NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Steven Stamkos broke a tie with 2:13 left with his third goal of the game and the Nashville Predators overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Thursday night.
After Stamkos tied it at 3 with 9:53 left with his second power-play goal of the game, Ryan O’Reilly beat the Senators to the puck behind the goal line and popped it out front to Stamkos, who batted it out of the air past goalie James Reimer.
O’Reilly set up the tying goal, too, firing a cross-crease feed to Stamkos with the man advantage. Nashville got the power play when Tim Stutzle cross-checked Stamkos.
Predators captain Roman Josi, playing his 1,000th NHL game, also assisted on the tying goal. The defenseman is the 84th player in NHL history to play his first 1,000 regular-season games with one franchise.
Stamkos had his second hat trick of the season and 16th overall to push his season goals total to 24. Jonathan Marchessault also scored, and Cole Smith had an empty-netter. Juuse Saros made 23 saves to help Nashville end a three-game losing streak.
Stephen Halliday scored his first NHL goal, and Ridly Greig and Dylan Cozens added goals for Ottawa. Reimer, making his third straight start after signing with the Senators on Jan. 12, stopped 21 shots.
Ottawa closed a three-game trip. It had earned points in five straight games.
Halliday opened the scoring at 6:03 of the first period, knocking in a rebound. With David Perron out after surgery to repair a sports hernia, Halliday was recalled from Belleville of the AHL in the morning. He scored in his 19th NHL game, all this season.
Up next
Senators: Host Carolina on Saturday night to open a four-game homestand.
MLB cleared ex-Giants reliever Sean Hjelle after he faced allegations of “abuse” from his wife this past summer, according to a new report.
NBC Sports Bay Area reported the league concluded its investigation and that Hjelle will not face any disciplinary action from MLB.
The league’s decision comes after Hjelle’s wife, Caroline, accused the righty of infidelity, along with “abuse” in a series of TikTok videos she posted back in June 2025.
“When my MLB husband abandons us on Mothers Day a week after this once I finally found out about his affairs and stopped putting up with his abuse so I’ve been raising two boys alone,” she wrote on a TikTok — which has since been deleted — which showed her and her two sons.
Sean Hjelle of the San Francisco Giants pitches in the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 22, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images
In the caption under the video, Caroline wrote, “Yeah I’ve had to be silent for too long about this.”
“I don’t have an official comment right now,” Hjelle told reporters following a game against the Red Sox on June 21, 2025. “I would like to actually talk with my agent, my lawyer. This has been something that’s been going on for over a year now in terms of our relationship and our divorce and our separation and everything. … I just want to talk to the appropriate people and figure out what the steps are, just kind of taking it stride right now.
“So no comment right now. I feel confident saying that I will have one eventually. I don’t have an exact timeline on that, but I would like to actually get with the people that are handling the situation with me and for me before I actually make an official statement.”
Hjelle, who spent four seasons in the MLB with the Giants, signed a deal with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Baseball League after a shaky 2025 in San Francisco.
In 12 appearances with the Giants, Hjelle — who at 6 feet 11 is listed as the tallest player in MLB history alongside ex-Mets reliever Jon Rauch — posted a 7.80 ERA and was sent down to the minors in the middle of the season.
Stephen Curry got whatever he wanted at American Airlines Center on Thursday, but the Dallas Mavericks (19-26) pulled ahead late in a back-and-forth game to beat the Golden State Warriors (25-21), 123-115. Curry nailed eight 3-pointers and led all scorers with 38 points in the loss, but Cormac Karl “Max” Christie and Naji Marshall keyed a late 24-5 run that proved too much for the Warriors overcome.
Marshall led the Mavs with 30 points on an insane 10-of-12 shooting night to go along with nine assists in the win, while Christie and rookie sensation Cooper Flagg added 21 apiece in a well-rounded and highly satisfying Dallas win. The Mavs overcame 22 turnovers by shooting 51% from the field on their way to the win, which is the team’s sixth in its last nine.
Cooper Flagg: B+
21 PTS / 11 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 30 MIN
Flagg was the only defender back early in the first quarter and snuffed out Draymond Green’s transition try before taking the ensuing outlet pass coast-to-coast for the game’s first score and a three-point play opportunity. Two possessions later, he pulled up from near the foul line for a jumper that put the Mavericks up 6-0. Flagg missed his first three tries from 3-point range, though.
