TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 28: Carlos Lagrange #84 of the New York Yankees smiles during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 28, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: As we wrote yesterday afternoon, the Yankees made the “difficult decision” to option top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange. The 22-year-old fireballer has been the standout pitcher across all of spring training, posting a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings with 13 strikeouts thanks to a fastball that averages triple digits and has topped out at 103 mph. Lagrange — the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline — might justifiably feel disappointed with the decision despite just 16 appearance above A-ball, but he’s certainly opened the major league coaching staff’s eyes with his performances this spring, Aaron Boone not ruling out an opportunity for Lagrange to impact the big league club this season, whether that be in the rotation or out of the bullpen:
“He’s definitely got everyone’s attention. I love where he’s at. I would not be surprised if he is impacting us early, middle, later part of the season … I can just tell you, we’re all very excited about his continued development and what we think he could mean to our team at some point.”
ESPN: The World Baseball classic was a resounding success, setting broadcast and attendance records as Venezuela beat Team USA to secure their first ever WBC crown. However, with MLB teams restricting the availability of several big name players in the final, calls have been made to adapt it into a midseason tournament. Six nations are already slated to participate in Olympics baseball in Los Angeles in 2028, those games taking place during an extended All-Star break, and the WBC could follow that model in the future. Commissioner Rob Manfred is said to be pondering whether to continue to stage the WBC every three years or make it ever four years, his decision impacted by the possibility of a short turnaround from the Olympics in July 2028 to the WBC in spring training 2029.
San Francisco Chronicle | Susan Slusser: Opening Day at Oracle Park is just five days away, with Netflix carrying the exclusive broadcast of the Yankees against the Giants. It’s the streaming service’s first foray into live baseball, and they’ve just announced that they’ve landed Barry Bonds as an analyst for the pregame and postgame shows alongside anchor Elle Duncan and fellow former big leaguers Albert Pujols and Anthony Rizzo. The all-time home run king has been reticent to speak publicly since his retirement, so several around the industry are viewing this as a major coup.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Max Fried will be the Yankees’ Opening Day starter and feels encouraged with where he’s at. He gave up three runs on five hits in five innings against the Orioles in his final spring tune-up, and maintains that he’s actually glad to have struggled in the outing than have it be a walk in the park. He received valuable feedback about which of his pitches and locations were working vs. those that need to be tweaked. This will be the fourth time Fried has been named Opening Day starter, the previous three occasions coming with the Braves.
MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: Paul DeJong has an upward mobility clause that would allow him to opt out of his minor league contract with the Yankees, but the veteran shortstop declared that he will not exercise that option and is happy to try to win a roster spot. DeJong has an opportunity to force himself into the shortstop conversation with Anthony Volpe recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and major league incumbent deputies José Caballero and Oswaldo Cabrera better suited for utility roles. DeJong is a one-time All-Star and has a 30-home-run season to his name, but was replacement level last season with the Nationals and is batting .194 with a 94 wRC+ in 12 Grapefruit League appearances.
Jan 29, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) drives on Atlanta Hawks forward Corey Kispert (24) in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images
The good news for the Houston Rockets is that they can now move on to another opponent after getting swept twice at home by the Los Angeles Lakers.
The bad news is that their next opponent, the Atlanta Hawks, have won 11 games in a row and look quite mighty these days. And if you’d like more bad news, this is the first game of a back-to-back where Houston next opponent, the Miami Heat, will be rested and ready.
This homestand was clearly going to be supremely important to Houston, but they were dealt kind of a bad hand. The Pelicans came in playing really well, the Lakers were on a five-game winning streak and had finally found themselves, the Hawks are obviously red-hot, and the Heat have won seven of their last ten games too. In reality, the Rockets needed to get out at 3-2 or 4-1, and they certainly couldn’t drop two to the Lakers. Now, they’ll have to try to salvage what’s left.
Houston did finally seem to have some answers against the double teams that were sent at Kevin Durant. Those strategies will be tested once again versus a Hawks squad with much better perimeter and on-ball defenders than the Lakers employ.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 08: Aaron Civale #45 of the Athletics pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during of a spring training game at Las Vegas Ballpark on March 08, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Athletics defeated the Angels 7-4. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The A’s dropped the night contest against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, blowing a late lead in front of an A’s Spring Training record-breaking 10,876 crowd to secure the loss with one week exactly to go until Opening Day. Good thing these games still don’t count quite yet, but dropping a game where we went with our starting lineup and our starting pitcher struck out 11 isn’t a great sign.
