The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs have already included some twists and turns, including long-injured players returning to the ice and others playing through various ailments.

Two teams carry 2-0 leads into Game 3 on Thursday, and history is on their side: according to ESPN Research, teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win 86% of the time.

Will that be the case for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets? Or can the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues notch victories at home?

Plus, will the Florida Panthers win another game in the Tampa Bay Lightning's barn? And which team will win a pivotal Game 3 of the Vegas Golden Knights-Minnesota Wild series?

Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, recaps of what went down in Wednesday's games, and the Three Stars of Wednesday Night from Arda Öcal.

Matchup notes

Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 2 (FLA leads 1-0) | 6:30 p.m. ET | TBS

With the Panthers up 1-0, ESPN BET has adjusted the series line to install Florida as the series favorite at -210, whereas the line was -115 before Game 1.

Matthew Tkachuk made his return after more than two months on the shelf, and scored two goals to help the Panthers take Game 1 in the Battle of Florida. Matthew and brother Brady both scored goals Tuesday, which was the 83rd time in Stanley Cup playoffs history that a pair of brothers scored on the same day, the most recent being Marcus and Nick Foligno on April 21, 2023.

Sergei Bobrovsky has backstopped the Cats to many playoff wins recently, and the Game 1 win was his 45th, putting him fifth all-time in playoff wins for goalies born outside North America. The leader? His opponent Andrei Vasilevskiy, with 66.

Nikita Kucherov won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading point-scorer in the regular season, but was limited to just one assist in Game 1. Will that trend continue?

Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators
Game 3 (TOR leads 2-0) | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN2

The Maple Leafs have won just one playoff series in the past 20 years, but they are halfway to doing so here in the Battle of Ontario. Oh, and speaking of decadeslong droughts, this is the first time the Leafs have held a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series since the 2002 series against the New York Islanders (which they won in seven games).

Max Domi was the overtime hero for the Leafs in Game 2, which was his first playoff OT goal. His father Tie played 98 playoff games in his NHL career, and never had one -- albeit in a career where he was known more as a pugilist than a scorer.

Toronto's Core Four continue to drive the train. John Tavares (two goals, two assists), Mitch Marner (one goal, three assists), William Nylander (one goal, two assists) and Auston Matthews (three assists) are in the top four positions on their stats sheet heading into Game 3. They've also gotten strong play from goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who became the sixth netminder in Leafs history to win his first two playoff games with the franchise -- Ken Wregget, Mike Palmateer, Bernie Parent, Frank McCool and Lorne Chabot are the others.

One pathway to a comeback for Ottawa is for goaltender Linus Ullmark to steal a game or two. The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner has allowed nine goals on 45 shots through two games, a save percentage of .800. Ullmark allowed just two goals on 50 shots in two games against Toronto in the regular season, both of which were wins for Ottawa.

Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild
Game 3 (series tied 1-1) | 9 p.m. ET | TBS

Why is this game so important? The winner of Game 3 in a series tied 1-1 has gone on to win 66% of the time in Stanley Cup playoff history (240-123).

The Wild didn't want to take any chances in Game 2, scoring three first-period goals and keeping the Knights at arm's length for the remainder of the game. Kirill Kaprizov reminded everyone why he was a Hart Trophy favorite before getting injured this season, scoring two goals and adding a ridiculous assist on Matt Boldy's goal. Kaprizov's second goal tied him with Marian Gaborik for the second-most playoff goals in Wild history, with 12, four behind Zach Parise.

On the Vegas side, "Playoff" Tomas Hertl has shown up, scoring a goal in each of the first two games. The longtime San Jose Shark is the fourth different player to score a goal in his first two games with the Golden Knights, a list that includes Mark Stone, William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault.

The Knights are also hoping this is just a bump in the road for goaltender Adin Hill. He has an .833 save percentage through two games; that figure was .931 in three games last postseason and .932 in 14 starts during their Stanley Cup run in 2023.

Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues
Game 3 (WPG leads 2-0) | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2

One other bit of history working against the Blues: Presidents' Trophy winners that have won Games 1 and 2 of a best-of-seven series have gone on to win that series 95% of the time (tracked since 1985-86).

The Blues will want to track Kyle Connor closely if the game hangs in the balance. He has scored the game-winning goal in both games thus far, giving him five in his career, passing Paul Stastny for the most in Jets 2.0/Atlanta Thrashers history.

