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2 years ago

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6:35 PM ET

  • Associated Press

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kyle Larson found his way into NASCAR’s headlines for a second consecutive week. This time for a much more pleasant reason.

Larson held off Ross Chastain to cap a dominant showing in the third-to-last race of the NASCAR season at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, leading 199 of the 267 laps over the 1½-mile course before taking the checkered flag.

It was Larson’s third win of the season and came a week after the reigning Cup Series champion, who was eliminated earlier in this year’s playoffs, was intentionally spun by Bubba Wallace in an act of retaliation at Las Vegas.

On Sunday, the suspended Wallace was watching. Larson, meanwhile, was winning.

“Definitely the best run we’ve had all year long,” Larson said.

AJ Allmendinger was third and Austin Dillon fourth as Chevrolets took the top four spots.

Even though Larson can’t win the title, his Hendrick Motorsports team still can and is very much in the mix for an owners championship.

“We’re still technically not out of it,” Larson said. “I can’t win the championship, but it means more to me to win it as a team. We’re going to go to Phoenix and try to get another championship.”

It wasn’t exactly close at the end; Larson beat Chastain to the line by 1.261 seconds. Chastain could have clinched a berth in the winner-take-all Phoenix race for the title if he had won at Homestead.

The four-car field for the title race will be decided next week in Martinsville, with seven drivers competing for the three remaining spots. Only Joey Logano, through his win at Las Vegas last week, has his berth clinched.

Expect chaos.

“Track position’s going to be so huge,” Denny Hamlin said. “You’re going to see aggressive driving.”

Hamlin is on the wrong side of the cut line going into Martinsville. Chastain is second, Chase Elliott is third, and Sunday’s pole sitter, William Byron, is fourth.

“It took a good part of the race to get up there and get the car turning,” Chastain said. “Incredible day on pit road by the boys.”

There will be a race within the race next week. Chastain doesn’t need to win to clinch a berth in the field for the title race, but he didn’t seem too interested in all the mathematical permutations after getting out of his car in Homestead.

“We’re just going to go race,” Chastain said. “That’s all I know how to do.”

Hamlin is five points back of Byron, followed by Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe in eighth.

Among the playoff drivers, after runner-up Chastain, Hamlin was seventh, Bell 11th, Byron 12th, Elliott 14th, Blaney 17th, Logano 18th and Briscoe 36th in the 36-car field.

Martin Truex Jr., who led 28 laps, was headed to the pits late in the race when a caution flag came out and found trouble as he got there. Larson tapped the back of Truex’s car, and Truex wound up spinning 180 degrees, ending up in his stall but with the front of his car facing in the wrong direction. It also seemed possible, given where Truex was, that he might have missed his stall entirely as the setting sun started casting serious shadows over much of Homestead.

“My team said he was late turning into his stall,” Larson said. “I don’t know. If it was my fault, I’m sorry. I don’t think it was. It’s hard to see on this pit road.”

For as bad as that moment was for Truex, it could have been much worse. His skidding car sent members of his pit crew scurrying for safety, some getting over the wall with just a split second to spare.

“It was really hard to see,” Truex said. “… I did see my box late, for sure.”

Truex came back to finish sixth and raced teammate Hamlin hard for late position, costing Hamlin valuable playoff points.

Briscoe — a past winner at Homestead in the Truck and Xfinity series — came into Sunday looking for a big showing that would help his playoff hopes. He didn’t make it out of stage 2. Briscoe completed only 160 laps, going into the wall and damaging his car beyond repair.

“It’s broke bad,” Briscoe said into his radio as white smoke billowed from the back of his Ford.

Briscoe’s title chances are badly damaged now as well, and his only path toward making the finale in Phoenix is to win next week at Martinsville.

He blamed himself. Driver’s mistake, he said.

“It’s like I hit ice,” Briscoe said. “Frustrating. I think that’s the first time I ever just crashed by myself. Embarrassing on that side. Of all the times for it to happen, that’s not when we needed it to happen. We know what we need to do next week now.”

NO SMOKE

NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart had been slated to serve as grand marshal for the race. Plans changed, and country singer Kip Moore, who performed a prerace concert, wound up giving the “Drivers, start your engines” command.

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NHL playoff standings: Resetting the postseason races after the trade deadline

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10 hours ago

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March 8, 2025

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NHL playoff standings: Resetting the postseason races after the trade deadline

The final week ahead of the 2024-25 NHL trade deadline brought new faces to contending teams across the league, reaching a crescendo on deadline day, with Mikko Rantanen traded to the Dallas Stars, Brad Marchand shipped to the Florida Panthers and the Colorado Avalanche loading up with two new centers (Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle).

And now, the race for the playoffs is officially on!

In the East, the Atlantic Division seeds seem pretty well set, and that goes for two of three Metro Division seeds as well; the New Jersey Devils, in the No. 3 spot, are dealing with major injury woes. They are currently without Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler.

But it’s in the wild-card race where things get truly, well, wild. The Columbus Blue Jackets (68 points in 62 games) and Ottawa Senators (67 in 61) hold those positions heading into Saturday’s slate of games. But five teams are within four points of the Sens, with around 20 games left each.

