The Braves host the Guardians in a battle of the two MLB teams who have yet to lose a series. For game 1, Bryce Elder starts for Atlanta and Slade Cecconi starts for the Guardians. Today’s game starts at 7:15 PM ET in Atlanta and broadcast on BravesVision.
Join us and discuss today’s game in the comments below!
Texas Rangers lineup for April 10, 2026 against the Los Angeles Dodgers: starting pitchers are Kumar Rocker for the Rangers and Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers.
Texas begins a ten game road trip tonight at Chavez Ravine. Interestingly, Joc sits and McCutchen starts against a righty.
The lineup:
Nimmo — RF
Langford — LF
Seager — SS
Burger — 1B
McCutchen — DH
Carter — CF
Jansen — C
Smith — 2B
Jung — 3B
9:10 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +190 underdogs.
Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – DH
Jared Young – 1B
Luis Robert – CF
Brett Baty – RF
Marcus Semien – 2B
Ronny Mauricio – 3B
Francisco Alvarez – C
Carson Benge – LF
SP: Clay Holmes – RHP
Lawrence Butler – RF
Nick Kurtz – 1B
Shea Langeliers – C
Tyler Soderstrom – LF
Jacob Wilson – SS
Jeff McNeil – 2B
Max Muncy – 3B
Carlos Cortes – DH
Denzel Clarke – CF
SP: J.T. Ginn – RHP
First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: PIX11
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
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Talk about a bummer ending for Blue Jays fans in last year’s World Series; losing a late lead in Game 7, then losing the game in extra innings (the same happened in Game 3). In the offseason, the Jays picked up Dylan Cease, Taylor Rogers’s brother, and today’s starter, Patrick Corbin. Corbin’s a low-90s junkballer who’s a fan of politicians that cheat at golf, plus he’s lefthanded and breathing, which means he’ll probably give Twins hitters fits. (Or, maybe not, if Zach’s got this squad measured correctly.)
The 36-year-old Corbin (old by baseball years, but in life years, I’d trade with him) was called up after the Jays got pummeled by L.A. on Tuesday, and they’re currently below .500. I’d expect them to do better soon; still, a depressing start after last year’s depressing finish. Jays fans have always been some of the nicest, politest visitors to Target Field, so I wish them the best after this weekend.
If you’re not aware, a few years back the Jays did a major renovation project to the Skydome (corporate name, Rogers Centre, but always Skydome to me). The refit was planned to cost C$ 300, and came in 33% more costly, as refits always do. A huge undertaking was re-angling the lower-level seats with better sightlines. You can see photos of the old layout and new layout and the refit construction at this site, which loves fawning over the beneficence of baseball owners. While some of the other renovations created more family-friendly seating (yay!) and a lot of new exclusive special luxury sections (barf!).
But, one thing that doesn’t make me barf: this was all paid for by private investment. Not a single taxpayer dollar was spent.
If Rogers Communications wants to spend their own money (and that of investment partners) putting in more luxury boxes and such, that’s their business. If you want to buy a car dealership and paint every car on the lot in swirling 1960s psychedelic colors, that’s your business. Customers will like it or not. Caveat emptor, or whatever the reverse is.
Alas, naturally team president Mark Shapiro has said that in 10 years or so, the team *might* need a brand-new stadium, which generally means “I’m gonna threaten to move to Punxsutawney if they offer me three billion taxpayer dollars,” but we’ll see what happens then. Or you will, or neither of us if we’re both dead.
In the meantime, let’s celebrate what the Skydome is really best known for; hotel-in-the outfield exhibitionism. From the Toronto Sun in 2014:
I love how the two mustached dudes are like, “we are so luxury with our expensive hotel, look at us,” and absolutely nobody is looking at THEM.
I tend to think of intentionally leaving the shades open on personal moments as a Manhattan thing (many Manhattan residents have binoculars near their window for this reason), but hey, Toronto can be open for wackiness, too.
Since Jays fans are generally so nice when visiting Target Field, how about some Twins fans going to the Skydome Marriott and giving the locals a show?
