Ireland and Ulster captain Rory Best will retire after this year's World Cup in Japan.

The hooker, 36, made his international debut in 2005 and his tally of 117 caps is the third highest for Ireland.

"It is with mixed feelings that I announce my retirement from Ulster Rugby as of the end of this season," said Best.

"This feels like the right time for me to go out on my terms, a luxury for which I feel very privileged."

The World Cup runs from 20 September until 2 November.

Since succeeding Paul O'Connell as captain in 2013, Best led Ireland to three Six Nations titles, including the Grand Slam in 2018.

A win over New Zealand last November capped a remarkable year for Irish rugby, although Joe Schmidt's side suffered a disappointing 2019 Six Nations and fell to heavy defeats by England and Wales.

Best has featured in three World Cups and twice been selected for the British and Irish Lions, although he did not play a Test.

Ireland, who have never reached the semi-finals of a World Cup, begin their Pool A campaign against Scotland on 22 September.

Best said: "I am very excited for the end of the season with Ulster and for the upcoming World Cup with Ireland - both of which I hope to finish with a massive high, playing at the top of my game."

In March, Best indicated that he would quit international rugby after the World Cup, although there were suggestions that he may continue his club career.

He is currently sidelined with an ankle injury suffered during Ulster's European Champions Cup quarter-final defeat by Leinster on 30 March.

He is unlikely to recover in time for the Pro14 home quarter-final, scheduled for 3/4 May, but is expected to be fit for a potential semi.

CONCORD, N.C. — The Sunoco American Late Model Series will hit a milestone with the upcoming racing season.

The Grayville, Ill., based series will celebrate its 25th anniversary throughout the calendar year beginning on Friday-Saturday, April 26-27. The DIRTcar Late Model cars and stars of the longest running tour in the Great Lakes region of the United States will kick off their season starting at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich., on April 26. Then it’s just more than a 210-mile trip to the famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on April 27.

Casey Noonan comes into the 25th anniversary season as the defending Sunoco American Late Model Series champion. Despite not winning an event in 2018, the 39-year-old did record a pair of fourth-place finishes with those coming at I-96 Speedway and again June 16 at Oakshade Raceway, where he is a former track champion. He also bagged a fifth-place finish on Sept. 1 also at Oakshade and was able to capture his first Sunoco ALMS Championship despite a 15th place finish the next night at Eldora.

Over his Sunoco ALMS career, Noonan has collected seven career series Feature wins with his most recent occurring on May 28, 2017 at Eldora Speedway in the Johnny Appleseed Classic. Ironically his first ever Sunoco ALMS win was also at Eldora back on May 27, 2007. Noonan’s other five checkered flags have all came at his home track of Oakshade.

For the first time in series history, the Sunoco American Late Model Series will kick off their new season in the state of Michigan as I-96 Speedway, located east of Grand Rapids and west of Lansing in Lake Odessa, Mich., starts the 25th anniversary campaign on Friday, April 26. The $2,000 to win season opener will be the first of two races at the fast three-eighths-mile high-banked dirt oval. A milestone will be reached in this event as well as this race will be the 25th all-time for the series at the West Michigan facility.

The series made three appearances during the 2018 racing season as two-time series champion, Brandon Thirlby scored his first victory in Sunoco ALMS competition in three seasons, since 2015, when he grabbed the checkered flag on May 25. Mike Spatola recorded his first triumph in four seasons, since 2014, after winning on June 29 while four-time series champion, Rusty Schlenk went to victory lane on July 27. His win then, was on of two features in 2018 to give him win No. 26 and later No. 27 (at Oakshade Raceway on Sept. 1) over his career in the series, good for fourth all-time and just two back of third, currently held by Matt Miller, who has 29 wins.

Over the years in the previous 24 Sunoco ALMS appearances at I-96, Jeep VanWormer leads the way with four victories while six-time series champion and former track champion, Kris Patterson as well as four-time series champion, Brian Ruhlman both have three wins apiece to sit tied for second all-time. Schlenk and Aaron Scott both have two triumphs to sit tied for fourth all-time.

