Sports
Conference imbalance on display as Islanders host Kings
Mar 10, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) reacts after center Bo Horvat (not pictured) scored the game tying goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images If the New York Islanders were in the Western Conference, they already would be preparing to host playoff games.
If the Los Angeles Kings were in the Eastern Conference, they likely would have spent the trade deadline looking toward the future instead of loading up for a postseason push.
Thanks to geography, both teams will be in the position of trying to bolster their playoff chances Friday night when the Islanders host the Kings in Elmont, N.Y.
Both have been off since playing overtime road games on Tuesday. The Islanders overcame a three-goal deficit to edge the St. Louis Blues 4-3 and the Kings fell 2-1 to the Boston Bruins.
Mathew Barzal’s winner allowed the Islanders to salvage a split of a four-game road trip (2-2-0) and become the first NHL team to win its first 10 overtime decisions.
The 2021 Vegas Golden Knights went 9-0 in overtime during the pandemic-shortened 56-game season.
More importantly, the two points ensured the Islanders would remain in a playoff spot. New York entered Thursday tied for second in the Metropolitan Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins at 79 points apiece, three ahead of the surging Columbus Blue Jackets.
“This was an important game,” Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. “Winning that one makes a big difference because every team in our division got a point today.”
The Islanders are tied with the wild card-leading Detroit Red Wings and are one point ahead of the Bruins. The Penguins, Blue Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins all play Thursday night.
The Blue Jackets climbed out of last place in the East and gained seven points on the Islanders by going 14-2-3 since hiring Rick Bowness as head coach on Jan. 12. New York is 12-8-0 in the same span.
The playoff race the Kings are involved in is decidedly less heated.
With 67 points, Los Angeles entered Thursday in a tie with the Seattle Kraken for the West’s second wild-card spot. The Kraken had a game in hand ahead of their clash with the league-leading Colorado Avalanche.
That point total would place the Kings and Kraken in a tie for 13th in the East. The Islanders would have the fourth-most points in the West and the most in the Pacific Division.
The Kings have lost eight of 11 since Feb. 1, a stretch in which they acquired left winger Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers and center Scott Laughton from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Panarin has eight points in eight games with Los Angeles, while Laughton has three points in as many games.
Los Angeles is 2-2-1 since March 1, when head coach Jim Hiller was fired and replaced by D.J. Smith.
The inconsistency stretches further back for the Kings, who have won consecutive games just three times since the start of December. The Islanders have seven separate winning streaks in the span.
The Kings had a chance to win a second straight game Tuesday despite collecting just 16 shots, their third fewest in a game this season. Drew Doughty forced overtime by scoring with six minutes left before Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into the extra session for the Bruins.
“We showed resilience and heart tonight,” Doughty said. “We played hard. We got a point against a really good team and can take some positives, but clearly we need to look at the negatives and fix those things.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 23 Wisconsin slips past Washington to reach Big Ten quarters
Mar 12, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Nick Boyd (2) reacts after scoring against the Washington Huskies during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images John Blackwell made six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 34 points as No. 23 Wisconsin eliminated Washington from the Big Ten Conference tournament with an 85-82 victory Thursday at Chicago.
Nick Boyd added 23 points and nine assists for the fifth-seeded Badgers (23-9), who advanced to a quarterfinal matchup on Friday with fourth-seeded Illinois. Wisconsin was 15 of 39 (38.5%) from 3-point range.
Freshman Hannes Steinbach scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his 22nd double-double for No. 12-seed Washington (16-17). Zoom Diallo added 21 points and seven assists, while Quimari Peterson chipped in 14 points and made 4 of 10 3-pointers for the Huskies.
The Badgers never trailed and led by as much as 18 points at 66-48 with 13:23 remaining after Blackwell made a 3-pointer. The Huskies used a late 18-6 run to close within 83-82 with 17 seconds left when Diallo drove for a layup.
Andrew Rohde sank both ends of a one-and-one with eight seconds left for Wisconsin, requiring Washington to hunt a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime. Diallo’s pullup 3-pointer as time expired misfired, enabling the Badgers to avoid the upset.