Flagg’s turnover on the first possession of the second quarter was the Mavericks’ eighth of the game and led directly to an easy transition dunk from Quinten Post to give the Warriors a 29-24 lead. Two minutes later, Green drew a charge against Flagg on Flagg’s drive through traffic, but Flagg followed Thompson’s missed 3-pointer the next time down for a highlight put-back jam to give the Mavericks a 31-29 lead with 9:20 left before the half. Less than a minute later, Flagg followed Max Christie’s miss in transition with another putback bucket as part of a 12-4 Mavs’ run to open the second. Flagg scored the bucket that gave the Mavs back the lead late in the second as part of another quick 12-0 Dallas run. He scored 11 points and pulled down 9 boards in the first half, as the Mavericks took a 55-50 lead into the break.
After a quiet third quarter, Flagg knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game early in the fourth to bring the Mavs to within 92-89. He made a hard drive to the cup a minute later to keep Dallas connected, down 96-91, then got fouled while rising up for a monster slam the next time down. He turned the ball over four times and went just 4-of-7 from the free-throw line in the win.
Max Christie: A
21 PTS / 4 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 36 MIN
Christie lost Steph Curry in the screen game along the perimeter on two of Curry’s three makes from 3-point range in the first quarter. After Curry’s third, Christie cashed in his first 3-pointer on the other end to give the Mavs a 14-9 lead midway through the first. He hit another late in the second from the right corner to pull the Mavs to within 45-44. His third of the first half came with under a minute to play in the second, from the same spot, and extended the Dallas lead to 51-45.
Christie’s fourth 3-ball of the game was another big one with 5:42 left in the third. He rose up from the right wing on a find from P.J. Washington for the score that put the Mavericks up 70-69. He knifed through the lane for his first two-point score of the game less than a minute later to extend that lead to 72-69.
Christie scored his 15th and 16th points of the game on the Mavericks’ second possession of the fourth quarter, a touch bucket inside that pulled the Mavs to within 89-86. He stepped on the sideline while pump-faking a shot in the corner for Dallas’ 18th turnover of the ballgame with 10 minutes left to play. His fifth 3-ball of the contest came as part of a key 10-0 spurt from the Mavs and tied the game, 96-96, with 8:26 left in the game.
Caleb Martin: D+
0 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST / 2 BLK / 20 MIN
Martin threw away a terrible pass in transition late in the first quarter, then was called for a hook and an offensive foul on the Mavs’ next possession with 3:45 left in the opener. The Warriors took their first lead of the game on the other end as a result, on Jonathan Kuminga’s first two buckets in the Warriors’ last 16 games. Martin got his transition dunk attempt blocked by Buddy Hield with two minutes left in the first to continue his rough start.
Martin started the third quarter, but Mavs head coach Jason Kidd kept him on a much shorter leash in favor of Brandon Williams, who played a brilliant first half against the Warriors.
Marshall was called for a technical foul midway through the second quarter after DeAnthony Melton scored in transition, then lost the ball on the Mavs’ next possession for Dallas’ 11th turnover of the game. He was late getting out to defend Moses Moody along the perimeter on the next Warriors’ possession and gave up a 3-pointer that put Golden State in front, 43-39 with less than five minutes to play before halftime. The lane opened up for Marshall on a drive in secondary transition less than a minute later, and his score brought Dallas to within 45-41.
Marshall picked up his 15th and 16th points of the game on a little flip inside midway through the third to bring Dallas to within 69-67. He hit his first 3-pointer of the game with 2:45 left in the third from the right corner to put the Mavericks ahead 82-77. He scored back-to-back buckets inside as part of a late 12-0 run that extended the Mavs’ lead late to 113-101.
Powell grabbed eight rebounds in the first half (three on the offensive glass) on his way to 12 in the loss. His try-hard modus is as laudable in his 12th season as it was when he got here. Powell slipped past Green, who lost sight of Powell with the ball in his hands, with 7:20 left in the third quarter for his second bucket of the game to keep the Mavs within four after Golden State scored the first eight points of the second half.
Powell’s 3-point play in transition from Marshall with 5:54 remaining put the Mavs up 109-101 and was a huge moment in the back-and-forth affair. It also gave him a double-double on the night. Powell absolutely outworked Green on both ends of the floor as Green fouled out of the game with 3:50 left to play.
Klay Thompson: C-
6 PTS / 6 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 23 MIN
Thompson was quiet in the first quarter, bricking his first 3-point attempt from the top of the key nine minutes into the game, before getting his pocket picked the next time down. He turned it over again with a minute left in the first on a play that led to a bucket from Brandon Podziemski on the other end as Golden State took a 27-24 lead at the end of one.
