DALLAS (AP) — Jake Oettinger made 22 saves to lead the Dallas Stars to a 2-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night, just two days after being pulled after allowing a season-high six goals.
It’s Oettinger’s fourth shutout this season and first since Oct. 17. Oettinger posted shutouts in three of Dallas’ first six games — including a 4-0 win against Buffalo on Oct. 8 — but had allowed 14 goals in his past three starts, including six in an 8-3 loss to Winnipeg on Thursday.
Stars captain Jamie Benn snapped a scoreless game late in the second period with a goal for the 1,000th point of his 18-year career to give Dallas a 1-0 lead.
Wyatt Johnston took an assist from Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz and scored on a power play with 40 seconds remaining for the final score.
Oettinger and the Stars’ defense held off the Sabres during a furious five-on-four power play midway through the third period. Moments later, Oettinger splayed his right leg out to stop a breakaway shot from point-blank range by Jack Quinn. Seconds later, Quinn had another chance to pull Buffalo even, but Oettinger was there for the save.
The Stars had three penalty kills in the first period, but still held a 10 to 6 shots-on-goal advantage in the opening frame. The Sabres killed two Stars power plays in the period. Dallas had five penalty kills in the game and outshot Buffalo 30-22.
Up next
The Stars host the Florida Panthers on Sunday.
The Sabres play the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
After their 2-0 loss against the Dallas Stars Saturday night in Dallas, the Buffalo Sabres find themselves on a four-game losing streak after that includes a 3-2 loss to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, and an 8-3 blowout defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. And Buffalo’s record after Saturday’s loss is a thoroughly-unimpressive 8-8-4.
The string of losses is putting the Sabres in the same troublingly-familiar position as the one they were in last season: By November 13 last year, Buffalo was in the midst of a five-game losing skid, and they had a record of 5-8-4. And it took the Sabres to get to the first week of December – when they had a record of 11-14-4 – before they suddenly changed their competitive trajectory and stunningly went 39-9-5 the rest of the way.
You never know what can happen with any team, but it doesn’t feel like this particular Sabres team has it in them to flip the script. And one of the reasons this writer feels that way is because Buffalo is getting sub-par performances from their goaltenders.
To be sure, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a 5-4-3 record, an .867 save percentage (worst of any Sabres goalie this year), and a 3.51 goals-against average. Meanwhile, ostensible backup Colten Ellis has a 3-3-0 record, an .873 SP and a 3.39 GAA. And veteran Alex Lyon – who had missed the entire season thus far before he started against the Blackhawks – put up a 2.87 GAA and an .880 SP in his first game back. And Sabres management gave Lyon a second straight start against the Stars, but he allowed two goals on 30 Dallas shots – a solid performance, but the Sabres still lost after they couldn't produce a single goal.
Obviously, this can’t continue if Buffalo intends on being a Stanley Cup playoff team, let alone a true Cup frontrunner.
The Hawks loss in particular has to be a huge red flag for Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Although Buffalo sits sixth in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings, there’s plenty of cause for concern in Western New York. And that’s in part because the NHL schedule-maker has put many solid squads in front of them in approximately the next two weeks.
For instance, after their next game a tilt Tuesday against the brutal Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, but after that, the Sabres’ next opponent will be the Washington Capitals (who have already beaten Buffalo once this year), followed by the Florida Panthers, Lightning, and the surprisingly-solid New York Rangers. And on Dec. 1, they get a road game against the high-octane Edmonton Oilers. So it’s no exaggeration to say that the Sabres’ record by December could be exactly where it was last season.
Kekalainen can’t let that happen. He’s not likely to fire coach Lindy Ruff, but it says here that he should be doing whatever is necessary to improve his team’s chances of getting into the post-season and do some serious damage once they get there.