There have been 15 different winners in the 24 races held at the track.  The first ever Sunoco ALMS race at I-96 was held back on April 27. 1996 in the series’ second season. Frank Seder won what would be his only feature victory in the Sunoco ALMS.

The second and final appearance of the season for the Sunoco ALMS at I-96 will kick off the Labor Day Holiday Weekend of racing on Aug. 30. The event will be the first of three races over the weekend and by the end of it, the Sunoco American Late Model Series champion will be crowned.

The famed half-mile high-banked dirt oval of Eldora Speedway (OH), located just east of the Indiana/Ohio state line in Rossburg, Ohio, will close out opening weekend on Saturday, April 27 as part of the tracks’ 66th season opener. The $5,000 to win Late Model LidLifter will be the first of three appearances and the 95th race all-time for the series at the track that has hosted the tour the most of any other facility in the 25-year history of the Sunoco ALMS.

In three races held during the 2018 racing season, Nick Hoffman won the Late Model LidLifter back on April 28, his second triumph in two seasons in the first late model race of the season at Eldora. Eventual 2018 track champion Devin Gilpin scored his first career series victory when he captured the Johnny Appleseed Classic back on May 27 while National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame legend, Billy Moyer, a six-time World 100 winner, won his second Baltes Classic in a row and fourth in nine classics held, back on Sept. 2.

SOUTH BOSTON, Va – Two weeks after the late model stock dust up at South Boston Speedway, it appears to be business as usual for this Saturday night’s NASCAR Easter Bunny Late Model 100.

All drivers involved in the incident – Lee Pulliam and Philip Morris – are expected to be back on track.

“That’s all in the past. I’ve already won a race since then and I’m looking forward to winning a trophy this Saturday,” said Pulliam, four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American National Champion who captured the $30,000 to-win CARS Tour race April 7 at Orange County Speedway.

“I’m just concerned about racing. That’s the way it is for me every week. If you’re a good race-car driver, that’s what you do.”

Pulliam and five-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion Philip Morris were at the heart of an altercation in the second 75-lap late model race at South Boston on March 30 that resulted in fines and suspensions from NASCAR and was the hot racing topic on social media for several days.

The pair were involved in several bumping incidents with Morris the big loser after contact from Pulliam caused him to spin into the turn-three wall, severely damaging his car. During the ensuing red-flag period, Forrest Reynolds, a Morris crew member, tried to crawl into the passenger window of Pulliam’s car and wound up tumbling to the track when Pulliam pulled away.

Morris was fined by NASCAR for his crew member’s involvement, Pulliam was fined and suspended until April 17 by NASCAR, and Reynolds was barred from the infield of any NASCAR track for the remainder of the year. South Boston Speedway has also banned Reynolds from the track in any capacity indefinitely.

Peyton Sellers, the third national champion in the field, went on to win the race. Sellers took advantage of the break in South Boston’s schedule to also win another big Late Model race, the Visit Hampton Grass Roots 200 at Langley Speedway.

“Last year me and Philip had a couple of wrecks on the track that were hard racing … just chalk it up to hard racing. I know if Philip gets under me and makes contact, it’s racing,” said Sellers, the defending Late Model track champion at South Boston. “Philip made contact with Lee a couple of times and then he just got turned. That crossed a whole different respect level. They have to live with that. I’m not saying Philip is going to retaliate or not, but when Lee sees that 01 (Morris) in the mirror, he has to think about it.”

The Late Model Stock division will highlight a fiver-race schedule Saturday night with a 100-lap event. The Limited Sportsman class will stage twin 25-lap races while the Budweiser Pure Stocks have a 30-lap race and  the Budweiser Hornets have a 15-lap race.

Before the racing action kicks off, there will be an Easter egg hunt at 6:30 p.m. for youngsters 12-and-under.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with qualifying scheduled at 6 p.m. The first race will take the green flag at 7 p.m.

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Chris Windom was just shy of 20 months old when Goacher Racing achieved its best finish in USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition at Lawrenceburg Speedway.