A’s, Mariners trade early zeros
Right-hander Aaron Civale was on the mound for the A’s in what was his final tune-up start before the start of the regular season. The Mariners meanwhile countered with minor league acquisition Randy Dobnak, who is likely ticketed for Triple-A thanks to a stacked Seattle starting rotation.
Both righties traded zeros for the game’s first three innings. The A’s didn’t manage anything against Dobnak during that time while Civale escaped a small jam in the second before striking out the side in the bottom of the third.
A’s attack first
Now going through the second time through the lineup the advantage shifted to the Athletics. Back-to-back doubles from Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers put the A’s on the board to kick off the scoring and the A’s weren’t done there. An RBI knock off the bat of Brent Rooker brought in the second run of the frame for the Athletics and they scored their third thanks to a passed ball by the Seattle catcher. That would be all the damage the A’s would do for the inning but that would be enough… for now.
The A’s did have a slight scare in the fifth when left fielder Tyler Soderstrom was hit in the knee by a changeup during his at-bat, but it seems the A’s dodged a major bullet just a week before camp breaks as he stayed in the game to run the bases (but was later pulled out on defense for Carlos Cortes).
Seattle strikes back
Civale, now given a bit of a lead to work with, retired the next six batters he faced, going on cruise control for the rest of his night. He’d end his day after six full shutout frames and reaching 81 pitches. He also racked up an impressive 11 punchouts to go with zero free passes. By the looks of things from tonight, the righty looks ready and a full-go for the regular season. There’s been some pessimism about Civale taking a spot away from someone young and exciting like Gage Jump, but could he surprise fans this coming year?
Time for the bullpen to hold things together for three more innings. Mark Kotsay decided to turn to another right-handed pitcher in JT Ginn. The righty began his camp with two scoreless appearances but had gotten knocked around in his previous two entering tonight. In this matchup against the Mariners it was the latter Ginn that we got.
Seattle was all over him from the start. He didn’t do himself any favors plunking the first batter he faced but he was going to get lit up tonight anyway. Two outs, five hits, and another plunked batter later it was 6-3 Seattle. In the blink of an eye the 3-run lead had flipped and became a 3-run deficit. Ginn would not be able to finish the inning, getting chased by the back-breaking bases-clearing double off the bat of Cal Raleigh. Fellow righty Brooks Kriske mopped things up for Ginn and got the A’s out of the frame.
The A’s were now shell-shocked. And they weren’t able to snap themselves out of it in time. They managed to push across a small-ball run in the bottom of the eighth but not much else. Elvis Alvarado and Jack Perkins did their job not letting the lead expand but it was too much for the lineup to overcome. The A’s brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth but couldn’t get the big hit to keep this game going as they dropped their 15th game of spring.
Well, not a great way to end an evening spring game but still some major positives to dwell on. Civale looked on fire out there and solidified his spot as the #3 in the rotation. Lawrence Butler went 1-for-2 with a walk as he continues his hurried prep for the season. Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers will give pitchers problems at the top of the batting order.
We do it all again tomorrow with another night cap, this time against the Chicago Cubs. They’ll be set to send right-handed vet Jameson Taillon to the bump for them in what’ll be his final tune up before camp breaks. Meanwhile the A’s have yet to announce who they’ll send to start tomorrow’s game. Any guesses?
When their 2025-26 season began, outside expectations for the Pittsburgh Penguins were - as everyone knows at this point - not exactly glowing.
Many assumed that they would likely finish around where they did last season as the league's ninth-worst team. Many also assumed that things would look more bleak than that and that they'd end up a lottery team in contention for the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes. And, there were some believers who thought that this team would be chasing a wildcard spot in the stretch run of the season.
No matter where people found themselves on the spectrum of hope for the Penguins this season, very few predicted what has actually come to pass: this being a very good hockey team that is not only in a playoff spot with some situational advantages but also - potentially - a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
As of Mar. 20, the Penguins sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 84 points, eight points back of the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes and one point up on both the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Islanders - the second of which is out of the playoff picture. Although things are close, the Penguins currently have the tiebreaker on both teams, and they are positioned ahead - meaning a playoff berth is all within their control.
And there are many figures and data points that suggest this team may just be one of the league's best.
For one, they are tied for seventh in the NHL in points and points percentage, which goes to show that they're earning their way to the upper-half of the league's playoff picture. There are also only five NHL teams with more regulation wins than Pittsburgh (29), and the only two teams with fewer regulation losses than Pittsburgh's 18 are the Colorado Avalanche (13) and the Dallas Stars (15).
In addition, they're 5-16 in overtime and shootouts, two non-traditional formats that have cost the Penguins some points. If they had earned two points in even half of their overtime/shootout contests, they'd have 5-6 additional points and would be two points shy of Carolina for the division lead.