On Thursday, as I type this, there’s a room with a baseball view available Saturday for only C$ 1776 (or $1285 US), with comfy chairs you can move right over to the window:
C’mon, people. Take a trip and let your freaky side out! You know you WANT to. I would, but my TwinkieTown company credit card’s been frozen (lawsuits are pending). So it’s up to you!
And if you’re not into that sort of thing, at least enjoy one of my favorite team songs:
Mets rookie Carson Benge made headlines on Opening Day, homering to pick up his first career hit, which may have raised the immediate expectations around the 23-year-old a bit too high, too fast.
Since going 1-for-3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates with that home run, Benge is just 3-for-34 at the plate without another extra-base hit. Overall, Benge is hitting .108 over 11 games this season, causing some to question if he's actually ready to play in the majors.
Even with president of baseball operations David Stearns and the team backing Benge, it was asked by a reporter on Friday if there comes a point where the Mets should send Benge down to Triple-A to help improve his confidence at the plate. Stearns didn't bat an eye and said that's not something up for discussion, believing he will continue to adjust and improve as the season continues.
"We're not discussing that at all," Stearns said. "I think our view is Carson's going to figure this out. He's a good player and we're happy to have him on the team."
When asked what he's thought of Benge so far and what he needs to show to remain in the big leagues, Stearns expressed full confidence in the young outfielder.
"I think we've seen a really good athlete," Stearns said Friday ahead of the team's game vs. the Athletics. "I think we've seen, at times, some really good at-bats, and at times, maybe getting a little bit jumpy. Probably trying to do too much, maybe subconsciously trying to do too much. This is a really good athlete, it's a good baseball player. You can go through stretches at the big leagues and tie yourself in knots a little bit, and part of being in the big leagues is figuring how to get yourself out of it.
"I've been encouraged over the last couple games he's played. I think we've seen some better at-bats. We've seen a couple really nice plays made against him, which also seems to happen when you're going through stretches like this, balls seem to find gloves. Our feeling toward the player, our evaluation of the player hasn't changed at all based on the last few weeks."
Stearns went on to say that Benge has shown his athleticism in the outfield and on the basepaths, going 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts. The team is OK being "patient" with his development early in the season and believes his versatility will help them win games.
"Yeah, we're going to be patient," Stearns said. "Carson's a part of this team, we believe he's going to help us win games this year.
"The nice thing about Carson and what he brings to the team is that he can contribute in a variety of different ways, so it's not all on his bat. He's a good defender, he's a good baserunner and I think that allows someone to be able to work through things at the plate a little bit when they're contributing to wins in other ways."
In addition to the Mets' confidence in Benge, sending him down to the minors at this time would make it hard for them to construct a starting outfield with Juan Soto sidelined. Benge showed his hitting capabilities in spring training with a .366 batting average and will look to build more momentum after singling in Wednesday's loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks to snap his 0-for-24 streak.
Greetings, Panthers fans. Welcome to the weekend.
Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-football sports, you name it. As long as it’s allowed by the site’s ToS, it’s fair game here.
You know the drill.
This is now an open thread
After a successful start to the road-trip in New York, taking two of three, it’s on to Philadelphia for the D-backs. We’ve lost the series here each of the past two seasons – last time, it took an 11-9 victory in ten innings for Arizona to avoid the sweep. That game gave Jalen Beeks his one and only save as a Diamondback. [I note, he has tossed six scoreless innings for the Rangers since signing there] Of course, we will always have those stunning wins in Games 6+7 of the 2023 NLCS. In Game 7, the D-backs bullpen pitched five innings of no-hit baseball after Joe Mantiply allowed a lead-off double, to lock down the pennant. So, yeah: this ballpark has some good memories.
Michael Soroka’s second start was nowhere near as dominant as his Diamondbacks debut. He had a K:BB of 3:3, rather than 10:1. But it still got the job done. Five innings of one-run ball, from your #5 starter is definitely something you’ll take any day. I doubt his minuscule ERA will remain that way forever, but enjoy it while it lasts. Still no Corbin Carroll in the line-up, but according to Jody Jackson, “Corbin Carroll says he feels a lot better today and all indications are that he will be back soon.” No imaging or further tests are scheduled. Good to hear: the line-up could certainly use the power.
