Sports
NHL roundup: Birthday boy Jared Spurgeon lifts Wild over Blackhawks
Nov 29, 2024; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) and defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) celebrate a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images Jared Spurgeon celebrated his 35th birthday in style, scoring twice to help the Minnesota Wild rally past the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Friday in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Wild captain, who played just 16 games last season due to back and hip injuries, scored for the first time since April 2023 and notched the eighth multi-goal game in his 15-year career.
Marco Rossi also scored and Joel Eriksson Ek had two assists for the Wild, who trailed 2-0 near the game’s midpoint. Marc-Andre Fleury, who turned 40 on Thursday, made 20 saves to win for the fifth time in six starts.
Former Wild center Ryan Donato scored both goals for the Blackhawks, his second multi-goal game of the season. Petr Mrazek stopped 26 shots.
Capitals 5, Islanders 4 (OT)
Jakob Chychrun scored in overtime to give Washington a comeback win over visiting New York. Down 4-2 through two periods, the Capitals equalized on third-period goals from Dylan Strome at 1:20 and Tom Wilson at 7:24.
Wilson scored twice, Connor McMichael had three assists and Strome collected a goal and two assists for Washington. Nic Dowd scored the Capitals’ other goal while Logan Thompson made 20 saves for Washington, which has won three in a row.
Anders Lee had a goal and two assists for the Islanders, Simon Holmstrom scored twice and Bo Horvat had two assists. Kyle MacLean also scored and Semyon Varlamov stopped 21 of 26 shots.
Canucks 4, Sabres 3 (OT)
Conor Garland capped a two-goal performance by scoring 3:59 into overtime to fuel visiting Vancouver to a victory over Buffalo.
Garland, who extended his point streak to a career-high seven games, ended the game after cleaning up a loose puck in the crease following a shot by defenseman Quinn Hughes. It was his eighth goal of the season, giving Vancouver wins in three of its past four.
Buffalo’s Dylan Cozens and Alex Touch scored 99 seconds apart in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie. Defenseman Bowen Byram also tallied, Zach Benson had two assists and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 18 shots for the Sabres, who have lost two in a row.
Blue Jackets 5, Flames 2
Kirill Marchenko had a goal and two assists while Adam Fantilli registered his first multi-goal game of the season to lead Columbus past visiting Calgary. It was the teams’ first matchup since the deaths of former Blue Jackets and Flames star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew over the summer.
Zach Werenski (one goal, one assist) and Kent Johnson also scored and Elvis Merzlikins made 27 saves for the Blue Jackets, whose five-game point streak (4-0-1) is their longest since 2021. Dmitri Voronkov added a pair of assists.
Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri scored for the Flames, who are 0-2-1 since a four-game win streak. Dustin Wolf stopped 29 shots.
Panthers 6, Hurricanes 3
A.J. Greer put Florida ahead in the third period as the Panthers withstood a Carolina comeback to win 6-3 in Raleigh, N.C.
Sam Reinhart scored his NHL-leading 18th goal and Jesper Boqvist, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett also scored for the Panthers, who’ve followed a four-game skid with two wins in three days. Aaron Ekblad and Eetu Luostraien supplied two assists apiece and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots.
Seth Jarvis, Sean Walker and Eric Robinson scored for the Hurricanes, whose nine-game home winning streak was halted. Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists and Spencer Martin made 24 saves.
Lightning 3, Predators 2 (OT)
Brayden Point’s 16th goal just 1:01 into overtime lifted Tampa Bay to a win over host Nashville.
Point scored his NHL-leading ninth power-play goal off a slick feed from Nikita Kucherov to give the Lightning their fifth win in eight games (5-2-1).
Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel also scored for the Lightning. Victor Hedman assisted on Hagel’s tally, giving him 588 career helpers and tying him with Martin St. Louis for the most in Tampa Bay history. Roman Josi scored both of Nashville’s goals and Juuse Saros stopped 25 shots as the club fell to 2-2-2 in its past six contests.
Oilers 4, Utah 3 (OT)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored at 1:18 of overtime as Edmonton edged the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist and Vasily Podkolzin also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 6-2-1 over their past nine games. Evan Bouchard logged two assists and Calvin Pickard made 28 saves in the win.
Alexander Kerfoot, Logan Cooley and Lawson Crouse tallied for Utah, which has lost five of its last seven (2-4-1). Karel Vejmelka stopped 28 shots.
Flyers 3, Rangers 1
Travis Konecny scored twice as Philadelphia nipped visiting New York.
