Sports
NHL roundup: Islanders blank Jackets to move into wild-card position
Mar 22, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) celebrates with left wing Anders Lee (27) after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Ilya Sorokin stopped all 26 shots he faced and made Bo Horvat’s goal on the first shot of the game stand up Sunday night for the New York Islanders, who edged the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 in a game with Eastern Conference playoff implications in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders (40-26-5, 85 points) snapped a two-game losing streak, moved ahead of the idle Detroit Red Wings (84 points) for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and tied the Blue Jackets (37-21-11, 85 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division, though Columbus has a game in hand.
The shutout was the seventh of the season for Sorokin and the 29th of his career, which extended his franchise record. He is tied for the franchise’s single-season record for shutouts with Glenn “Chico” Resch and Semyon Varlamov.
Jet Greaves recorded 21 saves for the Blue Jackets, whose 12-game point streak (8-0-4) ended.
Jets 3, Rangers 2 (SO)
Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi scored in the first two rounds of the shootout and visiting Winnipeg ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over host New York.
Connor scored when he got a shot to trickle under rookie Dylan Garand’s pads and his shootout goal occurred after he had 11 shot attempts in regulation and overtime. Vilardi scored when he cut to the right and flicked a wrist shot by Garand. Backup goalie Eric Comrie stopped Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller in the shootout after making three saves during an interference penalty on Mark Scheifele in overtime. Adam Lowry and Vilardi scored in regulation for the Jets.
Tye Kartye and Mika Zibanejad scored tying goals in the second period as the Rangers lost their fourth straight. Garand made 35 saves in a solid NHL debut after being called up to replace backup goalie Jonathan Quick (upper-body injury).
Mammoth 4, Kings 3 (OT)
Nick Schmaltz scored his second goal of the game 1:46 into overtime and Utah beat Los Angeles in Salt Lake City.
Schmaltz entered the zone 2-on-1, kept the puck and beat Darcy Kuemper with a wrist shot. Lawson Crouse had two goals and an assist for the Mammoth, who have won three of four and hold the first wild-card spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who have lost three straight and trail the Nashville Predators by two points for the second wild-card spot in the playoffs from the West.
Golden Knights 3, Stars 2
Reilly Smith scored the go-ahead goal with 3:38 remaining as Vegas snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over host Dallas.
Smith, a healthy scratch the previous five games, swatted in a rebound of Mitch Marner’s shot from the right side of the crease into the top right corner of the net for the game-winner. Brayden McNabb and Ivan Barbashev also scored goals and Adin Hill finished with 13 saves for Vegas.
Wyatt Johnston set a franchise single-season record with his 23rd power-play goal and Justin Hryckowian also scored for Dallas, which suffered just its second regulation loss in the last 19 games (15-2-2). Casey DeSmith made 30 saves for the Stars, who had a four-game win streak against the Golden Knights snapped.
Ducks 6, Sabres 5 (OT)
Troy Terry scored twice, including the game-winner at 1:29 of overtime in a win for Anaheim against visiting Buffalo.
Beckett Sennecke, Chris Kreider and Jackson LaCombe each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who have won three of their past four games. Ville Husso made 24 saves.
Zach Benson and Owen Power each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Lyon made 27 saves for the Sabres, who had won four straight.
Avalanche 3, Capitals 2 (OT)
Brock Nelson scored the game-winning goal at 1:22 of overtime as Colorado rallied past host Washington.
Nelson won the game for the Avalanche when Martin Necas set him up for a slap shot past Logan Thompson. Gabriel Landeskog and Nicolas Roy also found the back of the net for Colorado, which became the first team to secure a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Necas had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves.
Alex Ovechkin and Justin Sourdif scored, and Thompson made 21 saves for the Capitals, who had previously won two straight games and three of their last four.
Predators 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Filip Forsberg scored twice, including the game-winner 1:05 into overtime, to lift surging Nashville past host Chicago for its fourth straight victory.
