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Steve Smith on top again after he resumes Ashes rivalry with Jofra Archer | Geoff Lemon

As Australia’s batting linchpin helps hosts pull away, England’s premier paceman is yet to get him out in a Test

Jofra Archer versus Steve Smith in 2019 is already Ashes folklore. The atmosphere at Lord’s that afternoon was charged in all senses, a huge slab of cloud bringing darkness to the day. Fresh off a match-winning World Cup final, Archer marked his Test debut with what was then the fastest spell recorded for England. Smith was in the middle of a Bradman-hued streak of 774 runs in seven innings. All that could pause him was a short-pitched attack of building ferocity, one that finally dropped Smith with a bouncer to the neck. It was a pure duel, the kind that cause spectators genuine fear.

In the immediate aftermath, and again as Archer took six-fers in wins at Headingley and the Oval, one principal idea came up in every discussion: imagine, what might he be able to do in Australia? Imagine him on a fast and bouncy track in Perth or Brisbane. It was: “I can’t wait to get you to the Gabba,” but born of admiration rather than antagonism. The show, we all imagined, might be a spectacle.

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Vancouver Canucks Gameday Preview #28: Looking For The First Franchise Win Against The Utah Mammoth

The Vancouver Canucks (10–14–3) will enter their match against the Utah Mammoth (13–12–3) in a unique position; on the hunt for their first win against the Mammoth. Vancouver lost all three games against Utah during the team’s inaugural NHL season and has yet to collect their first win against them. A win against the Mammoth tonight would snap Vancouver’s current three-game losing streak after the team lost 3–1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. Utah is coming off a commanding 7–0 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.   

In their last game, Vancouver was sorely outmatched and outplayed by a Colorado team who has dominated the NHL this year. All things considered, they managed to hang in there pretty decently, though one thing that was sorely lacking was their ability to generate quality scoring chances. Utah has been one of the better teams in the NHL in limiting overall scoring chances against with 732 total chances allowed throughout 28 games played. They have also allowed 83 goals against average — a whole 15 lower than Vancouver’s 98. 

Surprisingly, the Mammoth are currently near the top of the NHL in goals-for with 87 scored in 28 games. They currently have four players who have scored 10 or more goals so far this season — Logan Cooley (14), JJ Peterka (12), Nick Schmaltz (10), and Dylan Guenther (10). They are one of a select group of teams that have four 10+ goal scorers at this point in the season, with the New Jersey Devils being the other. Adding to that, nine of their 87 goals have come from their blueline, with Mikhail Sergachev leading the way with three. 

Players To Watch: 

Linus Karlsson 

Karlsson is coming off a game that saw him score his fifth goal of the 2025–26 season, tying him with Evander Kane and Max Sasson for seventh on the team in goals scored. By the end of the game, Karlsson had ended up on the Canucks’ top line alongside Elias Pettersson and Evander Kane. Vancouver’s lines were mixed up during Thursday’s practice due to players battling the flu and the return of Nils Höglander and Conor Garland in regular practice sweaters, though Karlsson was still playing alongside Pettersson. Now with three goals in his past six games, Karlsson will be a player to keep an eye on tonight — especially if he keeps his new spot in the lineup. 

Daniil But

The 12th-overall pick from the 2023 NHL Draft, But made his NHL debut in Utah’s last game after being called-up to the Mammoth. Despite not yet grabbing his first NHL point, But played well against the Ducks on Wednesday and was put on a line with Cooley and Guenther. With two talented young players skating alongside him, But will be a player to watch tonight. 

Mar 16, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Utah Hockey Club forward Logan Cooley (92) handles the puck against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Vancouver Canucks (10–14–3): 

Points: 

Elias Pettersson: 8–14-22

Quinn Hughes: 2–20–22

Kiefer Sherwood: 12–4–16

Brock Boeser: 9–7–16

Filip Hronek: 2–14–16

Goaltenders: 

Thatcher Demko: 5–4–0

Kevin Lankinen: 4–8–3

Nikita Tolopilo: 1–1–0

Jiří Patera: 0–1–0 

Utah Mammoth (13–12–3): 

Points: 

Clayton Keller: 9–16–25

Nick Schmaltz: 10–14–24

Logan Cooley: 14–9–23

JJ Peterka: 12–9–21

Dylan Guenther: 10–11–21 

Goaltenders: 

Karel Vejmelka: 11–7–2

Vitek Vanecek: 2–5–1

Game Information: 

Start time: 6:00 pm PT 

Venue: Rogers Arena 

Television: Sportsnet

Radio: Sportsnet 650 

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

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site: 

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Canucks Adam Foote Provides Injury Updates On Garland, Höglander, Demko & Kane

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Fantilli Scores Twice, Blue Jackets Come From Behind Late To Beat Red Wings In Shootout

Ivan Provorov(4), Kirill Marchenko(9-PPG), Kent Johnson(3), and Adam Fantilli(10-PPG, 11) poured in the goals for Columbus, while Elvis Merzlikins was good at times in a 5-4 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings. 

