France: Boulard; Grisez, Konde, Vernier, M Menager; Queyroi, Bourdon Sansus; Deshaye, Sochat, Khalfaoui, Feleu (capt), Fall, Escudero, Hermet, R Menager.

Replacements: Riffonneau, Mwayembe, Joyeux, Feleu, Gros, Chambon, Ciofani, Jacquet.

England: Kildunne; Dow, Jones, Heard, Breach; Aitchison, Hunt; Botterman, Cokayne, Muir, Aldcroft, Talling, Kabeya, M Packer (capt), Matthews.

Replacements: Powell, Carson, Clifford, Ward, Feaunati, L Packer, Scarratt, Gregson.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to a six-year contract with defenseman Alex Vlasic, rewarding one of their best young players with a long-term deal.

The team announced the move Thursday. The contract runs through the 2029-30 season with a $4.6 million salary cap hit.

"Alex made enormous strides this year and proved he is a legitimate top-four defenseman in the NHL," general manager Kyle Davidson said in a release. "In his first full season in the NHL, Alex established himself as an important piece of our young core, and we're excited to have him with us for the next six years."

Chicago went 23-53-6 this year, setting a franchise record for losses. But it is hoping for a turnaround as soon as next season, and the contract for Vlasic stamps the Wilmette, Illinois, native as part of the team's young core.

The 6-foot-6 Vlasic, who turns 23 in June, had two goals and 14 assists in 76 games this season. He averaged almost 21 minutes of ice time, ranking second on the team behind fellow defenseman Seth Jones.

Vlasic and Jones are on the U.S. roster for the world championships in the Czech Republic next month.

Vlasic was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2019 draft, and he made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks in March 2022. He has three goals and 16 assists in 97 career NHL games.

TORONTO -- Bob Cole, the voice of hockey in Canada for a half-century who served as the soundtrack for some of the national sport's biggest moments, has died. He was 90.

Friend and fellow broadcaster John Shannon said Cole died Wednesday night in his hometown of St. John's, the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the network for which Cole worked, announced his death Thursday.

"He's such a legend, such a great man," said Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon, a Nova Scotia native. "I've met him a few times over the years. At charity golf tournaments in Halifax, he'd come out and support Atlantic Canadians. Amazing person, super funny. Just a great guy and obviously some of the best calls of all time."

Known for his "Oh baby!" catchphrase, Cole called some iconic games as part of CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada." His distinctive play-by-play style added even more flavor to the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union, the 2002 Olympic final in Salt Lake City and numerous Stanley Cup Finals.

Cole called his first game, on radio, between Boston and Montreal in April 1969 and moved to TV in 1973. He called his last game on April 6, 2019 -- the regular-season finale between the Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs -- and in between was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996, winning the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.

Greg Millen, a former NHL goaltender-turned-broadcaster, said Cole's voice was "almost like a symphony."

"Bob had an unbelievable ability of bringing the game up and down depending on what was happening on the ice," Millen said.

Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe opened his remarks between playoff games Thursday by passing along condolences to Cole's family.

"Someone who touched the game in so many ways, as an icon in our sport and the voice of hockey, not just in Toronto, but in our country," Keefe said. "A sad day for sure."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Alex Ovechkin has just one shot on goal through the first two games of the Washington Capitals' first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers, which they trail 2-0.

Coach Spencer Carbery said after the Game 2 loss Tuesday that Ovechkin is "struggling" and looks a bit off. The Capitals need production out of the No. 2 goal-scorer in NHL history, among other things, to get back in the series against the league's best team from the regular season. Game 3 is at home Friday night.

"I think it's just settle down a little bit," Ovechkin said Thursday. "Not good, but sometimes you just have to do what you can do out there: play physical, try to create open space for your linemates. But we're all in the same boat. We all have to play better if we want to get success."

Ovechkin's lowest shot totals through the first two games of a series before now was four (2012 vs. Boston) and five in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final against Vegas. Washington went on to win each series.

The 38-year-old longtime captain and face of the franchise said patience is the key to getting more pucks on net against fellow Russian Igor Shesterkin, who has stopped 42 of the 46 shots he has faced in the series.

"Try to find the lane," Ovechkin said. "We play against a good hockey team. They're going to sacrifice their body. They're going to play hard against our top lines, blocking shots, [be] physical, and we just have to play simple, and if we have the puck on our stick, don't throw it right away."

