Sports
Blue Jackets regroup as streaking Flyers give chase for playoff spot
Mar 22, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves (73) tends net against the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images After losing in regulation for the first time in nearly a month, the Columbus Blue Jackets look to begin a new point streak Tuesday when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers.
Columbus (37-22-11, 85 points) surged up the standings with their recent 8-0-4 stretch before falling 1-0 to the New York Islanders on Sunday. After scoring 16 goals in their previous three games, the Blue Jackets were blanked by Ilya Sorokin to suffer their first regulation loss since Feb. 26.
“You’ve got to capitalize on your chances when you get them,” defenseman Damon Severson said.
Still, the Blue Jackets players and coaches were generally positive about the team’s performance in the opener of a three-game road trip that continues in Philadelphia and then wraps up in Montreal.
“I liked our game,” forward Mathieu Olivier said. “We play like that, we’re going to win most games. Take this one (and move on) to the next one.”
In net, Columbus received another strong effort from Jet Greaves, who saved 21 of 22 shots. He has yielded six total goals in his last four games.
“It’s not going to be perfect,” said Greaves, who turns 25 next week. “We’d love for it to be only wins, but that’s obviously not how it goes. The biggest thing is just the response from our group. … The game in Philly — that’s the biggest game now, so just one day at a time.”
The Blue Jackets sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 12 games remaining. A collection of teams is breathing down their necks in the wild-card race, including the Flyers (34-23-12, 80 points).
Philadelphia is 5-0-1 in its last six games with the only loss in that stretch coming at home against Columbus on March 14. Kirill Marchenko scored the Blue Jackets’ only goal in regulation that day and later netted the lone tally of the shootout in a 2-1 triumph.
After absorbing that loss, the Flyers went to California and swept three games against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. In the trip-ending 4-1 win over the Sharks, Christian Dvorak scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Dan Vladar made 24 saves for Philadelphia.
“I think these guys are trying to build an identity. There’s some good stuff here, and they are doing a good job,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “We’re blocking out the outside noise, and we’re being positive in here. It’s showing on the ice.”
Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia, giving him five goals in the last eight games. He is four goals shy of his career high (28), set two seasons ago.
“I like where my game is at right now. Consistent all the way through, contributing,” Tippett said. “It is easy to do when everyone is doing it around you, too.”
The Flyers prevailed in three tight games on their recent road trip. They topped the Ducks 3-2 in overtime and edged the Kings 4-3 in a shootout before scoring two late empty-netters to prevail 4-1 over the Sharks.
“I think it’s just a belief and a will,” Tippett said. “This was a really good road trip for us.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hurricanes, Golden Knights Appear Destined for Stanley Cup Final Clash
The Vegas Golden Knights have already punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
It is just a matter of time before the Carolina Hurricanes do the same.
The Hurricanes are one win away from dispatching the overmatched Montreal Canadiens and advancing to the championship round for the first time in 20 years.
Oh sure, the Canadiens may prolong the series with a victory in Friday’s Game 5, in Raleigh, N.C., but anybody wanting to bet on the long odds that Montreal can erase its 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals would be a fool parting with their money.
After serving up a dud in the series opener, a 6-2 Montreal victory, the Hurricanes have been the overwhelming better team, and hit another gear in the latest win.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens have managed only 43 shots on goal over the past three games, the exact same Carolina fired in the 4-0 victory on Wednesday.
The Canadiens have taken a big step forward this season, but the Hurricanes have shown the young Montreal squad must make a few more leaps to become legitimate Cup contenders.
Which means it is time to gear up for a showdown between the Eastern Conference’s regular-season champs and a Vegas squad that caught fire down the stretch thanks to a coaching change and provided the surprise of the playoffs to reach the final.
Here are some other thoughts as the Stanley Cup chase heads to the championship round.
As much as the injuries cost the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference finals, the Vegas Golden Knights were full marks for sweeping the league’s regular-season champions.
The Golden Knights are not easy to like with coach John Tortorella and his churlish ways, the cut-throat business decisions and past examples of flouting the rules, but it once again worked in Las Vegas.
The improved goaltending has been a huge boon to the Golden Knights, as has been the play of Mitch Marner, but the impact of replacing Bruce Cassidy with Tortorella with only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season has been shockingly brilliant.
Tortorella must be credited for how he changed the fortunes without actually changing the system. With him at the helm, all of those players who were under-achieving found their footing just in time to win the Pillow Fight Pacific Division and since marched to the final.
And like Carolina, the Golden Knights have become better as every series continued along.
It will make for an interesting final round.
As for those who will decry a Carolina-Vegas matchup as not being sexy from a marketing perspective, they are missing the boat. The Golden Knights are proud to be the bad boys and a team people cheer against.
Finally, the post-mortem of Colorado’s season is an interesting study. First off, calls for the firing of coach Jared Bednar are absurd. Injuries, especially to Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon were fatal for the club.
That said, the Avalanche are in a precarious spot. Colorado will continue to be a contender, but the window for this core group’s second Stanley Cup title is closing quickly.
Other than Makar and forward Martin Necas, all of the team’s key players are past age 30, their goaltending eventually faltered when needed most and roster holes will become harder to fill for a team that has mortgaged its future in an attempt to duplicate its 2022 championship, having traded away its next three first-round picks.