The Blue Jackets have been in some wild games of late. Not like the New Jersey game wild, but this one had its own wild identity. 

The two teams combined for six goals in the second period, five of which were power-play goals. Dmitri Voronkov took a double minor for high-sticking 7:52 into the second and then took a two-minute minor for high-sticking with 25 seconds left in the period. The Wings scored on all three penalties to put the score at 4-3 going into the third period. 

The Blue Jackets were up 3-1 in this game, and wouldn't you know it, they lost the lead. Adam Fantilli scored 13:50 in the period to give the Jackets another lead at the end of the second. 

When Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat scored two minutes apart with just over eight minutes left in the game, CBJ fans inside NWA could do nothing but sit back and watch them lose another game in which they had a two-goal lead. 

Adam Fantilli, however, was bound and determined not to let that happen, though. Fantilli scored his 11th goal of the season, and second of the night with 1:31 left to tie the game at 5. All the Jackets had to do was hold on for another 1:31 to send the game to overtime. 

With every point being important, even making it to overtime is a win. On Thursday night, the Rangers, Penguins, and Islanders all won, so getting two points was extremely important. 

The Blue Jackets would win in overtime with two stellar shots from Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko, who are basically automatic in the shootout nowadays. Elvis Merzlikins stopped both shootout tries to earn his 6th win of the season, and 100th of his career. 

Final Stats

CBJ APP

Player Stats

  • Ivan Provorov scored his 4th goal.
  • Kirill Marchenko scored his 9th goal of the season.
  • Kent Johnson scored his 3rd goal of the season.
  • Adam Fantilli scored his 10th and 11th goals. He now has 100 career points.
  • Zach Werenski had 3 assists and was a plus-2.
  • Sean Monahan recorded 3 assists.
  • Cole Sillinger had 1 assist.
  • Denton Mateychuk tallied an assist.
  • Brendan Gaunce had an assist.
  • Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves on 33 Red Wings shots.

Team Stats

  • The Jackets power play went2/3.
  • The Columbus PK gave up three power play goals to Detroit.
  • Columbus won 54.8% of the faceoffs - 34/62
  • The Blue Jackets had 24 hits.

Up Next: The Jackets travel to Florida to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Panthers. 

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Sweden Reveals World Juniors Squad

Sweden has unveiled its roster for the 2026 World Juniors. Below is the star-studded lineup, filled with intriguing prospects and draft-eligible talent.

Sweden enters the tournament with a roster that includes 16 drafted players, three of whom were selected in the first round. The lineup is also interesting from a draft perspective, as it features four first-time draft-eligible players and five who went undrafted in previous years.

Swedish head coach Magnus Hävelid has high expectations heading into the tournament. A major focus this year has been scheduling two exhibition games against Canada to measure themselves against the favorites early on.

“We dream of winning gold and aim to challenge the United States and Canada, who have to be considered the favorites in the tournament. We need to grow together as a really strong team and group, and that’s the goal for this training camp. If we succeed with that, we know we have several game-breakers on this team, and that can take us a long way,” said Magnus Hävelid, head coach of the Junior Crowns.

“We were invited by Canada to hold our training camp there. We felt it was appealing because we have many players who weren’t at the World Juniors last year, so it will be a good experience for us to play on the smaller rink and get a sense of what’s required against the gold favorites. Switzerland will also be a good benchmark,” says Magnus Hävelid.


