OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Drake Batherson scored twice, including the eventual game winner, as the Ottawa Senators beat the San Jose Sharks 7-4 on Sunday.
With the game tied at 4, Batherson put the Senators (34-23-9) ahead with 6:52 remaining when an Artem Zub shot bounced in off him when he turned to protect himself.
Warren Foegele, Fabian Zetterlund, Tyler Kleven and Dylan Cozens also scored for Ottawa. Brady Tkachuk added an empty-net goal. Linus Ullmark, who was coming off a 23-save shutout against Anaheim, made his third straight start and stopped 19 shots.
Mario Ferraro, Tyler Toffoli, Collin Graf and Michael Misa scored for San Jose. Laurent Brossoit, making his first NHL start since April 18, 2024, made 17 saves for the Sharks (32-27-6).
Both teams were playing the second game of back-to-backs and it showed at times.
Macklin Celebrini reached the 60-assist mark in 65 games, the fewest games by a member of the Sharks since Erik Karlsson accomplished the feat in 63 games in 2022-23.
Ottawa’s power play, which has struggled recently, went 2 for 3 with the man advantage.
Up next
Sharks: Visit the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Senators: Visit the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 13: Juan Soto #22 of the Dominican Republic slides home during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Quarterfinals game presented by Capital One between Team Korea and Team Dominican Republic at loanDepot park on Friday, March 13, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
I’m not going to pretend to be impartial: GO DR GO
DR is in tough against starting pitcher Paul Skenes. Luis Severino starts for DR.
DR has their lineup out.
Tatis, RF
Marte, 2B
Soto, LF
Vlad, 1B
Machado, 3B
Caminero, DH
Rodriguez, CF
Wells, C
Perdomo, SS
As I type this, the US doesn’t have a lineup posted.
TEMPE, ARIZONA - MARCH 15: Hunter Goodman #15 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the third inning of the spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium on March 15, 2026 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This afternoon, the Colorado Rockies lost to the Los Angeles Angels, 6.5. For more game highlights, please click here.
The Rockies are now 11-11 in spring training play.
Although there were no interviews today, the Rockies did provide game highlights.
But first, Hunter Goodman hit his second home run of 2026.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 13: Ketel Marte #4 (L) and Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 (R) of Team Dominican Republic great teammate Juan Soto #22 (C) before playing Team Korea of the quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot park on March 13, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The first semifinal of the 2026 World Baseball Classic is packed with about as much star power as you could hope for. The United States will be sending Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes to the mound opposite Luis Severino of the Dominican Republic (and the Athletics) with a trip to the final on the line.
As Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com noted, the US currently boasts a roster that includes nine players who received MVP votes in 2025, while the Dominican Republic boasts – you guessed it – nine players who received MVP votes in 2025, too.
Exactly zero of those players, or any of these players for that matter, are Cincinnati Reds. That doesn’t make it any less of a spectacle, of course, and this game is poised to be packed with action.
Here’s how the two clubs will line up:
United States
1. Bobby Witt Jr., SS 2. Bryce Harper, 1B 3. Aaron Judge, RF 4. Kyle Schwarber, DH 5. Gunnar Henderson, 3B 6. Will Smith, C 7. Roman Anthony, LF 8. Brice Turang, 2B 9. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
Dominican Republic
1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF 2. Ketel Marte, 2B 3. Juan Soto, LF 4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B 5. Manny Machado, 3B 6. Junior Caminero, DH 7. Julio Rodríguez, CF 8. Austin Wells, C 9. Geraldo Perdomo, SS
First pitch is set for just after 8:00 PM in Miami’s loanDepot park, and game coverage can be found on FS1.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The San Francisco Giants were an out away from a perfect game and a strike away from a no-hitter before they were broken up by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in a spring training game.
Giants reliever Gregory Santos walked Cooper Pratt with two outs in the ninth. The next batter, Blake Burke, delivered a run-scoring double with two strikes. Santos struck out José Anderson to end the game.
