RALEIGH, N.C. -- Alex Ovechkin moved three goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record after scoring the 892nd of his career in the Washington Capitals' 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

Ovechkin beat Frederik Andersen on a 5-on-3 power-play with 34.5 seconds left in the second period. He entered with nine goals in 12 career games against Andersen, 52 overall in the 91 games he has faced Carolina and 31 in 45 games in Raleigh, which is the most of any visiting player.

The 39-year-old Russian has 39 goals this season, tied for the second most in a single season (Gordie Howe, 1967-68) in NHL history among players age 39 or older. Howe's 44 in 1968-69 are the most.

Ovechkin is one way from reaching 40 for a 14th time -- also the most in league history -- despite missing 16 games because of a broken left fibula.

He scored goal No. 891 a night earlier in Boston. It marked the 60th time in his regular-season career that he's scored in back-to-back games, the fifth player in league history to achieve that feat.

The Eastern Conference-leading Capitals have seven more games left this season. Ovechkin is on pace to pass Gretzky's mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable before the playoffs begin.

Because it is only a regular-season record, Ovechkin's pursuit would continue in October if he does not score two or more the rest of the way this month.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.

HOUSTON -- Rockets forward Dillon Brooks faces an automatic one-game suspension after he was whistled for his 16th technical foul of the season during the first quarter of Wednesday's 143-105 win over the Utah Jazz.

If the technical foul is not rescinded, Brooks would be suspended for Friday's home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Brooks received his 16th technical foul just three days after he was ejected Sunday during a win over the Phoenix Suns for his role in a brief shoving match with Kevin Durant.

On Wednesday night, Brooks' technical came just 4 minutes, 48 seconds into the game while trying to post up Utah guard Collin Sexton near the basket. With his back to Sexton, Brooks spun inside to attempt a turnaround jumper. But Sexton swiped the ball away before Brooks could get off the shot.

During the follow-through, Brooks kicked out his right leg, which appeared to strike Sexton near the groin. Sexton immediately doubled over in pain, as officials whistled a stop in play. After a brief review, referee Tony Brothers announced a technical foul for Brooks, resulting in a free throw for Sexton.

Once a player reaches 16 technical fouls in a season, a potential suspension will increase by one game for every two additional technicals he receives.

An eighth-year veteran, Brooks is averaging 13.9 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 assists this season.

BALTIMORE -- Garrett Crochet gave the Boston Red Sox an immediate return on their investment.

In his first start since agreeing to a $170 million, six-year contract, the left-hander pitched a career-best eight innings as the Red Sox shut out the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 on Wednesday night. Crochet also threw 102 pitches, one shy of his career high.

"My first start in college I went eight, and I haven't sniffed it since," Crochet said.

Crochet (1-0) allowed four hits and a walk while striking out eight in his first victory since the offseason trade that sent him from the Chicago White Sox to Boston.

"That's the reason he's here," manager Alex Cora said after the game. "That's the reason we committed to him."

Crochet went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA last season, a bright spot on a Chicago team that lost 121 games. He threw 146 innings, which was double his previous career total since his debut in 2020.

Then Crochet was dealt to the Red Sox, and they made their long-term commitment to the 25-year-old lefty earlier this week.

"Going back to when the trade went through, we knew Boston was a place where we would love to be long term," Crochet said. "Credit to the front office for staying diligent, and my agency as well."

Now the question is less about where he'll pitch and more about how well. He's off to a nice start in that regard.

"I can't think of the last time I played baseball for pride. In college you're playing to get drafted, and once you're in the big leagues, you're playing to stay in the big leagues," Crochet said. "So to have this security and feel like I'm playing to truly just win ballgames, it takes a lot of the riff-raff out of it."

The news all around was good for Boston on Wednesday.

It reached a $60 million, eight-year deal with young infielder Kristian Campbell, and he went out and doubled twice against the Orioles.

And Rafael Devers ended a 21-at-bat hitless streak to start the season with an RBI double in the fifth inning. He finished with two hits and no strikeouts.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney says "it has not been an easy time personally" after surviving a vote of no confidence last week.

