Sports
Penguins, buoyed by return of Sidney Crosby, visit Hurricanes
Mar 16, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) reacts after his goal in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off what might be their most impressive result of the season, and they’ll get captain Sidney Crosby back to boot.
Two nights after beating the team with the best record in the NHL, the Penguins will try to conquer a team tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference.
Pittsburgh opposes the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C. — the same spot where the Penguins began a five-game road trip last week.
On Wednesday, the Penguins will see the return of Crosby from an 11-game absence.
Crosby, 38, was expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury during Canada’s 4-3 overtime win against Czechia in the quarterfinals at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 18. Wednesday marks exactly four weeks from that day.
“Excited to get back in it,” Crosby said after the morning skate on Wednesday. “Just watching these guys and being on the trip, obviously getting closer. … Just happy to finally be back in there.”
The Penguins posted a 5-3-3 record in the absence of Crosby, who leads the team in goals (27) and points (59).
As for the Hurricanes, they matched their most lopsided losses of the season when they fell 5-1 on to the host Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
“This was not a game we played well,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Throw it away and come back (Wednesday).”
Pittsburgh downed the Colorado Avalanche 7-2 on Monday in Denver, matching its highest goal total and largest victory margin of the season.
“I think the guys should take some confidence from it,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “Not just in one area, but a lot of different areas.”
The Monday outing marked Evgeni Malkin’s first contest back in the Pittsburgh lineup after a five-game suspension. He scored two goals and added an assist.
“I look forward to the future,” Malkin said. “I just want to play.”
Muse said Malkin’s return gave the Penguins a boost, something they hope to benefit from as the schedule continues.
“It wasn’t a surprise,” Muse said of Malkin’s impact. “He is just somebody who loves the game and is a competitor.”
Malkin didn’t play in last week’s game vs. Carolina, which won 5-4 in a shootout after the Penguins scored twice in the final 2 1/2 minutes of regulation to extend the game.
The Hurricanes are atop the Metropolitan Division, with the Penguins holding second place, seven points back. Pittsburgh is 2-1-1 on the trip.
Carolina’s loss in Columbus leaves the Hurricanes 1-2-0 since the victory over Pittsburgh. It has been 2 1/2 months since the Hurricanes went consecutive games without earning a point, so they will look to keep that trend intact on Wednesday.
The Hurricanes are bound to turn to Frederik Andersen in goal as it’s his turn in the goalie rotation.
There also likely will be at least some lineup adjustment for Carolina after Nicolas Deslauriers made his team debut on Tuesday. His inclusion made Eric Robinson a healthy scratch.
“Somebody has got to come out that we don’t really want to take out,” Brind’Amour said of the lineup. “It’s best for the group to get everybody up to speed as best we can.”
Andrei Svechnikov has a goal in back-to-back games and in three of the past five games for the Hurricanes.
Center Blake Lizotte has been in and out of the Pittsburgh lineup with injuries, missing the Monday game. He will miss at least the next month due to an upper-body ailment, the team announced on Tuesday.
It’s a brief stopover at home for the Hurricanes, who will be back on the road for their next three games.
Also on Wednesday, Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis received a $5,000 fine for high-sticking Blue Jackets forward Conor Garland on Tuesday night.
The incident occurred at the 2:02 mark of the third period with the Hurricanes trailing by three goals in an eventual 5-1 loss in Columbus, Ohio.
The fine announced by the NHL Player Safety department is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs, Nationals conclude high-scoring series
Mar 28, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8), center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) and right fielder Matt Shaw (6) celebrate after defeating the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has delivered multiple hits in both of the team’s games to open the season.
As he aims to stay hot Sunday and help the Cubs to a series victory against the visiting Washington Nationals, Crow-Armstrong credits a confidence that stems from an exciting off-field development.
The Cubs this week announced a six-year, $115 million extension for Crow-Armstrong through the 2032 season.
