Minnesota United at Orlando City

When: 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday

Where: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Fla.

Stream: Apple TV Season Pass

Radio: KSTP-AM 1500 ESPN

Weather: 83 degrees, partly cloudy, 14 mph north wind

Betting line: Orlando minus-115; draw plus-280; MNUFC plus-265

Series history: MNUFC is 2-1-1 against Orlando City in MLS. Loons suffered their first loss, 2-1, to the Lions at Allianz Field last April.

Synopsis: Interim head coach Cameron Knowles will lead the Loons first team for the last time before permanent head coach Eric Ramsay arrives this weekend. Knowles has impressed with the players’ buy-in to new high pressing style and earn points despite a shorthanded roster.

Form: Minnesota United (1-0-1) have four points through two games, but weren’t as strong in a 1-1 draw with MLS Cup Champion Columbus Crew last Saturday. Orlando City (0-1-1) advanced to Eastern Conference semifinal last year, but are scoreless through two MLS games. They had a scoreless draw with Montreal and were demolished 5-0 by Lionel Messi and Inter Miami last weekend. Orlando played to a scoreless home draw with Mexican giant Tigres in the Concacaf Champions Cup last Tuesday and must go to Monterrey for a difficult second leg on Tuesday.

Quote: “It’s challenging,” Wil Trapp said of Orlando’s schedule. “There are more games. There is more travel. There is rotation in squad. And it all comes pretty quick, so I don’t read too much into maybe some of the league form.”

Projected XI: In a 4-3-3 formation, LW Caden Clark, CF Teemu Pukki, RW Sang Bin Jeong; CM Hassani Dotson, CM Kervin Arriaga, CM Wil Trapp; LB Joseph Rosales, CB Micky Tapias, CB Michael Boxall, RB DJ Taylor; GK Dayne St. Clair.

Absences: Bongi Hlongwane (fitness) and Robin Lod are available to play, but seem more likely to come off the bench. Emanuel Reynoso (knee) and Franco Fragapane (calf) remain out. Loons are hopeful Reynoso can make his season debut against LAFC next Saturday. Orlando attacker Facundo Torres, who led Lions with 14 goals last season, fell hard on his shoulder and exited the Tigres tie in the 60th minute. MLS availability reports have not yet been issued.

Opinion: Restrictive rules from MLS hurt a club’s ability to make call-ups from second teams, while stifling players’ development. Look no further than Lakeville South graduate Loic Mesanvi. The 20-year-old winger had only two chances to be called up for MLS games this season, and those opportunities are exhausted after the opening two matches.

Scouting point: Orlando forward Duncan McGuire had 13 goals as a rookie last season and the 21-year-old Nebraska native’s movement has impressed Knowles since McGuire played for Creighton. “He is a real handful,” Knowles said. “His ability to score … and his ability to look to run in behind and stretch the game.”

Key player: South Korean winger Jeong, who MLS clocked as the fastest player (22.5 mph) in the league in the opening week, flashed again versus the Crew. He had a handful of successful dribbles (including nutmegs), four shot-creating actions and 0.5 expected assists.

Prediction: MLS clubs juggling Concacaf Champions Cup and MLS play often start slow in league games. Orlando is yet another example. This combination serves as the Loons’ chance to get a result against a top preseason pick in the East. After nearly connecting for a goal against Columbus, Jeong dishes for a Pukki finish in a 1-1 draw.

DENVER — On deadline day, there were no fireworks from Bill Guerin, which is pretty much what the Wild general manager previewed before Friday’s 2 p.m. CT last call.

Guerin sent injured forward Pat Maroon to Boston for prospect Luke Toporowski and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2026 entry draft, and swapped Iowa center Nick Petan to the New York Rangers for veteran forward Turner Elson.

Both acquisitions will report to the Wild’s American Hockey League team in Des Moines.

Toporowski, 22, had 22 goals and 46 points in 96 games with the Providence Bruins. Maroon, 35, is on injured reserve after undergoing back surgery last month. He began skating on his own this week.

