NHL
Casey Mittelstadt scored the tying goal in the third period and got the deciding goal in the shootout to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers. JJ Peterka also scored for the Sabres and rookie Devon Levi made 26 saves to beat the Rangers for the second time in 11 days. The Sabres are 7-1-1 in their last nine games to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The victory also gave Buffalo 40 wins in a season for the first time since the team won 43 games in 2010- 11. Artemi Panarin scored twice for New York and Igor Shesterkin finished with 37 saves. The Rangers have earned points in six straight games (3-0-3) and nine of their last 10 (6-1-3).
The New York Islanders are no longer in control of their chances to make the playoffs after losing 5-2 to the Washington Capitals. Ilya Sorokin allowed three goals on the first nine shots he faced behind sloppy defense before settling down. The Islanders did not score on Darcy Kuemper until twice late in the third period. New York will now need help to return to the postseason after a one-year absence. The Islanders trail Florida by a point and are one up on Pittsburgh. But the Penguins have two games left to New York's one. The Capitals snapped a six-game losing streak.
Jamie Lee Rattray scored the winner in the ninth round of the shootout and Canada beat the United States 4-3 Monday night in the final preliminary round game for both teams at the women’s world hockey championship. The teams will turn their attention to the quarterfinals on Thursday after finishing 1-2 atop Group A. Sarah Fillier had a goal and an assist and Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey scored in regulation for Canada. Goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens earned the win. Hannah Bilka had a goal and an assist and Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel also scored for the Americans. Goaltender Aerin Frankel took the loss.
MLB
Max Scherzer shut down the San Diego Padres for five innings, rebounding from his postseason flop against them last year, and the New York Mets won 5-0 in a playoff rematch between National League heavyweights. Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor each laced a two-run double as the Mets finally beat Yu Darvish for the first time. Eduardo Escobar added a sacrifice fly, and four relievers finished a two-hitter in the opener of a three-game series matching two of baseball’s three biggest payrolls. A clean single by Ha-Seong Kim off Scherzer with one out in the fifth was San Diego’s only hit until the ninth. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out six and walked three in a 97-pitch outing.
Shane Bieber shook off a rough first inning to pitch seven, and Josh Naylor hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh to give the Cleveland Guardians a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees in a rematch of last year’s AL Division Series. Bieber gave up two runs and three hits to New York’s first four batters before settling in. The Yankees got the tying run to third with none out in the eighth but reliever James Karinchak retired Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton in order. Judge extended his on-base streak to 43 games. The Guardians stole four bases and have an MLB-high four one-run wins in this early season.
The Tampa Bay Rays became the first major league team since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers to open the season with 10 straight wins, getting a solo homer from Brandon Lowe in the eighth inning to beat the Boston Red Sox 1-0. Lowe homered for the third straight game, sending a one-out pitch from Chris Martin into the right-field stands. Lowe has nine RBIs over his last three games. The 1987 Brewers and 1982 Atlanta Braves share the major league record for the best start to a season at 13-0. This was the Rays’ first win by fewer than four runs. Five Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a three-hitter.
Boston Red Sox slugger Adam Duvall is going on the injured list with a fractured left wrist. The team said infielder Bobby Dalbec is being recalled from Triple-A Worcester. Duvall was hurt while attempting a diving catch in the outfield in Sunday’s game with Detroit. He was hitting .455 with AL-tying best four homers and 14 RBIs in eight games through Sunday. Duvall was undergoing additional tests Monday in Boston. Although Red Sox manager Alex Cora had no timetable for his return, Duvall will be out for an extended period. Cora said after a 1-0 loss at Tampa Bay that surgery will not be needed.
