Venezuela wins its first World Baseball Classic title, beating the United States 3-2
Venezuela wins its first World Baseball Classic title, beating the United States 3-2
Oilers ‘offence by committee’ sinks Sharks 5-3 | Globalnews.ca
EDMONTON – Adam Henrique earned a pair of assists as the Edmonton Oilers were able to rally without star forward Leon Draisaitl to pick up a huge 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor Murphy, Vasily Podkolzin, Max Jones and Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers (34-26-9) who have won two straight to improve to 5-2-1 in March and moved at least temporarily into a tie with Anaheim atop the Pacific Division standings.
The Oilers were without the services of Draisaitl, who is fourth in league scoring, after it was announced earlier in the day that he is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury.
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Dmitry Orlov, Pavol Regenda and Kiefer Sherwood replied for the Sharks (32-28-6) who have lost two in a row and five of their last seven.
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Connor Ingram recorded 27 saves to earn the win in the Edmonton net, while Alex Nedeljkovic made 32 stops for San Jose.
TAKEAWAYS
Sharks: Teenage phenom Macklin Celebrini had his nine-game point streak halted and was held without a point for the first time since the Olympic break. He had 14 points during the streak and remains five points from becoming just the sixth teenager in NHL history to ever register 100 points.
Oilers: Leading scorer among NHL defencemen Evan Bouchard picked up an assist to give him 26 points and a plus-22 rating in 18 career games against the Sharks. He has 32 points in his last 21 games overall.
KEY MOMENT
The Oilers went up 5-3 with 11:48 to play in the third period as Hyman picked up a rebound in front and lifted a backhand shot into the net from his knees for his 29th goal in just 50 games this season.
KEY STAT
Edmonton now has nine consecutive home wins over the Sharks.
UP NEXT
Sharks: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
Call of the Wilde: Montreal Canadiens win 3-2 OT thriller over Boston Bruins – Montreal | Globalnews.ca
The Montreal Canadiens are on pace for a 102-point season, but after back-to back losses on the weekend, it almost felt like it was slipping away.
They needed a result against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre, and they got it in thrilling fashion with a 3-2 overtime win.
Wilde Horses
Cole Caufield has done it. Thirty-two years of the Canadiens not having a 40-goal scorer is finally over. Vincent Damphousse’s run as the last man to do it will be quoted no more. Caufield got number 40 in as dramatic fashion as is possible.
It was the last seconds of overtime. Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki, and Caufield had been on, it seemed, for the entire five minutes. They gave it one last try before a shootout. Hutson won the zone. He and Suzuki were working the high slot.
At the same time, Caufield slid across the crease and parked behind the coverage. He got lost there, until Suzuki found him. It was a tap-in for number 40.
The Canadiens have a true first line. They score at a clip that rivals any line in the entire league. Suzuki has been reunited with Juraj Slafkovsky and Caufield for seven games. The line has a remarkable 13 goals. For a line, this pace is unheard of.
The number one line in the entire league in any given season will finish with about 120 goals. That’s 40-40-40 for the three members. It’s an easy number to see as remarkable. Since Slafkovsky returned, the line is running a clip of 140 goals.
It’s highly unlikely that they can continue a pace as sparkling as that, but they can, at least, make the 100-goal mark. In the first period, the Canadiens were down one and needed a goal badly, and the three came through yet again.
Caufield and Slafkovsky set up Suzuki for his 24th goal of the season. He made a tremendous move in front of the net on Jeremy Swayman. However, the Canadiens need another line to help out, and recently it’s been a struggle.
They needed the Phillip Danault line to contribute and in the second period, they did. Hutson was the primary architect as he was weaving all around the offensive zone before floating one to the net that Josh Anderson deflected.
There were other strong performances: Jake Evans was around the puck a lot. Alexandre Texier is strong on the puck and doesn’t get enough credit for his all-around play. Anderson did a lot more than just score one of the goals.
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None of the good vibes of the night happen without the play of Jakub Dobes. He was sensational. The Goals Saved Above Expected was tremendous with a plus 2.85. The Bruins could have won it easily, if not for his work to keep it close.
