Boston, MA
NHL Power Rankings
We are past the halfway mark in the NHL season. Teams that we thought would be contenders have shaken off slow, nearly disastrous starts to get right back in the mix. Other teams we thought might fade are sowing they’re no pretenders. When play resumes in earnest after the bye weeks and All-Star break, teams on the bubble have little more than a month to decide whether they’re buyers or sellers at the March 8 trade deadline. So with the playoff races starting to crystallize, here are this month’s NHL Power Rankings:
1. Vancouver Canucks – The plus-59 goal differential gives the ‘Nucks the slight edge. Hard to imagine Rick Tocchet not getting the Jack Adams at this point.
2. Boston Bruins – Understandable that some folks can’t bring themselves to jump on this bandwagon yet considering what happened last spring. Still, what they’ve accomplished so far is no small feat. The B’s face Vancouver for the first time on Feb. 8 at the Garden.
3. Florida Panthers – The gut feeling here is that the Panthers are the best team in the East. But whenever they get close, the B’s create some distance between them.
4. Colorado Avalanche – The Avs are as explosive as any team in the league, but their mediocrity on the road (12-9-3) is a head-scratcher.
5. Edmonton Oilers – Pay no attention to their third-place standing in the Pacific. The Oilers have won 16 in a row and are performing like many of us expected – or better. They’re keeping the puck out of their own net and they haven’t been overly reliant on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Stuart Skinner still has to prove himself in the playoffs.
6. Carolina Hurricanes – After incorporating some new players, the ‘Canes are surging. Like the Oilers, goaltending will be the question about this team.
7. Dallas Stars – This team just chugs along, safely under the radar.
8. New York Rangers – The Blueshirts own two wins over the B’s, but they’ve been sliding. They’re still in first place, but it seems inevitable that the Canes bypass them.
9. Winnipeg Jets – The Jets have been in a mild, injury-induced tailspin, but they should get their mojo back when Mark Scheifele returns.
10. Vegas Golden Knights – After a torrid start, the long grind of the Stanley Cup run could be getting to the Knights. The 11-10-4 road record is telling.
11. Toronto Maple Leafs – It’s true that the Leafs swept the Jets in a home-and-home last week, but still not buying the top-heavy Leafs.
12. Tampa Bay Lightning – As one might expect, this proud team won’t go away. Though they’re giving up a lot of goals (23rd in the league at 3.29 GAA), they’ve still got a lot of proven winners in the lineup.
13. Detroit Red Wings – If the season ended now, the Wings would be a first round opponent of the B’s. And, yeah, it would be a tough, maddening one.
14. Philadelphia Flyers – What John Tortorella has done with this team has been remarkable. But thanks to some injuries, not to mention the Carter Hart situation, the Flyers are currently in a spin-out (five straight losses).
15. St. Louis Blues – The coaching just might get them into the playoffs. That’ the best the Blues can hope for.
16, Los Angeles Kings – The Kings aren’t getting much bang for the buck out of Pierre-Luc Dobois. And they’re only on the hook for $8.5 million for seven more years.
17. Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby just might will the Penguins into the playoffs. The Pens still have four games in hand on the Flyers, who are holding third in the Metropolitan Division
18. Nashville Predators – The Preds have somehow been hanging in there without Juuse Saros needing to be other-worldly.
19. New York Islanders – So far the Patrick Roy bump has lasted for one game. Still, the Islanders have the netminding to make a run to the post-season.
20. Seattle Kraken – The Kraken started slowly, surged and now have leveled off again. They remain well within striking distance.
21. New Jersey Devils – The Devs would have been challenged with their goaltending anyway, but injuries (Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton) have really thrown their playoff hopes into a tailspin.
22. Washington Capitals – Alex Ovechkin has nine goals in 44 games and the Caps are 30th in offense. Times are changing.
23. Arizona Coyotes –After an interesting start, the ‘Yotes are slowly sliding into seller mode.
24. Buffalo Sabres – Sometimes I think the Bruins’ culture gets talked about a little too much. Then I look at the Sabres and think we don’t talk about it enough. All those first round picks and they’re headed for another DNQ.
25. Calgary Flames – Just waiting for the inevitable sell-off.
26. Montreal Canadiens – The Habs play with a lot of edge, sometimes too much (hello, Brendan Gallagher). They just don’t have enough talent yet, especially on the back end.
27. Minnesota Wild – Hard to believe this is still the team that handed the Bruins two losses in December.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets – The Jackets have a growing number of interesting pieces but they can’t seem to put it altogether. Hopefully Patrik Laine, who entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program last week, can get his life and career back on track.
29. Ottawa Senators – The installation of Jacques Martin as interim head coach has helped a bit defensively, but it’s another lost season in Canada’s capital.
30. Anaheim Ducks – Great to see Frank Vatrano having a breakout season but coach Greg Cronin, as expected, has a lot of work to do with this team.
31. Chicago Blackhawks – Not much to see here with Connor Bedard (broken jaw) on the sidelines.
32. San Jose Sharks – The Hawks are giving the minus-93 Sharks a run for the best lottery odds, but the Sharks don’t have a Bedard returning to their lineup at any point.
Boston, MA
Texas A&M SS Boston Kellner suffers orbital bone fracture
(KBTX) – Texas A&M shortstop Boston Kellner suffered a fractured orbital bone after he was hit in the face with a fastball in Friday night’s series opener at Ole Miss, according to a team spokesperson.
