CALGARY – Matt Coronato extended his point streak to five games with a goal and two assists as the Calgary Flames scored four times in the second period in a 7-3 NHL victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

Morgan Frost also had a goal and two assists for Calgary (31-34-8). Joel Farabee, Ryan Strome, Olli Maatta, Zayne Parekh and Adam Klapka rounded out the scoring. The Flames finished 5-0-1 on their six-game homestand.

Liam Ohgren, Jake DeBrusk and Nils Hoglander scored for Vancouver (21-43-8). The last-place Canucks have lost five straight.

Getting the start for Calgary, Dustin Wolf had 31 stops to win his third straight and improve to 22-25-3.

For the Canucks, Nikita Tolopilo was beaten four times on 11 shots before getting pulled early in the second. He falls to 5-7-2. Kevin Lankinen gave up three goals on 12 shots in relief.

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The Flames entered the game as the league’s lowest-scoring team, averaging 2.47 goals per game. The seven goals ties a season-high output. Calgary also scored seven in a 7-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 8.

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Calgary will look to carry its momentum into a difficult six-game road trip that begins Monday against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche.

TAKEAWAYS

Canucks: Vancouver is closing in on clinching last place. With 10 games to go, they are 17 points behind the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, who are tied for second-last.

Flames: With a goal and assist, Maatta has 10 points in 12 games since joining the club at the trade deadline. That leads the team. He had one point in 22 games with Utah at the time of the trade. Parekh also had an assist for his first career multi-point game. Brennan Othmann had an assist in his Flames debut.

KEY MOMENT

Leading 3-1 early in the second, Calgary scored 11 seconds apart to blow the game open. Maatta’s goal at 4:36 ended the night for Tolopilo. The Flames went right back on the attack off the ensuing face off with Frost beating Lankinen on a backhand.

KEY STAT

Twenty-year-old Matvei Gridin had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (one goal, four assists), which is the longest by a Calgary rookie since Matthew Tkachuk had a nine-game streak in 2016-17.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.

Flames: Visit the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers are once again ramping it up at the right time after two consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup final.

Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists to regain the NHL scoring lead as the Oilers made a big move up the Pacific Division standings, holding on to defeat Anaheim 4-2 on Saturday to move three points back of the division-leading Ducks.

“For the first 50 minutes it was as good as we’ve played all season,” said Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch. “Nothing too fancy, maybe we’d like to have gotten a goal on the power play if I’m being a bit negative. Five-on-five, the penalty-kill was really good. Until we scored the third goal, then they were playing desperate and made a strong push.”

Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist and Jack Roslovic and rookie forward Matthew Savoie also scored for the Oilers (37-28-9) who won their third game in a row after going just 1-9-2 in their previous 12 attempts to win more than two straight.

Savoie has scored in three consecutive contests and has 13 points in his last 16 games while now doing extra duty on the power play and penalty kill in addition to being elevated to the top line with McDavid.

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“My confidence is definitely high right now,” Savoie said. “It helps seeing the puck go in, and I’m getting lots of opportunities right now with some pretty good players, obviously.

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“I think we’re playing an intense style right now, closing quick in the D-zone, not giving them easy looks inside. I think it’s just the intensity that we’re playing with right now, and that’s playoff style.”

Edmonton is 27-5-5 when scoring first this season.

The Oilers’ strong run of late has happened without star forward Leon Draisaitl, out for the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury.

“We have been playing the right way more,” Knoblauch said. “One, we’re at the end of the season and desperate to win hockey games. It’s important to win games to get into the playoffs and move up the standings. The other one is we lost one of the best players in the NHL (Draisaitl) and had to change the way we were playing.

“We don’t have the luxury of having a superstar on our second line. We had to check harder and have other guys step up.”

Connor Ingram recorded 27 saves to earn the win in the Edmonton net.

“He’s been playing great,” said Oilers forward Jason Dickinson. “He’s steady, he makes saves that you need him to make and not only that, he’s also controlling pucks and making breakouts on his own that makes it easier to move up the ice.”

Evan Bouchard picked up a pair of assists to extend his points streak against the Ducks to 11 games. The 26-year-old leads all NHL defencemen with 86 points and looks poised to become just the 13th blueliner in league history to hit the 90-point plateau.

