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Blackhawks lose Frank Nazar to facial injury in fifth straight defeat

OTTAWA, Ontario — The Chicago Blackhawks lost another key player when Frank Nazar was hit in the face by a puck during Saturday’s 6-4 loss at Ottawa.

Nazar went straight to the locker room after he was struck by Senators defenseman Jordan Spence’s shot about five minutes into the game. Coach Jeff Blashill declined to offer any specifics about the injury, but he said Nazar will be sidelined for approximately four weeks.

“You saw the play,” Blashill said. “He got hit right in the face.”

Chicago was already without Connor Bedard, who has a team-high 19 goals and 25 assists. Bedard missed his fourth consecutive game with a right shoulder injury that is going to sideline the 20-year-old center at least until early January.

Captain Nick Foligno hasn’t played since Nov. 15 because of a hand injury, but he could return soon.

“One of the things that leads to consistency is depth, and so our depth is getting tested,” Blashill said. “So guys in those roles have to ultimately play at a higher level. As you play more minutes in more important roles, you’ve got to play that much better. And it’s a challenge. And it’s not easy.

“As a group, we need to get more out of more guys. We’ve talked about that, and we’ll continue to talk about that.”

Nazar, who turns 22 on Jan. 14, has six goals and 15 assists in 33 games. The center, a first-round pick in the 2022 draft, agreed to a seven-year contract extension in August.

Chicago and Ottawa were tied at 3 after two periods, but David Perron scored twice in the third for the Senators.

It was the Blackhawks’ fifth consecutive loss. They dropped to 3-11-2 in their last 16 games.

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Kaufman-Renn scores 18 points and Smith has 14 assists as No. 6 Purdue routs No. 21 Auburn, 88-60

Trey Kaufman-Renn had 18 points and six rebounds, and Braden Smith added 11 points and a season-high 14 assists to help No. 6 Purdue blow out No. 21 Auburn 88-60 on Saturday. C.J. Cox scored 14 points, making four 3-pointers, as the Boilermakers (11-1) won their third straight game since getting routed at home by then-No. 10 Iowa State two weeks ago. Purdue improved to 3-1 in the annual Indy Classic by shooting 55.9% from the field.

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Latest Panthers comeback attempt comes up short, Florida falls to Blues 6-2

The Florida Panthers hit the ice on Saturday evening in Sunrise searching for a fifth consecutive victory while playing a third game in four nights.

Florida battled back from an early deficit but ultimately ran out of gas against the spunky St. Louis Blues, falling 6-2 at Amerant Bank Arena.

St. Louis picked up the game’s first goal on a nifty deflection.

Directly off a faceoff in Florida’s zone, a point shot by Cam Fowler was tipped by Jake Neighbours to give the Blues a 1-0 lead 9:58 into the game.

The visitors doubled their lead early in the second period while on a power play on a shot that was nearly kept out of the net.

Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov made an amazing glove save while sliding to his left, but the shot by Jonatan Berggren was just hard enough to cause Tarasov’s glove to cross over the goal line, just past the post, as he stretched back to catch it.

Just like that it was 2-0 Blues with over 18 minutes left in the middle frame.

Florida finally got themselves on the scoreboard about five minutes later.

Seth Jones cut to the net and put a shot on Joel Hofer that was stopped, but the rebound went to Jesper Boqvist at the opposite side of the net and his shot went off A.J. Greer in front and past Hofer’s blocker.

The Panthers would tie the game a few minutes after that thanks to a familiar looking goal.

With Florida on the power play, Brad Marchand corralled the puck below the goal line and sent a perfect pass to Sam Reinhart in the slot, and Reinhart’s quick shot eluded Hofer to tie the score at two with 7:15 to go in the second period.

It looked like the game would go into the intermission with the game all tied up, but a shocking goal by Justin Faulk with 0.8 on the clock gave the Blues a 3-2 edge and some good vibes to take into the final frame.

St. Louis would regain their two-goal advantage when Luke Schenn stole the puck from Seth Jones behind Florida’s net and fed Neighbours in the slot.

The 23-year-old’s second of the game made it 4-2 Blues with 7:58 to go.

Less than a minute later, Robert Thomas one-timed a shot past Tarasov from the slot, putting Florida behind 5-2 with just over seven minutes on the clock.

Thomas added a shorthanded empty-net goal with 3:32 to go, cementing the Blues’ victory over the Cats.

On to Carolina.

