The Braves look for their first series win of the season, while the Royals look to score a run and get their first overall win. I kinda hope neither of the latter happens, for obvious reasons.
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The best part about starting the season a day later than almost everyone else is that we don’t have to wait through an off-day to get the taste of a dud out of our mouths. Sure, the Royals had a pretty awful offensive game paired with a mediocre pitching effort in last night’s match, but tonight’s could (and probably will) go better!
The Royals will have Michael Wacha on the mound. While Michael does not have the upside of Ragans, he also comes with far less variability. Per a Royals press release, Wacha has allowed three runs or fewer in 23 of 29 road starts over his career with KC. That’s pretty good! You can refine that even further using the FanGraphs splits tool to discover that he’s allowed two or fewer in 16 of those 29 starts, so more than half the time. The last time he faced Atlanta was in 2023 with the Padres, but he went six shutout innings with ten strikeouts and only one walk. It’s easy to feel confident the Royals will get a competent outing from Wacha today.
Atlanta will counter with Reynaldo López. López missed most of last year with an injury, so it’s hard to know what he’ll do tonight. Like last night’s starter, Chris Sale, he spent a large chunk of his earlier career in Chicago with the White Sox so he’s faced the Royals many times. But the most recent outing was in 2024 when he pitched six innings of one-run ball against the Royals B-Squad following their post-season clinch party the night before. In Spring Training, he made five starts to the tune of a 4.15 ERA. But his fastball velocity was way down. In 2024, he averaged 95.5 MPH, but this spring, he was down to 91.3. It’s safe to wonder if he’d even be in the rotation at all had Atlanta not suffered a bevy of injuries this March. Whatever concerns we’re all feeling about Carlos Estévez, at least we aren’t currently considering him our second-best starter.
This lineup seems a bit more like what we should expect for most of the season. Kyle Isbel will make his season debut; Jac Caglianone got in as a pinch-hitter but will get his first start; Carter Jensen is still the DH but will bat fifth instead of ninth. I wonder if we could have expected Michael Massey to get the start over Jonathan India if he were healthy, but he’s not. Hopefully, he gets better soon, and hopefully, this version of the lineup does a bit more damage than what we saw last night.
Don’t forget tonight’s game is the first of 13 scheduled national games for the Royals. This one will be broadcast on Fox. Fingers crossed that competing with the Yankees/Giants broadcast that’s taking up more of the United States attention means that we won’t be subjected to John Smoltz tonight.
After the always-odd scheduled Sunday off day, the Dodgers are back at on the homestand by hosting the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
Roki Sasaki makes the start for the Dodgers after a terrible spring training in a still-unrealized search for command. The Dodgers have stood behind Sasaki during his struggles, and plan to give him considerable rope to figure things out on the mound. But they wouldn’t mind seeing some positive results as well.
“We’re going to run him out there. I don’t think that for me, to put my head in a space that there’s another alternative right now, that’s not helpful. I don’t think so,” Roberts said last Monday. “I think that we’re gonna support him as much as we can, and then give him some runway, and then, once the season starts, then you gotta it’s about production.”
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists to regain the NHL scoring lead as the Edmonton Oilers made a move up the Pacific Division standings, holding on to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Saturday.
Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist and Jack Roslovic and Matt Savoie also scored for the Oilers, who won their third game in a row and moved three points back of the division-leading Ducks.
The Oilers went 1-9-2 in their previous 12 attempts to win more than two straight.
Edmonton is now 27-5-5 when scoring first this season.
The Oilers remained without star forward Leon Draisaitl, out for the rest of the regular season with a lower body injury.
Beckett Sennecke and Cutter Gauthier scored for the Ducks, who had a four-game winning streak halted.
Connor Ingram recorded 29 saves to earn the win in the Edmonton net, while Lukas Dostal made 30 stops for Anaheim.
Evan Bouchard picked up a pair of assists for the Oilers to extend his points streak against the Ducks to 11 games. The 26-year-old leads all NHL defensemen with 86 points and looks poised to become the 13th blueliner in league history to hit the 90-point plateau.
Ducks: Return home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
Oilers: Host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Detroit Tigers (2-0) at San Diego Padres (0-2), March 28, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST
Watch: Padres.TV
Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.
Listen: 97.3 The Fan
Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.
GB community, this is your thread for today’s game. Enjoy!
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The San Francisco Giants are about to close out their series with the New York Yankees, and we’re all hoping the finale goes better than the first two acts. So far, the Yankees have completely shut down the Giants, winning 7-0 on Wednesday and 3-0 on Friday. San Francisco has mustered just four hits all series long.
