Sports
Flames remain hot, beat up on Canucks
Mar 28, 2026; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Vancouver Canucks center Linus Karlsson (94) and Calgary Flames defenseman Kevin Bahl (7) battle for the puck during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost each scored once in three-point performances and the host Calgary Flames rode a four-goal second period to a 7-3 victory over the floundering Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Ryan Strome, Olli Maatta and Zayne Parekh all collected one goal and one assist, while Joel Farabee and Adam Klapka tallied once for the Flames (31-34-8, 70 points).
Calgary, which posted a 5-0-1 record during its now-completed homestand, has won 55 consecutive games when scoring four or more goals, the fifth-longest run in league history.
Goaltender Dustin Wolf made 31 saves and Hunter Brzustewicz had two assists.
Liam Ohgren, Jake DeBrusk and Nils Hoglander replied for the Canucks (21-43-8, 50 points), who sit at the bottom of the league standings and have lost five straight. Elias Pettersson collected two assists.
Starting goalie Nikita Tolopilo was victimized for four goals on 11 shots before being pulled. Kevin Lankinen stopped nine of 12 shots in relief.
Calgary is nearing official elimination from playoff contention but took an early lead when Coronato buried a rebound from the left circle at the 3:04 mark of the first period.
Farabee doubled the edge two minutes later when he deflected a point shot.
Ohgren provided the Canucks a boost when he buried a chance off the rush with 67 seconds remaining in the first period, but the Flames pulled away in the second period.
Strome made it a 4-2 game 92 seconds into the middle frame by deflecting Maatta’s point shot. Then Maatta extended the lead at 4:36 and ended the game for Tolopilo. The Canucks netminder stopped a Strome shot, but the rebound bounced off Maatta and into the cage.
Frost buried the first shot Lankinen faced 11 seconds later, converting a backhand shot when he was sprung on a partial break.
DeBrusk netted a power-play goal past the game’s midway point, but Parekh potted a man-advantage marker of his own with 37 seconds remaining in the second period to give the hosts a 6-2 edge.
Hoglander’s third-period deflection tally with 12:40 provided a glimmer of hope for Vancouver, but Klapka rounded out the scoring with 8 seconds remaining and while on the power play.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hawks retain No. 6 seed with win over last-place Kings
Mar 28, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) reaches for the ball against Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) during the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 27 points, Jalen Johnson added 26 points and 10 assists and the Atlanta Hawks held off the visiting Sacramento Kings for a 123-113 victory on Saturday.
CJ McCollum scored 22 points, while Jock Landale finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks (42-33), who won their 15th game in 17 tries. Zaccharie Risacher tallied 13 points and Mohamed Gueye chipped in 10 for Atlanta, which holds a half-game lead over Philadelphia for the East’s No. 6 seed — the last guaranteed playoff spot.
DeMar DeRozan led Sacramento (19-56) with 22 points, followed by Maxime Raynaud’s 18 points and 10 boards. Precious Achiuwa had 16, DaQuan Jeffries scored 15 and Daeqwon Plowden had 14 for the Kings, who dropped their third straight. Malik Monk and Killian Hayes both scored 10 points.
Atlanta pushed its 12-point halftime lead to 16 on Gueye’s 3-pointer with 8:08 left in the third.
The Kings pulled within nine on DeRozan’s layup, before Atlanta extended the lead back to 13.
Sacramento closed the third on a 7-1 run — including Hayes’ buzzer-beating triple — to cut its deficit to 88-82 entering the fourth.
The Kings tied the game at 97 apiece on Plowden’s 3-pointer with 8:03 left. Johnson’s five straight points began an 11-0 run that gave the Hawks a 108-97 edge with 5:47 remaining.
The margin was pushed to 14 on Landale’s triple. After DeRozan and Plowden’s 3-pointers, McCollum’s trey sealed the Atlanta win.
Neither team took a lead larger than five in the first quarter, as Jeffries’ 3-pointer with 46 seconds left gave the Kings a 30-27 lead after 12 minutes.
Sacramento opened up a seven-point lead on Plowden’s dunk at the 9:05 mark of the second quarter.