Meanwhile, Brandon Duhaime, traded Thursday to Colorado, was at Ball Arena preparing to meet his former team at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The forward said he expected to be in the lineup. A pending unrestricted free agent, Duhaime packed extra clothes for the Wild’s two-game road trip because he suspected he might be traded before Friday.

“I was pretty aware of the situation, but it’s part of the business, part of the game, and I’m happy to be here,” he said. “Excited to be here.”

The Wild started the day seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, while the Avalanche were fourth, by percentage points behind Winnipeg, and six points behind first-place Vancouver. His initial reaction to the trade, Duhaime said, was, “excitement, for sure.”

“Being part of a team like this and how good they are and their momentum and where they’re headed right now, it’s a good path,” he said Friday after a morning skate with his new team. “And I’m excited to be on this journey with them.”

Briefly

Kirill Kaprizov’s second-period power-play goal in Thursday’s 5-2 victory at Arizona gave him 30 goals for 2023-24, and made him the first Wild player to score at least 30 in three consecutive seasons.

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For the first time since September, Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus will have a separate defensive coordinator on his staff.

The Bears announced Saturday that they hired Buffalo Bills assistant head coach and defensive line coach Eric Washington to be their new DC. Washington previously coached with the Bears from 2008-10 under Lovie Smith and served as the defensive line coach in 2010 with defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, an Eberflus mentor.

Washington coached the Bills defensive line since 2020 and was promoted to senior defensive assistant in 2022 and assistant head coach in 2023. He has two years of defensive coordinator experience with the Carolina Panthers in 2018-19 under Ron Rivera. Before that, he coached the Panthers defensive line for seven seasons.

The Bills defense ranked in the top 10 in multiple categories in 2023, including total yards and passing yards allowed per game, sack rate, interception rate and points allowed per game.

Washington is considered a strong teacher and leader who is detailed in his focus on fundamentals and will be able to help the coaching staff schematically, a source said.

“He is a great communicator with elite leadership skills and he will enhance our current defensive staff,” Eberflus said in a statement Saturday. “His track record speaks for itself with coordinator experience as well as expertise in the area of defensive line.”

Eberflus did not fill the defensive coordinator position in September when Alan Williams resigned for what sources told the Tribune was conduct-related reasons, though Eberflus did add senior defensive analyst Phil Snow to help scout opponents. Eberflus took over play calling, and with the help of the addition of defensive end Montez Sweat, helped the defense turn around from a rough start.

Eberflus said this month that he still was determining whether he would continue to call plays after bringing in a coordinator, but NFL Network reported Saturday that the expectation is Eberflus will remain in that role.

“It’s something I’ve stated I love to do,” Eberflus said this month. “But as we talk to these candidates, we’re going to keep everything open right now.”

Washington will help ease the load for Eberflus, who noted during the season he was working later nights to fill both roles. Eberflus said he was looking for a coordinator with high character who was a strong motivator. He wanted someone who could lead the defensive room while Eberflus addresses other areas of the team.

“My family and I are beyond excited to be returning to the Chicago Bears,” Washington said in a statement. “It is humbling to have the opportunity to contribute to one of the most esteemed sports organizations in the world.”

While the Bears fired five offensive coaches — including coordinator Luke Getsy — when their 7-10 season ended, Eberflus opted to keep the defensive staff intact. Washington joins a group that includes cornerbacks coach/defensive passing game coordinator Jon Hoke, defensive line coach Travis Smith, linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and safeties coach Andre Curtis.

The Bears finished 12th with 324.2 yards allowed per game and had the top-ranked rushing defense, allowing just 86.4 yards per game on the ground. They also finished with a league-best 3.57% interception rate after totaling 22 interceptions to go with six fumble-recovery takeaways.

Their passing defense, ranked 25th with 237.8 yards allowed per game, and their league-worst 4.86% sack rate need improvement.

Washington joins what the Bears hope is an ascending group. He played tight end at Grambling State and also coached defensive line at Northwestern (2004-07) and Ohio (2001-03).

The Bears reportedly interviewed at least three other coaches to join their defensive staff: former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry, Tennessee Titans assistant head coach/defensive line Terrell Williams and Titans defensive pass game coordinator Chris Harris.

Washington will be the Bears’ third major hire since the season ended. They have announced the