Bobby Brink also scored and Ivan Fedotov made 22 saves for the Flyers, who improved to 3-0-1 over their past four games. Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen recorded an assist in a fourth straight game.
The Rangers dropped their fifth straight contest despite 32 saves from Igor Shesterkin. Vincent Trocheck scored the lone goal for New York.
Devils 5, Red Wings 4
Stefan Noesen scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period as visiting New Jersey held on for a victory over Detroit.
Dougie Hamilton, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes each had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who won for the ninth time in 12 games. Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Lucas Raymond, Tyler Motte and Justin Holl had the goals for the Red Wings, who had won three of their previous four games. Tarasenko and J.T. Compher (two assists) each had a two-point performance. Cam Talbot, playing in his 500th career game, made 24 saves.
Sharks 8, Kraken 5
Jake Walman scored twice and Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist as San Jose defeated visiting Seattle.
Will Smith, Mikael Granlund and Klim Kostin also had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who play Saturday at Seattle. Timothy Liljegren and Ethan Cardwell also scored, William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund added two assists apiece and Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves.
Shane Wright scored twice and Chandler Stephenson had a goal and two helpers for the Kraken, who lost for the sixth time in their past seven road games. Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and an assist, Yanni Gourde also tallied and Ryker Evans added two assists. Philipp Grubauer stopped 19 shots and dropped to 1-7-0 this season.
Golden Knights 4, Jets 3
Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev each scored twice as Vegas defeated Winnipeg in Las Vegas.
Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev each had two assists and Adin Hill made 22 stops for the Golden Knights, who have won four of their past five games (4-0-1).
Cole Perfetti scored twice for the Jets, both assisted by Josh Morrissey. Neal Pionk also scored in the loss. Eric Comrie turned aside 26 shots for Winnipeg, which has dropped three of four.
Penguins 2, Bruins 1
Philip Tomasino scored his first goal of the season in the third period to propel visiting Pittsburgh to a comeback win over Boston.
A 23-year-old former first-round pick who was acquired from the Nashville Predators in a deal on Monday, Tomasino netted the go-ahead goal with 12:34 left. Tristan Jarry stopped 31 of Boston’s 32 shots and Rickard Rakell scored the Penguins’ first goal en route to their second straight win.
Charlie Coyle scored and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves for Boston, which is now 3-2-0 under interim head coach Joe Sacco.
Kings 2, Ducks 1
Erik Portillo made 28 saves to pick up the win in his NHL debut as Los Angeles rallied to edge host Anaheim.
Alex Laferriere had a goal and an assist and Alex Turcotte also scored for the Kings, who won for the second straight game and for the 11th time in the past 12 meetings with Anaheim in their Freeway Face-Off rivalry series.
Ryan Strome scored a goal and John Gibson made 16 saves for Anaheim. The Ducks took just their second regulation loss (4-2-1) in their past seven games.
Stars 5, Avalanche 3
Mason Marchment had two goals and an assist and Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin had a goal and an assist each as host Dallas beat Colorado.
Roope Hintz also scored, Jake Oettinger stopped 29 shots and Miro Heiskanen had two assists for the Stars, who snapped a two-game skid.
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist, Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen also scored, Cale Makar had two assists and Alexandar Georgiev made 19 saves for the Avalanche.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Matt Boldy, Wild make big statement, rout Stars in series opener
Apr 18, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) celebrates center Joel Eriksson Ek (14) gaol against there Dallas Stars in the first period in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images Matt Boldy had two goals and an assist for the visiting Minnesota Wild in a 6-1 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series on Saturday.
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice, Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist, and Mats Zuccarello had three assists for the Wild, who are trying to win their first playoff series since 2015 after getting eliminated in the opening round eight times since then.
Jesper Wallstedt got the start over Filip Gustavsson and the rookie made 27 saves for Minnesota.
Jason Robertson scored and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for Dallas, which lost Game 1 of its first-round series 5-1 against the Colorado Avalanche last season before rebounding and eventually reaching to the Western Conference Finals.
Minnesota was on the first power play of the game when Zuccarello passed the puck from above the left faceoff circle to Boldy just below the goal line. He made a touch pass to Eriksson Ek cutting into the slot area and Ek scored with a one-timer from the left hash marks for a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period.
Minnesota scored 56 seconds into the second period to extend the lead to 2-0.
Kaprizov received a pass along the wall in the Dallas zone after he was left alone coming down the right side. He had room to skate just below the right faceoff dot before scoring shortside with a wrist shot for his 16th career playoff goal, tying Zach Parise for the most in franchise history.
