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NEW YORK — Adam Fox scored 36 seconds into overtime and the New York Rangers became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5 following a wild third period Tuesday night.

Alexis Lafreniere had two goals and Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for the Rangers, who lead the league with 100 points after giving coach Peter Laviolette his 800th career win.

New York technically secured its third consecutive playoff berth just by getting to overtime and earning one point after Detroit lost to Washington in OT. But after the teams traded seven goals in a frenetic third period, it didn’t take long for Fox to finish the night in style with a wrist shot from the high slot for his 15th goal, adding to the star defenseman’s career high.

“For us to stay as consistent as we have says a lot about our group,” said Fox, who has points in eight straight games. “It’s big for us to clinch that playoff spot. It’s just the first step.”

Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad and Jonny Brodzinski also scored for the Rangers, who extended their Metropolitan Division lead to three points over Carolina.

“I thought we battled hard. We knew this would be a tough game,” Zibanejad said. “I thought we got better as the game went on. We kept fighting.”

Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling scored second-period goals to put the Flyers up 2-0 before Zibanejad narrowed the deficit with a power-play goal at 15:28.

Brodzinski and Lafreniere scored early in the third to put New York ahead 3-2 before Flyers leading scorer Travis Konecny tied the game at 3 with his team-leading 31st goal at 6:45.

Trocheck scored short-handed at 9:34 to put the Rangers ahead 4-3, but Owen Tippett tied it again at 11:45 before Lafreniere scored his second of the game and 22nd of the season at 13:59. Flyers forward Tyson Foerster then evened the score again at 16:29 with his 19th goal to send the game into overtime.

“I liked the game for the most part. I thought we played very well,” Laughton said. “I thought we were in control of it and should have gotten two points. We’re in this game to win and we didn’t get on the right side of it tonight.”

New York won its third straight and fifth in six overall to improve to 26-9-0 at home. The team is 17-1-1 when Lafreniere, the top pick in the 2020 draft, scores a goal.

“We found a way to win, that’s all that matters,” Lafreniere said. “There’s still a lot of work to do and we know that. We have a lot of hockey to play still. We have to stay focused.”

Artemi Panarin‘s assist on Zibanejad’s goal was his 100th point of the season, making him the seventh player in Rangers history — and first since Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06 — to reach the milestone. Panarin has points in 57 of New York’s 72 games.

“He’s an unbelievable player,” Zibanejad said of Panarin, his teammate for five seasons. “I’m super happy for him.”

Third-place Philadelphia has nine games remaining and will play five of its last seven against division opponents including the Rangers again in New York on April 11.

“I feel like we did a good job grabbing a point tonight,” said Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson, who is 21-14-7 in his rookie season. “Great attribute to have as a team, to never give up. I think we showed that tonight.”

Rangers defenseman Brandon Scanlin made his NHL debut in place of injured Erik Gustafsson.

New York captain Jacob Trouba has missed 10 straight games with a lower-body injury, while fellow defenseman Ryan Lindgren missed his fourth in a row with a lower-body injury. Rangers center Alex Wennberg, whose wife is pregnant, was a late scratch for personal reasons and was replaced by Brodzinski.

“What I liked was the fight in our guys,” said the 59-year-old Laviolette, who is the seventh coach in NHL history to reach 800 wins and is in his first season coaching the Rangers. “I like the fact that we were resilient.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Reds’ Miley denies wrongdoing in Skaggs case

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Reds' Miley denies wrongdoing in Skaggs case

Cincinnati Reds left-hander Wade Miley said Friday that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, one day after reports stated a deposition from a lawsuit alleged he supplied Tyler Skaggs with drugs when both players were with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The deposition is part of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Los Angeles Angels, requesting a lawsuit from the Skaggs family be dismissed.

The deposition from Ryan Hamill, Skaggs’ agent, contains testimony that he was concerned in 2013 about Skaggs’ drug use. Hamill said he and Skaggs’ family confronted Skaggs about his drug use. Skaggs was then in his second season as a teammate of Miley with the Diamondbacks.

“He came clean,” Hamill testified. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”

Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, at age 27 in a Dallas-area hotel. The autopsy found fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system.

Miley briefly addressed the issue before Friday’s road game against the Detroit Tigers.

“I hate what happened to Tyler, it sucks. My thoughts are with his family and his friends,” Miley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that someone might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I was never accused of any wrongdoing.”

Former Angels communications director Eric Kay is serving a 22-year prison sentence in Texas after being found guilty on two charges of providing drugs related on Skaggs’ overdose.

The Athletic reported that the criminal proceedings against Kay included a recorded phone conversation in which Kay told his mother that Miley was a drug source to Skaggs.

Asked if Major League Baseball has contacted him regarding the allegations, Miley said, “I’d rather just focus on the Cincinnati Reds right now and baseball and what I have to do moving forward. I’ve got to get ready for a game on Sunday.”

Miley was mentioned in Kay’s criminal case, but he was never charged with a crime.

Skaggs was traded to the Angels after the 2013 season. He went 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 career starts.

Miley, 38, is with his eighth big league team and attempting to revive his career after Tommy John surgery in 2024.

Miley has a career 109-99 mark with a 4.09 ERA in 319 games (311 starts) since making his major league debut in 2011. This is his second go-round with the Reds. He was with the team in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, going 12-10 with a 3.55 ERA in 177⅓ innings over 34 starts (32 innings).

The Skaggs family is suing the Angels, contending that high-level team officials, as well as other employees, knew Kay was a drug user and should have known he was Skaggs’ source.

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Belmont Stakes to remain at Saratoga in 2026

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Belmont Stakes to remain at Saratoga in 2026

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The Belmont Stakes is set to be run at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York for a third consecutive year in 2026.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York Racing Association announced Friday that it will be the third and last time the Triple Crown finale is held there before returning to Belmont Park on Long Island in 2027.

“Saratoga has served our fans and stakeholders extremely well as the temporary home of the Belmont Stakes during the construction of a new Belmont Park on Long Island,” NYRA president and CEO David O’Rourke said. “Belmont Park will always be the home of the Belmont Stakes and we look forward to its return to the newly reimagined Belmont in 2027.”

It was confirmation of an expected extension of the race’s stay at Saratoga while Belmont Park undergoes nearly a half-billion dollar renovation project. It is on track to reopen in September 2026, with the Breeders’ Cup returning to New York at Belmont Park in the fall of 2027.

The Belmont will again be run at 1 1/4 miles instead of its traditional 1-1/2 mile distance that has been known as the “test of the champion.” That has been the case the past two years, as well, because of the configuration of the main dirt track.

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Rays get former top prospect Whitley from Astros

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Rays get former top prospect Whitley from Astros

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired right-hander Forrest Whitley from the Houston Astros in exchange for cash considerations Friday.

Whitley, once a top-10 prospect in baseball, was designated for assignment by the Astros on Sunday.

Houston selected him with the No. 17 pick of the 2016 MLB draft out of high school in San Antonio and gave him a $3.148 million signing bonus, but he failed to reach expectations.

Now 27, he didn’t debut in Houston until the 2024 season and made three relief appearances, giving up no earned runs in 3⅓ innings.

This season, Whitley appeared in five games for Houston, with opponents scoring 10 earned runs on nine hits and six walks in 7⅓ innings. He has no decisions with a 12.27 ERA.

In 117 minor league appearances (65 starts) he had a 17-20 record with a 4.75 ERA over 306⅔ innings. He struck out 421 batters and walked 160.

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