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Penguins clinch playoff spot with 5-2 win over Devils

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored as part of his two-point game, Sidney Crosby set up two goals and Kris Letang had an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched a playoff spot by defeating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Thursday night.

The Penguins are playoff-bound for the first time since 2022, ending a three-year drought that followed a streak of qualifying 16 seasons in a row. Crosby, Malkin and Letang have been around for all of it, including Stanley Cup runs in 2009, ’16 and ’17.

Bryan Rust, who was part of the back-to-back championships, scored his 29th goal of the season on Pittsburgh’s first shot of the game.

Newcomers helped make the latest bid possible, including winger Egor Chinakov, who had a goal and two assists, and netminder Stuart Skinner, who made 19 saves and was serenated by “STUUUU” chants from visiting fans in attendance. Each player was acquired by trade in December.

Skinner stopped all seven shots he faced and got a fortunate break with a puck off the post before Rust gave the Penguins the lead. He turned aside former Edmonton teammate Connor Brown later in the first, before allowing a pair of goals in the second.

Tommy Novak also had a goal for the Penguins, and Erik Karlsson sealed it with an empty-netter.

ISLANDERS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Schaefer tied the NHL record for goals by a rookie defenseman, and the Islanders defeated Toronto in Peter DeBoer’s first game as New York’s coach.

Cal Ritchie had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Sorokin finished with 13 saves as the Islanders snapped a four-game skid. Brayden Schenn, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Emil Heineman also scored, and Tony DeAngelo added two assists.

DeBoer was hired Sunday after the Islanders fired Patrick Roy amid a late-season slide that saw the team lose seven of 10 games. New York remains in contention for a wild-card playoff spot, trailing Ottawa by three points with three games left.

Steven Lorentz, Easton Cowan and Morgan Rielly scored for Toronto. Artur Akhtyamov made 39 saves for the Maple Leafs, who lost their fifth straight.

SENATORS 5, PANTHERS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Fabian Zetterlund scored a pair of goals and Ottawa moved closer to securing a playoff berth with a win over Florida.

The Senators hold the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, leading the New York Islanders by three points with three games remaining. Ottawa plays at New York on Saturday. The Senators are two points back of Boston for the first East wild card.

With their third straight win, the Senators wrapped up their five-game homestand with a 4-1-0 record, with the lone loss coming against Minnesota.

Drake Batherson, Artem Zub and Claude Girot also scored for Ottawa, and Linus Ullmark made 21 saves. Jesper Boqvist scored for the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.

RED WINGS 6, FLYERS 2

DETROIT (AP) — Dylan Larkin had three goals and an assist as Detroit kept its playoff chances alive with a win over Philadelphia.

Moritz Seider had a career-high five points with a goal and four assists while Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists.

The win gives the Red Wings 91 points with three games left. They trail the Ottawa Senators by three points for the second Eastern Conference wildcard, and the Senators hold the regulation-wins tiebreaker.

The Flyers, who had won three straight, are still on 92 points, one ahead of the New York Islanders for third place in the Metro.

Porter Martone had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia and has six points, including four assists, in his first six NHL games.

CANADIENS 2, LIGHTNING 1

MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield became the first Montreal player to score 50 goals in a season in more than three decades and Juraj Slafkovsky scored a tiebreaker with just over a minute remaining as it beat Tampa Bay in a fight-filled game.

Slafkovsky scored his 30th at 18:56 of the third period and Nick Suzuki had two assists to raise his season total to 70 for Montreal (47-22-10). Jakub Dobes made 17 saves for his seventh consecutive win.

Darren Raddysh scored for Tampa Bay, which lost its third straight game. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 19 shots.

Caufield beat Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot at 6:29 of the second period for the milestone goal in front of a frenzied crowd at the Bell Centre that included Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Caufield became the seventh Canadiens player to hit the 50-goal mark, and the first since Stéphane Richer in 1989-90.

SABRES 5, BLUE JACKETS 0

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rookie Colten Ellis stopped 37 shots for his first NHL career shutout, and Buffalo beat Columbus to dent its playoff chances.

Josh Doan broke the game open with two third-period goals, while Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn and Rasmus Dahlin also scored.

Buffalo reached the 49-win mark for just the fourth time in team history, and maintained the Atlantic Division lead with a week left in the regular season.

Ellis improved to 8-4-1 while making his first start in more than two months. He got the start with Alex Lyon expected to miss at least a week with a strained lower-body muscle sustained in practice a day earlier.

Jet Greaves stopped 19 shots in dropping to 2-5-1 in his past eight starts.

JETS 3, BLUES 2

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) — Alex Iafallo, Josh Morrissey and Jonathan Toews scored as Winnipeg beat St. Louis, keeping its playoff hopes alive.

Mark Scheifele had two assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves for Winnipeg, which has 82 points. The Jets went into the game four points behind Nashville (84 points) for the second Western Conference wild card.

Dylan Holloway and Colton Parayko scored for St. Louis and Jordan Binnington had 31 saves. The Blues, who have 78 points, took a hit to their playoff hopes with four games remaining in the regular season.

Morrissey slammed home the rebound of a shot by Jacob Bryson to give the Jets their first lead of the game with 5:49 left in the second period and Toews made it 3-1 just 1:40 later.

Robert Thomas flicked a pass backward between his legs to Holloway for a goal from the right circle that opened the scoring at the 4:56 mark of the first period. Thomas has 325 assists for the Blues, tied with Al MacInnis for fifth-most in franchise history.

Iafollo poked home a feed from Scheifele from point-blank range near the midway point in the first period.

HURRICANES 7, BLACKHAWKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Logan Stankoven had two goals and an assist, helping depleted Carolina beat Chicago.

