Sports
Tage Thompson, Sabres seek season-series clincher vs. Panthers
Feb 25, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) celebrates his goal against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images The Buffalo Sabres want to tighten their hold on a playoff spot. The Florida Panthers are hoping to inch closer to postseason position. Each will look to do that when the Sabres face the Panthers on Friday in Sunrise, Fla.
Buffalo is coming off a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday in its first outing following the NHL’s hiatus for the Winter Olympics. The Sabres sit in the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot — five points clear of the first team on the wrong side of the cutoff line.
“We have something really good going here and I think every point, especially at this point in the season, going forward, is crucial for us,” Sabres forward Tage Thompson said. “Especially against teams in the East. … It was a big one (on Wednesday). It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we found a way to get it done.”
After a whirlwind few days with lots of travel and celebrations in the aftermath of winning a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics, Thompson joined his team for the morning skate on Wednesday. He then had a goal and an assist in 19:19 of ice time to extend his point streak to five games (three goals, three assists) and bring his season totals to 31 goals and 30 assists.
“It kind of shows the character of the guy and how bad he wants to help us win here,” teammate Peyton Krebs said.
Krebs has been filling in at left wing on the top line with Thompson and Alex Tuch in the absence of injured winger Zach Benson. The 25-year-old Krebs, whose tally against the Devils stood as the game-winner, has enjoyed a solid stretch of late after a slow start to the season. He also had an assist against New Jersey, giving him 11 points (five goals, six assists) over his past 12 games.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a 5-1 win against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday in their return to action, giving them two victories in the past three games. They scored three times in the first period before adding a pair of empty-net goals late in the third.
The result pulled Florida within eight points of the final Eastern Conference wild-card position, held by the Boston Bruins. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions are nine points behind Buffalo.
“Everybody understands what we need to do, and that’s very important,” goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said. “It’s a big win, it’s a big two points for us, but (Friday) is another biggest game of the year.”
Brad Marchand scored twice in the win to give him 27 goals on the season, tying him with Sam Reinhart for the team lead. Marchand has 52 points, second among the Panthers behind Reinhart’s 56.
“At the end of the day, the (standings) points are what matter, right?” Marchand said. “We did some good things, thought we played really well for having a few weeks off as a group. There are a few things we can work on, but great start.”
The Friday contest will be the last of four meetings between the Atlantic Division foes. Buffalo won the most recent tilt, 5-3 at Florida on Feb. 2, and is 2-1-0 in the season series.
–Field Level Media
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
Sports
CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls
Apr 18, 2026; Montreal, Province of Quebec, CAN; CF Montreal forward Prince Owusu (9) celebrates with teammate midfielder Victor Loturi (22) after scoring a goal against the Red Bull New York during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Prince Owusu recorded a goal and three assists as CF Montreal bested the visiting New York Red Bulls 4-1 in the home side’s first match under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy.
Owusu scored his fifth goal of the season, as Montreal (2-6-0, 6 points) claimed their 100th win all-time at Stade Saputo.
Montreal strode past the visitors’ backline with relative ease in the early going. Red Bulls (3-3-2, 11 points) captain Emil Forsberg failed to control a hurried pass from his goalkeeper, allowing Owusu to play in Victor Loturi, who blasted it past Ethan Horvath in the fifth minute to make it 1-0.
Owusu nearly extended their lead soon after when Ivan Jaime played him through on a one-on-one. The towering center forward opted to hold the ball up before sending it wide of goal.
Owusu made no mistake on his 39th-minute penalty, catching out Horvath with a sly stutter step and slotting it into the left corner to make it 2-0. The penalty came as a result of Dylan Nealis’s handball.
Montreal’s Matty Longstaff knocked balls into both nets at the start of the second half. Longstaff met Owusu’s perfectly threaded through ball to make it 3-0 in the 49th minute. The English midfielder then overhit an attempted backpass to goalkeeper Thomas Gillier four minutes later and inadvertently brought the Red Bulls back within two.
More than the flurry of goals, the single biggest change in Montreal’s approach was in their defensive setup. Eullaffroy’s zonal marking stood in stark contrast to Marco Donadel’s aggressive man-marking, the Red Bulls managing just one shot on goal all game long. Eullaffroy also started Samuel Piette in the midfield after the Montreal captain remained on the bench in their last two outings.
Owusu chipped the ball over Matthew Dos Santos and into the path of Kwadwo Opoku, who guided it into the open net to restore Montreal’s three-goal lead.
The victory marked Montreal’s first at home since August of last year. Both of Montreal’s wins this season have come against the Red Bulls. New York, meanwhile, has won just one of its last six league matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets
Apr 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pinch-hitter Carson Kelly (15) hits a three-run homer against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Carson Kelly hit a tie-breaking three-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon for the host Chicago Cubs, who beat the skidding New York Mets 4-2.
The pinch-hit homer was the second of Kelly’s career and his first since Aug. 25, 2021, when he went deep for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Anthony Banda.
Ian Happ homered in the second for the Cubs, who have won four straight and have scored 51 runs while winning five of their last six games. Chicago scored 59 runs in its first 14 games this season.
Kelly’s homer off Brooks Raley made a winner of Jameson Taillon (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.
Mark Vientos provided the visitors a short-lived lead by homering in the top of the second for the Mets, who have lost 10 straight — their longest skid since an 11-game losing streak from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004. New York hasn’t led at the end of an inning since first inning of an 11-6 loss to the Athletics on Apr. 11 — a span of 62 frames.
New York’s Bo Bichette scored when second baseman Nico Hoerner threw wide of the bag on Francisco Alvarez’s two-out grounder in the eighth. But reliever Ben Brown induced Vientos to ground out to third and strand two before Caleb Thielbar struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his first save of 2026.
Freddy Peralta (1-2) took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings. Peralta issued both walks with two outs in the sixth, after which Kelly took Raley deep on the first pitch he saw. The homer was the first surrendered by Raley since 2023.
The Cubs only managed five hits as Happ reached in 3-of-4 plate appearances with a pair of walks.
Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. had two hits apiece for the Mets, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
Blazers face Victor Wembanyama, Spurs to open playoffs
CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls
