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NEW YORK — The New York Rangers have been on a mission since falling to the New Jersey Devils in the opening round of the playoffs last spring. They responded by finishing with the NHL’s best regular-season record.

Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist, Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and the New York Rangers beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 on Monday night to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy.

Jack Roslovic, Adam Fox and Alexis Lafreniere also scored and Chris Kreider had two assists as the Rangers won their league-best 55th game and finished with 114 points — both franchise records — and will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

New York won for the fifth time in seven games and went 26-7-1 in its past 34 games. It previously won the Presidents’ Trophy in 1991-92, 1993-94 — when it won the Stanley Cup the only time since 1940 — and 2014-15.

“Obviously it’s an accomplishment,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “Now it’s a quick turn of the page and we get ready for the real stuff.”

Four teams — Washington, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia — are still in contention to finish in the second wild card and meet the Rangers in the opening round of the postseason. The Rangers had 107 points last year but were eliminated in seven games in the first round by the second-place Devils.

“They’ve been there all year. The team played well. They competed hard,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re a group that feels like when they put their equipment on, they can win … Now you’re heading into why you did all that work, the first round of the playoffs.”

Roslovic, acquired from Columbus on March 8, scored his third goal with the Rangers and ninth overall this season at 5:55 of the first, beating Ottawa goalie Joonas Korpisalo by finishing off a 2-on-1 passing play with Kreider.

“It feels good. I’m glad to contribute,” Roslovic said. “It’s a special time to be able to come in and be a helping hand.”

Fox put the Rangers ahead 2-0 with a short-handed goal at 8:58 of the second. Fox finessed a pass from Kreider past Korpisalo for his 17th goal of the season with Kaapo Kakko — playing his 300th NHL game — in the penalty box for slashing. Fox has the most goals by a Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch scored 21 in 2000-01.

“Knowing what was on the line tonight was a good way to end our season,” Fox said. “It’s been a full team effort with everyone chipping in. We did a good job a bearing down tonight and the crowd was into it.”

Panarin made it 3-0 with his 49th goal at 4:34 of the third. Panarin finished with 120 points — second most in Rangers history to Jaromir Jagr’s 123 in 2005-06 — and with points in a franchise-record 67 of his 82 games this season.

With the Garden crowd chanting “MVP, MVP” trying to exhort their star, Panarin had a chance to score his 50th goal with a late Rangers power play, but Korpisalo denied him twice. The 32-year-old Russian forward had seven shots on goal. He smiled when asked to assess his 120-point season and his 18 shot attempts in Monday’s game.

“Multiple things, partners, coaching staff — the whole team,” Panarin cited as reasons for his best statistical year. “Pretty fun season. It’s good to have that experience but there’s no time to relax.”

Lafreniere increased the lead to 4-0 with seven minutes remaining in the third with his 28th, concluding a pretty setup from Panarin and defenseman Erik Gustafsson.

Kreider finished with 75 points, including 39 goals, for the second-highest points total of his career.

Shesterkin won seven of his past nine starts to finish the regular season at 36-17-2. In 22 games since Feb. 12, the 28-year-old Russian netminder was 16-5-1 with four shutouts.

The Rangers finished 30-11-0 at home, winning 15 of their past 19 at Madison Square Garden. The 30 home wins tied the 1970-71 squad for most in franchise history.

The Senators will miss the playoffs for the seventh straight season. The last time Ottawa reached the postseason was in 2017 when it defeated the Rangers in six games in a second-round series.

“We gave them the first two goals. Take those two goals aside and it’s a pretty good game,” Senators interim coach Jacques Martin said. “They have a good team. We battled hard. When you play these good teams, you can’t afford to give them freebies.”

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Nebraska nixes Tennessee home-and-home plan

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Nebraska nixes Tennessee home-and-home plan

The NebraskaTennessee football home-and-home football series scheduled for 2026 and 2027 will not be played after Nebraska opted out of the agreement.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White posted on X that Nebraska called off the series and added that Tennessee is “very disappointed” by the cancellation, especially so close to the initial game in 2026. The teams had been set to play in 2026 at Nebraska and at Tennessee the following year.