St. Louis rookie Jimmy Snuggerud -- who was playing for the University of Minnesota earlier this spring -- became the second rookie to notch a goal this postseason, joining Carolina's Logan Stankoven.

Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou -- who led the Blues in regular-season scoring and both tallied goals in Game 1 -- were held pointless in Game 2.

Arda's three stars from Wednesday night

1. Gabriel Landeskog
LW, Colorado Avalanche

Sometimes the stat lines don't matter. The Avs captain returning to the NHL for the first time since lifting the Cup in 2022 is a moment that transcends one team, and is celebrated throughout the hockey world. Welcome back, Gabe!

2. Adrian Kempe
RW, Los Angeles Kings

Kempe scored two goals and added two assists as the Kings dismantled the Oilers 6-2 to take both games at home as the series now shifts to Edmonton.

3. Logan Thompson
G, Washington Capitals

Thompson made 25 saves, including some key stops on dangerous chances in the third period, to help the Caps beat the Habs 3-1 and take a 2-0 series lead.

Wednesday's scores

Washington Capitals 3, Montreal Canadiens 1
(WSH leads 2-0)

Another game that was perhaps a bit closer than the pundits (and the fans in D.C.) expected. Montreal's Christian Dvorak opened the scoring in the second period, before the Caps answered with two goals in a one-minute span from Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome. That lead would hold despite the Habs' best efforts, thanks to some heroic saves from Logan Thompson. McMichael added an empty-netter just before the final buzzer to ensure that the fans went home happy, and that his team takes a 2-0 lead to Montreal for Game 3.

Dallas Stars 2, Colorado Avalanche 1 (OT)
(DAL leads 2-1)

The big story here was the return of Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog after three years. And a first-period goal from Valeri Nichushkin sent the crowd into a frenzy. But the Stars have veteran players of their own, and captain Jamie Benn tied the game midway through the third period, before Tyler Seguin tallied the game-winning goal at 5:31 of overtime.

Los Angeles Kings 6, Edmonton Oilers 2
(LA leads 2-0)

For the past three postseasons, the Kings have been eliminated in the first round by the Oilers. Is this finally the year they get past their tormentors from Alberta? Continuing to score six goals per game would certainly help. Brandt Clarke got the party started with a power-play goal at 8:44 of the first period, and he was joined on the scoresheet by Quinton Byfield, Andrei Kuzmenko, Adrian Kempe (with two) and Anze Kopitar. The Kings' power play has been electric in this series, as L.A. has scored five goals on 10 opportunities with the man advantage.

Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny told ESPN he has lost his battle with smoking and urged others not to follow his lead.

Szczesny, 35, has become a fans' favourite at Barça since coming out of retirement to join the club in October, tasting defeat just once in his 25 appearances, away at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last week.

Supporters regularly chant "Szczesny fumador" [smoker Szczesny] during games given his honesty since signing about the fact the fact he smokes.

However, while he is happy to speak openly about the topic, he is keen to stress it is a negative habit which should not be copied.

"There are some parts of the game where I believe I can be a perfect example for young people or, in fact, for my teammates," he told ESPN when asked about his job as a role model to young supporters.

"And there are some things in my career that you better not follow. In a few aspects, I fail at [being an example], but I try to be the best version of myself, and I try to give the correct example to my teammates, to young kids who watch us.

"But mentioning the subject of smoking, please do not follow me and don't do it. I've lost the fight. When I was very young, I created a habit that is very negative for me, and I know it is. I just lose against it. So for anybody watching: Don't do what I did."

It is unusual for footballers in the modern game to speak so candidly about the fact they smoke or drink.

"Because I'm not a politician," Szczesny added when asked about his decision to talk about a taboo which is often frowned upon inside football.

"Maybe that's why. I'm just a goalkeeper. I have to catch a ball and kick it. It's much, much easier to keep up with your previous interviews if you're just honest and you never lie and you're just open.

"You ask me a question, I answer the question as honestly as I can. You know, there are things I would rather not talk about. The subject that we mentioned, I would rather not talk about it.

"But if somebody asks me, yeah [I smoke]. But I would rather not have the question asked because I don't want to be a bad example."