So close.
Lefty Robbie Ray combined with four relievers to strike out 11 in a 7-1 win over the Brewers. Ray threw five innings and struck out eight. He has a 1.23 ERA with 15 strikeouts over five starts this spring.
Spring training no-hitters aren't all that common. The Baltimore Orioles threw a no-hitter last March against Pittsburgh.
The pitching gem for the Giants comes on a day when multiple media outlets reported that pitcher Hayden Birdsong's MRI revealed a Grade 2 strained right forearm strain along with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament. He's weighing his options, according to MLB.com.
“It’s certainly not best-case scenario, but hopefully we get best-case scenario of the unfortunate circumstances,” manager Tony Vitello said Sunday morning, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Pitcher Shane Drohan #73 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of the spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix on March 09, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As the headline suggests, there weren’t many positives in today’s game. The Brewers were just one out away from falling victim to a combined perfect game, ultimately losing 7–1 to the San Francisco Giants.
Giants starter Robbie Ray went five innings, racking up eight Ks in the process. Relievers Carson Seymour, Tristan Beck, and Matt Gage kept the perfect game going. Gregory Santos came in for the ninth and recorded two quick outs, but he lost the zone against prospect Cooper Pratt — throwing five consecutive pitches out of the strike zone to put Pratt on first. The next batter, Blake Burke, went down 0-2 before breaking up the no-hitter with a double down the right field line, scoring Pratt to give the Brewers their first and only run of the game. Unfortunately, that was where the scoring would end, as José Anderson struck out swinging to end the game.
Brewers starter Shane Drohan got hit around today, allowing six hits, four runs (three earned), and striking out five in four innings of work. He got through the first inning without allowing a run, with the Giants stranding Matt Chapman after a one-out double. The second inning was a different story. Drohan allowed a bunt single to Grant McCray before walking Bryce Eldridge, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Up next was Jerar Encarnación, who smoked a high and inside cutter 463 feet to give the Giants a 3-0 lead. That brought up Christian Koss, who beat out an infield single to give the Giants yet another baserunner — still with nobody out.
With Casey Schmitt batting, catcher Reese McGuire threw Koss out trying to steal second. Schmitt ended up walking, prompting Brewers manager Pat Murphy to pull Drohan in favor of Kaleb Bowman. Bowman got Willy Adames to strike out swinging for the second out, but Chapman hit another double — this one a ground rule — to put runners on second and third. Bowman then walked Patrick Bailey to load the bases before getting Luis Matos to hit a weak grounder to shortstop David Hamilton. That should have been the third out, but Hamilton bounced the throw to first baseman Jake Bauers, and Bauers couldn’t handle it. Bailey and Chapman both scored on the throwing error to make it 5-0, San Francisco.
Bowman melted down after that, walking the next two batters to walk in another run before finally getting Encarnación to line out to Garrett Mitchell for the third out. Since it’s spring training, Drohan reentered the game for the third and fourth innings and managed to hold the Giants scoreless. San Francisco added another run on an Adames sacrifice fly in the sixth inning off of Jacob Waguespack, Waguespack’s first earned run of the spring.
San Francisco’s pitching staff combined to strike out eleven Brewers while allowing just one hit (Burke’s double) and walk (to Pratt). As a team, Milwaukee allowed 11 hits and walked six batters. Overall, this was a game to forget.
The Crew is back at it again tomorrow against the Los Angeles Dodgers. First pitch is slated for the same time as today’s game, 3:05 p.m.
MIAMI (AP) — Gunnar Henderson will start at third base over Alex Bregman for the United States in Sunday's World Baseball Classic semifinal against the Dominican Republic, a decision that manager Mark DeRosa said was based on the pitching matchup against Luis Severino.
Henderson, a star shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, is 7 for 9 in his career against the right-handed Dominican pitcher, with a home run, double and four RBIs. Bregman is 5 for 21 in the regular season against Severino with a homer and three RBI.