Because the last time a Diamondbacks’ hitter left the yard? That would be in the third inning of last Friday’s game against Atlanta, when Jordan Lawlar went deep. They have had 218 at-bats since then, without a home-run. If they don’t hit one tonight, it’ll be the first time they have gone seven games without once since September 2014. The franchise record is eight, from July 2002. Also of note, this is the only occasion where the D-backs have gone longer than four games without a homer and had a winning record over that time. They are 4-2 during the current streak, and have averaged better than four runs per game, which is… not terrible.
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Shōta Imanaga was absolutely magnificent Friday at Wrigley Field.
He allowed just one baserunner, a two-out walk in the second inning. (More on that later.) He struck out nine.
Imanaga had to be removed after six innings, having thrown 100 pitches. No one quibbles with that. He was the first Cubs pitcher to throw 100 pitches this year. In fact, out of 376 games started in 2026 before Friday, just 26 pitchers (6.9 percent) had thrown 100 or more pitches, with the most being 109 by Robbie Ray of the Giants this past Tuesday.
Caleb Thielbar, who’s been so good out of the pen since the beginning of last year, wasn’t today. A leadoff single by Ryan O’Hearn in the seventh spoiled any thought of a combined no-hitter and then Bryan Reynolds’ homer gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead that they did not give up, and that was the final score on a chilly Friday at Wrigley Field, a 2-0 Cubs loss.
This is largely because the Cubs had baserunners all over the place but could not do anything with them. Runners in the first and second came to naught because Alex Bregman (first) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (second) hit into inning-ending double playes. The Cubs had two on with one out in the third — nothing doing. They loaded the bases with two out in the fourth, but Moisés Ballesteros flied to left. They loaded the bases again with two out in the sixth, and Matt Shaw, batting for Ballesteros, struck out.
There was one last potential rally for the Cubs in the eighth. Again, they had a runner in scoring position with two out, but Shaw flied to right.
If you are counting — and helpfully, that boxscore link does that for you — that’s 0-for-8 for the Cubs with RISP and 11 men left on base. They had six hits and drew six walks and, well, teams should score more than zero runs with all those baserunners. Just to give you an idea how rare it is to not score at all with that many runners, here’s BCB’s JohnW53:
The Cubs had been shut out in only five previous games since 1901 with at least six hits and at least seven walks, their totals today. This was the first by 2-0.
The previous five:
April 10, 1979: lost at St. Louis, 7-0 (seven hits, seven walks)
May 19, 1985: lost at Atlanta, 3-0 (seven hits, eight walks)
May 17, 1991: lost at Philadelphia, 1-0, in 16 innings (10 hits, nine walks)
May 7, 2008: lost at Cincinnati, 9-0 (six hits, seven walks)
Aug. 22, 2011: lost at home to the Braves, 3-0
So let’s at least give props to Imanaga for an outstanding outing. He struck out nine [VIDEO].
Here’s more on Shōta’s start [VIDEO].
And still more from John:
Shōta Imanaga’s start was just the fifth by a Cub since 1901 in which he gave up no hits, threw at least 6.0 innings and did not complete a nine-inning no-hitter. Imanaga also was the last to do it, going 7.0 vs. the Pirates at Wrigley Field on Sept. 4, 2024.
The three others:
King Cole, on July 31, 1910, in a seven-inning game at St. Louis
Zach Davies, on June 24, 2021, with 6.0 at Los Angeles vs. the Dodgers
Ben Brown, on May 28, 2024, with 7.0 at Milwaukee
There was some good Cubs defense. After Reynolds’ homer, Marcell Ozuna hit a ball to right-center that PCA ran down [VIDEO].
At the beginning of this recap, I mentioned I’d have more on Imanaga’s walk. That’s because… it shouldn’t have been a walk:
As you can see, pitch 9, which was called ball four, was a strike. The Cubs opted not to use an ABS challenge on this pitch, which I suppose I can understand that early in a scoreless game. On the other hand, if they had… the inning would have been over and it would have saved Imanaga the five pitches he had to then use to strike out Konnor Griffin to actually end the inning.
