University of Michigan coach Brandon Naurato was named an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s national team, which will compete at the IIHF world championship from May 15-31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland.

Naurato has led the Wolverines to three Frozen Four appearances in his first four seasons as head coach. He has also guided Michigan to two Big Ten Tournament titles and has 98 career wins, the most by any coach in program history through four seasons.

Michigan’s power play has ranked in the top 10 nationally in each of the past four seasons under Naurato, including No. 1 finishes in 2024-25 (31.9 percent) and 2023-24 (33.6 percent).

The Wolverines have also boasted one of the nation’s top offenses, finishing in the top three in three of the last four seasons: first in 2025-26 (4.53 goals per game), second in 2022-23 (4.17) and third in 2023-24 (4.12).

Naurato is the third former Wolverine to coach at the world championship, joining Red Berenson, who was an assistant coach for Team Canada in 1982 and Vic Heyliger, who was head coach of West Germany in 1962 and 1963 before becoming head coach of Team USA in 1966.

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Senators on brink of elimination

Logan Stankoven scored for the third straight game and the visiting Carolina Hurricanes put the Ottawa Senators on the brink of elimination with a 2-1 win in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Thursday.

Carolina leads the best-of-seven series 3-0, and Game 4 is set for Saturday afternoon.

Only four teams in NHL history have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series. The last team to do it was the Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks in 2014.

Jackson Blake also scored for the Hurricanes. Taylor Hall had two assists, and Frederik Andersen made 21 saves.

Blake said of Hall, “Yeah, he’s one of the guys driving the bus right now. A huge piece for our group. For me and ‘Stanks’ to play with a guy like that who’s been around for a while and has had so much success in this league, it’s great to have him there.”

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Drake Batherson scored his second goal of the series for the Senators, who have yet to have the lead at any point through three games. Linus Ullmark made 25 saves in the loss.

Carolina went 0-for-4 on the power play. Ottawa was 0-for-5 and is 0-for-12 for the series.

“Power play cost us the game,” Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk said. “… It was pretty frustrating, but we’ve got to find a way. We’ve never quit all season. Just got to step up to the occasion.”

Stankoven opened the scoring, giving the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 5:13 of the first period. Hall got his own rebound after a shot on the rush, circled behind the net and then passed across to Stankoven, who scored on a wrist shot from the left circle.

Brady Tkachuk got in alone against Andersen early in the second period, but his backhand attempt was stopped.

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The Senators had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:28 midway through the second period but did not convert.

Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson left the game at 10:07 of the second period with an apparent injury after taking a shot off his left hand. He had earlier taken a hit to the head from Hall.

Senators coach Travis Green said, “It’s pretty obvious why he left the game. I just don’t understand how there’s not a five-minute major called on a hit to the head. It’s a blatant hit to the head, the kind of hit you don’t want to see. It’s ridiculous there wasn’t a review,”

Batherson tied it 1-1 at 16:06 when he received Nick Cousins’ pass in the slot, went to his backhand and lifted it in over Andersen’s pad.

Blake put the Hurricanes back on top 2-1 at 17:29. K’Andre Miller received a pass at the point, skated down to the top of the left circle and passed down across to Blake, who scored past the diving Ullmark from the far post.

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“They scored one, the building erupted a little bit there and then just to get that one quick, answer right away, I think that was really big for us as a group,” Blake said. “We had so many (penalty) kills tonight that were really big on the momentum side, and that goal was definitely one of them, too.”

Detroit Red Wings received six A’s in The Detroit News’ final grades for the 2025-2026 season.

Grades and key takeaways for Finnie, Gibson, Seider, Larkin, Raymond and DeBrincat after the Wings’ late collapse.

This wasn’t close. With the Denver Nuggets missing Aaron Gordon with a calf injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves jumped out to a 25-11 first-quarter lead in Game 3 and never looked back. The Wolves came away with a 113-96 victory and a 2-1 series lead behind a team effort and a dominating defensive performance that included holding Nikola Jokić to 27 points on 7-for-26 shooting.

Let’s get to some takeaways.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves defended

The Nuggets led the NBA this season in points per game (122.1 PPG). The Nuggets led the NBA this season in offensive rating (121.2). The Nuggets scored 96 points in Game 3.

Minnesota pressured and sped up the Nuggets right from the jump. By the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets were 3 for 21 from the field (1 of 9 from 3). Active ball pressure bogged the Nuggets’ attack down, physicality disrupted their off-ball movement. The Wolves flew around all night long to keep the Nuggets in a box. Denver had only 12 assists as a team in Game 3. For comparison, Jokić averaged 10.7 a night in the regular season.

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Rudy Gobert protected the paint and contested versus Jokić. Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo hounded Jamal Murray. Denver’s dynamic duo combined to shoot 12-for-43, a credit to the Wolves’ game plan and execution.

Ayo, look at this team effort

If you wondered what the ceiling was for Minnesota after it added Ayo Dosunmu at the trade deadline, it was on display in Game 3. His ability to defend and attack in transition always jumped off the page, but on Thursday night we saw a command within what Minnesota wanted to do. His drives were consistent, his paint touches were important and his ability to punish Denver’s defense was key. He and DiVincenzo allowed the Wolves to find a flow in the second quarter.

Think about this: Anthony Edwards played only 23 minutes, with eight of those coming in the second half, and I did not feel that until typing this very sentence. That was the impact of the team effort from Minnesota.

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McDaniels set the tone with his Game 2 postgame comments. It’s one thing to talk the talk, it’s another thing to walk the walk, and he ended up strutting like Oba Femi in this one. The ball pressure and screen navigation against Murray were one thing, but the cuts, drives and dunks were another.

It would be hyperbole to call this Gobert’s most impactful game, but it was a reminder of his impact for Minnesota. There was a confidence from Gobert (see: left-hand hook), a command as far as keeping the flow going, and a trust from his teammates to make the right play.

Where does Denver go from here?

Losing Gordon was a big blow, but the contrast between the group we saw in Game 1 and Game 3 was startling. Jokić/Murray shooting aside, this was one of the rare occasions we didn’t feel the force of Denver’s offense. All of its off-ball actions, cuts and movement were disrupted.

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Ball movement became a stagnant adventure. Transition attacks did not feel as dangerous. Pressure points were not hit. The defense that looked great in Game 1 and slipped in Game 2 disappeared Thursday night.

The Nuggets have to get back to (at the very least) their identity to deal with this Wolves team. The offense has to keep the pressure on, getting the ball where the Nuggets want, and playing with their tempo. And the defense cannot be what we’ve seen the last two games. The formula is there, but the effort has to match. Never forget that Wolves can detect their prey.

The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 23, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 23 drawing

Midday: 4-4-6

Midday Wild: 7

Evening: 7-4-7

Evening Wild: 4

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 23 drawing

Midday: 5-4-9-4

Midday Wild: 6

Evening: 2-4-5-4

Evening Wild: 3

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 23 drawing

Early Bird: 10

Morning: 01

Matinee: 11

Prime Time: 13

Night Owl: 04

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from April 23 drawing

01-12-15-21-23

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.

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Ticket Redemption

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P.O. Box 7777

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