Carbery said he and Ovechkin have had some good discussions about how to get through defenders and be closer to the net for higher-quality opportunities and "attacking as much as he can."

"That's not necessarily from the perimeter -- getting to the inside, taking a couple extra steps, threaten, change your shot angle," Carbery said. "And now you've changed your shot angle, and now there's no longer shin pads and a stick in your lane."

Getting Ovechkin the puck in better positions to shoot is also on the Capitals' to-do list. It can pay dividends, after he scored just eight goals in his first 43 games this season and finished with 31 after a torrid second half.

Teammates and coaches aren't worried about Ovechkin and expect him to be able to turn it on. He has 853 goals in the regular season, trailing just Wayne Gretzky, and 72 in the playoffs, one shy of Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski for the most among active players.

"He'll be good," Carbery said. "He's been through so many situations like this. I expect him to step up big time in Game 3."

TORONTO -- Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery thinks goaltender Jeremy Swayman's dominance against the Toronto Maple Leafs -- before and during their current first-round Stanley Cup playoff series -- has started to rattle some players.

Montgomery made that suggestion in reference to an incident late in Boston's 4-2 victory over the Leafs in Game 3 on Wednesday, when Toronto forward Max Domi appeared to seek out Swayman -- owner of a 5-0-0 record versus the Leafs this season -- during a TV timeout.

"Normally, I don't think that [a goalie has one team's number]," Montgomery said Thursday. "But when Domi goes off the bench and bumps [Swayman] on purpose, makes me think that maybe he's in their head a little bit."

Boston forward Trent Frederic -- who got the Bruins on the board with a first-period goal in Game 3 -- saw the interaction between Domi and Swayman, too. He agreed with Montgomery it might have revealed some mounting exasperation from the Leafs over Swayman's recent success.

"Maybe Sway is getting in their head; he's making a lot of saves," Frederic said. "So, bump our goalies. I don't know, didn't work [for them] last night."

That was ultimately true. Despite any on-ice antics, Swayman downed Toronto once again with a 28-save performance in Game 3 to give Boston a 2-1 series lead. Swayman previously made 35 stops in the Bruins' 5-1 victory in Game 1, and then was replaced by Linus Ullmark in Game 2 (a 3-2 Bruins loss).

Toronto had better results against Ullmark, but the Leafs still haven't managed more than three goals in a game so far this postseason. It's a troubling trend that pre-dates facing Swayman and the Bruins (Toronto's actually gone 10 consecutive playoff games scoring three or fewer goals) and those struggles have been magnified this time around by their lifeless power play (1-for-11) failing to fire in this series either.

Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe refuted the Bruins' narrative though that their goaltender was somehow throwing Toronto off its game. In Keefe's mind, the Domi bump was just part and parcel of this time of year.

"It's playoff hockey, and things are happening all over the ice," said Keefe. "With that logic [from Montgomery] you would say every time they bump into one of our guys maybe we're in their heads"

Keefe also said he sensed "zero frustration" from his team over the low scoring output. The Leafs have generated their chances against Boston, averaging the third-most shots on goal per game in the postseason (33), but they're also tied for the fewest goals per game (two).

Toronto's offensive prospects would be helped by the return of forward William Nylander. The Leafs' 40-goal scorer in the regular season has missed the first three games of their series due to an undisclosed injury. Keefe was asked again on Thursday about Nylander's mystery ailment and would not confirm reports that the winger is dealing with migraines. Keefe did say the extra day of rest before Game 4 on Saturday does benefit Nylander though, who's been classified as a game-time decision twice already in the playoffs.

"We've been working with Willy to give him the time that he needs to be ready to play," said Keefe. "And the medical team works with him on a daily basis to see where he's at and continue to assess that."

As for who Toronto can expect to see in Boston's crease for Game 4, that's another mind game of its own. The Bruins have religiously rotated Swayman and Ullmark for nearly 30 games, dating back to February. Swayman said after Wednesday's win that for him, "I don't want rest; I just want to keep playing."

The final decision will fall to Montgomery, who wasn't saying whether Boston would stick with Swayman.

"Both goalies have been so good for us," said Montgomery. "It's a hard decision."

PSV Eindhoven paid tribute to injured defender Sergiño Dest before putting on a show in a 8-0 thrashing of Heerenveen, in which Dest's United States teammate Malik Tillman scored twice.