Only you can’t necessarily assume that, because the sequencing would have been different with Griffin then leading off the third. So who knows? I assume the Cubs brass will discuss this and decide whether, in the future, they might want to challenge a pitch like this.
Anyway, the offense, or lack thereof, is what made this a frustrating game. After Thielbar, Ethan Roberts and Riley Martin set the Pirates down with no further damage, giving the Cubs at least a chance to come back, but they could not. The Pirates appear to be a better team this year than last, so hopefully the Cubs will be better prepared for the rest of this series.
Saturday, Edward Cabrera, who’s been excellent so far this year, will try to help the Cubs even up the series. Braxton Ashcraft goes for Pittsburgh. Game time is again 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
David Peterson has had a disappointing start to his 2026 season.
After making his first All-Star Game a year ago, the Mets southpaw has stumbled out of the game with three subpar starts, including back-to-back outings where he's allowed five earned runs.
But for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, it's still a small sample size and he believes Peterson will right the ship.
"Petey, I’m sure the last two haven’t gone the way he wanted, haven’t gone the way we wanted," Stearns told the media ahead of the team's series opener against the Athletics on Friday. "But we believe in who he is as a pitcher. He's a great competitor, and I think he'll put this past him."
Across his first three starts, Peterson has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) across 14.2 innings pitched. His ERA stands at 6.14 and the Mets are 1-2 in his starts.
Following Peterson's latest loss, there were questions as to whether his place in the rotation should be reconsidered, especially with Sean Manaea pitching effectively in long relief.
Stearns is confident that Manaea will make starts for the Mets in 2026 and doesn't necessarily have to replace someone in the rotation to do it.
"My expectation, just based on my experience of how many starters you need over the course of a major league season, is that Sean’s going to make a bunch of starts for us this year," Stearns said. "He’s very capable of doing that. We’ve seen some progress over the last couple of outings and that’s good to see. I give Sean a lot of credit for understandably being disappointed, but then going down there and helping the team, and he has helped us every time he’s taken the ball down there."
After experiencing decreased velocity in spring, Manaea broke camp in the bullpen. He's made three appearances, allowing three runs across 9.0 innings. While the velocity isn't where it was at his peak, it has improved and Manaea's pitching overall continues to trend in the right direction.
Stearns was asked about the prospect of Kimbrel joining the club this season and if there's a timeline for that to happen.
While Stearns didn't go into details on whether the veteran reliever has any opt-outs, he was happy at what he saw from him in his first rehab assignment.
Pitching for Port St. Lucie, Kimbrel worked a clean inning and struck a batter out.
"Craig threw the ball well yesterday. That was very good to see," Stearns said. "We continue to believe he can help us this year; he wants to help us. We have a stable pen so far. We haven’t made a move, but eventually we will. He’s certainly a candidate when we have an opportunity."
With Manaea giving them length and saving the bullpen twice, the Mets relievers are relatively rested and have been generally effective. But as Stearns said with Manaea, it's a long season and Kimbrel's name is likely to be called upon sooner rather than later.
Jose Franco played the role of long man in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen through the first two weeks of the 2026 season. He’s a starter by trade – and a promising one, at that – but manager Terry Francona needed to lean on him in that role given the banged-up nature of the rest of his pitching staff at the moment.
Franco mopped up Thursday’s 8-1 loss to the Miami Marlins in the series finale in south Florida, throwing 43 pitches to get through 2.0 IP. It was his second multi-inning outing of the week, and the gassed Reds bullpen simply needed another fresh arm. So, it was unsurprising to see Franco optioned back to AAA Louisville on Friday as the team brought up righty Kyle Nicolas to take his spot on the roster.
MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed the news on Bluesky.
Nicolas came to the Reds in exchange for Tyler Callihan during spring training, though he was away with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic at the time. So, it took a bit of time for the Reds to fully understand exactly what they had in him, and he began the year with AAA Louisville to get his feet wet within the new organization despite having appeared in 82 games at the big league level across the previous two seasons.
