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Di Giuseppe and Hoglander’s second period goals lead Canucks to 3-2 defeat of the Predators

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Phillip Di Giuseppe and Nils Hoglander scored goals early in the second period to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.Ilya Mikheyev also scored, and Thatcher Demko made 15 saves for Vancouver, winners of two straight.Colton Sissons and Kiefer Sherwood scored and Juuse Saros made 21 saves for Nashville, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.Mikheyev scored the game’s first goal at 4:29 of the opening period with a wrist shot from the high slot that deflected off the stick of Predators defenseman Roman Josi and over Saros’ left shoulder.Sissons answered for Nashville with a wrist shot from the right circle underneath the crossbar on the far side at 15:38 of the first.Vancouver came out strong in the second period with Di Giuseppe scoring 22 seconds in and Hoglander following at 3:11.Sherwood drew Nashville to within a goal at 9:18 of the second, converting on a one-timer from the top of the left circ...

Tyler Toffoli’s hat trick powers Devils to a 5-2 victory over the Canadiens

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

MONTREAL (AP) — Tyler Toffoli had a hat trick against his former team, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.“It was nice to get the first one, having not scored since coming (back),” said Toffoli, who failed to score in his first game against his former team. “Once that happened, it felt like I was just getting a ton of opportunities and very fortunate for sure.”Alexander Holtz and Nico Hischier also scored for New Jersey, and Jack Hughes continued his hot start to the season with four assists. Vitek Vanecek stopped 27 shots.Hughes, who entered the contest tied for third in the league in scoring, has 14 points in five games.Justin Barron and Mike Matheson scored for Montreal, which was coming off a 3-1 win at Buffalo on Monday.Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau made 29 saves in his first start of the season. Montreal was one of five teams to open the season with three netminders on the roster.The 24-year-old Primeau has played 22 g...

Rangers back in World Series, 12 years after twice being 1 strike from title

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers are back in the World Series for the first time since twice being within one strike of winning the title in 2011. “We’ve had some hard times recently. Those are over,” general manager Chris Young declared soon after Texas won its third AL pennant. After entering this season with a franchise-long streak of six consecutive losing seasons, including 102 losses just two years ago, the wild-card Rangers are AL champions. They’re led by three-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy, a half-billion dollar middle infield of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, slugging AL Championship Series MVP Adolis García, homegrown rookies Josh Jung and 21-year-old Evan Carter, and an influx of veteran pitchers. “This team has played with so much heart and determination as any club I’ve had,” said Bochy, the first manager since LCS play began in 1969 to take three different teams to the World Series. “It’s just amazing how they kept getting up.”For long-...

Avalanche top Islanders 7-4 for 6th straight victory, set NHL record with 15th consecutive road win

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and had three assists as the Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Islanders 7-4 on Tuesday night for their NHL-record 15th straight road win.Ryan Johansen scored twice, Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, and Bowen Byram, Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton also scored for Colorado, which won its sixth straight to open the season. Valeri Nichushkin had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots to also improve to 6-0-0 this season.The Avalanche’s winning streak, which includes the last 11 road games of last season, topped the previous mark of 14 set by Buffalo bridging the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. They also matched the 2013-14 team for the best start (6-0-0) since moving to Colorado before the 1995-96 season — one win behind the 1985-86 Quebec Nordiques for tops in franchise history.Cal Clutterbuck had a goal and an assist, Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstron also scored, and Noah Dobson and Jea...

Nuggets celebrate first NBA championship with banner, rings and 119-107 win over the Lakers

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

The bling and the banner were nice. What the Denver Nuggets really relished, though, was opening defense of the franchise’s first NBA title with a 119-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.“We can’t think about last year too much,” Jamal Murray said after the Nuggets followed the raising of their championship banner by dropping the hammer on the Lakers in the NBA’s season opener, which featured Nikola Jokic’s triple-double and LeBron James taking a few more breathers than normal.Jokic said the Nuggets fed off the emotion from the pregame ceremony to jump out to an early 18-point lead, which held up even after the Lakers got within three points in the fourth quarter.“I think we controlled the game the whole time,” said Jokic, who had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.Murray added 21 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20, Aaron Gordon had 15 and Michael Porter Jr. had 12.All of LA’s starters also scored in double figures, led by Ja...

