March Madness second round game times: TV schedule update for Saturday

While the Men's 2026 NCAA Tournament continues Friday, March 20, we already have 16 teams on to the second round.

Eight games will kick off the second round of March Madness on Saturday, March 21. Two top seeds in Duke and Michigan will be in action, as well as double-digit seeds that pulled off upsets in Texas, VCU and High Point.

Game times and TV assignments for Saturday's second round were announced late Thursday night ET. Here is the schedule for the first day of the second round, as well as what network it will air on.

March Madness bracket: Second round game times, schedule

Saturday, March 21

All times Eastern

  • MIDWEST: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 9 Saint Louis: 12:10 p.m., CBS
  • EAST: No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 6 Louisville: 2:45 p.m., CBS
  • EAST: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 9 TCU: 5:15 p.m., CBS
  • SOUTH: No. 2 Houston vs. No. 10 Texas A&M: 6:10 p.m., TNT
  • WEST: No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 Texas: 7:10 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV
  • SOUTH: No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 11 VCU: 7:50 p.m. ET, CBS
  • SOUTH: No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt: 8:45 p.m. ET, TNT
  • WEST: No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 12 High Point: 9:45 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness second round game times, NCAA Tournament bracket, schedule

Southern closes on a 14-2 run to beat Samford in the women's First Four

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jaylia Reed scored 16 points, DeMya Porter had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Southern closed the game on a 14-2 run to beat fellow No. 16 seed Samford 65-53 on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament.

Southern (20-13) won a game in the First Four for the second straight season, earning a chance to play top-seeded South Carolina on Saturday in the Round of 64. It’s the Jaguars’ third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.

D’Shantae Edwards began the fourth quarter by converting a three-point play to give Southern a 47-44 lead. Samford tied it twice in the next three minutes, but could not get any closer.

Reed put Southern ahead for good with 6:47 remaining on a 3-pointer to begin the game-closing run. Six different Jaguars scored during the run.

Samford missed eight of its last nine field goals.

Jocelyn Tate added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Southern, which had nine of its 13 steals in the first half. The Jaguars finished with 20 points off turnovers.

NO. 10 VIRGINIA 57, NO. 10 ARIZONA STATE 55

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Kymora Johnson scored 17 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30.6 seconds remaining, and Virginia beat Arizona State for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2018.

Virginia (20-11), the No. 10 seed, will face seventh-seeded and 24th-ranked Georgia in the first round on Saturday. The Cavaliers are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and first under coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.

Johnson’s key 3-pointer — Virginia’s first of the second half in 10 attempts — made it 54-51.

Johnson went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 5.3 seconds left to cap the scoring and Arizona State guard Jyah LoVett lost control of the ball in the paint at the other end as the clock ran out.

Johnson also had 10 rebounds and five assists for her ninth career double-double. Caitlin Weimar added 11 points off the bench for Virginia and Romi Levy scored 10.

Marley Washenitz made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Arizona State (24-11). McKinna Brackens had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Heloisa Carrera also scored 10.

Sergei Bobrovsky perfect in net as Panthers blank Oilers 4-0

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves to earn his fourth shutout of the season as the Florida Panthers continued to plague Edmonton, emerging with a 4-0 victory over the Oilers on Thursday in a rematch of the last two Stanley Cup finals.

Cole Reinhardt, A.J. Greer, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the injury-riddled Panthers, who snapped a two-game losing skid.

Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues and Mike Benning all had two assist games. The Panthers are almost certain to miss the playoffs and a chance to defend their back-to-back titles.

Connor Ingram made 19 stops in the loss for Edmonton.

The Oilers had a two-game winning streak halted and missed out on an opportunity to move ahead of idle Anaheim into first in the Pacific Division.

Edmonton remained without star forward Leon Draisaitl, out for the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury.

Florida has been hit hard by injuries all season. Among those out of the lineup on Thursday were Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand. Only defenseman Gustav Forsling has managed to appear in all 68 games this season. Conversely, six Oilers have played in every game: Connor McDavid, Matt Savoie, Vasily Podkolzin, Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse.

Up next

Panthers: Visit the Calgary Flames on Friday.

Oilers: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Johnson sinks go-ahead 3-pointer and Virginia beats Arizona State 57-55 in women's First Four

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Kymora Johnson scored 17 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30.6 seconds remaining, and Virginia beat Arizona State 57-55 on Thursday night in the First Four for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2018.

