Sports
NHL roundup: Alex Ovechkin adds 872nd goal in Capitals' 7-4 win
Jan 4, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) scores a goal on New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) in the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Dylan Strome had a goal and two assists, Alex Ovechkin added his 872nd career goal and the Washington Capitals earned a 7-4 victory against the visiting New York Rangers on Saturday.
Logan Thompson made 29 saves for the Capitals as Ovechkin inched closer to Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals.
With the Capitals leading by a goal, Ovechkin backhanded a loose puck at the front of the net off a faceoff under Jonathan Quick’s right pad to make it 5-3 at 10:50 of the third period and move within 22 goals of Gretzky.
The Rangers twice got within a goal of Washington in the third period but could never get the equalizer in dropping to 5-16-0 dating back to Nov. 21. Quick made 21 saves.
Maple Leafs 6, Bruins 4
Matthew Knies recorded his first career hat trick and added two assists as Toronto handed visiting Boston its third straight loss.
Mitch Marner added an empty-net goal and four assists for the Maple Leafs, who have won three games in a row.
Auston Matthews (upper-body injury) returned after missing six games and had an empty-net goal and two assists. David Pastrnak scored twice for the Bruins.
Predators 4, Flames 1
Ryan O’Reilly posted his sixth career hat trick to lead visiting Nashville past Calgary for its second victory in as many nights and just its fifth road win this season.
Fedor Svechkov netted one goal and one assist while Filip Forsberg collected a pair of assists for the Predators. Justus Annunen stopped 31 shots, sparkling from the drop of the puck with 11 first-period saves when the Flames had a huge edge in play but couldn’t take a lead.
Mikael Backlund scored for the Flames, who have lost three of their last four games. Dustin Wolf made 24 saves.
Red Wings 4, Jets 2
Dylan Larkin scored twice to lead Detroit over host Winnipeg, knocking the Jets from atop the NHL standings.
Lucas Raymond had a goal and two assists and Alex DeBrincat also scored for Detroit, which won its fourth straight and improved to 4-1-0 under new coach Todd McLellan.
Josh Morrissey and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Winnipeg, which was outshot 29-23. It was the third consecutive loss for the Jets, who came into the game leading the league with 56 points but saw Vegas pass them with their win over Buffalo later Saturday.
Blue Jackets 6, Blues 4
Dmitri Voronkov scored twice to lead Columbus past visiting St. Louis for its fifth win in eight games (5-2-1).
Sean Monahan and Ivan Provorov earned three assists for Columbus, and Elvis Merzlikins made 29 saves.
Jordan Kyrou had a goal and two assists while Brayden Schenn and Cam Fowler had a goal and one assist for the Blues, who lost for just the second time in six games.
Sharks 3, Devils 2
Cody Ceci scored with 25 seconds left to lift San Jose over visiting New Jersey, giving the Sharks a second straight win after losing eight in a row.
Nikolai Kovalenko and Macklin Celebrini also scored and Yaroslav Askarov made 28 saves for San Jose.
Nico Hischier scored on his 26th birthday, Paul Cotter also tallied and Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for the Devils, who have lost four in a row to match their longest skid of the season.
Wild 4, Hurricanes 0
Mats Zuccarello scored two goals, including an empty netter, and Filip Gustavsson made 21 saves as Minnesota defeated Carolina in Raleigh, N.C.
Matt Boldy had a goal and two assists and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored for the Wild, while Marco Rossi logged a career-high four assists, bringing his season total to 22. Zuccarello added an assist as well.
The shutout was Gustavsson’s third of the season and the ninth of his career. Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves for the Hurricanes, who lost for the fourth time in their last six games.
Canadiens 2, Avalanche 1 (SO)
Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach scored shootout goals and Montreal beat Colorado in Denver and complete a six-game road trip with four wins (4-2-0).
Caufield also scored Montreal’s lone goal in regulation, while Jakub Dobes had 22 saves through overtime and two more in the shootout.
Mikko Rantanen scored and Mackenzie Blackwood had 23 saves between regulation and overtime and one in the shootout for Colorado, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
Golden Knights 3, Sabres 1
Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist and Adin Hill made 23 saves as Vegas moved into the NHL points lead with a victory over visiting Buffalo in Las Vegas.
