The Boston Bruins look to punch their ticket to the playoffs as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Catch the game at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, and follow every play with our NHL live tracker.
As the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals play twice over the NHL’s final weekend of regular-season action, it’s become difficult not to wonder if it’ll be the last time we see Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin go head-to-head.
The “Great 8” is not under contract after the 2025-26 season and has already made it known he’ll decide on his future in the summer.
So, after two decades of captivating hockey fans as competitors turned admirers, Crosby sat down to share his thoughts with The Athletic on Ovechkin’s uncertain future, something he admits has “been on my mind quite a bit.”
“I’ve been thinking about him a lot, because I know it’s something that has got to be on his mind constantly right now. When you get to a certain age, it’s the way it is. Every player is going to have to deal with it at some point.”
It’s no secret that Crosby is also in the twilight of his career at age 38 and in his 21st NHL season, but his Penguins are in a better spot at this point — having clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2022 — than Ovechkin’s Capitals. Washington is going to miss the playoffs for the second time in four seasons and is in the midst of a roster retool.
The Penguins’ competitive outlook and Crosby being under contract through next season have made his future, at least in the short-term, a simpler situation to navigate than the many potential paths Ovechkin can consider after this season.
“He’s accomplished so much and has had an amazing career,” Crosby explained. “And I know that he still has an incredible passion for that game. That’s obvious. It’s definitely crossed my mind a lot lately, wondering what he’s going to do, because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
And should the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer decide to hang up his skates, Crosby has no qualms admitting it would feel unusual.
“Yeah, it would be so weird if he’s not around anymore,” the Penguins star said. “It would be weird, especially because we’ve (almost) always been in the same division. We see each other so often. We came into the league together. So, really, it’s all we’ve ever known. There have been changes. You play with a lot of different guys over the course of 20 years. But for me, seeing him a few times a year, and seeing him in the playoffs, has always been a constant.”
Including the playoffs, Crosby and Ovechkin have faced off 101 times. And it’s the battles between their two teams — meeting in the post-season four times, each series going at least six games, including two Game 7s — that the Cole Harbour, N.S. native will seemingly think about most when he eventually calls it quits and looks back on his career.
“Those were incredible series,” the Penguins captain said. “We had to go through them to get there. The way that both teams played in the regular season was just getting into position to play each other in the playoffs. We basically built our teams with the other team in mind, knowing that the other one would probably be there. And the way those series went, the Game 7s. There are a ton of memories from those games, those series. There will be a ton of memories for me in terms of playing against (Ovechkin) over the years, but those series will stick out above everything else. I’ll think about those forever.”
And in looking back on their clashes, Crosby finds himself admiring much more about Ovechkin’s game than just his goal-scoring prowess.
“People talk about (Ovechkin’s) shot, and yeah, it’s great,” Crosby said. “But the thing about him back then was, he’d have six or seven huge hits during the course of a game, even though he was playing all of those minutes. That’s so hard to do. Just an incredible hockey player.”
So as the pair of future Hall of Famers prepare to share the ice for possibly the last time in their storied careers, Crosby is grateful for the opportunity to do so.
“If this is it for him, if that’s the way it works out, I think it’s pretty cool that the schedule worked out the way it did,” Crosby said. “I feel very fortunate that I’ve gotten to be in the same division against the greatest goal scorer of all time. It’s been an honour.”
The first of back-to-back games between the Penguins and Capitals takes place on Saturday. Catch the action on Sportsnet+ at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT.
The Toronto Maple Leafs can pick the brain of a buzzy candidate for their front office.
The Leafs and New Jersey Devils have been granted permission to talk to Florida Panthers assistant GM and head of analytics Sunny Mehta, Sportsnet confirmed on Thursday.
The Athletic was first to report the news.
Mehta, 47, has been part of the Panthers’ front office for both of their Stanley Cup wins the past two years after being hired in September 2023.
Mehta is highly regarded for his work with analytics.
He studied music at the University of Miami, then made a living playing guitar in New Orleans.
Mehta served as a trader at Peak6 Capital Management at the Chicago Board of Trade and got his master’s degree in data science from City University of New York.
His also thrived as a poker player, and he co-authored two books on the subject: Professional No-Limit Hold ‘Em: Volume One (2007) and Small Stakes No-Limit Hold ‘Em (2009).