Wilde Goats
There are a lot of deep statistics in the NHL. For fans who aren’t into analytics, some of the new numbers must seem like calculus. However, for all who love the game, there are some statistics that have been vital since the beginning of the game.
Two of those old reliables are ‘goals against’ and ‘penalty killing success’. They say more than any Corsi or Fenwick could. They speak simply. They say it all.
As wonderful as the Canadiens are on offence, the defensive numbers say that they have significant issues, and they have had them long enough that they shouldn’t expect different outcomes next season unless changes are made.
The Canadiens are 24th in the league in goals against. The Canadiens are 28th in penalty killing success. Top-calibre teams are always strong in these two categories. Teams that go far in the playoffs are always strong at killing penalties.
Penalty killing is naturally about manpower on the ice, but it’s also about attitude. The Canadiens are passive in their pursuit, and find themselves in a box structure defending far more than is seen around the league. They allow offence too easily.
Improving the penalty kill isn’t about collapsing into a box in practice and letting attacking players pass it around, playing keepaway. Improving the penalty kill is about demanding players change their mindset and attack at every single opportunity.
It’s a mindset, and the Canadiens don’t have it. They don’t pursue the puck. They don’t take away time and space. They hope that they can seize the rebound first.
Defence overall is also talent and mindset. The greatest offensive team of this generation, the Edmonton Oilers, needed one goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals to tie it late. In the last five minutes, they didn’t even get a single chance. They couldn’t even get in the zone to establish possession against the Florida Panthers. That’s defence.
On the Bruins’ second goal, Jayden Struble was passive, and then Hutson and Oliver Kapanen took the same man allowing Pavel Zacha to score. Kapanen and Hutson are intelligent defensive players. Why is simple coverage breaking down so often?
The Canadiens need to make changes to their coaching staff next season. Head Coach Martin St. Louis needs help with 24th in goals against and 28th in penalty kill. He can’t be responsible for all aspects of the team.
They can’t run it back like this next season. The same issues will persist.
Wilde Cards
Kirby Dach is the unluckiest or most brittle player in all of sports. He gets back into the lineup after suffering a significant injury, and then nearly immediately suffers another significant injury.
Dach was hit on Sunday night by Jeffrey Viel of the Anaheim Ducks. He fell hard on his left side, and couldn’t hold his stick as he made his way back to the bench. On Tuesday, the Canadiens announced that he is gone for two to four weeks.
That’s a wide-open window for recovery; it’s not usually a timeline with so much doubt. At its worst —and with Dach, assume that — he will be out for the rest of the regular season. However, should the Canadiens make the playoffs, Dach will be available for that.
Dach already missed 31 games this season with a broken foot. It’s a shame again for Dach as the moment he starts to get his rhythm back, he gets injured.
Dach’s injury ends the controversy centred around Brendan Gallagher’s inclusion in the lineup over Alexandre Texier. Texier draws in with Zachary Bolduc and Jake Evans while Gallagher assumes his regular spot with Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson.
One of the strengths of the Canadiens this season has been their depth. They would really need the injury bug to strike to feel undermanned as they still have Joe Veleno and Patrik Laine under-worked in Montreal, and a very capable Samuel Blais is in Laval.
—
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
New York Islanders down Maple Leafs 3-1 | Globalnews.ca
TORONTO – Calum Ritchie had a goal and an assist on a pair of first-period power plays as the New York Islanders topped the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Tuesday.
Brayden Schenn, with his first goal since being acquired from the St. Louis Blues ahead of the NHL trade deadline, and Emil Heineman provided the rest of the offence for New York (39-24-5).
Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves. Mathew Barzal added three assists.
The Islanders, who started the night third in the Metropolitan Division, improved to 9-3-0 over their last 12 games.
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Steven Lorentz replied for Toronto (29-28-12). Joseph Woll stopped 31 shots.
The Maple Leafs are now 2-1-1 since losing captain Auston Matthews for the season to a knee injury — a run on the heels of a head-scratching 0-6-2 slide that all but cratered their playoff hopes.
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TAKEAWAYS
Islanders: Matthew Schaefer picked up an assist to move within one point of becoming the fourth rookie defenceman in franchise history to register 50 in a season. The 18-year-old from Hamilton is looking to join Stefan Persson (56 in 1977-78), Denis Potvin (54 in 1973-74) and Vladimir Malakhov (52 in 1992-93).