Vatrano scores on a breakaway in OT, Ducks snap 3-game skid with 3-2 win over Blue Jackets 3-2

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Frank Vatrano scored on a breakaway 2:40 into overtime and Lukas Dostal stopped 34 shots as the Anaheim Ducks snapped a three-game skid with their first road win of the season, rallying to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Tuesday night.The Ducks twice erased one-goal deficits and pulled even with goals by Ryan Strome and Brett Leason on the way to their fifth straight win over Columbus.In the overtime, Benoit-Olivier Groulx picked up a loose puck in his own zone and sent a pass to a streaking Vatrano near center ice, and the 29-year-old winger beat Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on the stick side.Adam Fantilli had a goal and an assist, his first multi-point NHL game, and Emil Bemstrom scored for the Blue Jackets, who had a two-game wins streak halted. Merzlikins stopped 24 shots.After squandering a pair of power-play chances in the first period, the Blue Jackets capitalized on a third when Bemstrom scored his first of the season from the left circle ...

Thomas Harley and Wyatt Johnston’s 3rd-period goals help Stars defeat Penguins 4-1

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jason Robertson’s hard work in the crease gave the star forward his first goal of the season. His diving effort on a loose puck in the offensive zone helped put the game away.Robertson set up Thomas Harley’s third-period goal and Wyatt Johnston scored later in the period to help the Dallas Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Tuesday night.“He was excellent tonight,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “He’s a game-breaking guy. When he’s feeling it like he was, you can tell that he was in one of those zones where he was going to be a difference-maker.”Bryan Rust scored the first goal for Pittsburgh, but Dallas had the next four. The Stars haven’t lost in regulation yet this season.Robertson, who scored 46 goals last season, scored his first on Tuesday, as did Evgenii Dadonov before third-period goals from Harley and Johnston.“I haven’t gotten many scoring chances lately, so hopefully I can keep that confidence going and get rolling and start to feel it,” Robertson...

Hurricane Otis now a catastrophic Category 5 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast nearing Acapulco

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Otis strengthened from a tropical storm to a dangerous Category 5 hurricane in a matter of hours Tuesday as it approached Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, where it was forecast to make landfall near the resort of Acapulco early Wednesday causing catastrophic damage.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Otis has maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph) late Tuesday evening. It was centered about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south-southeast of Acapulco and moving north-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).A hurricane warning was in effect from Punta Maldonado to Zihuatanejo. A hurricane watch was is in effect from Lagunas de Chacahua to Punta MaldonadoOtis is forecast to remain a Category 5 hurricane through landfall but rapid weakening is then forecast due to the higher terrain of Mexico. Otis will likely dissipate over southern Mexico on Wednesday night.In Acapulco, people hurried home as rain began to pelt the resort and winds picked up, driving tourists ...

Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson score twice as Sabres pounce on Senators early, hang on for 6-4 win

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson each scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators 6-4 on Tuesday night. On a night meant to honor former Ottawa Senators star goaltender Craig Anderson, it was two high-powered offenses that stole the show.Anderson, who serves as a hockey liaison for the Buffalo Sabres, watched the visitors cruise to a 5-1 lead before almost letting it all slip away.A furious rally by the Senators narrowed the deficit to 5-4 with 35 seconds remaining, but Thompson got an empty-netter for his second goal of the night and locked down a wild win.Zemgus Girgensons and Alex Tuch also added goals for the Sabres.Jakob Chychrun, Vladimir Tarasenko, Josh Norris and Mathieu Joseph scored for Ottawa.Senators starter Anton Forsberg was chased from the net after allowing five goals on 18 shots through two periods. Joonas Korpisalo made five saves in the third. Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got the win for Buffalo with 34 saves.Senators co...

Column: Teresa Weatherspoon is here to ‘stir things up’ for the Chicago Sky, but the GM will be key to the recipe

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:30:15 GMT

The mood for the 1999 WNBA Eastern Conference finals between the New York Liberty and Charlotte Sting was “no Teresa Weatherspoon, no win.”On Tuesday, the Chicago Sky introduced Hall of Famer Weatherspoon as its new coach. Co-owner and operating chairman Nadia Rawlinson welcomed those in attendance at the introductory news conference to “the next era of the Chicago Sky.”In her opening remarks, Rawlinson discussed 2023 as a consequential year for the Sky. It was a year in which the team received an $85 million valuation, making it the second-most valuable franchise in the WNBA. The ownership group also expanded and diversified via the additions of NBA legend and Chicago native Dwyane Wade and a group of women investors.But it was also a year when the team lost much of its core, the head coach/GM departed midseason and the team dragged itself into the playoffs. There were points last season where the Sky seemed to be struggling to find their identity on and off...