COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jet Greaves made 26 saves, Mathieu Olivier scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets dealt another blow to Florida's playoff hopes with a 4-2 victory over the Panthers on Thursday night.
Two-time defending champion Florida is in danger of becoming the first Cup-winning team to miss the playoffs the following season since Los Angeles in 2014-15. Ten points behind Boston for the final wild-card spot in the East, the Panthers have lost the first four games of a trip that ends Friday night in Detroit.
Defenseman Ivan Provorov had a goal and two assists and Boone Jenner also scored to help Columbus win its third straight and move within a point of Boston. The Blue Jackets were coming off a back-to-back sweep, beating the Rangers 5-4 in overtime in New York on Monday night and Nashville on Tuesday night to open a four-game homestand.
Defenseman Niko Mikkola and Sam Bennett scored for Florida in a 5:36 span of the third period.
Gustav Forsling appeared to tie it with 2:55 to go, but Columbus successfully challenged for goaltender interference. Olivier then put it away with an empty-netter with 1:42 left.
Provorov scored on a power play at 5:08 of the first, firing in a wrist shot from the blue line. Olivier struck on a tip with 9:10 left in the second, and Jenner beat goalie Daniil Tarasov from close range at 1:41 of the third. Jenner returned after missing a game because of a lower-body injury.
Mikkola scored on a tip at 9:08 of the third, and Bennett pulled the Panthers within one on a power play with 5:16 left.
Tarasov stopped 23 shots.
A day ahead of the NHL trade deadline, the Panthers sent 38-year-old defenseman Jeff Petry to Minnesota for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2026.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 05: Rasmus Dahlin #26 of the Buffalo Sabres has a disagreement with Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 5, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Pregame
The Penguins get Blake Lizotte back from injury and give Arturs Silovs his turn in net, otherwise it’s same as it has been when in the Crosby-less times.
The first period is defined by four penalty calls; two on each team. The early two, first a Penguin power play then later a Sabre PP, are largely uneventful.
The last two feature a shorthanded goal by each team. The Pens get what might have been a kiss of death when Anthony Mantha attempted a low-percentage chance through the middle that got picked off. Later on, Ryan McLeod played the puck off the board and rocketed by Kris Letang. Even if Letang had abandoned his position and started backpedaling he was probably already cooked given how fast McLeod is and his propensity for taking advantage of shorthanded opportunities. McLeod makes easy work of his fifth SH goal of the season with a backhand deke. 1-0 Buffalo.
It looks like the situation might have gotten worse for Pittsburgh when they took a penalty, but a nice team effort first from Connor Clifton then from Ben Kindel gets the puck to Bryan Rust. Rust takes off, drives to the net and scores on a deke of his own while shorthanded 1-1 game.
Shots are 7-6 Buffalo after one, with the ever-rare two shorthanded goals in a period to set the score at 1-1.
Second period
Angry Geno shows up early in the second. After taking a crosscheck from Rasmus Dahlin, Malkin responds with his stick to use it to slash down on Dahlin’s head. Malkin drops his glove in anger but eases up seeing Dahlin is hurt. The refs review the call and toss Malkin from the game with a five-minute major and game misconduct for his actions.
The Pens stand strong for a while on the extended penalty kill, they finally score when a rebound comes to Josh Norris and he follows up with it. However, Josh Doan was in the blue paint and bumps into Silovs. Pittsburgh challenges the goal for goalie interference. The refs take a look but rule a slight shove by Letang contributed to the contact and allow the goal to stand.
That means a delay of game penalty for Pittsburgh, who face 1:28 of a 5v3. While that is going on, Buffalo takes a penalty. Then the refs put an arm up for another delayed call on Pittsburgh and the Sabres score to make it 3-1.
The Pens are way on their back foot now, Owen Power skates up from his defensive position to take a cross-ice pass and fires a puck through Silovs. 4-1 game, still 9:32 to go in the period.
The Pens get their best offensive zone shift of probably the whole game, and even that ends in disaster when Brock Malenstyn sends Parker Wotherspoon head-first into the boards. Wotherspoon slowly scrapes himself off the ice, Malenstyn only gets two minutes on the call. Egor Chinakhov sends a puck off the post.
Well, this one spiraled out of control in the second. Awful decision by Malkin and the team got put into a hole they kept falling deeper into against a quality opponent who had plenty of chances to take advantage.
Third period
The nastiness continues, the refs blow a play dead for offsides but Justin Brazeau weakly shoots it at the goalie anyways. Buffalo players gets in his face and Avery Hayes delivers a little shot to Tuch from behind, felling Tuch for a bit. The temps are getting warmer and playoff intensity is almost here!
