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‘The Ultimate Model Of Consistency’: John Tavares Reaches 1,100-Point Milestone As Maple Leafs Earn Third Consecutive Win
John Tavares continues to prove why he is one of the most consistent players in the NHL.
On Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, the Toronto Maple Leafs forward reached the 1,100-point milestone with a three-point performance, leading the charge en route to a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers – the club’s third consecutive win.
Tavares became just the 68th player in NHL history and the eighth active skater to reach 1,100 career points.
With his goal at 4:16 of the second period, John Tavares becomes the 68th skater in NHL history to record 1,100 career points.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) March 21, 2025
“You don't take it for granted. It's been a great journey, a lot of hard work, and obviously, I've played with two great organizations and a lot of great teammates that have been a big part of that, helping me along the way and making me look good a lot of the time,” said Tavares post-game.
“But obviously, very proud of the commitment I try to make and the passion I have for the game. Just try to go out there, execute and play well, be effective, and be accounted on offensively,” he added.
The milestone moment came in the second period when he wired home his second goal of the game, restoring Toronto’s lead after the Rangers had tied things up early in the frame. A fortunate bounce sent the puck onto his stick with an open net in front of him, and he made no mistake, firing it past Igor Shesterkin.
JOHN TAVARES 🚨🚨
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 21, 2025
1100 NHL POINTS! pic.twitter.com/qqXVCaT4Un
The 34-year-old forward also opened the scoring at 12:30 of the first period, netting his 28th goal of the season off a perfectly placed one-timer. Tavares finished the night with two goals, an assist, and a plus-2 rating while leading all Toronto forwards in ice time at 19:42.
JOHN TAVARES 🚨
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 20, 2025
What a shot! pic.twitter.com/P0StJPYmwE
“It's incredible. I mean, what an accomplishment,” said linemate William Nylander, who recorded two assists and reached a milestone of his own with his 600th career point. “He had a great game tonight, and I mean, the way he gets prepared before every game, just a complete pro on and off the ice.”
Tavares’ production remains remarkably steady at age 34.
Through 62 games this season, he has 29 goals and 31 assists for 60 points – matching last year’s goal total in 18 fewer games. His longevity as a top-tier player is further highlighted by the fact that he has recorded at least 60 points in 13 NHL seasons, with the only exceptions being his rookie campaign (2009-10), the lockout-shortened season (2012-13), and the COVID-19-impacted year (2020-21).
John Tavares vs. Father Time
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) March 21, 2025
2023-24: 29 goals in 80 games
2024-25: 29 goals in 62 games
“He's just the ultimate pro, the ultimate model of consistency,” said defenseman Jake McCabe. “He's a great example for all of us in our room and such a huge part of our team. So, yeah, it's 1,100 points, man. S— That's a lot of points.”
Head coach Craig Berube praised the former No.1 overall pick’s ability to elevate his game, even amidst a back-to-back that required travel.
“I thought he was really good tonight. An older guy like that on back-to-back nights and a pretty quick team over there too, but he was solid,” said Berube. “He was so strong on pucks tonight and won all his battles, faceoffs. He does all the little things right, and he's got that knack to score goals, I'll tell you that.”
For a player who has built his career on consistency, leadership, and offensive production, Tavares’ 1,100-point milestone is just another testament to his overall impact on the ice.
And with the way he’s playing, he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
Nets drop second straight with 105-99 OT loss to Pacers
NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bennedict Mathurin scored six of his 28 points in overtime and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 105-99 on Thursday night.
Mathurin added a career-high 16 rebounds for the Pacers. Myles Turner added 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Ziaire Williams and D’Angelo Russell each scored 22 points for Brooklyn.
Indiana trailed 52-42 at halftime and outscored the Nets by four points in the third quarter and six in the fourth to force overtime tied at 91.
In overtime, Mathurin shot 2 for 3 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line.
Takeaways
Nets: Brooklyn’s free-fall continued with the team’s 12th loss in 14 games. Brooklyn led 52-42 at halftime but scored just 39 points in the second half and was outscored 14-8 in overtime.
Pacers: Indiana came through in the clutch without its star point guard and now has won five of six. Tyrese Haliburton missed the game with lower back soreness. It was his third straight missed game, and the Pacers have won them all.
