STEELERS EXPECTED TO EXTEND ROETHLISBERGER

Ben Roethlisberger will be entering the final season of his contract in 2019, but it appears the Steelers quarterback may be sticking around for longer than that. 

According to sources the Steelers and Roethlisberger are expected to “restructure and extend” the quarterback’s deal prior to the beginning of the league year on March 13.

In recent years, there have been whispers that Roethlisberger was considering retirement, although the veteran has hinted he’s open to playing beyond his current contract. The Steelers did use a third-round pick last year on Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph, but that wouldn’t necessarily prevent Roethlisberger from playing another handful of seasons. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes that team president Art Rooney II previously said he’d like to ink Roethlisberger to one more contract.

Despite being 36, the veteran quarterback set career-highs in completions (452), pass attempts (675), passing yards (5,129), and touchdowns (34) this season. Roethlisberger has taken an absolute beating throughout his career, and his 24 sacks in 2018 was his highest total since 2014. Still, the signal-caller managed to play in all 16 games for the first time since (of course) 2014.

Roethlisberger signed an extension with Pittsburgh in 2015, and he’s set to have a cap charges of $23.2M. As Schefter notes, an extension could open up some extra cap space for the Steelers, perhaps making an Antonio Brown trade more tolerable.

BUCS INVITE 13 PROSPECTS TO BIG LEAGUE CAMP

HAYES, CRAIG HEADLINE GROUP OF YOUNGSTERS REPORTING NEXT MONTH

The Pirates on Saturday invited 13 of their top prospects and near-ready Minor Leaguers to big league Spring Training, a group headlined by first-time invitees Ke'Bryan Hayes and Will Craig.

Hayes and Craig will report to Major League camp when the Pirates arrive in Bradenton, Fla., next month. They will be joined by outfielder Bryan Reynolds; right-handers Tyler Eppler, Geoff Hartlieb, Alex McRae and Eduardo Vera; left-handers Elvis Escobar, Brandon Waddell and Blake Weiman; and catchers Jason Delay, Christian Kelley and Arden Pabst.

The Pirates announced their internal non-roster invitees a day after officially inviting Minor League free-agent signees Tyler Lyons, Roberto Gomez, Steven Baron and Patrick Kivlehan to big league camp.

Hayes, the Bucs' top position player prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 48 overall prospect, will report to Pirate City's Major League clubhouse after being named Pittsburgh's Minor League Player of the Year in 2018. An elite defender at third base, Hayes slashed .293/.375/.444 with seven homers in 117 games for Double-A Altoona last season and should begin this year with Triple-A Indianapolis.

"He became a complete offensive player. It's starting to catch up with his defense now," Altoona manager Michael Ryan said late last season. "It was a lot of fun to watch him grow offensively."

Craig slugged 20 homers, drove in 102 runs and earned team MVP honors last season in Altoona. Now a full-time first baseman, Craig followed up that performance by batting .304 with a .947 OPS in the Arizona Fall League. Craig, the Pirates' first-round pick in 2016, is their No. 16 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

Reynolds, the Bucs' No. 8 prospect, will return to big league camp. Acquired from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade, Reynolds overcame a fractured left hamate bone last year and hit .302/.381/.438 in 88 games with Altoona. The switch-hitter played all three outfield positions last season, then played both corner spots in the Arizona Fall League.

Eppler figures to be part of the Pirates' rotation depth again after posting a 3.59 ERA during his second season in Triple-A. Hartlieb put up a 3.24 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 47 relief appearances for Altoona last year. McRae made his Major League debut last year and should return as a depth option capable of starting or pitching out of the bullpen.

Vera drew some interest before the Rule 5 Draft, but went unselected after going 11-5 with a 3.37 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 26 starts for Class A Advanced Bradenton and Altoona. Waddell, the Pirates' No. 24 prospect, was also not selected after reaching Triple-A last season. Waddell could make his debut this year if the Pirates need to call up a left-hander from Indianapolis.

Escobar and Weiman will be two of the more interesting, if unheralded, arms in Spring Training. The 24-year-old Escobar moved from the outfield to the mound last season and went a combined 4-2 with a 3.56 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings for Class A West Virginia and Altoona.

Weiman, 23, put together a 2.42 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 77 strikeouts and only nine walks in 67 innings over 39 appearances last season as he climbed from West Virginia to Altoona. The lefty has been compared to former Pirates reliever Tony Watson.

"[Weiman] just competes. He has the stuff to go along with the competitiveness," Ryan said. "He throws very hard from the left side. He's got such a bright future."

Delay, Kelley and Pabst will provide necessary catching depth in big league camp. Kelley, a well-regarded defender, should advance to Triple-A this year after spending all of last season in Altoona. Delay, Pittsburgh's fourth-round pick in the 2017 Draft, played in Bradenton last year. Pabst hit a combined .264 with 10 homers and 36 RBIs in 66 games last year for Bradenton, Altoona and Indianapolis.