Maple Leafs: The club wore its green and white Toronto St. Pats jerseys — on St. Patrick’s Day — in honour of the club’s Irish roots. The franchise was known as the St. Pats from 1919 through 1927.
KEY MOMENT
A couple of early power plays pushed the visitors ahead. Schenn scored on the game’s first man-advantage opportunity at 4:15 of the opening period. Ritchie, a rookie forward from nearby Oakville, Ont., like Schaefer making his Scotiabank Arena debut, then doubled his team’s lead before the game was 10 minutes old.
KEY STAT
Toronto entered Tuesday with the NHL’s third-best penalty kill at 83.5 per cent. New York’s power play sat 29th overall at 15.9 per cent.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
Maple Leafs: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
World Anti-Doping Agency agrees to limit athlete data use, watchdog says | Globalnews.ca
The World Anti-Doping Agency has agreed to only use athletes’ highly sensitive personal information for “anti-doping purposes,” Canada’s privacy commissioner announced Tuesday, resolving a years-long investigation into the organization’s data sharing practices.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said in a statement that the World Anti-Doping Agency had committed to a series of measures that will help ensure international sport federations and anti-doping organizations do not use information collected from athletes for any other purpose.
“The World Anti-Doping Agency is entrusted with safeguarding the highly sensitive personal information of thousands of athletes from around the globe,” privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne said.
“I welcome WADA’s commitment to take steps to help ensure that this information is only used for the purposes for which it was collected.”
The World Anti-Doping Agency told Global News in a statement that it was “pleased” to enter the compliance agreement and resolve the investigation.
“WADA takes the privacy of athletes’ data very seriously and has always maintained compliance with applicable privacy laws, including Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA),” a spokesperson said.
“WADA has not admitted to any contravention of privacy rules in Canada or elsewhere, but it is committed to working with regulators to address evolving privacy best practices.”
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Dufresne launched an investigation in November 2024 after receiving a complaint that alleged the World Anti-Doping Agency had disclosed biological sample information to international sporting federations, which was using the information to assess athletes’ sex-based eligibility without their knowledge or consent.
Such actions, if proven, would violate Canadian privacy law, which the Montreal-based agency became subject to in 2015.
The compliance agreement, which is signed by the agency’s director general and president, says the World Anti-Doping Agency has disputed the allegations as well as Dufresne’s jurisdiction over the investigation.
“WADA is prepared to enter into this agreement to resolve the commissioner’s investigation, but WADA does not admit any contravention” of PIPEDA, the agreement says.
The commitment comes shortly after the conclusion of the Winter Olympic Games in Italy but with the FIFA World Cup just three months away from kicking off in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Under the terms of the agreement, the agency will update the World Anti-Doping Code by Jan. 1, 2027, to specify that athlete information collected for its Anti-Doping Administration and Management System must only be used for anti-doping purposes.
It must communicate that statute to anti-doping organizations within one month of the signing of the agreement, and update the privacy commissioner on the mechanism it will use to ensure those organizations are compliant no later than six months after signing.
The World Anti-Doping Agency must submit quarterly reports to the privacy watchdog on its progress in implementing its remedial measures until they are fully in place.
Dufresne retains the right to apply for a court order forcing the agency to comply if he believes the measures set out in the agreement have not been completed.
“WADA’s decision to enter into this agreement does not constitute acceptance of the OPC’s jurisdiction over the matters addressed in this process, and WADA expressly reserves its rights in that regard,” the agency’s spokesperson told Global News.
“However, WADA is fully committed to satisfying all obligations within this compliance agreement.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Team USA wears gam-worn Olympic hockey gold medal sweaters ahead of WBC Final
When the members of the United States Men’s baseball team roll up to LoanDepot Park on Tuesday afternoon the first thing you will notice isn’t baseball.
It will be hockey.
Team USA will wear official game-worn sweaters from the 2026 Winter Olympic gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic hockey team ahead of their championship game of the World Baseball Classic against Venezuela on Tuesday.