Mark Stone and Tanner Laczynski also scored goals and Tanner Pearson had two assists for Vegas, which picked up its eighth victory in its last nine games. The Golden Knights, who improved to an NHL best 17-4-0 at home, now lead the Winnipeg Jets by one point for the league lead.
Jason Zucker scored a goal and James Reimer finished with 30 saves for Buffalo, which had a three-game win streak over the Golden Knights snapped.
Kings 2, Lightning 1
Los Angeles continued its mastery of its home ice as Adrian Kempe’s goal with 5:48 left in regulation beat Tampa Bay.
Kempe’s team-leading 19th goal extended his point streak to a season-high five games. Mikey Anderson recorded his fifth goal of the season for Los Angeles, which won its fourth consecutive game and its ninth in a row at home.
Victor Hedman scored for Tampa Bay, which lost its third straight. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves for the Lightning.
Oilers 4, Kraken 2
Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist and Viktor Arvidsson contributed two assists as Edmonton held on for a victory against host Seattle, its seventh straight win against its Pacific Division rival.
Vasily Podkolzin, Jeff Skinner and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers, who won their third consecutive game overall. Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 15 saves.
Chandler Stephenson and Jaden Schwartz scored for Seattle, which had a three-game point streak snapped. Philipp Grubauer, making his fourth consecutive start in place of the injured Joey Daccord (upper-body injury), stopped 28 of 31 shots.
Stars 3, Utah Hockey Club 2 (OT)
Thomas Harley scored the overtime winner as Dallas edged visiting Utah, beating its division rival for the third time in three games this season.
Harley snapped home a Matt Duchene pass past Karel Vejmelka at 3:01 of the extra period to secure Dallas’s fourth straight win. Jamie Benn and Oskar Back also scored for the Stars, while Duchene and Wyatt Johnston each chipped in a pair of assists. Jake Oettinger made 33 saves for the Stars to move to 19-9-1 this season.
Matias Maccelli scored twice for Utah, which has just one win over its last seven games (1-4-2). Vejmelka stopped 26 shots but was saddled with his third loss against the Stars this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wild D Jonas Brodin out for Game 1, F Joel Eriksson Ek also ailing
Apr 7, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson (90) moves the puck away from Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) and center Joel Eriksson Ek (14) during the second period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin didn’t travel with the team to Denver and will miss Sunday night’s playoff series opener against the Colorado Avalanche.
Forward Joel Eriksson Ek is listed as questionable to play in Game 1 of the Western Conference second-round series.
Brodin, 32, sustained a lower-body injury during Game 5 of Minnesota’s first-round series against the Dallas Stars. He was hurt while blocking a shot by Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen during the second period.
Brodin missed the clinching Game 6 victory on Thursday. He had one assist in the series.
In the regular season, Brodin had four goals and 18 points in 62 games.
Eriksson Ek was hurt in Game 6 when his right leg smacked into the wall. He didn’t practice on Saturday.
Minnesota coach John Hynes was debating what to do about Ek’s spot with his status unclear.
“I’m kind of going through that a little bit right now,” Hynes said. “So, now you kind of go down that decision-making process of what would we do if he’s not ready.”
Ek, 29, had three goals and five points in the Dallas series. In the regular season, he had 19 goals and 51 points in 70 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cameron Young holds six-shot lead after three rounds in Miami
May 2, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Cameron Young makes his par putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Romance-Imagn Images Cameron Young shot 2-under-par 70 on Saturday to remain in control through three rounds of Cadillac Championship at Miami.
Young is up six strokes on a group of three golfers, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, at windy Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster Course.
Young, who’s at 15-under 201, will be looking for his second victory of the season and the third of his career on the PGA Tour during Sunday’s final round.
Scheffler shot 69 to move to second place by the time he finished the round. He’s joined in that position by South Korea’s Si Woo Kim (69) and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan (69).
Young began the round with a bogey on the par-5 first hole but played the next 11 in 3 under.
