Sports
NHL roundup: Steven Stamkos finishes hat trick in OT to lift Preds
Mar 4, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) gets set for a face-off during the second period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images Steven Stamkos completed a hat trick in overtime to lift the Nashville Predators to a 3-2 win against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
Stamkos fired a one-timer from the left circle at 2:39 of the extra frame for his 14th career hat trick.
Justus Annunen made 17 saves for the Predators, who have won three straight.
Alex Vlasic and Ilya Mikheyev scored for the Blackhawks, who are 3-0-2 in their past five games. Arvid Soderblom made 38 saves.
Flames 1, Canadiens 0
Rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf recorded his third shutout of the season and his career while backstopping host Calgary to a shutout victory over Montreal.
Joel Farabee scored the game’s lone goal for the Flames, who moved back into the Western Conference’s second wild-card position. Wolf made 26 saves in an excellent goaltending battle to pitch the goose egg in his team’s first game at home after a six-game road trip. He is the first rookie goaltender in franchise history to record three shutouts in a season.
Jakub Dobes, another freshman netminder, stopped 23 shots for the Canadiens, who had their streak of earning points snapped at six games.
Panthers 4, Sabres 0
Vitek Vanecek made 21 saves in his Panthers debut, and defenseman Nate Schmidt provided two primary assists as Florida defeated visiting Buffalo in Sunrise, Fla.
Florida has won six straight games, and the Panthers have never trailed during that span. The Panthers are also 19-for-19 on the penalty kill in those six games. A.J. Greer, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett (empty-netter) scored on Saturday for the Panthers.
Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves.
Senators 4, Rangers 3 (OT)
Brady Tkachuk scored his second goal of the game 33 seconds into overtime as host Ottawa stormed back for a victory over New York to move into the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot.
Tkachuk scored Ottawa’s first goal just over four minutes into the second and then capped the comeback with a quick shot from the left circle that sailed by goalie Igor Shesterkin’s stick. Ridly Greig and Michael Amadio scored in the final 9:44 of regulation to help Ottawa move one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Artemi Panarin gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead by scoring for the fourth straight game 7:08 into the third. Carson Soucy scored 8:37 into the first and Mika Zibanejad scored 3:55 into the second, 11 seconds before Tkachuk’s first goal.
Kings 2, Blues 1 (OT)
Quinton Byfield scored the game-winning goal 27 seconds into overtime for Los Angeles, which snapped a five-game losing streak with a win over visiting St. Louis.
Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings off assists from Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson, whose stickwork prevented the Blues from scoring less than a minute into the game. Adrian Kempe assisted on Byfield’s second overtime goal of the season, and Darcy Kuemper stopped 19 shots.
Nick Leddy, who missed 45 games because of a lower-body injury, registered his first goal of the season. Jake Neighbours and Zachary Bolduc earned assists for the Blues. Joel Hofer made 21 saves.
Oilers 5, Stars 4
Zach Hyman had two goals and an assist for Edmonton in a win against visiting Dallas.
Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist, Viktor Arvidsson and Connor Brown also scored and Stuart Skinner made 21 saves for Edmonton, which has won three of four following a season-long five-game losing streak.
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his first game with the Stars, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored and Jake Oettinger made 22 saves for Dallas in the opener of a four-game road trip.
Kraken 4, Flyers 1
Matty Beniers had a goal and an assist and goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves for his first victory since Dec. 30 as Seattle defeated host Philadelphia.
Tye Kartye, Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour also tallied as the Kraken snapped a two-game losing streak. Kartye and Grubauer were both making their first NHL appearances in more than a month after being recalled from Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League.
Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers, who dropped to 0-3-0 on their seven-game homestand. Samuel Ersson stopped 28 of 32 shots.
Bruins 4, Lightning 0
Goaltender Jeremy Swayman broke a personal six-game losing streak with his fourth shutout as Boston, depleted by an active NHL trade deadline, blanked host Tampa Bay.
Swayman made 26 saves, including an incredible stick stop on Brandon Hagel in front of an open cage with 15:40 left, for his 16th career shutout and first win since Feb. 4 (1-4-2). Boston won for just the second time in 10 matches (2-6-2).
In the Bruins’ first game since trading captain Brad Marchand on Friday and playing without injured defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, former Lightning forward Cole Koepke scored twice for his first career multi-goal game and Nikita Zadorov added an empty-net goal. Mark Kastelic scored in his 200th NHL game.
Avalanche 7, Maple Leafs 4
Valeri Nichushkin had three goals for his first career regular-season hat trick, Nathan MacKinnon had two goals to reach 100 points for the season, and Colorado rallied with four third-period goals to beat Toronto in Denver.
Joel Kiviranta and Jonathan Drouin also had goals, Ross Colton and Sam Malinski finished with two assists each and Mackenzie Blackwood made 17 saves for Colorado. Nichushkin also has a postseason hat trick. He assisted on MacKinnon’s empty-net goal at 19:07, which was his 999th career point.
Mitch Marner and John Tavares scored two goals apiece, Auston Matthews had three assists, William Nylander contributed two assists and Anthony Stolarz turned away 27 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have dropped three in a row.
Islanders 4, Sharks 2
Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a goal and two assists for retooled New York, which beat host San Jose in the Islanders’ first game without Brock Nelson, who spent his entire 12-year career with New York before he was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
Anthony Duclair scored in the first period, and Anders Lee and Adam Boqvist scored in the third for the Islanders, who have won four of five (4-1-0) to move within three points of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves.
Nikolai Kovalenko scored in the second and Will Smith had a goal late in the third for the Sharks, who lost for the 19th time in 23 games (4-16-3). San Jose has 43 points, the fewest in the NHL Goalie Alexander Georgiev recorded 24 saves.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series
May 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Best Mothers Day gifts: Show mom some love