Virginia (20-11), the No. 10 seed, will face seventh-seeded and 24th-ranked Georgia in the first round on Saturday. The Cavaliers are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and first under coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.

Johnson's key 3-pointer — Virginia's first of the second half in 10 attempts — made it 54-51.

Johnson went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 5.3 seconds left to cap the scoring and Arizona State guard Jyah LoVett lost control of the ball in the paint at the other end as the clock ran out.

Johnson also had 10 rebounds and five assists for her ninth career double-double. Caitlin Weimar added 11 points off the bench for Virginia and Romi Levy scored 10.

Marley Washenitz made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Arizona State (24-11). McKinna Brackens had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Heloisa Carrera also scored 10.

Gabby Elliott, who entered averaging a team-high 16 points per game for ASU, made just her second field goal in 10 attempts with 3:18 remaining to get within 48-46. She finished with 11 points, on 3-of-13 shooting, and nine rebounds.

The Sun Devils were in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 under first-year coach Molly Miller.

Up next

Virginia, which reached 20 wins in a season for the first time since 2017, will play a Georgia team that had the best single-season turnaround in school history after going 13-19 last year. The Bulldogs are making their 37th appearance in the tournament.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Luka Doncic scores 60, LeBron James has triple-double in Lakers win

NBA leading-scorer Luka Doncic put on another epic performance of bucket-getting in the Los Angeles Lakers' 134-126 win against the Miami Heat on March 19.

Doncic dropped 60 points in South Beach, the third-highest scoring output of his career and the most he's scored since being traded to the Lakers in February 2025.

Doncic, who averages 33 points per game, had his onslaught performance just weeks after Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points, the second-most points scored in an NBA game, in the same arena.

Luka Magic was on full display at Kaseya Center in Miami as the MVP candidate shot 18-of-30 from the field, connecting on 9-of-17 long-distance shots. He shot 15-of-19 from the free-throw line. He added seven rebounds, three assists and was even locked in defensively, grabbing five steals.

Lakers climbed to 45-25 and have the third-best record in the Western Conference behind the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. According to the latest Kia MVP Ladder on NBA.com, Doncic is ranked fourth for Most Valuable Player.

However, Doncic wasn't the only Laker to have himself a historic night.

LeBron James crowned NBA iron man as notches triple-double

LeBron James, the longest-tenured Laker, notched a triple-double, alongside Doncic's 60-point game in the win against James' former team.

James filled the stat sheet with 19 points, a season-high 15 rebounds and 10 assists in just under 38 minutes of play.

The four-time MVP and NBA champion officially became the league's iron man in Thursday's game. James played in the 1,611th game of his career, tying Hall of Famer Robert Parish for the all-time games-played mark.

Lakers vs. Heat highlights: Luka drops 60, LeBron gets triple-double

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luka Doncic drops 60 in win vs. Heat as LeBron becomes league ironman

Mets' Juan Soto 'cannot be more prepared' for 2026 regular season after WBC experience

Juan Soto returned to the Mets lineup on Thursday after two weeks playing for the Dominican Republic at this year's World Baseball Classic, and the slugger was thrilled with his experience.

Although Soto and Team DR fell to the USA in the semifinals, Soto called it "one of the best experiences" he's ever had after he was pulled in the Mets' 6-2 win over the Astros. But it was more than just an experience for Soto, in fact, the Mets superstar credits the tournament for how he feels just a week out from the team's Opening Day. 

"I feel really good right now," Soto said. "My body, everything feels good. I feel like my swing is in a good spot to start the season. I cannot be more prepared.”

Before the WBC, Soto was 2-for-12 with just one extra-base hit in five spring games. Soto upped that production during the tournament, going 6-for-23 (.261) in the team's six games to go along with two bombs, four RBI, five walks and a stolen base. 

And although he went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored on Thursday, Soto looks back fondly on his time with his countrymen and recommends it to others, if not for the competition, but for the knowledge that's dropped from teammates and coaches.

"It’s an experience that I recommend to anyone who has a chance to play," Soto said. "When you leave for those two weeks, it’s incredible. It helps my game. We had David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Albert Pujols, Placido Polanco, [Fernando] Tatis Sr. - we have guys that played this game for so long and they gave us so much advice that can help me with my game. I cannot ask for more."

