DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored a power-play goal midway through the third period and added an empty-netter in the final minute while Jake Oettinger made 22 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Dallas Stars beat the New York Rangers 2-0 on Saturday and clinched second place in the Central Division.
The Stars were already assured of facing the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the NHL playoffs. They secured the position late in the third period when the Wild lost in regulation to the Nashville Predators.
Robertson collected a rebound of Matt Duchene’s shot and flipped a backhander into the far side to beat Igor Shesterkin with 7:11 left to play. Robertson has 44 goals, two short of his career high scored three years ago.
Duchene assisted on both goals.
It was Oettinger’s 34th win of the season. He was on the U.S. men’s team that Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan led to the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Shesterkin stopped 17 shots while absorbing only his second regulation loss in 10 career decisions against Dallas.
The Rangers began a season-ending three-game road trip. They’re last in the Eastern Conference and will miss the playoffs for a second straight season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024.
The Rangers, with the second-best road power play in the league, went 0 for 5 with the man advantage. That included 1:02 of 5-on-3 late in the second period.
Up next
Both teams will play on the road Monday, the Rangers at Florida and the Stars at Toronto.
DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored a power-play goal midway through the third period and added an empty-netter in the final minute while Jake Oettinger made 22 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Dallas Stars beat the New York Rangers 2-0 on Saturday and clinched second place in the Central Division.
The Stars were already assured of facing the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the NHL playoffs. They secured the position late in the third period when the Wild lost in regulation to the Nashville Predators.
Robertson collected a rebound of Matt Duchene’s shot and flipped a backhander into the far side to beat Igor Shesterkin with 7:11 left to play. Robertson has 44 goals, two short of his career high scored three years ago.
Duchene assisted on both goals.
It was Oettinger’s 34th win of the season. He was on the U.S. men's team that Rangers coach Mike Sullivan led to the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Shesterkin stopped 17 shots while absorbing only his second regulation loss in 10 career decisions against Dallas.
The Rangers began a season-ending three-game road trip. They’re last in the Eastern Conference and will miss the playoffs for a second straight season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024.
The Rangers, with the second-best road power play in the league, went 0 for 5 with the man advantage. That included 1:02 of 5-on-3 late in the second period.
Up next
Both teams will play on the road Monday, the Rangers at Florida and the Stars at Toronto.
DETROIT (AP) — Jesper Bratt scored his second goal with 3:34 left in the third period, helping the New Jersey Devils eliminate the Detroit Red Wings from the NHL playoff picture with a 5-3 win on Saturday.
Detroit extended the league’s longest active postseason drought, dating to the 2016 season when the franchise earned a berth for the 25th consecutive season in what was a remarkable run that included four Stanley Cup championships.
The Red Wings were in a playoff position for 148 days of the season, according to Sportradar, to raise expectations higher than they’ve been since the hockey-crazed state has experienced the playoffs a long time ago.
They went ahead against New Jersey in the first, second and third periods — and lost every lead.
On an odd-man rush, Bratt scored the go-ahead goal from the left circle off a perfect pass from Jack Hughes in the right circle with John Gibson flailing around in an attempt to stop the puck. Dawson Mercer added an empty-net goal with a minute left.
Gibson had 27 saves for the Red Wings and Jake Allen stopped 25 shots for the Devils.
Detroit’s Justin Faulk broke a scoreless tie midway through the opening period.
Olympic hero Hughes, playing about 25 miles from where he skated in high school at USA Hockey Arena, scored his 27th goal of the season a minute later.
The Red Wings went back ahead on David Perron’s goal with 8:01 left in the second period, but failed to keep the lead again. Bratt scored a game-tying goal, giving him at least 21 for a fifth straight season.
Emmitt Finnie scored a tiebreaking goal seven minutes into the third to put the Red Wings ahead again, but Cody Glass pulled the Devils into another tie midway through the period.
Kodai Senga had a throwback performance Saturday, but not in a positive sense.
In a reversion to the second half of last season, when the right-hander became easy work for opponents, Senga got jumped early by the A’s and couldn’t even last three innings.
Access the Mets beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.
Sloppy defense didn’t help and Luke Weaver imploded late, but this one was mostly on Senga in his team’s 11-6 loss at Citi Field amid plenty of boos that gave the Mets a four-game losing streak.
The Mets awoke offensively after three straight dormant games but never caught the A’s following Senga’s ugly abbreviated outing. Senga smacked his right leg in disgust with his glove as he walked toward the dugout after his removal in the third inning.
“The biggest thing was I wasn’t able to control very many pitches near the strike zone or over the plate,” Senga said through his interpreter.
Senga lasted only 2 ¹/₃ innings, surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts before being removed at 72 pitches. It was a reversal from what the Mets had seen from Senga in his first two starts this season, when he was effective against the Cardinals and Giants.
