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Monday, 23 March 2026
No. 2 Iowa State turns up defence, shuts down No. 7 Kentucky to reach Sweet 16
ST. LOUIS — Tamin Lipsey knew he had to step up for Iowa State with All-America forward Joshua Jefferson sitting on the bench, his sprained left ankle still encased in a boot, as the Cyclones played Kentucky on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Lipsey, who grew up in the shadows of the Iowa State campus in Ames, answered with the finest game of his four-year career.
The senior guard poured in a career-high 26 points, tied a career high with 10 assists, and led a suffocating defence that shut down the Wildcats in the second half, allowing the second-seeded Cyclones to pull away for an 82-63 victory in the NCAA Tournament.
“All the guys knew we had to step up in different ways,” Lipsey said, “however that presented to us.”
Lipsey didn’t do it alone, of course — he needed someone scoring to pile up all those assists. Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points and Nate Heise, getting the start in Jefferson’s place, added 12 to help the Cyclones (29-7) advance to a Midwest Region semifinal against either third-seeded Virginia or No. 6 seed Tennessee on Friday night in Chicago.
It will be the eighth Sweet 16 trip for the Cyclones and the third under T.J. Otzelberger, though the question now is whether they will be whole for it. Jefferson, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, is scheduled to have an MRI exam on Monday.
“We’ll see how that goes and take it from there,” Otzelberger said.
Kentucky (22-14) jumped to a 20-9 lead in the opening minutes Sunday before Iowa State fought back to take a 31-30 halftime lead.
The Wildcats were still within 46-40 with 13 minutes to play when the Cyclones forced three of the Wildcats’ 20 turnovers in quick succession. They converted all three into baskets at the other end, part of a decisive 13-1 run, which not only allowed Iowa State to seize control but also seemed to finally deflate Kentucky.
The Wildcats had been buzzing after a buzzer-beater from Otega Oweh forced overtime in a first-round victory over Santa Clara.
“We had a tough time finding baskets and more importantly we had a real tough time getting a stop,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “They shot 50 per cent in the second half from three, and they played really well. You’re not going to win games when you give up 51 in the second half, and there’s a lot of reasons that happened.”
Oweh followed up his 35-point performance against the Broncos with 18 against the Cyclones, playing most of the second half in foul trouble. Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 20 points, though the pair of guards didn’t get a whole lot more help.
“We didn’t play fully hard for the full 40 minutes,” Aberdeen said, “and we had to do a better job.”
For two teams that can score in bunches, there was little elegance for much of their first matchup since the 2012 NCAA tourney, when the Wildcats beat Iowa State in the second round on their way to winning the national championship.
The Cyclones missed their first 11 tries from beyond the three-point arc. Kentucky had 12 turnovers in the first half.
“We got a little disoriented,” Pope said, “and that’s what Iowa State does. They increased their pressure and we turned it over 12 times in the first half, and kind of contributed to our own demise.”
Iowa State eventually began driving to the basket and picking up fouls, and generated offense from the free-throw line until its shots started to fall. That began just before the break, and Heise’s buzzer-beating three gave the Cyclones a 31-30 advantage.
They went on to outscore Kentucky 51-33 after halftime to coast into the semifinals of the Midwest Region.
“We knew we had to be at our best. I’m proud of our guys,” Otzelberger said. “Felt like the game didn’t start the way we’d like but on defence, our pressure as the game wore on paid dividends for us. We generated turnovers and scored off our defense.”
Up next
Iowa State and Virginia have split four previous meetings, though the Cavaliers won the most recent matchup and the only one in the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers cruised 84-71 in the Sweet 16 on March 25, 2016, before losing to Syracuse in the Elite Eight.
The Cyclones beat Tennessee during the 1969 season but they’ve lost the last two to the Volunteers, the first during a tournament in December 1977 and the most recent on January 27, 2018, during the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
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Late rally sinks CF Montreal in loss to FC Cincinnati
CINCINNATI — Tom Barlow scored short-handed for the equalizer in the 80th minute and Kévin Denkey followed with the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time, rallying FC Cincinnati to a 4-3 victory over CF Montreal on Sunday.
Barlow tied it 3-3 when he scored three minutes after subbing in to the match. It was his first MLS goal with his new team. Denkey scored for the second time this season — also unassisted — after notching 15 goals in 29 appearances last season — his first in the league.
