SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Ryan O'Reilly broke a tie midway through the third period and the Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks 6-3 on Saturday night in a key game in the playoff race.
The Predators blew a 3-0 lead before O'Reilly converted off a pass from Luke Evangelista to give them their 15th straight win over the Sharks for their longest winning streak ever against one opponent.
Filip Forsberg scored twice in the first period for Nashville, Steven Stamkos had his 620th career goal and Erik Haula sealed it with a short-handed goal with 2:34 to play to make it 5-3. Tyson Jost added an empty-netter.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves.
The Predators moved into a tie with Los Angeles in the race for the second wild-card spot in the West with 81 points. San Jose is two points back but has a game in hand.
Macklin Celebrini scored his 41st goal of the season for San Jose. Nick Leddy and Alexander Wennberg also scored but the Sharks were unable to extend their winning streak to five games for the first time since November 2019.
Yaroslav Askarov made 29 saves.
The Predators jumped on top of the Sharks early for the second straight meeting this season. After getting off to a 5-1 lead in the first period of a 6-3 win last month at home, Nashville got two goals in a 1:16 span from Forsberg to take a 2-0 lead.
Stamkos scored a one-timer from the circle on the power play to make it 3-0 late in the first before the Sharks rallied with two late goals in the second and a game-tying goal by Alexander Wennberg early in the third.
Nashville defenseman Nicolas Hague left the game with an undisclosed injury in the first period and didn’t return.
Predators: At Los Angeles on Monday night.
Sharks: Host Chicago on Monday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Nashville Predators right wing Luke Evangelista (77) is embraced by Predators' left wing Filip Forsberg (9) after scoring the winning goal during the shootout of an NHL hockey game, against the Los Angeles Kings, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg stood at midcourt with a Michigan staffer, going through the paces of a halftime warmup at the giant Final Four midcourt logo. He jogged lightly forward, backward, then shuffled side to side before hopping around.
He spent much of that time grimacing or biting his lip. And he didn't look much more comfortable when he did return to start the second half Saturday night against Arizona.
The good news is Michigan didn't need much from the first-team All-American as it cruised to an unexpectedly lopsided 91-73 win in a matchup of the NCAA Tournament's last two No. 1 seeds, not with the Wolverines' depth simply overwhelming the Wildcats. The question now is how Lendeborg's injuries might affect him for Monday night's NCAA title game against UConn.
Lendeborg said he rolled his left ankle and sprained his MCL. He also was emphatic when asked if there was any chance he would miss the Wolverines' first appearance in the championship game since 2018.
“Absolutely not,” he said at his locker, surrounded by multiple rows of reporters. “Unless I wake up and I get up and fall off my feet, I'm going to be in that game.”
The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Lendeborg entered the game averaging 15.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists, offering strength and size with versatility to chase on the perimeter. He finished with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting in 14 minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers in his hobbled post-halftime minutes.
For much of the second half, he rode an exercise bike behind the Michigan bench, clapping for baskets or screaming with glee as the Wolverines made big play after big play.
He also spent time late in the game sitting on the court near the end of the bench and almost alongside the photographers on the baseline before having an ice pack wrapped around his left knee. He wore that for the final minutes and still had it on as he carefully made his way through the postgame handshake line with the Wildcats.
But he stayed engaged throughout, climbing to the raised court to greet teammates with high-fives as coach Dusty May emptied the bench in the final minute.
“Our team has extreme depth,” guard Roddy Gayle Jr., said. “We have the ability to feel happy when other people are being successful. Then, even when you're having a bad night, you're able to lean on your teammates for extra help.”
Lendeborg had to count on his entire team to carry the load without him.
Lendeborg had a rough start with two quick fouls and then exited after he stepped on the foot of Arizona big man Motiejus Krivas and twisted his left ankle, the same one he had tweaked during the loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
Fear hit hard in that moment.
“I tried my best to get up as quickly as possible to try to not dwell on that feeling. I tried to walk it off,” Lendeborg said, adding with a chuckle: “It didn't get walked off.”
Lendeborg left the bench for trainers to retape his ankle and treat it with ice, returned briefly, then went back to the locker room again.
“I was going to give it a go but there was like five minutes left (before halftime) so they advised it was best to get treatment right away,” he said. “I sat there, got treatment, got ice. I did the best I could to analyze the situation. I was watching the game and trying to make it feel better.”
Lendeborg wore a brace on his left knee when he returned for the second half.
Lendeborg checked out at the 13:02 mark and headed to the bike. He returned again at the 7:10 mark after Arizona had cut a 30-point deficit to 20, saying he wanted to be a secondary ballhandler.
Why did May put him back in with the big lead?
“Well, apparently you missed the UConn-Duke game,” May said, referencing the Huskies' rally from 19 points down to stun the tournament's No. 1 overall seed in the Elite Eight.
Lendeborg said he told his teammates he would largely work around the arc and avoid crashing into the interior to raise the risk of aggravating the injury. He also said he wanted to get a feel for how he might be able to function with the Wolverines headed for one more game.
Michigan had more than enough to put away Arizona, notably with 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara going for 26 points to lead five players in double figures. Michigan shot 47.8% and made 12 of 27 3-pointers. Now, Lendeborg will race to be ready for the shot at leading Michigan to its first national title since 1989, as well as the first by a Big Ten school since 2000.
“For me, it's a lot of treatment, a lot of time with the trainer, a lot of time away from my teammates which I'm not going to like,” Lendeborg said.
Whatever it takes.
“I'm playing,” he said. “I have to.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) high fives forward Will Tschetter (42) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) falls after play against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg reacts after an injury on the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, center, is injured on a play as Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (13) and forward Koa Peat (10) defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg reacts after an injury on the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg reacts after an injury on the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