That August day in 1992 showed some familiar names that are still on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car radar to this very day, including cars entered by Dynamics Inc., Paul Hazen and driver/owner Bill Rose, just to name a few, along with drivers Jeff Walker, Eric Gordon, Tony Stewart and current USAC Pace Truck driver Ray Kenens.

Kevin Thomas (no relation to Kevin Thomas Jr.) won the first of his seven career USAC National Sprint Car features that night aboard Hazen’s No. 57.  The driver and team who finished second that night both remain not only active, but thriving and primed for victory in the series’ return to Lawrenceburg this Saturday.

That’s Dave Darland and Goacher Racing.

Darland reached victory lane for the first time with USAC nine months later and went on to become the winningest driver in the history of the USAC National Sprint Car division with 62 triumphs and counting.

A month following the Lawrenceburg race, Goacher Racing earned its first USAC victory with Danny Smith driving the No. 5G to the win in the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway. Over the years, the Goacher team has made sporadic appearances with USAC, most notably capturing the Little 500 sprint car race in 2015 with Windom.

In 2018, the team returned to the USAC scene, making eight appearances with Shane Cottle as the driver with a top result of sixth at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track last Fall.

Coming into this season, Windom, the 2016 USAC Silver Crown champ and 2017 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car titlist, found himself without a ride after several successful campaigns with the Baldwin Brothers.  Quickly, a deal came together between the Canton, Ill., pilot, Goacher Racing, crew chief Derek Claxton, NOS Energy Drink, Joe Brandon/Parallax Power Supply and Jonathan Byrd’s Racing to compete on the full tour.

Right out of the box, Windom and Goacher posted a victory, winning the season opener in Ocala, Fla., continuing his run of success behind the wheel and providing Goacher Racing with its second USAC win, 27 years after its first.

Goacher’s Lawrenceburg success came on the former quarter-mile track at Lawrenceburg, while the bulk of Windom’s shining moments there have come on the current three-eighths-mile layout. Windom did score a fourth-place finish during his rookie season of 2007 on the former track.

Coming into the most recent Springtime USAC National Sprint Car race held at Lawrenceburg in April 2017, Windom had some voodoo to battle.  In almost a cruel way, he had finished second on five different occasions during his USAC sprint car career at Lawrenceburg.

At the green on that night, Chad Boespflug initially held the advantage into turn one, but Windom answered with a big run down the banking off turn two to blast around the outside of Boespflug and grab the lead. Once clear, Windom shot away to a full-straightaway lead by the time the caution fell for the slowing car of Carson Short on lap nine.

Just past the halfway point, Windom neared the tail end of the field, weaving his way through the lapped traffic as a trail of sparks began to stream out of his orange No. 5. Windom was working both pedals on entry, and if the brakes went out, they went out, which would seem to make it a bit of a hairy situation for many. Windom was on a rail as he negotiated the lappers, clearing them by the 24th lap.

However, with Cottle coming to a rest backwards on the inside of turn four with five laps remaining, the yellow flag would wave and bunch up the field for one final run to the checkered.

As Windom ventured up to the top of turn one on the lap 26 restart, Boespflug made one last go of it as he tried to slide up in front of Windom between turns one and two. The second, third and fourth verses were the same as the first. Windom never batted an eye as he cruised around the outside of Boespflug to take the advantage for good, distancing himself from Boespflug by 1.3 seconds at race end to shed the label of perennial Lawrenceburg bridesmaid.

The only other time Windom’s won this early in the season, before May, it resulted in a USAC National Sprint Car title for him back in 2017. With a win under already under his belt in his initial full season for the Goachers, if the past is any indicator of what lies ahead, this could become a magical season for this combo.

CONWAY, Ark. – Mother Nature has once again wreaked havoc with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series presented by Lucas Oil schedule.

Friday night’s stop at Old No. 1 Speedway in Harrisburg, Ark., has been postponed due to heavy rain throughout the Mid-South area.

The event will now be contested on Friday, Aug. 2 as part of a doubleheader weekend with the third annual Will McGary Tribute at I-30 Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 3.