Cincinnati (2-3-0) was forced to play a man down after Miles Robinson’s red card in the 60th minute.
Newcomer Wiki Carmona used assists from Prince Owusu and Bode Hidalgo in the 6th minute to score for the third time in three matches and give Montreal a 1-0 lead.
Ender Echenique tied it in the 40th minute for Cincinnati with his first goal this season. The 21-year-old scored once in eight appearances last season. Defender Alvas Powell and Matt Miazga had assists. Powell picked up his first assist of the campaign and became the fifth player to make 150 appearances for the club.
Montreal took a 2-1 lead into halftime when Owusu scored in the 45th minute. Carmona and Iván Jaime had assists. It was the third goal this season for Owusu and his 25th in 79 career appearances.
Cincinnati knotted the score again in the 52nd minute on Ayoub Jabbari’s first career goal in his 10th appearance. Echenique had his first assist and second overall, while Pavel Bucha notched his first — and 13th in 70 appearances.
Evan Louro totalled four saves in his first start this season for Cincinnati and his sixth career start since 2024.
Thomas Gillier, 21, finished with four saves for Montreal (1-4-0) in his 13th career start.
Cincinnati improves to 8-4-2 all-time versus Montreal and its eight victories in the series is its most against any club.
Up next
Montreal: Visits the New England Revolution on April 4.
Cincinnati: Visits the New York Red Bulls on April 4.
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Sunday, 22 March 2026
Saturday, 21 March 2026
Blue Jays’ Max Scherzer looks and feels good in key start before season
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Starting a Grapefruit League game offers competitive elements that more convenient minor-league outings cannot, so Max Scherzer made the 2½-hour trek from Dunedin to Fort Myers for an important tune-up versus the Minnesota Twins.
The 41-year-old right-hander made the most of a long Friday during his third game of the spring with five shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in a 2-1 Blue Jays win. More importantly, he pushed up to 72 pitches, sat at 93.4 m.p.h. with a fastball that topped out at 95.8, executed his slider and changeup and “did everything I need to do to get ready for the season.”
“There’s just an extra-level gear when you’re in a big-league spring training game versus minor leagues,” said Scherzer, who will look to throw roughly six innings and 90 pitches in a minor-league game next before his first outing of the regular season. “The minor leaguers, they’re going to be up there swinging at every first pitch and it’s just a different game. It’s one thing to do it one time, it’s another thing to do it twice before the regular season. I just know I needed to face big-leaguers.”
Returning to the Lee Health Sports Complex 363 days after also making his final spring start here last season offered an interesting contrast in then-versus-now for Scherzer.
A year ago, that outing versus the Twins – he threw 62 pitches, 47 strikes, topping out at 94.7 m.p.h. with a fastball that sat 93.3 during four shutout innings – was a crucial test for his troublesome right thumb.
That was enough for Scherzer to break with the Blue Jays at the end of camp, but he lasted only three innings in his first start of the season before hitting the injured list and didn’t return until the end of June, when a new regimen alleviated his thumb issues.
This spring, the thumb isn’t an issue – “He hasn’t talked about it in a long time,” said manager John Schneider – and it’s been all systems go since he signed a $3-million, one-year deal with up to $10 million in performance bonuses in late February, taking the mound with a piece of mind he hasn’t had since the spring of 2023.
“Oh yeah,” Scherzer said. “Your right arm’s everything, especially your right hand. So to not be dealing with anything on my arm is obviously music to my ears. Now we can worry about all the other little knickknacks that are happening across my body and getting that ready to go and even worry about other things, not my thumb or shoulder.”
Those other things centred around the finer points of pitching Friday, when he kept the Twins under control. He got six groundball outs along with three flyouts and suppressed hard contact while holding his fastball velocity through all five innings, which he insisted isn’t as important as how he used the heater.
“It’s execution,” he said. “Everybody looks at velo but it’s more than that. It’s hitting your spot, hit the glove. That’s what I take pride in, is when the catcher puts the glove in a spot, I need to hit that glove. And so I was doing a pretty good job of that today.”