NHL SCOREBOARD

BRUINS 2, SABRES 1

BOSTON -- Chris Wagner and David Backes scored, Tuukka Rask stopped 31 shots and the Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

Boston won three of four games in the season series against Buffalo.

Rask was looking for his first shutout of the season, but former Bruins' defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen beat him with a wrist shot on the glove side with 2:38 left in regulation.

Sabres star Jack Eichel missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. He's expected to be re-evaluated early next week.

Linus Ullmark made 39 saves for Buffalo, which has won just once in its last five games.

The Sabres pulled Ullmark with just over a minute left for an extra skater, but were unable to get a shot on goal.

KINGS 4, OILERS 0

LOS ANGELES -- Jonathan Quick earned his 300th victory, Anze Kopitar scored his 300th goal and Los Angeles climbed out of last place in the overall NHL standings.

Kyle Clifford, Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Carter scored during a dominant first period, while Kopitar added his milestone goal in the third period of the Kings' sixth win in nine games since mid-December.

Quick made 16 saves in his 51st career shutout, fifth-most among active goalies. The veteran netminder made a handful of big stops and combined with his defense to end the five-game scoring streaks of Edmonton stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Mikko Koskinen yielded three goals on eight Kings shots before Cam Talbot replaced him in the first period for the Oilers, who have lost seven of eight.

All-Star Drew Doughty had two early assists for the Kings.

ISLANDERS 4, BLUES 3

ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Eberle and Johnny Boychuk scored 11 seconds apart in the third period to lead New York.

Anders Lee and Matt Martin also scored for the Islanders, who won their season-high sixth in a row and ninth in 10 games. Robin Lehner stopped 29 shots for his seventh consecutive win.

Brayden Schenn, Zach Sanford and Ryan O'Reilly scored for St. Louis, which has lost three of its last four.

BLUE JACKETS 4, PANTHERS 3, OT

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Seth Jones scored 18 seconds into overtime and Columbus won for the seventh time in nine games.

Brandon Dubinsky, Josh Anderson and Anthony Duclair also scored for the Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves.

Aaron Ekblad, Mike Hoffman and Jonathan Huberdeau scored for the Panthers. Keith Yandle had two assists. James Reimer stopped 31 shots. The Panthers are winless in their last seven games against Columbus (0-5-2).

MAPLE LEAFS 5, CANUCKS 0

TORONTO -- Michael Hutchinson stopped 28 shots for his first shutout in more than two years and Auston Matthews had a goal and two assists to lead Toronto.

John Tavares, Andreas Johnsson, Trevor Moore and Igor Ozhiganov also scored as the Maple Leafs snapped a two-game skid that followed a five-game winning streak. Hutchinson got his fourth career shutout and the first since Oct. 28, 2016, when he was with Winnipeg.

Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots for Vancouver, which was shut out for the third time in four games.

The Canucks, playing for the third time in four nights, were without star rookie Elias Pettersson after the rookie injured his right knee in Thursday night's 2-0 loss at Montreal. Pettersson leads all NHL rookies with 42 points (22 goals, 20 assists).

PREDATORS 4, CANADIENS 1

MONTREAL -- Craig Smith scored two goals in the win for Nashville.

Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for the Predators. P.K. Subban had two assists. Juuse Saros stopped 27 shots in place of Pekka Rinne.

Shea Weber scored against his former team for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 28 saves as Montreal lost for the first time in three games.

It was the second matchup between Weber and Subban since the Predators and Canadiens traded the players in the summer of 2016. The defensemen also faced off on Mar. 2, 2017, when Montreal won 2-1 at Bell Centre.

WILD 4, SENATORS 3

OTTAWA, Ontario -- Jared Spurgeon scored twice as Minnesota dealt Ottawa its seventh consecutive setback.

Jordan Greenway and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild (20-17-3), who improved to 2-0 on a four-game trip. Devan Dubnyk stopped 24 shots.

Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone scored for Ottawa, and Anders Nilsson made 22 saves in his Senators debut after he was acquired Wednesday in a trade with Vancouver.

FLAMES 3, FLYERS 2, OT

PHILADELPHIA -- TJ Brodie scored 1 minute, 59 seconds into overtime after Matthew Tkachuk tied it with 4:17 left in regulation to lead Calgary.

Tkachuk assisted on the winner in the 3-on-3 extra session. Philadelphia's Jordan Weal turned the puck over in the Flyers offensive zone to set up a 2-on-1 break. Tkachuk sent a cross-ice pass to Brodie, who beat Carter Hart to lead the Pacific Division leaders to the win.

Johnny Gaudreau notched his 24th goal of the season for the Flames, whose 56 points are tops in the Western Conference.

Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny scored for Philadelphia, which dropped its season-worst sixth straight game. The Flyers are in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

SHARKS 5, LIGHTNING 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Evander Kane scored two goals to reach 200 for his career as San Jose beat Tampa Bay and snapped the NHL-leading Lightning's 16-game point streak.

Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski scored 34 seconds apart midway through the first period, setting the tone for San Jose, which never trailed as it won for the fourth time in five games. Lukas Radil also scored, Brent Burns had two assists and Erik Karlsson added two to extend his assists streak to 12 games. Martin Jones stopped 19 shots.

Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev scored for the Lightning, who had won seven straight and were 15-0-1 since a 3-1 loss to Anaheim on Nov. 27. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 28 saves.

NBA SCOREBOARD

RAPTORS 123, BUCKS 116

MILWAUKEE -- Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam each scored 30 points, with Siakam setting a career high, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 123-116 on Saturday night in a matchup of the top two teams in the NBA standings.

Serge Ibaka added 25 points and nine rebounds; Fred VanVleet had 21 points, and Danny Green 12 points and nine rebounds. The Raptors slowly took charge in the second and third quarters and withstood the Bucks' comeback attempt in the fourth.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 43 points and 18 rebounds for Milwaukee. Malcolm Brogdon added 15 points, and Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe each had 14. The Bucks had won five straight.

Milwaukee was coming off a 144-112 victory over Atlanta on Friday night, while Toronto had a day to rest following a 125-107 loss to the Spurs on Thursday night in Leonard's return to San Antonio.

The Raptors put it away with a 15-2 run, taking a 110-98 lead on Siakam's wide-open 3 from the corner with 5:14 to play.

Trailing by as much as 13, the Bucks opened the fourth quarter with a 14-4 run, capped by Antetokounmpo's layup and 3-pointer, and led 96-95 with 8:12 left.

WARRIORS 127, KINGS 123

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter and had 10 3-pointers, and Golden State held off Sacramento.

Kevin Durant added 29 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Klay Thompson scored 20 points to help the Warriors take a 3-0 lead in the season series.

Coming off a 135-134 overtime loss to Houston on Thursday night when they let a 20-point lead slip away, the Warriors blew another big lead in the third quarter before storming past the Kings over the final 12 minutes. Curry led the way with five of his 3s in the fourth, and had a pair of key three-point plays. Curry also closed out the quarter with a pair of free throws with 9.4 seconds left.

Buddy Hield scored 32 points on a career-high eight 3s for Sacramento. The Kings set a franchise record with 20 3s. Justin Jackson added a career-high 28 points.

TRAIL BLAZERS 110, ROCKETS 101

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Jusuf Nurkic had 25 points and 15 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped James Harden's 40-point streak and the Houston Rockets' six-game winning streak with a 110-101 victory on Saturday night.

Harden finished with 38 points, falling just short of his sixth straight game with 40 or more. He was 13 of 35 from the field, shooting 5 of 17 from 3-point range.

CJ McCollum added 24 points and Damian Lillard finished with 17 points and 12 assists for the Blazers, who have won three of their last four games.

Austin Rivers scored a season-high 21 points for Houston, and Clint Capela had 13 points and 21 rebounds.

NUGGETS 123, HORNETS 110

DENVER -- Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 39 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, reserve Paul Millsap added 18 and Western Conference-leading Denver beat Charlotte for its 10th straight home victory.

At 26-11, the Nuggets are off to their best NBA start in franchise history. This also marks the latest they've been in first place in the conference since March 16, 1977.

Jokic also had six assists, three steals and one blocked shot. He was 16 of 29 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the line. Kemba Walker had 20 points for the Hornets in the first game of a six-game.

76ERS 106, MAVERICKS 100

PHILADELPHIA -- Joel Embiid had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Ben Simmons added 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists to help Philadelphia beat Dallas.

Embiid hit two key free throws late for Philadelphia, which was without Jimmy Butler for the second straight game due to an upper respiratory infection. Philadelphia improved to 17-3 at home.

Wesley Matthews had 18 points for Dallas. The Mavericks are 3-18 on the road.

JAZZ 110, PISTONS 105

DETROIT -- Donovan Mitchell scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half, and Utah rallied from an 18-point, second-quarter deficit to beat Detroit.

The Jazz nearly squandered an 11-point lead of their own in the final quarter, allowing the Pistons to cut the lead to one on a 3-pointer by Blake Griffin. Ricky Rubio made two free throws for Utah with 12.3 seconds remaining, and Detroit turned the ball over on its next possession.

Griffin scored 34 points for the Pistons.

SPURS 108, GRIZZLIES 88

SAN ANTONIO -- Derrick White scored 19 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 and San Antonio overcame a sluggish start to beat Memphis, handing the Grizzlies their fifth straight loss.

San Antonio won for the 12th time in 15 games.

Mike Conley had 21 points in 25 minutes for Memphis.

PELICANS 133, CAVALIERS 98

CLEVELAND -- Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle both scored 22 points and New Orleans handed Cleveland its ninth straight loss.

The defeat came a night after Cavaliers coach Larry Drew and his players held a lengthy meeting following a 26-point loss to Utah. Cleveland is an NBA-worst 8-32.

Anthony Davis had 20 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans. Jordan Clarkson led Cleveland with 23 points.