Ben Kindel pins a Buffalo player’s stick to his body and clamps down, drawing the ire of the refs. The Pens kill this one off.
Pittsburgh draws a penalty and then pull the goalie with over 7 minutes to play to gain a 6v4 advantage. Gotta love it! Doesn’t pay off, finally with 3:07 remaining Buffalo gets their next shot on goal, a long-distance one that finds the target. 5-1.
a
Some thoughts
Malkin should expect to hear from the league office for his actions. The slow motion replay, as ever, loses some context and makes the play look even worse but there’s still no excuse to respond to a cross-check by hacking a guy in the head. That’s a suspendable action. Malkin was last suspended in 2022, technically he won’t be a “repeat offender” for disciplinary purposes since it’s been more than 18 months since his last suspension. In 2017, Radko Gudas received a 10-game suspension for slashing on arguably a more savage event during the course of play. Who knows how that might compare or apply to this situation but either way it’s likely going to be a multi-game absence for Malkin coming up.
The one piece of good news is Dahlin returned to the game and apparently didn’t pick up an injury out of it. That’s going to be a positive factor in Malkin’s favor for whatever decision is made.
Dan Muse still hasn’t won a goalie interference challenge this season, but I can’t blame him too much for this challenge (unlike some in the past). This was a good opportunity to have the refs take a look at the play, we’ve seen goals across the league taken away for less. It backfired, but given the situation to potentially bring the score back to 1-1, can’t knock the decision making this time around. And that said, all in all, Letang did push Doan which may/may not have been the deciding factor, sometimes gotta chance that it’ll go your way.
Wotherspoon is a tough customer and fortunately was able to keep playing on. He took a nasty lick, if we’re going to review penalties that certainly could have warranted an extra look. Kinda crazy this is a league where you can nearly paralyze a guy and receive the same punishment as flipping the puck out of play in the defensive zone or send an extra player out there too soon.
Wotherspoon did come back after that hit, but only skated three shifts for 3:06 icetime in the third period. It’ll be worth watching what happens with him moving forward, the Pens really can’t afford to lose him for an extended amount of time.
Teams are scoring so much at 6v5 this season in late-game situations when pulling the goalie, why not pull the goalie with all the time in the world left while down three goals and on the power play? Gotta get creative and try new things, there’s some statistical school of thoughts that say NHL teams should be much more aggressive at pulling their goalie. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and let’s be honest down that many goals with time starting to go away it’s a good time for a drastic decision.
Well, that was forgettable. The Pens move on for two more home games this weekend, starting on Saturday.
Paul Blackburn was unable to extend his spring success, allowing two runs, three hits (one home run) and two walks against the Twins while striking out three over 2 ¹/₃ innings.
The 32-year-old had thrown six scoreless innings in his first two spring training appearances.
Ryan McMahon makes a throw during the Yankees’ 15-0 Grapefruit League loss to the Twins on March 5, 2026. Imagn Images
After the starting third baseman committed an error on a fairly straightforward grounder during his debut at shortstop Tuesday, McMahon recorded another error Thursday after sliding to his knee to get a ball in the hole, then forcing a wild throw to first.
McMahon later made another impressive stab up the middle but again threw off-target.
Friday’s schedule
Cam Schlittler will make his spring debut in Friday night’s game against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field.
Oswaldo Cabrera also will make his first appearance of the spring, returning to action for the first time since breaking his ankle in May.
Veteran Senators winger David Perron is heading back to the Detroit Red Wings. The Senators dealt Perron to Detroit for what will probably be either a third or fourth-round draft pick.
After acquiring Warren Foegele from Los Angeles earlier in the day, the Senators needed to clear some cap and roster room. Perron will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and as a 37-year-old at $4 million per season, who's had a hard time staying healthy, he likely wasn't in the plans for next fall.
Travis Green recently told the media that Perron might be able to return from sports hernia surgery at some point in this Western road trip. But the Wings obviously wanted some health assurances, working some conditions into the deal.
If Perron plays in a game before the end of the regular season or during the playoffs, the Red Wings will give the Senators the Columbus Blue Jackets' fourth-round pick, which was acquired in a previous trade.
If the Red Wings advance to the second round of the playoffs and Perron appears in 50% of the first-round games, the Red Wings will instead give up their own third-round pick to the Senators.
If Perron doesn't play another game this season, the Sens, presumably, get nothing.