Scherzer is lined up to make his first regular-season start March 31 against the Colorado Rockies, with Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer and Cody Ponce seemingly set up in front of him. That lines up him, Gausman and Cease to start when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit April 6-8 in a clash of the World Series finalists.
What happens once Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios and Shane Bieber are ready is an issue for down the line and a fair question is what’s a reasonable expectation for how much Scherzer can contribute. As long as he’s in form and unbothered by the thumb issues that nearly blew up his 2025 season, the Blue Jays can count on him pushing the envelope.
“Talking to him, reasonable is like 250 innings and 32 starts,” Schneider said with a grin. “I don’t know if that’s going to be the case. We’re going to mindful and when we get some guys back in the rotation, too, there’s going to some manoeuvring, if you will. I’m not saying it’s going be with Max, but if we can have the playoff version of Max as consistent as we can, that’s a really good outcome for us and for him.
“If he’s pitching well, he’s earned the right to go continue to do that until he shows otherwise.”
Bullpen battle
Two spring-training games remain and the Blue Jays are legitimately unsettled about what to do with their final available bullpen spot, which is why Schneider said “every inning is important for a handful of guys right now” with a final decision not coming down until “probably Sunday.”
Chase Lee, who allowed a hit in 1.2 innings Friday, is in consideration along with Connor Seabold, Lazaro Estrada, Adam Macko, Yariel Rodriguez and the two Rule 5 picks, Spencer Miles and Angel Bastardo.
Each is capable of protecting the bullpen in case of a short outing by a starter, a priority for the Blue Jays, which is why they sought to extend Lee in this one.
“What I really liked was the strike-throwing,” said Schneider. “I liked the four-seamer at the top of the zone for the broken bat after it was sinker, sinker, sweeper. That’s something he’s been working on. It’s a pretty deliberate approach against him. So I think knowing when to do that was what we were looking for today and he’s not going to beat himself, he’s going to throw his pitch.”
Among the considerations is how to best manage the assets.
Lee, Estrada and Macko are are all on the 40-man roster with options, so they can move up and down as needed. Rodriguez is not on the 40, but with $11 million in guarantees the next two seasons, the Blue Jays can outright him as needed without fear of him being claimed. Seabold is not on the 40-man roster so if the Blue Jays need to make a move with him in a few days, they’d risk losing him, while the Rule-5 picks must remain on the roster all season long or be offered back to their original clubs.
Kasevich impresses
Josh Kasevich added to a strong showing this spring that positioned him to be among the first call-ups if there’s an infield need with a pair of doubles — one that knocked in a run — and more nice defensive work, this time at third base. After the game, he was assigned to minor-league camp along with catcher CJ Stubb and outfielders Yohendrick Pinango and RJ Schreck.
Where has Schneider seen Kasevich progress?
“This is going to be a funny answer, just playing a little bit more freely and not being so methodical, you know people joke about him being kind of robotic at times,” he said. “I think it’s planned. He understands when to take some shots at the plate and really be clocked defensively anywhere we put him. He came in ready which is good, we want to see that, definitely made a good impression, kind of exactly what we hoped for. …
“So cool to see a guy come in, articulate what he wanted to do, and then go do it. I’m pretty pumped about the way he’s swinging.”
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John Schneider announces Blue Jays’ rotation for start of season
With Opening Day less than a week away, the Toronto Blue Jays have set their rotation to begin the season.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Saturday that the club’s first five starting pitchers will be Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer, Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer in that order.
Gausman had been announced as Toronto’s opening-day starter earlier this spring. But with injuries to the likes of Shane Bieber, José Berríos and Trey Yesavage over the last two months, the Blue Jays’ rotation has been an evolving group in the lead-up to the regular season.
The five-man order sets Gausman, Cease and Lauer to take the ball in Toronto’s opening series against the Athletics. After which, Ponce and Scherzer will start against the Colorado Rockies.
If the rotation were to stay on turn through Toronto’s first four series, then Scherzer, Gausman and Cease would be lined up to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in a World Series rematch from April 6 to 8 at Rogers Centre.
Schneider also said Saturday that Lauer will start an intrasquad game on Monday, looking to throw roughly five innings, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
Both Scherzer and Ponce are also expected to make an additional start in minor-league camp next week, with Toronto’s Grapefruit League schedule wrapping up on Sunday.
