review Page 88 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Blue Jackets bring pressure-based mindset into meeting with Rangers
The Columbus Blue Jackets are on a 10-game point streak (6-0-4) as they prepare to host the New York Rangers on Thursday night.,That run and a 17-2-4 record in the past 23 games have put the Blue Jackets on the brink of a playoff position. Columbus (35-21-11, 81 points) sits one point back of both t...

Miami (Ohio) shakes off lone loss, tops SMU in First Four
DAYTON, Ohio -- Eian Elmer scored 23 points and Brant Byers added 19 as Miami (Ohio) used a 3-point barrage to beat SMU 89-79 in an NCAA Tournament final First Four contest Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio.,Luke Skaljac added 17 and Almar Atlason had 12 as Miami (32-1) rebounded from its only loss of...

Mammoth can't dwell on huge win with capable Knights on deck
Coming off arguably their biggest win of the season, the Utah Mammoth travel to Las Vegas to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the front end of a key back-to-back for their playoff hopes.,Utah (35-27-6, 76 points), fourth in the loaded Central Division, returns home afterward to host the Anaheim D...

Lightning out to rediscover 'winning feeling' vs. lowly Canucks
The Tampa Bay Lightning's championship window may not be starting to close after all., ,The Lightning (41-21-4, 86 points) are looking to snap back into a consistent winning mode as they travel to Vancouver on Thursday night to face the Canucks (21-38-8, 50 points) in a clash between teams that have...

Slumping Sharks plot to end to Sabres' road success
The Buffalo Sabres are feeling quite at home on the road and will look to keep that going when they visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday for the second game of a four-game road trip.,The Sabres (42-20-6, 90 points) are 20-11-3 as the visitors this season. On Tuesday, they set a franchise record for...

76ers hoping for Joel Embiid's return against Kings
The Philadelphia 76ers hope to have Joel Embiid back in the lineup when they continue a three-game Western swing with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night., ,After sweeping a two-game homestand, the Embiid-less 76ers (37-32) took a pounding at the hands of Nikola Jokic and the De...

Wild, Blackhawks run it back after overtime thriller
After a day off, the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks will face each other in a rematch.,The Wild escaped with a 4-3 overtime victory Tuesday night in Chicago. Both teams headed north after the game, and they will face off again Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn., to finish their home-and-home...

Struggling Panthers look to ice-out familiar foe Oilers
The Stanley Cup Final reunion returns to Wild Rose Country as Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers host the Florida Panthers on Thursday., ,This marks the teams' second regular-season meeting. The Oilers won 6-3 in Sunrise, Fla., on Nov. 22, five months after the Panthers claimed their second stra...

Kraken open key road trip against Predators with wild-card grip slipping
By the time the Seattle Kraken return home, the Mariners will have started their baseball season and NBA owners will likely have voted on whether the SuperSonics will be one of the league's next expansion franchises.,And the Kraken might have a better sense of their postseason chances.,Seattle opens...

Canadiens, Red Wings vie for playoff position in clash
The Eastern Conference playoff picture changes on a daily basis. The contenders for most of the playoff spots are tightly-bunched, making every remaining game important., ,The Montreal-Detroit matchup Thursday night can certainly be classified as pivotal. The Canadiens will venture into Detroit with...

Defending champ Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas ready for showdown at Valspar
Viktor Hovland and Justin Thomas finished 1-2 at the Valspar Championship a year ago. They return to the Tampa Bay area in promising form following The Players Championship, ready to take on the Valspar again beginning Thursday in Palm Harbor, Fla., ,Hovland bested Thomas by a single stroke on the f...

No. 1 Michigan locks in as restless Howard embraces moment
Losing will not be not an option for Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg when the No. 1 seed Wolverines take the court in Buffalo to open the NCAA Tournament.,That's the mindset the Wolverines preached after Howard beat UMBC on Tuesday night to claim the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region. That sent the...

Bruins look to finish in regulation against playoff-teetering Jets
The Boston Bruins are working overtime in the midst of a heated playoff race.,After reaching overtime in three straight road games and five of their last six overall, coach Marco Sturm's Bruins look to get back on the winning track at home when they entertain the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.,"We...

Surging Spurs look to keep focus as they host Suns
The San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns have different goals for the season's final stretch as they square off on Thursday in a late-season Western Conference game., ,San Antonio (51-18) is second in the conference entering Wednesday's play, three games behind front-running Oklahoma City and 7 1/2 ga...

Thriving Hornets look to knock off Magic
The growing momentum is something the Charlotte Hornets are thriving on and they understand this is a make-or-break stretch to the season.,The hot Hornets will be in action Thursday night when the Orlando Magic visit Charlotte.,"Down the stretch, you can't be one of those teams like, ‘Oh, we'll get ...

Pistons look to finish sweep of two-game set vs. Wizards
The Detroit Pistons will look to defeat the Wizards for the second time in three nights on Thursday when the teams reconvene in Washington, D.C.,The Pistons handed the woeful Wizards their 13th straight loss with a 130-117 decision Tuesday night.,Jalen Duren erupted for a career-high 36 points on 13...

No. 1 seed Michigan locks in as restless Howard embraces moment
Losing will not be not an option for Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg when the No. 1 seed Wolverines take the court in Buffalo to open the NCAA Tournament.,That's the mindset the Wolverines preached after Howard beat UMBC on Tuesday night to claim the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region. That sent the...

Duke shrugs off health issues, sets sights on Siena
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Duke enters the 2026 NCAA Tournament with a familiar goal and matching expectations as the No. 1 overall seed.,The Atlantic Coast Conference champion during the regular season and last week's tournament, Duke (32-2) earned a No. 1 seed in consecutive seasons for the first time si...

Penguins, buoyed by return of Sidney Crosby, visit Hurricanes
The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off what might be their most impressive result of the season, and they'll get captain Sidney Crosby back to boot.,Two nights after beating the team with the best record in the NHL, the Penguins will try to conquer a team tied for the most points in the Eastern Conf...

Without Mikel Brown Jr., No. 6 seed Louisville tips off vs. No. 11 USF
It's safe to say Pat Kelsey's second season at Louisville hasn't gone entirely to plan.,Yes, the Cardinals are back in the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 6 seed in the East Region. But expectations were higher for the team, which was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference this se...