On the pitching front, righty Tyler Mahle will take the mound for the first inning and make his San Francisco debut. The 31-year old made 16 starts for the Texas Rangers last year, and went 6-4 with a 2.18 ERA, a 3.37 FIP, and 66 strikeouts against 29 walks in 86.2 innings.
For the Yankees, it’s right-hander Will Warren, a 26-year old. Warren had his first full season last year, and went 9-8 with a 4.44 ERA, a 4.07 FIP, and 171 strikeouts against 65 walks in 162.1 innings.
Enjoy the game, everyone! Go Giants!
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Giants
RHP. Tyler Mahle
Yankees
RHP. Will Warren
Who: San Francisco Giants (0-2) vs. New York Yankees (2-0)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 4:15 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: n/a
National broadcast: FOX
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
DENVER — The Winnipeg Jets rolled into Ball Arena looking to respond after a narrow 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Canada Life Centre just two nights prior—and they did exactly that, knocking off the NHL’s top team with a 4-2 win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Cole Perfetti delivered the decisive moment late in the third period, but the goal itself quickly became part of the NHL’s ongoing—and increasingly frustrating—goaltender interference debate.
With 5:11 remaining, Perfetti redirected a point shot from Josh Morrissey past Mackenzie Blackwood to give Winnipeg a 3-2 edge. It marked the Jets’ second deflection goal of the night, but all eyes immediately turned to Jonathan Toews, who never touched the puck but played a pivotal role in the sequence.
Toews was positioned inside the crease and appeared to make contact with Blackwood’s skate just before the puck crossed the line, though it likely had little to no impact on the play. Colorado challenged for goaltender interference, and given how similar plays have been ruled throughout the season, there was a strong expectation the goal might be overturned.
To the chagrin of the home fans, the officials upheld the call on the ice.
Brock Nelson scored his 33rd goal of the season on the power play, while Parker Kelly also found the back of the net. Gabe Vilardi and Cole Koepke added goals for Winnipeg. Blackwood made 19 saves, and Connor Hellebuyck was sharp as usual, stopping 21 shots in the win. Cale Makar recorded an assist in the contest as Colorado pushed but ultimately came up short.
The Hockey News asked head Coach Jared Bednar whether it was difficult to prepare for a quick turnaround against a really good team they had just faced.
"It's actually easier," he stated. "Because normally what you do is finish the game, you break down the whole Winnipeg game, take what you liked out of it, take what you didn't like out of it, try to mix that in with your pre-scout playing the next opponent that you're already working on.
"You don't have to do that again when you're playing the same team twice. So, it's an easier job for the coaches as you go through it...it's mixed into the game review and then you're playing them again."
Both teams came out firing from the opening faceoff. Makar set up Gabe Landeskog for a one-timer from behind the net, and Landeskog ripped it from the left circle, but Connor Hellebuyck was there to make the stop. On the ensuing rush, Mark Scheifele charged in alone on Blackwood, who answered with a sharp glove save of his own.
At the 3:51 mark, Vilardi redirected a Josh Morrissey point shot past Blackwood for his 28th goal of the season, giving Winnipeg a 1-0 lead.
Just 3:27 later, the Avalanche earned their first power play when Dylan Samberg was called for hooking Logan O’Connor. Only 33 seconds into the man advantage, Nelson buried his 33rd of the season, tipping home a feed from Nazem Kadri to even the score at one. Makar picked up the secondary assist.
The first period ended tied 1-1, with Winnipeg holding a slight 10-9 edge in shots.
Winnipeg regained the lead just 2:13 into the middle frame. Koepke corralled a loose puck, split Brent Burns and Ross Colton, and beat Blackwood five-hole to make it 2-1.
The Jets nearly added to their lead midway through the period when Sam Malinski lost his footing while handling a pass, creating a turnover that sent Winnipeg the other way. Blackwood came up with a key save to keep it a one-goal game.
Turnovers and odd-man rushes continued to trouble Colorado as the period wore on, forcing them to spend extended time defending. Devon Toews helped stabilize things late, getting a stick on a dangerous puck to send it out of play and earn a whistle.
With 1:55 remaining in the period, the Avalanche broke through. Josh Manson fired a shot from the point, and Parker Kelly got just enough of it in front to redirect it past Hellebuyck for his 17th goal of the season, tying the game at 2-2.
After two periods, the teams were deadlocked, with Colorado leading in shots 19-16.
Artturi Lehkonen was penalized for tripping Scheifele early in the third period. However, Scheifele was also assessed a penalty for embellishment on the play.
Midway through the period, Perfetti and Kelly got tangled up after the whistle, leading to a scrum along the boards. Kelly appeared to get the upper hand physically before officials stepped in, and both players were handed roughing minors.
After those penalties expired, Colorado went back on the penalty kill when Josh Manson was called for high-sticking Toews.