Scheffler’s round was defined by birdies on three of the four par-5 layouts.
Matt McCarty (69), Ben Griffin (68) and Canada’s Nick Taylor (72) are at 8 under and tied for fifth place. Taylor bogeyed the final hole.
Jordan Spieth took a significant dive, shooting 75 and falling to a tie for 12th at 5 under. He was hurt by two double-bogeys — first on the par-3 fourth hole when he didn’t get into putting position until his fourth stroke and then on the 18th when his approach shot went into the water and he was forced to take a penalty.
Australia’s Adam Scott had the day’s best score with a bogey-free 6-under 66, leaving him at 3 under.
–Field Level Media
Sports
RJ Barrett, Raptors clash with Cavaliers in unexpected Game 7
May 1, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) reacts after scoring the winning basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the overtime period in game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images RJ Barrett kept the Toronto Raptors’ season alive with one of the most clutch shots in franchise history, but he isn’t ready to reminisce about the moment yet.
Not with a win-or-go-home Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first round series taking place Sunday night at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Forget everything that’s happened,” said Barrett, who is averaging a series-high 24.3 points per game. “Now, it’s one game to win it all.”
The fifth-seeded Raptors earned that opportunity when Barrett’s 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in overtime bounced off the heel of the rim, high in the air and through the hoop to give them a 112-110 victory Friday.
As a result, upstart Toronto has pushed the team with the highest payroll in the NBA to the brink of a devastating end to a season that began with championship dreams.
“Glory to God, that was a fun one, right?” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It was a heck of a fight. We just talked about how much fun this is and how much we loved the challenge.”
Fourth-seeded Cleveland got a clean look at the buzzer, but Evan Mobley’s 29-footer was off the mark, keeping both teams unbeaten at home in the series.
“If I continue to sulk about that (Barrett) shot, it’s over,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said. “Unfortunately, but fortunately, half of the locker room has been through this before. It’s going to test us.
“Protect home court, that’s all you can do. We’ve got to protect home court.”
History is on Cleveland’s side as it has never lost a Game 7 at home, beating the Washington Bullets in 1976, Boston Celtics in 1992, Indiana Pacers in 2018 and Orlando Magic in 2024.
Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Max Strus, Dean Wade and Sam Merrill remain on the roster from the latter, which featured the Cavaliers and Magic winning every game in their respective arenas.
“We’re at home and the ball is in our court,” said Mobley, who is averaging 19.0 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 56.8 percent from the field. “We’ve just got to come together and get a win.
“Don’t get too involved in the magnitude of everything, just protect home court.”
Toronto has only played one Game 7 on the road, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001. Barrett was about to celebrate his first birthday at the time, while Scottie Barnes and breakout performer Ja’Kobe Walter hadn’t been born yet.
Barrett, Barnes and Walter combined to score 73 of the Raptors’ 112 points in Game 6.
“I’ve watched so many Game 7s, you see the intensity on the court,” said Walter, who averaged 22.0 points and made 10 3-pointers in the last two contests. “I’m so excited to be in this moment.”
Barnes has been the most consistent performer in the series, averaging 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists. In a surprising development, he and Barrett have outplayed Cleveland’s star backcourt of James Harden and Mitchell.
Mitchell is shooting just 43.7% on field goal attempts, including 35.3% on 3-point tries; he has only attempted 14 total free throws. He has only taken over in brief stretches of two games, marking a complete turnaround from his brilliant 2025 postseason.
Trade-deadline acquisition Harden has been plagued by careless passes and poor decision-making, averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 turnovers.
“I’m a little frustrated, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Harden said. “We can’t dwell on it too long. Just go back home, play one game and win.”
Both squads took Saturday off but will hold shootarounds on Sunday morning.
Raptors small forward Brandon Ingram (right heel) missed Game 6 and will be evaluated after working out with the team. Point guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring) continues to undergo treatment but will sit out the entire series.
The Cavaliers have no injuries and, should they lose, no legitimate excuses.
“This is typical NBA basketball with a four and a five seed going at it,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Now, we’ve got to go out and get Game 7.”
–Field Level Media
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