The COMP Cams Super Dirt Series contingent will now enter a single event this weekend with a trip to Gary Stolba’s Legit Speedway Park in West Plains, Mo., on Saturday night, April 20 for a $3,000-to-win/ $400-to-start event that is being presented by West Plains Resaw Systems and Missouri Hardwood.

Tony Jackson Jr. and Jack Sullivan split series’ wins at the three-eighths-mile, clay oval in 2018. Hobby Stocks, IMCA Modifieds, Super Stocks, USRA B-Mods, and Bone Stocks will also be in action.

CONCORD, N.C. – When Mike Salinas started competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, he did it with the intent of being successful right off the bat.

With a final round in his 25th career race and his first career Top Fuel win in his 42nd race, Salinas accomplished that, but it has only motivated his Scrappers Racing team even more.

Salinas grabbed his first NHRA win at the four-wide event in Las Vegas earlier this month, which means he will have a chance to sweep the biggest spectacle in drag racing when he competes at zMAX Dragway for the upcoming 10th annual NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 26-28. For Salinas, it’s another opportunity to grab a victory in his 10,000-horsepower dragster, which is more than enough to keep him competing at a high level.

“We were pretty motivated as it was, the difference is all the guys on the team,” Salinas said. “All the guys, they knew (a win) was possible. I didn’t because it had never happened before. The car was super smooth, everything was smooth and it was good (in Vegas). We were able to soak it in and enjoy the victory, and we want to go try to do the same thing. We go into every race taking it one round at a time. So, let’s go there, qualify and see how we do, one round at a time.”

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners. It is the sixth of 24 events during the NHRA season and marks a special race, as one of the most unique experiences in motorsports turns 10 years old. As Salinas proved in Las Vegas, the four-wide racing set-up is just fine with him.

There, he was the No. 1 qualifier and rolled to the victory. He suffered a tough first-round loss last weekend in Houston, but Salinas remains fourth in points, just 47 points behind leader Doug Kalitta. Others to watch in Charlotte including defending event winner and world champion Torrence, Houston winner and 2017 champ Brittany Force, three-time champ Antron Brown and Clay Millican, but Salinas has turned into a championship contender after teaming up with the likes of legendary tuner Alan Johnson, who is Salinas’ tuning advisor, and crew chief Brian Husen.

“I expected to win Pomona,” Salinas said. “I have a different mindset. Everything I do is in a strategic way. I’m a goal-achiever and I’ve got this gorilla off my back, and now we can go have fun and win more races. (Alan) is amazingly good, so I’m pretty lucky to be part of it. It’s been a good journey. This car is prepared right and it’s amazing to watch this team work.”

It’s motivated Salinas, who hopes his success and drive has sparked two of his daughters, Jianna and Jasmine, who both started their racing careers this year in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Top Alcohol Dragster, respectively. Both continue to make solid strides early in their career in 2019, while Mike Salinas is simply thrilled to have this success together as a family.

“We’ve built something,” Salinas said. “The important thing for me is I’ve got four daughters in or coming into the sport. Now we have a good bar for them to reach and meet. It’s going to be a great thing. It encourages every one of them. If you put in the work you’re going to do well and they put in the work. The girls are going to be great. NHRA has been amazing with us and it’s pretty awesome. It’s pretty surreal to be honest with you.”

SEATTLE -- The arena for Seattle's new NHL franchise won't be completed until late spring or summer of 2021, but that shouldn't have any impact on the expansion team's first season.

Team president Tod Leiweke said Thursday the delay could end up affecting some other plans for the franchise, including the hopes of hosting the 2021 NHL draft. After being awarded the league's 32nd team last December, Seattle officials were hoping to have the building open by early spring 2021, but design delays and a change in general contractors has delayed the project.

Leiweke said Mortenson, the new contractor, has been provided with incentives to try to have the arena ready by June 1, 2021, in the hope of having the building host the team's expansion draft, the NHL draft and a full home slate for the WNBA's Seattle Storm.

"We have had discussions with the NHL, they're open to that idea, where we would host not only the expansion draft in the building but the full league draft," Leiweke said. "That would be a heck of a way to start a franchise. We are fully motivated."