“He didn’t have much, especially fastball command,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He kept going to that sinker, just to see if he could get back in counts or get strikes, but he just didn’t have a feel for his pitches.”
Kodai Senga is taken out after giving up a three-run home run to Carlos Cortes during the third inning of the Mets’ 11-6 loss to the A’s on April 11, 2026 at Citi Field. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Bo Bichette ended the Mets’ scoreless drought at 17 innings with an RBI single in the first against lefty Jacob Lopez, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Senga walked Denzel Clarke with the bases loaded in the second to give the A’s their first run. Lawrence Butler’s RBI fielder’s choice extended the lead to 2-1.
Senga’s troubles started with consecutive singles by Jacob Wilson and Jeff McNeil to begin the inning before Carlos Cortes walked with one out to load the bases.
Francisco Lindor had a defensive lapse in the inning — he was caught out of position on a grounder to Marcus Semien, costing the Mets a shot at a double play on Butler’s grounder that could have ended the inning. Semien instead ran to the base after fielding the grounder.
“I went after the ball and Marcus was there and didn’t make it to second base and we didn’t turn the double play,” Lindor said.
Bo Bichette celebrates with the third base coach after hitting a two-run homer during the fifth inning of the Mets’ loss to the A’s. Robert Sabo for NY Post
It continued a rough stretch for Lindor in all facets of the game — he’s batting only .167 following a 1-for-5 performance. He’s also had lapses on the bases, most recently Friday when he got caught off third base on a grounder.
“I feel like I’m locked in,” Lindor said. “I feel like I’m in the game and it just happens. I have got to be better.”
Tyler Soderstrom smashed a two-run homer against Senga in the third, following Shea Langeliers’ leadoff double. The blast was the first Senga had allowed this season.
Reliever Luke Weaver looks on after giving up a a three-run home run to Tyler Soderstrom (not pictured) in the Mets’ loss to the A’s. Robert Sabo for NY Post
The A’s started a second rally in the inning. Wilson singled — a ball that Semien missed with a bare hand — and McNeil hit a grounder off Mark Vientos’ glove for a single.
Cortes delivered the knockout blow to Senga with a three-run homer that buried the Mets in a 7-1 hole.
“It’s tough having back-to-back innings with high pitch counts,” Senga said. “But not every outing is going to be smooth sailing. Some outings are going to be tough. In a long season stuff like this is going to happen, so I want to reflect on this over the time before I go back out there, to make sure it doesn’t happen again or it’s better next time.”
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez stands on second base before his blast ended up being ruled a home run. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Bichette’s first Mets homer cut the deficit.
With Lindor aboard, Bichette hit a shot to right that just cleared the right-field fence. The two-run homer gave Bichette a team-leading nine RBIs.
Francisco Alvarez’s blast leading off the bottom of the sixth sliced the Mets’ deficit to 7-4. The homer was Alvarez’s team-leading fourth this season. Before the inning was complete, Carson Benge scored the Mets’ fifth run. Benge walked and scored on Brett Baty’s sacrifice fly following Semien’s single.
Jorge Polanco homered an inning later to pull the Mets within one run. The Mets put the tying and go-ahead runs on base before the inning was complete, but Benge and Semien were retired in succession to end the threat.
Weaver’s second straight rough performance sank the Mets in the eighth. Weaver surrendered a three-run blast to Soderstrom after Langeliers’ RBI single gave the A’s a two-run lead.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 17: Sam Reinhart #13 of the Florida Panthers skates against Charlie McAvoy #73 of the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the TD Garden on May 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
It’s not exactly the way you want to clinch a playoff spot, but you’ll take it!
After throwing away a point or two via a late regulation loss to Tampa Saturday afternoon, the Bruins officially clinched a playoff spot via a Detroit Red Wings loss later in the day.
The Red Wings, playing at home, needed to either beat New Jersey or lose beyond regulation to stay in playoff contention.
They did neither, allowing three New Jersey goals in the third period en route to a 5-3 loss that ended their slim playoff hopes.
While the B’s are officially in, there’s still plenty to be decided in the last few days of the regular season.
The Bruins and Ottawa will go back-and-forth over the first and second wild card spot, with Ottawa currently in WC1 via the regulation wins tiebreaker.
Both the Bruins and Senators have two games left:
Bruins: at Columbus, vs. New Jersey
Ottawa: at New Jersey, vs. Toronto
The Bruins will be playing out their string Sunday and Tuesday, while the Senators will be playing tomorrow and Wednesday.
There’s also the not-so-small matter of who the B’s (and Senators) will be playing in the first round.
It’s likely that the second wild card team will be facing the Carolina Hurricanes, though there’s a chance they could flop in their last three games and let an Atlantic team catch them.
However, the second wild card is almost certainly beginning the playoffs in Raleigh, while WC1 will be facing a to-be-determined Atlantic team.