Perron has spent the past two seasons with the Senators, appearing in 92 regular-season games with the team, putting up 41 points. He returns to Detroit where he spent two seasons before signing as a free agent in Ottawa.
They likely won’t be as fortunate when the regular season comes and more unpredictable plays develop.
Baty and Polanco are doing what they can to be as prepared as possible.
Baty, who played the outfield — but only left — in the minors, is still adjusting to balls moving in the opposite direction of what he’s used to seeing when he’s on the left side of the field.
He agreed with manager Carlos Mendoza’s decision to keep him on the right side of the diamond for the foreseeable future, either at first base or in right field.
“When he mentioned it, I didn’t even think about it, but it’s a good plan,’’ Baty said. “It makes sense.”
And though Baty and Polanco said they were growing more comfortable at their new positions, they acknowledge it’s too early to say just how good they’ll be once Opening Day hits in three weeks.
Brett Baty returns to the dugout during the Mets’ spring training loss to the Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on March 5, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
But the fact that they are both learning first base — along with Mark Vientos, who is away from the team and playing third base for Team Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic — has helped.
“There’s no ego with him,’’ Baty said of Polanco, primarily a middle infielder during his lengthy MLB career. “He wants to play, and he’ll play wherever. We’re both bouncing ideas off each other, working on our footwork. It’s good to have both [of] us there working — and Mark, too, when he was here.”
Polanco, who made a smooth play on a sharp grounder from Keibert Ruiz in the third inning, taking the ball himself, said he’s also feeling more comfortable at first base.
“He’s engaged with the dugout and the movement from batter-to-batter [and] pitch-to-pitch,’’ Mendoza said.
Some scouts remain skeptical that the Mets’ rotating group of players will be successful.
Jorge Polanco attempts to stop after running past second base during the Mets’ spring training loss to the Nationals on March 5, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
With the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline now less than 24 hours away, the Detroit Red Wings have made their first move, and it involves a familiar face.
The Red Wings have re-acquired veteran forward David Perron, who played for them from 2022 through 2024, from the Ottawa Senators.
In return, they've sent Ottawa a conditional 2026 conditional fourth-round draft pick.
UPDATE: The #RedWings have acquired David Perron from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/MS7X96BeHu
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 6, 2026
The pick conditions, per #sens: If Perron plays a game before the end of the regular season or during the playoffs, Ottawa receives a 2026 4th-rounder.
If the Red Wings advance to second round and Perron appears in 50% of the first-round games, Ottawa receives a 2026 3rd
However, he hasn't played since Jan. 20 after undergoing sports hernia surgery. His initial tentative timeline for a return to the ice was between five and seven weeks.
Perron, one of the key elements in the Stanley Cup victory by the St. Louis Blues in 2019, signed a free-agent contract with Detroit in 2022 and instantly became one of the club's top veteran voices both on the ice and in the dressing room.
Following the 2023-24 season, Perron signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Senators and helped them reach the postseason, during which they put a scare into the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
Perron scored twice and added an assist in the six-game series.
A pending unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, Perron carries a $4 million salary cap hit and has scored 10 goals with 15 assists for the struggling Senators so far this season.
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Tasmania has been rolled for its fourth-lowest home total in Sheffield Shield history as the fast bowlers continue to wreak havoc on a green Bellerive Oval deck on Friday morning.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cearah Parchment scored 15 points, and Destiny Jackson added 14 for No. 10-seeded Illinois in a 71-69 win over No. 10-seeded Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night.
Maddie Webber added 13 for the Illini (21-10), Jasmine Brown-Hagger scored 12 and Berry Wallace finished with 11. Illinois will move on to the quarterfinals to play No. 2 seed Iowa.
The Spartans (22-8), who are ranked No. 18 in the country, were led by Kennedy Blair, who scored a career-high 30 points. Grace VanSlooten scored 13, and Jalyn Brown added 12.
Illinois turned over the ball on its first four possessions of the game, forcing a timeout to reset. An 8-0 run gave the Fighting Illini their first lead of the game at the end of the first quarter, and they led 36-29 heading into the break.
Michigan State had a 9-0 run after the break to regain the lead, 42-41, but a layup and a 3-pointer from Brown-Hagger gave the advantage back to Illinois.
On the Spartans’ final possession of the game, VanSlooten collected two rebounds from under the basket before kicking it back out to Blair in the midrange. Without a clear shot, she passed it out wide to Brown, who couldn't save the ball from going out of bounds with a second to go in the game.