Szczesny has kept 13 clean sheets since coming into the Barça team, helping keep Hansi Flick's side alive in all three competitions heading into the final stretch of the season.

They lead LaLiga by four points from Real Madrid, with the two Clásico rivals then set to contest the Copa del Rey final in Seville on Saturday.

Barça then meet Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals.

Szczesny is modest about his role in a campaign that has outperformed all preseason expectations, even joking about how easy his teammates have made it for him at times.

"I think a big part of it is coincidence," he said of his part in Barça losing just once in 27 games in 2025. "I mean, my input into us not losing a single game has been rather minimal.

"The team is playing very good football, scoring a lot of goals. You try not to mess it up for them. That's about it. I've just been lucky to step into the goal at the moment where the team started winning games.

"Also how we defend. It makes my job much easier because when they want to defend and they block every shot, win every tackle, every header, so I can just, for the lack of a better phrase, go and smoke a cigarette."

BARCELONA -- Wojciech Szczesny wouldn't have believed you if you'd suggested he would be playing in the Clásico at the start of the season. He had retired from football, moved to Marbella in the south of Spain and was more concerned with lowering his handicap in golf. But he can win his second trophy as a Barcelona player on Saturday, when the LaLiga leaders meet Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final in Seville. (stream LIVE from 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+)

Perhaps this twist, one of the most unlikely tales in European football this year, was always the destiny for a player who, in many ways, bucks the trend of the modern-day footballer. Since joining Barça, he's made as many headlines for smoking, meditating and speaking in a refreshingly honest way as he has for his performances, but it's the latter that's put him in the spotlight going into the final stretch of the campaign.

Maybe bowing out quietly at Euro 2024 with Poland last summer was no way to go for the former Arsenal and Juventus goalkeeper. Signing off with a four-trophy season at Barça would provide a much more fitting and unorthodox final chapter to his career.

"We'll see if it's one of the best [football stories ever]," the 35-year-old told ESPN. "It's interesting. It can become one of the best. We will see when we talk at the end of May."

With that said, who is to say this is the final chapter?

Barça's sporting director Deco confirmed talks have taken place to extend Szczesny's contract beyond this summer, when it's due to expire. That could give way to a battle for the No. 1 spot next season with Marc-André ter Stegen, who is due back from injury any day now, although it's unlikely Szczesny is looking that far ahead.

Instead, he wants to follow up January's Spanish Supercopa triumph with the Copa trophy on Saturday. Then he wants to win the UEFA Champions League, with Barça meeting Inter Milan in the semifinals, and LaLiga, where the Blaugrana have a four-point lead over Madrid with five games to go. (Barç also host their Clásico rivals in LaLiga on May 11.)

"The goal is obvious at this point," Szczesny said. "We are in the final part of the season and are still in every competition. I'm not planning to lose any of the games. We want to bring every trophy home. Now's the exciting part of the season, when I start to feel it."

Szczesny was playing golf in Marbella when Ter Stegen suffered a serious knee injury at the end of September in a league game against Villarreal. The first phone call came from his former international colleague, Barça striker Robert Lewandowski, to see if he would be up for filling in for the German shot-stopper. Then Deco called. Then everything changed.

Upon announcing his retirement several months earlier, Szczesny had said his "body still feels ready for challenges, but my heart is not there anymore" after 18 years of dedication to football. Watching coach Hansi Flick's young attacking team led by Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Pedri and his old friend Lewandowski, brought it back.

"At first I didn't know, it was so fast, too random," he said. "But I was looking at the Barcelona team and I was thinking, can this team do something special this season? Yes. Will I be able to live with myself if I say no and they do something big? No.

"If I saw this Barcelona team from my sofa in Marbella, knowing that I could be a part of it, I wouldn't forgive myself."

After 14 games on the bench while Iñaki Peña played in goal, Szczesny finally made his debut against fourth-tier Barbastro in the Copa in January. There were ups and downs over the next month: He was sent off in his third appearance, the 5-2 Supercopa final win against Madrid in Saudi Arabia, and then made several mistakes in Barça's 5-4 comeback win against Benfica in the Champions League. Flick made it clear he had his backing, though, to end any media debate about whether Szczesny or academy graduate Peña would remain as No. 1 in Ter Stegen's absence.