In his first season with the Mets, Soto had one of the best of his career. He slashed .263/.396/.525 with an OPS of .921 to go with his career-high 43 homers and 105 RBI. He also smashed his previous career-high in stolen bases, swiping 38 bags a year ago. Now, heading into year two in Flushing, Soto hopes to produce even more for the Mets and get them back into the postseason.

 

BYU envisioned success with AJ Dybantsa. It ended with early March Madness exit

PORTLAND, OR — In the middle of the Men's NCAA Tournament first-round matchup between No. 6 seed BYU and No. 11 Texas, Longhorns coach Sean Miller was asked on the CBS broadcast how to stop Cougars star AJ Dybantsa.

“We can’t,” Miller said.

Unable to stop one of the best players in the game, but Texas did the next best thing: outplay the rest of BYU.

The first March Madness for Dybantsa was short-and-sweet — not the kind he hoped for. Despite another stellar outing from the freshman phenom, BYU was upset by Texas 79-71 to end what was supposed to be a promising campaign.

“As far as the season, it's tough dealing with that type of adversity. But I'd rather do it with nobody else,” Dybantsa said.

Dybantsa had a game-high 35 points and 10 rebounds in what is all but officially his final college basketball game, playing in a building — the Moda Center — in which he will likely play at the next level.

“Thought there were moments in tonight's game where he just looked like that Portland Trailblazer floor should have been down there,” said BYU coach Kevin Young. “Just look like an NBA player, the stuff he's able to do on the court.”

From the jump, the Longhorns really didn’t have an answer for Dybantsa. He made his first four shots of the night — including a beautiful midrange pull up on a double-team — for 10 points in the first eight minutes. It looked like the night would belong to him.

Instead, Texas controlled the game the rest of the way.

Even as Dybantsa continued to score, the Longhorns only strengthened their lead. He had 20 points at halftime, but Texas was up by nine points.

No matter what Dybantsa did — run the baseline for a casual two-hand reverse dunk or draw fouls for a 12-for-12 night from the charity stripe — it hardly made a dent in Texas' grip of the game. BYU was able to make it interesting, cutting the deficit to four points with less than 90 seconds to go, but it didn’t score the rest of the way.

Texas led for all but 53 seconds of the game, and that happened midway through the first half. So how did the Longhorns pick up their second win of the tournament, even when Dybantsa has another big scoring night?

The goal, really, was to not let anyone else contribute: The rest of the Cougars scored 36 points, with no points from the bench.

“The key for us, in addition to just him, is not allowing everybody else to join in,” Miller said. “We just wanted to make sure that we did a great job rebounding and that we did as good of a job as we can guarding the rest of the group. I think that's really why we were able to win.”

For BYU, it’s a disastrous end to what many believed could be the greatest season in program history. The No. 8 team in the USA TODAY Sports preseason Coaches Poll, the Cougars raced to a 17-2 start with the build off a Final Four contender.

Then things derailed. It lost four straight games and eventually lost sharp shooter Richie Saunders for the season to finish 6-9, resulting in the No. 6 seed in the tournament.

There was still hope for a possible March run, but it only got one game.

Even though Dybantsa didn’t formally declare he’d headed to the NBA — he said he has to talk to his family, mainly mom since she “makes the decision in life in my family” — the presumption is he will bolt to the pros, where he likely will be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft.

“I'm happy I chose here. I definitely made the right decision,” Dybantsa said.

While everyone in the sport knew he was only here for this campaign, BYU hoped he would become a pro after leading the Cougars to their first Final Four. Instead, it was a first-round exit, the third loss to a No. 11 seed in the opening round in its last four tournament appearances.

That’s not what BYU got: Just like Dybantsa, the Cougars are one-and-done.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Like AJ Dybantsa, BYU basketball is one-and-done in March Madness

Flyers dazzle in shootout to beat Kings, sweep back-to-back set

Flyers dazzle in shootout to beat Kings, sweep back-to-back set originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers went the distance Thursday night for a gutsy, 4-3 shootout win over the Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov delivered in the skills competition. Zegras is a scorching 20 for 33 lifetime.

Samuel Ersson picked up his 13th career shootout victory in 18 opportunities.