Up next
Illinois: Will face No. 2 seed Iowa on March 6. The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 9 in the country.
Michigan: Will wait for an invitation to a postseason tournament.
TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 05: Robbie Perkins #9 of Team Australia celebrates with his teammates after hitting a two RBI home run in the fifth inning during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool C game between Chinese Taipei and Australia at Tokyo Dome on March 05, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. Rixon Wingrove #52 scored on the play. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Game No. 1: Australia (ɐı̣ןɐɹʇsnⱯ) at Czechia (Česká)
Venue: Tokyo Dome — Tokyo, Japan
Australia looks to keep the momentum going after their exciting shutout victory over Chinese Taipei yesterday in which former Rockies farmhand Robbie Perkins and young Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana both hit home runs. Meanwhile, Czechia looks to rebound after a difficult loss to Korea. Czechia’s pitching staff gave up four home runs—two by Shay Whitcomb, one by Jahmai Jones, and another to Bo-gyeong Moon—to put the game out of reach despite the offense playing four runs on nine hits. Former Rockies draft pick Terrin Vavra hit a three-run home run while Martin Červinka, Marek Chlup, and Willie Escala all had multi-hit games.
First Pitch: 8:00 PM MDT
TV: FS1
Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM
Lineups:
LHP Josh Hendrickson vs RHP Tomáš Ondra
Game No. 2: Japan (日本) at Chinese Taipei (中華臺北)
Venue: Tokyo Dome — Tokyo, Japan
The victors of the 2023 tournament finally join the fray. Japan went undefeated in 2023 as their star-studded lineup headlined by Shohei Ohtani handled every obstacle in their way. This year, Ohtani is joined fellow Dodger Yoshinobu Yamamoto and plenty of other MLB players alongside NPB’s best. Also on the roster are Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Seiya Suzuki, Yusei Kikuchi, Masataka Yoshida, and new Rockies starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.
Chinese Taipei has a tall task ahead of them if they want to rebound from last night’s loss to Australia. They were shut out and lost their team captain Chen Chieh-hsien to a finger fracture after he was hit by a pitch. Chen is hoping to return to the tournament at some point, but the timeline is unknown.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — Gabby Elliott had 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and No. 10 seed Arizona State beat No. 7 seed Iowa State 77-68 on Thursday in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Arizona State (24-9) advances to face No. 2 seed West Virginia in the quarterfinals on Friday and strengthened its case for an NCAA Tournament berth. The Sun Devils improved their win total dramatically under first-year coach Molly Miller after finishing with 11 victories last season.
Arizona State set the tone early, jumping to a 17-2 lead behind Heloisa Carrera, who scored 12 of her 17 points in the opening stretch. The Sun Devils led 33-25 at halftime before Elliott ignited a decisive third-quarter run.
She opened the second half with eight straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers, as Arizona State stretched the lead to double digits. The Sun Devils outscored Iowa State 27-21 in the third quarter and carried a 60-46 advantage into the fourth.
Iowa State pushed back late and trimmed the deficit to 68-62 on an Addy Brown 3-pointer with 1:41 remaining. Arizona State, however, did not allow the Cyclones to get closer than six points the rest of the way despite going nearly eight minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter.
McKinna Brackens finished with 16 for the Sun Devils.
Audi Crooks led Iowa State (22-9) with 21 points, while Brown added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Up Next
Arizona State plays No. 2 seed West Virginia on Friday in the quarterfinals.
Iowa State awaits an invitation to play in a postseason tournament.
The Dominican Republic enters the tournament loaded with MLB talent and as one of the favorites to win the World Baseball Classic. They’ll kick things off against Nicaragua at LoanDepot Park on Friday, March 6.
My top Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic predictions and World Baseball Classic best bets call for the star power of the Dominicans to pave the way to a lopsided victory in this tournament opener.
Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic prediction
Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic best bet: Dominican Republic -4.5 (-115 at DraftKings)
Not only does the Dominican Republic lineup feature a who’s who of MLB superstars, but lefty Cristopher Sanchez will start Friday, and he spun an elite 2.50 ERA and 1.06 WHIP for the Philadelphia Phillies last season.
The Nicaraguans just don’t pack the same punch at the dish or on the mound, and in particular, projected starter Erasmo Ramirez has onlystarted four games since the beginning of the 2019 MLB campaign.
Finally, I also value the elite Dominican bullpen arms available in the tournament opener. Camilo Doval, Gregory Soto, and Abner Uribe are all proven MLB talents.
Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic same-game parlay (SGP)
Sanchez posted a high-end 9.4 K/9 last season in the majors, and he’ll face a far easier Nicaraguan lineup on Friday.
Turning to star outfielder Juan Soto, the perennial MVP candidate finished third with a .1500 OPS during the 2023 WBC, and he’s posted a rock-solid .275 batting average over the past three MLB seasons.
Juan Soto star player prop
Juan Soto best bet: 2+ hits (+145 at DraftKings)
In addition to Juan Soto's highlighted WBC and MLB numbers, his underlying 18.1 barrel percentage and 55.1% hard-hit rate are elite marks, and Soto will have excellent lineup protection to prevent the Nicaraguans from pitching around him.
Run line: Nicaragua +4.5 (-105) | Dominican Republic -4.5 (-115)
Over/Under: Over 9.5 (-110) | Under 9.5 (-110)
How to watch Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic and game info
Location
LoanDepot Park, Miami, Florida
Date
Friday, March 6, 2026
First pitch
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
FS2
Nicaragua starting pitcher
Erasmo Ramírez (projected)
Dominican Republic starting pitcher
Cristopher Sanchez
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Malkin had been cross-checked by Sabres star Rasmus Dahlin 38 seconds into the second period by the Sabres net. Malkin responded with an attempted slash then connected with another slash to the side of the defenseman's face. He grabbed Dahlin by the helmet and dropped his gloves as Dahlin bent over.
The Penguins center received two minutes for cross-checking and also five minutes and a game misconduct for slashing. Dahlin got two minutes for cross-checking.
Buffalo got one goal on the five-minute power play to take a 2-1 lead.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Forward Ryan Poehling has agreed to a four-year, $15 million contract extension with the Anaheim Ducks during his first season with the team.
The Ducks announced the deal Thursday for Poehling (PAY-ling), who has seven goals and 17 assists in 54 games while serving as a top penalty killer and defensive forward.
While general manager Pat Verbeek's decision to give up on Zegras — a fan favorite and former first-round pick — remains unpopular among many Anaheim fans, Poehling has assuaged that disappointment somewhat by excelling in a key depth role for the second-place Ducks, who are firmly in the race for their first playoff appearance since 2018.
The Ducks are the fourth NHL team for the 27-year-old Poehling, a first-round pick by Montreal in 2017. He spent one season with Pittsburgh before signing as a free agent in 2023 with Philadelphia, where he set career highs with 12 goals and 19 assists last season.
Poehling is now signed with Anaheim through the 2029-30 season, and he is getting a raise from his current two-year, $3.8 million deal.
Prior to the Detroit Red Wings facing the Vegas Golden Knights at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday evening, a special pre-game ceremony was held to honor forward Patrick Kane, who recently became the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history.
Kane officially broke the record set by Hall of Famer and one-time former Red Wings forward Mike Modano with an assist on Ben Chiarot's goal against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 29.
The ceremony, which included a video tribute with cameos from several of Kane's family members and former teammates, was made all the more special when Modano himself, along with USA Hockey executive John Vanbiesbrouck, joined them.
"It was special," Kane said. "I think the last two ceremonies and the gifts that I've received from Chris and Marian Ilitch, just speak volumes about the organization and how classy an organization it is. Obviously, a special ceremony with the video tribute and my family being there, and then Mike coming onto the ice, and John Vanbiesbrouck as well."
Kane, who said he grew up admiring the way that Modano played, said that he was grateful to be able to pass him in the record books.
"Just kind of getting to know Mike throughout this whole process, just how gracious that he is, unbelievable guy," Kane said. "I couldn't be more humbled to pass someone like that."
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GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Christeen Iwuala scored 18 points for No. 7 seed Mississippi in a 73-57 win over No. 15 seed Auburn in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
Ole Miss (22-10) led the entire game, jumping out with a 12-1 run to open the game and had a double-digit lead heading into halftime, 48-20.
Iwuala shot a perfect 5 of 5 from the field in the first half for 10 points, and finished the day 8 of 8. She added nine rebounds, including the 250th of her career. Latasha Lattimore and Cotie McMahon both scored 13 for the Lady Rebels.
Auburn (15-17) was led by Khady Leye, with 17 points. Kaitlyn Duhon scored 14 for the Tigers. Auburn had a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter that lasted over three minutes, but it wasn't enough to swing the momentum in its favor.
Ole Miss will move on to face No. 2-seeded Vanderbilt.
Up next
Ole Miss: plays No. 2 seed Vanderbilt on March 6.
Auburn: awaits an invitation to play in a postseason tournament.
