NHL roundup: Leon Draisaitl's 51st goal lifts Oilers in OT
Mar 29, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal scored by forward Leon Draisaitl (29), his 50th of the season, during the third period against the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images Leon Draisaitl’s second goal of the night — his 51st of the season — in a three-point game was the overtime winner to give the host Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 comeback victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Viktor Arvidsson also scored for the Oilers, who snapped a two-game skid. Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 26 saves for Edmonton, who are even with the Los Angeles Kings in points for second place in the Pacific Division but have played one more game.
Draisaitl, the first NHL player to score 50 goals this season, returned after missing four games due to injury, but Edmonton was without fellow superstar Connor McDavid for a fourth consecutive outing. No. 1 goaltender Stuart Skinner and defenseman Mattias Ekholm are also out.
Yegor Sharangovich and Brayden Pachal each scored goals, with Pachal also collecting one assist for the Flames. Calgary is seven points outside a playoff position but has three games in hand on the St. Louis Blues, who hold the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. Goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 26 shots.
Stars 5, Kraken 1
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, while Jason Robertson added one of each as Dallas clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs by beating host Seattle.
Rantanen scored an empty-net goal to earn his first three-point game since coming to Dallas at the trade deadline It was his fourth straight game with a point, and Robertson notched his third consecutive multi-point game. Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist, while Mason Marchment and Wyatt Johnston scored as well. Jake Oettinger stopped 35 shots.
Eeli Tolvanen scored off assists from Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky, but it was far from enough as Seattle lost for the fourth time in five games. Joey Daccord finished with 16 saves.
Golden Knights 3, Predators 1
Reilly Smith broke a third-period deadlock and Vegas ran its winning streak to six games with a road victory over Nashville.
Jack Eichel and Brett Howden also scored for the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights, who have only two regulation-time defeats in 15 games (11-2-2). Goaltender Adin Hill made 23 saves in a solid goaltending battle that capped his team’s perfect three-game road trip.
Ryan O’Reilly replied for the Predators, who have only two wins in nine outings. Goalie Justus Annunen stopped 26 shots for Nashville, which has been eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention.
Rangers 6, Sharks 1
Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox scored two goals apiece for visiting New York, which moved into the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot by routing San Jose.
Jonny Brodzinski and Vincent Trocheck also scored for the Rangers, who won for just the second time in seven games (2-4-1). Goalie Jonathan Quick carried a shutout deep into the third and finished with 21 saves.
Cam Lund scored his first NHL goal in his second game with 2:14 left for the league-worst Sharks, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. Alexander Georgiev, who opened his career by spending five seasons with the Rangers, recorded 27 saves.
Lightning 5, Islanders 3
Nikita Kucherov registered a goal and three assists as Tampa Bay rode a three-goal first period en route to a sweep of their three-game homestand in a win against New York.
Kucherov, Nick Perbix and Brayden Point all potted first-period goals for the Lightning. Point added his team-high 38th tally in the second period off a pass from Kucherov, whose three points gave him 11 on the red-hot homestand and 109 overall. Backup Jonas Johansson made his first start since March 13 and stopped 35 shots.
In dropping their fourth straight (0-2-2), the Islanders hurt their wild-card playoff chances and sit three points back of the New York Rangers, who hold the second wild-card spot. Ryan Pulock, Marc Gatcomb and Tony DeAngelo each scored, while goalie Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves.
Blues 2, Avalanche 1
Pavel Buchnevich scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and surging St. Louis beat Colorado in Denver.
Zack Bolduc also scored, Robert Thomas had two assists and Jordan Binnington turned away 28 shots for St. Louis, which has won nine in a row — the longest current streak in the NHL.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and Mackenzie Blackwood had 25 saves for Colorado, which had its 11-game home winning streak snapped. MacKinnon’s goal extended his home point streak to 24 games.
Maple Leafs 3, Kings 1
John Tavares’ first of two third-period goals broke a tie and Toronto rallied with three goals in the period for a win over host Los Angeles.
Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who won for the second time in four games (2-1-1). Anthony Stolarz stopped 35 shots.
Alex Laferriere scored for the Kings, who lost their second straight. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves.
Devils 5, Wild 2
Nico Hischier scored a hat trick to lift New Jersey to a win over Minnesota in Saint Paul, Minn.
Paul Cotter and Tomas Tatar also scored for New Jersey, which bounced back from a shutout loss one night earlier. Jesper Bratt had two assists. Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom turned aside 22 of 24 shots to earn the win.
Marcus Foligno had a goal and an assist for Minnesota. Ryan Hartman also scored a goal. Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson allowed five goals on 33 shots.
Senators 3, Blue Jackets 2
Jake Sanderson scored the eventual game-winner as Ottawa topped visiting Columbus to win for the ninth time in its last 12 games (9-3-0).
Ridly Greig scored and added an assist, and Drake Batherson also tallied for the Senators. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves, and Shane Pinto added a pair of helpers as the Senators moved to 21-10-2 on home ice this season.
Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko responded for Columbus, while Zach Werenski added a pair of assists. Daniil Tarasov stopped 24 shots for the Blue Jackets, who won just three of their last 12 games (3-8-1).
Flyers 7, Sabres 4
Ryan Poehling had two goals and one assist and Matvei Michkov also had two goals to help Philadelphia beat visiting Buffalo.
Noah Cates had a goal and two assists, Tyson Foerster had a goal and an assist, Jakob Pelletier scored a goal while Owen Tippett, Bobby Brink and Travis Konecny had two assists for the Flyers, who have won their first two games under interim coach Brad Shaw. Samuel Ersson made 17 saves for Philadelphia.
Jack Quinn had two goals and an assist, JJ Peterka had a goal and an assist, Alex Tuch had a goal and Ryan McLeod had three assists for Buffalo. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves for the Sabres.
Red Wings 2, Bruins 1
Marco Kasper scored an unassisted goal in the first period and Lucas Raymond scored in the second as host Detroit edged slumping Boston.
Cam Talbot made 20 saves as the Red Wings won for just the fourth time in their last 15 games.
Morgan Geekie scored the Boston goal and Jeremy Swayman stopped 20 shots. The Bruins have lost eight straight and 16 of their last 19. It’s the longest slide for Boston since the 2009-10 season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cody Bellinger homers twice, as Yankees eclipse Royals
Apr 18, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) hits a two run home run against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Cody Bellinger homered twice and collected five RBIs Saturday afternoon, and the New York Yankees easily recorded a 13-4 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.
The Yankees notched their most lopsided win this season after their previous five victories were decided in the final at-bat.
Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer, and Ben Rice hit a solo shot during a five-run third off Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron. (1-1).
Rosario started the scoring with his two-run blast to left after a three-base error by Kansas City center fielder Kyle Isbel.
J.C. Escarra hit a fly ball to the warning track in center field, and the ball was not caught when Isbel and right fielder Jac Caglianone converged. Isbel knocked the ball out of Caglianone’s glove and was charged with a three-base error.
After Rosario’s homer, Aaron Judge walked, then Bellinger sent a first-pitch slider into the second deck in right. Rice homered two batters later when he hit a fastball into the right field seats for his third straight game with a homer.
Bellinger homered again in the sixth off Mitch Spence for a 10-0 lead. It was Bellinger’s 20th career multi-homer game and his eighth game with at least five RBIs.
Bellinger also had an RBI single in between homers. Rosario added a run-scoring single in the sixth and Escarra contributed an RBI double in the fourth.
Escarra also drove in two with his first career triple in the seventh as the Yankees collected 11 hits. Randal Grichuk added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for his first RBI with New York.
New York’s Will Warren (2-0) allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. The right-hander matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts and walked none.
The Royals dropped their sixth straight. Kansas City was blanked until Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the seventh and got a two-run double from Michael Massey in the ninth.