“That’s the best part is knowing that I’m here, it’s where I wanted to be,” Crow-Armstrong said. “And I’m just glad that that idea could be created and made into some real thing, getting to be here for the next six years, knowing that I’m going to be somewhere is the coolest thing ever when it’s somewhere that I’ve really wanted to be for a long time.”
Crow Armstrong contributed two hits to Saturday’s 10-2 rout of Washington after collecting two others during Thursday’s 10-4 loss to the Nationals on Opening Day.
Chicago capitalized Saturday on the kind of formula that it hopes is a constant throughout the season: timely hitting and effective starting pitching.
Miguel Amaya hit a solo home run and Ian Happ belted a three-run blast as part of separate four-run rallies. Right-hander Cade Horton, meanwhile, allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings.
Lefty Shota Imanaga (9-8, 3.73 ERA in 2025) gets the call for the Cubs on Sunday. After yielding 31 home runs in 25 starts last season, Imanaga hopes to limit the long ball moving forward. He struck out 13 batters in 9 2/3 innings over his last two spring starts.
Washington managed just one extra-base hit Saturday, as James Wood hit his first home run of the season leading off the fourth. Teammate CJ Abrams missed the game due to a death in the family.
Daylen Lile reached base twice, contributing a single and a walk.
Right-hander Jake Irvin (9-13, 5.70 ERA in 33 starts in 2025) is set to start for Washington. A durable option for the Nationals, Irvin has started 33 games and worked at least 180 innings in each of the past two seasons but pitched to a career-worst ERA in 2025.
As with the rest of the club’s starting rotation, Irvin figures to see a mix of catchers Drew Millas and Keibert Ruiz in the first few weeks of the season.
“I think it’ll be pretty close to even split, at least to start off,” first-year Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “Let those guys play themselves in or out of playing time, and then take it from there.
“But early on, want to keep both of those guys fresh, rotate them in and out pretty frequently.”
Irvin is seeking his first career victory against the Cubs, entering Sunday at 0-4 with a 9.70 ERA in five previous starts. He went 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA in two starts versus Chicago last season.
Imanaga is 2-0 with 2.08 ERA in two career starts versus Washington with 12 strikeouts in 13 innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Guardians' Chase DeLauter out to add to homer barrage vs. Mariners
Mar 28, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Chase DeLauter (24) celegbrates with centerfielder Steven Kwan (38) after hitting a two-run home run during the tenth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images Don’t be surprised if the “Ballad of Chase DeLauter” hits the airwaves by next weekend.
It’s happened in Cleveland before, after all.
DeLauter etched his name in the history books, hitting a two-run homer in the 10th inning Saturday in a 6-5 victory against the host Seattle Mariners.
It gave him four homers over his first three career regular-season games, matching the MLB record set by Colorado’s Trevor Story in 2016. The season-opening series concludes Sunday.
DeLauter, who made his debut in the 2025 playoffs, went deep to left field off Mariners closer Andres Munoz to give the Guardians a 6-3 lead. It was needed insurance as Seattle’s Luke Raley hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the inning.
DeLauter, who went deep twice on Opening Day and again in the first inning Friday, was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts when he stepped to the plate in the 10th.
“That shows the maturity right there,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He had a tough night up until that point and obviously facing one of the best closers in the league, if not best closer in the league, and to hit a ball (opposite field) in Seattle at night when it’s cold, that takes some kind of power. … He’s just showing his poison. That was pretty special.”
DeLauter’s start undoubtedly has reminded old-timers in Cleveland of Joe Charboneau, the 1980 American League Rookie of the Year.
Two musicians attended the team’s home opener that season, in which Charboneau doubled and homered, and later that day wrote the song “Go Joe Charboneau.” They released a single under the name Section 36, where they were sitting at Cleveland’s old Municipal Stadium.
While the song perhaps wasn’t worthy of the nearby Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland it lives on in franchise lore. The New York Times described it as a “rock opus — its sound is somewhere between a tribal chant and the groan of someone with a stubbed toe.”
DeLauter said before the Saturday game that he hasn’t had much time to take a step back and appreciate his record start.