Sweden’s World Juniors roster and NHL rights

Goaltenders
Love Härenstam (2025 round 6 #179 overall by St. Louis Blues)
Herman Liv (Undrafted)
Måns Goos (2025 round 5 #158 overall by Dallas Stars)    

Defensemen
Felix Öhrqvist (Undrafted)
Leo Sahlin Wallenius (2024 round 2 #53 overall by San Jose Sharks)
Sascha Boumedienne (2025 round 1 #28 overall by Winnipeg Jets)
Viggo Gustafsson (2024 round 3 #77 overall by Nashville Predators)
Felix Carell (Undrafted)
Victor Johansson (2024 round 4 #120 overall by Toronto Maple Leafs)
William Håkansson (2026 NHL Draft)
Alfons Freij (2024 round 2 #37 overall by Winnipeg Jets)    

Forwards
Lucas Pettersson (2024 round 2 #35 overall by Anaheim Ducks)
Milton Gästrin (2025 round 2 #37 overall by Washington Capitals)
Linus Eriksson (2024 round 2 #58 overall by Florida Panthers)
Ivar Stenberg (2026 NHL Draft)
Anton Frondell (2025 round 1 #3 overall by Chicago Blackhawks)
Valter Lindberg (Undrafted)
Viggo Björck (2026 NHL Draft)
Loke Krantz (2025 round 7 #218 overall by Seattle Kraken)
Liam Danielsson (Undrafted)
Eddie Genborg (2025 round 2 #44 overall by Detroit Red Wings)
Jack Berglund (2024 round 2 #51 overall by Philadelphia Flyers)
Wilson Björck (2025 round 5 #143 overall by Vancouver Canucks)
Eric Nilson (2025 round 2 #45 overall by Anaheim Ducks)
Casper Juustovaara Karlsson (2026 NHL Draft)
Victor Eklund (2025 round 1 #16 overall by (New York Islanders)

Notable omissions:
D Malte Vass (2025 round 3 #76 overall by Columbus Blue Jackets)
D Gabriel Eliasson (2024 round 2 #39 overall by Ottawa Senators)
F Melvin Fernström (2024 round 3 #93 overall by Vancouver Canucks, rights belong to Pittsburgh Penguins)

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Kilmarnock v Rangers: Pick of the stats

  • Kilmarnock have lost 12 of their past 14 league meetings with Rangers, although the two exceptions both came at home, 1-0 wins in August 2023 and October 2024.
  • None of Rangers' past 11 league visits to Kilmarnock have been drawn, with the Glasgow side winning five and losing six since a 0-0 stalemate in April 2017 under Pedro Caixinha.
  • Kilmarnock are winless in eight league games (D2 L6), last going longer without victory in the Scottish Premiership in March 2021 (10).
  • Rangers have drawn their past three games in all competitions, last drawing more in a row in March 2015 (5), and last doing so as a top-flight club in November 2005 (4). In the league, the Ibrox side have already drawn eight of their 14 matches in 2025-26, their joint-most ever at this stage of a league campaign, alongside 1978-79.
  • Although Rangers rank second-highest for shots per game in the Scottish Premiership this season (15.2, behind Celtic's 16.5), they have the third-lowest shot conversion rate (8.9%), netting 19 times from 213 shots.
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Giants promote Paul Bien, add Curt Casali, Javier Lopez to front office

Giants promote Paul Bien, add Curt Casali, Javier Lopez to front office originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — When Buster Posey first took over the baseball operations department a year ago, he added two longtime friends — former Giants GM Bobby Evans and former agent Jeff Berry — to help him navigate the new job. As he begins year two, Posey is turning to former teammates, as well.

The Giants announced on Friday that Curt Casali and Javier Lopez have returned to the organization as advisors to the baseball operations department. The bigger move with that department was a notable promotion. Paul Bien has been promoted to assistant general manager after years as the organization’s vice president of baseball analytics.

Bien joined the Giants in 2012, the middle of a three-year title run that Posey and Lopez were huge parts of. He has had a steady rise through the front office over the past decade and is responsible for overseeing the organization’s analytics department. Bien is instrumental in the player-acquisition process and he has sat in on interviews this offseason as the Giants have filled out their coaching staff. Bien joins Jeremy Shelley as assistant general managers to Posey and GM Zack Minasian.

Lopez has been Mike Krukow’s primary backup on the broadcast team in retirement, but he joined Posey, Minasian, Shelley, Bien and others from the front office at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas last month. The left-hander spent seven seasons in San Francisco, winning three titles and the Willie Mac Award.

Lopez still will be involved with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Giants broadcasts.

Casali backed up Posey in 2021 and spent parts of three seasons with the Giants. The popular catcher is viewed within the industry as a potential future manager, much like Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and Texas Rangers executive Nick Hundley, who at one point was a candidate for the job that went to Tony Vitello. Casali played for the Giants in 2024 and spent this past season in the Cincinnati Reds front office.

The additions give the Giants eight advisors to the front office. In addition to Evans, Berry, Casali and Lopez, the Giants have former managers Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker, longtime coach Ron Wotus and John Barr, the man who drafted Posey.

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