But, hypotheticals aside, there are some tangible numbers that suggest this Penguins' team could, in fact, be a real contender this season.
Coming into tonight’s games, Pens are THE ONLY NHL TEAM ranked in the Top 10 in every one of these datapoints:
They are the only NHL team with both special teams units in the top-five
The Penguins know all too well that poor special teams can crush playoff hopes. Two seasons ago, they had the league's 30th-ranked power play and missed the playoffs by one point, so a power play goal here and there probably would have gotten them to the postseason.
Now? Their power play is ranked fourth in the NHL at 25.1 percent - and has pretty much been in the top-five all season long - and their penalty kill is even better at 84.2 percent, which is good enough for second in the league to only the Chicago Blackhawks (84.7 percent).
Having good special teams is a key advantage down the stretch and into the playoffs, especially because penalties generally aren't called with the same frequency or regularity in the playoffs as they are in the regular season. So, the ability to capitalize on the man advantage and kill off opposing power plays in the playoffs is a big one.
Their special teams can help them get to the postseason, and they would certainly help within it, too.
Their goals-for per game and goals-against per game are both top-10
Pittsburgh is both scoring goals at an elite rate and preventing them.
Their goals-for per game rate of 3.44 ranks sixth in the NHL, while their goals-against per game (2.94) ranks 10th. The influx of finishing ability is a massive development for this team, which has struggled to score in the past several seasons, and the goaltending and the defense have improved this season to the point that the Penguins have become a top-15 team in the league defensively at five-on-five.
At the end of the day, the puck in the back of the opposing net is a good thing, and the puck in your own net is a bad thing. The Penguins are coming out on the right side of both things.
Their shots for and shots against numbers are solid
Producing shots on goal and preventing them is also, typically, a measure of a good team.
The Penguins are eighth in the league in shots-for per game (29.1), and they are 12th in shots-against per game (27.4). And in terms of their offensive attack, not only are the Penguins generating a lot - according to Moneypuck, they are seventh in expected goals for per 60 (2.67) - they are also making it very difficult for opposing goaltenders and defenses.
They are the NHL’s fifth-best team in high-danger shots for (152), meaning they are getting a ton of good looks. They are also finishing on a fair amount of those looks, as Pittsburgh is ninth in the NHL in shooting percentage at 10.19 percent.
However, on the other end of the spectrum, the Penguins have surrendered the sixth-most high-danger shots against (147) in the league, behind only one current playoff team in the Boston Bruins. Of course, they will have to surrender less of those dangerous scoring chances if they want to both make the playoffs and make a run, but their goaltending has been good and timely enough to stymie a good chunk of those.
Sidney Crosby (right) and Anthony Mantha are the top-two team leaders in shooting percentage and are also top-two in goals on the team. Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
They have the seventh-highest goal differential in the league
The Penguins' goal differential has been pretty high all season long, at times squeaking into the top-five. Right now, it is seventh-best at plus-25, and - well - the only teams ahead of them are the six teams ahead of them in the league standings.
That's a pretty good indicator that - like the six teams ahead of them - they are simply a good hockey team. After the Penguins at 7, the goal differential order gets a little jumbled, as the 17th-ranked (points-wise) Utah Mammoth are behind the Penguins at eight (plus-23), and the 13th-ranked Ottawa Senators are behind them at nine (plus-18).
The Penguins' goal differential numbers track with the teams above them, as the top-seven teams in the league are clearly the most consistent teams across the board.
Their PDO indicates that what they’re doing is sustainable
Many folks point to PDO - personal discouragement outcomes - as an indicator of how lucky a team is getting as well as whether or not what they’re accomplishing is sustainable. PDO combines team shooting percentage and team save percentage to determine this, so a high PDO (above 100) typically correlates with a team relying on good goaltending and high shooting percentage, while a low PDO (below 100) shows they can’t rely on either and are getting very unlucky.
Well, the good thing for the Penguins is that they find themselves in the middle of the pack. Their PDO (100.67) is 12th in the NHL, and they’re right in the vicinity of other teams who are chasing them, including the Blue Jackets (13th) and the Islanders (16th).
Four of the five teams at the top of the list in PDO are four of the top-five teams in the NHL points-wise, which includes the Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres. So, pure shooting talent as well as goaltending talent does play a role here, as these teams have benefited tremendously from high save percentage and shooting percentage.
The Penguins seem to be in that perfect sweet spot where they’re good enough in both departments to the extent where getting a timely save or finishing aren’t problems - like they have been in the past - but where they aren’t necessarily reliant on either for their success.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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).
• 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).
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.
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)
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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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.
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.
