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European football: Lamine Yamal on target as Barcelona battle past 10-man Villarreal

  • Barcelona head into new year on top of La Liga

  • Kane scores again in Bayern’s 4-0 rout of Heidenheim

Barcelona enjoyed a composed 2-0 La Liga victory at Villarreal on Sunday thanks to goals from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal in a match that tilted firmly in the visitors’ favour when the hosts were reduced to 10 men just before the break.

It took only 12 minutes for Barcelona to take the lead from the penalty spot after Santi Comesana blocked Raphinha with his back as the winger tried to break through and the Brazilian calmly converted the spot-kick.

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Blackhawks Defenseman Fined By NHL Player Safety

NHL Player Safety has announced that Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has been fined $2,604.17 for cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle. This is the maximum allowable under the current CBA for cross-checking. 

The incident occurred during the Blackhawks' most recent contest against the Senators on Dec. 20. In a scrum after the whistle during the first period, Grzelcyk cross-checked Stutzle in the face. This led to the Blackhawks defenseman receiving a double-minor penalty for high-sticking. 

While getting fined is never the best thing, the Blackhawks are certainly happy that this incident did not lead to Grzelcyk receiving a suspension, as he is a solid part of their blueline. 

Grzelcyk signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Blackhawks at the start of the 2025-26 season. This was after he joined the club's training camp on a professional tryout (PTO), where he impressed enough to earn a deal for the season.

Grzelcyk has appeared in 35 games so far this season with the Blackhawks, where he has recorded zero goals, six assists, 30 blocks, and a plus-3 rating. This is after he scored one goal and set career highs with 39 assists and 40 points in 82 games during this past season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

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Aiden Sherrell scores career-high 21 to lead No. 16 Alabama past Kennesaw State 92-81

The neutral-site game in northern Alabama included a pro-Crimson Tide crowd and hosted a coming-out party for Sherrell. The sophomore from Detroit scored 15 points in the first half and helped Alabama (9-3) build a 26-point lead. The Tide held on from there despite getting outscored by 15 in the second half and ended up with four players scoring in double figures, including Aden Holloway (17), Labaron Philon Jr. (17) and Jalil Bethea (11).

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Islanders Matthew Barzal's Bar: 'That’s The Leadership We Need From Him'

BUFFALO, NY —New York Islanders forward Matthew Barzal was a menace in the second half of their 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Islanders Tie Game Late in Third, Lose 3-2 In Shootout To BuffaloIslanders Tie Game Late in Third, Lose 3-2 In Shootout To BuffaloA thrilling late-game comeback forced overtime, but the Islanders ultimately fell short in a nail-biting shootout.

He scored his 10th goal of the season at the 19:37 mark of the second to cut the Islanders’ deficit to 2-1:

That extended his point streak to seven games (two goals, five assists).

Then, on the power play with goaltender David Rittich on the bench for the extra attacker, Barzal hit Emil Heineman on the tape for the tying tally with 28 seconds to play in regulation:

Barzal was all over the place in overtime with a few breakaway tries but could not bury.

Then in the shootout, Barzal scored on a nifty backhand move:

The Islanders have gone 1-2-1 without Bo Horvat and it’s been a struggle to produce, especially off the rush. 

Patrick Roy has been waiting for someone to rise up and he got that kind of performance from No. 13 when the team desperately needed a spark on Saturday.

“Well, it's a great opportunity for him to lead the team, and he's doing that,” Roy said. “So I mean, that's the leadership we need from him, producing every night, giving ourselves a chance to be in every game. And I feel that’s a role Barzy wants to play as well. So I mean, it's nice to see him be successful.”

Horvat isn’t expected to be out much longer, already a week and a half into what I heard was a 1-3 week timeline.

Could he return later this week against the New York Rangers on Saturday?

Given that Horvat skated on his own Friday morning — he didn't travel because there was no morning skate — one would think he's getting very close.

Until he's back, the Islanders need Barzal playing like a No. 1 center.

The point streak is nice, but if you noticed, he was making key plays defensively on Saturday. He was pushing the pace, crashing the net and he did win 7-of-13 face-offs (53%). 

That's the Barzal that this team needs and that's the Barzal the Islanders got on Saturday.

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Canadiens: Montembeault Stays With The Rocket

While the Montreal Canadiens announced on Sunday morning that they had recalled Samuel Blais from the Laval Rocket, the organization stayed eerily quiet about goaltender Samuel Montembeault.

Blais’ call-up makes perfect sense since center Jake Evans left Saturday night’s game not even four minutes in after what looked like a knee-on-knee collision. In his post-game media availability, Martin St-Louis explained that he would not be flying with the team to Pittsburgh and that he was still being evaluated.