It was the fourth consecutive game McDavid has scored in and he leads the NHL with 31 goals since Dec. 1. The Oilers captain is now three points clear of Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the league scoring lead.

The Oilers have gotten the job done at home against the Pacific, now 8-0-2 against divisional opponents at Rogers Place.

“We’ve been chipping away at it,” said Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse. “It hasn’t been perfect. We still have a lot of work to do. The race is still tight, there’s nothing guaranteed. So for us, it’s not about just putting a few games together, we’ve got to continue this through the final (eight). It’s the time of year we like to play in.”

Beckett Sennecke and Cutter Gauthier replied for the Ducks (41-28-4) who had their four-game win streak halted. Lukas Dostal made 30 stops for Anaheim.

The Ducks have trailed in all 17 games they have played since the Olympic break but have been a tough team to put away, now sporting an 11-5-1 record during that span.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

The Dodgers have shown one thing in their opening three games of the season.

They have no problem erasing early deficits.

For a third-straight night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers found themselves in a two-run hole at the start of the game.

But for a third-straight night, they managed to rally behind strong pitching and timely offense, riding Will Smith’s go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth to a 3-2, sweep-clinching win.

Smith’s big swing almost felt kismet, coming on a night he celebrated both his 31st birthday and a bobblehead giveaway commemorating his game-winning, Game 7 World Series home run last year.

For much of the night, though, it seemed doubtful such late-inning heroics were coming for the Dodgers –– whose star-studded lineup once again waited until the end to come to life.

While Tyler Glasnow pitched well in his season debut –– allowing just two runs in six innings, while striking out six batters and retiring 10 of his final 11 –– Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez was better.

In five-plus strong frames, he limited the Dodgers to just a single unearned run; when Freddie Freeman doubled home Kyle Tucker in the sixth following an error to begin the inning.

After that, the Dodgers (3-0) struggled to crack the Dbacks bullpen, as well, making six-straight outs following Freeman’s double before Mookie Betts drew a walk with two outs in the eighth.

That, however, cracked the door just enough, with Smith sending an elevated 98 mph heater from Juan Morillo sailing out to straightaway center field in the next at-bat.

What it means

The Dodgers are hitting on all cylinders yet. But they’re doing just enough, with several little moments helping swing Saturday’s game.

There was Kyle Tucker robbing a home run in front of the short fence down the right-field corner in the sixth; then using his speed to set-up Freeman’s RBI double in the sixth by beating out a play at first and stealing second to get into scoring position.

There was Betts’ walk that set the stage for Smith’s winning blast, a four-pitch free pass that erased the frustration of his 0-for-3 night up to then.

And in the end, there was Edwin Díaz, completing a scoreless three-inning effort from the bullpen by collecting his second save in as many nights.

Who’s hot

Entering Saturday, Freeman didn’t have a hit yet –– despite nothing but hard-hit balls in his first two games (literally, each one had an exit velocity of at least 90 mph).

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That changed in a hurry, however, with Freeman singling his first two times up before getting the Dodgers on the board with his sixth-inning RBI double, smacking a ground ball just inside the third-base bag.

Alas, Freeman ended the night 3-for-4 after watching another fly ball die at the warning track, already the fifth time that happened this season. Still, he finally has some results to go along with what looks to be an in-sync swing.

Who’s not

It’s only a matter of time before Shohei Ohtani gets going.

But one series in, the four-time MVP has yet to really shine.

Ohtani has been on base plenty, already collecting four walks (including two free passes Saturday) and a hit-by-pitch. However, he hasn’t had a hit since a leadoff single Thursday. And in Saturday’s loss, he missed multiple chances to help start a rally, falling to 0-for-his-last-7 following a double-play in the fifth inning and a groundout to first to lead off the eighth. 

Up next

Thanks to the strange quirks of MLB’s staggered Opening Week schedule, the Dodgers will get a rare day off on Sunday, before hosting the Cleveland Guardians for a three-game series beginning Monday night. Roki Sasaki will start in that game, trying to reverse the fortunes of his disastrous spring training.

For the first time in more than two decades, the Illinois men’s basketball team will still be dancing when the Final Four tips off.

Iowa’s underdog run in the NCAA Tournament ended Saturday with a 71-59 loss to a dominant Illinois team. Before Illinois could cut down the nets at Houston’s Toyota Center, a buzzer malfunction caused a loud, roughly 10-minute delay.

