Saturday Sports

NHL

Alex Ovechkin has tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record. Washington’s captain scored his 894th career goal with Gretzky in attendance for a 5-3 Capitals win at home over the Chicago Blackhawks. After fans rose to their feet in celebration following the third-period goal, Ovechkin skated several laps around centre ice for more cheers. Ovechkin also scored his 893rd earlier in the game.
Ovechkin will have a chance to surpass Gretzky on Sunday when Washington visits the New York Islanders. The Great One will follow Ovechkin until his once-thought untouchable record is broken. Gretzky scored his 894 goals in 1,487 games. Ovechkin reached the mark in 1,486.
Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch says there is no timetable for Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl to return from his latest injury, but he expects to have his leading scorer back before the playoffs. Draisaitl left Edmonton’s 3-2 win over the Sharks last night in San Jose with an undisclosed injury. He is confirmed to be out tomorrow against the Kings. Edmonton trails L-A by two points for second place in the Pacific Division.

WHL PLAYOFFS, ROUND 1

Ryder Ritchie scored the game-winning goal at 13:44 in the second period as the Medicine Hat Tigers edged the Broncos 3-2 on Friday to advance to the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.

The Tigers won best-of-seven first-round series 4-1.

Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll — with an assist — and Markus Ruck also scored for Medicine Hat, which finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 47-17-4 record in the regular season.

Liam Ruck added two assists and goaltender Harrison Meneghin stopped 25 of 27 shots.

Connor Dale and Hunter Mayo replied for Swift Current while netminder Reid Dyck stopped 36 of 39 shots.

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead early in the second period before the Broncos rallied back to tie later in the frame.

RAIDERS 4 OIL KINGS 2

(Oil Kings lead best-of-seven series 3-2)

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Lukas Dragicevic scored twice as the Prince Albert Raiders defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings to stay alive in their first-round series.

Tomas Mrsic and Aiden Oiring also scored for Prince Albert. Raiders netminder Max Hildebrand saved 36 of 38 shots.

Landon Hanson and Ethan MacKenzie replied for Edmonton. Oil Kings goaltender Ethan Simcoe stopped 22 of 25 shots.

HURRICANES 5 WHEAT KINGS 2

(Hurricanes win best-of-seven series 4-1)

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Logan McCutcheon had a goal and an assist as the Lethbridge Hurricanes downed the Brandon Wheat Kings to reach the second round of the playoffs.

Jordan Gustafson, Brayden Yager, Brayden Edwards and Noah Chadwick also scored for Lethbridge. Hurricanes goaltender Jackson Unger saved 24 of 26 shots.

Quinn Mantei and Joby Baumuller replied for Brandon. Wheat Kings netminder Ethan Eskit kicked out 47 of 51 shots.

ROYALS 7 AMERICANS 0

(Royals win best-of-seven series 4-1)

KENNEWICK, Wash. — Brayden Boehm scored twice and Johnny Hicks earned a 35-save shutout as the Victoria Royals blanked the Tri-City Americans to advance to the second round.

Jerrett Ross, Wyatt Danyleyko, Kenta Isogai, Teydon Trembecky and Brandon Lisowsky also scored for Victoria.

Americans netminder Lukas Matecha stopped 34 of 41 shots.

COUGARS 7 WINTERHAWKS 2

(Winterhawks lead best-of-seven series 3-2)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Koehn Ziemmer and Matteo Danis scored twice as the Prince George Cougars downed the Portland Winterhawks to keep their season alive.

Riley Heidt, Borya Valis and Terik Parascak also scored for Prince George. Cougars netminder Joshua Ravensbergen kicked out 38 of 40 shots.

Ryder Thompson and Alex Weiermair replied for Portland. Winterhawks netminder Ondrej Štěbeták stopped 32 of 39 shots.

SILVERTIPS 6 THUNDERBIRDS 2

(Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

KENT, Wash. — Julius Miettinen scored twice as the Everett Silvertips topped the Seattle Thunderbirds to even the series.

Shea Busch, Jaxsin Vaughan, Dominik Rymon and Rylan Pearce also scored for Everett. Silvertips goaltender Raiden LeGall stopped 33 of 35 shots.

Nathan Pilling and Simon Lovsin replied for Seattle. Thunderbirds goaltender Scott Ratzlaff kicked out 38 of 44 shots.

SJHL PLAYOFFS, ROUND 2

Weyburn 3 Flin Flon 1 (Red Wings lead series 1-0)
Melfort 6 Yorkton 1 (Mustangs lead series 1-0)

MLB

The Toronto Blue Jays dropped their first road game of the season, falling 5-0 to the Mets this afternoon in New York. Toronto starter Kevin Gausman surrendered a two-run homer to Pete Alonso in the first inning as the Jays saw their four-game winning streak end.

WORLD MENS CURLING

Canada’s Brad Jacobs and his Calgary-based team await their opponent in tonight’s semifinal at the world men’s curling championship in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Jacobs earned a direct bye to the final four after clinching first place with an 11-and-1 record in round-robin play. Canada also secured a spot in the men’s team discipline at the 2026 Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

NBA

Tim Hardaway Junior had 23 points as the Detroit Pistons fended off the Toronto Raptors 117-105 to clinch a playoff berth. Jalen Duren had a double-double with 21 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit. Rookie guard Ja’Kobe Walter led Toronto with 22 points.
The Boston Celtics broke the NBA record for three-pointers in a season during a 123-103 win over the Phoenix Suns. Payton Pritchard hit a left-wing shot three minutes into the second quarter for Number 1,364, surpassing a mark set by the Golden State Warriors two seasons ago. The Celtics have five games remaining this season.

NFL

Seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Julio Jones has announced his retirement. Jones set Atlanta Falcons franchise records with 848 catches for almost 13-thousand yards. The 36-year-old did not play in 2024 after playing in 11 games in 2023 with the Philadelphia Eagles. Jones led the N-F-L in receiving yards in 2015 and 2018.

(Canadian Press)