Taylor Hall added a goal and an assist as Carolina improved to 9-3-0 in its last 12 games. Mark Jankowski scored twice and Sean Walker and K’Andre Miller also added goals in the opener of a four-game trip, and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves.

Playing without several regulars in their first game since clinching the Metropolitan Division title, the Hurricanes (51-22-6) stayed two points ahead of Buffalo for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres cruised to a 5-0 victory over Columbus.

Anton Frondell had two goals for Chicago in his ninth career game. Spencer Knight stopped 15 shots.

The last-place Blackhawks lost for the seventh time in eight games.

AVALANCHE 3, FLAMES 1

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored his career-high 52nd goal of the season into an empty net and had two assists to help Colorado clinch the NHL’s top seed for the postseason with a win over Calgary.

It’s the fourth time Colorado has won the Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in hockey. With 114 points and four games left, the Avalanche have a shot to earn 120 in a season for the first time in franchise history. There have only been 12 NHL teams to reach at least 120 points, the most recent being the Boston Bruins in 2022-23 with 135.

Martin Necas and Gabriel Landeskog also scored for the Avalanche, who were without forward Nazem Kadri (finger) and defenseman Cale Makar (upper body). Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 28 shots.

Tyson Gross scored his first career NHL goal with 2:52 remaining to cut the lead to 2-1. Gross scored again moments later but the Avalanche successfully challenged for offsides to negate the tying goal. MacKinnon sealed it with an empty-net score with 55 seconds left.

MAMMOTH 4, PREDATORS 1

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dylan Guenther scored his 39th goal of the season, Clayton Keller had three assists to reach 56 and Utah beat Nashville for its fifth straight victory.

Less than an hour after the game, Utah clinched a playoff berth in its second season when the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks 6-1. The Mammoth sit in the first Western Conference wild card spot with 90 points and have a six-point lead over Nashville.

Kailer Yamamoto, Nick Schmaltz and captain Lawson Crouse also scored for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 29 shots.

Erik Haula had Carolina’s goal and Juuse Saros made 23 saves.

Yamamoto, who only played 12 NHL games last season, scored his 12th goal to open the scoring with 5:33 to go in the first period. He deflected in a puck off a cross-crease pass from Guenther for his second goal in the last three games.

Schmaltz scored his 31st goal — and fifth in his last five games — on a power play 5:35 into the second for a 2-0 lead. Keller slid the puck across the crease to Schmaltz at the back door.

Crouse, who had 20 points all of last season, scored his 22nd goal early in the third for a 3-0 lead.

STARS 5, WILD 4

DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored his 42nd goal with 9:25 left and Dallas held on for a win over Minnesota in a physical and entertaining preview of the upcoming playoff series between the Central Division foes.

Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen and Colin Blackwell each had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who now at 106 points are four ahead of Minnesota. They were already locked in as first-round opponents, but both still have three regular-season games left to determine home-ice advantage.

Kirill Kaprizov had two of Minnesota’s three power-play goals, giving him 45 goals overall and matching his single-season franchise record at 19 power-play goals. Mats Zuccarello had three assists.

But the Wild had their four-game winning streak snapped in an uncharacteristic way. It was their first regulation loss since March 2024 when leading going into the third period — 61-0-4 in that span.

Minnesota had another power-play chance after Rantanen’s slashing penalty with 2 1/2 minutes left, but failed to score even with an extra skater after pulling Filip Gustavsson out of the net.

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger had 27 saves. Gustavsson stopped 15 shots.

DUCKS 6, SHARKS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — John Carlson scored three goals for the first hat trick of his 17-year NHL career, and Anaheim snapped its six-game losing streak with an emphatic victory over San Jose.

Leo Carlsson, Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano also scored and Beckett Sennecke had two assists for the Ducks, who jumped to a 4-0 lead and dominated their Pacific Division rivals for their first win since March 26.

Carlson scored two power-play goals in the third period, connecting with 5:57 left to secure the first hat trick of his 1,156-game career. The veteran defenseman has been exactly what the Ducks needed when they acquired him at the trade deadline, scoring 12 points in 13 games while steadying the back end for one of the NHL’s worst defensive teams.

Lukas Dostal made 16 saves, but the Ducks fell 7:20 short of their first shutout in 160 games since last season’s opener on Oct. 12, 2024 — also against San Jose.

Shakir Mukhamadullin scored and Yaroslav Askarov stopped 27 shots for the Sharks, who had won five of seven to surge into playoff contention.

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What’s going on with Geraldo Perdomo?

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 05: Geraldo Perdomo #2 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits an RBI sacrifice fly against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Chase Field on April 05, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Introduction

I struggle with failure. It’s one of many, many, many reasons I was never going to be a professional athlete – particularly a baseball player given the sport’s inherent propensity for failure. No matter how many times someone told me, “Even the best ballplayers fail seven out of ten times” I was always too scared of failing to be successful. But professional baseball players, especially playing at the highest levels, are so accustomed to failure that cold stretches mean very little to them. Which is why I’m sure Geraldo Perdomo isn’t sweating (if he even could through this current cold snap) a pretty rough start to this season. Through the first two weeks of the season, Perdomo is the owner of a pitiful .179/.277/.308 slash line – a far cry from the .293/.347/.415 slash line he had at this point last year. Perdomo has still found ways to contribute, especially on the field, but his offensive contributions are a key to the team’s success this season. I don’t want to overstate anything. I’m not even at the “concerned” stage yet and we’re not yet even 10% of the way through the season. But I am slightly puzzled and if you’ll forgive a baseball writer looking for subjects to write about, I’d like to dig in to see if there are any patterns leading to his scuffling start.

