Connect with us

Sports

Sharks determined to end long trend of losing to Oilers

NHL: San Jose Sharks at Vancouver CanucksJan 27, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini (71) shoots against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Following years of futility, the San Jose Sharks are once again playoff contenders.

Perhaps they’ll end their recent struggles against the Edmonton Oilers, as well.

Aiming for a third straight victory, the Sharks look to avoid a seventh consecutive loss against the host Oilers on Thursday night.

San Jose hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2019, but its 57 points have already surpassed the total from each of the past two seasons. The Sharks are 10-4-0 since Dec. 27.

Macklin Celebrini had a goal with three assists Tuesday as San Jose overcame an early 1-0 hole to win 5-2 at Vancouver.

“We’re starting to pick up little details, momentum shifts in games,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We got to keep pushing forward and get better in areas.”

After totaling two points over a five-game stretch, Celebrini has followed with six points in the last two. However, the second-year superstar managed just two assists as the Sharks lost all four games versus Edmonton in 2024-25.

San Jose last beat Edmonton 3-2 at home on Nov. 9, 2023. The Sharks are 1-10-4 against the Oilers in the last 15 meetings.

In the mix for first place in the Pacific Division, Edmonton totaled 13 goals while winning two straight after losing two in a row.

After being blanked in the Oilers’ back-to-back losses to New Jersey and Pittsburgh last week, superstar Connor McDavid totaled three goals and four assists in the two wins that followed. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm recorded his first career hat trick and Leon Draisaitl notched four assists during Edmonton’s 7-4 home win over Anaheim on Monday.

While McDavid and Draisaitl, who has seven assists in the last two games after also going without a point in the previous two, are the undeniable leaders and offensive superstars in Edmonton, Ekholm represents the depth the team boasts.

The veteran blue-liner has recorded seven of his 26 points in the last five games.

“He’s going to be tough to play against every night,” forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said about Ekholm. “It makes a huge difference for our team.”

Since joining the Oilers in 2023, Ekholm has three goals and seven points in eight games versus San Jose. Meanwhile, McDavid has 17 goals and 50 points in 33 career games against the Sharks, and Draisaitl has 13 goals and 39 points in 36 matchups.

Edmonton goalie Tristan Jarry made 37 saves against the Ducks. He owns a 3-2-1 record and an .882 save percentage since returning from an 11-game absence with a lower-body injury.

Teammate Connor Ingram has a .909 save percentage in 10 starts for the Oilers, but he was pulled after allowing three goals on 12 shots during Saturday’s 6-5 overtime win against Washington. Meanwhile, the struggling Calvin Pickard (.871 SV%) yielded seven goals in two January starts.

San Jose’s Yaroslav Askarov made 23 saves against the Canucks to snap a three-start losing streak.

However, teammate Alex Nedeljkovic, with a .931 save percentage in his last five starts — all wins — is likely to be back in the Sharks net.

McDavid (92 points), Celebrini (78) and Draisaitl (74) rank among the NHL’s top five scorers.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Manchester City look to extend win streak, take on Everton

Soccer: FIFA Club World Cup 2025-Round of 16-Al Hilal FC at Manchester City[Subscription Customers Only] Jun 30, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Manchester City forward Erling Haaland (9) celebrates scoring their second goal with midfielder Rodri (16) during a round of 16 match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lee Smith-Reuters via Imagn Images

Manchester City will try to keep pace with Premier League front-runner Arsenal on Monday night when they pay a visit to an Everton side still on the fringes of the European picture.

City (21-5-7, 70 points) will begin the day six points back of Arsenal with two matches in hand after the Gunners dispatched Fulham 3-0 on Saturday. The Cityzens won’t be even on games played until May 13, when they make up a postponed match against Crystal Palace that was delayed because of City’s triumphant League Cup run.

As a result, there continues to be the appearance of a chase, although the teams would finish level on points if they win out.

Manager Pep Guardiola insists it shouldn’t matter.

“It’s normal, so it’s the calendar,” Guardiola said on Friday. “Sometimes you play first. Sometimes behind. It is what it is. So, nothing changes in these stages, and you know exactly what you have to do.”

City have won six in a row in all competitions, the last three by a single goal: A 2-1 home league win over the Gunners on April 19, a 1-0 league victory at Burnley three days later, and a 2-1 FA Cup semifinal triumph over Southampton on April 25.

Erling Haaland scored once in both league fixtures to bring his EPL-leading total to 24. In the FA Cup semifinal, Jeremy Doku and Nico Gonzalez scored inside the final 10 minutes to complete a late rally.