Key moment
Mathurin made three free throws with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 91, leading to overtime.
Key stat
The Pacers outscored the Nets by 14 points at the free throw line, making 27. The Nets hits 13.
Up next
The teams meet again on Saturday, in Indianapolis.
Which RFAs Should The Penguins Keep?
It should be quite the summer for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the free agent market.
The Penguins have already shipped most of their pending-unrestricted free agents (UFAs) elsewhere for assets, as forward Lars Eller was traded in November and defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O'Connor were dealt at the end of January. There are also plenty of whispers about President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas dabbling in the restricted free agent market to bring in some young talent from elsewhere.
But with free agency will also come decisions on which pending-restricted free agents (RFAs) of their own that they'll want to keep in the organization.
So who should they keep around, and who should they move on from, in restricted free agency?
Philip Tomasino
Keep: Yes
Tomasino is probably the most obvious choice for the Penguins to keep around, as he has found some momentum with the Penguins this season.
Since being traded to Pittsburgh by the Nashville Predators for a 2027 fourth-round pick on Nov. 25, Tomasino has registered 10 goals and 19 points in 41 games, which is good enough for a 20-goal pace. He has found some chemistry with Evgeni Malkin, and - at only 23 years old - he is a player who can complement some of the younger prospects who will be part of the Penguins' roster in 2025-26.
Connor Dewar
Keep: No
Although Dewar has scored his only three goals of the season in his five games as a Penguin, it still doesn't change the fact that he is, at his very best, a lower-end third-line winger on a good team.
It's not that Dewar isn't good enough to be kept around. It's more so that keeping a guy like him around will surely block some deserving prospects from seeing NHL ice next season. And at the stage the Penguins are in, prospect development should be the priority.
Conor Timmins
Keep: Yes
Timmins has been a steady presence on Pittsburgh's third pairing since coming over in the same trade that brought Dewar over from the Toronto Maple Leafs on deadline day. He has a goal and four points in five games with the Penguins and is tied for first in blocked shots per game at 1.4.
Defensive depth is never a bad thing to have, and the Penguins could use more depth options on their right side - especially if Erik Karlsson ends up being shopped this summer.
P.O Joseph
Keep: No
In December, Dubas essentially added Joseph for nothing, acquiring him from the St. Louis Blues for future considerations. At the time, the move made sense in order to shore up some defensive depth, as injuries were piling up and Joseph was a safe, cheap option.
However, the Penguins have enough left defensemen on their roster - Ryan Graves, Ryan Shea, Vladislav Kolyachonok, as well as Owen Pickering - who can fill that side just fine. Having Joseph around will only block a spot for Pickering - and the possiblity must be considered that the Penguins may seek to extend Matt Grzelcyk as well.
Vasily Ponomarev
Keep: Yes
Ponomarev, 23, is having a solid season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, even if he's gone a bit cold with just two goals and four points in the last 10 games. On the season, he has 13 goals and 35 points in 46 games, and he saw three NHL games this season.
This should be a "prove it" one- or two-year deal for Ponomarev, who figures to be on the NHL roster for most - if not, all - of next season. The young two-way forward, at this juncture, projects to be just one player out of the crop of prospects in the Penguins' system expected to make some kind of impact in future NHL minutes.
Other RFA predictions:
Keep:
- G Taylor Gauthier
- D Mac Hollowell
- D Filip Kral
- F Mathias Laferriere
Don't keep:
- F Raivis Ansons
- D Colton Poolman
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Checking up on 10 of the top receivers in the 2026 Rivals250
Islanders Skate Past Canadiens 4-3 In OT; Playoffs Truly In Focus
Backed by Bo Horvat's two goals, the New York Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime to earn two key points in the standings.
The Islanders were without Alexander Romanov, who missed his second consecutive game due to illness.
Here's how it happened:
The Islanders earned the first power play of the game when Brendan Gallagher took out Ilya Sorokin's legs for a goaltender interference call.
After a shaky start in the opening minute of the power play, the Islanders struck first when Anders Lee battled for possession below the goal line and set up Anthony Duclair in front of the net.
Duclair capitalized, slipping the puck past Sam Montembeault for his seventh goal of the season at 5:37:
Duclair PPG goal!
— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) March 20, 2025
#Isles up 1-0 at 5:37 of the first.