The Sabres have $3-million in salary cap space to work with right now, and that number balloons to $11 million by this year’s NHL trade deadline, which comes on March 1. But Kekalainen has all three of his first-round draft picks in the next three drafts, as well as two second-rounders and five third-rounders. Buffalo is long past the point where they have to keep all their first-rounders, and given how valuable first-rounders are these days, Kekalainen should be demanding a difference-making forward or goaltender if he’s going to give an opposing team one of his first-rounders.
Thus, you can see why Sabres fans are antsy to change up the chemistry with this Buffalo squad. Their goals-for average ranks 22nd thus far this season, and their goals-against average ranks 27th. If either of those rankings were on the right track, you could forgive the Sabres and put some stock in them turning things around.
However, this current stretch of the schedule is being squandered by Buffalo. Sure, there were tough opponents in the Vegas Golden Knights and Lightning, but they lost those games by a combined score of 12-4 – and in their current four-game losing skid, they’ve been outscored by a combined total of 16-6. That’s a very bad harbinger of what’s to come, and it’s now on Kekalainen to shake the trees in the GM community and find a player or players to provide the jolt this Sabres team Obviously needs.
If he can’t do that, Kekalainen is going to find himself on the hot seat, trying to justify his existence. And in the end, he may fail in that regard as well.
Reilly was the subject of several healthy scratches before being placed on waivers by the Hurricanes on Saturday. This is because his most recent appearance for Carolina was on Oct. 18. Thus, with this and Jordan Staal returning for the Hurricanes, it is understandable that the former Canadiens blueliner has been waived by Carolina.
Teams looking for more experienced blueline depth could consider claiming Reilly off waivers from the Hurricanes. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, the Hurricanes would then be able to assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
Reilly has played in eight games this season with the Hurricanes, where he has recorded two assists, 15 hits, and a plus-4 rating.
Reilly played three seasons with the Canadiens from 2017-18 to 2019-20. In 90 games as a member of the Canadiens, the left-shot defenseman recorded three goals, 20 assists, 23 points, 77 hits, and 85 blocks.
Reilly's time with the Canadiens ended when he was traded to the Ottawa Seantors in January of the 2019-20 campaign.
MONTREAL, CANADA- NOVEMBER 14: Brock Nelson #11 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period of the NHL regular season game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell Centre on November 14, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Arianne Bergeron/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
To finish out their eastern Canadian swing, the Colorado Avalanche visited the Montreal Canadiens in what is always a spirited affair. News broke earlier in the day that they’d have to tackle this game shorthanded with both Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon out with injury. It was a classic win by committee through adversity as the Avalanche found themselves with a 4-1 victory.
Life sans superstars started off on a positive note as Fedor Svechkov got the scoring started and gave the Avalanche an early lead on a puck that was chipped over Montreal netminder Jakub Dobes. Brock Nelson doubled the score on a slick feed from Artturi Lehkonen. Montreal found the 10-5 shot advantage but Colorado had the 2-0 lead on the scoreboard.
In the second period the two teams traded a pair of power plays each but neither team could convert. Montreal did get on the board with a goal from Nick Suzuki after he took advantage of some very lax Avalanche defense. The score at the second intermission was 2-1 Colorado.
With the benefit of another power play to open the third period, Colorado added to their lead with Artturi Lehkonen’s 15th goal of the season doing what he does best cleaning up the garbage at the net front. At one point it seemed Montreal would make it a game again when Alex Newhook tipped a puck past Mackenzie Blackwood but after a lengthy review it was determined he touched the puck with a high stick and the goal was wiped out. Montreal pulled the goalie with several minutes left and in the dying seconds Nic Roy found the back of the net to give Colorado a 4-1-victory.
Takeaways
If Colorado is going to survive the era with MacKinnon and Makar on the shelf they are really going to need to accept help from the non-veteran players in their lineup. It was disappointing to see Fedor Svechkov score on the opening minutes of the game and yet finished with the team-low 10 minutes of ice time with a 82% share of the expected goals while he was on the ice. He will be wasted on the fourth line in a healthy lineup and with one aching for useful depth guys like Svechkov will be key to keeping this team afloat.