Henderson has also gone 5 for 10 with a double and a homer in two WBC games.
“Playing the hot hand right?” DeRosa said ahead of Sunday's semi. “Gunnar’s got numbers against Severino.”
DeRosa added he spoke on Saturday with Bregman, who has gone 2 for 11 in four games, about the benching.
“These guys like the lineup out the night before, so I was able to do that, and he was good with it," DeRosa said. "It’s game on.”
Will Smith will start at catcher over Cal Raleigh, who is hitless in nine plate appearances this WBC.
Sunday's game is expected to be a thrilling star-studded matchup, with the Dominicans bringing the hottest lineup in the tournament against arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Paul Skenes.
The Dominicans are 5-0 in the tournament, have outscored opponents 51-10 while batting .312. With 14 homers, they tied the WBC record set by Mexico in 2009.
“Skenes is one of the best pitchers today in the major leagues," Dominican manager Albert Pujols said. “But we also have one of the best offenses in this tournament, so it’s going to be power versus power. We’ll try to win.”
Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara will start on Tuesday if the Dominicans advance to the final regardless of who they face, Pujols said. Italy plays Venezuela in the semis on Monday night.
“Alcantara will be our pitcher no matter what,” Pujols said. "If God gives us that opportunity, if we move to the final, Alcantara will be the starter. I’m not going to change it no matter what, no matter if it is Italy or Venezuela. ... I trust Sandy, and I hope to be here talking with you on Tuesday.”
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Pitcher River Ryan #77 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fifth inning of a spring training game at American Family Fields of Phoenix on March 09, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A busy Sunday saw every position player in big league camp getting into a game, plus 12 others as the Dodgers blew out the Cubs 14-8 in Mesa and beat the Rangers 5-3 at Camelback Ranch.
Hyeseong Kim, back from the World Baseball Classic, singled and stole a base in Mesa against the Cubs. Mookie Betts hit his first home run this spring, off Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. Kyle Tucker hit a two-run shot of his own against the Rangers.
Rotation competition
With Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki firmly in the Dodgers rotation, there isn’t room for all three of Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan, and River Ryan to all start games at the beginning of the season. Sheehan and Ryan both started on Sunday, and each made strides toward a potential roster spot.
Ryan continued his impressive spring. After four singles plated a run in the first inning, he allowed only a walk the rest of the way, finishing with five strikeouts in his four innings of work. The issue this year with Ryan will be how the Dodgers will limit his innings after missing all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery. But performance-wise, he’s been the best and most consistent of the three vying for a rotation spot this spring.
Sheehan entered this spring with an inside track toward a rotation spot after a dominant final two months last season, but a flu sidelined him and kept him off the mound for a while. He hasn’t yet been able to fully stretch out, such that his 3 2/3 innings and 66 pitches on Sunday marked the first time Sheehan recorded more than seven outs this spring. A two-run home run in the third inning were the only runs Sheehan allowed on Sunday, but in his three outings and 38 batters faced this spring, he has as many walks (six) as strikeouts.
Ryder Ryan followed his brother River on the mound against the Rangers and pitched his longest outing of the spring with 2 2/3 innings with three strikeouts, and a two-run home run allowed. His 53 pitches were five more than his brother, who recorded four more outs.
Zach Ehrhard hit a two-run triple against the Cubs, and his three triples are tied for the major league lead this spring.
Waiting game
Gavin Stone missed all of last season after shoulder surgery, and after just one start this spring he was shut down with more shoulder soreness. The Dodgers will undoubtedly be cautious with his return, but the right-hander offered a peak into a rough timeline for what’s next.
Gavin Stone update…Stone told us earlier today he will begin playing catch next week… "Hopefully within the next month I can pitch off the mound."#Dodgers@AM570LASports
USA TODAY Sports' staff makes their Final Four picks. Check them out below. And be sure to sign up for USA TODAY's Bracket Challenge and Survivor Poll to test your hoops knowledge.