Playing its third straight game without its top inside player in forward Nolan Winter (ankle), the Badgers got off to a fast start. They established a 20-7 lead with 11:47 remaining in the first half when Hayden Jones converted a three-point play.
The Huskies found some traction in the next seven minutes, whittling the deficit down to 27-23 with 4:55 left in the half when Wesley Yates III made two free throws. Wisconsin expanded the advantage behind Blackwell and Boyd, who combined for 13 straight points.
Aleksas Bieliauskas sent the Badgers to the locker room at halftime with a 43-33 lead after completing a three-point play with a second left before halftime.
–Field Level Media
Sports
BetBoom, Spirit, Yandex, Liquid move on in PGL Wallachia 7 playoffs
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. BetBoom Team, Team Spirit, Team Yandex and Team Liquid advanced to the upper-bracket semifinals on the first day of the PGL Wallachia Season 7 playoffs on Thursday in Bucharest, Romania.
BetBoom blanked HEROIC 2-0, and Spirit did the same to Vici Gaming. Yandex defeated Aurora Gaming 2-1, and Liquid rallied to beat Tundra Esports 2-1.
The double-elimination playoffs for the $1 million Dota 2 tournament run through Sunday. All matches are best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final, with the winning team taking home $300,000.
Eight teams advanced from the 16-team group stage, which concluded Wednesday.
On Thursday, BetBoom prevailed in 37 minutes and 47 minutes on green against HEROIC. Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov of Russia averaged 8.5 kills, 2.5 deaths and 10.5 assists over the two maps for BetBoom.
Spirit defeated Vici in 44 minutes and 54 minutes, both on red. Ukraine’s Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk led Team Spirit with an 11.0-3.0-7.0 average kills-deaths-assists ratio.
Yandex sandwiched a 37-minute win and a 40-minute win on red around Aurora’s 60-minute win on green. Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov of Kazakhstan averaged an 11.3-2.0-11.0 K-D-A to guide Yandex.
Tundra opened with a 31-minute win on green, but Liquid tied it with a 30-minute win on red and advanced by winning the third map in 29 minutes on red. On the dominant final map, Michal “Nisha” Jankowski of Poland posted a 16-0-10 K-D-A and Liquid teammate Michael “miCKe” Vu of Sweden put up an 11-0-15.
Play continues Friday with four matches:
–BetBoom Team vs. Team Spirit (upper-bracket semifinals)
–Team Yandex vs. Team Liquid (upper-bracket semifinals)
–HEROIC vs. Vici Gaming (lower-bracket Round 1)
–Aurora Gaming vs. Tundra Esports (lower-bracket Round 1)
PGL Wallachia Season 7 prize pool:
1. $300,000
2. $175,000
3. $120,000
4. $80,000
5-6. $60,000
7-8. $40,000
9-11. $20,000 — Xtreme Gaming, Natus Vincere, PARIVISION
12-14. $15,000 — Team Falcons, Yellow Submarine, OG
15-16. $10,000 — Team Nemesis, MOUZ
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL rescinds Nathan MacKinnon's major for goalie collision
Mar 10, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) collides into Edmonton Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram (39) in the second period at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images The NHL rescinded Nathan MacKinnon’s major penalty for running over opposing goaltender Connor Ingram, the Colorado Avalanche forward told reporters Thursday.
MacKinnon was ejected from Colorado’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night after he flattened Ingram on a drive to the crease in the final minute of the second period.
Officials penalized MacKinnon with a five-minute major and a game misconduct despite replay showing that he was angled into the goalie by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.
Being absolved of wrongdoing is a boon to MacKinnon, who would have been suspended for one game if he received a second major and game misconduct within his next 41 appearances.
MacKinnon is tied for second in league scoring with 104 points (43 goals, 61 assists) in 62 games.
Ingram, who left Tuesday’s matchup to be evaluated for a concussion, was cleared to back up Oilers starter Tristan Jarry against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
The powerhouse Avalanche, who had won five straight before falling to Edmonton, open a two-game road trip against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 13, 2026
No. 23 Wisconsin slips past Washington to reach Big Ten quarters