Nicolas allowed an earned run in his first appearance of the season with the Bats back on March 31st but has since fired 3.1 IP of scoreless ball with just a lone hit and a 6/2 K/BB. His high velocity stuff will play just about anywhere in the Cincinnati bullpen, though it would certainly appear now that they’re going to operate without a ‘long man’ until Nick Lodolo returns from his blister issue and someone gets bumped back from the rotation.
Cincinnati begins a weekend series (and 6-game homestand) on Friday night at Great American Ball Park, and they’ll do so with Chase Burns on the mound and the Los Angeles Angels in town. First pitch in that one is set for 6:45 PM ET as the game is being broadcast by Apple TV. Here’s how the Reds are going to line up for the opener:
And yes, it appears they’re going to wear their awful city connect uniforms once again.
The Seattle Mariners honored Hall of Fame outfielder Ichiro Suzuki with a statue outside of T-Mobile Park Friday, April 10, but the unveiling didn't go exactly as planned.
As the cover was pulled off revealing Suzuki's statue, onlookers, including former Mariners greats Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez, took notice of a bent and broken baseball bat on the bronze sculpture of the Mariners legend in his iconic stance at the plate.
"There was a fastball inside," joked Rick Rizzs, the lead radio voice of the Mariners who presided over Friday's ceremony, "but he still got a base hit! ... "What a remarkable piece of art."
Those in attendance found humor in the awkward situation, and the statue was fixed within the hour.
Suzuki played 28 years of professional baseball, including 19 season in Major League Baseball. He began his MLB career in 2001 with the Mariners and played there until 2012. In that span, he absolutely dominated. He was a spectacle to see. He was named AL Rookie of the Year and MVP in 2001. He also won Silver Slugger Award, AL batting champion and was AL stolen base leader.
His 2001 season was no fluke. Suzuki was an All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner in each of his first 10 seasons. He amassed a record 262 hits in 2004, a mark that still stands.
He finished his career with 3,089 hits in 9,934 at-bats for a .311 batting average; needless to say, his bat on the field rarely malfunctioned. Suzuki hit 117 career home runs, drove in 780 runs with a .757 OPS. He had 509 career stolen bases.
Suzuki's No. 51 was retired by Mariners on August 9, 2025. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame a month earlier.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki statue includes broken baseball bat
For the first time since 2022, the Pittsburgh Penguins are officially Stanley Cup Playoff-bound - and then some.
On Thursday, the Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, to secure two points and punch their ticket to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is the first time the Penguins will appear in the postseason since 2022, and with a Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, they were able to secure home ice advantage in round one as well.
So many on the outside wrote off this Penguins' team before the season even began. Now? It's all come full-circle, and the team is happy to have proven folks wrong.
"I'll be honest, it feels a little better given the outside expectations all year," Bryan Rust said. "Giving everyone a big middle finger feels good."
Bryan Rust: "I'll be honest, it feels a little better given the outside exceptions all year. Giving everyone a big middle finger feels good."
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) April 10, 2026
The road for the Penguins this season wasn't an easy one, nor was their post-Olympic stretch. And even this game had its moments early on.
The Devils registered the first five shots of the hockey game, peppering Penguins' netminder Stuart Skinner early. Skinner answered the bell, though, and Pittsburgh finally responded just under five minutes in. The Penguins were in the offensive zone, and Kris Letang managed to get the puck to a breaking Egor Chinakhov on the left side. Chinakhov sold "shot" all the way, but instead, sneakily threaded a perfect seam pass to Rust on the other wing, and he was able to execute a perfect one-time touch redirection into the net to give the Penguins the 1-0 lead on their first shot.
THE MILKSHAKE MAN DELIVERS 👏
— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 9, 2026
Score half off Rusty's shake at @MShakeFactory tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/qdmda8CAjZ
The Penguins took over the rest of the period for the most part, but they were still giving up some dangerous grade-A looks against. That came to a head approaching the midway point of the second period, when Paul Cotter took advantage of an Erik Karlsson misplay and took off on a breakaway, beating Skinner and tying the game at 1-1.
But, as they often do, the Penguins didn't sit back or sulk. Instead, they got right back to work. Less than two minutes later, Pittsburgh gained the offensive zone on the rush, and Karlsson slipped a nice pass to Evgeni Malkin, who was breaking through the middle. Malkin then slid the puck forward to Tommy Novak, who went top-shelf to score his first goal in 13 games and restore the Penguins' lead.