Rookie defenseman Alex Gagne made his NHL debut and played nearly 12 minutes. He did well enough in a third pair role with Brent Burns. It remains to be seen if Gagne gets the opportunity throughout Makar’s full absence or if there will be trading out players especially as Colorado has a very light schedule over the next couple of weeks.
Upcoming
A couple days rest and then a big Central division matchup at the Utah Mammoth to begin yet another back-to-back on Wednesday, November 18th at 8 p.m. MT.
MONTREAL (AP) — Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist and the short-handed Colorado Avalanche beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday night without injured stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
MacKinnon and Makar both sustained lower-body injuries Thursday night in a 4-3 overtime loss in Ottawa. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said MacKinnon will be out at least a month, while Makar is expected to miss two weeks.
Fedor Svechkov, Brock Nelson and Nicolas Roy also scored for Colorado (12-6-3). Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 25 shots.
Nick Suzuki replied with a highlight-reel goal for Montreal (12-4-4), which had gone 12 consecutive games without losing in regulation (9-0-3).
Jakub Dobes made 22 saves in his first start in nine days.
Colorado defenseman Brent Burns became the 14th player in NHL history — and only active player — to play in 1,600 games. The 41-year-old defender has suited up in 1,028 consecutive contests dating to Nov. 21, 2013. Phil Kessel holds the NHL’s “Ironman” record at 1,064 straight games, a number Burns could pass Feb. 15.
Up next
Avalanche: At Utah on Wednesday night.
Canadiens: Host the New York Rangers on Monday night.
TORONTO (AP) — Connor McDavid extended his season-opening points streak to 21 games with an assist, Devon Levi made 19 saves for his first NHL shutout and the Edmonton Oilers beat Toronto 1-0 on Saturday night to hand the Maple Leafs their sixth straight home loss.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard scored his 12th goal of the season for Edmonton (15-3-3). The Oilers are 7-1-1 in their last nine games.
McDavid picked up an assist to give him 50 points (11 goals, 39 assists) and add to his NHL lead.
Oilers coach Mike Babcock faced his former team in Toronto for the first time since being fired in November 2019.
Anthony Stolarz stopped 22 shots for Toronto (8-12-2), which suffered its sixth consecutive regulation loss to complete a disastrous six-game stretch at Scotiabank Arena.
The goaltender started consecutive games for the first time this season with Sergei Bobrovsky struggling to find traction after signing with the Maple Leafs in free agency on July 1.
Michael Amadio had a goal and an assist to lead the Senators to a 4-1 win in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. The Senators have taken 9 of a possible 10 points in the past five games and now share the Atlantic lead with 28.
Linus Ullmark made 16 saves for the Sens, who outshot the Penguins 34-17 and got goals from Claude Giroux, Tim Stutzle and Thomas Chabot.
The Penguins appeared to open the scoring at 7:01 of the first period when Tommy Novak was credited with a bizarre goal that featured a couple of strange bounces. However, video review determined that Pittsburgh's Egor Chinakhov was offside before the goal, wiping it off the board.
The Penguins did get on the board with just six seconds remaining in the first, thanks to a defensive breakdown by Thomas Chabot and Carter Yakemchuk, who put on a clinic in how not to defend a two-on-two.
Chinakhov lifted Chabot's stick as the Senators defenceman pinched and attempted to intercept a pass. As Chinakhov glided past Chabot, Yakemchuk veered toward him, and the Penguins forward slid the puck over to Novak, who had about two-thirds of the net to shoot at. He made no mistake, giving Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The Senators tied the game at 8:04 of the second period following a terrible Penguins giveaway, reminiscent of Shane Pinto's overtime winner against Colorado on Thursday night. Michael Amadio made a good read to intercept a careless pass to the middle and beat the goaltender with a wrist shot.