The sweaters, which carried the men’s hockey team to an overtime victory over Canada, will now have a second life under the humid Miami sun.
Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong reached out to Olympic hero Jack Hughes about USA wearing the sweaters, and Hughes made a call of his own to put the plan in motion.
Fanatics helped get 36 sweaters in total, enough for the players, coaches, and staff to the team hotel on Tuesday morning.
The sweaters will hopefully help inspire Team USA when they take the field against Venezuela on Tuesday night. The United States is chasing its second WBC title and this is their third straight appearance in the final. For Venezuela, this is their first team in the WBC championship game.
First pitch is set for 8:00 PM EST on FOX.
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NHL’s Parros defends Gudas suspension | Globalnews.ca
MANALAPAN – George Parros is standing by the NHL’s decision to suspend Anaheim Ducks defenceman Radko Gudas five games for a knee-on-knee hit that injured Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, a punishment that has been criticized as too lenient.
Speaking Tuesday at the league’s annual general manager meetings in Florida, the NHL’s head of player safety defended the discipline despite questions about Gudas’s history, which includes four previous suspensions totalling 21 games.
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Matthews suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear in the March 12 game and will miss the rest of the season.
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Parros said the league determined the suspension was appropriate after reviewing the play.
The ruling has drawn criticism, with Matthews’ agent Judd Moldaver calling the suspension insufficient and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid questioning the process.
Parros said he remains confident in the department’s procedures and the group making the calls.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
Race official dies, another injured in crash while responding to dirt track accident
A popular racing circuit is mourning the loss of a race official and praying for the recovery of another after two emergency vehicles collided while responding to a crash on the track.
Billy Hurt tragically died as a result of the incident that occurred on Saturday night during a World of Outlaws sprint car race at Kennedale Speedway Park, located just outside Fort Worth, Texas.
Kennedale Police said that the crash happened just before 9 p.m. local time when the two officials were responding to an accident involving one of the racers on the track and struck each other, leading to both men being ejected from their all-terrain vehicles, KDFW reported.
Hurt died at the scene and World of Outlaws officials identified the other victim as Jerry Myers, who is in stable condition and recovering from his injuries.
Multiple reports indicated that sprint car driver Marcus Thomas had flipped his car during the Last Chance Qualifier that led to the emergency response.
“Beyond his professionalism, Billy exemplified what it meant to be a good person, always putting others before himself,” World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter said in a statement. “He dedicated his life to ensuring the safety of every racer, making their well-being his main priority. And beyond the track, his kindness shone further with every interaction, quickly becoming a friendly face to everyone he met.
“The entire World Racing Group family is deeply saddened by his loss.”
The crash is under investigation and the remainder of the event was postponed.
Hurt had been involved in the safety and rescue of sprint car drivers for more than 23 and is said to have worked with several different racing outfits, including American Sprint Car Series, World of Outlaws, the annual Tulsa Shootout and Chili Bowl Nationals at the Tulsa Expo Raceway.
Hurt had been a firefighter in Columbia, Missouri, for more than 25 years and was an extrication expert who had taught fellow firefighters the critical skill across the state, KRCG reported.
“Billy was proud to be a public servant. He enjoyed his job. He always came to work with a smile on his face,” Columbia Professional Firefighters’ President Zack Privette told the news channel. “He was never down and out. He showed up. He did his job and he was really good at it. He did it with an attitude that people wanted to work with him.”
The World of Outlaws is a national touring dirt track racing series that hosts events at tracks across the United States.
The series has been dubbed “The Greatest Show on Dirt” and features some of the top dirt track drivers in the world.
Calgary, Edmonton and Prague to host 2028 World Cup of Hockey | Globalnews.ca
It’s official. Calgary and Edmonton have been chosen, along with Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, as the host cities for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.
The NHL made the announcement on Monday in a social media post featuring messages from NHL superstars Cale Makar, who was born in Calgary, along with Edmonton Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak, who is from the Czech Republic and plays for the Boston Bruins.
“I’m excited to announce that the 2028 World Cup of Hockey is coming to my very own hometown, Calgary, Alberta,” said Makar in a message posted on the social media platform X.