A remarkable run of form followed. Barça had lost their final two games of 2024, but embarked on a 24-match unbeaten run at the start of 2025, with Szczesny in goal for 22 of those fixtures. If they hadn't lost to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last week, he would have moved level with club legend Johan Cruyff in third place for the longest undefeated streak (23 games) by a Barça player at the start of their career with the club -- only Paulinho (25 games) and Cesc Fàbregas (30 games) had better starts.

In total, he has now played 25 times, keeping 13 clean sheets and conceding 24 goals. Doubts about his ability to play behind such a high defensive line have dissipated.

"This is a team that is completely different to every team in Europe right now," he said. "Very extreme in the way they play. It's a very high risk, high reward kind of game. I've never played in a team like this. Can I adapt? It's a process.

"When you take risks and you play behind the high line, you're gonna get it wrong. There's no way of avoiding mistakes. And funny enough, it came in the [third] game and I got sent off, but I accepted it.

"I'm not here to play the conservative game. I'm trying to do what the team needs, and the team needs a goalkeeper who's brave enough to make those difficult decisions."

Barça fans have taken to him, although the song they sing is not what you might expect: they chant "Szczesny fumador"' ("smoker Szczesny"). It's a nod to the fact he has been open about his smoking.

Last weekend, at his 35th birthday party, Lewandowski's wife Anna posted on social media a photo of her and Szczesny as he wore a hat with the word "fumador" scribbled under the brim. During a long interview earlier this year, he joked someone owes him a "big thanks for going 90 minutes without a cigarette."

Even while talking to ESPN, he couldn't resist an off-the-cuff remark while praising his team for giving him so little to do at times. "It makes my job much easier because they want to defend and they block every shot, win every tackle, every header, and I can just, for the lack of a better phrase, go and smoke a cigarette," he said.

Szczesny acknowledges it's a bad habit, says he would rather not speak about it and that people should not follow his lead, but he can't help being honest. It means he can remain consistent with everything he says.

Sources detail how his honesty and personality quickly earned him the respect of his teammates, who know him as "Tek," even if he's still not sure why he's been praised by the likes of Pedri for his locker room demeanour.

"I will struggle to explain to you how I am funny because it will turn into a stand-up comedy show," Szczesny said in a news conference when asked why Pedri had labelled his teammate a funny character. "Plus I don't think Pedri understands English very well, so I am not sure why he says that. I just try to be myself."

It is an attitude so few players have these days. While many prefer to be more guarded, giving away as little as possible, Szczesny is unfiltered, funny and doesn't take himself too seriously. When that same news conference had opened with a question about possibly losing his place should Ter Stegen be match ready before the end of the season, he replied: "No warm-up, straight into the questions, eh!"

It can contrast a little with his calm persona on the pitch. "You hardly ever see him get nervous," Barça defender Eric García told ESPN. "It gives us a lot of peace of mind and security to know he's there."

Szczesny attributes that calm to meditation, which he started when he was on loan at AS Roma almost a decade ago. It was a difficult period in his life as he struggled to deal with not having a future at Arsenal, whom he says he still follows avidly. He recovered from that low to go on to play for Italian giants Juventus for seven years, where he learned from club legend Gianluigi Buffon before becoming the No. 1 in Turin. Meditation has now become a key part of his prematch preparation.

"[Ter Stegen's son] thought I was sleeping once," he said. "Because I am literally sitting down in a very relaxed position with my eyes closed and everything. It's kind of chaotic before a game, as it always is. Everybody's getting changed. This one's talking, this one's, I don't know, headphones on, and I'm just sitting there. And it does look like I'm sleeping."

That may well be the scene inside the Barça dressing room at La Cartuja on Saturday: Yamal will be enjoying his typical role as DJ, encouraging Iñigo Martínez to dance to the rapper Morad and Lewandowski to sing the latest Ozuna track, while Szczesny closes his eyes, focuses on his breathing and prepares for the next chapter of his fairy-tale comeback.

"Now, every story has an end, but in life every ending is a new beginning," he said in a social media post when he retired last summer, unaware as to what that new beginning would be and how soon it would come. "What this new path will bring for me, only the time will tell. But if the last 18 years have taught me anything, it is that nothing is impossible and believe me, I'm going to dream BIG!"