The motion, which called for the RFU board to terminate Sweeney's employment, was voted against by 65%.

Those supporting the motion, such as the referees' union and Championship clubs, had cited various perceived governance failures on Sweeney's watch.

In a letter to member clubs, Sweeney says the move took a personal toll but added he is ready to move ahead with a mandate for reform.

"The division sowed by those who brought forward the original SGM motion has played out aggressively in the media and it would be remiss of me not to admit that it has not been an easy time for me personally," said Sweeney.

"However, this role is a privilege and the scrutiny that comes with it is part and parcel of the responsibility."

Sweeney, 67, had been widely criticised for taking home 1.1m last year at a time of record RFU losses.

The RFU declared 37.9m operating losses last year, only a few weeks after announcing plans to lay off more than 40 staff in the latest round of redundancies.

A second motion, to expedite governance reform in the English game, was overwhelmingly supported at the meeting.

Looking to the future, Sweeney continued: "Ultimately this process will help us to re-engage our membership and push forward changes we have long wanted to implement and our members delivered a clear message that they wanted the leadership team we have here to get on with the job and make improvements."

In the letter to RFU members, Sweeney listed three areas where change is being prioritised including governance reform, improved communications and more support to grow participation.

"It is vital not to lose sight of the many brilliant things happening in rugby and the bright future I fully believe is ahead of us," added Sweeney.

"We can only do this together and I look forward to a much closer relationship between the Union and all our game's stakeholders in future."

Diego Simeone insisted that Atlético Madrid had "competed well" this season after Barcelona knocked them out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Barça won 1-0 in the semifinal second leg at the Metropolitano -- Ferran Torres scoring in the 27th minute -- to progress to the final, 5-4 on aggregate.

Atletico's defeat follows their elimination from the Champions League last 16 by Real Madrid last month, and Saturday's 1-1 LaLiga draw at Espanyol, which left them nine points off the top of the table.

"Here's what I think: the team, up to now, has competed well," Simeone said in his post-match news conference on Wednesday.

"We competed well in the Champions League, we competed well in the Copa, and in the league we're having a good season. We'll keep going, trying to keep improving to get closer to the teams above us, and accepting the place that we have."

Atletico were LaLiga leaders in January, after a 15-game winning run in all competitions, but have suffered a dramatic loss of form in the last month, going six games without a win.

Real Madrid prevailed on penalties in the Champions League -- after Julián Álvarez's spot kick in the shootout was disallowed for touching the ball twice -- and in LaLiga, losses to Barcelona and Getafe preceded the draw at Espanyol.

The Copa del Rey semifinal first leg at Barça ended 4-4 on February 25, with Atletico fighting back from 4-2 down late on, but Wednesday's second leg was a more low-key affair.

"In football, sometimes the opponent is better," Simeone said. "In the second half, we corrected things, and we could have made it a draw. We competed well, against a team that plays well... They're a great opponent, who at times will be superior to you."

Defender José María Giménez apologised to Atletico fans for the team's underperformance.

"[We have to] accept the reality," Giménez said. "We know we're a long way off, but we have to try in the league until the end... After that we'll see if the season has been good or not so good."

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick is dreaming of winning a treble after his side beat Atlético Madrid 1-0 on Wednesday to set up a Clásico showdown against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final.

Ferran Torres scored the only goal of game at the Estadio Metropolitano to seal a 5-4 aggregate win that kept Barça alive in all three competitions going into the final stretch of the season.

Barça, who previously won a treble in 2009 and 2015, also lead LaLiga by three points with nine games to play, while they face Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. They have already won the Spanish Supercopa this year.

"It's a good moment, but I am experienced, I know how fast it can change," Flick said in his post-game news conference. "Dreaming is allowed and we will work very hard and stay focused.

"It's a big dream for us to win titles. We have the first one [the Supercopa], but in the club they have a lot of space for more titles."

Barça and Madrid, LaLiga's top two, last met in the Copa final in 2014. This year's meeting will take place at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville on April 26.

But Flick is not looking that far ahead yet. Barça have four league games to play first, starting with Real Betis at home on Saturday followed by the Champions League tie against Dortmund.