With four minutes remaining in the second, Claude Giroux put the Sens ahead with his fourth goal of the season.
With the Penguins in the middle of a line change, Pittsburgh forward Ben Kindel committed the ultimate sin, failing to get the puck deep while his teammates were heading to the bench. Kindel tried to dump it in, but instead fired the puck off Yakemchuk's skate.
The puck caromed out to centre ice, where Giroux found himself on a breakaway. The veteran did a fantastic job of outwaiting Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov before tucking a backhand upstairs to give the Senators a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.
In the third, with just over five minutes to play, Tim Stutzle put the game out of reach with a quick wrist shot from his knees that Murashov didn't seem ready for.
Chabot put it away with an empty-netter.
The win leaves the Senators with a record of 13-6-2, and with losses by Tampa and Montreal, the three clubs are suddenly tied for first place in the Atlantic with 28 points, one up on Boston, which also lost on Saturday. It should be noted that the Habs and Lightning do have a game in hand.
The Sens are back at it on Tuesday night in Winnipeg against the Jets, who've won six in a row.
The Detroit Red Wings badly needed to stop the bleeding after they'd dropped five straight games, the most recent of which was a nightmare 5-4 loss to the Florida Panthers after they initially enjoyed a 4-1 lead.
Thanks to goaltender Daniil Tarasov, they did just that against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tarasov stopped all 31 shots the Lightning fired his way, picking up his second shutout of the campaign in a 2-0 victory at Benchmark International Arena.
Following a scoreless opening 20 minutes of play, it would be the Red Wings breaking the ice thanks to a breakaway goal from Lucas Raymond, who picked up his eighth goal of the season and his second in as many games.
It was also the 350th point of his NHL career.
While the Lightning continued to press for the tying marker, Tarasov denied them at every turn; he stopped four attempts from Brandon Hagel and five attempts from Nikita Kucherov.
With goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on the bench for an extra attacker, forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygård took a feed from Raymond and buried his fourth tally of the season, sealing Detroit's win.
Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for the Lightning, who were unsuccessful on both of their power play opportunities; the Red Wings never got a chance with the man advantage.
The Red Wings, having concluded their four-game road swing, return home to face another divisional rival, the Boston Bruins, on Wednesday evening at Little Caesars Arena; they'll play six of their next seven games in Detroit.
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DALLAS (AP) — Dallas captain Jamie Benn scored a second-period goal during Saturday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres for his 1,000th career NHL point, all with the Stars.
Benn, 37, and in his 18th NHL season, is second to Hall of Famer Mike Modano (1,359) in career points for the franchise that began as the Minnesota North Stars in 1967 and moved to Texas in 1993.
The Stars’ bench emptied to celebrate the moment when the longest-tenured captain in Stars history snapped a scoreless tie with his goal.
Benn — a native of Victoria, British Columbia — was drafted in the fifth round in 2007 and made the Stars’ opening night roster in 2009, recording his first league point on an assist in his second game.
He won the league’s 2014-15 Art Ross Trophy for leading the NHL with 87 points (35 goals, 52 assists).
He scored a career-high 41 goals the following season, when he was selected for the second of his two All-Star teams.
Benn’s 1,272 career regular-season games played are the most of any Stars skater since the team relocated to Dallas and ranks second in franchise history behind Modano’s 1,459.
Benn missed the first 20 games last season when he had surgery for a collapsed lung on the eve of the opener. He was re-signed to a one-year contract in July.
Riley Eikhoff’s first pro season hit an injury detour, but there’s still plenty to like about the road ahead. | (MLB)
Riley Eikhoff Right-Handed Starting Pitcher 5´10´´ 185 pounds Age: 25 2026 South Side Sox Top 100 ranking 92 2026 High Level Winston-Salem (A+) Age relative to high level +0.8 years SSS rank among all right-handed starters in the system 13 Overall 2026 season stats (Low-A/High-A) 4-5 ⚾️ 16 games (14 starts) ⚾️ 83 2/3 IP ⚾️ 3.76 ERA ⚾️ 1.157 WHIP ⚾️ 81 K ⚾️ 17 BB ⚾️ 1.2 WAR
The White Sox selected righthander Riley Eikhoff out of Coastal Carolina in the ninth round of the 2025 MLB Draft. On paper, it looked like they’d landed a sleeper. And his first professional season, in 2026, gave that idea a little more life — even though an injury cut the introduction short.