Four-star Oregon offensive tackle Kodi Greene, the No. 37 recruit in the 2026 ESPN 300, has flipped his commitment to Washington, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The 6-foot-6, 290-pound lineman from California power Mater Dei High School is ESPN's fifth-ranked offensive tackle prospect in the 2026 class. Greene initially committed to Oregon last August, but his flip marks an enormous recruiting victory for coach Jedd Fisch and the Huskies.

If he signs later this year, Greene will represent the Huskies' highest-ranked addition since landing No. 1 quarterback Sam Huard (No. 15 overall) in the 2021 class.

Originally from Sammamish, Washington, Greene is the brother of second-year Washington safety Kayden Greene and began his high school career at Eastside Catholic High School before transferring to Mater Dei ahead of his junior season last fall.

Washington held a firm place in Greene's recruitment prior to his commitment to Oregon. He now stands as the top-ranked prospect in the Huskies' 2026 class and follows the recent addition of four-star quarterback Derek Zammit (No. 246 overall) as the program's second ESPN 300 commit in the month of April.

Greene joins guard Ah Deong Yang, the No. 8 prospect in the state of Washington, as the second offensive line commit for 2026.

The Huskies secured the nation's 17th-ranked signing class in the 2025 cycle, Fisch's first with the program.

Greene's flip marks the latest blow to Oregon coach Dan Lanning's 2026 class. The Ducks have now lost four top-150 commitments since Feb. 21, with Greene joining quarterback Jonas Williams (USC) and defensive tackles Tomuhini Topui (USC) and Bott Mulitalo (uncommitted) among high-profile defections.

The Ducks' fortune could turn in the coming weeks as No. 1 quarterback Jared Curtis (May 5) and five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell (May 13) prepare to announce their commitments. Oregon will have a collection of top recruits, including Cantwell, on campus for the program's spring game this weekend.

Five-star men's basketball prospect and USC commit Alijah Arenas has been placed in an induced coma after he was involved in a serious car crash in the Los Angeles area early Thursday morning, sources told ESPN.

Arenas is in stable condition, according to Los Angeles Police Department.

According to a Los Angeles Fire Department public information officer, officials responded to a call at 4:55 a.m. after a Tesla Cybertruck crashed into a tree/fire hydrant with fire involved. The LAFD did not identify the person involved but said that the 18-year-old driver was out of the vehicle and that he was transported to the hospital in serious condition.

Sources confirmed that Arenas was involved in the crash and told ESPN that initial tests showed he did not suffer broken bones.

Arenas is a son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas. He is the No. 13-ranked recruit in the class of 2025 after reclassifying in December then committing to the Trojans in January.

ESPN's Paolo Uggetti contributed to this report.

The video Kawhi Leonard released across social media on Dec. 27 was well-produced, but cryptic.

The LA Clippers star drives up to a lake, listening to a message from someone who pleads with him to address the various tasks and responsibilities he's got on his plate. Recovery, family, media engagements. He purses his lips and looks down at the phone, which is interrupting his tranquil escape.

As the voicemail continues, he gets out of the car and sees a fisherman. He walks toward the man.

Sitting next to a white bucket holding a basketball, and a small stereo, the man casts into the ripples.

We've got exciting news coming out of Los Angeles, the radio hums. The man turns up the volume.

Kawhi Leonard looks to be returning to the court pretty soon. Could be great ...

"I knew I could find you here," Leonard says to the fisherman. "You catch anything?"

Under a bucket hat, the fisherman is revealed to be another version of Leonard. He responds, "Nah, not yet. There's been good days. There's been bad days. But I keep coming back.

"It's the nature of the game."

It's the kind of ad that's designed to cause a stir. And this one did remind people that Leonard was still around, still working behind the scenes, and potentially coming back soon after he had missed nearly four months with his latest injury to his right knee.

But after so many comebacks from so many injuries in his six years with the Clippers, it was difficult to know where anything really stood with Leonard's health, or how long anything would last.

A week later, Leonard made his return, and in the 37 games he played until the end of the season, the Clippers went 26-11 -- a 58-win pace -- rising from sixth in the unforgiving Western Conference to tied for its third-best record. Leonard averaged 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and nearly 2 steals. He shot 41% from 3.

He has been electric -- and even more so through these first two games of the playoffs.