Once the penalty expired, Winnipeg capitalized. Perfetti redirected a shot from the slot to give the Jets a 3-2 lead. Toews was deep in the crease and appeared to make contact with Blackwood, prompting Colorado to challenge for goaltender interference. The officials, however, ruled the goal valid and assessed Colorado a delay of game penalty for the unsuccessful challenge.
Connor sealed the win with an empty-net goal as Winnipeg closed out a 4-2 victory over the Avalanche, avenging their earlier loss just two nights prior.
The Avalanche (48-14-10) take on the Calgary Flames (30-34-8) in the first of three meetings this season in their next game. That contest takes place Monday at Ball Arena. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. local time.
The Dallas Stars defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in the evening at PPG Paints Arena. The win moved Dallas to 99 points. The Avalanche remain ahead with 106 points with 10 games remaining in the regular season.
One of the nice things about baseball is that even if you lose your season opener in a burst of record-setting ineptitude, you get to start Game 2 with the score 0-0.
Hoping to make it beyond the 1 2/3 innings Shane Smith lasted in the opener will be righty Sean Burke, who had a decent 2025 (4.22 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 134 1/3 innings) and performed about the same this spring (4.58 and 16 whiffs in 17 2/3).
On the mound for Milwaukee will be sophomore righty Chad Patrick, who had a solid 2025, with a 3.53 ERA and 127 K’s in 119 2/3 innings.Patrick’s cutter-heavy arsenal will be facing a White Sox lineup with Munetaka Murakami moved up to the cleanup spot after being one of the only bright spots on Opening Day, with a homer and two walks (and none of the team’s 20 Ks).
The White Sox are playing a whole lot of defensive musical chairs, even though defense wasn’t the problem in the opening debacle. Luisangel Acuña moves in from center to short, Colson Montgomery shifts over to third, Lenyn Sosa is in the DH slot, Andrew Benintendi goes from DH to left, Tristan Peters tries his hand in center, and newcomer (or at least new this time around) Reese McGuire is behind the plate.
Understandably, given the 14 runs they scored in the opener, the Brewers are going with pretty much the same lineup:
First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. Central, with temps in the low 40s, so the roof will be closed. Usual broadcast suspects.
After two consecutive shutout victories to start the season, the Yankees are on pace to go 162-0 with zero runs allowed. Will that happen? Probably not, but it is the first time in franchise history that they’ve blanked their opponents in the first 18 innings, and heading into the series finale tonight at Oracle Park, the Bombers are looking for a sweep on national television once again.
Will Warren will make his first start of the season after a very strong spring, where a new release point has allowed him to fly up the Stuff+ rankings. Now sporting No. 29 after wearing No. 98 to start his career, the 26-year-old is coming off a 9-8 season with a 4.44 ERA (91 ERA+) and 4.07 FIP in 162.1 innings, leading all rookies in starts, innings, and strikeouts. He had a 1.42 ERA in six spring starts across 25.1 innings and will look to avoid the fate of being the first Yankee to give up a run this season.
Tyler Mahle is on the bump for the home team and will make his Giants debut after signing a one-year, $10 million pact in the offseason. He was once a reliable starter for the Cincinnati Reds, who broke out in 2021 and built his value up enough to get traded at the 2022 deadline to the Twins for Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, which did not age well for Minnesota.
Mahle’s career since then has completely derailed. In the next 2.5 seasons with the Twins and Rangers, he made 12 combined starts and threw just 54.2 total innings as he battled shoulder and elbow injuries. In 2025, he still missed several months with shoulder fatigue, but was highly effective when healthy, pitching to a 2.18 ERA (168 ERA+) and 3.37 FIP across 86.2 innings, even with the lowest strikeout rate of his career.
His stuff is a far cry from what it was five years ago, but the 31-year-old managed to be effective at limiting hard contact with refined location. Mahle has leaned hard on a low-90s four-seamer, backed up by a splitter, cutter, and slider. The most damage is done off the heater, but he still doesn’t generate many whiffs on his secondaries, relying more on soft contact.
After a platoon-heavy lineup on Friday, the Yankees are back to basics today. In fact, it’s the exact same lineup as Opening Day, when they scored seven runs off Logan Webb. For the Giants, Jung Hoo Lee will lead off for the first time, and Luis Arraez moves down to third in front of Rafael Devers. It’s the same nine batters that they used in each of the first two games, just in a different order.
How to watch
Location: Oracle Park — San Francisco, CA
First pitch: 7:15 pm ET
TV broadcast: FOX
Radio broadcast: KNBR 680, 1510 AM – KSFN (SF), WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY)
Online stream: N/A
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WASHINGTON – Things didn’t work quite as Dan Hurley hoped.