Eikhoff was a vital member of the Chanticleers rotation in his last year of eligibility, one that saw the program put together one of the most remarkable runs in recent Division I memory. Coastal Carolina won 26 straight games on its way to the College World Series finals, and Eikhoff took the ball twice in Omaha. He helped the Chanticleers beat Arizona and Louisville, putting them two wins away from a national championship. LSU swept the best-of-three final, but if the series had reached a decisive third game, Eikhoff would have been the scheduled starter. That’s an obvious testament to how much trust the Coastal staff placed in him.
What Eikhoff lacks in eye-popping raw stuff, he consistently makes up for in discipline and command. Under first-year Coastal pitching coach Matt Williams, Eikhoff reshaped his arsenal and took a significant step forward. Williams swapped Eikhoff’s four-seamer for a sinker that better matched his lower arm slot. The new sinker sat at 90-92 mph and touched 94. The change unlocked an improved version of the righthander, helping him produce a career-best 3.10 ERA and just 11 walks across 90 innings in 2025.
His slider, a low-80s sweeper with late horizontal action, seems to be his best pitch, and his mid-80s changeup allows him to keep both lefties and righties off-balance. The package doesn’t scream future frontline starter, but there’s something to be said for a pitcher who knows what he has and how to use it.
Eikhoff got his first chance to put that mix to work against professional hitters with Kannapolis in 2026. In 13 appearances (11 starts), he went 4-5 with a 3.84 ERA over 65 2/3 innings. It was enough to earn him a June 17 promotion to Winston-Salem, where he wasted no time making himself comfortable.
In his High-A debut, Eikhoff gave the Dash seven innings of two-run baseball, allowing five hits and striking out seven without issuing a walk. Of his 91 pitches, 68 went for strikes. That’s a pretty good way to introduce yourself to a new coaching staff.
Unfortunately, the Dash didn’t get to see much more. Eikhoff made just three total starts, pitching to a 3.50 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 18 innings before injury landed him on the 7-day IL on July 3 and being transferred to the 60-day IL on July 31, taking him out of action for the rest of the year. Just as he was getting a chance to show what he could do at the next level, his season came to a halt. We’re uncertain of the nature of Eikhoff’s injury, a stint on the 60-day IL is never a good thing.
Still, there was plenty to like about the work he did get in. Eikhoff entered pro ball with questions about whether his size and less-than-elite velocity would eventually push him to the bullpen. That could still be where he lands, but he gave the White Sox a reason to keep handing him the ball as a starter.
He’s a compact righthander with mound savvy, ground-ball potential and a clear aptitude for adjusting his game as the competition rises. Getting healthy and picking up where he left off will be the next order of business, with more advanced hitters providing the next test of how far his command can carry him.
For now, Eikhoff remains a veteran competitor with a sturdy statistical résumé and the kind of reliability that coaches love. It’s precisely the sort of under-the-radar arm that sometimes becomes more than expected. Providing his arm injury in July wasn’t devastating, Eikhoff will likely open 2027 back with the Dash, with a chance at Birmingham sooner rather than later.