His performance in LA's 105-102 win over the Denver Nuggets Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series was reminiscent of his efficient, devastating brilliance during the Toronto Raptors' 2019 championship run.

He hit almost every shot he took, scoring 39 points on 15-for-19 shooting, even over and around the swarming Nuggets defense.

"He made tough shots," Denver star Nikola Jokic said of Leonard. "But are they really tough shots for him, a guy who's been making those for such a long time?"

Through two games in this series, Leonard is averaging 30.5 points on 71% shooting (24-for-34), including 50% on 3-point attempts (5-for-10). He has been equally dominant defensively. In Game 1, he held opponents to 2-of-5 (40%) from the field as the primary defender. In Game 2, Leonard held opponents to 2-of-12 (16.7%).

It has been a glimpse of the Leonard the Clippers thought they were getting six years ago.

But he has played in only 266 of a possible 492 regular-season games (54%) since joining the team in one of the biggest free agent coups in recent NBA history.

He has seemingly gotten hurt at the most devastating times. Right after stretches of brilliant play that gave the Clippers reason to believe in their vision, and right at the most important times of the year -- the playoffs -- when he has historically been at his best.

In 2021, he tore an ACL in a second-round series against the Utah Jazz. LA was able to finish off the series without him, but it didn't have enough to beat the Phoenix Suns in the conference finals. In 2023, he tore a meniscus in the first round. Last season he tried to play in LA's first-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks, but his knee inflammation didn't respond well to treatment and the team had to shut him down.

Those injuries, and the way he and the Clippers have load-managed him through arduous and mostly secretive rehabs, have largely become his story: His career has become one of the greatest what-ifs in modern league history.

And when Paul George left as a free agent last summer, it seemed like the ending of that story.

But the video Leonard posted Dec. 27 offered up an entirely new narrative. One that people might not have been ready to hear at the time, or frankly, one the Clippers and their fans might be wary of fully embracing, even now.

"I keep coming back," Leonard said in the video.

It's a simple message, but it contains multitudes. And it's something Leonard's teammate James Harden hopes he starts getting more credit for. "He loves to hoop," Harden said.

If he didn't, Harden explained, he wouldn't be able to put himself through the endless hours or rehabilitation and strengthening and conditioning that's required to come back from the type of injuries he has had over the years.

"I feel like that about everybody that's in the league that goes through something that is out of their hands, where they can't control, it's always the negative," Harden said. "That's something we got to live with, I guess, in the world. But as for me, being close to him every single day and seeing the work that he puts in, you appreciate him."

That's the story Clippers coach Tyronn Lue hopes people see now as Leonard has somehow made it all the way back to peak form, right in time for a playoff run.

"This is what Kawhi lives for," Lue said. "He's healthy for the playoffs, and we know when we got a healthy Kawhi, we can win any series."

There is, of course, no telling how long Leonard will be able to maintain this. He and the Clippers have been diligent and disciplined in their approach to building him up this season, completely eschewing any and all public or private pressure for him to return sooner from an offseason cleanup surgery.

It is in diametric opposition to last season, when the Clippers and Leonard faced pressure by the league's new player participation policy and 65-game minimum for league awards.

This year, getting him to the end of the season healthy and in peak condition for a playoff run was the only priority. He sat out the first four months of the season, slowly building up strength and clearing benchmarks set for him before attempting to do a little more.

When he finally did come back in early January, the Clippers held him to strict minute limits, even holding him out of closing lineups. While that might seem murky or frustrating to outside observers, the nature of Leonard's knee issues necessitate it. It's not one injury he's coming back from at this point -- it's all of them. Each one leaves inflammation and scar tissue. The effect has been cumulative, not acute.

He has "good days and bad days," as he says in the video. Nothing about his knees is predictable.

"It's the nature of the game," he says. Leonard has learned to live with that uncertainty. "I'm just happy to be able to move," he said after Game 2. The challenge for everyone else is to accept that, too.

"I sat and watched these playoff games and series the past two years," Leonard said. "So being able to be front-line out there, it just feels good for me no matter which way the game goes. That's what I'm taking pride in. I just want to be out there and play and be on the front line with my team."

A week after posting the first video at the lake, Leonard released part two.

Carrying a tackle box and a fishing rod, he walks toward the shoreline. Birds fly and chirp overhead. The stereo is on.