After Monk’s hook shot put the Kings ahead by 2, Alexander-Walker’s triple and Gueye’s dunk stamped a 14-0 run to put the Hawks up 63-51.
McCollum beat the first-half buzzer with a mid-range jumper to give Atlanta a 66-54 lead. Alexander-Walker had 14 first-half points, while Achiuwa’s 12 led the Kings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dominic Smith's walk-off grand slam lifts Braves past Royals
Mar 28, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Dominic Smith (8) hits a walk-off grand slam against the Kansas City Royals in the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images Dominic Smith hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning to help the Atlanta Braves overcome a two-run deficit and beat the visiting Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Saturday night.
Smith’s home run, a 386-foot shot to right-center field, came with one out against Royals closer Carlos Estevez (0-1), who failed to hold a 2-0 lead.
The rally started when Drake Baldwin walked to lead off the bottom of the inning, took third on Matt Olson’s single and scored on Mike Yastrzemski’s one-out single. After Ozzie Albies walked, Jorge Mateo — running for Olson — scored the tying run when Michael Harris II lined a pitch off Estevez for a single.
The winning pitcher was Osvaldo Bido (1-0), who struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth. The right-hander was making his first appearance since joining the team off waivers from the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Kansas City starter Michael Wacha pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. He has now allowed three or fewer earned runs in 24 of his 30 road starts with the Royals.
Salvador Perez broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run in the seventh inning — ending a 15-inning scoreless streak to start the season — on the first pitch from Reynaldo Lopez. It was the 304th homer of Perez’s his career, leaving him 13 away from tying Hall of Famer George Brett for the franchise record.
Lopez was impressive in his first start since exactly one year earlier, May 28, 2025. He was then shut down for the season with shoulder issues that required surgery He allowed one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts on Saturday.
Kansas City tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Maikel Garcia walked with one out by reliever Joel Payamps and went to third on a single by Bobby Witt Jr. Garcia scored when Atlanta’s sure-handed first baseman Olson missed a routine grounder with the infield in off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino.
The Braves kept Kansas City off the board in the third inning. With Isaac Collins on third base, Garcia hit a fly to right field that was caught by Ronald Acuna Jr. Collins appeared ready to tag up but changed his mind when Acuna fired a strike to the plate.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees complete season-opening, three-game sweep of Giants
Mar 28, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) is congratulated by first baseman Ben Rice (22) after hitting a home run against the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images Aaron Judge homered in his second straight game and Ben Rice doubled in two runs as the visiting New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 on Saturday to complete a three-game series sweep.
San Francisco put its first two batters on base in the ninth against David Bednar before Harrison Bader struck out and Patrick Bailey grounded into a double play.
Bednar recorded his second save in as many games for the Yankees, who outscored the Giants 13-1 in the series and turned four inning-ending double plays in the finale. Jake Bird (1-0), one of four New York relievers, earned the victory with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Rice put the Yankees ahead with a two-run double in the third inning against Tyler Mahle (0-1), who was making his Giants debut. Giancarlo Stanton followed with a single to right field, but Rice was thrown out at the plate by Heliot Ramos to end the inning.
San Francisco scored its first run of the season in the bottom of the third when Jung Hoo Lee hit a leadoff double off Will Warren and scored on Matt Chapman’s single up the middle.
Mahle allowed two runs on five hits over four innings with one walk and five strikeouts.
Ryan Borucki retired the first two batters in the fifth before Judge put the Yankees ahead 3-1 by depositing an 0-1 cutter over the left-field wall.
The Yankees turned to their bullpen after Warren gave up one run on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three.
Bird replaced Brent Headrick in the sixth after Rafael Devers doubled to begin the inning. After Devers moved to third on Ramos’ single, Bird struck out Willy Adames and escaped the jam unscathed when Bader grounded into a double play.
The Yankees threatened with two runners on and one out in the eighth against Erik Miller, who struck out Rice before JT Brubaker entered and got Stanton to pop out to first.
San Francisco brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the eighth against Tim Hill when Luis Arraez singled in front of Devers, who grounded into an inning-ending double play.
–Field Level Media
Hawks retain No. 6 seed with win over last-place Kings
Dominic Smith's walk-off grand slam lifts Braves past Royals