Bat Speed

Unsurprisingly, there is a direct, linear relationship between bat speed (how fast the bat is moving through the strike zone) and exit velocity (the speed of the ball when it leaves the bat). In turn, there’s a strong relationship between exit velocity and the expected outcome of a particular batted ball not being converted into an out. Perdomo’s lack of power was one of the consistent criticisms levelled against him by evaluators and was likely at least partially based on his relatively poor bat speed. To this point in his career, Perdomo has only topped out at an average of 68 miles per hour last year, which clocked in at the seventh percentile in the league that season. So far this year, it’s gone down a few ticks to 65 MPH, which likely in turn has led to decreases in his expected batting average and slugging from .278 and .424 last season to .237 and .342 respectively. There are a myriad of explanations for the dip from cool weather to mechanical issues, but he’ll need to regain that speed if he wants to return to the form he had last year.

Overly Aggressive

I’ve always loved watching Perdomo’s at bats even before his breakout last year. He has an excellent approach at the plate and has earned a reputation for being a pesky at bat – on display during tonight’s game in New York when he worked two walks after falling behind in the count. That approach hasn’t dramatically changed so far this year as his swing percentage hasn’t changed year over year, he’s in the 94th percentile for chase percentage and 99th percentile for whiff rate. Cumulatively, that all screams to me an excellent approach to his plate appearances. What has changed is his swing decision on first pitches, spiking from ~15% last year to ~21% this season. That kind of percentage limits the number of pitches he’ll get to see when he’s at the plate and indeed he’s only seeing around four pitches per plate appearance, which is close to league average so far. When he does swing at those first pitches, he’s struggled to turn them into hits with substantially different results from last year in the same situations.

Missing Meatballs

Related to his (slightly) more aggressive approach at the plate, Perdomo has looked a little weaker against meatballs – so-called because of the relative ease for hitting them. He hasn’t seen as many of them so far, falling from 9% to 7.4% in the early going of the season and failing to swing at them when he does see them, dropping from 70% to 64% in his meatball swing percentage year-over-year. Some of that might be due to the relative quality of pitching the team has seen so far as only the Tigers have a below-average pitching staff by ERA so far this year. Those numbers might stabilize as the team faces off against weaker opponents in the league, but it could also indicate a changed approach by the league. It’s possible pitchers are pitching more carefully to him as a result of his performance last season than they might have previously.

Again, I’m neither worried nor even concerned at this point. It’s far too early to try and extrapolate or make any kinds of conclusions about where Perdomo is. There are plenty of superstars who have seriously struggled out of the gate – including Perdomo’s opposite number this series in Francisco Lindor who owns a .157/.306/.255 slash line and has yet to drive in a run on the young season. But the sooner both his and Ketel Marte’s bats wake up, the better I’ll sleep at night.

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Mammoth beat the Predators 4-1 for 5th straight win and then secure playoff berth in 2nd season

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dylan Guenther scored his 39th goal of the season, Clayton Keller had three assists to reach 56 and the Utah Mammoth beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.

Less than an hour after the game, Utah (42-30-6) clinched a playoff berth in its second season when the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks 6-1. The Mammoth sit in the first Western Conference wild card spot with 90 points and have a six-point lead over Nashville.

Kailer Yamamoto, Nick Schmaltz and captain Lawson Crouse also scored for Utah, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 29 shots.

Erik Haula had Nashville's goal and Juuse Saros made 23 saves.

Yamamoto, who only played 12 NHL games last season, scored his 12th goal to open the scoring with 5:33 to go in the first period. He deflected in a puck off a cross-crease pass from Guenther for his second goal in the last three games.

Schmaltz scored his 31st goal — and fifth in his last five games — on a power play 5:35 into the second for a 2-0 lead. Keller slid the puck across the crease to Schmaltz at the back door.

Crouse, who had 20 points all of last season, scored his 22nd goal early in the third for a 3-0 lead.

Guenther's goal made it six straight games Utah has scored at least four times.

Haula scored on the power play for Nashville midway through the third after Vejmelka stopped the first 22 shots he faced.

Nashville defenseman Roman Josi was a late scratch after participating in warmups with an upper-body injury.

Up next

Nashville, which wrapped up its final trip of the regular season, returns home for three more games and will host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

Utah wraps a three-game homestand on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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Flames Fall to Avalanche as Colorado Clinches Presidents’ Trophy

The Calgary Flames were defeated 3-1 by the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, a result that also saw Colorado clinch the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season team.

Dustin Wolf got the start in goal for Calgary, looking to rebound from his previous outing against Colorado. The Flames were without Blake Coleman (away for the birth of his daughter), Kevin Bahl (injury), and Ryan Strome (suspension). Olli Maatta skated in his 800th career NHL game.

© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Colorado was missing Cale Makar and Nazem Kadri due to injury.

The game was scoreless until late in the first period when the Avalanche converted on the power play at 18:44. Martin Necas set up Nathan MacKinnon, who quickly moved the puck across to Gabriel Landeskog for a tap-in and a 1-0 lead.

© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Wolf kept the Flames in the game through heavy pressure, but Colorado extended the lead at 15:01 of the second period. MacKinnon sent a pass to Necas, who skated wide and lifted the puck over a downed Wolf to make it 2-0. Brent Burns recorded an assist on the play.

Calgary finally solved Mackenzie Blackwood in the third period (17:08), with an empty net at the Flames end, Tyson Gross pounced on a rebound and shoveled home his first-career NHL goal. Matvei Gridin and Matt Coronato added assists. 

Gross thought he added his second goal moments later, when he found a loose puck at the side of the net and sent it past Blackwood. Colorado challenged the play, however, determining it was offside, negating the goal. 