This was the Flyers’ fourth straight overtime game and their 25th of the season. They lead the NHL with 15 shootout wins over the last two seasons.

Travis Konecny, Noah Cates and Travis Sanheim provided the team’s goals in regulation.

Michkov and Rasmus Ristolainen each had two assists. Cates also had a helper.

The Flyers (33-23-12) improved to 2-0-0 on this three-game California road trip. They beat the Ducks, 3-2, in overtime Wednesday night.

Rick Tocchet’s club is a commendable 5-5-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets. Last season, the Flyers were a dreadful 1-10-2.

They really gutted this one out. They had to roll with just 11 forwards and an extra defenseman.

The Flyers were without Sean Couturier, who missed the game because of an upper-body injury. It’s unknown if the injury is related at all to Couturier’s back, which has plagued the Flyers’ captain in the past.

Denver Barkey (upper body) and Luke Glendening (lower body) were also out. Both have been considered day to day.

The Flyers have gone 8-2-1 over their last 11 games. The problem, though, is they received little help Thursday night in the playoff race (more on that below).

The Flyers went 1-0-1 in their regular-season series with the Kings (28-24-16). They suffered a 3-2 overtime loss in Philadelphia at the end of January.

• Ersson converted 22 saves on 25 shots. He turned away Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin in the shootout.

The Flyers relinquished a 3-2 third-period lead when they gave up a power play goal to Panarin.

But Ersson was solid all night and the Flyers rewarded him with three second-period goals.

The 26-year-old has been a reliable guy since the Olympic break. In four appearances (three starts), he has recorded three wins, a 1.74 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.

Los Angeles netminder Darcy Kuemper stopped 17 of the Flyers’ 20 shots.

• With 14 games left, the Flyers have matched their win total from last season, when they went 33-39-10.

They already have two more points than last season.

The Flyers have made progress and they would actually hold a playoff spot rather comfortably if they were in the Western Conference. In fact, the Ducks are in first place of the Pacific Division and the Flyers have the same number of points.

But in the Eastern Conference, the Flyers are trying to chase down multiple teams. The Blue Jackets, Bruins and Red Wings all won Thursday night. The Flyers are within five points of third place in the Metropolitan Division and six points back of both the East’s first and second wild-card spots.

• The Flyers dodged an injury scare in the third period when Michkov was hammered into the boards by Drew Doughty.

The 21-year-old winger was shaken up but didn’t need to leave the game. He had a strong and active night in 17:04 minutes.

• With how undermanned the Flyers were up front, Emil Andrae was deployed mostly as a forward.

Garrett Wilson played his first NHL game in almost seven years. The 35-year-old winger has been a part of AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley’s leadership group over the last six seasons.

• The Flyers wrap up their trip Saturday when they visit the Sharks (4 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

Panthers Pick Up Another Victory In Edmonton, Taking Down Oilers 4-0

The Florida Panthers were back in a familiar building on Thursday night despite being extremely far from home.

Playing at Rogers Place for the first time since Game 5 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers picked up right where they left off, skating to a resounding 4-0 victory over the Oilers.

It was Florida who got on the scoreboard first, and the goal came off the stick of one of the newest Panthers players.

Cole Reinhardt picked up the puck in the neutral zone behind Edmonton’s defenders and went in all alone on Connor Ingram and made an abrupt backhand forehand move, sending the goaltender the wrong way while depositing the puck in the back of the net at the 11:12 mark of the first period.

The Cats weren’t done there.

A.J. Greer picked up his 12th goal of the season, deflecting a long shot by rookie defenseman Mike Benning past Ingram with 57.7 seconds left in the period, sending Florida into the intermission up 2-0 on the Oilers.

For Benning, the rookie picked up the primary assist on both Panthers goals, giving him his first multi-point game in the NHL while playing for the first time in his hometown of Edmonton.

Florida stretched their lead to 3-0 after Vasily Podkolzin took a delay of game penalty at the 13:49 mark of the middle frame.

A loose puck came out of the slot and right to Anton Lundell, who fired the puck into a yawning cage for his 18th tally of the season.

The Panthers would hold their lead until late in the third period, when Carter Verhaeghe sealed the deal with a snipe of a shot from the slot that came directly off a faceoff win.