Interestingly enough, that could be any one of Buffalo, Montreal, or Tampa Bay at this point, with the three teams separated by two points (prior to Montreal’s Saturday night game, at least).
I don’t think there’s an easy out in the Atlantic, but I’d prefer to play one of those three teams instead of Carolina.
Regardless, the Bruins are officially back in the playoffs after a season away.
Their last postseason game was on May 17, 2o24, a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers at TD Garden.
Given where the Bruins were predicted to finish this season, making the playoffs is no small feat.
Fedde pitched a fine game today. Michael Wacha pitched a better one.
Fedde made one mistake, starting the game after a short rain delay with a get-me-over first pitch to settle in, a pitch Maikel García deposited 412 feet away. Well, two mistakes, the other being a case of chronic White Sox pitcher inefficiency that made him leave the game after five innings and 85 pitches, 53 of them strikes.
Part of the inefficiency came in the second inning, when a walk, an infield single and a hit batter loaded the bases, but García grounded out to end the only time the Royals had a runner in scoring position against him. Otherwise, Fedde walked no one else and only gave up one more hit.
Small problem, though — if Fedde was lights barely visible, Wacha was lights fully out. In the first inning, he threw 11 pitches, all of them strikes, and then tossed six more strikes to start the second. He was as efficient as Fedde wasn’t, cruising through eight innings on just 88 pitches, 63 of them strikes.
Wacha did allow the Sox offense four hits, doubles to Andrew Benintendi (raising his average to .184) and Lenyn Sosa (raising his to .179) and singles to Reese McGuire (now hitting a hearty .125) and Murray, who got his first-ever big league hit on a grounder up the middle:
And the Sox only struck out eight times in the game, so that’s some form of progress.
Sean Newcomb did a nifty six-up, six-down in relief, but then the Royals added a run off Jordan Hicks in the eighth on a García double and two fly balls. That was totally unnecessary against the Sox, who now have scored eight runs in their last six games, with seven straight games of three runs or fewer and 11 such games of the 15 this year.
The White Sox are now 5-10 on the young year — a 54-win pace, in case you’re keeping track. The finale in KC is at 1:10 p.m. Central tomorrow, with the Sox going with the famous “undecided” (as opposed to the equally famous TBA or TBD), as it would be Shane Smith’s turn in the rotation and Smith is enjoying Charlotte.
Apr 6, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner (18) delivers a pitch in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The Colorado Rockies will try to limit the damage after two straight walk-off losses to the San Diego Padres.
In good news, the starting pitching has been stellar and both games have been competitive throughout. Thursday, Jimmy Herget opened with a 1-2-3 inning, paving the way for Chase Dollander to take a bulk of the game, with that approach still working nicely for the youngster’s development. Yesterday, Tomoyuki Sugano worked through six innings and looked sharp outside of a couple solo homers surrendered in the fifth.
For the bad news, the fight fell short at the hands of an electric 12th-inning grand slam on Thursday and a three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth yesterday (seriously, Padres… a calm walk-off RBI single wouldn’t have been enough for you?).
The blueprint for a win is there as the Rockies have looked sharp out in Petco Park. A series split is still on the table, but that begins with a solid pitching battle today, as Ryan Feltner takes the mound for the Rox against old friend Germán Márquez.
The two pitchers have had an extremely similar start to their 2026 season. Márquez (1-1) and Feltner (1-0) have both notched one win across two starts, have pitched 8.0 and 8.1 innings respectively, and have each given up four runs and tossed five strikeouts. Feltner has been a tad more efficient, giving up just four hits to Márquez’s 14 and giving up just one home run to Márquez’s two.
It will surely feel surreal to see Márquez in his first action against his old club after a 10-year career in purple. Márquez made some waves when signing with San Diego, stating that he was “excited to play with a team that wants to win,” and lamenting that “when [he] was young, [he] had a team that liked to win,” taking a shot at the downward trajectory of the Rockies in his time with the team.
It may also be surreal, then, for Márquez to face off against this scrappy, new-look Colorado club. While it’s probably far too early for bulletin board material — and while there is much to be seen about where these teams ultimately end up this season — it could make for a nice statement if the Rockies can turn the tides of the series today against a franchise mainstay that has moved on.
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA Rockies Radio Network (850 AM / 94.1 FM)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 10: Former Padres pitcher and Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman hugs Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres before the game against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park on April 10, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Colorado Rockies (6-8) at San Diego Padres (8-6), April 11, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST
Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
Remember Gaslamp Ball is basically a non-profanity site
Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads
The Kings' Anze Kopitar waves to fans after his final regular-season home game, a 1-0 win over Oilers on Saturday. (Scott Strazzante/For The Times)
When the final horn sounded Saturday on the Kings’ 1-0 matinee win over the Edmonton Oilers, Anze Kopitar made his way to center ice, a microphone in his hand and his heart in pieces.
