ rise to the plate has benefited Ostlund’s development.

However, his best game to date was probably Thursday night.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Ostlund-led line with Zach Benson and Jack Quinn led the Sabers in expected goal share with an 89.98 xGF% all night.

In fact, during 5-on-5 play, they didn’t allow a single scoring chance against Ostlund and company on the ice.

Before last night, Ostlund had not played in nearly a month after suffering an upper body injury – ironically on March 25 against the Sabres.

Still, his immediate impact upon returning to the lineup stunned his teammates, singing his praises in the locker room Thursday night.

“I mean, jumping right in, he hasn’t played a game in a few weeks, it’s his first playoff hockey game in his rookie year, and the guy gets (a goal) and (an assist). It’s special,” Tuch said. “I mean, the hockey IQ is off the charts. But honestly, competing, he went in every single inning, made a difference every single inning, and he was phenomenal.”

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls

The Brooklyn Nets have Noah Clowney on the injured list. The third-year forward missed Wednesday’s 121-92 loss to Oklahoma City with a sprained wrist. He was ruled out of Friday’s game with the New York Knicks.

Jordi Fernandez said Clowney likely will miss Sunday’s game with the Sacramento Kings. The Nets are already without Michael Porter Jr. (hamstring strain), Igor Demin (plantar fasciitis) and Deron Sharp (thumb surgery).

“I had to take him out because he was in so much pain. Sometimes, as I remember with De’Ron, I’d say, ‘Are you OK?’ And he wanted to play through it, and then I had to take him outside and look, and then he went back in, and all of a sudden, he needed surgery. And Noah, immediately when I saw he was in pain, I said, ‘Do you need a sub?’ And I’m asking guys to pick fouls to be able to get him out, and I ended up calling a timeout. That’s why he was very sad. He has sprained his wrist. He’ll be out tonight, most likely he’ll be out the next game, and then we’ll go from there.”

Clowney has appeared in 62 games with 56 starts this season, averaging 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists on .396/.333/.804 shooting splits.

Noah Clowney likely to join several key Nets sidelined for Kings matchup

Sunday’s Kings matchup will have a significant impact on the NBA’s draft lottery race. The Nets are in third place in the lottery standings entering the game. Sacramento is fourth with one more win than Brooklyn.

The Nets are coming off a five-game losing streak entering Friday’s matchup with the New York Knicks. They have posted the NBA’s worst offense during that span, sidelining Porter, Demin and Sharp, averaging 96.2 points on 39.7 percent shooting.

Meanwhile, the Kings have lost their last two games 4-1, dropping them from first to fourth in the lottery standings. After Thursday’s 139-118 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento will have two days off before the Brooklyn matchup.

During his NBA career, Joakim Noah was the quintessential fan favorite. He played 13 seasons with utmost zeal and passion, which naturally earned him tremendous praise from the paying customers. That was certainly the case during his nine years with the Chicago Bulls (2007-2016).

He became a two-time NBA All-Star (2013, 2014) and was the 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. In the process, Noah teamed up with Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Kirk Hinrich to bring excitement back to the Windy City in the post-Michael Jordan era.

In 2011 and 2015, the Bulls made the playoffs. Noah and company led the Bulls to the best record in the East in 2011 with a 62–20 record and a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Outside the court, Noah was the kindest person. He has his own Noah’s Ark Foundation to host a “peace” basketball tournament to support Chicago youth and prevent the spread of gun violence. Those efforts earned him the NBA Community Assistance Award in 2015.

In his post-playing years, Noah has tried his best to keep basketball the focal point. On one hand, changing lives and on the other, learning about the world.

The latter of which has enabled him to launch the documentary YouTube series, nomad. Noah, in collaboration with NBAT2, organizes globetrots to explore different basketball cultures in places ranging from Serbia to Japan.

In an exclusive with ClutchPoints, Noah talks candidly about his findings from his travels, especially from the audience’s perspective.

Joakim Noah fans celebrate freedom.

In American pro basketball, it is very common for fans to be ejected if they are too rowdy. And if they’re sitting in court, they’re especially at risk for possible removal.

However, in one episode, Noah visits Serbia. Of all the things that stood out to them, it was the reality that fans could just be. In other words, fans can do or say whatever they want without any repercussions.

“Even people sitting courtside are going crazy for their teams and letting the players hear it,” Noah said.

“Fans are definitely free to say what they want. And you think about the NBA, especially right now, if you’re a fan that’s out of line even a little bit, you’re being escorted off the field. That’s not the case there.”

Noah acknowledges the role fans play in making the sporting experience thrilling.

“You better bring it over,” Noah said. “And to me, I think that, I don’t know, there was something really refreshing about it. That a fan is paying money, but he has the right to push the player and say whatever he wants. And I think there was something about that that I think was very refreshing.”

Joakim Noah learned something about himself while living in Japan

During another venture into Japan, Noah was struck by the culture of respect and decency. In their basketball culture, altercations and arguments with officials are rare.

“Going to Japan and understanding their culture a little better and understanding why they have that level of respect for each other as a culture,” Noah said. “You see it in the culture. You never see Japanese players having technical fouls.”

In the process, Noah reflected on his career and the intensity it displayed, and he was surprised by something.

“So for me, it was an example of looking at myself and saying, wow, if I had studied these cultures a little bit, maybe I would have had a lot less stress, who knows? So it’s always a learning experience.”

Calm, cool, collected, or gritty, fiery, or gladiator. The game of basketball is played in different ways around the world. They are all beautiful and connected to their existence.