Standing tall between the pipes for Florida was Sergei Bobrovsky.

Bob finished with 21 saves, including all nine of Edmonton’s high-danger shots, according to Natural Stat Trick.

It’s the fourth shutout of the season for Bobrovsky, and first since mid-December.

The win was also his 454th, moving him into a tie for seventh on the NHL’s all-time wins list with Curtis Joseph. Bob trails sixth-place Henrik Lundqvist by only five wins.

On to Calgary.

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Photo caption: Mar 19, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Matt Savoie (22) looks for a loose puck in front of Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the first period at Rogers Place. (Perry Nelson-Imagn Images)

Blackhawks Earn Regulation Win Over Wild For First Time Since 2019

The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Minnesota Wild for the second time in a week on Thursday night. This was the fourth and final meeting between the two, and the first three were all 4-3 wins past regulation in favor of the Wild. 

The Blackhawks came in looking like a team that was desperate for a win over their Central Division rival. They broke through at 16:22 of the first period, when Andrew Mangiapane made a great play to find Ilya Mikheyev at the net-mouth for a 1-0 lead. 

That would be the end of the scoring in the opening frame. In the second, Connor Bedard made a beautiful play to make it 2-0 for the Blackhawks. After stealing the puck and creating a breakaway for himself, he held off the defender to create space and made a sensational move to score. 

Bedard's goal was his 28th of the season, which ties him with Tyler Bertuzzi for the team lead. For all of the time that he's missed due to his mid-season injury, it's impressive to see him reach these goal-scoring heights. 

Watching where he takes his totals over the final 14 games will be a storyline to follow as the season comes to a close. 

The Wild got themselves on the board when Nico Sturm scored at 15:47. The Blackhawks still skated into the third period with a 2-1 lead. 

Although the Wild came very close to scoring with less than a second remaining in regulation, Spencer Knight made one final save (with help from Alex Vlasic) to preserve the 2-1 victory for the Blackhawks. Knight made 28 saves on 29 shots. 

This is Chicago's first win in regulation over Minnesota since December of 2019. That ends a 19-game point streak (18-0-1) in the head-to-head matchup for the Wild. They also haven't won in Minnesota since November of 2017. 

March has been a decent month for the Blackhawks. They are 4-2-2 during the month, which is a win for a young team beginning to improve. Most of those games have come post-trade deadline, meaning it is an even younger team, making it an even more impressive stretch. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks will be back in action again on Friday night. The Colorado Avalanche, who have been the top team in the NHL all season, will be at the United Center. 

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Mets, Freddy Peralta 'highly unlikely' to reach extension agreement before 2026 season: report

The Mets and ace right-hander Freddy Peralta are "highly unlikely" to reach a long-term contract extension before the 2026 MLB season starts, according to a report Thursday by the New York Post's Jon Heyman, who cited "people familiar with the discussions."

Peralta, 29, previously told Heyman that he was seeking a new deal for seven or eight years. The Mets "generally oppose deals of that length" and "are believed more comfortable with something in the range of four years, or perhaps five," according to Thursday's report.

The Mets acquired Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers in a Jan. 21 trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for top prospectsJett Williams and Brandon Sproat.

Through three spring training starts, Peralta is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA. He has allowed three runs on four hits while striking out 12 and walking two in 10 innings.

"What I can say is that everything has been amazing, talking from the bottom to the top, people in the front office, everyone," Peralta said in February, via SNY's Chelsea Janes. "They’ve been very easy for me, easy to work with, and I’m just happy because I feel they have my back."

Peralta, a two-time All-Star, went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 176.2 IP last season with the Brewers. He is set to make his Mets debut as New York's Opening Day starter for next Thursday's 1:15 p.m. game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Penguins Recall Defenseman From Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

The Pittsburgh Penguins made a couple of roster moves on Thursday.

After sending forward Avery Hayes back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins recalled defenseman Ryan Graves from his conditioning stint. He was with WBS for a week and appeared in two games, scoring one goal.

Graves has only played in 19 games with the Penguins this season, recording one goal. That goal came against the New Jersey Devils back on Nov. 8. 

Graves has appeared in 15 games for WBS this season, racking up three goals and 10 points. He was originally signed by the Penguins back in 2023 before the 2023-24 season started. 

Graves has played in 150 games for the Penguins over the last three seasons, scoring five goals and assisting on 14 others. 