MacKinnon added his career-high 52nd goal of the season into the empty net to seal it for the Avalanche. 3-1 final. 

Three takeaways:

  1. Wolf made 38 saves on 40 shots and kept the game within reach under constant pressure.
  2. Maatta reached the 800-game milestone, recording 208 career points (44 goals, 164 assists).
  3. The Avalanche improved to 52-16-10, reaching 114 points to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy.
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LeBron, Bronny James combine for first son-to-father assist in NBA history

LeBron James and Bronny James continue to share more time on the court together as the Los Angeles Lakers’ regular season comes to a close.

The James family set another unique milestone for the league as Bronny was credited with an assist to LeBron on Thursday, April 9, during the Lakers' game against the Golden State Warriors.

Bronny stole the ball with 51 seconds left in the first quarter and bounced the ball toward LeBron, who then crossed halfcourt and finished the play in transition with an uncontested dunk. It's the first son-to-father assist in NBA history.

The Lakers led the Warriors 53-49 at halftime in San Francisco.

The father-and-son duo completed a similar milestone on March 27, recording the first father-to-son assist the league has seen.

Bronny passed the ball to LeBron with 7:54 left in the second quarter of a game against the Brooklyn Nets before the veteran drew a double team and immediately passed the ball back to his son, who made a wide-open 3-pointer.

In the third quarter of Thursday night's game, LeBron got an assist on a Bronny 3-pointer.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron, Bronny James record first son-to-father assist in NBA history

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Nolan McLean's gem went awry, but dominant start a big positive for Mets

Nolan McLean let out a roar as he bounded off the mound after freezing Arizona Diamondbacks’ first baseman Ildemaro Vargas on a knee-high sinker on the inside corner to close the top of the sixth inning on Thursday night at Citi Field.

The Mets' young right-hander’s emotional explosion came after his seventh strikeout of the night, stranding a leadoff base runner as he protected a 1-0 lead and looked to outduel Eduardo Rodriguez, his foe from the WBC final 23 days prior.

Entering the seventh with the score unchanged, McLean said he “felt good” coming in at 85 pitches and facing the heart of the D-backs' order, having allowed just two hits and two walks to that point.

“Felt like I had a lot left in the tank,” he said after the game. 

But after a leadoff walk and a strikeout, McLean's final pitch of the night, the 100th he threw, was muscled into center off the end of Jose Fernandez's bat. The next four batters all managed to knock in a run off reliever Luke Weaver, and McLean's dominant start felt like a memory in what would become a 7-1 defeat.

“It’s part of baseball at the end of the day,” McLean said of being the hard-luck pitcher of record. “I’m sure I’ll leave guys out there, and our bullpen’s gonna strand them for me plenty of times this year – and it’s already been done, actually, this year a couple times. It’s part of the game, it’s a long season, I know those guys got my back out there.”

McLean’s final line of his third start of the year: 6.1 innings, two runs on three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts on 100 pitches (64 strikes). But the numbers are deceptive, as he was better.

“He was really good today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He had everything working, especially the sinker. [Which] has been a pitch that’s been kinda off the first couple of outings, but today the movement, the way he was just commanding that pitch.”

McLean leaned heavily on that sinker, including throwing 10 in a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 first inning. He threw 44 of them on the night and got 15 called strikes with it, including four times for strike three.

“That’s been a pitch that hasn’t felt great for me so far this year. But it felt really good today,” McLean said, adding that the difference with the sinker on this night was “just getting more reps with it.”

“It’s a little bit different feel throwing it in cold weather versus back in Florida,” he said. “So it’s just finding the grip that works, and also some mechanical stuff getting cleaned up.”

Mendoza said there was no consideration to leave McLean in beyond the 100-pitch mark, and was “banking on how good that sinker was there” for the 24-year-old to get one more groundball to end his night on a high note.

And, unlike his previous start in which he said he had only one pitch working, the sinker was buttressed with a good sweeper and curveball, complementing his four-seam fastball nicely.

“Curveball’s been feeling good, definitely felt good tonight,” McLean added. “Landing it for strikes more than just a chase pitch for me, so I was excited to see that.”

“He had pretty much everything else working,” Mendoza said. “He was pretty solid.”

Overall, the righty got 26 called strikes, including getting four on 16 sweepers, four on 14 fastballs, and two on seven cutters. He got just six whiffs on 36 swings, with the sweeper (2-for-4) and curve (2-for-6) working best.

McLean didn’t think the high number of called strikes said much about his stuff, but more about Arizona batters’ plan going into the game.

“I haven’t shown a great ability to throw strikes in the first couple of games,” he said. “So I think part of their plan was to force me to get into the zone. And luckily, I was able to do that early.”

Through three starts of the season covering 16.2 innings, McLean has allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits, six walks, and one hit batter with 20 strikeouts.

But all of this is just a silver lining.

“It happens,” Mendoza said. “Gotta move on. Had some opportunities to score, we didn’t cash in. But you take the positive, and that was Nolan today.”

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Sixers Bell Ringer: Final frame push not enough for Embiid-less Sixers to overcome Rockets

HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 9: VJ Edgecombe #77 of the Philadelphia 76ers & Kevin Durant #7 of the Houston Rockets hug after the game on April 9, 2026 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:

Tyrese Maxey – 22.5
VJ Edgecombe – 13
Joel Embiid – 11.5
Paul George – 8
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 5
Justin Edwards – 4
Quentin Grimes – 3
Jared McCain :’( – 3
Dominick Barlow – 2
Andre Drummond – 2
MarJon Beauchamp – 2
Adem Bona – 1
Cam Payne – 1
Jabari Walker – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1

The Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Houston Rockets 113-102 on Thursday night to conclude a nightmare day for the Sixers.

