WEDNESDAY SPORTS PAGE

REGINA – Tyler Smith was not yet born when a Prince Edward Island team last reached the playoffs at the Canadian men’s curling championship. Smith, born in 1998, has led P.E.I. to a 4-1 start at the 2024 Montana’s Brier in the Brandt Centre.

While there are still tough opponents ahead, including Wednesday’s clash with defending champion Brad Gushue, Smith’s Crapaud Curling Club foursome has turned heads in Regina.

Smith, Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen and Northwest Territories’ Jamie Koe are tied atop Pool B at 4-1.

Gushue is 4-2, Nova Scotia’s Matthew Manuel is 3-3, followed by Quebec’s Julien Tremblay and Alberta’s Aaron Sluchinski both at 2-3.

Northern Ontario’s Trevor Bonot (5-1) controlled Pool A with Tuesday evening’s 10-6 win over B.C.’s Catlin Schneider (3-3) after beating Ontario’s Scott Howard (3-3) in the morning.

The Thunder Bay foursome has Wednesday off before capping pool play Thursday against Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone (3-2) and Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin (1-4).

Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher and Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers are even at 4-1 with Tuesday victories.

Bottcher, who missed a draw for the win in a loss to Bonot the previous night, threw a tricky double takeout to finish off Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone in a 10-5 win with playoff implications.

The top three teams in each pool of nine advance to Friday’s six-team playoff. Tiebreaker games were eliminated from the format. Head-to-head results are the first tiebreaker.

NHL

STARS 7 SHARKS 6 OT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Wyatt Johnston had his first career hat trick – along with two assists – and the Dallas Stars rallied from three goals down in the third period to beat the San Jose Sharks 7-6 on Roope Hintz’s overtime goal on Tuesday night.

OILERS 2, BRUINS 1, OT

BOSTON (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored 2:18 into overtime for his second goal of the game, and Edmonton beat Boston 2-1 for its fifth consecutive victory.

CANUCKS 2, KINGS 1, OT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — J.T. Miller scored on a power play 1:36 into overtime, and Vancouver beat Los Angeles 2-1.

CANADIENS 4, PREDATORS 3, OT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nick Suzuki scored at 17 seconds of overtime to lead Montreal to a 4-3 victory over Nashville.

KRAKEN 4, JETS 3

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Andre Burakovsky scored a power-play goal with 2:39 remaining in the third period to lift Seattle to a 4-3 victory over Winnipeg.

PANTHERS 5, DEVILS 3

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nick Cousins had two goals and Florida beat New Jersey 5-2 for their sixth straight win, spoiling the debut of interim Devils coach Travis Green.

PENGUINS 5, BLUE JACKETS 3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jeff Carter and Reilly Smith scored just over a minute apart midway through the third period and Pittsburgh beat Columbus 5-3 to snap a three-game losing streak.

ISLANDERS 4, BLUES 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and New York won its fourth straight game, topping St. Louis 4-2.

BLACKHAWKS 5, COYOTES 2

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Nick Foligno scored one of Chicago’s four power-play goals, and the Blackhawks ended a 22-game road losing streak with a win 5-2 over Arizona. Connor Bedard had two assists for the Hawks.

WHL

CHIEFS 6 ROYALS 3

Berkly Catton had three goals and two assists as the Spokane Chiefs defeated the Victoria Royals 6-3 on Tuesday night in the Western Hockey League. Catton, a potential top-10 pick in this year’s NHL draft, improved to 48 goals on the season.

TIGERS 6 WHEAT KINGS 3

Tomas Mrsic and Gavin McKenna each scored twice as the Medicine Hat Tigers defeated the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-3. Andrew Basha — with a goal and an assist — and Shane Smith also scored for Medicine Hat (35-19-7). McKenna added an assist, while Oasiz Wiesblatt and Tyler MacKenzie both pitched in with two helpers.

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MLB

• Liover Peguero hit a game-winning two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in spring training baseball action. Toronto took a 5-3 lead in the top of the eighth before Pittsburgh mounted a comeback. Toronto starter Jose Berrios (beh-REE’-ohs) pitched three scoreless innings and has yet to give up a run this spring.
• The Oakland Athletics and their design teams released renderings Tuesday of the club’s planned $1.5 billion stadium in Las Vegas that show five overlapping layers with a similar look to the famous Sydney Opera House. The A’s hope to move into that 33,000-seat domed stadium in 2028. A glass window beyond the outfield provides an outdoor feel with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Also included is an 18,000-square-foot video board, which would be the largest in Major League Baseball, and layered roof resembling the Sydney Opera House.

NFL

• The Chicago Bears passed up C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young last year because they had Justin Fields. Now, they’ve got a shot at Caleb Williams. They can’t miss another chance at a franchise quarterback. The first edition of the AP’s 2024 mock draft says the Bears keep the top pick and take Williams in a draft projection that has quarterbacks going with the first three picks and five overall in the first round. The AP projects 10 offensive linemen are chosen in the first round, including three among the top 10.
• NFL teams are set to dole out billions in free agent contracts in the coming weeks as teams around the league hope that bold moves in March will pay off with wins on the field once the season starts. But in a league with a sharp aging curve and specific systems that don’t suit all players those dollars spent don’t guarantee success. According to the Spotrac website, NFL teams handed out more than $3.3 billion in contracts last offseason with nearly half of that money fully guaranteed at signing. The six biggest spenders last offseason all missed the postseason.

(Canadian Press)