MONTREAL (AP) — Paul Byron scored twice, Brendan Gallagher had a goal and three assists, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers 6-2 on Thursday night to clinch a playoff spot.
Jeff Skinner tried a spinner and it led to Noah Hanifin’s first overtime winner. Hanifin scored 2:16 into the extra period and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Thursday night. Carolina has climbed from last place in the Eastern Conference to the fringe of the playoff race.
Gonzaga and South Carolina will square off in the first of two national semifinals on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET in Phoenix. Gonzaga is a 6.5-point favorite. Despite their broad similarities on that end of the floor, though, Gonzaga and South Carolina are very different.
Ricky Rubio had a career-high 33 points, 10 assists and five rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 119-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. Rubio shot 4 of 5 on 3-pointers and Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Timberwolves (30-44), who have now won more games than they did last season. Minnesota had 30 assists and only 11 turnovers.
Zach Lowe: Ten things I like and don’t like, including Harden’s runway moves
Mike Petriello uses Statcast’s catch probability metric to rank the top five defensive outfielders at each position.
LeBron went to an … uh, let’s just say odd shooting form in pregame warmups. Of the many feuds that LaVar Ball has found himself embroiled in — some all in good fun, some more serious — there is one that he cannot win. LeBron wasn’t happy that his name was brought into it.
Fowler leads Houston Open after first-round 64
Six days after Yadier Molina put the Cardinals on the clock by imposing an Opening Day deadline for extension talks, the two sides reportedly have found common ground.
Rickie Fowler shot an 8-under 64 for a one-shot lead over Sung Kang after the first round of the Houston Open on Thursday. Fowler overcame damp conditions and a chilly, breezy morning to jump to a hot start. Fowler won last month at the Honda Classic and is trying to keep momentum going into the Masters next week.