Joel Embiid was a surprise scratch on Wednesday afternoon, being ruled out for illness before it was announced that Embiid was suffering from appendicitis and would undergo surgery today in Houston. During the game, the team released a statement that the center had undergone a successful appendectomy.

A night that was supposed to feature a major, pivotal contest for the Sixers quickly devolved into kind of a sad mess. This one felt like it was already over when the afternoon news dropped, and the Sixers’ performance out of the gate didn’t exactly inspire any optimism to the contrary. Philadelphia went down by more than 20 points before halftime, with the absence of Embiid palpable throughout.

For awhile, it looked like the game was just about over. In the fourth period, though, the Sixers put up a solid fight, clawing back to within five points in the final few minutes. It was the first real signs of life from the squad we saw all night. They outscored the Rockets 29-17 in the final frame, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. The Sixers fall 113-102 on Thursday.

Two games still remain in the regular season for Philadelphia, but this loss (combined with the Toronto Raptors’ win) just severely reduced the odds of the Sixers clawing back into a guaranteed playoff spot. It is all but guaranteed now that the Sixers are headed for the Play-In Tournament.

First, though, they still have two regular season games to go. They’ll play the first of the final pair on Friday night, closing their 16th and final back-to-back with a visit to the Indiana Pacers.

Let’s get to the Bell Ringer. And yes, we know this is kind of pointing out the tiniest silver lining surrounding a gigantic storm cloud.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block

<p>(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)</p><br> | Getty Images

Kelly Oubre Jr. hasn’t been exactly tearing it up the last few games, but he looked hot to start this one. Oubre was the first on the floor to 10 points in the first period, beginning the game 4-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 from long range. It’s a good thing, too, because he was just about the only person for the Sixers that could produce offensively early on Thursday night.

Oubre cooled off from there, but continued to chip in on both ends of the floor when the opportunities presented themselves. It was a pretty efficient outing from him as well, with him shooting 7-for-10 from the floor and 2-for-4 from long range.

A perfect night overall? No, but we just need to shout him out because he was the only one keeping this from getting completely out of hand before we even made it out of the first frame.

Oubre finished Thursday with 16 points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals and one block.

VJ Edgecombe: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals

<p>(Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images)</p><br> | NBAE via Getty Images

VJ Edgecombe chipped in points throughout this one but, as he has so many times this season, the rookie really showed off his abilities down the stretch as the Sixers put up their late fight in the fourth quarter. Even faced with what feels like insurmountable deficits or just truly tough nights on this team, Edgecombe never seems to give up or phone it in when he’s on the floor. He continues to impress with play making for his teammates while also creating opportunities for himself beyond what you can expect from your typical rookie, like the late bucket below where he dances right around guys like Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun for a tough finish through contact at the rim. He was a crucial part of the Sixers’ late comeback push on both ends of the floor, coming up with a few clutch points and making some defensive plays.

Edgecombe finished Thursday with 20 points, six rebounds (three offensive), eight assists and two steals.

Tyrese Maxey: 24 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists

(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Tyrese Maxey, coming off one of his worst games in his NBA career in his 40-minute, 15-point performance against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, looked like he might be continuing that pattern on Thursday night. He still just looked off, with sloppy turnovers and a poor touch on the ball apparently early in this one. Fortunately, things turned around for him in the second quarter. After a scoreless first, Maxey got into a groove for 15 points on 6-for-9 field goal and 3-for-4 long range shooting in the second.

The Sixers were already down about 20 points by then, but it’s still never a bad thing to see one of your players work through a slump and figure it out a bit. It wasn’t as if every single shot was falling, with Maxey finishing the night 9-for-20 from the floor, but seeing a few go in and especially hitting five triples on 10 attempts hopefully helped the guard a bit mentally going as we go into the close of the regular season.

Maxey finished Thursday with 24 points, three rebounds and five assists in just over 33 minutes. It’s still a very far cry from the level of play we all know Maxey is capable of at his best, but it’s a step in the right direction compared to where we started the week, for sure.

Quentin Grimes: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal

<p>(Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images)</p><br> | NBAE via Getty Images

Quentin Grimes provided a decent offensive punch off the bench for the Sixers tonight, especially as they strung together that late-game run that saw Philly cut their deficit down to just five points (after being down over 20 at some points). After putting up just a handful of points in the entire first half, Q hit a few buckets to close the third quarter before bursting for 11 points in the final frame, mostly early in the period when the Sixers took advantage of Durant being on the bench to put a dent in their deficit.

The Quentin Grimes experience has been up and down this season to say the least, with the guard having moments of performing well separated by plays and games that have you confused what he’s trying to accomplish. Tonight wasn’t a perfect night by any means, but it was truly one of the better performances from Grimes as of late, especially down the stretch.

Grimes finished with 20 points, two rebounds and one steal in 26:29 off the bench.

NOT the Miami Heat

Couldn’t help the Sixers at all, huh? The Toronto Raptors are the wall between the Sixers making the playoffs or the Play-In. They faced the Miami Heat twice this week, on Tuesday and tonight. A win (or two) would have gone a long way to helping the Sixers have a shot at climbing back over them for that No. 6 seed.

Instead, the Heat lost both games by double digits. Thanks for nothing, Miami!

Don’t get me the wrong, the Sixers’ finish will be completely of their own making… but still, we wouldn’t have argued with a little outside help.

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Rockets avoid 4th quarter collapse, defeat the Sixers 113-102

Apr 9, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) reacts after a made basket against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Rockets have won 8 games in row and for most of Thursday’s matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers it looked as if they would coast to their 52nd win of the season. However, even if you have just followed this Rockets team causally, you were not comfortable even with the Rockets leading 96-73 going into the fourth quarter.