Earlier this week, the Connecticut coach implored fans of the Huskies and rival St. John’s to put aside the rivalry and root for each team to advance out of the East Region semifinals for the fourth matchup this season, this time in the Elite Eight.
The No. 2 Huskies took care of their end of the bargain, beating No. 3 Michigan State 67-63 thanks to the play of veterans Alex Karaban, Tarris Reed Jr. and Solo Ball. But the No. 5 Red Storm couldn’t get over the hump against No. 1 Duke, losing 80-75 in the most physical game of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Instead of an all-Big East rematch, the Elite Eight will feature a rekindled rivalry between the Huskies and Blue Devils, who engaged in three similarly high-stakes tournament games in the 1990s culminating in a UConn win in 1999 for the first of the program’s six national championships.
“UConn and Duke have been the two best college basketball programs on the men's side in the last 30 years,” Hurley said. “So it's a pretty cool matchup.”
Like every previous pairing, the sixth tournament matchup in the rivalry’s history will decide who plays for and potentially wins the national championship.
Duke and UConn first met in the 1964 Elite Eight, with the Blue Devils rolling to a 101-54 rout before finishing as the national runner-up. In 1990, the Blue Devils pulled out a 79-78 win in the Elite Eight before again losing in the title game.
A year later, Duke topped UConn 81-67 in the Sweet 16 and then advanced for the program’s first national championship. The two faced off in the 1999 championship game, with the Huskies winning 77-74. The most recent matchup, in the 2004 national semifinals, ended with UConn winning 79-78 before going on to beat Georgia Tech for former coach Jim Calhoun’s second title.
“You have two of the biggest brands in college basketball going at it to make it to the Final Four,” Karaban said. “You've seen Duke. You've seen UConn throughout your entire life when you watch college basketball growing up. To be another piece of that story of those two programs going at it, I think it's awesome.”
This Elite Eight matchup features one immediate contrast: While Duke is again built around underclassmen, including star freshman forward Cameron Boozer, UConn is a veteran-driven team that has leaned on this experience to win challenging tournament games against No. 15 Furman, No. 7 UCLA and the Spartans.
But there’s a question of whether experience really matters at this stage of the season. While younger, Duke has been tested enough in this tournament — against the Red Storm and in the opening round against No. 16 Siena, which had a double-digit halftime lead — to potentially erase the Huskies’ edge.
“I think it's less about the age and more about the mindset, the competitiveness, their feel for the game,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. “I think that's really something important for me and this program. And the rest takes care of itself.”
Karaban may be the game’s biggest wild card. More of a complementary piece during the program’s back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024, he’s averaging 20.3 points per game in this year’s tournament and has made 11 of his 25 attempts from 3-point range. He brings into Sunday night a remarkable 16-1 record in tournament play.
“At the end of the day also, he's just a competitor and a winner,” Boozer said. “He's a great player.”
On the Duke side, one key will be landing a similar impact from point guard Caleb Foster, who made an unexpected recovery from a fractured foot suffered earlier this month to contribute 11 points across 19 minutes of action against the Red Storm.
His availability brings the Blue Devils’ depth back to normal strength and sets up an intriguing backcourt matchup between Foster, freshman Cayden Boozer and Isaiah Evans against the Huskies’ main group of Ball, Silas Demary Jr. and Braylon Mullins.
For Duke, getting Foster back is “huge confidence builder for the people around him,” said Hurley.
But a Final Four berth should be determined by two related factors.
The first is the battle in the frontcourt pitting Reed against Boozer and center Patrick Ngongba II. Reed has battled inconsistency in this tournament, sandwiching his game against the Spartans and some monster numbers against Furman with a 10-point performance against UCLA that saw him struggle to get position in the paint and shoot just 3 of 8 from the field.
Should UConn work to get him active, however, Reed’s variety of slippery post moves could force Cameron Boozer to overexert himself on the defensive end, especially with Ngongba still working his way back from a lingering foot injury.
“Obviously, Reed down low is a handful,” Scheyer said.
On the other hand, Boozer has continued to show why he’s a favorite for national player of the year and a strong contender for the first pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. He’s posted at least 19 points and 10 rebounds in his three tournament games and has been adept at getting to the line, making 26 of his 28 free-throw attempts.
Given how often the UConn offense runs through Reed in the halfcourt set, whether the senior can stay out of foul trouble after being whistled four times against MSU could determine the Huskies’ chances.
But the biggest question mark heading into the Elite Eight is whether the Blue Devils can carry over the physical play that helped them escape against St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino.
This ferocious style got the better of UConn twice during the regular season, including in the Red Storm’s dominant 72-52 win in the Big East tournament championship. The Huskies did wallop St. John’s once during the regular season, winning 72-40 on Feb. 25 after forcing 24 misses from the field in a row to end the game.