“It’s something that’s hard to focus on right now,” DeLauter said. “I’m just focused on (Sunday), making sure I’m available (Sunday) night. It’s definitely something I’ll look back on. But man, it’s a cool start.”
Speaking of cool — or cold — starts, the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez got their first hits of the season.
After striking out in each of his first eight at-bats of the campaign, Raleigh singled to center in the third inning. Rodriguez busted out of an 0-for-10 slump with a run-scoring single with two outs in the ninth to force extra innings.
“Tough one tonight,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the game. “A one-run loss is always tough. Extra innings makes it a little more difficult. But you’ve got to give it to our guys. They came back there in the ninth inning and battled to get the tie, and then making it exciting there in the bottom of the 10th as well. We kept coming back and that’s what this team is all about. But just a little bit too late and a little bit short.”
The series finale is set to feature a pair of right-handers who were first-round draft picks in 2020 in the Guardians’ Slade Cecconi (7-7, 4.30 ERA in 2025) and Seattle’s Emerson Hancock (4-5, 4.90).
Cecconi is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA in one previous start against the Mariners; Hancock is 2-0 with a 2.19 in two career starts versus Cleveland.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Surging Canadiens chase second win in a week vs. Hurricanes
Mar 28, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier (45) celebrates the goal of center Alex Newhook (15) as Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) skates by during the second period Gat Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images The Montreal Canadiens will look to extend their winning streak to five games when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C.
The Canadiens (41-21-10, 92 points) are coming off a 4-1 victory against the Nashville Predators on Saturday to improve to 8-3-0 in their past 11 games.
Ivan Demidov opened the scoring in the first period, and fellow rookie Oliver Kapanen joined Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook in tallying in the second to break the contest open.
Getting offense from others beyond the line of Caufield (team-leading 45 goals), captain Nick Suzuki (team-leading 64 assists and 88 points) and Juraj Slafkovsky is a boost for a Montreal squad that has leaned heavily on its top trio.
“Winning teams, you need some scoring aside from your first line,” Newhook said. “I think we know we’re capable of providing a pretty solid secondary scoring second line there, and I think we hold ourselves to that standard as well. Nice to see some results tonight but got to keep moving forward here.”
Newhook’s goal was his second in the past four games.
Demidov and Kapanen have each scored twice in the past three contests, with their other goals coming in the Canadiens’ 5-2 win against the Hurricanes on Tuesday in Montreal. The Canadiens trailed 2-0 by the seven-minute mark of that game before scoring five unanswered goals.
“We talked about having a good start (against Nashville) and not really worrying about the game as much as worry about the first five, six minutes of the game,” said goalie Jacob Fowler, who is expected to give way to Jakub Dobes on Sunday. “I loved our start. I thought it carried us through the whole night.”
The Hurricanes (46-20-6, 98 points), meanwhile, will look to avenge Tuesday’s loss, their lone setback over their past five games (4-1-0).
Carolina bounced back from that defeat with a 5-2 victory against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Trailing 1-0 after the first period, the Hurricanes scored five unanswered goals before the Devils added another late score.
“Really good 60 minutes, honestly,” goaltender Brandon Bussi said. “I think when we’re playing that tight in the neutral zone, in the offensive zone, just staying on them, making it hard for them to have time and space, we have a lot of success. It was great to kind of see that for the majority of the game.”
They’ve also had a lot of success on the power play of late. They tallied on their lone man advantage against New Jersey, making it five straight games with at least one power-play goal. They’re 7-for-15 over that stretch, a 46.7 percent success rate.
“You do want to have a plan when you get out there, but at the same time, you’re going to see different scenarios all the time, and it’s about being creative,” forward Nikolaj Ehlers said. “When you get the puck to the net, create some chaos, get the rebound, that’s when they’re out of place. It’s been going pretty well for our power play.”
Ehlers delivered the power-play tally to reach 60 points on the season for the fifth time in his NHL career.
–Field Level Media
Cubs, Nationals conclude high-scoring series
Guardians' Chase DeLauter out to add to homer barrage vs. Mariners