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March Madness spotlight shines on Canada’s Olivier Rioux
TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Gators love hearing “We want Ollie!” chants.
Fans started calling for seven-foot-nine centre Olivier Rioux to enter the game just past the midway point of the second half during Florida’s 59-point victory over Prairie View A&M on Friday night.
Rueben Chinyelu, who broke a school record with his 19th double-double of the season, waved his arms, pumping up the crowd to scream louder for Rioux.
The defending national champions started their repeat bid with the second-largest victory margin in NCAA Tournament history. The No. 1 seed Gators (27-7) will face ninth-seeded Iowa (22-12) on Sunday night.
The loudest cheers in Florida’s opening-round rout came when Rioux checked in and then scored on a putback dunk long after the outcome was decided.
“It’s a great moment — I got the rebound and then I dunked it — but it’s also a great moment because I hustled, I did my job, and everything else toward the defence was good, too,” Rioux said. “I came to play.”
Rioux’s teammates enjoyed the moment even more than the raucous crowd celebrating in the student section and throughout the arena. Chinyelu started jumping up and down and the entire bench went wild.
Rioux, a redshirt freshman from Canada who became the world’s tallest teenager before turning 20, is believed to be the tallest player in NCAA history.
“It’s just a great time just being with this guy, be it from summertime, grinding with this guy, playing together, trying to get each other better,” Chinyelu said. “Just trying to do whatever to get him to play the game because we all worked so hard for that, so whatever time, seconds he gets, cherish that. I just want to see everybody win, see everybody enjoy it, do whatever we can to just make sure everybody gets to feel that moment being on the court playing with each other.”
Getting Rioux in the game means the Gators are well on their way to another victory. He played sparingly in the regular season, making two of his three shots in 13 minutes of action across 10 games. Rioux missed his first two shots before his thunderous dunk against Prairie View A&M. The Gators now are 11-0 in games he’s played.
“Just me seeing him being able to step up there, go in there, dunk the ball, make points, you could see everybody enjoyed it,” Chinyelu said. “Any time we’re playing and we can set up an opportunity to get our guys in, we really do that because that’s what we do because they grind. You guys don’t see behind the scenes. They get ready, they’re getting us ready, they’re playing with us, trying to make sure we have what we need to deliver.”
Rioux is determined to improve as a player, be more than a sideshow and display his skills.
“It’s important and I think I did that,” he said.
Facing Iowa
Next up for the Gators is a matchup against an opponent that’s been one of the best shooting teams in the nation, with a spot in the Sweet 16 in the South Region at stake.
Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz had a rare off night but still finished with 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting to lead the Hawkeyes to a 67-61 victory over Clemson on Friday night.
Stirtz, Kael Combs, Tavion Banks and Cam Manyawu reached the second round last season with Drake and transferred to Iowa with coach Ben McCollum.
“We’ve got really loyal kids and I knew that going in,” McCollum said. “Whether or not they’re perfect, they’re not. We’ve got our issues. I’ve got my issues. But what they’re perfect at is loyalty, and they’re tough and they established the foundation. We’re not done yet.”
Before Rioux punctuated Florida’s opener, the Gators had seven players reach double figures. Boogie Fland scored 16 points to lead the way, Chinyelu had 14 points and 13 rebounds, Thomas Haugh also scored 14 and Alex Condon added 13.
“It definitely will be a battle of tempo, a battle of pace, and obviously Ben is a great coach,” Florida coach Todd Golden said of Iowa. “Bennett is a great player. They’ve played really good basketball, and it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”
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Friday, 20 March 2026
NHL Power Rankings: Standout stretch-drive storylines
If the NHL season is a marathon, Nikita Kucherov’s second-half kick figures to be one for the ages.
On Tuesday night in Seattle, Kucherov recorded his first hat trick of the year and second five-point night in the past three months. His first came three days into the new year and since the calander flipped to 2026, Kucherov has a truly mind-bending 60 points in 27 outings.
To put that in perspective, Connor McDavid — second in total points during that stretch with 45 in 28 games — is playing at a 132-point clip in the second half of the year and he’s not even close to Kucherov’s production.
We repeat: Connor freakin’ McDavid isn’t even close to Kucherov, who is putting up points at a 182-point pace in the back half of the season compared to, ho-hum, a 119-point pace in the first.