Which team shows up on Sunday — the one that pushed back on the Red Storm’s physicality or the one that wilted — will determine who advances to the Final Four.
“I think it's their character,” Scheyer said of his team. “I think it's about the fact of learning on the fly, realizing they can be that good. Then I think that belief has kicked in the second half of the year.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Duke, UConn to rekindle March Madness rivalry with Final Four at stake
he Houston Astros (0-2) continue their opening 4 game series against the Los Angeles Angels (2-0) tonight at Daikin Park.
RHP Cristian Javier will make his first start of the season for the Astros opposite RHP Reid Detmets and the Angels.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP Cristian Javier is returning to the rotation full time since the 2024 season. He had Tommy John surgery early in the season and did not return until August of 2025. He pitched in eight games to close out the season and finish 2-4 with a 4.52 ERA in 37.0 INN, He had 34 strikeouts and 15 walks in those innings.
Javier put up good numbers this Spring, making three starts and posting a 1.69 ERA (2ER/10.2 IP) while allowing a .219 opponent batting average with 10 strikeouts.
Reid Detmers: Detmers has been with the Angels since 2021. He has toggled between the rotation and the bullpen. His best season came in 2022 when he was 7-6 with a 3.77 ERA in 25 starts. Last season he was 5-3 with a 3,96 ERA pitching exclusively out of the pen.
This spring, Detmers was 0-1 with four starts. He had a 5.40 ERA in 11.2 INN. He had 11 strikeouts and eight walks.
VS. THE ANGELS: The Astros open this season with a divisional series against the Angels, who the Astros went 8-5 against in 13 games last season. The Astros are 138-84 all time against the Angels and have won the season series against them in every full season dating back to 2015.
Game Date/Time: Saturday, March 28, 6:15 p.m. CST
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Sports
Streaming: Space City Sports
Radio: KBME 790 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2
LAMBERT RE-SIGNED: The Astros have re-signed RHP Peter Lambert to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple A Sugar Land…Lambert had a strong Spring Training as an Astros NRI, posting a 2.92 ERA (4ER/12.1IP) in five appearances before being granted his release on Tuesday.
TODAY’S MEDIA AVAILABILITY: The Astros clubhouse will be open to approved media at Daikin Park from 2-2:50 p.m. CT…Astros Manager Joe Espada will be made available in the Astros dugout at approx. 2:50 p.m.
2B Jose Altuve
DH Yordan Alvarez
3B Isaac Parades
SS Carlos Correa
1B Christian Walker
RF Cam Smith
C Yainer Diaz
CF Jake Meyers
LF Brice Matthews
SS Zach Neto
CF Mike Trout
1B Nolan Schanuel
DH Jorge Soler
3B Yoan Moncada
RF Jo Adell
LF Josh Lowe
C Logan O’Hoppe
2B Oswald Peraza
The NBA gave Luka Doncic one mulligan. The league wouldn’t grant the Lakers superstar a second.
Doncic will serve a one-game suspension because of technical foul accumulation, the NBA announced Saturday, sidelining him for Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards after he picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in the Lakers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
Doncic said he was trying to get away from Brooklyn’s Ziaire Williams when he pushed the Nets forward aside with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter. Doncic had just been called for an offensive foul while the Lakers were attempting to inbound the ball. Williams was shouting in Doncic’s direction. Doncic attempted to move past Williams and the 24-year-old from Lancaster then waved his arm behind him and slapped Doncic in the throat. Both were given technical fouls.
Doncic said referees told him his push was “exaggerated.”
“Which was obviously [not the case],” said Doncic, who scored 41 points with eight rebounds and three assists in the win.
This is the second time in a week that Doncic has faced the mandatory suspension after getting his 16th technical foul, but he avoided the fate after the NBA rescinded a technical he picked up against Orlando on March 21. The reversal kept Doncic available for the Lakers’ matchup with Eastern Conference-leading Detroit on March 23 in which Doncic scored 32 points, but missed the potential game-tying three at the buzzer of a tense 113-110 Lakers loss that ended a nine-game winning streak.
Read more:Lakers beat Nets, but Luka Doncic is facing suspension again after 16th technical
Monday’s game will likely not have the same drama.
The Wizards (17-56) have lost 17 of their last 18 games. The only win came against the Utah Jazz, another team that’s attempting to position itself for the lottery more than the playoffs. Washington will be without Trae Young (quad) and Anthony Davis (finger), the team’s two major midseason acquisitions.
With another bottom-feeding team coming to Crypto.com Arena, Doncic and the Lakers might actually benefit from resting the superstar. He played through left hamstring soreness Friday, and the Lakers (48-26) host the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. The days between Friday’s win and Monday’s game will be the Lakers’ first two-day break since the All-Star Game.