The Rockets only made 5-of-20 shots in the final quarter of the game, while the Sixers scored 29 points in the quarter. The key for the Rockets was the timeliness of the shots made. With about four minutes to go in the game, Philly had cut the lead to 101-94, leading to a timeout immediately being called by Ime Udoka. The Rockets would get back-to-back corner threes, first from Kevin Durant off of an Aaron Holiday drive to the basket, followed by an Aaron Holiday corner three off of a Kevin Durant assist.

The Sixers would cut the lead back down to five points with less than two minutes to go, when Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun ran the pick-and-roll at the top of the key to perfection, which lead to the defense collapsing on Alpi, leaving Durant wide open for the three-pointer that would give KD his 29th point and seal the deal for the Rockets with just over a minute remaining in the game.

Alperen Sengun struggled scoring the ball with only 8 points on 4-of-14 shooting, but he did grab 12 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson each posted 19 points and 5 rebounds respectively. Tari Eason shined off the bench despite playing with an illness. He scored an efficient 15 points 0n 5-of-10 shooting and grabbed 8 rebounds. He was 3-of-6 from the three-point arc. Aaron Holiday was 3-of-5 in the 14 minutes he played, scoring what turned out to be 7 crucial points.

Rockets fans have been wanting to see team they have been watching over this 8-game win streak; all season. This fourth quarter aside, they seem to be clicking at the right time. There are still some weaknesses that opposing teams will definitely try to exploit in the postseason. However, the things they have done well are sustainable. They must continue to move the ball and protect the ball. Turning the ball over the way they did in the fourth quarter of this game, will lead to losses in the playoffs. Tonight, when they were able to handle the desperation pressure the Sixers, they ended up finding good looks at the basket and they knocked them down. That will need to be the rule and not the exception moving forward.

The Hometown Heroes are back at it tomorrow night at 8:00 PM CST against another playoff contender, the Minnesota Timberwolves, at Toyota Center. As always, we will be here with Game Previews, in-game discussion, and recap after.

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Brock Boeser Takes Sole Possession Of 8th All-Time In Points In Canucks History

The milestones keep coming for Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser. Shortly after reaching ninth all-time in points by a Canuck, the forward has claimed sole possession of eighth all-time by scoring his 479th career regular-season point against the Los Angeles Kings. In doing so, he has passed Pavel Bure, who previously held eighth with 478 points as a Canuck. 

Only a few games after passing Tony Tanti for ninth all-time with his 471st point, Boeser put together a four-point effort that saw him score his first hat trick of the season against the Colorado Avalanche. He also collected a point in each of the team’s games against the Calgary Flames and the Vegas Golden Knights ahead of that. 

While this season came off the rails for nearly every player on the Canucks, including Boeser, the forward has managed to find his form since the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. Through 71 games this season, he has scored 21 goals and 24 assists. With his three goals against the Avalanche on April 1, Boeser also notched his seventh-career season with 20+ goals. 

The next player Boeser will be looking to pass on the Canucks’ all-time points list is none other than his current teammate, Elias Pettersson, who currently holds the record for points by an active Canuck. Pettersson’s 505 points sit at seventh all-time behind Thomas Gradin (550). 

Mar 21, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) ready for the face-off during the second period against St. Louis Blues at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
Mar 21, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) ready for the face-off during the second period against St. Louis Blues at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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Luis Gil set for MLB return as he seeks to answer key Yankees questions

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil #81 walks off the mound, Image 2 shows New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil #81 pitching in the 2nd inning

The Yankees will welcome Luis Gil back to the rotation Friday.

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But which version? The 2024 Rookie of the Year who so often could not be touched? Or the 2025 starter who spent much of the season on the injured list and then returned without the same velocity and stuff?

Gil will begin to answer that question when he takes the mound in St. Petersburg to open a series in which the Yankees will need a fifth starter for the first time this year.

The 27-year-old did not look his best through much of spring training, which meant he slotted in behind Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers and began his campaign with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

But his velocity ticked up in a dominant start against the Orioles to end his time in the Grapefruit League. On Sunday, he made his lone start with SWB during a chilly afternoon in Rochester, where his velocity was down but the environment may have played a role.

Gil allowed three runs on four hits and four walks, including walking the first two batters he faced, while striking out six in 4 ²/₃ innings.

Yankees pitcher Luis Gil walks off the mound after being removed from a spring training game in the third inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

“You could tell it was a really cold, windy day in Rochester,” said manager Aaron Boone, who watched Gil pitch on a monitor during a rain delay in The Bronx. “That first inning, he gave up a couple runs. I think he struck out the side in the first inning.

“… Managed contact pretty well. A little struggle in that first inning with his command, but overall threw the ball alright.”

The stuff during a frigid matinee at a minor league park was less interesting than the pitch mix. Of Gil’s 85 pitches, 30 were sinkers — a pitch he did not have in his arsenal in his first two major league seasons.

“Hopefully it’s just something that’s a little bit of a different look to help the four-seam play up a little bit and also help out with his secondary,” Boone said of Gil, who previously threw just a four-seamer, slider and changeup.

The Yankees are three games in to a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, which suggests that they likely will roll with the five-man rotation for a short while and enable Gil to make two starts.

Yankees pitcher Luis Gil pitching. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Whether he sticks in the majors beyond that will hinge upon injury and upon which Gil takes the mound this year.

In a lineup filled with righties against southpaw Jeffrey Springs, Paul Goldschmidt sat and Ben Rice started at first base in what became a 1-0 loss in The Bronx on Thursday.