NCAA Tournament predictions, 2026 Final Four picks
Blake Toppmeyer
East: Michigan State
South: Houston
Midwest: Michigan
West: Arizona
Duke is the No. 1 overall seed, but the Blue Devils got placed in a loaded region. That leaves Arizona as the frontrunner to win the national championship.
Paul Myerberg
East: St. John's
South: Florida
Midwest: Iowa State
West: Arkansas
I’m banking on the Red Storm and Razorbacks carrying over their torrid finishes to the regular season. ISU has a relatively easy road to the Elite Eight, while Florida is the class of the South region and one of the safest bets to advance deep into March.
Duke is a no-brainer. The most complete team in the tournament, with the best player in the tournament — unless Kansas stud Darryn Peterson decides to get serious. Arizona doesn't have a true superstar, but the Wildcats are talented throughout their lineup. Florida is long, they defend better than just about anyone and they're hot. The Cyclones are top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency, and just a tick below Florida and Duke as the best defensive teams in the tournament.
Jordan Mendoza
East: Duke
South: Florida
Midwest: Michigan
West: Arizona
The No. 1 overall seeds have proven to be in a class above the rest of the sport. It's not going to be a cakewalk, but they all make it to Indianapolis to back-to-back all-No. 1 seed Final Four.
March Madness 2026 schedule
The 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament will transpire over the next three weeks, which will end with the Final Four and the national championship game in Indianapolis.
Here’s a rundown of the schedule for the 2026 NCAA Tournament:
First Four: March 17-18
First round: March 19-20
Second round: March 21-22
Sweet 16: March 26-27
Elite Eight: March 28-29
Final Four: April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
National championship game: April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
Pearl, who led Auburn to the No. 1 overall seed last season before retiring and handing off the duties to his son, Steven Pearl, also questioned SMU's resume as a Last Four In team. He said Oklahoma and Auburn, the first two teams out of the bracket, could've been deserving of a bit.
"Auburn beat three champions this year," Pearl said during the bracket reveal. "They beat Florida, they beat St. John's and they beat Arkansas. They played the toughest schedule in the country; don't know they were rewarded for it. It's hard to get a couple more SEC teams in when the SEC already has 10 teams in."
Pearl acknowledged teams have to "win their way in or lose their way out." Auburn finished the season with a 17-16 record and stumbled at the end of the season, losing nine of its last 12 games.
Pearl said if any of the teams should've been left out of the bracket, it would've been SMU for him.
"SMU with a 191(-ranked) out of conference strength schedule," he said. "That, I don't know that they should've been rewarded. They only won five games away from home. For me, it would've been either Oklahoma or Auburn taking that last spot."
Pearl was critical of Miami (Ohio) in the lead up to the NCAA Tournament, stating he felt the RedHawks needed to win the MAC tournament to reach the big dance. Otherwise, Miami (Ohio) should've been left out despite going undefeated in the regular season.
Miami (Ohio) made the NCAA Tournament on March 15, and is facing SMU in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
"Here's the deal," Pearl said. "Are we going to select the 68 most deserving teams? Or are we going to select the 68 best teams? If we're selecting the 68 best teams, then Miami (Ohio) is going to have to win their tournament to qualify as a champion, because as an at-large, they are not one of the best teams in the country, and that's going to be a difficult choice for the committee."
Auburn goes from Final Four to First Four Out in one season and now looks forward to 2026-27, when maybe Pearl won't need to argue for the Tigers to reach the NCAA Tournament.
DENVER (AP) — Grace Zumwinkle scored two goals, Taylor Heise and Britta Curl-Salemme added a goal apiece, and the Minnesota Frost beat the New York Sirens 4-3 on Sunday at Ball Arena as part of the PWHL’s Takeover Tour.
The Frost (9-3-3-4) have won three straight after being shut out, 4-0, at Montreal in their first game back from the Olympic break.
Anna Bargman and Paetyn Levis scored goals for New York (8-0-3-9) a little more than a minute apart in the third. Allyson Simpson added a goal about four minutes later that made it 4-3 with 3:01 left in the game.
