Sports
Amid tight East playoff race, Isles face rebuilding Blackhawks
Mar 22, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) skates with the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The NHL playoffs don’t officially begin until April 18.
But the playoffs are unofficially well underway for the New York Islanders and the seven other teams vying for the final few postseason spots in the Eastern Conference.
The Islanders will try to maintain their playoff spot Tuesday night when they host the Chicago Blackhawks in the teams’ final clash of the season.
Both squads were off Monday after playing at home Sunday night, when the Islanders earned a pivotal 1-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Blackhawks fell to the Nashville Predators 3-2.
Ilya Sorokin stopped all 26 shots he faced as he made Bo Horvat’s goal 1:25 into the first period stand up for the Islanders (40-26-5, 85 points), who climbed past the idle Detroit Red Wings into the second and final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
The Islanders also tied the Blue Jackets for third in the Metropolitan Division, though Columbus has a game in hand. Both teams are one point behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 earlier Sunday.
The Islanders, Blue Jackets, Red Wings and Penguins are all vying for playoff spots with the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. The Canadiens are third in the Atlantic while the Bruins lead the wild-card race and the Senators were four points out of a playoff spot entering their game Monday night against the New York Rangers.
All seven teams are scheduled to play Tuesday night.
The Islanders, who made the playoffs with late-season pushes in 2023 and 2024, are a respectable 6-5-0 since March 1.
“The entire rest of the year, it’s going to be high-pressure games — high-stakes scenarios,” Horvat said. “And we’ve been there and done that before and we’ve got to continue to keep doing it.”
The Blackhawks (26-31-13, 65 points) are on pace to miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season and the eighth time in nine years. But Tuesday presents another opportunity to potentially impact the playoff race as Chicago will play its ninth straight game against a contender.
The Blackhawks are 3-2-3 in their last eight games. They held a pair of one-goal leads Sunday against Nashville, and Connor Bedard scored his team-leading 29th goal.
But the Predators moved into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference after Steven Stamkos tied the game at 9:43 of the third and Filip Forsberg scored an unassisted goal off a turnover 65 seconds into overtime.
With Sunday’s loss, the Blackhawks fell to 7-13 in games decided after regulation. The Penguins, Los Angeles Kings (17 overtime or shootout losses) and Vegas Golden Knights (14) are the only teams with more defeats in overtime or the shootout.
“Overtimes are so much — you get three guys on the ice, you get a little bit of systematic stuff, but to say you have all this (it) comes down to guys making plays,” Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill said. “If our overtimes have been better, our record would be much better.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Falcons improve to 7-1 in BLAST Slam VII group stage
Team Liquid takes on Team Falcons in a Dota 2 competition at the 2025 Esports World Cup Team Falcons won both matches Thursday to seize sole possession of first place in the group stage of the BLAST Slam VII at Copenhagen, Denmark.
Falcons improved to 7-1 by defeating Team Spirit in 44 minutes on green and Tundra Esports in 27 minutes on red. Falcons will wrap up the group stage Friday with matches against Team Liquid, BetBoom Team and PARIVISION.
PARIVISION won two of three matches on Thursday to climb into solo second place at 6-2. Team Yandex dropped two of three to slip into third place at 6-3.
The $1 million event began Tuesday with 12 teams in a group stage that runs through Friday. Group play is a round-robin, best-of-one format. The top two teams will advance to the upper-bracket semifinals of the playoffs, while the third- and fourth-place teams will start in the upper-bracket quarters.
The fifth- and sixth-place teams will proceed to Round 2 of the last-chance qualifier, while teams 7-10 in the standings will begin in Round 1 of that stage. The bottom two teams will be eliminated.
BetBoom Team vaulted into a tie for fourth place thanks to a 3-0 day on Thursday, posting wins against OG, Xtreme Gaming and Team Yandex.
BLAST Slam VII standings
1. Team Falcons, 7-1
2. PARIVISION, 6-2
3. Team Yandex, 6-3
T4. LGD Gaming, 5-3
T4. BetBoom Team, 5-3
6. Team Liquid, 4-4
7. Aurora Gaming, 4-5
8. OG, 3-5
T9. Xtreme Gaming, 3-6
T9. Team Spirit, 3-6
T11. GLYPH, 2-6
T11. Tundra Esports, 2-6
BLAST Slam VII payouts (prize money, team earnings)
1. $300,000, $100,000
2. $150,000, $45,000
3. $70,000, $23,000
4. $50,000, $17,000
5-6. $40,000, $15,000
7-8. $25,000, $10,000
9-10. $15,000, $5,000
11-12. $10,000, $2,500
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino meets with AC Milan
Nov 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino looks on before an international friendly against Uruguay at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images It has been a busy time for U.S. men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who is not only preparing his side for a World Cup on home soil but also meeting with Italy’s AC Milan about their vacant coaching position, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pochettino has been front and center this week after the USMNT named its 26-man World Cup roster at a ceremony in New York on Tuesday.