There are six teams in the West that seem fairly secure in their playoff position — the top three Central teams (along with the Minnesota Wild in the first wild-card spot), as well as the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific. The Los Angeles Kings (71 points in 60 games) and Vancouver Canucks (69 in 62) have some work left to do to stave off the Calgary Flames (68 in 62), St. Louis Blues (68 in 64) and Utah Hockey Club (66 in 63).

There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Saturday’s schedule
Friday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Columbus Blue Jackets
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 Ottawa Senators
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils

Western Conference

C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 Vancouver Canucks
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Minnesota Wild
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings

Saturday’s games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators, 12:30 p.m.
Seattle Kraken at Philadelphia Flyers, 12:30 p.m. (ABC/ESPN+)
Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning, 3 p.m. (ABC/ESPN+)
Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers, 6 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Colorado Avalanche, 7 p.m. (NHLN)
Montreal Canadiens at Calgary Flames, 7 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m.
St. Louis Blues at Los Angeles Kings, 8 p.m.
Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers, 10 p.m.
New York Islanders at San Jose Sharks, 10 p.m.

Friday’s scoreboard

Winnipeg Jets 6, New Jersey Devils 1
Washington Capitals 5, Detroit Red Wings 2
Chicago Blackhawks 4, Utah Hockey Club 3 (OT)
Vancouver Canucks 3, Minnesota Wild 1
Vegas Golden Knights 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 0
St. Louis Blues 4, Anaheim Ducks 3

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Points: 81
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 105.4
Next game: vs. BUF (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 104.5
Next game: @ COL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 20
Points pace: 103.2
Next game: vs. BOS (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 21
Points pace: 90.1
Next game: vs. NYR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 85.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 87.3
Next game: @ CGY (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 19.8%
Tragic number: 40

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: @ OTT (Monday)
Playoff chances: 8.3%
Tragic number: 38

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: @ TB (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 2.5%
Tragic number: 34

Points: 54
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 21
Points pace: 72.6
Next game: @ FLA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 30

Metro Division

Points: 90
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 117.1
Next game: vs. SEA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 101.5
Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 18
Points pace: 92.3
Next game: @ PHI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 86.5%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 89.9
Next game: @ NYR (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 27.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 88.6
Next game: @ OTT (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 31.1%
Tragic number: 41

Points: 63
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 21
Points pace: 84.7
Next game: @ SJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 29.7%
Tragic number: 39

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 80.7
Next game: vs. SEA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 9.5%
Tragic number: 34

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 73.2
Next game: @ MIN (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 26

Central Division

Points: 92
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 18
Points pace: 117.9
Next game: @ CAR (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 111.1
Next game: @ EDM (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 19
Points pace: 98.9
Next game: vs. TOR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.6%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 98.9
Next game: vs. PIT (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 94.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 87.1
Next game: @ LA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 37.2%
Tragic number: 36

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: vs. TOR (Monday)
Playoff chances: 26.4%
Tragic number: 36

Points: 53
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 70.1
Next game: vs. CHI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 25

Points: 48
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 62.5
Next game: @ NSH (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 18

Pacific Division

Points: 82
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 108.5
Next game: vs. LA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 100.5
Next game: vs. DAL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.7%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 71
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 22
Points pace: 97.0
Next game: vs. STL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 84.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 91.3
Next game: vs. DAL (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 30.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 89.9
Next game: vs. MTL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 27.5%
Tragic number: 40

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 80.7
Next game: vs. NYI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 33

Points: 56
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 72.9
Next game: @ PHI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 26

Points: 43
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 55.1
Next game: vs. NYI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 11

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.

Points: 43
Regulation wins: 12

Points: 48
Regulation wins: 17

Points: 53
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 54
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 56
Regulation wins: 21

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 16

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 17

Points: 63
Regulation wins: 22

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 21

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 29

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22

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Winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline including the Panthers, Stars and double-flip deals

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1 day ago

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March 8, 2025

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Winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline including the Panthers, Stars and double-flip deals

  • Multiple Contributors

Mar 7, 2025, 08:20 PM ET

The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.

After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.

Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for Rantanen to Dallas, Coyle to Avs, other major deals

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1 day ago

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March 7, 2025

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for Rantanen to Dallas, Coyle to Avs, other major deals

  • Ryan S. Clark

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    Ryan S. Clark

    ESPN NHL reporter

      Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

  • Greg Wyshynski

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    Greg Wyshynski

    Senior NHL writer

      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Mar 7, 2025, 07:50 AM ET

The NHL trade deadline for the 2024-25 season is not until March 7, but teams have not waited until the last minute to make major moves.

For every significant trade that occurs during the season, you’ll find a grade for it here, the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks swapping goaltenders, Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues, Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, the blockbuster deal sending Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes and Martin Necas to the Avalanche, J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers, and the Canucks staying busy and getting Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

March 1 featured three big trades, with Ryan Lindgren headed to the Colorado Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild adding Gustav Nyquist, and Seth Jones joining the Florida Panthers. The middle of deadline week included a reunion for Yanni Gourde, heading back to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with Oliver Bjorkstrand. March 6 also brought a flurry, with Reilly Smith traded back to the Vegas Golden Knights, Brock Nelson headed to the Avalanche and Jake Walman shipped to the Edmonton Oilers.

Read on for grades from Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski, and check back the next time a big deal breaks.

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