SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Brad Marchand capped his Florida debut by setting up Sam Bennett’s winner with 41.1 seconds left in overtime, and the Panthers defeated the Utah Hockey Club 2-1 on Friday night.
Bennett had both goals for Florida, including one in the second with Mackie Samoskevich and Aleksander Barkov assisting. Utah tied it early in the third on Sean Durzi’s third of the year.
The win pushed Florida back into first in the Atlantic Division at 44-25-3 with 91 points, one more than Toronto and two more than Tampa Bay. All three of those teams have 10 games remaining, and Florida faces those clubs three times — two with Toronto, one with the Lightning — down the stretch.
HURRICANES 4, CANADIENS 1
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho and Taylor Hall scored 2:24 apart in the second period, and Carolina beat the slumping Montreal.
Jackson Blake had a goal and two assists, Andrei Svechnikov also scored, and Seth Jarvis had two assists for Carolina in its 10th win in 12 games. Frederik Andersen stopped 14 shots.
Josh Anderson scored for Montreal, which has lost five straight (0-3-2). Sam Montembeault had 21 saves.
BLUE JACKETS 7, CANUCKS 6, SO
COLUMBUS (AP) — Boone Jenner had two goals, Kent Johnson had the lone score of the shootout and Columbus rallied from a pair of multi-goal deficits to beat Vancouver and move into a tie for the final wild card in the Eastern Conference.
The Blue Jackets trailed 3-0 less than 14 minutes into the game, but evened it midway through the second period. Vancouver scored the next two to go up 5-3 before Columbus rallied again.
Jenner, who also had an assist, has scored in three straight games. The Blue Jackets are tied with Montreal for the second wild card with 75 points.
It is the first time since 2016 Columbus has trailed 3-0 after the first period and come back to win.
Columbus’ Dante Fabbro had a goal and two assists while Olivier, Denton Mateychuk and Kirill Marchenko each had a goal and an assist. Elvis Merzlikins made 31 saves.
JETS 4, DEVILS 0
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves for his NHL-best seventh shutout of the season and fast-starting Winnipeg regained the league points lead, beating New Jersey for their 50th victory.
Alex Iafallo scored twice, Mark Scheifele had a goal and an assist and David Gustafsson also scored. At 59-19-4, Winnipeg moved a point ahead of Eastern Conference-leading Washington.
Iafallo opened the scoring 58 seconds in, and Gustafsson made it 2-0 at 1:52. Iafallo added a power-play goal in the second, and Scheifele had his 36th of the season in the period.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, BLACKHAWKS 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Pavel Dorofeyev scored a power-play goal with 3:10 left to snap a tie, and Vegas rallied for their fifth straight win, over Chicago.
Victor Olofsson scored twice for the Golden Knights, who overcame the first career hat trick by Chicago’s Ryan Donato.
Mark Stone had a goal and an assist, Brett Howden scored an empty-netter and William Karlsson added three assists for Vegas. Adin Hill made 18 saves.
DUCKS 5, RANGERS 4, OT
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mason McTavish scored 59 seconds into overtime, and Anaheim overcame a two-goal deficit in the final six minutes of regulation for a victory over New York.
After Olen Zellweger tied it with 1:45 left, McTavish scored his 20th goal on Jackson LaCombe’s pass to finish a stirring comeback by the Ducks, who are all but certain to miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
Leo Carlsson had a goal and three assists in the former No. 2 overall pick’s first career four-point game for Anaheim. Cutter Gauthier scored the Ducks’ first goal in the third, and Alex Killorn got an early short-handed goal. Lukas Dostal made 27 saves.
J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafrenière and Adam Fox had a goal and an assist apiece for New York, which has lost five of six.
Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) defend against a shot by Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley (92) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Friday, March 28, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Mark Kotsay regularly walks around the field before games to add some steps to his daily count. For the Athletics manager on Monday, that meant also surveying the field conditions at his new home ballpark.
The left-field corner had become swampy after a morning rainstorm in Northern California, but Kotsay just smiled and remained confident it would be playable by first pitch. Beyond the left-field stands, construction projects were still being completed at Sutter Health Park, all as red, white and blue banners commemorating the A's home opener hung from the railings of the minor league stadium.
“We've embraced being here in every way,” Kotsay said, noting his team has already gone through opening day last week in Seattle.
“From a playing standpoint, we're settled, right, so the nerves and anxieties, excitement of the game is now settled," he said. "In terms of tonight and the energy that we're going to feel from this crowd, obviously we haven't been in this environment so it's going to be a new experience, which is exciting.”
Even with all of the change that comes with relocation, fans still lined up at entrances well before the gates opened on a blustery, cool evening. Once inside the gates and at their seats, some began chants of “Let’s Go Oakland!” as an ode to their old city.
All of the A’s players wore No. 24 jerseys to honor late Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who died Dec. 20 five days before his 66th birthday. A 24-second moment of silence was held following player introductions. Henderson's three daughters threw out ceremonial first pitches.
The Chicago Cubs, who already have been to Japan and Arizona before this trip, were out on the right-field grass hours ahead of game time and just happened to be the team helping usher in a new A's era.
“It’s a normal road trip, it just feels a little different,” Cubs first baseman Justin Turner said. “Obviously opening up here, being the first ever major league game in Sacramento is something, I guess, I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing but we're here. Looking forward to going out and playing some good baseball.”
Outside the venue, alternating light poles feature signage for the Athletics and River Cats — the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A affiliate who will also play here.
The A's plan for this stadium that seats only about 14,000 fans to be their home in California's capital region for at least the next three years before they hope to move into a new ballpark in Las Vegas.
That soggy spot in left field had been dealt with by game time. Sutter Health Park has natural grass with a complex cooling and draining system that will be especially important during the hot summer months.
“I think they did a great job, actually. As we all know all fields are not created equal,” A's owner John Fisher told reporters pregame. “People have always thought that the A's grounds keepers did an amazing job and that our field in Oakland and frankly our fields in spring training were kind of works of art. This certainly looks great. It's got to be one of the most sophisticated fields ever created. ... And then it came together in such a short period of time. As we all know things don't always move as quickly as you want them to. This would definitely be an exception.”
In order to have priority and eventually secure second-row season tickets — the front row is reserved for owners and VIPs — business partners Dan Niccum and Ken McGuire purchased season tickets in Oakland last year even though they only made it to a handful of games in the A's final season at the Coliseum they called home since 1968.
“We are really thrilled,” Niccum said. “Of course we want them to stay in Sacramento. They may, because it's a pipe dream what they're doing in Vegas right now.”
Longtime A's coach Eric Martins experienced some nostalgia as he took the field for early work. He played in the opening game of this ballpark 25 years ago with what was then Oakland's Triple-A club.
“Sacramento River Cats, first year, first 40 games on the road, opening of the season and then we didn't get to open here because there was rain before we got here so it kind of delayed a couple things that weren't done,” Martins said. “So we played our first two games in Oakland before we finally got to open up here. This is a complete full circle for me. ... Crazy.”
It wasn't quite that for Cubs manager Craig Counsell, but having Chicago's clubhouse in center field brought back memories of the similarities at San Francisco's old Candlestick Park.
“I was telling the players the last park that I remember where the clubhouses weren't attached to the dugout was Candlestick,” Counsell said. “And they just kind of looked at me with a blank stare, but I tried to share a story that it did exist in the major leagues that there were parks during the season where you also didn't have access to the clubhouse during the game. This is a spring-training setup in terms of we don't have access to the clubhouse during spring training. Very similar from that perspective.”
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Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell tries to get the attention of an umpire during the sixth inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell watches batting practice prior to a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday, March 28, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