When is he going to play? ... Is he really hurt? What's going on here?

"You hear them?" Leonard asks. "They like to come and watch the fun -- and chirp.

"But when I show up, they always quiet."

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis will begin an injury rehab assignment on Friday at Triple-A St. Paul.

Lewis hasn't played since he picked up a moderate hamstring strain while running out a ground ball in a spring training game on March 16.

The Twins were counting on Lewis to be a fixture at third base and in the middle of the batting order this season, but his injury history has been troubling. He has spent time on the injured list with a torn ACL, strained oblique and strained quadriceps over the past four years.

Lewis hit .309 with 15 home runs in 2023 but slumped to a .207 average with just six home runs after the All-Star break last year.

The Twins also placed utility man Willi Castro on the 10-day IL with a strained oblique. Infielder Mickey Gasper was recalled from St. Paul to take his roster spot.

WASHINGTON -- All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams rejoined the Nationals from the 10-day injured list before their game against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

Infielder Trey Lipscomb was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to make room for the 24-year-old Abrams on the active roster.

Abrams was batting .244 with a .585 slugging percentage, an .874 OPS, 4 homers, 7 RBIs and 4 steals in 11 games when he went on the IL on April 12 with a strained right hip flexor.

Abrams and Nationals teammate James Wood entered Thursday tied for second in the majors with two leadoff homers each.

Last season, Abrams was an NL All-Star for the first time but also was demoted to the minors in September after staying out late during a road trip.

Iga Swiatek avoided another shock defeat against Filipina teenager Alexandra Eala by fighting back to win their Madrid Open second-round match.

World number two Swiatek, who was stunned by Eala in Miami last month, won 4-6 6-4 6-2 on the Spanish clay.

Swiatek lost in the Stuttgart quarter-finals last week and, having received a bye in the Madrid first round, produced some edgy groundstrokes in a poor first set.

A tally of 25 unforced errors indicated it was a performance nowhere near befitting of the WTA Tour's dominant clay-court player of recent seasons.

Mistakes continued to come as the 23-year-old from Poland fell a break down early in the second set.

Swiatek, who is the reigning Madrid champion and has a host of ranking points to defend over the European clay swing, looked in serious trouble.

It felt like the same story as when 19-year-old Eala, then ranked outside the world's top 100, beat her on the Miami hard courts.

But five-time major champion Swiatek refocused and realigned to break back, then took control as her improved power and precision from the baseline overwhelmed Eala.

Born in Salford to a Welsh mother, Lydiate was brought up with a farming background in Llandrindod Wells, before joining what was then the Newport Gwent Dragons' academy.

His professional career could have been ended before it had barely begun when he broke his neck in a European match in Perpignan.

It was not the only time he had to overcome a major injury setback, with a serious knee injury in February 2021 appearing to signal the end of his Wales hopes, only for Lydiate to recover and help his country to a first ever win in South Africa the following year.

Renowned for his defensive chop-tackling abilities, the quietly spoken Lydiate formed part of a formidable back row for much of his international career, mostly at blind-side flanker alongside Taulupe Faletau, Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric.

He also captained his country against Italy and England in 2016 and Georgia in 2017.

At club level he moved from Dragons to Racing Metro in 2013, before returning from Paris a year later to join the Ospreys, for whom he made 90 appearances.

He returned to the Gwent region 10 years after departing, developing his farming career alongside his rugby, and will run out in a Dragons shirt for the 106th time at the Swansea.com stadium.

"I've got a lot of respect for DL, he's a man of grace and humility and he works hard," said Dragons head coach Filo Tiatia, a former playing colleague at the Ospreys.

"A British and Irish Lion, played for Wales, had a nasty injury and came through to become the man he is now.

"He's an awesome proud father, he's on the farm and he's been awesome to work with.

"We're really looking forward to seeing him going back to the Ospreys on the weekend, enjoy the moments at his old stomping ground and leave some fingerprints on his last game. Then we've got a plan for his coaching role."

Lydiate has already been helping with coaching the breakdown area for the Dragons.

"I can't speak highly enough of Dan, he's a great professional and more importantly a great person, someone whom I've grown close to over the last two years," said club captain Angus O'Brien.

"He's great in the environment, he's got a wealth of experience and has really brought it forward for the younger boys, so it'll be amazing if he's around as a coach."