On this day 14 years ago, Chris Sale finished sixth in Cy Young voting. | (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
1900 The aggressively-improving American League was rejected as an equal major league by the established National League. Although there were multiple major leagues more often than not in the course of organized baseball over the latter half of the 19th Century, at this juncture the NL felt it was the sole top circuit in the game, and it was especially irked that the AL was ignoring the National Agreement to compete head-to-head in NL cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
How did this affect the White Sox, a newly-formed AL team relocating from St. Paul? The 1900 pennant, the first awarded by the new league, was won by the White Sox, whose 82-53 record was 4 1⁄2 games better than the Milwaukee Brewers. But it, along with the records of the 1900 players, are not consider “major league”; Baseball-Reference, for example, begins its White Sox franchise history at 1901, the first year the AL was regarded as “major.”
However, the White Sox had just four of 28 players without prior major league experience, and half of the players cut from the National League (the circuit had shrunk from 12 to eight teams for 1900) ended up in the AL, legitimizing its major status. And before the season had even begun, the Chicago Tribune observed that “the American League is not, after all, much behind the old, cumbersome National League.”
The 1900 triumph was the first pennant won by a Chicago team in 14 years.
The White Sox, mostly intact and even bolstered from 1900, went back-to-back in winning the AL pennant in 1901, the first season the AL was considered a major league. In fact, Frank Isbell, Roy Patterson, Ed McFarland played on the 1900 and 1901 pennant winners and 1906 World Series winners.
1977 The move was overshadowed by the failure of Ron Blomberg (signed three days later) falling flat as heir apparent slugger after the South Side Hit Men season, but in some sense, signing pitcher Jim Hughes hit harder. Injuries limited Hughes to just two games out of the pen in 1977, making him a perfect candidate for Bill Veeck’s shoestring Rent-a-Player scheme; plus, perhaps Hughes would fare as well as Twins third baseman Eric Soderholm did for the White Sox under similar circumstances a year earlier. However, Hughes was cut at the end of Spring Training and never pitched a single game for the White Sox, or any other MLB team, after that.
1995 On the strength of a career-best 2.2 WAR season while working off of a prove-it, one-year deal, Dave Martinez re-signed with the White Sox for two years and what turned out to be just shy of $2 million.
Martinez did not sit back after getting paid, putting up a stellar 4.4 WAR season in 1996 and getting on base nearly 40% of the time. While that year would stand as the very best of Martinez’s 16 years in the majors, he followed it with his second-best season, 3.1 WAR in 1997. All told, the outfielder’s three best career years came in his three years with the White Sox.
And somehow, the club didn’t interview him for its manager role after Ozzie Guillén bolted Chicago in 2011.
2012 Chris Sale finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting, the first of seven straight years he would finish in the Top 6. Sale, on the strength of 5.7 WAR, a 17-8 record, 3.05 ERA/3.27 FIP, 1.135 WHIP and 192 strikeouts, earned 17 votes, an 11% share. The battle for the award itself was very tight, with David Price edging out Justin Verlander, 153-149.
In all five of Sale’s starting seasons on the South Side, he earned Cy Young votes.
2024 White Sox All-Star lefthander Garrett Crochet was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 32 starts and 146 innings in 2024, his first season as a starter after missing most of 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. In fact, he joined a short list of players in baseball history when he made his first career start on Opening Day.
Among pitchers with at least 140 innings, Crochet led the A.L. in strikeouts with 12.88 per nine innings and was second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.33).
Crochetbecame the third Sox player to win the Comeback award, joining righthander Liam Hendriks in 2023 and designated hitter Jim Thome in 2006.
Alas, less than a month after receiving the honor, Crochet was dealt to Boston as the headliner in a five-player swap.
The Colorado Avalanche (12-6-3) showed they have plenty of firepower to go around Saturday night, earning a convincing 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens (12-4-4) at the Bell Centre. Playing without two of their biggest stars, Colorado got goals from four different players to hand Montreal its first regulation loss in a month.
Fedor Svechkov and Brock Nelson provided the early offense, while former Canadien Artturi Lehkonen continued his impressive season with his team-leading 15th goal. Nicolas Roy added an empty-netter late in the third period, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 22 shots to help Colorado secure the road win.