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Reichel has goal an assist in Boston debut to help the Bruins beat the Jets 6-1

BOSTON (AP) — Lukas Reichel had a goal and an assist in his Boston debut, Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves and the Bruins beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-1 on Thursday night to end a two-game losing streak.

David Pastrnak scored his 27th goal of the season and had an assist. Viktor Arvidsson and Pavel Vacha also each had a goal and assist, and Fraser Minten and Jonathan Aspirot added late goals.

Fighting for one of the final Eastern Conference playoff spots, the Bruins finished in regulation for only the second time in seven games. They were coming off overtime losses at New Jersey on Monday night and Montreal on Tuesday night.

Jonathan Toews ended Swayman’s shutout bid on a tip-in at 5:38 of the third. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 shots for Winnipeg.

SENATORS 3, ISLANDERS 2

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brady Tkachuk scored with 11.1 seconds left to give Ottawa a victory over New York.

Tkachuk controlled the loose puck in the crease and squeezed it past goalie Ilya Sorokin for the comeback victory.

New York dropped out of a playoff position in the tight Eastern Conference, while Ottawa closed within four points of the Islanders.

RED WINGS 3, CANADIENS 1

DETROIT (AP) — Alex DeBrincat scored the go-ahead goal with 3:25 remaining and assisted on Detroit’s two other goals, lifting the Red Wings to a victory over Montreal.

DeBrincat scored the winner on a backhander after stealing the puck from defenseman Mike Matheson in the Canadiens’ zone. J.T. Compher scored earlier in the period and Andrew Copp added an empty-net goal with 16.8 seconds remaining.

John Gibson made 32 saves for the Red Wings, who won for the second straight game following a three-game losing streak. Detroit recorded back-to-back victories for the first time since a three-game winning streak in mid-January.

The Red Wings also won the season series, 2-1 and pulled even with the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division standings in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.

BLUE JACKETS 6, RANGERS 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Adam Fantilli scored twice, including an empty-net goal with 2:54 remaining, and Columbus beat New York, keeping alive hopes for their first playoff berth since the 2019-20 season.

Columbus extended its point streak to 11 games and takes over third-place in the Metropolitan Division thanks to the New York Islanders’ 3-2 loss in Ottawa.

Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist, and Isac Lundestrom, Conor Garland and Damon Severson also scored. Zach Werenski’s three assists give him 52 on the season and his second career 70-plus point season, tying him with Artemi Panarin for the most in team history. Jet Greaves made 22 saves for Columbus, which has won three straight.

Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist, and Vincent Trocheck also scored for New York, which had its two-game road win streak snapped. Igor Shesterkin finished with 31 saves.

BLACKHAWKS 2, WILD 1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Connor Bedard scored a goal and defenseman Alex Vlasic made a game-saving stop as time ran out on Thursday night as Chicago beat Minnesota to snap the NHL’s longest active point streak for one team against another.

Ilya Mikheyev also scored and Spencer Knight made 28 saves for the Blackhawks, who were 0-18-1 in their last 19 games against Minnesota. Chicago’s last victory over the Wild was on Dec. 15, 2019.

Nico Sturm scored for the Wild and Jesper Wallstedt stopped 24 of 26 shots he faced.

With Wallstedt pulled for an extra attacker, the Wild nearly tied it in the final seconds. Knight got a piece of Quinn Hughes’ shot, but the puck trickled behind him in the crease. Before a Minnesota player could get to it, the 6-foot-6 Vlasic swept his stick into the crease and tucked the puck beneath his goalie.

PREDATORS 3, KRAKEN 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Filip Forsberg scored a goal and added two assists and Justus Annunen made 25 saves to lead Nashville to a victory over Seattle in a matchup of teams vying for a Western Conference wild card.

Ryan Ufko and Ryan O’Reilly also scored for the Predators, winners of two straight.

Frederick Gaudreau scored and Joey Daccord made 24 saves for the Kraken, who are 2-6 over their last eight games.

With the win, Nashville pulled even with the Kraken, both with 71 points, just outside the wild-card spots.

PANTHERS 4, OILERS 0

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves to earn his fourth shutout of the season as Florida continued to plague Edmonton, emerging with a victory over the Oilers in a rematch of the last two Stanley Cup finals.