Mehta headed up the NHL’s first full-time analytics department with the Devils from 2014 to 2018.
After leaving the Devils, Mehta consulted for the Washington Capitals in the 2019-20 season. He also worked for the Arizona Coyotes in 2010-11, as well as for six Major League Baseball teams through a partnership with Zelus Analytics.
The Leafs fired GM Brad Treliving earlier this month, while the Devils parted ways with GM Tom Fitzgerald earlier this week.
Bryson DeChambeau is living up to his “Mad Scientist” nickname this week.
The American golfer told ESPN he will play with a 5-iron made with a 3D printer at the Masters.
DeChambeau said he has been working on building his own clubs for years.
When asked why he’ll debut one this week, he said: “Because they’re finally ready.”
“There’s this nature that I have about myself where innovation is a habit of mine, and I really find and take pride in that ability to learn — even through failure, even through making a bad decision or a good decision — what I can get from that,” DeChambeau added.
DeChambeau finished in the top 10 at the past two Masters, but the LIV Golf League member is still looking for his first green jacket.
He has two major championships, at the U.S. Open in 2020 and ’24.
DeChambeau has long been associated with physics-based approaches to golf, often using unique clubs.
“We’ll see where it goes. We’ll see where it takes me,” DeChambeau said of the new club. “All I could say now is, if I don’t put them in the bag, it’s my fault now.”
Calgary referee Drew Fischer will work the FIFA World Cup after being named Thursday to the tournament’s list of match officials.
FIFA selected 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials from 50 member associations for the expanded event.
Assistant referees Michael Barwegen of Coaldale, Alta., and Lyes Arfa of Laval, Que., were also named, giving Canada three officials at the tournament.
The appointments, drawn from all six confederations, include 41 more officials than the 2022 tournament in Qatar and follow a three-year evaluation process based on performance at domestic and international levels. Six women match officials were also selected, matching the 2022 total.
Fischer, 45, is a two-time Major League Soccer referee of the year and has worked more than 200 MLS matches since his debut in 2012.
He served as a video assistant referee at the World Cup in Qatar, including the semifinal, and has also worked as a VAR at the women’s World Cup and Club World Cup, and as an on-field and video official at the Olympic Games.
Match officials will report to a pre-tournament seminar in Miami beginning May 31, with video officials based in Dallas at the International Broadcast Centre during the competition.
As in previous tournaments, goal-line technology and an advanced version of semi-automated offside will be used, along with connected ball technology and referee body cameras that will provide new on-field perspectives.
“For the first time in World Cup history, fans will be able to see things from the referee’s on-field perspective,” FIFA referees chief Pierluigi Collina said.
The World Cup kicks off June 11 in Mexico City and Guadalajara, with matches also played in the United States and Canada.
Toronto will host six matches at the tournament, with Vancouver staging seven.
The Canadian men’s team opens the tournament on June 12 in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina before facing Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24 in Vancouver.
Much has changed in NCAA men’s hockey this season, but some of the traditional power programs remain the big forces.
The first Frozen Four of the CHL-players-allowed era features the four teams with the most national titles in NCAA history.
The Denver Pioneers (10 titles), Michigan Wolverines (nine), North Dakota Fighting Hawks (eight) and Wisconsin Badgers (six) will battle it out Thursday and Saturday in Las Vegas.
The biggest sign of change might be the goaltending crew — all four starters are freshmen for the first time in Frozen Four history and all have CHL experience.
Forty-nine NHL Draft picks are on the rosters, just two behind last year’s record total (per College Hockey Inc., which began keeping track in 2014).
Here’s a look at Thursday’s semifinal matchups:
North Dakota (29-9-1) vs. Wisconsin (23-12-2), 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT
Exciting game for Calgary
North Dakota has three Flames prospects on its roster, led by first-round pick and NCHC rookie of the year Cole Reschny, who has points in nine of his past 10 games. Defenceman Abram Wiebe, acquired in the Rasmus Andersson deal, and seventh-round Flames pick Cade Littler also play for first-year North Dakota coach Dane Jackson.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin has Flames pick Eric Jamieson on defence and its starting goalie is former Calgary Hitmen netminder Daniel Hauser. The native of Chestermere, Alta. had a four-game shutout streak with the WHL team last season and set a career record for wins.