Getting the Storm back into the building is a major priority, Leiweke said. Coming off winning the WNBA title last season, the Storm will play this season and the next in temporary homes around the Seattle area.

Ken Johnson, construction executive with Oak View Group, said they should have a more detailed construction timeline by next spring.

"The Storm will play in this building and they're not really a tenant, they're a partner," Leiweke said. "We have deep admiration for them and what they do. We have a deep admiration for their championships. Hopefully, some of that will rub off on other teams in the building."

The price of the privately funded project, which is being built on the site of the former KeyArena, has grown to between $900 million and $930 million, Leiweke said. The price was originally expected to be about $650 million.

Mortenson has agreed to a guaranteed price for the project and Leiweke said there are contingencies built in should unexpected issues arise.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Smoke from pulled pork and burgers on grills wafted through the parking lots outside PNC Arena. The cars blasted Kanye West and country music. The fans parked some four to five hours before the Carolina Hurricanes dropped the puck for their first playoff game in a decade, and played cornhole, drank beers, and wheeled pigs (yes, real pigs) in wooden wagons.

As center Jordan Staal pulled into his usual parking spot at the arena, he couldn't help but smile.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," Staal said. "It was so cool to see."

Added defenseman Justin Faulk: "We've had a lot of bad years here. It's hard for fans to enjoy the teams that aren't doing well. Except for maybe kids, and the extremely die-hard fans. But if you were here on Monday, it was loud. People were tailgating. It was something to see. That's the way they do sports down here, I guess. And you want to be a part of it, you want to be around it."

The Canes snapped their 10-year playoff drought by finishing fourth in the Metro Division with 99 points. That set up a first-round matchup with the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. Though Washington won the first two games, the Canes routed the Caps 5-0 in their first home game of the series, which was as much a statement as it was a celebration for a franchise that has reignited excitement in this community.

"We'd all probably be telling a fib if we said we'd be at this point," general manager Don Waddell said. "Certainly we thought we'd be a playoff-bound team. We felt good about the changes we made to the roster. But to end up with 99 points is probably more than we thought. The biggest thing is gaining respect back with the community. That's a big step we've taken this year. We'd always say, 'Next year is going to be the year, next year...'"

But how did "next year" become "this year," and what comes next for a franchise that seems to have arrived ahead of schedule?

The 2018-19 season was the first full season with Tom Dundon as majority owner. Dundon has become noted in professional sports for his short-lived foray trying to save, and then ultimately folding, the upstart Alliance of American Football league -- reportedly losing $70 million along the way. He has had much more success with the Hurricanes, where he is intimately involved with day-to-day operations (Dundon is the type of owner who can be seen around the team locker room after a game, and also in meetings with personnel and business folks). Although the Canes are currently operating at a loss, there are a number of encouraging signs.

Waddell says the Canes are up just over 12 percent in attendance year over year. During the final weeks of the regular season with the Canes making a playoff push, Carolina was up 20 percent year over year. Interest, of course, has spiked during the playoffs. Twenty-four hours before Game 4, the cheapest tickets available on the secondary market were nearly $400 for a pair.

Even more encouraging are the commitments for new business. The Canes are already at $2.5 million for new business with season-ticket sales for next season. Last year at this point, they were at $400,000.

"In a market like this, every year you lose 10-12 percent [of season-ticket holders]," Waddell says. "People move out of market, they can't afford it, they're not happy with the way the team performs."

According to the team, last year at this time, the renewal rate for season tickets was 72 percent. This year, they're currently at 91 percent. The new plans sold year over year has been an increase of 262 percent.

When Waddell arrived in Carolina five years ago, there were 5,000 season-ticket holders. Now there are 7,500. Waddell predicts they could add some 2,000 more for next season.

During the 2018-19 season, the Canes had their four highest game-day merchandise sales in franchise history. That includes Whalers Night in December, Bunch of Jerks Night in February, as well as the last two final home regular-season games.

For the first playoff game, merchandise sales are up over 75 percent compared to the last home playoff game in 2009.

