NEW YORK (AP) — New York Rangers coach Mike Sullivan missed their game Sunday night against Detroit because of personal reasons.
New York announced Sullivan’s absence earlier in the day. No other details were provided.
In his place, assistants David Quinn and Joe Sacco ran the bench during the Rangers' 2-1 loss to the Red Wings.
“I don't have an update right now,'' Quinn said after the game. ”Obviously, from the coaches to the players to the organization, we certainly are thinking about Mike and his family. Never an easy situation when you've got to attend to your family."
Quinn said he and Sacco essentially maintained their usual roles as they shared bench duties. Quinn remained in charge of the defense pairings while Sacco called the forward lines.
“There really wasn't a lot of change,'' Quinn said. ”It was a seamless situation."
Sullivan is in his first season as head coach of the Rangers. Quinn spent three seasons in that role from 2018-21 before he was fired and replaced by Gerard Gallant. Gallant was replaced by Peter Laviolette in 2023, and Laviolette was let go after the Rangers missed the playoffs last season.
Quinn coached San Jose from 2022-24 and worked on Sullivan’s staff in Pittsburgh last season before returning to New York with him. Quinn is also set to serve as an assistant to Sullivan for the United States at the upcoming Olympics.
Quinn praised Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick who made 40 saves in defeat as the Rangers fell to 1-7-1 at home this season. New York is 9-1-1 on the road.
“Obviously Quickie was unbelievable tonight. He made some huge saves," Quinn said. "He was our best penalty killer,″
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan talks with referee Gordie Dwyer during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi 's legacy was long secured when he came to Inter Miami and joined Major League Soccer. He'd won a World Cup, won dozens of trophies, was generally considered the greatest player in the sport's history.
He didn't need an MLS Cup.
But he wanted one — and got it.
Messi and Inter Miami have completed their ascent, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday in the MLS Cup final for the franchise's first championship. It came 2 1/2 years after the legend arrived in South Florida, a move that stunned plenty of onlookers at the time.
“They said soccer would never make it in America,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said during the trophy ceremony. “Inter Miami fans, has soccer made it?”
It has in South Florida, thanks to Messi. He set up the title-clinching goal with a 72nd-minute assist to Rodrigo De Paul, a play where Messi stole the ball and threaded a pass through a tiny gap in a wall of Vancouver defenders. De Paul got it in stride, pushed it into the far corner of the net — and Messi went airborne to hop into his arms a few seconds later, all smiles.
And as the final minutes ticked away, Inter Miami's pink-clad fans — most wearing Messi's No. 10 on their backs — stood and stomped and cheered. South Florida has seen NFL and NBA and Major League Baseball and NHL titles in the past.
It's a soccer town now, too. Messi made that happen. Tadeo Allende scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time — off another Messi assist, of course — to make it 3-1. And when Messi lifted the trophy surrounded by his teammates, confetti rained down and fireworks boomed.
Inter Miami became the 16th franchise in the league's 30-year history to win an MLS title. And this extends a run of parity for MLS, which has seen five different franchises win championships in the last five years and eight franchises claim a title in the last nine seasons — only Columbus has won twice in that span.
It was also the culmination of a 12-year odyssey for David Beckham, part of Inter Miami’s ownership group.
He retired as a player in 2013 and his MLS contract said he could start a franchise at a discounted rate when his career ended. Beckham chose Miami and it took him years to finally make it happen; it wasn’t until January 2018 when the franchise was formally born, after he partnered with Miami businessmen Jorge Mas and Jose Mas, and even then the team didn’t have a stadium plan.
The team started play in 2020, and Messi arrived halfway through the 2023 season. Inter Miami was in last place in MLS at the time.
And then Messi arrived. The last-place team then now runs the league.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Beckham said.
The trophy is Messi’s 47th for club and country, extending his global men’s soccer record, and some say it's actually 48 because MLS awards a trophy for winning conference titles as well. He’s now won at least 21 titles in one-match final situations, many of them with the core of this team — Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and Javier Mascherano, his longtime Barcelona teammates.
Busquets and Alba are retiring and got to go out as champions. Suarez’s future is uncertain. Mascherano is the coach now, one who changed Inter Miami’s lineup and tactics halfway through the season — his first one leading the club — with this moment in mind.
And the 38-year-old Messi, the 2024 MLS MVP who seems like a lock to win the award again this season, still is like none other in the biggest moments with a contract that could have him playing with Miami into his early 40s. When next season starts, the team will be playing in a new stadium near Miami International Airport with a back-to-back title in mind.
“He’s not just here to enjoy living in Miami,” Beckham said. “His wife and the kids love Miami, but he’s come here to win, and that’s really what Leo is all about. He wants to win. He’s got that dedication, the loyalty that he shows to his teammates, to the city, to the club. Leo is a winner. It’s simple as that.”
Inter Miami went up 1-0 on an own goal in the eighth minute, before Vancouver tied it in the 60th on a score by Ali Ahmed. Another Vancouver shot hit both posts about two minutes later but stayed out, and Inter Miami got the lead for good when Messi found De Paul.
And not long after the final whistle, Messi went over to the Inter Miami supporters section and threw both his hands in the air. It was a moment 2 1/2 years in the making.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Inter Miami forward Tadeo Allende (21) celebrates his goal during the second half of the MLS Cup final soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Inter Miami forward Tadeo Allende (21) kicks the ball for a goal during the second half of the MLS Cup final soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Inter Miami midfielder Rodrigo de Paul (7) reacts at the end of the second half of the MLS Cup final soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) and his teammates celebrate after Inter Miami forward Tadeo Allende (21) scores a goal during the second half of the MLS Cup final soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Vancouver Whitecaps' Ali Ahmed (right) celebrates his goal against Inter Miami with Andres Cubas during the second half of the MLS Cup final soccer match, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) kicks a corner kicks during the first half of the MLS Cup final soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Inter Miami forwards Lionel Messi (10) and Tadeo Allende (21) celebrate after Vancouver Whitecaps defender Édier Ocampo scored an own goal during the first half of the MLS Cup final soccer match Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Inter Miami midfielder Rodrigo de Paul (7) celebrates a goal with forward Lionel Messi (10) and defender Jordi Alba (18) during the second half of the MLS Cup final soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