Goldschmidt is fine, Boone said, and likely will play Friday against another lefty in Steven Matz, but the Yankees want to expose Rice — who went 1-for-4 and collected the lone Yankees hit — to lefties.

Yankees starting pitchers have allowed 16 runs, which is the fewest through 12 games in franchise history.

Carlos Rodón threw around 40 pitches while approximating two innings in a bullpen session Wednesday, Boone said. The next step — whether more side work or a rehab assignment — is unclear.

Gerrit Cole is set to throw a simulated game Sunday morning in Hudson Valley.

The Yankees designated reliever Cade Winquest for assignment before he pitched a game, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported.

Winquest, a Rule 5 pick this winter, will go to waivers, where he will be available to any team. If he is not claimed, he will be removed from the Yankees’ 40-man roster and offered back to the Cardinals, his original team. If it gets to that point and St. Louis declines to bring him back, the Yankees could then send Winquest back to the minor leagues.

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Dbacks Take the Series in New York: Dbacks 7, Mets 1

Apr 9, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Tim Tawa (13) and center fielder Alek Thomas (5) and left fielder Jorge Barrosa (1) celebrate after defeating the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

On a cold blustery evening, the Arizona Diamondbacks were able to take the series against the Mets today after the bats broke out late against the Mets bullpen. The victory today is a key win for this team in the early going as the W/L record against a team like the Mets could prove to be very important down the line.

The beginning of the game was a solid pitchers duel for as it was a rematch of the World Baseball Classic championship game of Eduardo Rodriguez vs Nolan Mclean. Despite a first inning home run given up by Erod, the 2 pitchers went toe to toe inning for inning. Eduardo Rodgriguez managed to go 6 Innings of just the 1 run allowed while being the first Dbacks pitcher of the season to reach the 100 pitch mark. Although still early, he has really seemed to turn a corner in his career adapting his pitch arsenal. A historically fastball heavy pitcher, Erod continued the recent trend of throwing his changeup 32% of the time tonight while cutting his fastball usage almost in half. The early season results have been astonishing as he has pitched to a microscopic 0.50 ERA. Has to be one of the highlights of the early season so far.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Dbacks failed to score going into the 7th inning and I think every fan was thinking, “Oh great here we go again! Another wasted Erod masterpiece” Things turned around in the 7th however as Geraldo Perdomo led off the inning with a walk, Jose Fernandez notched his 2nd hit of the night moving Perdomo into scoring position, and Gabi Moreno pinch hit for James McCann and  promptly rips a double over the head of the right fielder Brett Baty tieing the game. Alek Thomas was up next and knocked in the go ahead run Jose Fernandez on a fielder’s choice and a masterful slide by the young Fernandez. His elite sprint speed was definitely a factor on that play and caused a rushed throw by the first basemen. It is really nice having that athleticism on the field! From there, the Dbacks would open this game up on a sac fly by Tim Tawa and a triple by Jorge Barrosa bringing the score to 4-1 and some much needed breathing room.

The bullpen was nails tonight as Taylor Clarke did a tremendous job of holding the score there in a quick and efficient bottom of the 7th inning. A very underrated thing for a reliver to do by maintaining all that momentum and getting the team back in the dugout quickly. Taylor Rashi came in after Clarke and had perhaps the most dominant relief outing we have seen from a Dbacks pitcher in the early going as he pitched 2 flat out filthy innings striking out 3 Mets batters. Like he was in complete control tonight and he was even smiling on the mound as he was toying with the Mets batters with his high arm slot 4 seamer, splitter, and slider combination. He even threw a slurve tonight. Is Taylor Rashi a leverage reliever all of a sudden? Would be a huge break for this team if so.

Gabi Moreno was able to notch 2 doubles in a game that he didn’t even start in and the Dbacks were able to have a nice little 7 run outburst tonight on the offense bringing the final score to 7-1. The offense though it was late to show up tonight was a welcome sight for the Dbacks and their fans given some of the early season struggles they have had in that department. All in all, the Dbacks won tonight with excellent starting pitching, and athleticism on the offensive side. A welcome sight in my opinion and certainly playing the likes of Jose Fernandez, Ildemaro Vargas, and Jose Barrosa were paramount. Hopefully we see more of this brand of Dbacks baseball. This is the type of offense that is sustainable especially considering the Dbacks once again scored all 7 runs without the benefit of the longball. Refreshing!

The Dbacks will get on the bus tonight a game over .500 and head to Philadelphia to begin the weekend series against the Phillies. Lets see if the young guns get rewarded with more playing time, and this team can keep the momentum going into Philly!

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BREAKING: Penguins Clinch First Playoff Berth Since 2022 With Win Over New Jersey Devils

After four long years, the Pittsburgh Penguins have once again punched their ticket to Lord Stanley's dance.

With a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, the Penguins clinched their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth since 2022, when they lost to the New York Rangers in the first round. In addition, with the Philadelphia Flyers losing, 6-3, to the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh also clinched home ice advantage for the first round. 

The Penguins featured five different goal-scorers in this game - Bryan Rust, Tommy Novak, Egor Chinakhov, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson - and Chinakhov finished the game with a team-high three points. 

With second place in the Metropolitan Division etched in stone, the Penguins turn their focus to the final three games of the regular season, which feature a home-and-home against the Washington Capitals this weekend before a Tuesday regular season finale against the St. Louis Blues. 

The final day of the NHL regular season is Thursday, Apr. 16, and the first round is set to begin on Saturday, Apr. 18. Follow along with our playoff coverage on the THN - Pittsburgh Penguins site for updates, live game blogs, playoff features, and more.  

Do The Penguins Have A Star Player In Egor Chinakhov?Do The Penguins Have A Star Player In Egor Chinakhov?The Pittsburgh Penguins may have landed a star winger in Egor Chinakhov, who they acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 29.