The squad is set to play in friendlies against Senegal at Charlotte on Sunday and against Germany at Chicago on June 6 in advance of its World Cup opener June 12 against Paraguay in the Los Angeles area.
Pochettino, 54, is under contract with the USMNT through the end of the team’s World Cup run.
Pochettino has been a head coach at some top clubs around the world, including Espanyol in Spain, Tottenham, Southampton and Chelsea in England, and Pairs Saint-Germain in France. He became USMNT head coach in September of 2024.
Pochettino has reportedly declined multiple overtures since moving to the United States, including interest from Brentford and a potential return to Tottenham.
A move to AC Milan potentially would keep Pochettino with USMNT star forward Christian Pulisic, who has been with the club since 2023 and has scored 31 goals in 100 appearances. Pulisic is under contract there through June of 2027, although AC Milan is currently undergoing massive changes after firing head coach Massimiliano Allegri, sporting director Igli Tare and CEO Giorgio Furlani.
Pochettino, a native of Argentina, played in his home country and Europe from 1989-2006, with Newell’s Old Boys (Argentina), Espanyol (Spain), Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux (France). A center-back, he played in 20 games with Argentina’s national team from 1999-2002.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Surging Nationals to test MLB's top offense against Padres
May 22, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Washington Nationals designated hitter James Wood (29) scores a run against the Atlanta Braves in the tenth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images The surprising Washington Nationals return home on Friday night to open a three-game series against the slumping San Diego Padres.
The Nationals moved above .500 for the first time since the opening week of the season during a 4-2 road trip when they earned series wins against the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Guardians. They are 10-6 since May 12.
After improving their road record to 19-12, the Nats now look to continue that success at home where they are 10-16.
The Padres have dropped four consecutive games after getting swept at home by the Philadelphia Phillies. After this three-game set in D.C., San Diego will seek some revenge when it plays three next week at Philadelphia.
Washington has been consistent offensively, led by James Wood. At the start of MLB play Thursday, the Nationals led the majors in runs (306) and doubles (110) while ranking among the top six in home runs (72), slugging percentage (.420), and OPS (.743).
“These guys just keep believing; they’re starting to figure out we have some good guys on the team,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “When you can go out and play the way we’ve played … you have to feel good about it.”
Wood shared second in the National League in home runs (15) and led the way in runs (50), walks (47), on-base percentage (.414) and OPS (.967).
Washington’s pitching has been part of the team’s surge as well. The Nationals had a 5.67 ERA through April 23. Since then, their ERA is 3.82 over the past 31 games, according to NatsJournal.com.
Offense has been hard to come by of late for the Padres, who have scored seven runs over their past five games while suffering a pair of 3-0 losses to the Phillies.
The Padres managed seven hits against Philadelphia pitching Wednesday and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“Just not taking advantage of some of the opportunities we did have,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “There’s a little credit to their pitching, but also we’ve got to figure out a way to be better in those situations, runners in scoring position.”
Friday will be a homecoming of sorts for Stammen, who was drafted by the Nationals in 2005 and spent seven seasons pitching for the team.
Another former Nationals pitcher starts for the Padres as right-hander Lucas Giolito (2-0, 2.70 ERA) opposes Washington left-hander Andrew Alvarez.
Signed as a free agent on April 22, the 31-year-old Giolito has won both of his starts. He tossed five shutout innings against the A’s on Saturday on four hits and five walks with two strikeouts.
“I signed here to help the rotation and help this team win games, and I know how to win,” Giolito said. “No matter how I’m feeling, I know how to grind through an outing.”
Giolito was Washington’s first-round draft pick in 2012 and pitched a handful of games for the team before being traded to the Chicago White Sox. He has faced the Nationals once, earning a win over 7 2/3 innings last season while pitching for the Boston Red Sox.
Alvarez, who has been pitching in long relief, takes the rotation spot left vacant when Jake Irvin (shoulder) went on the Injured list. Alvarez has a 2.84 ERA over his four relief appearances.
–Field Level Media
Falcons improve to 7-1 in BLAST Slam VII group stage
Report: USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino meets with AC Milan