The win equaled PSV's record road victory and saw them move to within touching distance of winning their 22nd Dutch Eredivisie title.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, NWSL more (U.S.)

It would have been enough to clinch the championship had Feyenoord failed to beat Go Ahead Eagles later in the day but a 3-1 win for the second-placed side means PSV will have to wait until hosting Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday to begin the celebrations.

PSV's players walked out ahead of the match wearing special shirts with Dest's No. 8 on the back after the 23-year-old suffered what the club called a "serious" knee injury in training at the weekend. Dest, who is on loan at PSV this season from Barcelona, is set to miss the rest of the club's season and this summer's Copa America, which is being hosted by the U.S.

ANP via Getty Images

---

His teammates wasted no time in honouring their fallen colleague. Within 11 minutes they were 3-0 up and already cruising to victory. Tillman, who is on loan from Bayern Munich, scored twice to take his league tally to nine after Guus Til had opened the scoring in the seventh minute.

Til scored again on the half-hour mark and Joey Veerman made it 5-0 by half-time. Johan Bakayoko, Luuk de Jong and Patrick van Aanholt put the seal on the emphatic win in the second half.

PSV have a nine-point lead and a vastly superior goal difference over Feyenoord with three games of the season remaining.

Dest has made 37 appearances for PSV this season, scoring two goals and assisting seven more. Despite his injury, PSV manager Peter Bosz said on Wednesday that he still wants to sign Dest on a permanent deal.

Manchester City chalked up another big win in their hunt for an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title, as Phil Foden continued his career-best scoring season with two goals in a 4-0 thrashing of Brighton on Thursday.

Foden's first-half double came between goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Julián Álvarez as City extended their unbeaten run in the league to 18 games and trimmed the gap to leaders Arsenal to one point.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

"I don't know if it was statement, obviously every game is a lot of pressure but the only thing we can do is try to perform as well as we did today," De Bruyne told Sky Sports.

City have five games remaining -- one more than Arsenal -- and, on current form, are showing no signs of slipping up in the final stretch that still contains trips to Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Tottenham as well as home matches against Wolverhampton and West Ham.

Win all five of those games and City are champions again. No team has ever won four successive top-flight titles in the history of English soccer.

Since a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at home on March 31, City have won four straight league games and scored 17 goals in the process.

Pep Guardiola's team kept up that hot streak without the injured Erling Haaland -- the league's joint-top scorer with 20 goals -- and that allowed Foden to potentially join the race for the Golden Boot.

It's 16 goals for the campaign and 24 in 48 games in all club competitions this season for Foden, who delivered another clinical display in front of England coach Gareth Southgate at Amex Stadium -- seven weeks out from the start of the European Championship.

De Bruyne's diving header from Kyle Walker's right-wing cross gave City the led in the 17th and Foden made it 2-0 in the 26th when his shot from a free kick deflected in off the back of Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross.

"It doesn't happen too much, does it? I think the only way I could reach it was jumping to the ball, and it goes in like a little lob, but it's obviously not something I'm really good at," De Bruyne said after netting his first headed goal in the Premier League.

Foden added a third in the 34th by curling home a low finish from just inside the area after Brighton lost possession attempting to play out from the back.

Alvarez, starting up front in place of Haaland, slotted in for 4-0 in the 62nd after Walker was given space to roam down the right wing and cut inside before sliding in to challenge goalkeeper Jason Steele and get the ball across to the Argentina striker.

What started with a 5-3 defeat at home to Villarreal in January ended on Wednesday with a sushi order at Barcelona president Joan Laporta's house to mark Xavi Hernández agreeing to stay on as the club's coach.

That shocking loss at the start of the year had prompted Xavi to announce his intention to step down at the end of the season. However, just 91 days later, he performed a U-turn on that decision following a meeting with Laporta this week. During that time, Barça had embarked on a 13-game unbeaten run as the clamour grew from club officials and supporters for Xavi to continue as manager. That streak ended last week with back-to-back defeats to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals and Real Madrid in LaLiga, leaving the Catalan side facing a trophy-less season.

Undeterred by those results, Barça maintained their conviction that Xavi, who made over 700 appearances for the club as a player, was the right man to lead the team forward. Xavi had always insisted that his original decision was irreversible, but on Wednesday he backtracked and agreed to fulfil his contract, which runs until 2025.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

With the local media camped on the pavement outside Laporta's house, Xavi arrived and within minutes, sources confirmed to ESPN there was an agreement for him to remain at the helm. "As soon as he came in and we said hello, we knew that he had to stay," Laporta said Thursday.