"Thank you very much," he said to the fans, his voice cracking. "Thank you for being here."
Kopitar then held his hands in front of him and folded his fingers into the shape of a heart before skating away — not quite into the sunset, but headed in that direction.
Kopitar announced in September that this season would be his last, so unless the Kings make the playoffs — a distinct possibility after the team's fourth win a row and fifth in six games, its best streak of the season — Saturday marked the final home appearance of a brilliant 20-year career spent entirely in Los Angeles.
The Kings' Anze Kopitar vies for position in front of the Oilers' Darnell Nurse during the second period on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. (Scott Strazzante/For The Times)
And the announced crowd of 18,145 at Crypto.com Arena made sure he knew that parting is such sweet sorrow, standing and cheering long after the game had ended.
“Eventually it was going to happen,” Kopitar, 38, reflected before the game. “Whether it was this year or two years from now, there was going to be a last day. And I’m very OK with my decision.”
Kopitar will leave having written his name all over the Kings’ record book. He’s the all-time franchise leader in points (1,314), assists (862), game-winning goals (79) and games played (1,518). He ranks third in goals (452) and power-play goals (129).
And most importantly, he played a starring role on the Kings’ only two Stanley Cup championships, leading both the 2011-12 and 2013-14 teams in goals, assists and points.
“Over 700 people have put the Kings’ uniform on,” said Daryl Evans, who was one of the 700 before retiring to become a broadcaster with the team. "He stands at the top of the mountain as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — to do so. He’s a great hockey player, as we can all see. But he’s a better person off the ice.”
It’s that second part, Evans said, that will make Kopitar difficult to replace.
“Records are made to be beaten. But the intangibles, the things that he did as the team’s captain, the leadership that he provided, the type of a player he was, very unselfish,” Evans said. “He’s one of those guys who’s a special player.”
The Kings got the only goal they would need Saturday 7:34 into the first period when Artemi Panarin stripped Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard of the puck at the Kings’ blue line and took off the other way, skating in alone on Oilers’ goalie Connor Ingram, then beating him on a wrist shot from between the circles.
Kings players react as Anze Kopitar speaks to fans after his final regular-season home game, a 1-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. (Scott Strazzante/For The Times)
The goal was Panarin’s ninth in 23 games since joining the Kings just ahead of the Olympic break. Edmonton nearly pulled that back midway through the period when Curtis Lazar tipped the puck by Kings’ goalie Anton Forsberg, only to have defenseman Cody Ceci dive through the crease and swipe it away with a desperate one-handed wave of his stick.
Forsberg was brilliant the rest of the way, stopping 27 shots to post his 11th career shutout and win his season-best fourth game in a row, preserving the Kings' one-point lead over Nashville in the race for the Western Conference's final wild-card playoff berth.
The son of a coach, Kopitar was born in the former Yugoslavia, in the mining town of Jesenice near the border with Austria, an area that became part of Slovenia when that country declared independence just before Kopitar’s fourth birthday.
At 16, he led the new country’s first-tier professional league in scoring, so he moved to Sweden in search of a challenge — and led that country’s top junior league with 49 points in 30 games. That drew the attention of the Kings, who took Kopitar with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft.
Fourteen months later he became the first Slovenian to play in the NHL, making his debut as a teenager and scoring two goals against the Ducks. He never looked back — nor looked to play elsewhere, twice signing contract extensions with the Kings rather than test the free-agent market. (Not that he needed to test the free-agent market since he made more than $140 million in his two decades with the Kings, becoming the best-paid player in team history.)
“I've always felt extremely comfortable in L.A.,” said Kopitar, whose two children were born here. “The organization has been world-class since I got here, so I had no desire to go anywhere else.”
Anze Kopitar celebrates with the Stanley Cup after the Kings' win over the New Jersey Devils in 2012. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
As a result only six players in league history have played more games with a single organization, making Kopitar’s name synonymous with the franchise.
“The greatest to play for the Kings,” said Luc Robitaille, the franchise leader in goals (557) as a player and now the team’s president. “What’s he meant to this franchise — you know this franchise never won and he came along and we won two [Stanley Cups]. So he deserves all the credits and everything that’s coming his way.”
He’s also among the last of a dying breed: a two-way center who stood out on both ends of the ice, but was also gentlemanly enough to win the Lady Byng trophy three times. Only one player has won the NHL’s top sportsmanship award more often this century.
“Every coach would love to have him because he never cheats the game,” Evans said of Kopitar, who this month was also nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which recognizes the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.”
“He’s got a lot of pride and he doesn’t want to let his teammates down,” Evans said. “He’s been a student of the game from Day 1. He plays the game the right way. If you could tell a player ‘watch somebody,’ there’s a guy you want to watch.”