The buzzer initially sounded signaling the end of a media timeout with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. The horn continued blaring for about another seven minutes.

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A referee talks with the scorer’s table during an official’s timeout due to a broken shot clock horn during the first half of an Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Players stood on the court ready to play for a couple of minutes before both teams started to warm up as the buzzer continued to sound.

It was finally silenced, to cheers from the crowd, but then the main scoreboard and video screen that hangs over the middle of the court went dark.

The game ultimately resumed with the big scoreboard still off. Two smaller scoreboards at each end of the arena were working.

Freshman guard Keaton Wagler scored 25 points to help secure Illinois’ first Final Four berth since 2005.

Keaton Wagler (23) of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles against Isaia Howard (23) of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center March 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas.  (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

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This will be the sixth overall trip to the Final Four for Illinois, which has never won a national title. The Fighting Illini will face either Duke or UConn next week in Indianapolis.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma put the NCAA on blast.

The 72-year-old coach took umbrage with the NCAA for not consulting the players or coaches before making changes to the tournament’s format. 

The NCAA shifted from a four-site regional to a two-site regional in 2023, which Auriemma said has created issues for shootaround times and quality of play.

“I just don’t understand some of the decisions that are made about our game when we’re trying to grow the god—- game,” Auriemma said at a press conference Saturday.

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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma watches a play late in the second half of a Sweet 16 game of the NCAA Tournament against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, March 27, 2026. (LM Otero/AP Photo)

“Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players, ‘Hey, does this work? Do you guys do this during the regular season? Is this normal?'”

Auriemma opened his news conference by listing some of the dismal 3-point shooting numbers from teams in Friday’s Sweet 16 games: 4 for 20 (UConn), 4 for 22 (North Carolina), 1 for 17 (Notre Dame), 5 for 18 (Vanderbilt), 4 for 16 (UCLA) and 7 for 26 (Duke).

The legendary coach lamented the timing and duration of UConn’s shootaround.

“Know what time our shootaround was yesterday?” Auriemma said. “Six twenty (a.m. ET), I think, for half an hour. This morning, I just saw Notre Dame leaving, so they had media this morning. Their practice time is tonight at 5:30. … You know what time our practice time is? 6:30 tonight.”

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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reacts to a play during the first half of a Sweet 16 game of the NCAA Tournament against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 27, 2026. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

With eight teams sharing an arena, there is less practice time to go around for each team. Auriemma also suggested the equipment being used is causing a decrease in the quality of play.

“I think they bring in new baskets, new basketballs right out of the box,” Auriemma said.

“Got people dribbling the ball off their feet. You got people missing layups all over the place. You bounce the ball, and it goes up to the ceiling. There’s just no concept of how basketball is played.”

The 12-time national championship-winning head coach said maybe the teams had a bad shooting day, but all of their shooting numbers were well below what their averages were throughout the season.

“How many arenas are we going to sell out with that bulls—?” Auriemma said.

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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reacts to a play during the first half of a Sweet 16 game of the NCAA Tournament against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, March 27, 2026. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

The NCAA’s intention of switching to a two-regional format was to drive attendance, and it told ESPN it has drawn the highest numbers in tournament history since implemented. Lynn Holzman, the NCAA’s vice president for women’s basketball, told ESPN the positives outweigh the negatives.

Auriemma said he does not have any answers for the right solution, just questions.

The esteemed head coach will look to lead his top-seeded, undefeated squad (37-0) to a victory in the Elite 8 against No. 6 Notre Dame Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

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Gareth O’Brien came to the rescue with a golden-point drop goal after Leigh Leopards had relinquished a 20-point lead against Toulouse in the Betfred Super League; Josh Charnley and Innes Senior starred early on before Toulouse’s fightback was extinguished in a dramatic finale

Gareth O’Brien of Leigh celebrates kicking the match-winning drop goal

Gareth O’Brien scored a golden-point drop goal to earn Leigh a dramatic 21-20 victory over Toulouse.

Leopards looked to be heading for just a second Betfred Super League victory of the season when they led 20-0 but the French side fought back impressively to force extra-time with a last-gasp penalty.

O’Brien kept his nerve in front of the posts, though, to clinch a much-needed win for the hosts three minutes into the first added period.

Leigh were irresistible in the opening 20 minutes, with Josh Charnley twice running through to score, while Innes Senior’s acrobatic effort saw him touch down in the other corner.