Nick Suzuki scored the lone goal for the Canadiens and Jakub Dobeš made 23 saves in a valiant effort.
Blackwood in a recent interview.
First Period: Avalanche Strike Twice
Colorado made the most of its opportunities in the opening period, scoring twice despite being outshot 10-5 by Montreal.
Fedor Svechkov opened the scoring after beating Jakub Dobes on a two-on-one rush, with Adam Engstrom unable to get across in time to disrupt the play.
The Avalanche doubled their advantage on a delayed penalty call when Brock Nelson found the back of the net, extending his goal-scoring streak against Montreal to four consecutive games.
Despite being outshot, Colorado took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, while Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all 10 shots he faced.
Second Period: Suzuki Gets Montreal on the Board
The Canadiens responded in the second period, with captain Nick Suzuki providing the offensive spark.
After Juraj Slafkovsky helped create several opportunities, including chances on the power play, Suzuki delivered a highlight-reel goal. The Montreal captain pulled off a spectacular spin-o-rama in front of the net before beating Blackwood with a backhand to cut Colorado's lead to 2-1.
Suzuki continued his strong history against the Avalanche, recording his 12th point in his last eight games against Colorado.
Both goaltenders made important saves as the period progressed, but the Avalanche maintained their one-goal advantage heading into the third period. Montreal outshot Colorado 18-15 through 40 minutes.
Third Period: Lehkonen Extends the Lead
After Blackwood helped Colorado weather Montreal's push, the Avalanche delivered a crucial insurance goal.
Nazem Kadri got the initial shot off from the low slot, and former Canadien Artturi Lehkonen was in the right place to capitalize on the rebound, batting the puck past Dobes for his 15th goal of the season. Lehkonen's tally extended his team lead in goals and gave Colorado a 3-1 advantage.
Montreal appeared to have an opportunity to get back within one when Alex Newhook redirected the puck into the net. However, following a lengthy video review, the goal was waved off after officials determined the deflection was made with a high stick.
Colorado continued to hold off the Canadiens before Nicolas Roy sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with just 13 seconds remaining.
The 4-1 win extended the Avalanche's remarkable streak to 52 consecutive victories when leading after two periods.
Final Thoughts
It wasn't a perfect performance from Colorado, particularly after being outshot in the opening two periods, but the Avalanche demonstrated their ability to capitalize on scoring opportunities and protect a lead.
Playing without MacKinnon and Makar, Colorado received contributions throughout the lineup. Svechkov and Nelson provided the early offense, Lehkonen continued his outstanding goal-scoring season, and Roy put the finishing touches on the victory.
Blackwood was also a key factor, making 22 saves as the Avalanche handed Montreal its first regulation loss in a month.
Colorado leaves Montreal with a 4-1 road victory and another strong team performance to build on.
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 01: Spencer Schwellenbach #56 of the Atlanta Braves and AJ Smith-Shawver #32, JR Ritchie #60, Michael Harris II #23 and Brewer Hicklen #53 of the Atlanta Braves celebrate in the fourth inningduring Game Three of the Wild Card Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies at Truist Park on October 1, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Donovan Dent made a 3-pointer with just more than a second left to give LSU an 81-80 comeback win over No. 14 Gonzaga on Saturday.
Dent had 23 points and 10 assists to lead the Tigers (4-0) in the first meeting between the programs. The game was played off campus at Spokane Arena.
Davis Fogle missed a desperation shot at the buzzer for the Bulldogs (2-1). Fogle sank one of two free throws with 13 seconds left to make it 80-78.
Abdi Bashir Jr. had 15 points off the bench and Skyy Clark scored 14 for LSU. Freshman center Michael Ruzic added 12 points and 12 rebounds, also off the bench.
Braden Huff led Gonzaga with 18 points and 13 boards. Fogle finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
NO. 16 TEXAS TECH 88, STONEHILL 37
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Dakari Spear had 22 points, Jamichael Stillwell and Amari Barrett both had double-doubles and Texas Tech stretched its nonconference home winning streak to 50 games with a victory over Stonehill College.