Anders Lee tallied his 500th career point with that goal!
Congrats captain!! pic.twitter.com/XX8yo8xxjk
The assist earned Lee his 500th career NHL point.
The Islanders went to the penalty kill at 9:22 when Adam Pelech was called for interference against Juraj Slafkovsky, but the Canadiens failed to convert.
Minutes later, Joshua Roy found the equalizer, capitalizing on a loose rebound atop the crease and burying it into the open net at 11:57:
un retour incROYable
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 21, 2025
J̶o̶h̶n̶n̶y̶ Joshy on the spot#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/JpiOYzdhHG
The Islanders headed to their second penalty kill of the opening period when Lee tripped Josh Anderson at 14:03 but once again survived the two minutes.
The Canadiens outshot the Islanders 15-7 in the first period.
Gallagher earned his second minor penalty when he interfered with Scott Mayfield just 31 seconds into the second period, but Noah Dobson's interference minor on Jake Evans cut the power play short.
After killing the penalty, the Islanders got caught in a line change, leaving Nick Suzuki open for a breakaway.
Suzuki beat Sorokin on his glove side at 4:05, but the goal was called back due to offsides:
Make the call: good goal or offside? pic.twitter.com/nteqJ0tC0U
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) March 21, 2025
After the Canadiens controlled much of the ensuing play, the Islanders earned a power play when Mike Matheson was called for holding at 15:20.
It was an impressive power play for the Islanders, and Simon Holmstrom capitalized when he put a slapshot past Montembeault at 16:40:
Simon Holmstrom “made no mistake about it!” 🚀🧨💥🚨#GoHabsGo 1#Isles 2 pic.twitter.com/cwM5FxMece
— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) March 21, 2025
Holmstrom's goal was his 17th of the season and extended his scoring streak to three games.
In the period's final minutes, Pelech awkwardly collided with Emil Heineman but was able to return.
Despite getting outshot 10-7 in the second period, the Islanders entered the final frame up 2-1.
In the most crucial period of their season so far, the Islanders quickly extended their lead when Horvat lowered his shoulder, powered past Matheson, and fired a shot through Montembeault at 2:31:
Bo Horvat powers 💪🏻the #Isles to a 3-1 third period lead over #GoHabsGo
— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) March 21, 2025
Ilya Sorokin collects an assist! pic.twitter.com/68oj7vm6w0
This was Horvat's 22nd goal of the year, with Dobson and Sorokin registering assists on the play.
The Islanders headed to a crucial penalty kill when Kyle MacLean tripped Evans at 4:15.
Following some chaos in the crease, Patrik Laine fired a slapshot into the open net for his 17th goal of the season at 4:32:
une machine
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 21, 2025
and the goal is... GOOD#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/JXnPlX0ToU
Patrick Roy challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal stood, sending the Islanders to the penalty kill for delay of game. They survived the two minutes.
With under six minutes to play, an offensive turnover sprung Gallagher on a breakaway, where he put a shot past Sorokin's glove for his 17th goal of the season:
vous savez à qui il va, celui-là
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 21, 2025
you know who this one's for
❤️ pic.twitter.com/WKjc2W6IGE
Both teams traded chances in the closing minutes, but regulation ended at 3-3.
The Canadiens outshot the Islanders 15-7 in the third period.
With 90 seconds remaining in overtime, Horvat knocked Lane Hutson off the puck then received a Tony DeAngelo feed before heading up ice.
Going end-to-end, Horvat fired it past Montembeault's blocker for the game-winner:
Bo Horvat in OT for his second goal of the night🚨🚨#Isles win! pic.twitter.com/TReAqr1Pl1
— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) March 21, 2025
UP NEXT: The Islanders host the Calgary Flames on Saturday at 4:00 PM ET
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Devils give up four unanswered goals in 5-3 loss to Flames
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jonathan Huberdeau scored with 3:20 left to play to lift the Calgary Flames to a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, Daniil Miromanov and Nazem Kadri also had goals for Calgary, which erased a two-goal deficit in the third period with four unanswered goals for its second straight road win.
Rookie Dustin Wolfe made 26 saves in the victory.