Sporting director Deco and vice president Rafa Yuste were among the other members of the club's hierarchy to arrive shortly after. A sushi delivery followed as Barça began to prepare for next season with the certainty, at last, of who would be in charge.

---

Why Xavi decided to stay

There are two primary viewpoints when it comes to assessing why Xavi, who had remained adamant he would walk away this summer, all of a sudden decided to commit his immediate future to the club. The first is the club's and the second is the coach's.

From the club's side, the financial situation has been a factor, though not necessarily the only one. While Laporta maintains the club never spoke to or approached any other coach, always hoping that Xavi would change his mind, sources said Barça did their due diligence on various candidates.

The problem they encountered was that it would have been very difficult to appoint an in-work coach -- first because of the compensation, and then because of the lack of budget they could have realistically offered said coach. That second point was also a problem when it came to appointing high-profile coaches who will be out of work this summer.

Beyond that, there was also a lack of unanimity within the club regarding several candidates. Sources told ESPN that B-team coach Rafa Márquez, the most affordable option, and Germán tacticians Hansi Flick and Thomas Tuchel were among those considered. From there, the question was simple: Are they going to do a better job than Xavi?

Barça also prioritised stability and wanted to give Xavi the benefit of the doubt. He took over in 2021 from Ronald Koeman with the team ninth in LaLiga and in risk of missing out on Champions League qualification. They finished second. Then, in the 2022-23 season, Xavi's first full campaign in charge, they won LaLiga and the Spanish Super Cup. While acknowledging that the expected steps forward haven't followed this season, Laporta is focusing on the positives.

Xavi & Co. managed a first Champions League quarterfinal appearance since 2020 -- even if they blew a two-goal advantage against PSG on their way out of the competition. Beyond that, there is an appreciation for the bravery shown by Xavi in selecting and backing youngsters like centre-back Pau Cubarsí, 17, and forward Lamine Yamal, 16, who have been earmarked as players who could define a generation at the club.

What is harder to gauge is why Xavi has agreed to stay.

In January, he spoke about the "cruel and unpleasant" atmosphere that often surrounds the club and of being mentally exhausted by the toll that comes with being the Barça coach. Speaking Thursday, he accepted that such an atmosphere will continue at the first sign of trouble. But he also said that given his 30-plus-year association with the club, he knows exactly what to expect.

Xavi says the main reason he has decided to remain in charge is the support he has received from the president, the board of directors, the players and supporters during the past three months. He adds he has the "energy" to continue and that the project -- built around a talented spine of youngsters in Cubarsí, Ronald Araújo, Gavi, Pedri and Lamine Yamal -- is far from finished.

---

What's happened since January to cause the U-turn

Xavi's January announcement about his exit didn't happen in a vacuum. The 5-3 defeat was the straw that broke the camel's back after weeks of poor results and terrible defending. Barça had exited the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey and conceded four or more goals in losses to Girona, Madrid, Athletic Club and Villarreal.

In December, club sources had already hinted that Márquez was being considered as an interim replacement should a change be needed. Then, in early January, Xavi denied an ESPN report that the dressing room was split and defended his position. Just over two weeks later, he announced that the team needed a "change of direction" and that could only come through him leaving at the end of the season.

By the end of February, sources told ESPN that Barça were realising how hard it would be to replace Xavi. Laporta's dream candidates (like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp) were viewed as "impossible," while there were doubts about the other options. Sources say the club's hierarchy questioned Flick's track record working with youngsters, expressed concerns about Tuchel's spells with Chelsea and Bayern Munich, worried about Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi's lack of top-level experience and feared Mikel Arteta would not want to leave Arsenal.

In the meantime, Barça's results and performances began to improve. They climbed from fourth to second in LaLiga and reached the Champions League last eight for the first time since 2020, going 13 games unbeaten in all competitions. That run included impressive away wins at Atlético Madrid and PSG, and that in turn led to calls for Xavi to stay. Laporta, Deco and Yuste all publicly stated they wanted him to reconsider his position, while fans routinely chanted his name at the Olympic Stadium.

Xavi said the improvement was explicitly because of his announcement and that without the "calm" brought by his spell as Barça manager having "an expiry date," those results, including the Champions League win over Napoli, would not have been possible. Yet his players often contradicted that narrative: "The team's reaction has nothing to do with Xavi resigning," Raphinha said after a win at Las Palmas in March. Despite all that, Xavi continued to insist he would not change his mind, though he did begin adding nuance to his answers with "as of today," subtly leaving the door open.