Zumwinkle darted along the left wall, cut in along the goal line and flicked a shot behind goaltended Kayle Osborne that deflected off the crossbar and into the net to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead just past the midway point in the first period. Zumwinkle gave the Frost a 4-0 lead with 7:28 left in the second period.
Heise flicked a shot that deflected off Osborne's skate and slowly trickled into the net 22 seconds into the second period before Curl-Salemme made it 3-0 eight minutes later with a one-timer off a pass from Kelly Pannek.
New York killed each of the Frost’s four power plays and have killed 13 straight overall.
Casey O’Brien, who leads all rookies this season with 14 points and three power-play goals, did not play (upper-body injury) for the Sirens. Taylor Girard left the game in the second period due to an apparent knee injury.
The Sirens beat Ottawa 6-2 last time out to snap a six-game losing streak, the last two losses coming after the Olympic break.
Minnesota, which also beat the Sirens 3-2 in overtime at the Prudential Center on Jan. 16 and 6-2 at home Jan. 25, was 0-0-3-3 last season against New York.
Up next
Sirens: Play Wednesday at Vancouver in the second of a four-game road trip.
"Miami of Ohio was not the last team selected into the field," said Keith Gill, the Chair of the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee. "They came in before NC State, Texas and SMU."
SMU fell short against Louisville in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Wednesday.
The Midwest Region game will be played on Wednesday, March 18. The game time has not been determined.
The winner will play Tennessee in the first round.
The RedHawks had an undefeated regular season, but an 87-83 loss to UMass in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament on Thursday put them at the mercy of the selection committee. Miami (Ohio) entered Selection Sunday as the last at-large team in the 68-team field in USA TODAY Sport's final bracketology.
Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Florida topped the bracket on Selection Sunday, while the SEC flexed with an NCAA-best 10 tournament teams and the Big 12 had three of the top eight seeds.
Treading water about midway through the regular season, the Gators began to round into form deeper into SEC play and seem very capable of repeating as national champions. UF did get blown out by Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament semifinals, though.
The Blue Devils are the tournament’s top seed after beating Virginia to repeat as ACC champs. Michigan would’ve had a case for being the No. 1 team in the bracket but lost to Purdue in the Big Ten title game.
But it was bad news for teams such as Auburn and Oklahoma, who were among the first left out of the field. At 17-16 overall against a brutal schedule, the Tigers would’ve set a record for most losses by an at-large pick.
Also left out of the tournament were San Diego State, New Mexico and Belmont. One notable contender that made the cut was No. 11 Miami (Ohio), which was 31-0 against a weaker schedule before losing to UMass in the MAC tournament.
These teams lead the biggest winners and losers from Selection Sunday:
Selection Sunday winners
The SEC
While not to the level of last year’s record-setting 14 selections, the SEC led every conference with 10 teams in this year’s field, just ahead of the Big Ten with nine picks. A year ago, the SEC parlayed its deep tournament roster into seven Sweet 16 teams, half of the Elite Eight, half of the Final Four and the eventual national champion. The league’s top title contenders are Florida, No. 4 Alabama and conference tournament champ Arkansas, also a No 4 seed.
Miami Ohio
Miami will be in nearby Dayton, Ohio — about an hour’s drive from campus — and will meet SMU in the play-in round after sweating out the selection process. The issue was a schedule that ranked among the weakest nationally in nonconference play and didn’t get much tougher in MAC action, though the RedHawks did hand eventual conference tournament champ Akron its lone regular-season loss. After months of nitpicking, we’ll find out this week if there’s any real substance to Miami’s 31-1 record.