Thompson cashed in his first two 3-point attempts of the second quarter to key the Mavericks’ 12-4 run to start the frame. He went quiet in the third quarter, though, as Golden State pulled back in front late in the frame.
Nembhard was used sparingly, shooting just 1-of-4 from the field in the first half. He turned the ball over on a surprise attack trap to start the fourth, the Mavs’ 17th giveaway of the game. Nembhard canned a step-back 3-pointer near the top of the key with 7:45 left to play to swing Dallas back in front, 99-96.
Moussa Cisse: C
1 PTS / 1 REB / 1 STL / 6 MIN
Cisse saw most of his action in the first half and was a non-factor for the most part against the Warriors, as Powell stole the show.
Brandon Williams: A
19 PTS / 5 REB / 4 AST / 27 MIN
Williams was a blur driving through the lane off the bench against Golden State in the first half. He scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and was decisive on his drives, darting to the hoop past whatever defender was in front of him. His driving bucket split two defenders as the last few seconds of the first half ticked down, and his leaner in the lane gave Dallas its 55-50 lead at the interval.
Williams got to the free-throw line on yet another drive with 4:47 left in the third and the game tied at 72-72 but made just 1-of-2 at the stripe. He came into Thursday having scored 15 or more points in seven of his last 10 games. Williams used a clever little crossover dribble to get to the line again the next time down and cashed in both this time to put the Mavs ahead 75-72. He finished off a lob from Marshall with 3:45 left in the third on a high-flying bucket, before stepping back for a perimeter jumper to put Dallas up 79-72. He was late to get to Melton on a corner 3-pointer that tied the pulled the Warriors back in front, 85-82, with 1:44 left in the third and forced a timeout from Mavericks’ head coach Jason Kidd.
P.J. Washington: B-
10 PTS / 6 REB / 3 AST / 2 STL / 3 BLK / 22 MIN
Washington came in off the bench in the first quarter and got his first bucket on a tough offensive rebound in the lane with 3:30 left in the opener. He hit his only 3-point attempt of the first half, but didn’t have an outsized impact on the proceedings other than that. Washington’s steal as the only man back led to the Max Christie 3-pointer that pulled the Mavs back in front, 70-69, with 5:42 left in the third quarter. His well-defended dunk attempt that somehow fell after teetering on the rim for a second or two brought the Mavs to within 85-84 with just over a minute left in the third. He was tenacious on the defensive end, contributing five stocks in the win.
Tyrese Maxey – 18 VJ Edgecombe – 6 Paul George – 5 Joel Embiid – 4 Andre Drummond – 2 Dominick Barlow – 1 Adem Bona – 1 Justin Edwards – 1 Quentin Grimes – 1 Jared McCain – 1 Kelly Oubre Jr. – 1 Trendon Watford – 1 15th roster spot – 1
The Sixers have been inconsistent, at best, in their play lately, but on Thursday night, they put together one of their better performances of the season against a strong Houston Rockets opponent. A game that was back and forth the entire way, with neither team ever leading by double digits, came down to the final play in regulation. Tyrese Maxey’s layup attempt should have been called a goaltend for the game-winning points, but was not reviewable. However, the Sixers didn’t let that bad no-call deter them, staying focused to pull out the 128-122 victory in overtime. We have some excellent options for Bell Ringer tonight so let’s get to it.
For whatever reason, Joel Embiid had some extra pep in his step tonight. Maybe it was just going up against a good opponent, or facing Team USA teammate Kevin Durant, or possibly because it was the two-year anniversary of his 70-point game. His staring down Alperen Sengun after a dunk said it all. Whatever the reason, it all ended up with Joel’s first triple-double of the season. Offensively, Embiid attacked mismatches in the post time and again, but also did a nice job reading when help was coming and finding open teammates underneath and around the arc. It was a perfect mix of raw strength and some finesse, as we saw with his gorgeous spin move around Clint Capela. Defensively, it was as spry as we’ve probably seen Joel on the season, going hard after defensive rebounds and coming down with them in contested situations. Physically, he wound up playing a season-high 46 minutes and looked no worse for wear towards the end of it.
Moving back into the starting lineup in place of Dominick Barlow with the other usual four starters all available, Kelly Oubre made Nick Nurse look very wise indeed. Oubre continued his hot shooting from recent games, going a highly efficient 10-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three. He operated effectively as a spot-up shooter, but also as a driver and lurking along the baseline for a couple of timely buckets. Kelly was arguably even better on the defensive end. Although his raw stats don’t show it, with just one block (an outstanding swat of a Tari Eason corner three attempt), Kelly was everywhere defensively. He disrupted and made life difficult for a slew of Rockets; his harassment played a big part in Kevin Durant having eight turnovers on the night. It was maybe the best two-way performance we’ve seen from Oubre in his time as a Sixer.