Everton (13-13-8, 47 points) finished Saturday in 11th place, but only four points out of seventh, which currently would earn a berth in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Should City win the FA Cup, it could be the top eight English league finishers who earn a spot in Europe.

And if Everton could return to continental competition for the first time since 2017-18, it would conclude a much-improved first season at their new Hill Dickson Stadium, after bringing the curtain down on historic Goodison Park last May.

“We still believe there could be something out there for us. And we’ll keep pushing,” manager David Moyes said. “Building Everton back up is a process which I think is going to take quite a bit of time, but I think the first year or so here, we’ve certainly put decent foundations down. And hopefully we can continue to build on it.”

The Toffees are looking to avoid a third consecutive league defeat for the first time this season after a 2-1 home loss to derby rivals Liverpool on April 19 and a 2-1 away defeat at West Ham last weekend.

Beto, one of two Everton players with eight goals, departed the former contest late with a head injury and missed the latter fixture working through the league’s concussion protocol. He should be available Monday night, Moyes said.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Yankees tee off on Orioles to win third straight in 4-game series

MLB: Baltimore Orioles at New York YankeesMay 3, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a two run home run in the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Jasson Dominguez scored the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning before hitting a two-run homer and an RBI double during a seven-run eighth as the New York Yankees pulled away for an 11-3 victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees won for the 13th time in 15 games and beat the Orioles for the 11th time in the past 12 meetings.

Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer off Baltimore rookie Trey Gibson. Ben Rice hit his 12th home run of the season in the first and doubled ahead of Judge’s 13th homer in the third.

Rice exited after the Yankees batted in the third because of a bruised left hand. The Yankees announced X-rays were negative and the first baseman is day-to-day. Rice appeared to get injured fielding a low pickoff throw from Max Fried and was replaced by Paul Goldschmidt.

Dominguez started the tiebreaking rally with a double to left field against Grant Wolfram (1-1) and advanced to third on a groundout by Austin Wells. Ryan McMahon, facing a drawn-in infield, followed with a single that first baseman Coby Mayo couldn’t handle after diving to stop it.

Dominguez started New York’s big inning with a two-run drive into the right field seats off Andrew Kittredge for a 6-3 lead. After an RBI sacrifice fly by Trent Grisham, Goldschmidt ripped a two-run single after the Yankees executed a double steal.

Following a sacrifice fly by Jazz Chisholm Jr., Dominguez added a double to left field for an 11-3 lead.

The Orioles tied it twice before losing their fourth straight and for the 12th time in 18 games.

Blaze Alexander had an RBI single in the third before getting thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. After Judge’s 413-foot drive bounced into Baltimore’s bullpen in left field, Leody Taveras hit an RBI infield single and Tyler O’Neill scored on a double play grounder by Jeremiah Jackson in the fourth.

Fried allowed three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked three.

Fernando Cruz (3-0) got the final two outs of the sixth and the first out of the seventh. Brent Headrick ended the eighth by getting a double play grounder against Mayo.

Gibson allowed three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings during his major league debut.

The four-game series concludes Monday.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading

Sports

Cam Smith drives in 2 in 10th, Astros edge Red Sox

MLB: Houston Astros at Boston Red SoxMay 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Cam Smith (11) hits a two run RBI against the Boston Red Sox during the tenth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Cam Smith had three hits, including a two-run single in the top of the 10th inning, to help the visiting Houston Astros earn a 3-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

Smith’s two-out single came against Zack Kelly (0-2) and drove in Braden Shewmake and Jose Altuve.

Boston had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 10th, but Bryan Abreu got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground into a double play to end the game.

Jarren Duran hit a solo home run for the Red Sox, who stranded 13 runners and were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Duran’s home run was his third of the season and his second of the series. He hit a three-run homer in Boston’s 3-1 victory Friday night.

Abreu (1-2) pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one.

Willson Contreras collected three of Boston’s nine hits in the loss.

Christian Walker and Christian Vazquez each had two-hit games for the Astros, who won two games in the three-game set.

Boston starting pitcher Ranger Suarez was pulled after four scoreless innings because of hamstring tightness. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three. Suarez threw 70 pitches.

Duran’s home run off Houston reliever AJ Blubaugh opened the scoring in the fifth. Houston tied the game in the sixth, when Walker reached on an infield single, took third on Altuve’s double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brice Matthews.

The Red Sox had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. An error on Abreu allowed Contreras to reach second with two outs in the inning, but Roman Anthony grounded out to first to end the inning.

Houston had the bases loaded with no outs in the 10th, but Altuve grounded into a 6-2-5 double play. Following a walk to Matthews, Smith delivered his two-run single.

–Field Level Media

source

Continue Reading