No single player is a bigger second-half story than Kucherov, though — collectively — the Buffalo Sabres are worthy of some serious love.
The Sabres have a league-best .759 points percentage since Jan. 1 — which isn’t the true halfway point of the season, but more than half the league had played 40 games at that point — and if you don’t think that’s a big deal, you haven’t been paying attention to the hockey scene in Western New York for about 15 years.
So, with a couple notable performances coming out of the Atlantic Division, we’re using this week’s edition of the power rankings to highlight a second-half story — maybe good a good one, maybe not — for all 32 teams in the league.
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32 Thoughts: The Podcast
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
1. Dallas Stars (42-15-10) Matt Duchene had a miserable first half, missing time with injury and registering just five points in the 15 games he played. Since Jan. 23, he’s second in team scoring with 21 points in 17 games.
2. Buffalo Sabres (42-20-6) Take your pick with this team, but Rasmus Dahlin has 32 points in 29 outings from the back end in 2026. Ryan McLeod — who established a career high with 53 points last year — has gone to another level with 27 in hist past 29 games, so let’s give a stick tap to former GM Kevyn Adams for grabbing McLeod from Edmonton nearly two years ago.
3. Colorado Avalanche (44-13-10) Colorado woke up on Jan. 1 with just two 60-minute losses in 39 contests. Since then, the Avs are 14-11-3, giving them just the 17th-best second-half points percentage in the NHL (.554)
4. Carolina Hurricanes (43-19-6) Nikolaj Ehlers in his first 26 games with Carolina: 5-11-16. Nikolaj Ehlers since Jan. 1: 12-18-30 in 29 contests.
5. Columbus Blue Jackets (35-21-11) Columbus is 16-2-4 since Rick Bowness was hired on Jan. 16 to replace Dean Evason, giving the Jackets the best points percentage in the league (.818) during that time. Charlie Coyle has 30 points in his past 28 outings.
6. Minnesota Wild (39-18-12) GM Bill Guerin paid the freight to get Quinn Hughes just before Christmas and he’s been as good as anyone in Minnesota could have hoped for. The defenceman leads the Wild in scoring in 2026 with 37 points in 28 games.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning (41-21-4) Darren Raddysh had 29 points in his first 33 games this year, when everyone was trying to figure out if his production was a blip or a breakout from the defenceman. The fact he’s kept that up and then some — 29 points in his past 26 games — makes it clear the pending-UFA has found a whole other gear during his age-29 season.
8. New York Islanders (39-24-5) Matthew Schaefer and Ilya Sorokin are season-long stories for the Isles, but Mathew Barazal has really hit his offensive stride in the second half. After scoring at a 63-point pace in the first half, he’s kicked it up to a 96-point clip in the second.
9. Pittsburgh Penguins (34-18-6) Pittsburgh came out of the Olympic break missing Sidney Crosby and watched Evgeni Malkin take a five-game suspension soon after. Credit the Pens, they went 5-3-3 in the games Crosby missed before his return Wednesday night in Carolina. That has kept Pittsburgh on firm ground in a playoff chase it could have easy slipped out of when its two best offensive players missed time.
10. Montreal Canadiens (37-20-10) Cole Caufield buried an OT winner on Tuesday night to become the first 40-goal man in Montreal in over 30 years. Caufield has 19 goals in his past 19 games — and 21 since Jan. 1, more than every player in the NHL — and the Canadiens offence is tied for third in the NHL (3.79 goals per game) in the second half.
11. Boston Bruins (37-23-8) Charlie McAvoy has had some awful injury luck in the past 12 months, including taking a puck in the face in November. The 28-year-old defenceman is playing some of the most productive hockey of his career right now, though, netting 31 points in 27 second-half games. Overall, the Bruins’ points percentage (.704) ranks fourth in the NHL in 2026.
12. Anaheim Ducks (37-24-4) Jackson LaCombe continues to show why the Ducks were happy to lock him up on an eight-year extension just before the season. After beginning the year with 23 points in 41 outings, he’s got 24 in his past 27 showings.
13. Ottawa Senators (34-24-9) Dylan Cozens has really hit his stride in the second portion of the year, scoring half his 24 goals in his past 22 outings.