Kopitar’s numbers have declined this season, owing partly to a pair of lower-body injuries that caused him to miss significant time in both October and January. That’s left him on pace to finish with fewer than 16 goals in a full season for just the third time while his 24assists and 36 points are career lows.
But he has the best plus/minus number on the team and he’s winning a career-best 57.7%of his faceoffs, including four crucial draws deep in the Kings' end in the final minute Saturday.
“It’s been, obviously, an up-and-down season,” he said. “Some good, some bad, some ugly.”
Kopitar admits the goodbyes have been emotional at times. On his final visit to Madison Square Garden last month, for example, he and former teammate Jonathan Quick exchanged several hugs after the game.
“I’m enjoying it,” he added. “I’m not sad about it. I guess I’m staying in the moment and enjoying the moment.”
The Kings' Anze Kopitar tries to flip a shot past Edmonton goaltender Connor Ingram Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. (Scott Strazzante/For The Times)
The Kings can extend Kopitar’s farewell tour by at least a couple of weeks by making the playoffs, a task that's looking much more likely than it did a week ago. After Saturday's win the Kings not only lead Nashville in the wild-card race, holding a game in hand over the Predators, but they are just two points out of third place in the Pacific Division standings.
"He hopes he's going to play here again," Kings coach D.J. Smith said of Kopitar's possible postseason encore.
Just where and when the team might open the postseason — if, indeed, it qualifies — is up in the air since the Kings could finish anywhere from first to fifth in the division, leaving them with more than a dozen possible playoff scenarios. So when the team leaves for its final three-game trip of the season Sunday, the players have been told to pack for 10 days.
Either way Kopitar isn’t changing his mind; when the Kings’ season ends — whenever that is — his career will end as well. So will his time in Los Angeles since Kopitar is selling his Manhattan Beach home and moving back to Slovenia to accept a new role as a full-time father.
“I’m going to be a dad,” he said. “I’m going to just relax and see how long it takes to get bored and then we’ll figure it out from there. Of course I’m going to miss this place. But it was a family decision, obviously, to move.
“As much as this place is super nice and the community was great to us, it’s time to slow down the tempo a little bit and enjoy life. But I’ll make it back here for sure.”
On January 27th, the Senators were ten points and seven teams out of a playoff spot in the NHL's Eastern Conference standings.
What a difference a couple of months can make.
Ottawa's 3-0 victory on Long Island on Saturday afternoon, combined with the Detroit Red Wings' 5-3 Loss to the New Jersey Devils later in the day, means the Senators have officially clinched a playoff spot for the second straight season.
Since January 27th, the Senators have only lost six games in regulation, posting a record of 19-6-3. Not quite as good as the 2015 Hamburglar Run, but it's right there among the best in-season turnarounds in Ottawa Senators history.
That included the win on Long Island, where Linus Ullmark earned his 3rd shutout of the season and 15th of his career. Mike Amadio and Ridly Greig each had a goal and an assist. Jake Sanderson provided the insurance, giving the Senators a 2-0 advantage on a 5-on-3 third-period power play. Ottawa managed only 16 shots in the game.
In Detroit on Saturday, the Wings just couldn't get the Devils out of their hair, blowing three one-goal leads in the game. Jesper Bratt scored the winner for the Devils with under four minutes to play.
Once the Senators won their game, Detroit's comeback was destined to be a long shot anyway. They would have had to win their last three games, including two in Florida, while the Senators would have had to lose their last two.
Detroit will officially miss the playoffs for the tenth straight season, and with the Buffalo Sabres snapping their record skid, Hockeytown is the NHL's new active playoff drought leader.
Ottawa currently holds down Wild Card 1 with two games to play. If they win out, it's theirs. But the conundrum now is rest versus rust. They'll want some guys to heal up and/or rest a little, but with a week still before the playoffs start, they also don't want to lose their mojo right now.
There's still a lot to be decided for playoff positioning, but as a Wild Card team, the Senators will likely get either Buffalo or Carolina in round one. The 'Canes have clinched the Metro, so they will definitely play a wild-card team, either Boston or Ottawa.
Buffalo is in good shape to clinch the Atlantic and face one of the wild-cards, but that's not official yet. So as of this writing, Montreal and Tampa aren't totally off Ottawa's first-round radar.
The final road game will be in New Jersey on Sunday. Their regular-season finale will be at home to Toronto on Wednesday, which is fan appreciation day, when fans will be excited to show their appreciation for a phenomenal turnaround and fuel the boys for Game 1 on the road next week.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
The Mets lost to the Athletics, 11-6, at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon and dropped their fourth straight.
Here are the takeaways...