Nico Hischier recorded a goal and an assist for the Devils, extending his points streak to five straight games. Erik Haula and Paul Cotter also scored and Jacob Markstrom stopped 23 shots.
With the Flames trailing 3-2, Miromanov tied it with his second goal of the season on assists from Blake Coleman and Joel Farabee with 4:20 left. Huberdeau’s unassisted snap shot one minute later put Calgary up with his 26th goal of the season.
Kadri closed it out for the Flames with an empty-netter with 12 seconds left.
Takeaways
Flames: Calgary has shown resilience on its East Coast road trip, winning 2-1 at the New York Rangers on Tuesday before the comeback against the Devils. The Flames are in the hunt for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Devils: This was New Jersey’s first regulation loss this season after leading while entering the third period. It’s also the fourth time the Devils allowed four third-period goals, three times since the Four Nations Face-Off in February.
Key moment
New Jersey managed just four shots on goal in the third period compared to 15 from Calgary.
Key stat
The Devils are 4-3 since Jack Hughes suffered a season-ending separated shoulder on March 5.
Up next
Flames: End their four-game road trip at the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Devils: Host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday in the second game of a three-game homestand.
The Western Conference Playoff Race Thickens As Canucks Lose 4–3 In Overtime To St. Louis
The Vancouver Canucks’ Thursday night matchup against the St. Louis Blues was full of cathartic celebrations and upsets. Despite a bunch of new records on the line, the Canucks could not come out of the game with a win, dropping the game 4–3 in overtime. Kiefer Sherwood and Brock Boeser (2), scored for the Canucks, while Zack Bolduc, Tyler Tucker, Dylan Holloway, and Philip Broberg found the back of the net for St. Louis. Kevin Lankinen started for Vancouver, stopping 25 of 29 shots faced. With the overtime loss, Vancouver is now out of a playoff spot with 76 points in 69 games played. Currently, they have one game in hand on St. Louis.
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Lankinen was an early hero for the Canucks, making seven saves in the first seven minutes of the game including a kick-save on Robert Thomas. He made yet another in-tight save on Thomas only minutes later, stopping what easily could have been St. Louis’ first goal of the game. One of his most impressive saves of the night was during the first frame, when he and Filip Hronek joined forces to keep out a rebound off the goal post with only seconds left in the period.
Despite the 0–0 score, St. Louis dominated Vancouver in nearly every stat to start the game. They put up 12 shots to Vancouver’s three and won 66.7% of the first period faceoffs, as well as put up a 5-on-5 corsi-for percentage of 64.71% and an xGF% of 89.16%. While each team was awarded a partial power play, neither were able to capitalize on the chance.
Vancouver picked up their pace in the second period, making sure to keep the puck in St. Louis’ zone throughout the first seven minutes. Shots by Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood could have been the game’s opening goal if not for Jordan Binnington’s efforts in the crease. Marcus Pettersson also had two shots during this span of time. By the game’s halfway mark, the Canucks nearly matched St. Louis’ early shot count with 11 to the Blues’ 15. However, even with their early push, St. Louis scored off a deflection from Quinn Hughes and left the second period with a 1–0 lead.
Tonight was a big game for Sherwood, who came in needing only 11 hits to break the NHL record in hits made in one season. He finished the game with 10 hits made, tying him with Jeremy Lauzon’s 383 hits for the record. Most importantly, however, he scored to tie the game at 1–1, helping Vancouver stay in pursuit of the ever-important two points up for grabs at the end of the game. He finished the match with one shot on net and 15:58 minutes played.
Two players who have been heating up as of late are Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander. The two have been paired up since Vancouver’s match against the Calgary Flames last Wednesday, and put together, they have produced a combined 11 points. Adding to that total, they each tallied an assist on Boeser’s 200th career goal, with Pettersson getting one on Boeser’s second goal of the game. Together, alongside Boeser, they finished the game with a corsi-for percentage of 55%.
The game looked to be a loss for Vancouver until Boeser fired the puck at the net and beat Binnington with less than three seconds left in the game. During overtime, St. Louis nearly won off a close goal that sat on the red line of the net, but since Lankinen stopped it and it didn’t completely cross the line, the chance did not count. The Blues went on to score off a rush chance by Broberg, preventing Vancouver from taking the extra point.