14. Detroit Red Wings (37-23-8) Unfortunately for the Wings, the story of the second half — as has been the case in recent campaigns — is a stumble that’s put their playoff hopes in jeopardy. Detroit is 6-7-4 in its past 17 contests, but there’s still time to right the ship.
15. Vegas Golden Knights (31-23-14) Pavel Dorofeyev had 16 goals in his first 43 outings, with five coming in the first three games. In his past 25 contests, the Russian winger has scored 18 times.
16. Edmonton Oilers (34-26-9) The big development is, naturally, losing Leon Draisaitl for the remainder of the regular season with a division title and home-ice advantage up for grabs. Let’s give Evan Bouchard his due, though, for the incredible 41 points he’s put up in 28 games since Jan. 1. That leads all NHL defencemen in that span and maps out to a wild 120-point pace over 82 games. Bouchard scored at a 74-point pace in the first half.
17. Philadelphia Flyers (32-23-12) The Flyers have gone 8-3-2 in their past 13 games to really torpedo their lottery odds while also not having any real shot at the playoffs. Sad as it is to say, the best thing Philly could have done in the past six weeks was to sink.
18. Utah Mammoth (35-27-6) Captain Clayton Keller played at a 68-point clip in the first half and has bumped that up to a 94-point pace in the second.
19. Los Angeles Kings (28-24-15) The stories of the second half for L.A. are trading for an offensive star in Artemi Panarin just before the Olympic break and axing coach Jim Hiller right after the hiatus. We’ll see how it all works out for the club as it fights for a playoff spot, but Panarin has 10 points in his past seven games and the team is playing better hockey under interim bench boss D.J. Smith.
20. Washington Capitals (34-27-8) Maybe the story of the second half in a lost season for Washington will be heralded defenceman Cole Hutson, who played 16:24 in his NHL debut on Wednesday and deposited an empty-netter in a 4-1 win over Ottawa.
21. San Jose Sharks (32-28-6) Alex Nedeljkovic had an. 895 save percentage before 2026, but an impressive .910 mark in 13 games since. That’s especially important because Yaroslav Askarov has gone the other way, from .897 in the first half to .863 in the second.
22. New Jersey Devils (35-31-2) Dougie Hamilton had just nine points through 39 contests as his name was a staple in trade rumours. Credit the veteran D-man for finding his focus, though, as he’s put up a stellar 21 points in his past 24 outings.
23. Seattle Kraken (32-28-6) How can it not be Bobby McMann, who has goals in all three games (and four, in total) he’s played in for the Kraken since being acquired from Toronto.
24. Winnipeg Jets (28-28-11) The 17 points Cole Perfetti has in his past 25 games represents at least some of the secondary offence the Jets simply weren’t getting at all in the first half. Perfetti, who was injured to start the year, recorded just nine points in his first 28 outings.
25. St. Louis Blues (27-30-11) As Jordan Binnington trade rumours become a point of annual speculation, Joel Hofer continues to show he could be ready for a lead role. Hofer had an .897 SV% in his first 24 games, but a sparkling .924 mark in 13 since.
26. Florida Panthers (33-31-3) For Florida, the second half has really been about succumbing to the inevitable and missing the playoffs. The Cats were one point out of the wild card on Jan. 1, but are second-last in the East now. In a year where Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Seth Jones — among others — missed serious amounts of time, it was unreasonable to think the Panthers could find a way into the big dance.
27. Nashville Predators (30-28-9) Roman Josi took a while to ramp up, but after scoring at a 46-point pace in his first 32 games, the Preds’ all-world D-man and captain has scored at a 96-point rate in 23 contests since.
28. New York Rangers (28-32-8) Would you believe the Rangers have the best power play in the league since Jan. 1 at 30.9 per cent? New York was middle of the pack in the first half at 19.8 per cent.
29. Toronto Maple Leafs (29-28-12) The tale of the second half in Toronto will be whether the tandem of Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz is so good it offsets the loss of Auston Matthews for the rest of the year. Strong play from the tenders could ultimately undue Toronto’s tank dreams.
30. Chicago Blackhawks (25-30-12) Chicago was three points out of a playoff spot on Jan. 10, but a 6-11-5 downturn since then has made this another meaningless second half in Illinois.