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The absence of news on Montembeault was, however, surprising since the organization had already said a couple of times that the plan was for the netminder to rejoin the team in Pittsburgh this weekend. Following several media requests, the communications department confirmed that the goaltender's plan had been revised and that he would rejoin the team after the Christmas break.

Under the conditioning stint rules, a player can remain in the AHL for 14 days. Since Montembeault was assigned to the Rocket on December 16, he could conceivably stay there until December 30. The team has not confirmed the exact date the goalie will join the Canadiens, but, as previously reported, the goalie had to agree to this course of action. 

On paper, his stay is extended, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that he will see more action in the AHL since the Rocket’s next game is on December 27 against the Syracuse Crunch, while the Canadiens’ next game will be on December 28 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Florida. If Montembeault joins the team right after the break, he will likely travel with them before the Tampa game, meaning he wouldn’t have time to play another game in Laval in any case.

The Becancour native has lost his two starts with the Rocket: 5-2 on Thursday, when he gave up four goals on 24 shots, and 2-0 on Saturday, when he made 27 saves on 28 shots, the second goal was an empty netter. The Rocket was playing without several of its key contributors, with Owen Beck, Adam Engstrom, and Jacob Fowler all with the Canadiens, and Alex Belzile, Joshua Roy, and Laurent Dauphin serving three-game suspensions. The goalie can hardly be blamed for Saturday’s defeat, but it’s clear the plan didn’t really go as hoped.

While the Canadiens play in Pittsburgh tonight and in Boston on Tuesday night, Montembeault will benefit from more practice time with Rocket goaltending coach Marco Marciano. He has done a great job with Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler in getting them ready for the NHL, so more time with him might just be what the doctor ordered for the veteran goaltender.

Since Fowler played last night, you can expect Dobes to be in the net tonight when the Habs take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, although that has yet to be confirmed by the team, which didn’t hold a media availability today.

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Red Sox acquire Willson Contreras in trade with Cardinals: Report

Red Sox acquire Willson Contreras in trade with Cardinals: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow remains active on the trade market.

On Sunday, the Red Sox acquired first baseman Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for right-hander Hunter Dobbins as well as minor-league righties Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

Contreras, 33, will bring much-needed right-handed pop to the Red Sox lineup. The three-time All-Star slashed .257/.344/.447 with 20 home runs and 80 RBI in 135 games last season.

Defensively, Contreras should be a significant upgrade at first base. He ranked fourth among all players at the position last season with six Outs Above Average. Fellow Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas had -10 OAA in 2024, his lone full MLB season.

Contreras is signed through 2027 with $36.5 million remaining on his contract. He has a $17.5 million club option for the 2028 season that comes with a $5 million buyout.

Although he isn’t a threat to hit 40+ homers, Contreras is still a solid alternative for the Red Sox after they whiffed on signing free-agent slugger Pete Alonso. His swing is tailor-made for Fenway Park, and his defense blows both Casas’ and Alonso’s out of the water.

This was the Red Sox’ second trade with the Cardinals this offseason. In November, they acquired veteran right-hander Sonny Gray in exchange for righty Richard Fitts and left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Clarke.

Boston still has not made a big-league free-agent signing.

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Chicago's Matt Grzelcyk Fined For Cross-Checking Senators Star In The Face

When Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Matt Grzelcyk cross-checked Senators top scorer Tim Stutzle in the face on Saturday afternoon, he seemed to get off lightly, receiving only a double minor for high-sticking.

The officials then effectively reduced the punishment by handing Stutzle a roughing minor. Then the Sens lessened the severity even further with a too-many-men penalty near the end of their power play.

So Sens fans came away feeling like they didn't really get their pound of flesh.

On Sunday, in the light of day, when the NHL had a good chance to fully review Grzelcyk's actions, they swooped in with a $2,604.17 fine. Only time will tell whether Grzelcyk will ever financially recover.

The incident happened in the first period of Ottawa's 6-4 win over the Hawks when Stutzle and Grzelcyk began shoving after the whistle. Grzelcyk eventually hit Stutzle with a clear cross-check to the face, captured perfectly in high-definition, slow-motion replay and witnessed by one of the referees, standing 3 feet away.

This was clearly a much different situation than a player trying to lift an opponent's stick and accidentally catching him with a high stick, causing blood. And yet, Saturday's officials treated it the same. 

After reviewing the tape several times, I now think that in the middle of the jousting, Grzelcyk was probably just intending to cross-check Stutzle in the chest area. Unfortunately for both parties, his stick shaft appeared to accidentally ride upward as Stutzle simultaneously raised his arms to defend himself.

Still, when your intention is to lay a hard cross-check on someone after the whistle, versus something that accidentally happens during a hockey play in game action, then what happens next is and should be on you. 

So Grzelcyk was fortunate to stay in the game and only receive a double minor. And why the NHL continues to bother with its tiny fines is anyone's guess.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

This article was originally published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Read more:

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