Forsberg finished with three points, adding an assist on Steven Stamkos’ game-tying goal at 9:43 of the third period on a goal in front of the net moments after a Nashville power play expired. Back in the lineup after a two-game absence with an upper-body injury, Predators goaltender Juuse Saros finished with 26 saves.
Nick Lardis and Connor Bedard found the net for the Blackhawks, who have lost four of five with two defeats in that stretch coming in overtime. Spencer Knight stopped 30 shots in the losing effort.
Hurricanes 5, Penguins 1
Seth Jarvis had a goal and two assists and Carolina went 3-for-5 on the power play in a win over host Pittsburgh.
Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist and Sebastian Aho, defenseman Jalen Chatfield and Mark Jankowski also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won four of their last five. Frederik Andersen made 18 saves.
Egor Chinakhov scored the lone goal for the Penguins, who had their four-game point streak (3-0-1) snapped and were playing the second of back-to-back games. They beat visiting Winnipeg 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday afternoon. Stuart Skinner stopped 21 shots for Pittsburgh.
Islanders 1, Blue Jackets 0
Ilya Sorokin stopped all 26 shots he faced and made Bo Horvat’s goal on the first shot of the game stand up New York, which edged Columbus in a game with Eastern Conference playoff implications in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders (85 points) moved ahead of the idle Detroit Red Wings (84 points) for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and tied the Blue Jackets for third place in the Metropolitan Division, though Columbus has a game in hand.
The shutout was the seventh of the season for Sorokin and the 29th of his career, which extended his franchise record. He is tied for the franchise’s single-season record for shutouts with Glenn “Chico” Resch and Semyon Varlamov. Jet Greaves recorded 21 saves for the Blue Jackets, whose 12-game point streak (8-0-4) ended.
Flames 4, Lightning 3 (OT)
Ryan Strome scored the winning goal in overtime as host Calgary beat Tampa Bay for its third consecutive win.
Victor Olofsson, Morgan Frost and Mikael Backlund also scored for the Flames (29-34-7, 65 points) and goaltender Devin Cooley made 32 saves. Calgary has won 54 consecutive games when scoring four or more goals, the fourth-longest streak in NHL history.
Ryan McDonagh, Darren Raddysh and Pontus Holmberg replied for the Lightning, who had a three-game winning streak snapped in the final outing of their four-game road swing. Goalie Jonas Johansson stopped 25 shots.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ole Miss' Pete Golding questions why LSU isn't being investigated
Head coach Pete Golding speaks at Ole Miss “Meet the Rebels” in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 25, 2026. Pete Golding’s Ole Miss program is being investigated by the NCAA for tampering in relation to its recruitment of linebacker Luke Ferrelli, but on Wednesday, Golding openly called into question why other schools weren’t being investigated as well.
Asked about the tampering case involving Ferrelli at the Southeastern Conference meetings in Miramar Beach, Fla., Golding talked about Ferrelli becoming a replacement for another player who departed in the portal, and with dubious circumstances surrounding the latter’s departure.
Golding referred to the departing player as a three-year starter, a thinly veiled reference to former starting linebacker TJ Dottery, who transferred to LSU — now led by former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin — on the final day of the portal window.
“The kid we’re talking about with tampering was on an official visit that weekend,” Golding said of Ferrelli before turning his attention to Dottery moments later. “We’re not comparing that to a guy that was a three-year starter somewhere, that wasn’t in the portal that’s at a new school now? What are we doing?
“There’s an enforcement on this that just took an OV, but there’s not an enforcement of this, that he just ruined his brand over three years, who’s been tampered with his entire time?”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney held a press conference in late January alleging tampering by Ole Miss with Ferrelli, who committed to transfer to the Tigers from Cal and had even arrived on the Clemson campus before departing for Ole Miss a short time later.
Dottery started for the Rebels the past two years, but he became the fourth player to defect from the program to follow Kiffin to LSU, who hired Kiffin away from Ole Miss in the midst of its 2025 playoff run.