31. Calgary Flames (27-34-7) The second half finally featured a truly cathartic page-turning in Southern Alberta, as both MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri were dealt ahead of the deadline. There’s no hiding it now; it’s a full-blown youth movement in Calgary.
32. Vancouver Canucks (21-38-8) Watching Liam Ohgren — acquired just before Christmas in the Hughes swap — play just over 15 minutes per night and show some offensive potential with eight points in his past 16 outings is one thing that can bring Canucks fans comfort in the second half.
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Islanders planning to move AHL affiliate to Hamilton
NEW YORK — The New York Islanders plan on moving their American Hockey League affiliate from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Hamilton, Ontario, for next season, the franchise announced on Thursday.
The relocation requires approval by the AHL Board of Governors.
Should the move be permitted, the team currently known as the Bridgeport Islanders will play at TD Coliseum in Hamilton, which completed major renovations last fall.
A team name, logo and ticketing information for the Hamilton market will be announced at a later date, pending AHL approval, the franchise said.
“We are excited to make Hamilton our primary affiliate in the American Hockey League,” Islanders general manager and executive vice president Mathieu Darche said in a statement. “The support the city has shown our organization throughout this transition has been incredible. We look forward to having our top young talent play in front of such a strong fanbase inside the newly renovated, world-class TD Coliseum, and we are committed to establishing ourselves in the community to engage a new generation of hockey fans.”
The Islanders’ top minor-league affiliate has played in Bridgeport for the past 25 years.
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Major League Soccer unveils plans for transitional 2027 ‘sprint season’
Major League Soccer has unveiled plans for the truncated season that will transition the league to a permanent summer-spring schedule, starting in July 2027.
The “sprint season” will see each of the league’s 30 teams play 14 regular-season games between February and April 2027, with seven matches at home and seven away.
Each club will face its 14 conference opponents once and, at the end of the regular season, the top eight teams in each conference will qualify for playoffs. A single-elimination bracket will determine the Eastern and Western Conference champions who’ll then meet in the MLS Cup.
Results of the “sprint season” will determine which five teams will get berths in the 2028 CONCACAF Champions Cup, and which 18 will qualify for the 2028 Leagues Cup.
MLS will then move to a permanent summer-spring schedule with the 2027-28 regular season beginning in July 2027 and running through May 2028.
Commissioner Don Garber has said the move will better align MLS with top European leagues and match up better with the FIFA calendar.
“It gives us a wide variety of opportunities that will expand our ability to be on this path to be one of the top and leading leagues in the world,” he said in November when the league’s board of governors approved the move.
The new schedule will include a winter break from mid-December through to the beginning or middle of February, with no games being played in January. There’ll be another break in part of June and July when many international competitions are played.
Concerns have been raised about what switching the schedule could mean for the league’s northernmost teams, including Toronto FC and CF Montreal, who both play their home games at outdoor stadiums.
This year, the MLS regular season began Feb. 28 and will run through Nov. 7, with each team playing 34 games.
The league will pause from May 25 through July 15 for the FIFA World Cup, and again for an international window in November before playoffs begin. A date for the MLS Cup has not yet been announced.
from Sportsnet.ca
via i9bet
Thursday, 19 March 2026
2026 World women’s curling championship: Scores, standings and schedule
Team Kerri Einarson gets another chance to represent Canada at the world women’s curling championship, March 14-22 in Calgary.
The Manitoba skip won her fifth Scotties Tournament of Hearts last month in Mississauga, Ont. Einarson’s best finishes at worlds are a pair of bronze medals in 2022 and 2023.
Thirteen teams will play a round-robin this year to determine the six playoff squads. Here are the standings, schedule and results:
STANDINGS
|
Team |
Wins |
Losses |
|
Switzerland (Xenia Schwaller) |
7 |
1 |
|
Canada (Kerri Einarson) |
7 |
1 |
|
Japan (Satsuki Fujisawa) |
6 |
2 |
|
South Korea (Gim Eun-ji) |
6 |
2 |
|
Sweden (Isabella Wrana) |
6 |
3 |
|
Turkey (Dilşat Yıldız) |
5 |
3 |
|
China (Wang Rui) |
4 |
4 |
|
Italy (Stefania Constantini) |
4 |
5 |
|
Denmark (Madeleine Dupont) |
3 |
6 |
|
Scotland (Fay Henderson) |
3 |
6 |
|
Norway (Torild Bjornstad) |
2 |
6 |
|
Australia (Helen Williams) |
1 |
8 |
|
U.S. (Delaney Strouse) |
1 |
8 |
Top two teams get byes to the semifinals. Teams ranked third through sixth play in qualifying games.