TOP SHELF TOMMY ‼️ pic.twitter.com/jgE2IHncJ9
— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 10, 2026
They'd never surrender that lead, and, in fact, kept adding. Ryan Shea got possession of the puck off the ensuing faceoff, and he backed up and fed a breaking Chinakhov a perfect pass on a Murphy dump. Chinakhov managed to separate just enough to knock down the bouncing puck, and - off-balance, nonetheless - he reached forward with his stick, somehow getting a solid backhand shot off and beating Jake Allen blocker-side to put the Penguins up 3-1 just nine seconds later.
EGOR BRINGING THE ENERGY 🔋 pic.twitter.com/jfBreL7soH
— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 10, 2026
Jack Hughes added a tally for New Jersey within the final five minutes of the middle frame to bring the Devils back to within one, but the Penguins put any hopes of a comeback to bed in the third. Almost seven minutes in, Chinakhov pounced on a puck down low and used his foot to redirect the puck to Crosby at the net-front. Crosby made a nice move on Allen and almost scored a highlight-reel goal of his own, but he couldn't finish it - which wasn't a problem for Evgeni Malkin, who found the puck on the doorstep and put it home for his 19th of the season to make it 4-2.
GENO MACHINOOOO 💪 pic.twitter.com/Z0GopvXm3R
— x - Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 10, 2026
Then, with three minutes left, Karlsson put the cherry on top with an empty-netter from long-range to give the Penguins the 5-2 and seal the deal on clinching for the first time in four years.
"It's exciting," Crosby said. "That’s why you play. That's the best time of the year. To know that we’re going to be there, to set out to do that... it’s nice to get rewarded. Everybody has had a part in this, especially with this group. Everybody’s contributed to get here.”
BREAKING: Penguins Clinch First Playoff Berth Since 2022 With Win Over New Jersey DevilsDespite outside noise, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins have clinched a berth in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.Here are just a few notes and takeaways from the Penguins' biggest win of the season:
- Honestly, I am not going to say a whole lot down here this time. There will be plenty of pieces, plenty of discourse, and plenty of writing to be had in the week and a half between now and when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday, Apr. 18.
That said, boy, this has been such a fun hockey team to cover this season.
Head coach Dan Muse was asked after the game when he first remembered feeling like this team could be special. And without hesitation, he said "Training camp."
Honestly, I get it. I am not going to sit here and claim that I thought this team was going to make the playoffs, even if I did not think they would be a lottery team. I was convinced that it would be much of the same from last season, when they finished ninth-worst in the league.
But there was a different air in training camp this season. With the coaching change, with a pretty overturned roster, with legitimate youth talent pushing... you could feel an energy that simply wasn't there prior to the 2024-25 season. There was a lot of positivity. A lot of encouragement. A lot of hard work. A lot of responsiveness between the players and coaching staff. Just high spirits in general, and not the regular kind when a team returns to camp after months off in the summertime.
No. You could sense the belief in this group from day one. You could tell the veterans - from Crosby to Rust to Karlsson and everyone else - felt they had underachieved in the previous three seasons. There was unfinished business with this core of players, and they intended to finish it.
Well, this season was a testament to that. What a special group this is. They earned this opportunity, and that belief and that energy carried them through the season.
Bryan Rust Nominated For King Clancy Memorial TrophyBryan Rust is the Penguins' nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.- That said, it's not like they operated entirely on belief. The talent and the depth is there, too, and it was on full display in this game.
Chinakhov registered three points to give him 18 goals and 36 points in 41 games with the Penguins this season, including four goals and 10 points in his last five games. Karlsson scored his 15th goal of the season, yet another notch in an outstanding season and giving the Penguins 10 players with 15 or more goals. Novak got back on the board. The big guys put in some work.
Making sure the two points were earned in this game was a group effort that took everyone. That's been the case all season, that next-man-up mentality. I'm sure it will be the case in the playoffs, too.