The event, featuring eight of the top hockey nations in the world in a best-on-best tournament, will take place in February 2028.
Calgary and Prague will host the round-robin games, while the semi-finals and finals will be played at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that the semifinals and finals of the 2028 World Cup of Hockey will take place in Edmonton, Alberta,” said McDavid in the social media post.
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The tournament made its debut in 1996 and was last played in 2016 in Toronto.
Scotia Place, the future home of the Calgary Flames, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2027 and will host some of the round-robin games, while the semi-finals and finals will take place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, home of the Edmonton Oilers.
x.com/NHL
The World Cup’s return comes after NHL players competed at the Winter Olympics last month for the first time since 2014.
The announcement comes two weeks after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman visited Calgary to tour the construction site of Scotia Place, which is part of Calgary’s new $1.2 billion events centre development, will serve as the new home for the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
During his visit to the city, Bettman described the joint bid by Calgary and Edmonton as “a good bid” that “people could be very proud of.”
Scotia Place is scheduled to be completed in fall 2027 and is expected to seat about 18,400 people.
Rogers Place, in Edmonton, has a capacity of 18,347 for hockey. It opened in 2016 at a cost of $613.7 million.
More details about the event are expected to be released at a news conference in Edmonton on Monday afternoon.
— With files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Oilers optimistic Draisaitl will be back soon | Globalnews.ca
EDMONTON – It was both a big win and hopefully not too big of a loss for the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
Connor McDavid had three assists as the Edmonton Oilers picked up a pair of valuable points with a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators in a game that star forward Leon Draisaitl left with an undisclosed injury.
Draisaitl took a hard hit early in the first period from Ozzy Wiesblatt and suffered an injury, coming back for a couple of shifts before opting not to return for the start of the second.
“He didn’t feel right, he went off, he got checked out and felt like he could play on it,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “The medical staff looked at him and they were comfortable with him trying it out. He went out again and just didn’t feel quite right.
“The fact the medical staff said it doesn’t seem too bad, no immediate red flags, tells me it shouldn’t be a really long injury. There might be some time off, but we’ll find out later.”
Rookie forward Matthew Savoie, who scored his 11th of the season, said it was important for everyone to rise to the occasion with Draisaitl going down.
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“Obviously when it’s a player like Leon, it’s got to be a committee of guys that step up and fill different roles and really contribute to us having success because this is a big part of our season and we really need to rally off some wins and put ourselves in a good spot,” Savoie said.
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“This is the most important time of the season. I think the fire in here is there and is just continuing to grow and we’re continuing to find our game.”
Draisaitl notched his 35th of the campaign before going down and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers (33-26-9), who snapped a two-game skid in what has become a heated fight for playoff positions in the Pacific Division and with wild-card challengers nipping at their heels.
“We’re at a point in the season where we don’t have a choice,” said Hyman, who has 28 goals in 49 games this season. “We have to play well. We have to win games. We have to close games out. We have to play strong defensively. We did all those things — it was a good team effort from our goalie all the way out.”
Edmonton sits third in the Pacific, two points back of Anaheim in first and one back of Vegas in second. Seattle holds the final playoff spot in the West, sitting just three points back of the Oilers.
Connor Ingram recorded 26 saves to earn the win in the Edmonton net.
“The quality of the starts have been about 75 to 80 per cent where he’s given us good games,” Knoblauch said. “Of all the games he’s played there’s maybe two poor ones. He’s been a really good player for us. We need goaltending like that and he’s been solid. Our team should have a lot of confidence in him.”
The Oilers have owned the Predators in recent years, with a 16-1-3 record in their last 20 games against them. Edmonton is now 25-4-5 when scoring first this season.
McDavid extended his points streak against Nashville to 18 games, tying his best career run against a single opponent. Only Draisaitl has a longer current streak against a single opponent in the NHL, with points in 20 straight games against Chicago. In 27 career games against Nashville, McDavid now has 51 points (16G, 35A), while Draisaitl has 55 points (30G, 25A) in 32 games.
Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm, who picked up his 30th assist in the contest, has been a huge addition since coming over from Nashville at the 2023 trade deadline. Since that trade, Ekholm leads all NHL defencemen with a plus-109 rating.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press