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, has charged into the most valuable player conversation by helping lift the Lakers into third place in the Western Conference. He has scored 30 or more points in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak for his career.
The Lakers have won 15 of their last 20 games with Doncic averaging 35.5 points per game during the span. With 102 steals on the season, including three against the Nets, Doncic also became the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2012-13 averaging 30 or more points per game with 100 or more total steals.
The Lakers could also be without guard Marcus Smart, who has missed the last three games because of a right ankle contusion. He also suffered a hip injury in a separate fall against Orlando, but he is showing improvement and remains day-to-day, Lakers coach JJ Redick said Friday.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Colorado Avalanche return home to Ball Arena to open a three-game homestand with a rematch against the Winnipeg Jets, aiming to tighten their grip on the top seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Colorado enters tonight’s contest following a 3–2 victory over Winnipeg on Thursday at Canada Life Centre. It was the first time the Avalanche had scored a win against the Jets on the road in a regular season game in 330 days. After falling behind early on a goal from Mark Scheifele, the Avalanche responded with three unanswered goals—two from Nathan MacKinnon—to secure their first regular-season win in Manitoba since February 24, 2023.
The game also marked the return of Artturi Lehkonen, who had missed 11 games due to injury. He played a key role in the game-winning goal, delivering a precise pass that MacKinnon redirected past Connor Hellebuyck early in the third period. Winnipeg challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the ruling on the ice stood. A late goal from Scheifele narrowed the margin, but Colorado held firm to complete a perfect road trip.
The win extended Colorado’s lead over the Dallas Stars to nine points in the Central Division, with a game in hand. With Dallas in action against Pittsburgh and the Minnesota Wild closing the gap, the pressure remains high as the regular season winds down.
Head coach Jared Bednar emphasized both the positives and areas for improvement following Thursday’s win:
“It was a good effort from our guys. We gave up a couple of goals on turnovers on the D-zone walls, so there’s a couple of things we want to improve on, but for the most part, I think, [at the] end of the road trip, we played hard; we were competitive. Special teams did a really nice job tonight, and from the goaltender out, I think we had everybody involved and were able to carve out a win against a really good team, a desperate hockey team.”
Despite their strong position, Bednar made it clear the team remains focused.
“We’re still fighting for first place,” he said, “so every win’s important until they put the mark beside our [name in the] standings, so we’ve had something to play for down the stretch run here. I think we’ve had a good year, but we’re not comfortable. We’re still just kind of fine-tuning our game before going into the playoffs […] but you’re playing hungry teams every night that are jockeying for position, trying to fight [their way] into the playoffs, trying to move up the standings, so there’s still lots to play for in the season, and lots of hockey, and we certainly don’t want [our] game deteriorating over the last month of the season before we get into the playoffs, so that’s our main focus.”
Mackenzie Blackwood made 22 saves in Thursday’s win, earning his third straight victory. If he starts again, he could tie his career high with 22 wins in a season. However, Bednar may opt to continue rotating with Scott Wedgewood, who has also found success against Winnipeg this year.
Bednar spoke highly of his goaltending tandem:
“[Blackwood] came out of the [Olympic] break playing really good, then he had a dip in a handful of his starts, and he’s gone to work, and I feel like his last handful of games here, he’s given us a great chance to win. He’s coming up with big saves when we need him, he’s been exceptional on the penalty kill, which always helps, so [I’m] pretty happy with the way both of those guys are playing in net right now.”
MacKinnon continues to lead the NHL in goals with 48, while sitting just four points behind Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov for the league scoring lead. Martin Nečas (34 goals) and Brock Nelson (32) provide strong secondary scoring, while Cale Makar sits one point shy of 500 career points. Nicolas Roy’s status remains uncertain after missing time since March 22.
Tonight marks the beginning of Colorado’s final extended homestand of the regular season.
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Artturi Lehkonen – Nazem Kadri – Logan O’Connor
Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Joel Kiviranta
Brett Kulak – Cale Makar
Devon Toews – Sam Malinski
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
Winnipeg’s playoff hopes remain uncertain as they sit five points outside the final Western Conference wild card position with ten games remaining. Despite earlier wins over Colorado and St. Louis, the Jets have dropped four of their last six, including Thursday’s loss to the Avalanche.
Their remaining schedule includes critical matchups against fellow wild card contenders such as Seattle, San Jose, St. Louis, and Utah—games that will likely determine their postseason fate. While a win against Colorado would be valuable, consistency against direct competitors will be essential.
Scheifele continues to lead the Jets in all major offensive categories (34 goals, 54 assists, 88 points), followed closely by Kyle Connor (32 goals, 82 points). Josh Morrissey remains the top-producing defenseman with 49 points. Neal Pionk has returned from injury, while Vladislav Namestnikov remains out.