In a statement, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen explained renovations to the team’s stadium, which will temporarily lower seating capacity, ultimately led to the decision.

“We are making plans to embark on major renovations of Memorial Stadium that may impact our seating capacity for the 2027 season,” Dannen said. “The best scenario for us is to have eight home games in 2027 to offset any potential revenue loss from a reduced capacity. The additional home games will also have a tremendous economic benefit on the Lincoln community.”

The Cornhuskers announced they will host Bowling Green in 2026 and Miami (Ohio) in 2027 on the dates when it was originally set to play Tennessee. Nebraska has never faced either school. The team will play eight homes in 2027 for the first time since 2013.

The cancellation ends a nearly two-decade process around a Nebraska-Tennessee series, which was originally agreed upon in 2006 and set for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2013, the two schools agreed to delay the games for a decade. Nebraska will pay $500,000 to get out of the scheduling agreement.

White told Volquest that the “buyout implications need to be much steeper” with an “old contract,” and the cancellation puts Tennessee in a bind. Tennessee, which opens the 2025 season against Syracuse in Atlanta, had its nonleague schedule set through the 2030 season. The school either must find an opponent who can fill the 2026 and 2027 dates for a home-and-home series, or explore neutral-site options.

“You really can’t pull an audible this late in the game,” White told Volquest.

Nebraska’s stadium renovation, the first phase of which had been set to begin after the 2024 season, has been delayed until after the 2025 season, at the earliest.

Tennessee and Nebraska have played only three times before, most recently in the 2016 Music City Bowl, won by the Vols. Nebraska beat Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl to secure a share of the national title that season.

Tennessee has been on the other side of a similar situation. The Vols in 2021 canceled a game against Army for the next season in 2022 and added Akron instead.

Information from ESPN’s Chris Low was used in this report.

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Changing stripes: Yanks OK well-groomed beards

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Changing stripes: Yanks OK well-groomed beards

TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees‘ facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday.

In a statement, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the organization will allow “well-groomed beards” effective immediately, changing a rule his father, George, established in 1976.

“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” Hal Steinbrenner said in the statement. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years.

“Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”

George Steinbrenner implemented the mandate before the 1976 season, leaving players with a choice of being clean-shaven or wearing a mustache. Hal Steinbrenner kept the policy in place after becoming chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in 2008.

Players overwhelmingly obliged with the order over the next five decades, from spring training through October, often before letting themselves go during the offseason, though a few have pushed the limits.

In the 1990s, for example, star first baseman Don Mattingly was fined and benched by manager Stump Merril for refusing to trim his mullet. Four years later, Mattingly wore a goatee for part of his final season in 1995.

This year, All-Star closer Devin Williams, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, reported for his spring training physical with a beard before shaving it down to a mustache for the team’s first workout the next day. On the other end, former Yankees Gleyber Torres and Clay Holmes reported to camp with their new teams sporting full beards.

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Sources: Gators to promote Callaway to OC

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Sources: Gators to promote Callaway to OC

The Florida Gators are expected to promote Russ Callaway to offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Callaway spent last season as Florida’s tight ends coach and co-coordinator. This move marks his third straight year with a promotion since joining the Gators in an off-field role in 2022.

Florida coach Billy Napier remains the play-caller. Callaway’s offensive responsibilities continue to grow, and he’ll remain with the tight ends in the position room.

Callaway, 37, has coordinating experience and time in the NFL. He spent 2016 to 2019 as Samford‘s offensive coordinator. From there, he spent a year at LSU as an analyst and a year with the New York Giants as an offensive assistant.

Florida, which finished 8-5, won four in a row to close last season, including wins over LSU, Ole Miss and at Florida State.

There’s optimism around Florida taking another jump in 2025 after true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway went 6-1 in seven starts. Florida returns 15 starters for 2025.

Callaway’s tight ends accounted for 44 receptions for 444 yards and five touchdowns in 2024.

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