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Photo caption: Dec 20, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk (72) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

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Dallin Hall, Jacari White lead No. 23 Virginia to 80-72 win over former ACC rival Maryland

Dallin Hall scored a season-high 20 points, Jacari White had a spectacular dunk and scored 15, and No. 23 Virginia beat Maryland 80-72 on Saturday night in the first meeting since 2018 between the former Atlantic Coast Conference rivals. Hall went 8 of 8 from the field for the Cavaliers (10-1). Devin Tillis added 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting on a night when Virginia's leading scorer, Thijs De Ridder, went 1 of 8 from the field and scored five points.

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Sharp scores 22 points to lead No. 8 Houston over No. 14 Arkansas, 94-85

Emanuel Sharp scored 22 points, Kingston Flemings added 21 and No. 8 Houston used some excellent long-range shooting to beat No. 14 Arkansas 94-85 on Saturday. The Cougars (11-1) shot 44% from 3-point distance (11 for 25) and 52% from the field overall in winning their fifth straight game. Freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. led Arkansas (9-3) with 27 points and seven assists.

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Islanders' last-minute goal forces OT but fall to Sabres, 3-2, in a shootout

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Norris got the deciding goal in the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Saturday for their fifth straight win.

Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist, and Tage Thompson scored for the sixth consecutive game for the Sabres. Alex Lyon had 32 saves and got an assist on Dahlin’s goal.

Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist, Emil Heineman also scored, and David Rittich made 30 saves for the Islanders, who lost for the third time in four games without leading scorer Bo Horvat.

After Norris scored on the Sabres’ attempt in the fifth round of the shootout, Lyon turned aside a try by the Islanders’ Calum Ritchie to preserve the win.

Barzal and Buffalo’s Jack Quinn also scored in the tiebreaker.

Heineman scored the tying goal for the Islanders on the power play with 29 seconds left in regulation, and with Rittich on the bench for an extra skater.

Barzal got the Islanders on the scoreboard when he pounced on the rebound from his own shot with 23 seconds remaining in the second period.

Dahlin gave Buffalo the lead less than two minutes into the game with a notable individual effort on the power play. With Barzal in the penalty box, Dahlin got the puck from Lyon behind the Sabres’ goal and skated the length of the ice, weaving past three Islanders to beat Rittich with a backhand.

Thompson made it 2-0 midway through the second period when he faked a shot from the left circle and swept the puck between Rittich’s leg pad and the right post to equal the career-best scoring streak he set last month. Thompson leads Buffalo with 18 goals — 12 in his last 18 games.

On their longest win streak of the season, the Sabres have now won consecutive home games after firing general manager Kevyn Adams and promoting Jarmo Kekalainen to the position.

Up next

Islanders: Host New Jersey on Tuesday night.

Sabres: At New Jersey on Sunday night.

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Islanders Tie Game Late in Third, Lose 3-2 In Shootout To Buffalo

BUFFALO, NY -- After falling 4-1 to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, the New York Islanders earned a point against the Buffalo Sabres, ultimately losing 3-2 in a shootout. 

Emil Heineman tied the game at 2-2 with 29 seconds to play in regulation on a 6-on-4 advantage.

After a back-and-forth overtime, Josh Norris scored in the fifth round of the shootout as Buffalo secured the second point.  

Here's how we got there. 

After Mathew Barzal took a tripping penalty in the neutral zone, Sabres star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin skated past Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Heineman, and then Ryan Pulock before deking to his backhand to give the home team a 1-0 lead at 1:47 of the first period:

Josh Norris beat Rittich glove side with a one-timer at X, but the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference. 

Tage Thompson doubled the Sabres' lead to 2-0 at 8:55 of the second period after he tucked one past Rittich off the rush:

Late in the second period, the Islanders got a great look to crack the scoreboard, but Alex Lyon slid over to deny Emil Heineman with the right pad at  18:06 of the second: 

However, the Islanders built on that momentum and found the scoresheet at 19:37 of the second. Anders Lee found Mathew Barzal alone in the slot. His first shot was stopped but he was able to roof the rebound to extend his point streak to seven games (two goals, five assists):

The Islanders found themselves on the penalty kill at 4:24 of the third period. Buffalo spent the entire power playi n the Islanders' zone but credit to the penalty killers and Rittich for battling to get back to even strength. 

With 1:27 to play in regulation, the Islanders found themselves on the power play after Michael Kesselring slashed Lee.  

The Islanders went to work, with Barzal finding Heineman for the tying tally:

The Islanders had plenty of chances in overtime, but couldn't score. Barzal scored in the shootout, with Jack Quinn answering him before Norris's eventual game winner. 

The Islanders battle the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena on Tuesday night, with puck drop at 7 PM ET.