i Page 129 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

As Pelicans visit, Raptors must stack wins to guarantee top-six playoff spot
The Toronto Raptors will play beyond the regular season for the first time since 2022.,That is all they know for certain. They could finish anywhere from fifth to 10th in the Eastern Conference, so every game -- beginning with the one against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night -- is i...

Rangers focused on developing younger players in game vs. Blackhawks
The New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks are using the final weeks of lost seasons to gauge some of their youth.,Plenty of youth will be on display Friday night when the Rangers host the Blackhawks. New York is eliminated from postseason contention, while Chicago isn't far removed from that fate....

Lakers return home from successful trip to face spiraling Nets
The Los Angeles Lakers received a welcome day off on Thursday following a six-game trip that saw the team solidify its third-place standing in the Western Conference.,Winners of 13 of their last 15 games, the Lakers will begin a three-game homestand with a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday...

Blazers intent on improving playoff position in matchup vs. reeling Mavericks
The Portland Trail Blazers already have clinched a postseason berth for the first time in five seasons, even if it's just a spot in the play-in tournament.,Interim coach Tiago Splitter and his team want much more than that, however.,After winning five of its last six games to get back to .500 for th...

Nearly locked into play-in, Warriors try to improve seeding vs. Wizards
With a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament almost a certainty, the Golden State Warriors will look to improve their positioning down the stretch, beginning with a Friday date against the Washington Wizards in San Francisco.,Golden State (35-38) pulled out of a recent tailspin in which ...

Brewers pitchers strike out 20 in demolition of White Sox
Sal Frelick and Jake Bauers homered and hard-throwing Jacob Misiorowski shook off a leadoff home run to strike out 11 over five innings as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the visiting Chicago White Sox 14-2 on Thursday in the season opener for both teams., ,Misiorowski (1-0), named to the All-Star team...

Chase DeLauter homers twice as Guardians down Mariners
Chase DeLauter homered twice and Jose Ramirez broke a tie with a two-run double with two outs in the seventh inning as the Cleveland Guardians defeated the host Seattle Mariners 6-4 in the teams' season opener Thursday night.,Seattle's Dominic Canzone hit two solo homers and Brendan Donovan and Luke...

Kings blank Canucks, trim wild-card deficit to 1 point
Eight players tallied at least one point for the Los Angeles Kings, who dominated the host Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Thursday night.,Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore each had a goal and an assist, Scott Laughton and Artemi Panarin both scored a goal and Mikey Anderson tallied two assists for the King...

Oilers edge Knights in OT after Connor McDavid hits assists milestone
Evan Bouchard scored 3:10 into overtime and Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Thursday night in Las Vegas.,It was the third overtime goal of the season for Bouchard. McDavid won a faceoff from Brett Howden in the right circle an...

Arizona's sizzling shooting overpowers Arkansas
SAN JOSE -- Brayden Burries scored 23 points and fellow freshman Koa Peat added 21 as top-seeded rolled to a 109-88 win over No. 4 Arkansas in the West Region semifinals on Thursday night.,The Wildcats (35-2) matched their school record for wins by shooting 63.8% from the field and advanced to their...

Second-half explosion sends Illinois past Houston into South final
HOUSTON -- David Mirkovic and Keaton Wagler produced double-doubles as third-seeded Illinois parlayed a 17-0 second-half run into a 65-55 victory over second-seeded Houston on Thursday in the South Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.,The Fighting Illini (27-8) advanced to the Elite Eight for...

Alex Ovechkin's hat trick powers Capitals' rally against Mammoth
Alex Ovechkin produced his 34th career hat trick and the Washington Capitals rallied from a two-goal deficit to a 7-4 win against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.,Ovechkin has 29 goals this season, including two hat tricks, and an NHL-record 926 for his career.,Ivan Miroshnichen...

Penguins' Sidney Crosby exits with lower-body injury; severity unclear
Penguins coach Dan Muse had no substantive update about the condition of Sidney Crosby after the team captain exited Pittsburgh's Thursday road game against the Ottawa Senators due to a lower-body injury.,Crosby played the first 38 seconds of the second period, then exited for good in a game the Pen...

Dodgers open latest title defense with rout of D-backs
Andy Pages hit a three-run home run and right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto went six strong innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers followed consecutive World Series titles with an 8-2 victory over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday., ,In the season opener for both teams, Will Smith hit a home run...

Nico Hischier's late deflection lifts Devils over Predators
Nico Hischier's second deflected goal of the night broke a late tie, and the visiting New Jersey Devils won for the fifth time in six games, 4-2 over the surging Nashville Predators on Thursday.,Jesper Bratt had a goal with two assists, Jack Hughes recorded two helpers and Timo Meier added an empty-...

Sidney Crosby exits, but Penguins nip Senators in shootout
Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel scored in a shootout to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 win over the host Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.,Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby left early in the second period due to an undisclosed injury and did not return.,Rickard Rakell had two goals and an assist a...

Brandon Montour, Kraken earn key OT win vs. Lightning
Brandon Montour scored twice, including the winner at 2:47 of overtime, as the Seattle Kraken defeated the host Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Thursday night.,Kaapo Kakko and Bobby McCann each had a goal and an assist for the Kraken, who snapped a four-game winless streak (0-3-1). ,Philipp Grubauer stop...

Wild extend Panthers' struggles with game-winner in closing seconds
Marcus Foligno scored in his first game back from injury and Joel Eriksson Ek scored the go-ahead goal with five seconds left as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla.,Ryan Hartman also scored for Minnesota (41-20-12, 94 points), which got 18 saves fr...

Canadiens stay hot with low-scoring defeat of Blue Jackets
Zachary Bolduc scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and assisted on Montreal's other goal in a 2-1 win for the Canadiens against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.,Jayden Struble also scored for the Canadiens (40-21-10, 90 points), who have won three straight. Jakub Dobes ...

Paolo Banchero's 30 points help Magic stop skid vs. Kings
Paolo Banchero had a team-high 30 points and combined with Desmond Bane for eight in a late 12-0 flurry that sent the Orlando Magic on their way to a 121-117 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.,Bane finished with 23 points and Tristan da Silva 18 for Orlando (39-34), which ...