"Both teams needed those points badly," Dakota Joshua said of the team's effort after the game. "It was nice to see some resiliency and battle back to get a point in the end there. But yeah, one we would have liked to have."
"We've gotta clean it up. Clean that stuff up. I thought the second or third we were better. I didn't think our first was that good," Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet noted of the team's playing style postgame.
"It's a point, you know. It's a big point," he added. "Down the road, it can really help us."
Stats and Facts:
- With the overtime loss, Vancouver’s playoff odds are now at 37.2% as calculated by MoneyPuck.com
- Brock Boeser scores his 200th career goal, becoming the ninth player in Canucks history to do so
- Brock Boeser scores two goals in two straight games for the first time this season
- With his 383rd hit of the season, Kiefer Sherwood ties Jeremy Lauzon’s NHL hit record
- Quinn Hughes hits 399 career NHL points
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
No scoring.
2nd Period:
15:48 - STL: Zack Bolduc (13) from Cam Fowler and Nick Leddy
3rd Period:
1:09 - VAN: Kiefer Sherwood (15) from Filip Hronek and Marcus Pettersson
6:35 - VAN: Brock Boeser (21) from Nils Höglander and Elias Pettersson
9:27 - STL: Tyler Tucker (3) from Brayden Schenn
9:52 - STL: Dylan Holloway (23) from Jordan Kyrou and Tyler Tucker
19:57 - VAN: Brock Boeser (22) from Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes
Overtime:
3:41 - STL: Philip Broberg (7) from Brayden Schenn and Dylan Holloway
Up Next:
Vancouver’s next game is on Saturday, March 22, against former Canuck J.T. Miller and the New York Rangers. It will be Vancouver’s first time playing against Miller since trading him to the Rangers at the end of January. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 am PT.
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, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
Mets' Carlos Mendoza impressed with Kodai Senga's work ethic: 'He's a man on a mission'
Having missed almost the entirety of the Mets' 2024 season due to injuries, Kodai Senga is making sure he's doing everything he can to stay healthy and on the field for New York in 2025.
So far in spring training, the right-hander has put himself in great position to be a key contributor in the starting rotation, including another solid outing on Thursday night against the Washington Nationals where he went 3.2 innings and didn't allow a hit.
Manager Carlos Mendoza thought his starter's performance was a tale of two halves. He felt Senga "was a little off" in the first couple of innings before completely flipping the script in his last two innings.
"It was a good day of work for him," Mendoza said. "I thought the first couple of innings he was a little off, command was off and it looked like he didn’t have the best feel for his pitches. And then that third inning and the fourth inning it was the complete opposite – he was pretty nasty."
Senga threw just 49 pitches on the night, four less than his previous start, but struck out six and really found his groove deeper into the game, retiring the last nine batters he faced. He also touched 96 mph on his fastball and threw all of his pitches well.
"It was a good outing, I got a lot out of it," Senga said through an interpreter.
Thursday's outing marks Senga's final Grapefruit League action before the start of the regular season. All told, the 32-year-old threw nine innings in three starts and had a 2.00 ERA (1.22 WHIP) with nine strikeouts.
He's now on track to pitch against the Miami Marlins in the Mets' second series of the regular season, an accomplishment Senga doesn't take for granted following his injury-riddled season last year.
"He’s on a mission," Mendoza said. "This is a guy that wants to stay healthy because of what he went through last year. He knows he’s a big part of this team and I see a guy that is having fun. Last year he went down early and it was frustrating for him. Now you can see a smile on his face."
Still, because of his lack of innings thrown in 2024, Senga and the training staff will have to take every precaution this season for the Japanese-born pitcher not to have a similar fate this season. After all, he's much too important to the team who missed him badly last year.
But if New York can get an entire season from a fully healthy Senga, the one who finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023 after going 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 166.1 innings, the Mets' pitching staff will have one less question to answer.
"I’m on the same page with the coaches, the training staff, everybody on the team and they’re doing their best to keep me on the field and I’m doing what I can to stay on the field," Senga said. "So we’re all on the same page and I think we have a good step going forward."
Canucks Kiefer Sherwood Ties NHL Record For Hits In A Season
Kiefer Sherwood has tied an NHL record. During the Vancouver Canucks game on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues, Sherwood threw his 383rd hit of the season, which tied Jeremy Lauzon's NHL record. The record-tying hit was Sherwood's 10th of the game and came at 12:35 of the third period against Tyler Tucker.