Kelly Oubre Jr. keeps cooking to close Q1, leads the Sixers with 11 points after the opening period 🔥 pic.twitter.com/d2UpplCgCk
Maxey’s recent cold shooting spell continued, going just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. However, he didn’t let that stop him from helping the team in the other areas of the game. Defensively, it was Tyrese’s fourth straight game with at least three steals, as he has learned to pick his spots (and opponent’s pockets) extremely well to jumpstart transition opportunities. Then, in his 43 minutes of action, he kept attacking, and his speed wore down the increasingly tired legs of the Rockets’ defenders. Maxey was Mr. Clutch for the Sixers on the night. He scored 11 points in the final four minutes of regulation to bring the Sixers back from down six points (and should have had another two points on what would have correctly been called the game-winner). He then dropped six points in the overtime period to carry Philadelphia across the finish line.
The Florida Panthers kicked off their three-game road trip in chilly Manitoba on Thursday night.
Florida dug deep and picked up a crucial 2-1 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets.
The game remained scoreless until late in the second period thanks to some excellent defensive hockey from both teams.
For Florida, their play in their own end of the ice was inspiring, taking away the middle of the ice from the Jets and frustrating them over and over.
A faceoff in the Winnipeg zone with just over a minute to go led to the game’s opening goal.
Playing in just his second game of the season, Matthew Tkachuk picked up the puck along the half wall and sent a nice, flat pass to the slot.
That’s where Sam Bennett was waiting, and he blasted a one-timer past Connor Hellebuyck to give Florida a 1-0 lead at the 18:49 mark.
Winnipeg tied the game 5:24 into the third period, and after playing such a sound defensive game, it was a turnover in their own zone that cost the Cats their lead.
As Uvis Balinskis tried to skate with the puck toward his own blue line, he had his pocket picked from behind by Jonathan Toews.
Toews then fed Cole Perfetti across the zone and his quick forehand-backhand move was enough to fool Daniil Tarasov and knot the score at one.
That’s how the game would remain though regulation and the three-on-three overtime, which meant it was destined to end in a shootout.
Goals by Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart, as well as a pair of stops by Tarasov, earned the Panthers two big points.
The win was also the first for Paul Maurice back in Winnipeg since he was coaching the Jets.
On to Minnesota, where it may actually be colder than it was in Winnipeg.
Photo caption: Jan 22, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) celebrates his goal on Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) in the second period at Canada Life Centre. (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images)
For the third time in four games, the Ottawa Senators squandered a multi-goal lead, only this time, they didn’t even manage to earn a regulation point. Steven Stamkos scored three goals, including the game-winner with just over a minute remaining, to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-3 victory over the Senators on Thursday night.
Ottawa had grabbed an early 3-0 lead and looked strong for 40 minutes, fueled by Steven Halliday’s first NHL goal and some excellent goaltending from James Reimer, who made 22 saves in the loss.
First Period
After being called up earlier in the day to replace injured forward David Perron, Halliday got the Senators on the board just over six minutes into the game. Nick Cousins did some strong work behind the Nashville net before feeding Lars Eller, whose wraparound attempt was stopped. The puck then trickled out to Halliday, who chipped a backhand past Juuse Saros to open the scoring.
Just over eight minutes later, Ridly Greig made it 2–0 with his eighth goal of the season. Michael Amadio made a slick move at his own blue line to create a long passing lane to Greig at the far blue line. Greig sprinted in alone and beat Saros between the legs to double the lead.
It appeared Greig had added another goal in the dying moments of the first period after crashing the net, but the goal was disallowed. Greig entered the blue paint on his own, and it appeared he may have directed the puck in with his arm.
A notable moment in the opening period came when tensions flared between Shane Pinto and Steven Stamkos. After Stamkos rubbed Pinto out along the boards, Pinto responded with a chop to the back of the legs. Stamkos angrily returned fire with a slash and a cross-check.
Also worth a mention was the incredible skate save by James Reimer on Cole Smith. In a scramble in front, Reimer was already stretched out but still managed to extend his left leg to prevent a sure goal.
Second Period
Midway through the second period, Dylan Cozens made it 3–0 Ottawa, deflecting Artem Zub’s point shot. It was Cozens’ 16th goal of the season, matching his total from all of last year in just his 50th game.