The Avalanche braintrust must come up with some creative ways to remain a top dog.
Sports
Four-time Stanley Cup champ Claude Lemieux dies
May 25, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Former player Claude Lemieux carries the torch before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion who skated a fine line between being a clutch scorer and agitator, has died. He was 60.
The NHL Alumni Association announced the news Thursday but did not disclose a cause or date of death.
Lemieux played 21 seasons in the NHL and was awarded the 1994-95 Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. He won two Stanley Cup titles with the New Jersey Devils (1994-95, 1999-2000) and one each with the Colorado Avalanche (1995-96) and Montreal Canadiens (1985-86).
Lemieux recorded 158 points (80 goals, 78 assists) and 529 penalty minutes in 234 playoff games. He had a team-leading 10 goals and four game-winning goals in aiding the Canadiens to their 23rd Stanley Cup title in 1985-86.
“Today is a dark day for the Canadiens family and the entire hockey community. I wish to express my most sincere and deepest condolences to Claude’s family and loved ones,” said Geoff Molson, owner and CEO of Groupe CH.
“A fierce competitor who rose to the occasion in big moments, Claude was a relentless, courageous, and tenacious player who led the team to the highest honors. He embodied the very essence of being a Montreal Canadiens player. Today we mourn the untimely passing of one of our champions. Our thoughts are with his family on this difficult day.”
The physical side also was on display with Lemieux, who infamously checked Detroit Red Wings forward Kris Draper into the boards during the 1996 Western Conference finals. The result of the check broke Draper’s jaw, nose and cheekbone, setting off fireworks between the teams while earning Lemieux a suspension for the first two games of the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.
Lemieux had 786 points (379 goals, 407 assists) and 1,777 penalty minutes in 1,215 regular-season contests with the Canadiens, Devils, Avalanche, then-Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks.
The Quebec native was selected by the Canadiens in the second round of the 1983 NHL Draft.
Tu es chez toi ici, Claude Lemieux! ??
Welcome home, Claude Lemieux!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/fQvfhZSNUB
— x – Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 26, 2026
On Monday, Lemieux greeted the Montreal crowd by carrying the torch into the Bell Centre prior to the start of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Why the Pacers Could Be Back in the NBA Finals Sooner Than Expected
May 31, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) and guard Andrew Nembhard (2) speak in the second quarter during game six of the eastern conference finals against the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images For all the what-ifs to rattle Indiana Pacers fans over the past 11 months, here’s hoping they’ve done enough math to know that the associative property isn’t always elementary in the Association.
Neither is sustained health.
Even so, the coming months offer an oxymoron for Pacers faithful. Call it cruel optimism.
Fans know their team eliminated the newly crowned Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks and latest Knick doormat Cleveland Cavaliers en route to winning the East last season. If defending NBA champion Oklahoma City defeats San Antonio to win the West, they’ll surely stew anew about the Tyrese Haliburton Achilles injury and Game 7 loss to OKC in the 2025 Finals.
In the name of exorcising demons instead of exercising them, though, let’s direct Pacers fans to Haliburton’s X account. Recent footage suggests far more optimism than cruelty.
Two words – “Week 48” – introduce video of Hailburton looking sharp during a workout at the Pacers’ practice facility. See the two-time All-Star point guard run, cut, dribble, shoot and step back – all just shy of one year since sustaining a torn right Achilles tendon in the opening minutes of Finals Game 7 against the Thunder.
The video also shows Haliburton has made time for the weight room when not scrimmaging. He’s also still able to smile.
Haliburton posted on Tuesday, some five months before the 2026-27 season tips off. There’s musical accompaniment, of course; not “High Hopes” by Frank Sinatra, but Drake’s “Janice STFU.”
Sample lyrics of the SFW variety: “They tried to kill me once, but darling, you just resurrected me.”
Talk about confirming motivational buy-in from your star.
Haliburton said this month he expects to be a “full go” for the Pacers’ summer minicamp. Without a selection in the June draft, that gathering figures to be an encouraging reunion for a team whose health woes last season weren’t merely limited to the devastating June blow to “Hali.”
Coach Rick Carlisle dialed up nearly 50 starting lineups in 2025-26, as Pascal Siakam (62 starts) and Andrew Nembhard (57) were the equivalent of the team’s iron men. Meanwhile, center Ivica Zubac played in just six games after arriving in a February trade from the Los Angeles Clippers. Then a rib injury ended his season.
For Pacers fans leery to lean into the “What’s old is new again” motif so early – hey, it’s what they’ve got – the Haliburton video has a cousin.
How about this recent send-up of Carlisle from new Butler coach and former Pacers assistant Ronald Nored?
“He’s never stopped adjusting. He coached one way several years ago, and he was a Hall of Fame coach. And he coaches a completely different way now,” Nored told the Indianapolis Star. “To watch him and see he has progressed in his long career, continuing to want new ideas, understanding where the game is going next, was something that was really important for me to learn.”
Carlisle’s latest handiwork will be on display soon enough, as Haliburton works in with Zubac while the team touts the center it has lacked since Myles Turner left in free agency last summer.
What if next season’s Pacers jell early and stay cohesive? It’s fair to wonder.
A fan base that endured 25 years between Finals appearances to start the millennium may now only have to wait one more.
Hurricanes, Golden Knights Appear Destined for Stanley Cup Final Clash
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