-- It was not a good day at the office for Kodai Senga, who lasted just 2.1 innings after allowing seven earned runs on eight hits, including two home runs -- the second of which came on the last pitch he threw, which resulted in a three-run homer that gave the Athletics a 7-1 lead. In that same inning, Senga allowed a leadoff double, a two-run homer, and two singles before the second blast of the inning, all of which resulted in five runs.
It was the first time in Senga's career (55 starts) that the right-hander allowed a three-run home run (he has yet to allow a grand slam) and the first time he's allowed seven earned runs or more in a game.
-- Senga's command was also off. Not only did he walk two in his abbreviated outing, including one with the bases loaded to even up the score at 1-1, but he was also only able to throw a first-pitch strike to five of the 17 batters he faced. Of the 72 pitches he threw, 40 were strikes.
Following the disastrous outing, Senga's ERA climbed to 7.07 in the early season.
-- New York got on the board first, scoring a run in the bottom half of the opening inning. Luis Robert Jr. singled, advanced to second on a groundout and crossed home plate on Bo Bichette's RBI single off Jacob Lopez to take a 1-0 lead. That lead vanished in the second inning, though, with the A's scoring twice with the second run scoring on a ground ball to second base that could've been an inning-ending double play had Francisco Lindor covered the bag instead of going for the ball.
-- The score was held to 7-1 thanks to Huascar Brazoban's 2.2 innings of scoreless relief that kept his 0.00 ERA intact. It also gave the Mets a chance to fight back, which they did in the fifth inning, scoring twice on Bichette's opposite-field, two-run shot -- his first home run as a Met. After a slow start, Bichette has kicked it into gear and is hitting .254 after his 2-for-3 day that included two walks.
-- After Brooks Raley kept the Athletics off the board in his inning of relief (also to keep his scoreless streak to start the season alive), New York was back at it offensively in the sixth. Francisco Alvarez led off the inning with a solo home run to straightaway center field that was initially ruled a double but overturned to a homer and got the Mets closer, 7-4.
A walk and a single put runners at the corners with nobody out and Brett Baty came through with a sacrifice fly to get the Mets to within two. An inning later, they cut the deficit to one on Jorge Polanco's first home run as a Met that snuck over the wall in right field. It was New York's third home run in three straight innings.
-- What felt like a potential incredible Mets comeback brewing came crashing down in the eighth inning after Luke Weaver entered the game and allowed four runs, all with two outs. The big hit came on Tyler Soderstrom's three-run blast that went 420 feet to right-center field and gave the A's an 11-6 advantage. It was Soderstrom's second home run of the game after he took Senga deep for a two-run shot in the third.
New York went quietly in the eighth and ninth innings and dropped its fourth straight game, after a four-game winning streak, to go below .500 once again.
-- Following his promotion back to the major leagues earlier in the day, Craig Kimbrel made his debut for the Mets and pitched a clean seventh inning that included two strikeouts. The former All-Star closer needed just 10 pitches and threw nine strikes.
-- Still trying to find his footing in the big leagues, Carson Benge had an up-and-down game. The rookie went 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base but added an error in left field on the first batter of the game.
-- Every starter in the lineup except Mark Vientos had at least one hit. After an exceptionally hot road trip, Vientos has cooled off and has gone hitless during this homestand (0-for-15).
Game MVP: Tyler Soderstrom
In a game in which the A's scored 11 runs on 15 hits, Soderstrom stood out the most with his 3-for-5 and two-homer performance out of the cleanup spot.
DENVER — Sometimes, the chaos of an NHL bench extends beyond line changes and matchups—on Saturday night, it placed Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar on the injury report.
At the 3:21 mark of the third period, Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar attempted to clear the puck with Jack Drury applying pressure, but the puck sailed into the Avalanche bench and struck Bednar on the right cheek. Trainers immediately rushed to his aid before escorting him down the tunnel.
Nick Blankenburg's post-game comments.
UPDATE: Bednar took a puck to the right cheek. He’s awake and alert but going to the hospital for a CT scan.#goavsgo@thehockeynews
Following Colorado’s 3–2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Avalanche announced that Bednar was awake, alert, and fully conscious, but was transported to a local hospital for precautionary imaging, including a CT scan.
The injury concerns extended beyond the bench, as Colorado also lost defenseman Josh Manson in the second period. He is currently undergoing further evaluation.
Despite the setbacks, the Colorado Avalanche received goals from Devon Toews and Nick Blankenburg, the latter marking his first goal with the club since being acquired in a trade from the Nashville Predators. Brock Nelson, Martin Nečas, and Nicolas Roy each recorded an assist. In goal, Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves on 28 shots.
With the Presidents' Trophy already locked up, it was more or less a meaningless game for the Avalanche, but unfortunately, the results could prove to be costly depending how long Manson is out. The team is already without the services of Nazem Kadri, who is out with a broken finger, and Cale Makar, who continues to recover from an upper-body injury.