ROUND-ROBIN SCHEDULE
Draw 15: Thursday, March 19, 11 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. MT
Turkey vs. China
Switzerland vs. Norway
Italy 8, Denmark 1
Canada vs. South Korea
Draw 16: Thursday, March 19, 4 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. MT
Scotland vs. Australia
South Korea vs. Sweden
U.S. vs. Switzerland
Japan vs. Denmark
Draw 17: Thursday, March 19, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT
Norway vs. Canada
China vs. Japan
Turkey vs. Sweden
Italy vs. Scotland
Draw 18: Friday, March 20, 11 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. MT
Switzerland vs. Italy
Denmark vs. U.S.
China vs. South Korea
Australia vs. Turkey
Draw 19: Friday, March 20, 4 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. MT
Japan vs. U.S.
Canada vs. Australia
Scotland vs. Norway
Sweden vs. Switzerland
Draw 20: Friday, March 20, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT
South Korea vs. Denmark
Turkey vs. Italy
China vs. Japan
Norway vs. China
PLAYOFFS
Saturday, March 21, noon ET / 10 a.m. MT
Qualification games
No. 3 vs. No. 6
No. 4 vs. No. 5
Saturday, March 21, 6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. MT
Semifinals
No. 1 vs. qualification game winner
No. 2 vs. qualification game winner
Sunday, March 22, 11 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. MT
Bronze-medal game
Semifinal losers
Sunday, March 22, 5 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. MT
Final
Semifinal winners
PREVIOUS RESULTS
Draw 1: Saturday, March 14
China 7, Scotland 6
Canada 7, Sweden 5
Turkey 8, Norway 7
Japan 6, Switzerland 3
Draw 2: Saturday, March 14
South Korea 14, Italy 5
Switzerland 6, China 5
Denmark 11, Australia 7
Canada 11, U.S. 3
Draw 3: Sunday, March 15
Sweden 9, Denmark 8
Japan 9, South Korea 5
Scotland 8, U.S. 3
Australia 7, Norway 6
Draw 4: Sunday, March 15
Japan 10, Norway 9
Turkey 5, Scotland 3
Canada 9, China 3
Sweden 9, Italy 4
Draw 5: Sunday, March 15
Turkey 9, U.S. 5
Italy 9, Australia 4
Switzerland 7, South Korea 6
Denmark 8, China 7
Draw 6: Monday, March 16
Switzerland 9, Scotland 5
Norway 9, Sweden 7
U.S. 7, Australia 2
Draw 7: Monday, March 16
South Korea 8, Norway 7
Canada 9, Denmark 6
China 10, Italy 3
Turkey 9, Japan 4
Draw 8: Monday, March 16
Sweden 7, Australia 4
Switzerland 8, Turkey 5
Scotland 11, Denmark 7
South Korea 7, U.S. 5
Draw 9: Tuesday, March 17
Sweden 8, Scotland 6
Japan 7, Australia 2
Canada 9, Italy 6
Draw 10: Tuesday, March 17
South Korea 12, Turkey 7
China 6, U.S. 1
Italy 8, Norway 6
Switzerland 11, Denmark 9
Draw 11: Tuesday, March 17
Switzerland 6, Canada 5
South Korea 12, Australia 3
Sweden 7, U.S. 4
Scotland 4, Japan 3
Draw 12: Wednesday, March 18
Denmark 9, Norway 3
Japan 8, Italy 6
Canada 9, Turkey 3
Sweden 9, China 4
Draw 13: Wednesday, March 18
Italy 6, U.S. 3
Turkey 7, Denmark 6
Scotland 8, South Korea 3
Switzerland 10, Australia 1
Draw 14: Wednesday, March 18
Japan 8, Sweden 2
Canada 7, Scotland 5
China 8, Australia 2
Norway 8, U.S. 2
from Sportsnet.ca
via i9bet
Wednesday, 18 March 2026
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