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The Buffalo Sabres (28-35-6) came into Canada Life Centre to face the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets on Sunday afternoon (Mar. 23) and weathered a strong Jets attack, winning 5-3.
The Jets (48-19-4), who are coming off of an overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers, lost out on their first chance at clinching a playoff spot on home ice. The loss was largely on the back of the inability to convert chances, and because of an outstanding goaltending performance from James Reimer.
Game Recap
The Sabres opened the scoring just under the halfway mark of the opening frame on a goal from JJ Peterka. He walked into the slot and ripped one past Jets’ netminder Eric Comrie to make it 1-0 on his 22nd goal of the season.
Nino Niederreiter tied things up early in the second period, banging home a power-play goal past Reimer to make it 1-1. It was Niederreiter’s first goal since Feb. 4, snapping a lengthy drought.
The Sabres took a 2-1 lead late in the second period on a blast from Rasmus Dahlin. The goal came on just the seventh shot of the day for the Sabres, who at that point, were being outshot 24-6.
Tyson Kozak, who was born in Souris, Manitoba, put the Sabres up 3-1 with just over 12 minutes left in the third period. His second of the season was cheered loudly by a sizable group of family and friends who were able to attend Kozak’s first game in his home province.
Less than 30 seconds later, Colin Miller brought the Jets back to within one goal on a laser wrist shot from in tight. He roofed it over Reimer to make it 3-2.
The Sabres took a 4-2 lead on a shorthanded tally from Alex Tuch with just under seven minutes left in the third. He managed to get behind two Jets defenders and beat Comrie on the blocker side.
Nikolaj Ehlers brought the deficit back to one goal, wiring a slapshot past Reimer from the left circle to make it 4-3. It was Ehlers’ 23rd of the season and injected some life back into the Jets who seemed to be getting frustrated after being unable to convert despite plenty of chances.
Ryan McLeod added an empty netter as the Sabres knocked off the Jets 5-3, spoiling a chance for the Jets to officially clinch a playoff spot.
Reimer was the difference maker in the game, stopping 33 of 36 shots in the win. Comrie took the loss after allowing four goals on 17 shots.
Up Next
The Sabres head home to face the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, Mar. 25, while the Jets remain at home and welcome Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for the second of four games at home, also on Tuesday.
More must-reads:
- Inside source reveals John Tortorella got into altercation with Flyers star before firing
- Brad Marchand makes big impact in Panthers debut
- The '25-point, 14-rebound, 11-assist NBA triple-doubles' quiz
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Brady Tkachuk's father reacts to son's behavior at Senators-Red Wings
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk’s decision to drop the gloves Thursday night may have changed more than just the momentum of the game against the Detroit Red Wings. It may have sent a message about what this Senators team stands for, with Ottawa still trying to clinch a postseason berth through a wild-card spot. The Senators forward stepped in immediately after Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson tangled up with Tim Stutzle late in the first period. Tkachuk squared off with Edvinsson at center ice, exchanging punches and throwing a few late jabs before referees stepped in to separate them, marking Tkachuk's second heavyweight bout this month. In the stands at Little Caesars Arena, Tkachuk’s father, retired two-time NHL All-Star Keith Tkachuk, was caught on camera visibly thrilled by his son’s response. The elder Tkachuk cheered as Brady fought, watching proudly as the moment helped energize Ottawa, with the Senators already leading Detroit 2-0 approaching the end of the first period. The Senators capitalized with a 4–3 win over Detroit, although the Red Wings made it a close game through the final frame, scoring back-to-back goals to bring the goal difference to just one with less than five minutes remaining. Thomas Chabot opened the scoring for the Senators with a clean wrist shot, followed by goals from Stutzle and David Perron to put Ottawa up three. Linus Ullmark made 31 saves to preserve the lead, while Michael Amadio scored the Senators' final goal, putting them up 4-1. The Senators closed out their season series against Detroit with a 2-0-1 record and have now gone 5-1-1 against the Red Wings over the past two seasons. The win strengthened Ottawa’s grip on the first wild-card spot in the East, with just 11 games remaining.