Alec Bohm homered and had six RBIs and the Philadelphia Phillies tagged NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara for nine runs in a 15-3 win over the Miami Marlins. Brandon Marsh and Jake Cave added solo homers for the Phillies. Philadelphia pounded Alcantara for five runs in the third inning and four more in the fifth. Alcantara's nine runs allowed in four-plus innings were the most in a start by a reigning Cy Young Award winner since Detroit’s Max Scherzer gave up 10 against Kansas City in 2014
Yordan Alvarez had three hits and boosted his RBI total to a major-league-leading 16 by driving in two runs in the Houston Astros' 8-2 win over Pittsburgh. Kyle Tucker added two hits and drove in three runs as the reigning World Series champions sent the fast-starting Pirates to the second loss in their last seven games. Framber Valdez allowed two runs on three hits in seven innings to earn his first victory of the season. Ji Man Choi hit his first home run of the year for Pittsburgh.
Texas Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney tied an AL record by striking out nine consecutive batters against the Kansas City Royals. Heaney matched a record shared by Detroit reliever Tyler Alexander against Cincinnati on Aug. 2, 2020, and Detroit reliever Doug Fister against Kansas City on Sept. 27, 2012. The major league record for consecutive strikeouts is 10, set by the New York Mets’ Tom Seaver in 1970 and matched by the Philadelphia Phillies’ Aaron Nola in June 2021 and the Milwaukee Brewers’ Corbin Burnes in August 2021.
The major league batting average rose 16 points to .249 over the first 1 1/2 weeks of this season with new shift limits in place, while game time dropped 31 minutes to 2:38 in the first year of the pitch clock. The time is on track to be the lowest since 2:35 in 1984. There were 125 pitch clock violations, an average of 0.89 per game. Two-thirds of the penalties have been imposed on pitchers. Stolen bases were up 30% to 1.3 per game in the first year of larger bases.
NBA
Getting to the play-in tournament probably wasn’t the goal of any team when training camps opened back in September. But it beats the alternative. There are 12 teams with playoff spots right now, 10 teams whose seasons are over and eight teams with a second chance. The play-in tournament starts Today, with Atlanta going to Miami and Minnesota visiting the Los Angeles Lakers. The winners of those games will be going to the postseason. Oklahoma City goes to New Orleans and Chicago visits Toronto on Wednesday for elimination games. The winners there move on to face the loser of Tuesday’s games in another win-or-go-home contest.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have suspended center Rudy Gobert (Go-Bear) for their play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The 10-year veteran threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson in an argument in the huddle during a timeout. Gobert took a swing at Anderson and hit him in the upper chest in the second quarter of Minnesota’s game Sunday against New Orleans. If the Timberwolves beat the Lakers they’ll get the No. 7 seed and face Memphis in the first round. If they lose, they’ll host the New Orleans-Oklahoma City winner for the No. 8 seed and a first-round date with Denver.
WNBA
Aliyah Boston is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, going to the Indiana Fever. It’s the first time that the Fever have had the top choice in the draft and they chose the South Carolina star. Boston, a three-time AP All-American who also was the Player of the Year as a junior, will solidify the post for Indiana. The Fever had the worst record in the league last season, going 5-31. Boston was one of four South Carolina players expected to be taken in the first two rounds of the draft. Minnesota took Diamond Miller with the No. 2 pick and Dallas drafted Maddy Siegrist with the third pick.
NFL
The family of deceased Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins has filed a lawsuit claiming he was drugged, robbed and extorted before he was fatally struck while standing drunk on a highway after running out of gas. The Florida lawsuit alleges that the former Ohio State star was drugged and robbed by a man and three women in the hours before the April 2022 accident. The lawsuit does not give any specifics. The 24-year-old had been in South Florida for offseason workouts with Steelers teammates when the accident happened. A medical examiner's report released last year said Haskins had a blood-alcohol content that was double the legal limit when he was struck by a dump truck.
GOLF
Will Zalatoris is out for the rest of the PGA Tour season after back surgery. He says he had surgery on the Saturday of the Masters. Zalatoris was at Augusta National for practice rounds and withdrew before the Masters started. He is the No. 8 player in the world who had two close calls in the majors last year. Zalatoris lost in a playoff at the PGA Championship and missed a U.S. Open playoff by one shot. He won for the first time on tour last year in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. A week later, he withdrew with a back injury.
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