Virginia
The Cavaliers surged to the finish line of the regular season and earned the No. 3 seed in the West region after nearly taking down the Blue Devils in a highly competitive ACC final. For this, Virginia doesn’t just get a late bump in seeding but an enviable little pocket at the bottom of the region. The Cavaliers start with No. 14 Wright State, could face No. 6 Tennessee or the winner of SMU and Miami (Ohio) in the second round and then one of No. 2 Iowa State, underachieving No. 7 seed Kentucky, No. 10 Santa Clara or No. 15 Tennessee State for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Missouri
There were three pieces of good news for Missouri. For starters, the Tigers made the bracket despite spending most of the year barely on the bubble, only getting into the field thanks to a solid close and some help during conference-championship week. Secondly, Missouri avoided the play-in round and landed as the No. 10 seed in the West region. And better yet, it will meet No. 7 Miami in the opening round in St. Louis, likely drawing a favorable home crowd.
USA TODAY Sports bracketologists
Credit where credit is due: USA TODAY Sports’ crack team of highly educated and genuinely brilliant bracketologists aced the entire field in our final update. That’s all 68 teams for 68 spots — hard to better than that. (Impossible, actually.)
Selection Sunday losers
Auburn and Oklahoma
Two SEC teams ended up on the wrong side of the bubble in Auburn and Oklahoma. While Auburn could tout one of the toughest schedules in the country, the Tigers’ dismal record in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games and 16 losses eliminated them from contention. The debate over the Sooners was a little more nuanced: OU coach Porter Moser pointed to his team’s torrid end to the regular season, but nine losses in a row preceded the Sooners’ 8-2 finish and were too much to overcome.
St. John’s
The East is led by Duke, Connecticut, Michigan State and Kansas — a high-profile, highly dangerous top four consisting of teams very capable of a Final Four run, especially if KU guard Darryn Peterson proves why he’s the likely No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft. This top four is bad news for the lower-seeded, potential Cinderella teams such as No. 8 Ohio State and No. 11 South Florida; steering through this bracket would require something miraculous, if not a miracle outright. But no team has a bigger beef than the Big East champion Red Storm, who topped out as a No. 5 seed in this region despite winning the Big East regular-season title and closing with a flourish against UConn. They open against No. 12 Northern Iowa.
Florida and Illinois
It may not matter who the Gators play and where. But if things go according to plan and UF makes the Elite Eight, UF could face Houston in Houston in a rematch of last year’s title game. While not on the No. 1 line, No. 3 seed Illinois could take on No. 6 North Carolina in the second round in Greenville, S.C., which should have a heavy UNC presence.
No NCAA Tournament means no more basketball for some college basketball teams.
It's soul crushing to not be part of March Madness, but those that just missed out on making the bracket don't have to see their seasons end with other postseason tournaments. The NIT is the most famous example, and there is also the College Basketball Crown.
However, the disappointment of not being in the NCAA Tournament is now too much. College basketball has changed drastically with so much player and coach movement that there isn't as much of a desire to keep playing if you don't have a chance to win a national championship. The NIT used to be a solid second option, but several teams now opt-out of participating.
So who has declined the NIT so far? Here is every team deciding to end its season rather than play in college basketball's invitational.
Teams to decline 2026 NIT tournament
List as of 7 p.m. ET Sunday, March 15
Belmont
Virginia Tech
San Diego State
Teams to announce it is declining NIT
Virginia Tech
The first team to announce it was not participating in the NIT was Virginia Tech. It made the decision on Friday, March 13 after it lost in the first round of the ACC tournament to finish the season 19-13.
It's not said often, at least this season, where the St. Louis Blues looked this decisive against an opponent and lost.
But that's exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon at Canada Life Centre, when the Blues dominated most categories, yet fell 3-2 to the Winnipeg Jets in a critical game in the push for the playoffs.
These are the kinds of games that are an absolute must. Call them the classic four-point games (sorry, Andy Murray, but they are -- IYKYK).
The Blues put on a push from start to finish, but three critical errors all proved costly, and the Jets (28-28-10), who were tied with the Blues (27-31-10) in points coming into the game, not pull two ahead with a game in hand and gives St. Louis now five teams it has to jump over for that second wild card into the Western Conference with just 15 games to play and a six-point deficit coming in (pending other results Sunday night).