Golding, who took over when Kiffin left, took another shot at Kiffin and LSU when he related the issue of tampering to coaches as well as players, an issue the U.S. Senate is attempting to address with its “Lane Kiffin Rule,” meant to limit coaches’ mobility during the season.
“My thing when they talk about tampering, you don’t think the coaches get tampered with?” Golding asked rhetorically. “You don’t think ADs meet with head coaches? I mean we’re talking about this new Kiffin rule and this s—, who do you think’s meeting with these guys and offering them the job before?
“So, I’m not getting into all of that, but holy cow.”
Ole Miss hosts Kiffin and LSU in Oxford, Miss. on Sept. 19.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gerrit Cole brilliant again as Yankees sweep Royals
May 27, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Gerrit Cole scattered four hits and struck out 10 over 6 2/3 stellar innings and Ben Rice had three RBIs as the visiting New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep with a 7-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Cole (1-0) did not yield a walk during his efficient 79-pitch outing as the Yankees beat the Royals for the 13th straight time. His second start of the year was even more impressive than his first, when he tossed six scoreless innings versus Tampa Bay on Friday in his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery after the 2024 World Series.
Rice and Paul Goldschmidt each had two hits and Ryan McMahon clubbed a two-run homer in the eighth for New York, which has won four straight. The Yankees outscored Kansas City 26-4 this week — and 50-10 while sweeping the six-game season series.
Royals starter Noah Cameron (2-4) allowed two runs and four hits over five innings. Maikel Garcia poked two of the Royals’ four hits as they dropped to 3-13 since May 10.
Kansas City threatened Cole in the third, when Michael Massey roped a double into the right-field corner for the game’s first hit. However, he was thrown out at the plate by Aaron Judge on Garcia’s two-out single to right.
Cameron, meanwhile, was perfect through the first three innings. Then Goldschmidt opened the fourth with a single to left, then scored on Rice’s triple that went off the left field fence and caromed away from Kansas City’s Isaac Collins. Judge’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0.
Cameron’s night ended after he yielded another single to Goldschmidt and walked Rice to open the sixth. However, John Schreiber got Judge to ground into a 6-4-3 double play and Cody Bellinger to fly out.
The Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh. Nick Mears got Jose Caballero to line out and fanned Austin Wells, but he walked Goldschmidt to force home a run. The Royals brought in reliever Alex Lange, but Rice broke things open with a two-run single to right.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Boston Fleet head coach jumps to Hamilton's expansion team
Boston Fleet coach Kris Sparre responds to a question during a press conference at Boston Sports Institute on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. The new PWHL team in Hamilton, Ontario, has made its big acquisition.
Coach of the Year finalist Kris Sparre, who just led the Boston Fleet to a league record-tying 62-point regular season, has jumped to become Hamilton’s first coach. PWHL Hamilton general manager Meghan Duggan made the announcement Wednesday.
“I’m thrilled to have Kris as the first Head Coach in PWHL Hamilton history, bringing a combination of hockey knowledge, leadership, and player development expertise that make him an ideal fit,” Duggan said in a news release.
Sparre, 39, has extensive ties to Ontario. The Mississauga native grew up playing in the Ontario Hockey League and earned his first coaching job in the OHL. He and his family live in Burlington, Ontario, roughly 15 miles from Hamilton.
Sparre took over the Boston Fleet prior to the 2025-26 season and directed the team to a 16-5-4-5 record. That was a league-record 18 points better than the year before.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to build a foundation in Hamilton alongside Meghan, and moving closer to home and being near family makes this the right step for me personally and professionally,” Sparre said.
PWHL Hamilton was introduced as an expansion franchise on May 13. The league also has announced plans to add teams in Detroit, Las Vegas and San Jose to boost membership to 12 teams for the 2026-27 season.
–Field Level Media
Ole Miss' Pete Golding questions why LSU isn't being investigated
Gerrit Cole brilliant again as Yankees sweep Royals