And Joachim Noah is on the ground, telling those stories.

在他的 NBA 职业生涯中，乔金·诺阿 (Joakim Noah) 是最受球迷喜爱的球员。他以纯粹的热情和激情打了 13 个赛季，自然赢得了付费客户的压倒性钦佩。在他效力芝加哥公牛队的九年（2007-2016）期间，情况确实如此。

他两次入选 NBA 全明星（2013 年、2014 年），并荣获 2014 年 NBA 年度最佳防守球员。在此过程中，诺阿与德里克·罗斯、泰姬·吉布森和柯克·辛里奇等核心人物一起，为后迈克尔·乔丹时代的风城带来了兴奋。

2011年和2015年，公牛队都进入了季后赛。 2011年，诺阿和他的队友带领公牛队取得东部最佳战绩，取得62胜20负的战绩，并闯入东部决赛。

在场外，诺阿是最善良的人。他拥有诺亚方舟基金会来支持芝加哥青年并举办“和平”篮球锦标赛以遏制枪支暴力的蔓延。这些努力为他赢得了 2015 年 NBA 社区协助奖。

在退役后的岁月里，诺阿忙于打球，而篮球仍然是他的焦点。一方面改变生活，另一方面了解世界。

后者使他能够推出 YouTube 系列纪录片， 游牧者。诺亚 (Noah) 与 NBAT2、globetrotts 一起探索从塞尔维亚到日本等地的不同篮球文化。

在 ClutchPoints 的独家报道中，诺亚坦诚地谈论了他的旅行收获，特别是通过观众的镜头。

乔金·诺阿 (Joakim Noah) 庆祝粉丝自由。

在美国职业篮球运动中，如果球迷制造太多骚乱，他们被赶出球场的情况极为常见。如果他们坐在场边，他们特别有可能被驱逐的危险。

然而，在一集中，诺亚访问了塞尔维亚。在所有对他来说最突出的事情中，粉丝就是现实。换句话说，粉丝可以做或说他们想做的事，而不会受到任何影响。

“即使是坐在场边的人也会为他们的球队而疯狂，并让球员们听到，”诺阿说。

“球迷绝对可以自由地说他们想要说什么。你想想NBA，尤其是现在，如果你是一个有点不合规矩的球迷，你就会被踢出竞技场。但那里的情况并非如此。”

诺亚承认球迷在让比赛体验激动人心方面所发挥的作用。

“你最好把它带来，”诺亚说。 “对我来说，我认为这确实令人耳目一新。球迷付了钱，但也有权推动球员并说出他想说的任何话。我认为这确实令人耳目一新。”

乔金·诺阿在日本期间了解了自己

在日本的另一次冒险中，诺亚对尊重和礼仪的文化感到惊讶。在他们的篮球文化中，与官员发生争执和争论是罕见的。

“去日本，更好地了解他们的文化，并了解他们作为一种文化为何相互尊重，”诺亚说。 “你可以在文化中看到这一点。你永远不会看到日本球员受到技术犯规。”

在此过程中，诺亚反思了他的职业生涯和他所表现出的强度，他想知道一些事情。

“所以对我来说，这就像是一个例子，我也审视自己并说，哇，如果我稍微研究一下这些文化，也许我会变得不那么紧张，谁知道呢？所以这始终是一种学习经历。”

冷静、冷静、镇定、坚韧、狂暴或角斗士。篮球运动在世界各地以不同的方式进行。所有这些都是美丽的，并且植根于一种存在方式。

乔金·诺阿 (Joakim Noah) 就在现场讲述这些故事。

Tottenham Hotspur are showing interest in Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu as a potential replacement for Guglielmo Vicario.

This is according to Fusball Europa. The German outlet reports that Tottenham are eyeing the 23-year-old.

They report that Atubolu is on the shortlist at Tottenham as they plan for the possible departure of Vicario this summer. Reports have linked the Italian goalkeeper to a return to Italy for months.

Sport Witness has covered this extensively. Latest report, yesterday, That said, Juventus are now in top position to sign him this summer. Should he depart, Tottenham will need to change their number one.

Why are Tottenham considering Noah Atubolu?

Johan Lang and Frederik Leith are working on alternatives and Atublolu is one of them. According to Futbol Europa, Spurs are already considering a summer transfer.

The 23-year-old has made ‘extraordinary progress’ at Freiburg in recent years. He is a product of their youth system and reached the first team in 2021.

He has made 107 appearances since then, keeping a total of 36 clean sheets and Germany have called up him without using him in the past.

Freiburg, for its part, does not want to let its ‘star player’ go. The German side have placed a minimum demand of €30m for the goalkeeper. But his current deal expires in 2027. If they can’t agree an extension, a sale this summer will be ‘inevitable’.

Why Spurs can’t have it all their own way

They know that there is more than one lover. Interestingly, Futsal Europa also threw Inter Milan into the mix. According to him, the Italian side are being regularly updated by the player’s representatives.

It could create a bizarre tussle at the Nerazzurri who have long been linked with a move for Vicario. In fact, Sport Witness covered a report on the 23rd^third January How they put Chivu at the top of the list instead of Emiliano Martínez.

For now, Atubolu is focused on his performance. He wants to finish the season with Freiburg and potentially play at the World Cup.

“I’m 23 and still have a lot ahead of me, but I still know what I’m looking for and hope to be there.” He said.

“If that doesn’t happen, my career will continue and nothing worse will happen.”