Dalibor Dvorsky and Dylan Holloway scored for the Blues, who outshot the Jets 31-16. Jordan Binnington made 13 saves.
Let's look at Sunday's observations:
* Falling behind by two on two preventable situations -- The Blues started this game on time and were actually playing well, with territorial edge but something we'll get to later on (net front traffic). However, the Jets broke out with one of their few transitions out of the zone, but the Jake Neighbours-Pavel Buchnevich-Jordan Kyrou line was slow in tracking back on the play, and it backed the Theo Lindstein-Colton Parayko D-pair in.
The puck was coming in on the lefthand side, played into the oncoming D-man Haydn Fleury, who beat Binnington with a shortside wrister that you'd like to see stopped, but it could have all been preventable with more desperation staying connected by the forward group, and it came on Winnipeg's first shot at 2:31:
And against a defensively stingy team, which showed on Saturday in a 3-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche, it can absorb anything and everything but be structured enough to take away what can fuel your success.
And the Blues were at nearly three minutes to 42 seconds of offensive zone time, but another play that allowed a breakaway goal from Mark Scheifele at 7:51 made it 2-0, when the Jets center scooted by a puck that hopped past Pius Suter, and Cam Fowler was caught flat-footed on the play thinking Suter was going to get the puck, and Fowler could not recover to perhaps dive in and poke the puck away. Instead, Scheifele was off to the races from the right and went forehand, backhand upstairs on Binnington:
So you're chasing a game you had no business chasing on two preventable plays.
* Blues pushed even harder but needed more net front -- The Blues gave the Jets little to nothing moving forward, and through two periods, the O-zone possession time was 6:28-2:51, a massive edge by the visitors.
Here's the issue, something that's been problematic for most of this season: net front presence.
No offense to Eric Comrie, who came into the game with a plus-3.00 goals-against average and below a .900 save percentage, but he is now 4-0-0 against the Blues in his career for a reason: not enough bodies at the net taking his eyes away.
The Blues generated 59 shot attempts and 31 on goal, but in my view, Comrie was able to see too many pucks. There was not enough traffic from the dots in, particularly in and around the crease, or else this could have -- and should have -- been a different outcome.
But you know why Winnipeg had an 8-7 edge in high danger chances? It's because the Jets made a more concerted effort to get to the front of the net.
* Another critical mistake after dominating -- The Blues pushed and pushed and pushed, and finally broke through when Dvorsky, a healthy scratch Friday against the Edmonton Oilers, was at the net and finished a Jonatan Berggren pass to make it 2-1 at 5:17 of the third period (BTW, Berggren is such an underrated passer of the puck):
It was early enough that you could just sense the Jets were sort of holding on for dear life.
The territorial edge was growing. The Blues were controlling the puck for large swaths but again, didn't make a concerted effort to get to the interior.
Then came the grave error, the let-out for the Jets.
Suter, who typically has been responsible, was getting called for an offensive zone penalty and the Jets were playing with an extra attacker, Philip Broberg and Logan Mailloux were on the ice playing a high line. Connor is coming off the bench. That has to be recognized, and it's another breakaway and another goal, the dagger goal, at 11:53 to make it 3-1 and eliminate all the momentum the Blues generated:
Now the Jets can really lock it down, and the Blues, to their credit, kept pushing and got it back to within one again ta 3-2 when Holloway was at -- you guessed it -- the net front and give the Blues some life with 50.7 ticks left on the clock:
However, there would be no repeat of the 'Winnipeg Miracle' like Game 7 last May for the Blues, who now are off until Wednesday when they face the Calgary Flames.
According to naturalstattrick, the Blues had a 53-24 edge in Corsi-for/against, 28-11 edge in scoring chances for/against and 11-4 in high danger for/against. Kind of tells you the difference in play.
It was a solid seven-game point streak (6-0-1), and five straight wins on the road but to come away with nothing in this game, that one stings.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