Brock Faber shot a bouncing puck from just above the left circle that Hartman redirected into the net from in front of the crease to make it 3-0 at 3:28.
Boldy made it 4-0 at 6:30 when he tapped in a loose puck from the side of the net.
Robertson backhanded the puck into the net from in close while on a power play to cut it to 4-1 at 15:10 of the second period.
Eriksson Ek tacked on a power-play goal at 8:13 of the third period to make it 5-1, and Boldy scored into an empty net with 3:08 left for a 6-1 lead.
Game 2 is Monday in Dallas.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gavin Williams fans 11 in gem as Guardians stifle O's
Apr 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (32) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Brayan Rocchio hit a three-run homer and Gavin Williams pitched seven strong innings to lead the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
Bo Naylor also homered for the Guardians, who won for just the second time in the past five games. Cleveland had just three hits.
Williams (3-1) struck out 11 and allowed one run, three hits and one walk. It marked the second time this season and sixth time overall that he has struck out 10 or more in a game.
Cade Smith fanned the side in the ninth for his fifth save.
Leody Taveras and Gunnar Henderson (two hits) hit solo homers for Baltimore, which had just four hits while losing for the fourth time in the past five games.
Dean Kremer (0-1) pitched six innings for the Orioles and gave up three runs and two hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
Baltimore’s Pete Alonso and Colin Cowser struck out in all four at-bats. Dylan Beavers fanned three times as 16 Orioles went down on strikes.
Taveras came up with one out in the fourth and drilled a 1-0 curveball from Williams over the fence to right for the game’s first run.
Meanwhile, Kremer tossed 4 1/3 no-hit innings and his walk to Rhys Hoskins was followed by Daniel Schneemann’s line single to right. After Naylor fanned, Rocchio jumped on a 2-2 fastball from Kremer and deposited the ball over the fence in right to give the Guardians a 3-1 lead.
Williams picked up where he left off after the Taveras homer by retiring the final 11 batters he faced.
Hunter Gaddis replaced Williams and Henderson touched him up for a one-out solo shot to right in the eighth.
But Naylor got the run back leading off the bottom of the inning when he launched a 1-1 changeup from Albert Suarez into the bleachers in right.
Smith fanned Beavers, Cowser and Taveras while closing it out as Cleveland gained a 2-1 edge in a series that concludes Sunday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyler Reddick rules AdventHealth 400 qualifying, collects another pole
May 11, 2025; Kansas City, Kansas, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick (45) races during the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A fourth victory from the pole position would suit Tyler Reddick just fine after the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota prevailed in Saturday’s highly competitive qualifying session at Kansas Speedway.
Reddick toured the 1.5-mile speedway in 29.142 seconds (185.300 mph) to claim his third pole of the season, his second at Kansas and the 14th of his career.
In doing so, Reddick edged his car owner, Denny Hamlin (185.179 mph), by 0.019 seconds for the top starting spot in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, the ninth NASCAR Cup Series race of the year.
The pole was the fifth in the last six Kansas races for Toyota drivers.
The 2026 season already has been a remarkable one for Reddick, who won the first three races and added a fourth victory March 22 at Darlington Raceway. Reddick’s last three wins have come from the pole position: at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta (starting on metrics after a qualifying rainout), Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and at Darlington.
Should Reddick win on Sunday, he would become the fourth driver in Cup Series history –and the first since Dale Earnhardt in 1987 — to win five of the first nine events of a season. Reddick tops the series standings with a 62-point edge over second-place Ryan Blaney.
“We had a lot of good handling in our car for Atlanta,” Reddick said of his and his team’s ability to convert qualifying speed into race wins. “COTA, obviously I felt like the 12 (Blaney) and Shane (van Gisbergen) were really strong. I think just good handling, handling that you can trust, handling that stays with you in the long run (really helps). So, Darlington, same thing.
“Here, the speeds were a bit higher, and I didn’t know if we’d be able to get the pole, but it was really nice to see that the handling that we have, the short-run speed that we have, appears to be all there today.”
Bristol winner Ty Gibbs and defending series champion Kyle Larson posted identical times (29.192 seconds for 184.982 mph) and will start third and fourth, respectively, with Gibbs getting the nod on owner points. Larson is the two-time defending winner of the spring race at Kansas.
Chase Briscoe qualified fifth at 184.938 mph as Toyotas claimed four of the top five starting positions. Carson Hocevar was sixth, followed by Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Blaney and Bubba Wallace.
–NASCAR Wire Service
Matt Boldy, Wild make big statement, rout Stars in series opener
Gavin Williams fans 11 in gem as Guardians stifle O's