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Despite only playing 65 games with the Canucks, Sherwood already ranks 19th all-time in franchise history for hits. Earlier this season, he also tied the franchise record for hits in a game when he threw 12 against the Chicago Blackhawks. This season, Sherwood has thrown at least 10 hits in seven games and has thrown over 100 hits more than any other player in the NHL.
On top of being a hitting machine, Sherwood is also having a career year offensively. He has set new career highs in points with 29 and hit the 15-goal mark for the first time in his career. Sherwood signed a two-year contract with Vancouver during the 2024 offseason, which carries a cap hit of $1.5 million.
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, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. drives in five, Will Warren roughed up in Yankees' win over Orioles
In their second and final meeting of Grapefruit League play, the Yankees defeated the rival Baltimore Orioles, 9-7, on Thursday night in Sarasota.
Here are the takeaways...
-- It didn't take long for the Yankees to produce offense. After a one-out walk from Aaron Judge and a line-drive single from Jasson Dominguez in the first inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. brought his teammates home with a deep two-run double off the right field wall.
-- Poised to claim a rotation spot, Will Warren made his fifth start (sixth appearance) of camp. The outing didn't start on a high note for the Yankees' fifth-overall prospect, as he gave up a mammoth solo homer to Ryan O'Hearn in the first. The blast was sandwiched between a strikeout, flyout, and groundout. New York led 2-1 after one.
-- Chisholm provided even more damage at the plate in his second at-bat. With two runners on and one out in the third, he crushed an inside fastball that landed well beyond the right-field wall for a three-run shot. It was Chisholm's third homer of the spring and second in as many games.
-- Warren didn't thrive with more breathing room in the bottom frame. He allowed back-to-back singles to Jackson Holliday and Cedric Mullins to open the third, and shortly thereafer, Adley Rutschman took a wheelhouse fastball deep to left for a three-run jack. The hard contact continued on the ensuing at-bats, but Warren escaped holding a 5-4 lead.
-- After the Yankees went down in order in the fourth, Warren returned to the mound. He allowed a leadoff walk, but recovered by striking out Holliday and forcing Mullins into a fielder's choice. That marked the end for Warren, who allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings. He built his pitch count up to 74.
-- Anthony Volpe joined the homer party in the sixth, crushing a breaking ball from Seranthony Dominguez for a solo shot to deep left-center. His third homer of camp and second hit of the night bumped the Yankees' lead to 6-4.
-- Ian Hamilton entered the sixth with a flawless 0.00 ERA across 8.1 innings this spring, but his seventh appearance of camp wasn't smooth sailing. He experienced the highs and lows, allowing one run on three hits while still striking out three. So much for that perfect ERA -- it now sits at 9.00.
-- Yerry De Los Santos, who's aiming to earn a bullpen spot, worked around a leadoff walk in the seventh by striking out two and inducing a groundout. He returned for one matchup in the eight inning, and happened to strike out former Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez.
-- Ben Rice didn't bring his hot bat to Sarasota. As the Yankees' catcher, he went hitless in the leadoff spot across four at-bats. Cody Bellinger and Dominguez logged a single and run scored apiece across seven combined at-bats, while Oswaldo Cabrera singled once in three trips.
-- Judge failed to collect a hit in his 11th game of camp, but managed to get on base with a pair of walks and runs scored. It was also a quiet night at the plate for top prospect Spencer Jones -- he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
-- A group of Yankees farmhands produced a three-run eighth, as Omar Martinez delievered an RBI double and Brendan Jones drove in two with a single to center.
Highlights
Jazz doubles to plate Judge & Jasson 💪 pic.twitter.com/ElZHRsanSq
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 20, 2025
JAZZ CHISHOLM JR.!
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 20, 2025
(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/2rNU5rZr2t
Anthony Volpe BLASTS a home run ⚡️
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 21, 2025
(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/8O7HQlgkOa
What's next
The Yankees (13-12) will travel 80 miles north-east to Lakeland for a Friday night matchup against the Detroit Tigers (6:05 p.m. first pitch).