Mark Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev found the net for the Golden Knights and Carter Hart made 30 saves.
First Period
The Avalanche came out flying, pressuring Carter Hart and firing six shots on goal within the opening minutes. However, Vegas made its first shot count as a dangerous opportunity—after Brent Burns broke his stick, Ivan Barbashev picked up the loose puck, raced down the left wing, and fired a shot that rang off the post.
After successfully killing off a bench minor for too many men on the ice, the Avalanche drew their first power play of the night when Golden Knights forward Nic Hague was called for boarding Nick Blankenburg, driving him from behind and sending him hard into the boards.
With 10:43 remaining in the period, Devon Toews took a pass from Brock Nelson at the point and snapped a wrist shot through traffic that slipped past Carter Hart, giving Colorado a 1–0 lead on the power play. With an assist on the goal, Martin Nečas recorded his 99th point of the season.
Mark Stone tied the game for Vegas with 6:16 remaining in the period, finishing off a deft sequence that began with a shot from Mitch Marner. It was pure artistry from Stone, who jumped on the rebound and quickly shifted from his forehand to backhand, fooling Mackenzie Blackwood before burying the chance to even the score.
Second Period
At 2:09 of the period, the Golden Knights took a 2–1 lead off a beautiful setup. Ivan Barbashev fed Pavel Dorofeyev for a one-timer, and despite the awkward angle from the middle of the left circle, Dorofeyev blasted it top shelf, sailing it over Mackenzie Blackwood’s glove.
Over eight minutes later, the Avalanche delivered the equalizer as Nick Blankenburg scored his first goal as an Av, firing a wrister through traffic that Carter Hart was too late to react to, tying the game.
On the ensuing sequence, Colorado was sent to the penalty kill after Gabe Landeskog was called for hooking.
Manson exited the game at this point and was not seen on the bench. It was later revealed that he had suffered an upper-body injury and would not return.
Josh Manson has suffered an upper-body injury and will not return to tonight’s game. #goavsgo@thehockeynews
Near the halfway point of the third, the Avalanche caught a huge break when Golden Knights forward Tomasz Hertl turned around from the right circle and whipped a shot that clanged off the post.
After a scoreless period, the game went to overtime.
Overtime
Eichel scored the game-winning goal for Vegas 1:19 into overtime, finishing off a rush with a shot from the right circle.
Next Game
The Avalanche (52-16-11) will take on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (40-30-10) as the latter continue to fight for a playoff spot in the Pacific Division.
Even though he isn't on the Philadelphia Flyers anymore, Claude Giroux, with the help of his Ottawa Senators teammates, lent his former club a helping hand in their playoff race Saturday afternoon.
The last playoff spot is effectively down to the third place Metropolitan Division team, which will be either the Flyers, Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, or New York Islanders.
The Islanders, with 91 points, were only 1 point behind the 92-point Flyers with the same amount of games played (79), but on Saturday, Giroux and Co. got the job done in sensational fashion.
Forward Ridly Greig (son of longtime Flyers scout Mark Greig) and defenseman Jake Sanderson (son of ex-Flyers forward Geoff Sanderson) tallied short-handed and power play goals, while Greig added an assist on the empty-net goal to seal a 3-0 defeat of the Islanders.
Giroux, 38, was the Senators' lead faceoff man, winning 10 of his 17 faceoff attempts (58.8%) and finishing second only to Greig (71.4%) in faceoff percentage on the night.
To make the playoffs and finish ahead of the Islanders, the Flyers need to only earn as many points as the Islanders, or more, in their final three games of the season.
With their win over the Islanders, the Senators effectively bought the Flyers a free loss which, if nothing else, makes the brutal 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night a wash.
If the Flyers can defeat the Winnipeg Jets in any fashion on Saturday night, they'll expand their lead over the Islanders to three points with an equal amount of games played.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - MARCH 30: Kade Anderson #32 of the Arkansas Travelers poses for a photo during the Arkansas Travelers photo day at DickeyStephens Park on Monday, March 30, 2026 in North little Rock, Arkansas. (Photo by Karen E. Segrave/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Kade Anderson’s Double-A debut on April 3 went well enough: four innings, no runs, five hits, six strikeouts and a walk. The five hits he gave up were all singles, and two of those didn’t even leave the infield. But Anderson outdid himself in his second outing against Wichita Friday night. Anderson tossed five innings of no-hit ball while recording 11 strikeouts.
It wasn’t necessarily the cleanest start for Anderson, who opened his night striking out the first hitter he saw on three pitches but then walked the next hitter he saw on four straight. But Anderson dialed it in for his next hitter, breaking off a nasty curve for his second strikeout of the inning en route to what would be 11 on the night.