Cameron was shelled for a career-worst seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in four innings.
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro was tossed by second base umpire Nestor Ceja before Cameron threw a pitch after the Royals batted in the first.
–Field Level Media
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 19, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will be a little easier if you love baseball.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
Mashable Top Stories
Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: AL East Teams
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Green: First Words of Football Positions
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Blue: Premier League Managers
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Purple: Nicknames for the Dodgers Franchise, Over Time
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #573 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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AL East Teams — BLUE JAYS, ORIOLES, RAYS, YANKEES
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First Words of Football Positions — DEFENSIVE, RUNNING, TIGHT, WIDE
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Premier League Managers — EMERY, GUARDIOLA, MOYES, SLOT
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Nicknames for the Dodgers Franchise, Over Time — BRIDEGROOMS, DODGERS, ROBINS, SUPERBAS
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Sports
Blazers face Victor Wembanyama, Spurs to open playoffs
Apr 8, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images The Portland Trail Blazers will get their first look of the season at erstwhile league MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama when they travel to San Antonio to play the Spurs on Sunday in their opening game of the first round playoff series.
The Trail Blazers (42-40) clinched the seventh seed and a meeting with the second-seeded Spurs with a 114-110 road win over Phoenix on Tuesday in the West’s 7 vs. 8 matchup in the play-in tournament. That victory allowed Portland to earn its first trip to the playoffs since 2021.
San Antonio has won two of the three games with the Trail Blazers this year — most recently a 112-101 decision at home on April 8 — but Wembanyama missed all three contests with injuries. That doesn’t bode well for Portland’s chances to upset the Spurs, who lost just four times in their 34 games since March 1.
“He will play in the fourth game,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said about Wembanyama. “That feels good.”
Wembanyama’s numbers this season — 1,600 points, 736 rebounds, 199 assists, 197 blocked shots, 122 3-pointers –are a combination never before produced in the NBA. Portland acting head coach Tiago Splitter said his team will employ a combined effort to try to slow the Spurs’ star center.
“Of course Wembanyama is a big emphasis for us both offensively and defensively,” Splitter explained. “He’s a 7-foot-5 guy that can handle the ball, shoot, guard the rim, guard the perimeter and brings something different that other teams don’t have.
“Every game is a team effort,” Splitter added. “Stay connected on offense. Share the ball, play together. It’s a big team effort on both ends of the court.”
Deni Avdija led the way for Portland in Tuesday’s win, scoring 41 points that included his three-point play with 16.1 seconds remaining that capped the Blazers’ comeback from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit.
San Antonio had the second-best record in the NBA this season at 62-20, trailing only defending champion Oklahoma City. The Spurs are on the hunt for their sixth NBA title in franchise history and are one of the favorites to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.
But this is lofty company for San Antonio, which hasn’t earned a spot in the playoffs since 2019. The Spurs are just the fourth team in league history to win 60 games in a season a year after they won less than 35.
“I can’t really help but dream about it, of course,” Wembanyama said about the team’s quest for a championship. “But we have to stay grounded, stay in the moment. And before even thinking about Game 1, I have to think about showing up the right way. Practice, doing all my stuff, preparing, being locked in on the scouts.”
San Antonio is far from a one-man team. The Spurs had seven players average in double-figure scoring, with Wembanyama leading the way at 25 points per game in 65 contests. De’Aaron Fox was second at 18.6 points, and Stephon Castle (who had five triple doubles) racking up 16.7 points.
“We know where we are,” Johnson said this week. “We will be ourselves. We’ll be excited to play. If that means we come out in the first three minutes and there’s some nerves, I think that’s excitement. But I think we’ll get back to being ourselves. That’s what I expect.
“As soon as we can get back to making it the basketball game we’ve been playing all year, we’ll be in a good spot.”
Game 2 will be Tuesday night in the Alamo City before switching to Portland for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and April 26, respectively.
–Field Level Media
Cody Bellinger homers twice, as Yankees eclipse Royals
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 19, 2026