"I am living in the present, not the past or the future," he added. "That's why I am not thinking about the final. If you ask about the final, I will say next match is Betis.

"A Clásico, OK it's great, but we have to play many games before then. For me, in my mind, it's really behind all the other important things. For me, it's not important now."

Barça could have scored more in the first half against Atlético, with Jules Koundé, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha all missing chances to grow their lead, but Atlético fought back after the break.

The home side could not find away through, though, as Barça extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 21 games.

Flick praised the two halves of his side's performance and also singled out Barça's last defeat, against Atlético in LaLiga in December, as the moment their season turned around.

"We were really brave in the first half," he said. "In the second half we suffered a little bit, but the defence made a great job. It's not easy here to have a clean sheet and to win. I think Atlético is one of the best teams not only in Spain, but in Europe, so we are happy with this.

"After the winter break, we improved a lot. In every match, every training, you can see the team believes in our way, how we want to play. The match against Atlético before the break, it was a good point.

"I said to the team then that I was really happy how we played. And if we play like this, we are in a fantastic way. And at the moment it's like that."

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has said he is "not surprised" that Everton defender James Tarkowski was not shown a red card for his controversial tackle on Alexis Mac Allister in the Merseyside derby.

Diogo Jota scored the only goal at Anfield as Liverpool edged past their city rivals to restore their 12-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table.

However, one of the game's biggest talking points came when referee Sam Barrett chose not to dismiss Tarkowski for a high tackle on Mac Allister in the first half, with VAR choosing not to intervene after a brief check.

"I don't want to comment about the situation because so many people already commented on that," Slot said after the game.

"Even people who don't like Liverpool a lot were so clear and obvious about what the decision should have been. Was I surprised? No."

Slot was more upbeat when it came to Jota, who had gone 10 games without scoring before his strike against Everton.

"Very pleased [with him]," he said. "He was close to scoring already in the first half but I was not surprised they blocked that shot because defensively they're an incredibly strong team.

"He had two of those moments in the second half as well. One of them was blocked but then he found just a bit of space and he scored the goal which was nice for him and nice for us, for his teammates, the staff and the fans."

Everton boss David Moyes voiced his frustration after the match, claiming there had been an offside by Luis Díaz in the build up to Jota's winner.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Moyes said: "I think the player behind Tarkowski interferes with them. Clearly it, it's a clear offside. I think it's a very easy decision to give. I can't understand any reason why that wouldn't have been given offside. None at all."

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho was involved in a bizarre altercation with Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk on Wednesday, grabbing the opposing coach's nose following a narrow defeat in the Turkish Cup.

Victor Osimhen scored twice for the visitors, his second coming from the penalty spot, and Sebastian Szymanski pulled one back for the hosts on the stroke of half-time, but tempers flared late on, with police entering the pitch to restore calm.

A mass scuffle had broken out between both sets of players, with the referee sending three players off -- Fenerbahce's Mert Hakan Yandas as well as Galatasaray's Baris Alper Yilmaz and Kerem Demirbay.

Amid the chaos, Mourinho was seen grabbing the nose of Buruk, who swiftly dropped to the floor holding his face.

MOURINHO'DAN OKAN BURUK'A FİZİKSEL MÜDAHALE! pic.twitter.com/YLlNiSxIwQ

Fotomaç (@fotomac) April 2, 2025

Galatasaray later posted a picture on their official X account of a smiling Buruk looking in Mourinho's direction.

"YOU SHOULD NOT ATTACK, YOU SHOULD DIGEST!" was the message accompanying the picture along with a shushing emoji.

In another post, with a video showing a cartoon version of Mourinho, the club wrote "Galatasaray drives you crazy."

It is the latest controversial incident involving Mourinho this season.

The Portuguese coach, who has repeatedly bemoaned Turkish refereeing, was handed a four-game ban in February for comments he made about match officials after his side's previous meeting with Galatasaray.

He was also accused by Galatasaray of making racist remarks after that game.

Galatasaray said the former Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea manager had used "unequivocally inhumane rhetoric" after he referred to the opposition bench "jumping around like monkeys." Mourinho later sued the club over the accusations.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.