Anderson sat 93-96 with his heater, riding it up in the zone for swinging strikes, and locking up hitters on the curveball for called strikes after peppering the top of the zone with the four-seamer. He worked quickly and efficiently, pounding the zone with 69% strikes (nice), and dominated the Wichita lineup. The only black mark on Anderson’s ledger was the two walks, first the four-pitch walk in the first and another in the third inning where he missed just inside in a 3-2 count and reacted like he’d just given up a go-ahead homer in the World Series:
(Kade. Buddy. We simply cannot get this wrapped around the axle about a singular, isolated walk in the second start of the season. I know you are the ultimate competitor but you’ve gotta give yourself some room to make a mistake once in a while, Kade.)
He came back to strike out the next hitter looking at the curve, (strikeout six) and the hitter after that (number seven) on a fastball up at 95 after he’d just had him flailing over the changeup. Here’s a look at the change:
What really stood out about Anderson’s outing was his pinpoint command of the zone, walks aside – and when the rare unfavorable (2-0, 3-0) count happened, it felt like Anderson was able to pull himself back into the zone (perhaps explaining his frustration with the second walk). It was Anderson’s zone, and the Wichita hitters were just trying to survive in it; five of his eleven strikeouts were on called strike threes.
That’s not to say Anderson was without whiffs though; his 14 whiffs ranked fifth in all of Double-A yesterday, although by percentage he ranked third at the level, behind Gage Stanifer (TOR) and Miguel Mendez (SDP). He was especially fired up on this three-pitch strikeout where he got the hitter hacking after a nasty curve.
For only his second outing of the season, there’s a lot to like about this start from Anderson: the pitch mix and command were as advertised, the stuff looks primed to rack up whiffs and called strikes, and Anderson’s competitive mound presence was on display even in an early-season game. Next up for Anderson, aside from building volume and working deeper into games, is to continue refining his pitch mix – he didn’t mix in his slider very often, although with the other three pitches working, he didn’t really need it – and continue to dial in his command, not allowing those 3-0 or 4-0 lapses to happen. Progress in the minor leagues is never perfectly linear and there will be bumps in the road for even the hyper-polished LSU product, but Anderson starts are quickly becoming must-see-MiLB TV.
The season finale at MSG means nothing for the Knicks, who are locked into the third seed with no wiggle room.
Not surprisingly, they’re sitting four of their five starters Sunday — minus consecutive-games king Mikal Bridges — against the Hornets, who remain motivated to secure the ninth seed.
But the out-of-town scoreboard warrants close monitoring for the Knicks. Their first-round opponent will probably be the Raptors, but it’s not set in stone and ultimately hinges on up to four results — all sharing the Knicks’ 6 p.m. tipoff.
Here’s a breakdown of scenarios:
Most likely
The Knicks draw the Raptors in the first round.
Og Anunoby drives to the basket between Toronto Raptors guard A.J. Lawson and Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram during the first quarter in a game against the Toronto Raptors on April 10, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
This happens if on Sunday:
Toronto beats Brooklyn; Atlanta beats Miami
Or
Toronto beats Brooklyn; Miami beats Atlanta; Orlando beats Boston
Or
Brooklyn beats Toronto; Miami beats Atlanta; Orlando beats Boston
The tanking Nets are almost certain to lose to the Raptors even though it probably won’t help their lottery odds (Brooklyn can only catch the Pacers at the bottom of the standings, and Indiana would also have to lose to the Pistons). So assuming that result, the Raptors will clinch the fifth seed if Atlanta beats Miami (not likely since the Hawks are resting players) OR the Magic beat the Celtics (which is a likely outcome since Boston is resting players).
The Knicks can feel fairly safe scouting the Raptors.
Toronto beats Brooklyn; Miami beats Atlanta; Boston beats Orlando
Tough to see this happening because it requires a result — Boston beating Orlando — that goes against the odds. The Magic are highly motivated to win Sunday since there’s a chance they can move out of a play-in spot (while the Celtics, who are locked into the No. 2 seed, are resting several players).
Why would this happen if three teams could tie for sixth in the East? If the Raptors and Magic win — and Hawks lose — they’d all have 46 wins, and the three-way tiebreaker means Atlanta stays at No. 5, Toronto stays at No. 6 and Orlando goes to No. 7.
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks drives against CJ McCollum of the Atlanta Hawks during the first quarter at State Farm Arena on April 6, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images
Unlikely
The Knicks draw the Magic in the first round
This happens if on Sunday:
Brooklyn beats Toronto; Atlanta beats Miami; Orlando beats Boston
Anything involving the Nets winning Sunday is highly unlikely.
The unlikeliest
The Knicks draw the Sixers in the first round
This happens if on Sunday:
Brooklyn beats Toronto; Boston beats Orlando; Philadelphia beats Milwaukee
Again, the Nets would have to win against a motivated opponent — the Raptors want to avoid the play-in — which is hard to envision. Plus, the Celtics are resting their players.