- Skinner was outstanding for the second time in the last three games. He made some huge stops early on - when the Penguins weren't playing so well - to neutralize the Devils and keep his team ahead. And he made sure they didn't fall behind within the first five minutes of the game.
He has separated himself as the Game One starter at this point. The Penguins have serious goaltending depth in their organization, so I'm not sure any of them are the "wrong" answer.
But experience wins out, as does clutch performances in games like this. Skinner has brought such positive energy to this team - even more than it already had - and he deserves the net to begin the playoffs.
- There were a lot of other notes from this game, but I'll save some of them for later. I'll leave you with this:
Enjoy the back-to-back with the Washington Capitals this weekend. Make time to watch it and take it in. It will be nice for fans to not have to worry about the result, too, but the Caps will surely be pushing.
And this, very well, could be the last time we see Crosby, Malkin, and Alex Ovechkin go head-to-head.
Ticket prices for these two games are absurd, but it's no mystery why. The Penguins and Capitals were the gold standard in the NHL for two decades. They employ the two biggest hockey icons of that respective generation as well as two of the greatest to ever play. Three, too, if you're counting Malkin, who certainly deserves that recognition.
Don't take it for granted. Again, enjoy it. You'll probably never see a rivalry quite like this one again.
Capitals' Alex Ovechkin Looks Back At Rivalry With Sidney Crosby: 'It's History'Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby may be playing each other for the last time in the NHL this weekend. As Ovechkin and his teammates say, it's a historic rivalry that won't ever be recreated.Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
We don’t know who the Cleveland Cavaliers will be facing in the first round of the NBA playoffs. But there’s a good chance that it will be the Atlanta Hawks — a team that they defeated on Wednesday and will be taking on again on Friday evening.
Earlier this week, we asked fans who would win a possible first-round series between the Cavs and Hawks and in how many games it would be. An overwhelming majority believe that the Cavs will win the series (74%), but they’re split on the length of the series. Fifty percent of fans believe the Cavs will win in six or seven games, while just 24% believe they will do so in five or fewer.
It’s also worth noting that the community believes it could be a longer series. A total of 71% of those surveyed think that this will go six or seven games.
There’s some things to be sorted out in the Eastern Conference standings between spots five through 10 before we know exactly who the Cavs will face in the first round. As of now, it’s possible the Cavs could match up with the Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, or the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.
FanDuel believes in the Cavs’ chances in the playoffs. They give the Cavs the second-best chance to win the Eastern Conference at +310 behind only the Boston Celtics (+160). The Detroit Pistons (+480) and New York Knicks (+490) trail both. FanDuel lists the Cavs as having the fifth-best chance at winning the NBA Finals at +1200.
Just two games remain in the NBA regular season, and the playoff bracket is still muddled, especially in the Eastern Conference, where the only seed that has been officially locked up is the Detroit Pistons at No. 1.
But the slate on Friday, April 10 could go a long way toward clearing up the picture. The Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors can clinch playoff berths with wins (or losses by teams ranked below them), while the Boston Celtics can clinch the Atlantic Division with a win or a loss by the New York Knicks.
Out West, we know the six teams that have clinched the playoff berths – and the four that are in the play-in tournament – but the order of the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 seeds is still up for grabs, with the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets all battling for position.
All 30 teams are in action Friday night, and there are plenty of intriguing games to watch. Here are the current NBA standings and what the NBA postseason and play-in tournament would look like if the season ended today:
All times Eastern
(Through Thursday, April 9)
*- clinched conference; d- clinched division; x-clinched playoff berth
The Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards have been eliminated from postseason contention.
(Through Thursday, April 9)
c- clinched conference; d- clinched division; x-clinched playoff berth
The New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Kings and Utah Jazz have been eliminated from postseason contention.
(Through Thursday, April 9)
(Through Thursday, April 9)
The NBA Play-In Tournament begins Tuesday, April 14 and finishes Friday, April 17.
The NBA playoffs begin the very next day, Saturday, April 18, featuring eight teams in each conference after two teams from both the East and West are eliminated in the Play-In Tournament.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be on Wednesday, June 3.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA playoff bracket picture, standings, clinch scenarios, schedule
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Diamondbacks:
Let’s talk about it.