He did not sustain a concussion, and there was no damage to his eye, a team spokesperson said.
The extent of the injury was first reported on the SEC Network+ broadcast.
The true freshman has been a starter for the Aggies since the beginning of the season, slashing .248/.432/.418. He has five home runs and 27 RBIs, typically batting at the bottom of the order. Defensively, he has a .928 fielding percentage.
Ben Royo entered in his place and was a key contributor early Saturday. The senior blasted a pair of home runs against Ole Miss on his first two hits of the season. He entered Saturday’s first game with four at-bats this season.
A&M has struggled with injuries as of late. Chris Hacopian, who also could have been an option to fill in at shortstop, has been relegated to the designated-hitter role as he recovers from a leg injury suffered during the Florida series. Third baseman Nico Partida remains out with a pulled hamstring he sustained against Auburn.
Copyright 2026 KBTX. All rights reserved.
Boston, MA
What we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe
Court records show that Marrero was the father of three children, the oldest of whom is 17. The youngest two children, twins, are 13 years old; Marrero’s death came days before their 14th birthday.
Records in Middlesex Probate and Family Court also suggest that Marrero faced financial difficulties and personal troubles, stemming in part from a work injury that family members said caused a bout of depression and deteriorating behavior in his personal life.
For nearly a decade, Marrero worked at Dewberry, a Boston engineering consulting firm, court records show, obtaining a job as an architectural design apprentice in 2005. He left the company in 2014, according to a company spokesperson.
Throughout that time, he doubled as a bartender on the side, working at Mexican restaurants in Boston and Waltham, court records show.
A knee injury ended Marrero’s career at Dewberry, court records show, and he left the company shortly thereafter.
That injury, according to court documents, was the catalyst for what his wife described as a “major depressive episode,” which she said contributed to the strain in their marriage. The couple, who had been married for more than 20 years, separated in 2022.
Records also show that Marrero struggled with debts to family members and credit card companies. During his divorce proceedings, it was unclear how much money he was taking home in income.
Marrero briefly owned and operated a contracting business, 109 Construction, but the corporation was administratively dissolved in 2024, according to state filings.
Marrero had lived in US since at least 2001, holding legal status. He became a naturalized citizen in March 2021, court records show.
Social media posts suggest he was active in the tight-knit Venezuelan community in Massachusetts. Photos show him cheering on Venezuela at a World Baseball Classic watch party in Brighton earlier this year.
Court records appear to show Marrero’s interest in art and music, owning a Venezuelan guitar, conga drums, and several Venezuelan paintings, as well as homemade winemaking setup.
Marrero’s family could not be reached for comment. A close friend reached by the Globe declined to comment.
Trainor had just completed his shift at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday and was driving home when he responded to a report for a Jeep traveling south in the northbound lanes of Route 1, near the Lynnfield overpass.
Raised in Salem, Trainor began his public safety career as an Essex County correction officer before graduating from the State Police academy in 2023, State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said.
Trainor’s fiancée, Jessica D. Ostrowski, of Georgetown, posted an emotional message to social media Thursday, describing the late trooper as “my absolute best friend.”
“I am beyond proud for the amount of love you have been given by those who loved and cared about you,” she wrote.
Travis Andersen and Jeremiah Manion of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Material from previous Globe coverage was used.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
Boston, MA
Funding scandal-hit Croft schools in Boston to close this summer after all
Administrators at the Croft School, struggling after allegations of financial fraud, haven’t been able to find a buyer for its Boston locations, which will now close at the end of the school year, parents were told Friday.
Millions of dollars were raised by families and community members to keep the private school open for a few more months while Croft School administrators scrambled to find a buyer. But in Friday’s email, the chief restructuring officer and independent sale advisor said that two parties expressed interest but they ultimately had to pivot toward winding operations down.
“To be clear, the 2025-2026 school year will be completed based on the availability of parent funding. However, without a viable timetable for a transaction, we are faced with this difficult decision,” the email said.
About 350 students had attended the Croft School’s three campuses, two in Boston and one in Providence. Regular tuition starts at $31,000, according to the website.
Millions were raised to keep the private school open for a few more months but the Croft School is looking for a buyer as a long-term fix to its financial problems.
More than 60 families unenrolled from the South End campus over the weekend, the email said.
News of the debt crisis surprised parents in March, when the school’s board revealed in a letter that founding Executive Director Scott Given admitted to fabricating a letter of credit regarding a possible expansion and keeping two sets of books, overstating the school’s revenue while understating its expenses.
The discovery that the school was more than $13 million in debt came after police were alerted to possible fraud. The school has said it’s cooperating with multiple investigations involving Given, who has been suspended.
The private school, with two locations in Boston and one in Providence, requires $5 million to stay open for the rest of the schoolyear.
Given has been sued by at least one Boston parent, accusing him of running a Ponzi scheme. His legal team has said he has no comment.
Parents rallied to save the school, raising enough funds to keep classes going.
The officials in charge of the sale noted “how hard many of you worked to maintain The Croft School as you know it,” but added that the “difficult circumstances, uncertain financials and condensed timeframe made this a trying environment for purchasers to timely make a binding offer for the schools.”
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