'Cobra Kai' stars Tanner Buchanan and Mary Mouser open up about their engagement
While at PaleyFest LA's event for Cobra Kai at the Dolby Theatre, stars Tanner Buchanan and Mary Mouser spoke with Life Style about how they were both ready to propose at the same time. "When we talked about just living life, I’d always said, 'I don’t know why men don’t wear engagement rings,'" Buchanan expressed. "I’ve always said I’ve always wanted an engagement ring, and just happenstance, a week before I proposed to her, she ordered my engagement ring." Mouser shared that her fiancé is "the total romantic out of the two of us," but continued to say, "I was like, I don’t know if I’ve made it super clear to Tanner that this is something I would do. This is something I would want, and of course, Tanner jokes that he’s always two steps ahead of me. [He] had already obviously been planning for months to execute the proposal, which was incredible. But all of a sudden, I was like, I should make it super clear that this is something I want. I was like, 'So, yeah, I went ring shopping.'" The couple first met on Cobra Kai; they played Samantha LaRusso and Robby Keene, who dated in the early seasons. Their engagement reveal was done on the Season 6, Part 3 premiere red carpet, where they were all smiles, sharing a sweet kiss and showing their rings together. Tanner reflected on how it "means the world" to him that he found "the love of my life" through the show, which recently came to an end. "It just works," he told Life Style. "I don’t know how to explain it. We’re just best friends, and that’s my one thing. If you can find your best friend and be best friends first, that’s it. Literally nothing has changed. We’re like, we’re just together, you know, we’re best friends, and now, we just are in a relationship. So that’s great." The actor had been planning for "months and months and months and months, and I was extremely nervous, and we got it pulled off perfectly." As for Mouser, she found his "favorite jeweler in Italy," then went on a "wild goose chase" to get a custom ring made. "I thought, 'Oh, I have all the time in the world for this ring to make it to me in the States before I’m gonna pop my question.' And then, lo and behold, a week later. And so, as it happened, as he proposed, I was like, 'Oh,' and then I literally, I think I said something along the lines of, like, 'You jerk.' Like, 'I have a ring for you, but it’s not ready!'" All episodes of Cobra Kai are streaming on Netflix.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls out driving during chaotic NASCAR Xfinity race at ‘historic’ Martinsville
The racing this weekend at Martinsville has not been the best NASCAR has ever had. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is even disappointed. With the history and importance that the Paperclip has in the sport, it’s a shame that we are seeing this kind of racing. Friday night’s Truck Series race was actually really solid through the first two stages. Then things fell apart. Drivers started to run each other over for 25th place and 1st place. Today, the Xfinity Series is doing the same thing. Caution after caution. And it isn’t even for good, hard racing. It is just for stupid racing. Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted his take after Sam Mayer ran over Christian Eckes and caused a handful of cars to wreck. “This racetrack is historic in the grand scheme of all things NASCAR and deserves better.” The wreck that Sam Mayer caused brought out a red flag with just under 20 laps to go. That prompted not just Dale Earnhardt Jr. from commenting on the race but also Denny Hamlin as well. While there have been lot of good races this year early into the season, today was a step back. This weekend so far has largely been a step back. Does NASCAR need to step in and talk to these young drivers about how they race on these short tracks?
How JuJu Watkins' ACL Injury Affects Her WNBA Career
After a 96-59 win over No. 9 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, No. 1 seed USC Trojans are heading to the Sweet 16. However, they will be moving forward without their two-time unanimous All-American, JuJu Watkins, who suffered a torn ACL early in Monday's game. Watkins will miss the remainder of the tournament and, barring a miracle, will likely miss most, if not all, of the 2025-26 college basketball season. But how does her injury affect her WNBA future? With Watkins likely out all next season, she could elect to redshirt. If she does, she would still be eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft, which would come after her third season playing (2026-27). But with a redshirt, Watkins could also elect to wait until 2028 to enter the draft. Ahead of the Sweet 16 game against No. 5 seed Kansas State Wildcats, former UConn star and WNBA analyst Rebecca Lobo joined ESPN's "NBA Today" to discuss Watkins' injury. Lobo, who dealt with ACL tears throughout her career, believes a redshirt is very possible for the USC star, claiming a torn ACL has a "12-month recovery process." "Well what we've seen, especially recently with high-level athletes in terms of women's college basketball, is it's about a 12-month recovery process for them to get back on the court," Lobo said. "First of all, emotionally, you're torn. This is what every athlete dreams of this time of year and playing in the NCAA Tournament. JuJu and her team had a realistic chance to win a national championship this year, so of course, there is a lot of emotions and feelings there." Lobo proceeded to mention that Watkins could reclassify to the 2028 WNBA Draft if she ends up redshirting. "One of the things that's interesting to me as a person who covers the WNBA, JuJu Watkins is a player who is eligible for the 2027 draft," Lobo added. "Assuming she redshirts next season, which I think is a fair assumption, she would still be able to enter that 2027 draft but could also return to USC for a fourth year of eligibility and wait for the 2028 draft. " Similar to Watkins, UConn star Paige Bueckers tore her ACL ahead of her junior season (2022-23). She missed the entire year and was granted a redshirt. Bueckers utilized this by staying with the Huskies this season for her final year of eligibility, trying to win a national championship for the first time before joining the WNBA. It is unclear what Watkins will do at the time of this article, but if she wants to play a full four years with USC and declare for the 2028 WNBA Draft, a redshirt would make that possible.
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