Bobrovsky, Barkov propel Panthers to 1-0 victory in Columbus
A playoff atmosphere filled Nationwide Arena on Thursday night for a late-season matchup between the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
With both teams looking to break out of recent funks, the game was as tight and competitive as you’d hope this late in the season between a couple of potential postseason clubs.
Ultimately it was the Panthers coming out on top of this goaltenders’ duel, earning a feisty 1-0 victory in overtime.
Florida played a strong first period, holding Columbus without a shot on goal for almost seven minutes after the opening puck drop.
The Panthers ended up outshooting the home team 12-5 during the first period but nobody was able to solve the goaltenders.
After Elvis Merzlikins was the busier of the tendies during the opening 20 minutes, it was Sergei Bobrovsky who was called upon more frequently after the second period arrived.
Columbus thought they had the game’s first goal with 9:47 left in the third period.
Boone Jenner was tied up just outside the goal crease but was able to kick a loose puck past a sprawling Bobrovsky.
Florida’s goaltender quickly jumped up, waving his arms at the referee, but it took an official review for the refs to take the goal off the scoreboard.
An exciting, physical third period yielded no goals, so for the first time in five seasons, the Panthers went to overtime in a scoreless tie.
Thanks to a late delay of game penalty of Kirill Marchenko, Florida had a 4-on-3 power play when the extra session began.
After some quick puck movement, Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov wired a wrist shot over Merzlikins’ blocker 28 seconds into overtime.
Ballgame.
On to Washington.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Bobrovsky finished with 26 saves, including all six high danger shots the Blue Jackets sent his way.
The last time a Panthers game was 0-0 after sixty minutes was on Feb. 4, 2020 at Columbus.
Florida lost on a Zach Werenski overtime goal.
Barkov has now scored in consecutive games for the second time this month.
Sam Reinhart picked up an assist on Barkov’s goal, his seventh assist and ninth point over his past seven games.
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Ottawa Senators Crushed At Home 5-1 By Colorado Avalanche
After a six-game winning streak, the hot and cold Ottawa Senators are suddenly showing the earmarks of another cold streak, and few things are colder than getting snowed under at home by the Avalanche.
After a 6-3 loss in Montreal on Tuesday, the Senators had a weak response on Thursday, losing 5-1 to the Colorado Avalanche.
Brock Nelson scored twice for the Avs who outshot Ottawa 32-16. Cale Makar, Jonathan Drouin and Ross Colton each had two points.
After being outshot by Ottawa 5-0 in the first five minutes, Colorado completely took the game over, scoring four goals in the second half of the first period.
With Linus Ullmark under siege for several minutes, Nathan MacKinnon finally opened the floodgates with his 28th, 10:29 into the first period. Just inside Ottawa's blue line, MacKinnon took a drop pass from Drouin and ripped a low shot through both Jake Sanderson and Ullmark.
A minute later, Brock Nelson broke free down the left wing and beat Ullmark high to the glove side to make it 2-0.
Cale Makar scored his 26th goal on the power play on a shot from the point through traffic. And finally, right after a faceoff to the right of Ottawa's goal, Joel Kiviranta ended Ullmark's night and make it 4-0 Colorado.
The residue of Ottawa's terrible first period bled into the second as Dylan Cozens had taken a bad interference penalty with six seconds left in the first. With the extra man, Nelson scored again to make it 5-0 early in the second.
At that point, Sens head coach Travis Green put all his forward lines in a blender. And why not?
In particular, newcomer Fabian Zetterlund finally got a chance to get off the fourth line where he's been for the past five games since arriving in Ottawa. He played mostly top six minutes in the final two periods and was noticeable, creating at least a couple of good chances.
The Senators hit a couple of goal posts along the way and finally broke the shutout on Cozens' power play goal with under four minutes left, but they were never in this game, getting just 11 shots in the final 55 minutes of the game. This, despite the fact the Avs played last night.
The good news is that the New York Rangers lost 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night so Ottawa remains five points above the Eastern Conference playoff cut line.
Fancy that, a favour from the Leafs?
The Sens will hit the road again for another difficult matchup on Saturday night, this time against the New Jersey Devils.
By Steve Warne
Site Editor at The Hockey News Ottawa
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Milestone star Beth Mooney leads Australia to dominant victory over White Ferns as wounded Ash Gardner sent for scans
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