With the stakes high, Connor Hellebuyck is expected to make his third consecutive start—his 50th of the season—as Winnipeg begins its final extended road trip. By its conclusion, the Jets’ playoff outlook may be firmly decided.
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Alex Iafallo
Cole Perfetti – Adam Lowry – Gabe Vilardi
Isak Rosén – Morgan Barron – Brad Lambert
Cole Koepke – Jonathan Toews – Gustav Nyquist
Josh Morrissey – Neal Pionk
Dylan Samberg – Elias Salomonsson
Haydn Fleury – Dylan DeMelo
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Wins in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, and Winnipeg have made flying the friendly skies a first class experience for the first place Colorado Avalanche after completing this most recent road trip.
Tonight, the NHL’s best team books a return fair against the recently-vanquished Winnipeg Jets as the Avs begin a three game home stand in pursuit of the top seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
The Opponent: Winnipeg Jets (30-30-12)
Time: 5:00 P.M. MDT/7:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Local Broadcast Area), ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Areas – US), SN+, NHL Centre Ice (Canadian Broadcast Areas)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
As mentioned previously, the Avalanche come into today’s game fresh off a 3-2 victory over these same Winnipeg Jets on Thursday evening at Canada Life Center. Despite trailing early after a goal by Jets franchise center Mark Scheifele, the Avs would turn the tables with three unanswered goals—two courtesy of Nathan MacKinnon—en route to their first regular season victory in Manitoba since February 24, 2023. This game saw the return of Artturi Lehkonen, who had missed the previous eleven games due to injury. He factored in on the eventual game-winning goal with a great seeing-eye pass that MacKinnon deflected past Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck early in the third period. Winnipeg would unsuccessfully challenge the goal for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice withstood the challenge. A late goal by Scheifele made things interesting, but the Avalanche were able to stave off a Winnipeg push to complete the road trip sweep.
With this latest victory, the Avalanche increased their point lead over the Dallas Stars—who suffered a 2-1 regulation loss to the New York Islanders earlier Thursday evening—to nine points in the Central Division, and still hold a game in hand in their possession. They remain the undisputed leader across the Central Division, Western Conference, and League standings. Dallas will be in action against Pittsburgh today, and the Minnesota Wild, who have pulled within three points of Dallas, will face Boston. Dallas has a game in hand over Minnesota, but another regulation loss—a possible fourth loss in a row for Dallas—would open the door for Minnesota to pull within a single point of second place in the Central should they defeat the Bruins today.
The stakes in the standings are getting higher and higher, and the margin for error is growing thinner and thinner. The Avs control their own destiny, and completing the home and home series with Winnipeg with another victory will only tighten their grip on what’s been a near wire-to-wire run at the top of the standings.
Coach Jared Bednar said after Thursday’s game, “It was a good effort from our guys. We gave up a couple of goals on turnovers on the D-zone walls, so there’s a couple of things we want to improve on, but for the most part, I think, [at the] end of the road trip, we played hard; we were competitive. Special teams did a really nice job tonight, and from the goaltender out, I think we had everybody involved and were able to carve out a win against a really good team, a desperate hockey team.”
Bednar made it clear to say that, even with the Avs in control of their destiny as the regular season winds down, the remaining games still mean something. “We’re still fighting for first place,” he said, “so every win’s important until they put the mark beside our [name in the] standings, so we’ve had something to play for down the stretch run here. I think we’ve had a good year, but we’re not comfortable. We’re still just kind of fine-tuning our game before going into the playoffs […] but you’re playing hungry teams every night that are jockeying for position, trying to fight [their way] into the playoffs, trying to move up the standings, so there’s still lots to play for in the season, and lots of hockey, and we certainly don’t want [our] game deteriorating over the last month of the season before we get into the playoffs, so that’s our main focus.”
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 22 of 24 shots for the victory in Winnipeg for his third straight win. Should Bednar turn to him again today, Blackwood could tie his single season career high in wins (22) with another stellar performance. However, if Bednar continues to alternate between starting him and Scott Wedgewood, then look for Wedgewood to return to the crease. Both goalies have victories over Winnipeg this season, so Bednar won’t be lacking in confidence in either option as the four game series comes to an end today.
Bednar said this of Blackwood’s recent play and his goaltending tandem as a whole: “[Blackwood] came out of the [Olympic] break playing really good, then he had a dip in a handful of his starts, and he’s gone to work, and I feel like his last handful of games here, he’s given us a great chance to win. He’s coming up with big saves when we need him, he’s been exceptional on the penalty kill, which always helps, so [I’m] pretty happy with the way both of those guys are playing in net right now.”