Six players scored in double figures for the Red Raiders (4-0) on a day they were without three key players.
Stillwell had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Barrett had 13 points and 10 boards. Damarion Dennis also had 13 points, while Cruz Davis added 12 and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn 11.
The Red Raiders, coming off an 84-78 home win over No. 3 Illinois on Wednesday, have won 104 of their last 105 nonconference home games since December 2013.
The only loss in that span was 76-74 in overtime to No. 15 Kentucky on Jan. 25, 2020, which ended a school-record, 54-game win streak. They are 27-0 in nonconference home games under fourth-year coach Grant McCasland.
CHICAGO - Since their horrific road trip through the southeastern United States ended, the Chicago Blackhawks have been making all sorts of changes on and off the ice. When they took on the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, it was assumed that there would be a much better effort.
The Blackhawks ended up winning that match 3-2 in overtime after entering the third period down a goal. There is a lot of time left for them to keep working on their game, but it's not going to happen overnight.
On Saturday, the Winnipeg Jets were in town for a daytime match against the Blackhawks. Winners of 5 straight games following a stretch of 8 losses out of 9, the Jets are a difficult team to predict.
The game's opening period went about as well as the Blackhawks could have hoped. The play was rather even, but the Blackhawks held a 3-0 lead at the first intermission. Their first goal came after Connor Bedard's nice zone entry led to Oliver Moore making a perfect pass to Tyler Bertuzzi, who made a nice move and shot to score.
Their second goal was the result of hard work on the forecheck by Ryan Donato. He allowed the puck to find Teuvo Teravainen, who made a great centering pass for Anton Frondell to tip into the net.
Late in the period, the Blackhawks were given a power play, and they took advantage. Patrick Kane won a puck battle behind the net and then fed Connor Bedard for a one-timer, and he beat Stuart Skinner.
In the second period, the Blackhawks made it 4-0 at 14:44 when Frank Nazar tipped home a Teuvo Teravainen shot on the power play. From there, the Hawks appeared to be in control of the game.
Nothing is certain in the NHL, and Winnipeg planted the seed of doubt before the middle frame was over. Mark Scheifele got the Jets on the board after putting one in the net off a great feed from Josh Morrissey. On that goal, Scheifele became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Winnipeg Jets with 930 career points.
MARK SCHEIFELE SETS THE FRANCHISE RECORD IN POINTS (again)
While the Blackhawks were announcing the goal and congratulating Scheifele on that accomplishment, he made it 931 by assisting on a goal scored by Kyle Connor. Spencer Knight went to play the puck behind the net, and his stick got caught in the boards. Scheifele took advantage of the situation and fed the puck in front to Connor, who beat Knight back to the net.
The 4-2 lead in favor of Chicago made it back to the locker room for the second intermission. Going into the third period, the Blackhawks knew they were going to get an intense push from the Jets.
Early in the final frame, the Jets found themselves on the power play 20 seconds in. Cole Perfetti scored to get them within 1. At that point, the Blackhawks were in trouble as the Jets came all the way back to make it a hockey game.
With the extra attacker, the Jets found a way to tie the game. It felt like it was coming in the moments leading up to it, and they did. Nobody scored in overtime, and the Jets won in the shootout to complete the comeback.
That will go down as one of Chicago's most disappointing losses of the season, which is saying something for a team that's now 5-13-2. It wasn't the standard meltdown, as some fluky plays led to the Jets getting it tied up, but not closing out a game when they were up 4-0 is a meltdown nonetheless - a step backwards after taking the slightest step forward.
The Chicago Blackhawks will be back at home on Tuesday night. It is their final Centennial Celebration, which will take place against the Toronto Maple Leafs. This game will be played on the 100th anniversary of their first game in franchise history, which was against the Toronto St. Pats on November 17th, 1926.
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