Spectacular Spunar
North Dakota goalie Jan Spunar recorded a pair of shutouts in the first two rounds of the tournament, blanking Merrimack and Quinnipiac. The Czech native has a .917 save percentage and 1.90 goals-against average this season.
Penalty-kill problems
The Badgers are within two wins of a national title despite having the second-worst penalty kill in the 63-team men’s hockey national landscape (70.9 per cent). North Dakota, meanwhile, has the seventh-best power play. Wisconsin needs to stay out of the box in its first Frozen Four appearance since 2010.
Feeling a draft
North Dakota’s first-year defenceman Keaton Verhoeff is considered a strong bet to go in the top 10 of this year’s NHL Draft. Verhoeff and Reschny were teammates with the WHL’s Victoria Royals last season.
On a roll
Wisconsin forward Quinn Finley, a New York Islanders prospect, led the regional portion of the tournament with five points in two games. The former U.S. world junior team member is in his third year at Wisconsin.
Quite a comeback
Wisconsin rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to upset Michigan State 4-3 in overtime to earn a berth in the Frozen Four. Senior captain Ben Dexheimer scored the OT winner.
Michigan Wolverines (31-7-1) vs. Denver Pioneers (27-11-3), 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT
Long wait
The Wolverines are making their NCAA-leading 29th Frozen Four appearance, but haven’t captured a national championship since 1998. They entered the tournament as the unanimous No. 1, but Michigan faces an extremely tough test against Denver
Coach David Carle’s Pioneers skated away with NCAA championships in 2022 and ’24. Carle is 14-3 all-time in the NCAA tournament. The 36-year-old has, so far, resisted the temptation to jump to pro hockey.
How healthy is Hage?
Michigan forward and Montreal Canadiens first-round pick Michael Hage missed his team’s tournament opener with an injury and played less than seven minutes in the Albany, N.Y. regional final against Minnesota Duluth.
The Wolverines are a more dangerous team when the Canadian junior team member can play more. Hage has 13 goals and 38 assists in 38 games this season.
Hobey Baker battle
Two of the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as top player in college hockey are set to square off.
Wolverines captain and undrafted senior forward T.J. Hughes is second in NCAA scoring this season with 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists) in 39 games. He figures to sign an NHL deal when the season ends.
Denver’s Hobey finalist is San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp. The junior defenceman also leads all NCAA blue-liners and his team in scoring with 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) in 39 games.
Minnesota Duluth forward Max Plante (Detroit Red Wings) is the other Hobey finalist.
Net gains
Denver freshman goalie Johnny Hicks, 20, started the season as his team’s No. 3, but is now the hottest goaltender in the country. The five-foot-10 native of Kamloops, B.C. is an incredible 14-0-1 with a .958 save percentage and 1.12 GAA. Not bad for a player who has just 15 games of CHL experience (last year with Victoria) after moving to the WHL from the BCHL once the NCAA eligibility rule changed.
Hicks’ goaltending counterpart in this game is the lone Frozen Four netminder picked in an NHL Draft. Michigan’s Jack Ivankovic (.923 save percentage, 2.13 GAA in 34 games) was a second-round selection by the Nashville Predators last year. He has also played for Canada’s junior team during the past two years.
Best in the country
Denver is riding an 11-game win streak, tied for the longest run in the NCAA this season with two other teams. The Pioneers are also unbeaten in 15.
Denver will go up against the country’s top power play. Michigan is clicking at a rate of 31.6 per cent
Rare double
Michigan is looking to become the first school in history to win the NCAA hockey and men’s basketball titles in the same year. The basketball team beat UConn in the national final on Monday.
The Big Ten Conference, which has Michigan and Wisconsin as members, already has national championships this year in men’s basketball, women’s basketball (UCLA) and football (Indiana).
Commit watch
Denver has already landed one of the top CHL commits for next season in Vancouver Giants defenceman Ryan Lin, a first-round prospect for this year’s NHL Draft.
Mike McMahon of College Hockey Insider reported last week that Michigan and Denver are the early favourites for Everett Silvertips star defenceman Landon DuPont, who could enter the NCAA ahead of a bid to go No. 1 overall in the 2027 NHL Draft.