Cole Reinhardt, A.J. Greer, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the injury-riddled Panthers, who snapped a two-game losing skid.

Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues and Mike Benning all had two assist games. The Panthers are almost certain to miss the playoffs and a chance to defend their back-to-back titles.

Connor Ingram made 19 stops in the loss for Edmonton.

The Oilers had a two-game winning streak halted and missed out on an opportunity to move ahead of idle Anaheim into first in the Pacific Division.

LIGHTNING 6, CANUCKS 2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli each had a goal and two assists and Tampa Bay beat NHL-worst Vancouver.

Kucherov moved into sole possession of second place in the NHL scoring race with 114 points, one behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid. Tampa Bay is second in the Atlantic Division, four points behind Buffalo.

Jake Guentzel, Darren Raddysh, Yanni Gourde and Brandon Hagel also scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves for his NHL-leading 32nd victory.

Liam Ohgren and Linus Karlsson scored for Vancouver, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 24 shots.

MAMMOTH 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 0

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Karel Vejmelka stopped all 28 shots he faced for Utah, while Vegas counterpart Adin Hill was chased after allowing three goals without making a save in the Mammoth’s victory over the Golden Knights.

Vejmelka had his second shutout of the season and eighth in five NHL seasons to help Utah solidify its hold on the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Mammoth built on a 6-3 home victory over Dallas on Monday night that snapped a four-game losing streak.

Third in the Pacific Division, the Golden Knights lost their second straight to finish a homestand 2-2. It fell apart quicky for Hill.

SABRES 5, SHARKS 0

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Alex Lyon made 23 saves for his 10th straight road victory as Buffalo scored three times in a span of less than two minutes in the second period to beat San Jose.

Sam Carrick scored twice, Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist, and Noah Ostlund and Tage Thompson also scored to help the Sabres win for the 11th time in 12 games. Buffalo moved into a tie with Carolina for the most points in the Eastern Conference.

Lyon posted his seventh career shutout and moved within one road win of the longest streak in NHL history. San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov and Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk each won 11 straight on the road.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 11 saves — but none in the three-goal second period — as the Sharks dropped their third straight and remained just outside playoff position in the Western Conference. San Jose became the second team in at least 11 seasons to allow at least three goals in a period without making a save, with Boston doing it last season against Chicago.

FLYERS 4, KINGS 3, SO

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov scored in a shootout to give Philadelphia their fourth victory in five games, over Los Angeles.

Noah Cates had a goal and an assist, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim also scored, and Samuel Ersson made 22 saves. The Flyers remained six points behind Boston and Detroit for the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots.

On Wednesday night at Anaheim, Cates scored in overtime in the Flyers’ 3-2 victory over the Ducks.

Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin failed on their shootout attempts for Los Angeles, though the Kings still moved into the second wild card in the Western Conference.

Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton raking heading into regular season: ‘Bottle this up’

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) hits a 2-run home run during the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Image 2 shows Giancarlo Stanton hits a sacrifice fly during the first inning of the Yankees' 5-4 spring training win over the Orioles on March 19, 2026 at George M. Steinbrenner Field
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TAMPA — Time for Giancarlo Stanton to fast forward to the regular season.

Opening Day is now less than a week away, but the Yankees veteran DH has spent the past two days smoking the ball like he is ready to roll in games that count.

“If we can just bottle this up and move it north …” manager Aaron Boone said with a grin after a 5-4 win over the Orioles at Steinbrenner Field. “He looks great, feels great, obviously.”

Between Wednesday and Thursday, Stanton put six balls in play.

Giancarlo Stanton has had a strong spring training. Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Five of them registered at exit velocities over 100 mph, and if the wind hadn’t been blowing in on both brisk days, Boone is convinced Stanton would have more to show for it than only one of them leaving the yard.

“Probably with the weather switch, he’s probably got five homers the last couple games,” Boone said.



Stanton finally got one out Thursday, his fourth home run of the spring, on a ball hit 100.1 mph down the right-field line.

He also flew out on balls hit at 110.5 mph and 104.8 mph (a sacrifice fly) after flying out on Wednesday on balls hit at 112.4 mph and 104.1 mph.

New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) hits a two-run home run during the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Max Fried made his final tuneup before starting Opening Day against the Giants on Wednesday, giving up three runs and walking four across five innings while throwing 81 pitches.

