Cirelli gets 2nd career hat trick and Lightning move into 1st in Atlantic after beating Penguins 6-3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Cirelli registered his second career hat trick, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three points, and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved into first place in the Atlantic Division after a 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

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Zemgus Girgensons scored his 100th career goal and Brayden Point scored his second in 14 games for Tampa Bay, which improved to 7-1-2 in the past 10 games. Jake Guentzel and Gage Goncalves both had two assists while Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 21 saves.

Egor Chinakov scored twice and Rickard Rackell also scored for Pittsburgh. Sam Girard and Kris Letang both had two assists and Stuart Skinner finished with 27 saves.

The Penguins remain in second place in the Metropolitan Division, three points ahead of the New York Islanders.

Cirelli scored Tampa Bay's first two goals and he added an empty-netter for his first hat trick since Jan. 17, 2020.

Cirelli and Rakell traded goals 1:55 apart in the opening seven minutes of the game before Chinakov gave the Penguins their first lead of the game with a backhander from the right circle at 16:10.

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Cirelli notched his second of the game 11 seconds into the second, deflecting a puck away from Bryan Rust and racing up ice for a breakaway, lifting a backhand shot over Skinner for a shorthanded marker.

Point put the Lightning back in front at 14:08 on a rebound. Girgensons took a pass from Gourde behind the net, pulled the puck to his forehand as he reached the crease and tucked a backhander into the open part of the net with 54.7 seconds left in the second.

Kucherov made it 5-2 at 13:50 of the third.

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AP NHL:https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

byJastin Mags

in

April 05, 2026

Cirelli gets 2nd career hat trick and Lightning move into 1st in Atlantic after beating Penguins 6-3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Cirelli registered his second career hat trick, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three points, and the Tampa B...

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Trippier 'emotional' after Newcastle announces he'll leave at end of the season

NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Former England right back Kieran Trippier will leave Newcastle at the end of the season when his contract expires, the Premier League club announced Saturday.

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The 35-year-old defender joined from Atlético Madrid in January 2022 as a marquee signing soon after the northeast club, then in the relegation zone, wasboughtby Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Trippier has made more than 150 appearances Newcastle — scoring four goals — during his four-and-a-half-year spell at St James’ Park, helping the teamwin the English League Cupfor its first major trophy in 70 years and also qualify for the Champions League twice in the last three years.

“This is where I have felt most at home,” Trippier said. “It’s emotional, and I’m really going to miss it.”

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Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said Trippier “has helped to drive standards that have changed the club’s trajectory.”

“His leadership skills have been invaluable," Howe said. “In difficult moments, his experience has proved calming and his drive and will to win has inspired the players to keep pushing forward.”

Newcastle has seven games left this season, all in the Premier League.

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

byJastin Mags

in

April 05, 2026

Trippier 'emotional' after Newcastle announces he'll leave at end of the season

NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Former England right back Kieran Trippier will leave Newcastle at the end of the season when his contract exp...

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Appeals court confirms prison sentences for 3 ex-Grenoble rugby players for rape

ANGOULEME, France (AP) — Three former Grenoble rugby players serving time for the rape of a 20-year-old student in 2017 have lost an appeal against their convictions and prison sentences.

An appeals court in France on Saturday re-imposed the original sentences of prison terms up to 14 years.

Irishman Denis Coulson and Frenchman Loïck Jammes were sentenced to 14 years in prison, and New Zealand's Rory Grice to 12 years.

The victim had lodged a complaint in March 2017 following Grenoble’s match in the southwestern French city of Bordeaux. According to French media reports, she said she had met the players during an alcohol-fueled night and was raped in a hotel in the outskirts of Bordeaux.

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A court sentenced the men to prison in December 2024, and all three have been in prison since. They claimed that the sexual encounter had been consensual.

“To reach the same decision as in the first instance, the court and the jurors took into account the seriousness of the facts,” said the court presiding judge, Marie-Dominique Boulard-Paoloni, as quoted by L'Equipe newspaper. “We also considered the absence of any notable change compared to the previous decision. You now have ten days to lodge an appeal in cassation.”

Lawyers for the defendants said they would appeal to the Court of Cassation, France's highest court of the judicial order.

AP rugby:https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

byJastin Mags

in

April 05, 2026

Appeals court confirms prison sentences for 3 ex-Grenoble rugby players for rape

ANGOULEME, France (AP) — Three former Grenoble rugby players serving time for the rape of a 20-year-old student in 2017 have lost an ap...

Read More