Liam Horne then broke through the middle for a try under the posts but Toulouse gave themselves hope for the second half when Romeo Tropis burst over in the 37th minute.

A great pass from Olly Ashall-Bott sent Benjamin Laguerre in 10 minutes after the break, and the gap was down to two points when Laguerre drove over again moments after Ryan Brown had been sin-binned for Leigh.

Toulouse overturned a 20-point deficit to force extra-time with an incredible comeback

Brendan Hands was then denied a try for offside but Toulouse forced extra-time when Jake Shorrocks, who had kicked all three conversions, calmly slotted over an 80th-minute penalty,

The visitors seemed to have the momentum but Leigh were brave on the restart and earned their rewards.

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Relieved Leigh boss Adrian Lam told Sky Sports: “We made it difficult for ourselves. I thought a soft try just before half-time gave them some hope and momentum, and the whole second half was all theirs. Grateful we got through in the end. A much-needed win.”

Opposite number Sylvain Houles admitted: “It’s a hard one to take. We gave a 20 points head start. It’s three times now and we cannot be happy with that every time. It’s such a shame because the boys managed to find the energy to get back into the game. I’m disappointed for them.”

2026 Super League – key dates and what to look out for

• Rivals Round: April 3-April 5
• Super League in Paris: Sat Jun 6: Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors (Paris), 6:30 UK (Sky Sports)
• Magic Weekend: July 4-July 5
• Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
• Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
• Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
• Grand Final: October 3, Old Trafford.

Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+

It seems like Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” has done a nice job of moving on from his Olympic heartbreak.

Last month, the 21-year-old Team USA star was the overwhelming favorite to bring home the gold in the men’s free skate. But the unimaginable happened as he fell twice and dropped all the way to eighth place.

However, he has begun to avenge the loss and is now a three-time world champion.

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Ilia Malinin from the United States competes during the men free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026.  (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days of being tormented by his mistakes.

Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total of 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.

Malinin was blunt about his Olympic performance when speaking to NBC afterward, saying simply, “I blew it,” and said it was a clear mental hurdle from start to finish.

“I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit. I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences,” Malinin told reporters. 

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin from the United States waves to spectators after the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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“So, I just feel like it’s the pressure of especially being that Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something I can’t control now. The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good,” he added. “But it really just went by so fast I did not have time to process.” 

But with some pressure off, Malinin was able to show who he truly is on the ice.

Gold medalist, Ilia Malinin from the United States waves before the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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Detroit Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle seems pretty comfortable at the major league level, but one veteran doesn’t want him too comfortable.

McGonigle made the Tigers’ Opening Day roster, and he showed why he deserved it by notching four hits in his MLB debut.

McGonigle was back in action on Friday in San Diego against the Padres, and in the top of the second inning, he launched a ball to deep center field that traveled 403 feet. However, Jackson Merrill leaped and robbed McGonigle of his first home run.

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Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers celebrates after hitting a two-RBI single against the San Diego Padres during the eighth inning at Petco Park on March 27, 2026, in San Diego, California.  (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

In the bottom half of the inning, after Merrill doubled, McGonigle appeared to compliment Merrill on his catch, which Merrill thanked him for.

But that did not come before Merrill joked about McGonigle’s big Opening Day.

“You got four yesterday!” Merrill said to the rookie.

McGonigle became the 21st player in MLB history to have four hits in his MLB debut and the first to do it since J.P. Arancibia in 2010.

Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres makes a jumping catch during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park on March 27, 2026, in San Diego, California.  (Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)

ALEX VESIA, DODGERS PITCHER WHO LOST INFANT DAUGHTER, GETS STANDING OVATION AFTER SCORELESS RETURN TO MOUND

Merrill’s home run robbery provided a boost early on, but McGonigle got revenge with a game-winning two-run single in a four-run eighth inning for Detroit en route to a 5-2 victory.

The Tigers choked a double-digit AL Central lead last season but still managed to get to the American League Division Series after defeating the same team who overtook them in the standings in the Cleveland Guardians.

Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers celebrates after hitting a two-RBI single against the San Diego Padres during the eighth inning at Petco Park on March 27, 2026, in San Diego, California.  (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

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The Padres played more October baseball as a wild-card team as the Los Angeles Dodgers took another NL West title before repeating as World Series Champions.

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