MacKinnon remains the NHL’s goal scoring leader (48), but remains four points behind both Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (both forwards have 114 points apiece at the time of this writing). Nečas now ranks second in team goal scoring (34), while Brock Nelson remains a close third (32). Cale Makar, who scored his 20th goal of the season against Dallas on March 18, needs only one point to reach 500 career points. It is currently unknown whether Nicolas Roy, who has not played since March 22 at Washington, will return to the lineup for today’s game.
Today’s game marks the first of a three game home stand at Ball Arena, the last extended stretch on home ice for the Avs this regular season.
Forwards:
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Artturi Lehkonen – Nazem Kadri – Logan O’Connor
Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Joel Kiviranta
Defense:
Brett Kulak – Cale Makar
Devon Toews – Sam Malinski
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Between the Pipes:
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
When Winnipeg hosted Colorado at Canada Life Center two weeks ago, their playoff hopes were hanging in the balance. As mentioned in this space back then, a successful back to back weekend could prove to be the turning point in their bid to secure a postseason berth on the heels of last season’s historic run that saw them secure the top seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Presidents Trophy as the best team in the NHL. Although Winnipeg did defeat both Colorado and St. Louis in those back to back games, Winnipeg then proceeded to lose four of its next six games—including their most recent loss to Colorado on Thursday evening—and now remain five points outside the last wild card spot in the Western Conference, currently occupied (somehow) by the Nashville Predators.
With ten games remaining on their regular season schedule, Winnipeg has a lot of work ahead of them. Four of those games are against teams also chasing a wild card berth: Seattle (one point ahead of Winnipeg), San Jose and St. Louis (both one point behind Winnipeg), and Utah (currently eight points ahead of Winnipeg and holding the first wild card position in the Western Conference). While the term, “must-win” is thrown around a lot in sports, these four games are games that Winnipeg absolutely cannot afford to lose. A win today against Colorado would certainly help their cause, but games against Dallas, Vegas, and the surging Columbus Blue Jackets are also monumental hurdles for Winnipeg to clear in their desperate push to sneak into the postseason. It’s not an impossible task, but the odds are growing longer and longer, and as much as Winnipeg must focus on their own performance, they’ll also need to get some help to keep the teams they’re chasing close enough to pass.
With his pair of goals against Colorado on Thursday, Scheifele continues leading all Winnipeg skaters in goals (34), assists (54), and points (88). Kyle Connor is second in all three categories (32G/50A/82PTS). Defenseman Josh Morrissey still leads all Winnipeg defensemen in all three categories (12G/37A/49PTS). After missing the previous game against Colorado two weeks ago, defenseman Neal Pionk played in his fourth game on Thursday night since his return from injury on March 21. Former Avalanche forward Vladislav Namestnikov will remain out of the lineup due to injury. With so much riding on the line for Winnipeg, it’s almost a given that Hellebuyck will make his third consecutive start—his 50th of the season—today.
Today marks the first of a four game road trip for Winnipeg, its final extended road trip of the season. By the time this road trip is over, they may know if they’re cleared for a postseason takeoff, or if they’ve been grounded on the runway.
Forwards:
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Alex Iafallo
Cole Perfetti – Adam Lowry – Gabe Vilardi
Isak Rosén – Morgan Barron – Brad Lambert
Cole Koepke – Jonathan Toews – Gustav Nyquist
Defense:
Josh Morrissey – Neal Pionk
Dylan Samberg – Elias Salomonsson
Haydn Fleury – Dylan DeMelo
Between the Pipes:
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
The Chicago Blackhawks will be an interesting team to watch during the offseason. They are in a position to upgrade their roster if they wish to, and one specific area that they could look to improve is their top six.
Now, they are being viewed as a potential match for the NHL's top pending unrestricted free agent (UFA).
In a recent article for Bleacher Report, Adam Gretz mentioned the Blackhawks as a potential fit for Buffalo Sabres star forward Alex Tuch if he ends up hitting the market this offseason.
"Chicago comes to mind, assuming he would want to join a team that is not quite a lock to contend right away," Gretz wrote about Tuch.
The idea of the Blackhawks signing Tuch is certainly interesting. He would give them a proven top-six winger and a star to play with center Connor Bedard. Furthermore, due to his strong two-way play, he would fit on the Blackhawks' power play and penalty kill if signed.
However, as good of a player as Tuch is, the Blackhawks also have several promising youngsters in their system who have good upside. Because of this, a long-term deal for Tuch could come with some risk for Chicago, even if he would be a strong fit on their roster in the short term.
In 70 games this season for the Sabres, Tuch has recorded 29 goals, 39 assists, 59 points, 75 hits, 78 blocks, and a plus-20 rating. This is after he had 36 goals and 67 points in 82 games with the Sabres in 2024-25.