Sports
Sharks must win and get some help in home finale vs. Canucks
Apr 8, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Kiefer Sherwood (44) checks Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm (14) into the boards in the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images The clock is ticking for the San Jose Sharks to get into a playoff position, and they will try to make up ground when they host the Vancouver Canucks in Saturday night’s home finale.
Saturday’s game marks the fourth and final meeting of the season between these division rivals. San Jose has won all three meetings this season, outscoring Vancouver 14-7 in the process.
It’s crunch time for the Sharks (37-34-7, 81 points), who sit just four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference standings. Unfortunately, they are coming off two straight losses after dropping both ends of a back-to-back, falling to division foes who are trying to lock up top playoff positions.
On Wednesday, Connor McDavid had a five-point night, including a hat trick, and the visiting Edmonton Oilers defense held the Sharks to just 14 shots on the evening. The following night, defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin scored the lone goal for San Jose in a 6-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
John Carlson got his first career hat trick on Thursday night for the Ducks, who rallied for three third-period goals against the visiting Sharks. San Jose didn’t get its first shot on goal until 13:12 and was outshot 10-5 in the first period. Anaheim outshot San Jose 30-19 on the night.
“It’s not good enough this time of the year,” Sharks forward Kiefer Sherwood said. “We can’t be outwilled or outworked. It’s unacceptable. It doesn’t matter if it’s a back-to-back.”
He continued: “The other team wanted it more, and same thing tonight. We have to learn from it, and we’ve got to look inwards here a little bit. We’re changing the standard. It’s not OK to lose, it’s not OK to lose battles.”
Meanwhile, the Canucks (22-48-8, 52 points) were one of the first teams eliminated from playoff contention. They could be spoilers for their Western Conference opponents, but have lost four straight games and nine of their last 10. Vancouver has been outscored 18-8 over their current skid, which includes a 4-1 loss to the Kings on Thursday.
Marcus Pettersson scored the lone goal for Vancouver to tie Thursday’s game 1-1 at 14:17 of the first period. Joel Armia put the Kings back in front at 15:48.
“I think (Canucks netminder Nikita Tolopilo) would have wanted that one back, I think,” Canucks head coach Adam Foote said. “It was 1-1, and they get the next one and we got frustrated.”
Tolopilo, who hasn’t won a game since March 12, made 22 saves in the loss.
“At 3-1 going into the second (period), it felt like we deserved more,” Foote said. “We were forechecking hard. We weren’t spending as much time in our end.”
“They capitalized on our mistakes,” Pettersson added. “We had good jump throughout the game. Played some good hockey. But they were lethal, capitalizing on when we gave up looks and easy goals against. (We’ve got to) keep building. We played some good hockey, but we’ve got to clean up the mistakes.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros place OF Joey Loperfido (quad) on injured list
Apr 11, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Joey Loperfido (10) is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring a run during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images The Houston Astros placed outfielder Joey Loperfido on the injured list with a right quad strain on Sunday and recalled right-hander Jayden Murray from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Loperfido, 26, was batting .259 with six RBIs in 20 games this season. He started at least one game in all three outfield positions.
Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024 and then re-acquired via trade in February, Loperfido is a career .249 major league hitter with eight home runs and 45 RBIs in 142 games over three seasons.
Murray, 29, had one appearance earlier this season and has a 2.63 ERA in 10 games over the past two seasons for the Astros. His addition increases Houston’s staff to 13 pitchers.
Also on Sunday, the Astros traded minor league right-hander Wilmy Sanchez to the New York Yankees for infielder Braden Shewmake, a former first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2019.
In 31 major league games for the Braves and Chicago White Sox, Shewmake, 28, is batting .118 with a home run and four RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bryson DeChambeau (wrist) WDs from LIV Golf Mexico City
Apr 10, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Bryson DeChambeau reacts after his ball rolled down the slope on the 18th green during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images Bryson DeChambeau cited a wrist injury on Sunday for the reason he withdrew prior to the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City on Sunday in Naucalpan, Mexico.
“I experienced some discomfort in my wrist during (Saturday’s round) and have decided to withdraw from the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City to prevent further injury,” DeChambeau wrote on X. “Not how I wanted this week to go, but wishing the Crushers a strong finish. I’m going to take a few days to get evaluated and hope to be ready for LIV Golf Virginia.”
DeChambeau entered the final round at 2-over-par 215 at Club De Golf Chapultepec, 16 strokes behind leader Jon Rahm of Spain. DeChambeau hasn’t been too shy about complaining about the course conditions of the event, doing so on Friday for the second straight year.
DeChambeau, 32, prevailed in a playoff in consecutive weeks in March by winning at both LIV Golf Singapore and LIV Golf South Africa. The two-time U.S. Open champion has won five LIV Golf titles.
–Field Level Media
Sports
ATP roundup: Ben Shelton shows love of clay, wins BMW title
Ben Shelton connects with the ball during his second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Friday, March 6, 2026. Ben Shelton rolled to his second title of the year, winning the BMW Open with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli at Munich, Germany.
Shelton won 85% of his first-serve points on the clay surface and saved all six break points he faced to win his fifth career title and first since Dallas earlier this year. Shelton showed his form early when he broke Cobolli’s serve twice in the first three games of the match.
With the second set tied 5-5, Shelton broke Cobolli again and won on serve on his first match point. Shelton became the first American man since 2009 to win three ATP 500 titles.
“I have big ambitions for the clay courts,” Shelton said in his post-match interview. “It is a surface I want to get better on each year. It is slowly becoming one of my favorite surfaces to play on.”
Barcelona Open
Arthur Fils of France held off a late charge from Russia’s Andrey Rublev to record a 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory in the final of the tournament.
Fils won his first title since returning in February after missing eight months because of a back injury.
Fils was well on his way to victory after cruising in the first set and leading 5-2 in the second before Rublev dug in his heels. Rublev broke Fils’ serve to pull within 5-4 in the second set, then staved off one match point to make it 5-5.
Rublev broke serve again to lead 6-5 in the second set before Fils finally regained control and finished off the match in a tiebreak.
“The end of the second set was just about the mental (pressure),” Fils said. “The whole match was a bit tough because I was a bit tight. I played well for a set and a half, but when I had to close, I started to think a little. But I’m very happy with the way I played the tiebreak.”
–Field Level Media
Astros place OF Joey Loperfido (quad) on injured list
Bryson DeChambeau (wrist) WDs from LIV Golf Mexico City