The left-hander acknowledged he was “not sharp,” but said he liked being able to work through jams in his last chance before the games are real.

Max Fried allowed three runs in five inning in the Yankees’ 5-4 spring training win over the Orioles on March 19, 2026 at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

“I know who I am and I know the kind of pitcher I am, but the more I can try to push myself, it’s only going to help in the end,” Fried said.

Carlos Rodón threw two innings and 35 pitches of live batting practice Thursday afternoon, continuing his buildup from elbow surgery with the hope that he could be back at some point in April.

“Physically, fine,” he said. “Just working to get a feel of things, third live [batting practice]. Obviously I would like everything to be crisp, but it’s hard to do that when you got to build up and come back from surgery. So it’s coming. I try not to get frustrated myself.”

Rodón is expected to pitch in a minor league exhibition next week when the Yankees are out west to start the season.


Aaron Judge is expected to start at DH on Friday night against the Orioles, his first game back since playing in the WBC.

Paul Goldschmidt, who only got three plate appearances for Team USA, took live at-bats against Rodón on a back field, and an hour later was in the starting lineup against the Orioles, going 1-for-3.


Cody Bellinger was initially expected to play on the road Thursday against the Blue Jays, but instead he stayed back after getting hit on the right arm in Wednesday’s game.

He is said to be fine, and looked no worse for wear while taking at-bats off Rodón on the back field.


The Yankees optioned reliever Angel Chivilli to Triple-A, eliminating another name from the bullpen competition.

Chivilli, acquired from the Rockies this winter, remains a work in progress after posting a 12.91 ERA in eight appearances this spring.

Player Grades: Cavs at Bulls – James Harden dazzles in Chicago

CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 19: James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers prepares to shoot a free throw during the game against the Chicago Bulls on March 19, 2026 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a win over the Chicago Bulls.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

James Harden

36 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 5 turnovers

This was a Harden masterpiece through three quarters. He converted multiple four-point plays and canned seven three-pointers. His heliocentric control of the offense kept Cleveland grooving until suddenly, the Bulls found a way to disrupt his rhythm. The final quarter was hectic, but Harden made enough plays down the stretch to preserve his grade. His iso-jumper with 31 seconds left was the knockout blow.

Grade: A+

Evan Mobley

26 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

Mobley made his presence known in the paint tonight. He hovered around the basket, cleaning up second-chance opportunities and crushing every lob thrown his way. Mobley posted yet another monster double-double just one game after dropping 27 points and 15 rebounds on the Bucks.

Grade: A+

Max Strus

0 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

Strus is starting to crash back down to Earth after his electric season debut. He shot 0-6 tonight and will clearly need some time to shake off the rust. The Cavs still elected to close the game with Strus — signalling that Kenny Atkinson trusts his vet to work through this in real time. He narrowly avoids the F simply because of his efforts outside of scoring.

Grade: D-

Keon Ellis

8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers

Ellis was erratic tonight. He shot 2-6 from the floor, committed 4 fouls, and turned it over four times. But he also collected 3 steals and a block. It was a mixed bag that’s difficult to grade. I’ll skew towards the positive for his thunderous dunk in closing time.

Grade: C+

Sam Merrill

13 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 blocks

Merrill hit a three-pointer in the fourth quarter that allowed me to breathe for the first time in multiple minutes. So thank you, Sam.

Grade: B+

Jaylon Tyson

18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Tyson needed this one. He finally found his stroke from downtown and was an impactful contributor on the glass. He still has to refine his game, but this was an encouraging reminder of how helpful Tyson can be.

Grade: A-

Dennis Schroder

9 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers

The Cavs are missing some of Schroder’s downhill drives. He hasn’t been as effective getting into the paint recently. That’s put a strain on his minutes. The offensive flow is really catering when he’s at the helm.

Grade: D

Dean Wade

0 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist

Wade put up a classic o-fer. He shot 0-3 from the floor but contributed 7 rebounds. The Cavs predictably didn’t close the game with him on the floor.

Grade: F

Thomas Bryant

5 points, 4 rebounds, 0 assists

Bryant has helped the Cavs recoup some size with Jarrett Allen on the sidelines. His minutes alongside Mobley have been positive.

Grade: B