The high of the 3-2 win at PSG earlier this month was met with last week's crash. Barça, 1-0 up on the night and leading 4-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinal, crumbled in the second leg after Ronald Araujo was sent off. They eventually lost the tie 6-4 to the French side, missing out on a first Champions League semifinal since 2019. After that game, club sources told ESPN that Márquez's chances of taking over had increased, while stressing that the club still hoped Xavi would change his mind.

For his part, sources close to Xavi insisted that his decision to leave remained firm regardless of the PSG result. However, that changed after the Clásico loss to Madrid last Sunday, which effectively ended Barça's title hopes while also opening the door to Xavi staying. Sources told ESPN on Monday that he was open to meeting with the club to discuss his future.

That meeting happened on Wednesday. At first, Xavi met with Deco and Alejandro Echevarría, one of Laporta's trusted advisers, at the training ground. At that point, it was far from certain he would continue. Sources say Xavi did not issue any demands to remain in the post -- it's understood that he's fulfilling his existing contract, rather than signing a revised deal -- but that the club felt changes were needed behind the scenes, notably by bringing in an extra coach to work on physical preparation.

Behind the scenes, there was division among the decision-makers about whether to stick with Xavi, but in the end, the club sought stability.

---

What this means moving forward

According to some sources, there is the feeling of an uneasy truce regarding Xavi and Barça choosing to continue together. Xavi says he has made the decision in the club's best interests, but is it in his best interests to do so? "There is a bittersweet feeling," one source told ESPN. "It's hard to work in an environment where at the first sign of trouble, [the coaching] staff could be gone."

Both Laporta and Xavi insisted that there were no conditions imparted by either side to reach agreement on Xavi fulfilling his deal, but sources have told ESPN that there are likely to be additions to the backroom team. Julio Tous, who was part of Antonio Conte's staff at Chelsea, is likely to come in to work on strength and conditioning, though Xavi dismissed reports of changes higher up among his staff. There has been criticism that Xavi's assistants -- his brother, Oscar, among them -- lack the experience needed to complement him. "I have a wonderful team working with me who are completely implicated in the project, Barça fans from birth and really feel [the club]," Xavi said Thursday.

It is from that position that the club must now plan for a difficult summer transfer market. Sources have told ESPN that Xavi's No.1 priority remains the signing of a defensive midfielder. The club also need to clarify the full-back positions and decide whether they want to extend the loans of João Félix (from Atletico Madrid) and João Cancelo (Manchester City).

The problem facing Barça, though, is that they are not sure what their financial situation will be. They are currently in excess of their LaLiga-imposed annual spending limit and are subject to spending restrictions. Laporta says he is hopeful those restrictions will be dropped by the summer, but that is by no means a certainty given the gravity of the club's economy. Players may need to leave for others to come in; meanwhile Madrid, who have won all three El Clásico fixtures this season and remain on track for a possible LaLiga-Champions League double, expect to sign Kylian Mbappé from PSG as they continue to strengthen.

- Barcelona's finances, explained: How bad is it?

For now, though, there are no big changes anticipated, despite Laporta's previous comments that "losing has consequences."

"Of course losing has consequences, and they will be the changes that Deco and Xavi make," the president said Thursday. "We haven't hit our objectives this season but there have been positives. The project has been consolidated, youngsters have broken through thanks to the brave decisions made by Xavi. That really helps the club.

"Consequences don't have to be drastic. We will take the just measures for the benefit of the project and Barça."

In response, Vanuatu lost their opening batters, Andrew and Valenta Langiatu, who was dropped at slip the ball before being caught, in the powerplay, which ended on a cautious 25 for 3. They almost lost their captain Selina Solman to what seemed a hamstring niggle in the ninth over but she batted on and shared in a 19-run stand with Navaika before top-edging Audrey Mazvishaya, who did not concede a run for her first 12 balls. Her third over cost seven runs and left Vanuatu on the brink of victory. But they did not get there without Mazvishaya having one more say on the game. She bowled Navaika at the start of the 16th over with Vanuatu four runs away. They got there in the 17th over with 21 balls to spare and earned a historic victory that blows open Group B of the qualifier and continues the rise and rise of Vanuatu.