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!    

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Iafallo, Morrissey and Toews score as the Jets beat the Blues 3-2 to keep playoff hopes alive

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) — Alex Iafallo, Josh Morrissey and Jonathan Toews scored as the Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 Thursday night, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Mark Scheifele had two assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves for Winnipeg (35-31-12), which has 82 points. The Jets went into the game four points behind Nashville (84 points) for the second Western Conference wild card.

Dylan Holloway and Colton Parayko scored for St. Louis (33-33-12) and Jordan Binnington had 31 saves. The Blues, who have 78 points, took a hit to their playoff hopes with four games remaining in the regular season.

Morrissey slammed home the rebound of a shot by Jacob Bryson to give the Jets their first lead of the game with 5:49 left in the second period and Toews made it 3-1 just 1:40 later.

Robert Thomas flicked a pass backward between his legs to Holloway for a goal from the right circle that opened the scoring at the 4:56 mark of the first period. Thomas has 325 assists for the Blues, tied with Al MacInnis for fifth-most in franchise history.

Iafollo poked home a feed from Scheifele from point-blank range near the midway point in the first period.

Parayko, on a breakaway, beat Hellebuyck to the glove side to cap the scoring with seven minutes left in the third period.

Up next

Jets: Host Philadelphia on Saturday.

Blues: Visit Chicago on Saturday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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Yankees to DFA Cade Winquest to make room for Luis Gil: report

To make room for Luis Gil on the roster, the Yankees are reportedly designating right-hander Cade Winquest for assignment.

NY Post's Jon Heyman reported that the Rule 5 draft pick will be off the Yankees' roster when the transaction becomes official on Friday.

Back in Dec. 2025, the Yankees selected the 25-year-old in the Rule 5 Draft. Winquest earned the distinction of being the first player selected by the Yankees in this particular draft since 2011. 

As a Rule 5 pick, Winquest had to make and stay on the Yankees' roster for the entirety of the 2026 season, or he would be offered back to the Cardinals. The right-hander made the team out of camp after seven spring games. In that span, Winquest allowed eight runs on 13 hits, four walks and eight strikeouts across 10 innings pitched. 

Although Winquest was with the team, he did not make an appearance in the team's first 12 games. 

Winquest was originally drafted by the Cardinals in the eighth round of the 2022 MLB Draft and did not make the big league club. In 58 minor league games (38 starts) in the Cardinals system, Winquest pitched to a 4.19 ERA with 219 strikeouts in 212.2 innings.

Winquest finished the 2025 season at the Double-A level, appearing in eight games for Springfield with a 3.19 ERA in 42.1 innings. 

Gil is set to make the start for the Yankees in Friday's series opener against the Rays and the Winquest move will be made official sometime before first pitch.

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Nets help tanking cause with loss to Pacers — but defeats have taken toll on Nic Claxton

An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows Nic Claxton, who did not play, celebrates after one of the few good plays by the tanking Nets' in their 123-94 loss to the Pacers on April 9, 2026 at Barclays Center

Two years of tanking have taken a mental toll on the Nets.

Nic Claxton is convinced it’ll be over next season, and he’s happy about that.

“It wasn’t always easy, honestly, with the lineup changes, with playing with a lot of younger guys at this stage of my career,” Claxton admitted. “This year was rough, obviously. So we’ve got a few more games this year, we flush that out, we get back to the drawing board this summer and we go from there.

Nic Claxton, who did not play, celebrates after one of the few good plays by the tanking Nets’ in their 123-94 loss to the Pacers on April 9, 2026 at Barclays Center. Corey Sipkin for New York Post

“You can’t let it affect your preparation and your mindset. Even this year I struggled with that some. Going into games you have to go in with the mindset, ‘OK, we’re going to win this game.’ But as far as wins and losses, I get what [coach] Jordi [Fernández] is saying. It doesn’t always come with the scoreboard. It can be seeing our rookies go out and spread their wings and gain confidence. … It can be me maturing and finding that peace within myself no matter what’s going on out there on the court. … Then next year hopefully we get some more actual wins.”

What the Nets (20-60) need is some lottery luck. They entered Thursday clinging to the third-best lottery odds.

Brooklyn’s 123-94 loss to Indiana at Barclays Center only helped their cause. They moved a game clear of the idle Jazz and Kings, tied for fourth.

Losses in their final two games — Friday in Milwaukee and Sunday in Toronto — would guarantee top three odds in the lottery and falling no lower than seventh in the June draft.

Claxton missed his third straight game with a sprained right fifth finger. He’ll likely end the season averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds.

That latter figure needs improvement. Claxton has not only regressed from his old defensive form, but has always struggled on the glass.

“One [key] is getting my teammates getting the easy ones,” Claxton said. “Sometimes you’ve got some rebound-hungry dudes on the team that can make your numbers dip because when I average more rebounds, my teammates would pretty much let me get the rebounds. That’s one.

“Two, it is just a mentality thing of going after all of the rebounds. Sometimes the rebound numbers can be skewed because my teammate can be right there to get the rebound and we secure the rebound, but if I don’t go after it, I finish the game with a lower number of rebounds, but my teammate grabbed the board. But it is a numbers game at the end of the day with the NBA, so it’s something you always want to just put some focus and energy towards.”

E.J. Liddell led the threadbare Nets with 26 points against Indiana, while Ben Saraf added 19 points, six assists and five boards.

Claxton, Noah Clowney, Egor Dëmin, Terance Mann, Josh Minnott, Michael Porter Jr., Day’Ron Sharpe, Nolan Traore, Ziaire Williams and Danny Wolf were all out.