Of course the challenge will be sustaining it -- both on and off the ice. The Canes have seen a surge of interest before, and they let it fade away. The arena was just as packed around the time the team won the Stanley Cup in 2006. "Early in my career, this was a really tough building to play in, really loud," said Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik, a 16-year NHL veteran.

Said Canes center Sebastian Aho: "You heard stories of how great it was. It was definitely different my first two years here, but now I see how great the crowd can be."

The Hurricanes have endeared themselves to the community.

"The fans have responded to a couple of things," Waddell says. "In the beginning of the season, even though we didn't win every game, our fans realized we were giving everything we had every night."

The Hurricanes have 12 new players on the roster and a coach, Rod Brind'Amour, who was not only a fan favorite during his playing career but appealed to current players because of his work ethic and relatability. Brind'Amour is humble, if not yet polished as a coach.

In the preseason, Brind'Amour -- nine years removed from his own playing career -- took the same conditioning test the players did. The 48-year-old sheepishly admitted his marks would have been good enough to pass. The legend of Rod the Bod lives on.

"It's hard for us not to have that work ethic instilled in us when, to be honest, our head coach is probably working harder than we are," Faulk says. "In the gym, watching video, we know he's here all day."

Things really took off when the Hurricanes introduced the Storm Surge -- elaborate postgame celebrations after home wins (see our ranking of all 23 of them here). They were a reason for fans to sit in their seats after the game.

"One of our best marketing tools was something our players came up with," Waddell says. "The Storm Surge was 100 percent a player idea, and folks in the community latched onto it."

And when Hockey Night in Canada announcer Don Cherry criticized the team as a "bunch of jerks," that only made things better.

"That was just another marketing tool that was gifted to us," Waddell says. "We capitalized on it from a financial standpoint, we've had more than 15,000 'Bunch of Jerks' shirts sold, but the dollars don't mean as much as the value of everyone talking about it; not just locally, but nationally."

And that's how the Canes have become one of the best stories of the NHL season.

Just ask one of the 12 new players: backup goalie Curtis McElhinney, an Ontario, Canada, native who played the past two seasons in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

"Compared to Toronto where I was before, it feels like the polar opposite," he says. "Around town, the biggest thing is people honestly don't know who you are. In Toronto it's a little different. But here, you see bumper stickers and T-shirts and driving around neighborhoods you see hockey nets every now and then.

"And then when people find out you are a hockey player, you find out they have been a fan since [the Canes] have been here, and they're so excited to talk. It's a small-town feel, but it's one that makes you feel welcome. I think everybody loves it, and obviously getting to this point changes everything. "

For Dundon, Waddell, Brind'Amour and everyone else, they're hoping this is just the beginning of something special.

Now that the Tampa Bay Lightning are out, the field is wide open -- and yet things are tighter than ever, with three of the six remaining series tied (pending the result of Thursday's Carolina Hurricanes-Washington Capitals clash in Raleigh, North Carolina).

Here's a recap of Wednesday night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for tonight in Thursday's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:

Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three Stars
Play of the night | Today's games | Social post of the day

About last night ...

Game 4: Boston Bruins 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 4 (series tied 2-2) Now that Tampa Bay is eliminated, we can officially say this is the most intriguing series in the Eastern Conference first round. The frenetic pace of the third period in Game 4 was a microcosm of the intensity of this series. Auston Matthews has officially broken out, recording his first career playoff multigoal game. The Leafs' comeback was fun, but the night belonged to Boston's offense and the re-emergence of David Pastrnak.

Game 4: Dallas Stars 5, Nashville Predators 1 (series tied 2-2) Talk about flipped narratives. The Predators have been the personification of superior defense and goaltending all season. The Stars were one of the league's worst teams offensively this season. So of course a Dallas rout chased last year's Vezina Trophy winner, Pekka Rinne, out of the game. In an encouraging development, it wasn't top-line-or-bust for the Stars; they got secondary scoring thanks to Mats Zuccarello and Roope Hintz.

Game 4: Colorado Avalanche 3, Calgary Flames 2 (OT) (Avalanche lead 3-1) What a series this is shaping up to be. We now know the Avs have a propensity for late-game theatrics, thanks to their second OT victory of the series. The Flames' defense is doing their goaltender no favors, as Mike Smith has faced a ridiculous 102 shots over the past two games in regulation. The encouraging news: Smith bounced back from his Game 3 shellacking, so there's hope for a series comeback.

And a great moment in the crowd during this game, as Cale Makar continues to make fans in his new NHL home:

My guy really brought a head of kale to the game lmao pic.twitter.com/OwBwFOxesl

- Ryan Koenigsberg (@RyanKoenigsberg) April 18, 2019

Three Stars

1. Mikko Rantanen, RW, Colorado Avalanche

Who would have thought that this series would be the most thrilling of them all? It was yet another overtime game, which meant somebody had to be the hero. And after Nathan MacKinnon scored the game winner in Game 2, this time it was linemate Rantanen ending the affair 10:23 into the extra session.

2. David Pastrnak, RW, Boston Bruins

Pastrnak didn't quite look like himself the first three games of this series. Perhaps it was lingering effects of his thumb injury? The day began with Pastrnak being taken off the top line. It ended with him scoring two goals -- his first two of the playoffs. Pasta is back.

3. Roope Hintz, LW, Dallas Stars

Hintz broke the scoring open with a first-period goal, but he wasn't done there. The rookie from Tampere, Finland, scored again midway through the second. He had no playoff points before Wednesday night, and just one multigoal game this entire season. His first tally was one of three power-play goals for the Stars in the opening period.

Play of the night

A gorgeous pass from MacKinnon and a well-executed tip by Rantanen, tying the game at 2 late in the third:

Nathan MacKinnon finds Rantanen for the equalizer. Great deflection pic.twitter.com/BRO0TWKPns

- Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 18, 2019

Dud of the night

Nashville's first period gets the nod here. The Preds were down four goals by the end of the first, and to put it plainly: They just stunk. There were times this season when we questioned whether the Predators actually looked like a contender. Wednesday was another one of those nights.

On the schedule

Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes, Game 4, 7 p.m. ET (Washington leads 2-1)

After a 5-0 statement in Game 3, the Hurricanes have made this a series. However, they'll have to battle without two of their leading scorers, Andrei Svechnikov and Micheal Ferland. Svechnikov is in the concussion protocol after his fight with Alex Ovechkin. Coach Rod Brind'Amour indicated that Ferland could be out a while. The Caps are veterans of long playoff runs and know they can't get rattled by one off night. Ovechkin said he spent the first of the past two off days not doing anything and not thinking about hockey.

St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets, Game 5, 8:30 p.m. ET (series tied 2-2)

We thought Winnipeg might be one of the toughest road environments in the postseason, but that hasn't been the case. Instead, the Blues won their first two in the White Out -- then Winnipeg bounced back with two wins in St. Louis. The Jets have started to look like the best version of themselves lately, with Dustin Byfuglien, Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler all producing.

Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks, Game 5, 10 p.m. ET (Vegas leads 3-1)

Martin Jones looks as shaky as he has been all season, which is saying something. It's clear Vegas has his number, too. Jones ranks last in the postseason in both save percentage (.838) and goals-against average (a whopping 5.33). And yet coach Peter DeBoer is sticking with him for what could be a decisive Game 5. In the other net, Marc-Andre Fleury looked quite solid in Game 4, stopping all 28 shots. But just as important for Vegas: The offense is clicking.

Social post of the day

The Ryan Reaves versus Joe Thornton chirpfest continues:

I can't wait to tell my grandchildren about the Muffin Man chirpfest of 2k19 pic.twitter.com/0ggr383usT

- Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) April 18, 2019

Quotable

"If I had just traded Panarin for picks, and Bobrovsky for picks, everybody in our fan base and city would've said, 'F---ing Blue Jackets, that's all they ever do is trade for picks and they tell us we're going to be good in the future, just wait, be patient.' No, we wanted to send a message to the fan base and the locker room at the deadline that we're serious about winning. If it doesn't translate to winning, hey, I'll take responsibility." -- Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, summing up what the Blue Jackets' first-round upset means to Columbus. (via Sports Illustrated's Alex Prewitt)