Reimer made another elite save with just under two minutes left in the second. He appeared completely down and out but reached back behind him with his blocker and stick to absolutely rob Jonathan Marchessault.
However, Jordan Spence was called for hooking on the play, and on the ensuing power play, Nashville finally got on the board. Luke Evangelista hit Stamkos with a perfect pass in the slot, and he skated into a full slap shot like it was the skills competition at the All-Star Game. Reimer had zero chance and that cut the lead to 3–1.
Third Period
Still up by 3-1 just over four minutes into the third period, Fabian Zetterlund took a two-minute minor for high-sticking. They killed off the penalty thanks to some strong PK work, particularly from Tim Stützle. As the penalty expired, Stützle had a bit of misfortune, breaking in alone on goal and appearing to be the victim of an uncalled holding penalty.
As that happened, two Nashville players jumped off off the ice at the Nashville blue line, replaced by two Predators who jumped on at the red line, behind the Sens D, leading to a 2 on 0, finished off by Marchessault to cut the lead to 3-2.
It could easily have been called too many men on Nashville.
Here's a good snap of how the 2 on 0 happened. Two Preds jump off at the blue line, the two replacements jump on at the red line. Defense is hard enough to play without new guys jumping on the ice early, 30 feet behind you. https://t.co/7X5e104CPB
The momentum seemed to swing with the Zetterlund penalty with Nashville's offensive guns getting loads of touches in the offensive zone.
Two minutes later, with Nashville pressing, Stutzle got called for crosschecking Stamkos in a wild goalmouth scramble. Stamkos made him pay by one timing a cross ice pass through the slot to tie the game.
Stamkos wasn't done there. He completed his hat trick with just over one minute to play. Ryan O'Reilly beat Nick Jensen badly on a forecheck, won the puck cleanly, and centred it to Stamkos who flicked home a puck out of the air.
As the Preds celebrated their comeback, Brady Tkachuk broke his stick on the Sens goal post in frustration.
Nashville added an empty netter to seal the win, the latest in a string of emotional setbacks for the Senators in 2026.
The Sens are back at it on Saturday at home versus the Carolina Hurricanes. The next three games are against Carolina (2nd overall), Vegas (9th overall), and Colorado (1st overall).
The Rockets, the 76ers, and overtime. Three things that have been synonymous over the last couple of seasons. Unfortunately, the Rockets being on the road and losing has also become synonymous. Tonight, the Rockets got to experience all of the above. The Rockets got another brilliant performance from Kevin Durant who scored 36 points, 7 rebound and 3 assists on 13-of-21 shooting. The Rockets had five other players in double figures and shot the ball extremely well. If you didn’t watch the game,you may be wondering how the Rockets lost?
It starts with allowing the 76ers to shoot 55.1 percent from the field and score 66 points in the paint. The pick-and-roll with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embid absolutely cooked the Rockets. Maxey score 36 points and dished out 10 assists in a game where he was getting to the middle of the defense and to the rim at will. Joel Embid scored one of the quietest 30+ point 15+ rebound triple-doubles I’ve seen in some time. Kelly Oubre Jr. also went unconscious offensively with 26 points on 10-of-14 from the field.
The game went back and forth throughout the game, each team taking a nine-point lead at one point, and each team going on a run to close the gap. Regardless of all the defensive lapses, miscues, and turnovers, the Rockets missed 12 free-throws in a game that they lost by sis points. The Rockets inability to focus at the line and make a free-throw is officially a concern. Other than Kevin Durant, no one has been good at the line. Those free-throws, if made, can make up for a lot of other things any given night, but for the Rockets it’s becoming a glaring weakness.
Bright spots in the game were the play of Tari Eason, who seemed to be getting back into regular form, and Reed Sheppard coming up big in the fourth quarter, not only offensively but on the defensive end with steals and deflections. The Rockets had 35 bench points, Tari Eason with 13 of those points and Reed Sheppard with 14 points. Clint Capela added some quality defensive minutes off the bench and Dorian Finney-Smith went 2-0f-4 from the three-point line.
Fourth quarter execution, or the lack thereof, was once again the story for the Rockets, who honestly lost the game in regulation, but a goaltending was not called when Kevin Durant blocked a Tyrese Maxey layup after it hot the backboard. The basketball gods would preserve justice as the Rockets were only able to score 7 points in the overtime period.
Th loss puts the Rockets record at 26-16 as we move just past the midway point of the season. That record is good enough for 4th in the Western Conference, but the Rockets are 5-5 in their last 10 and just 3-11 on the road since the beginning of December. That will need to improve quickly. Hopefully, as soon as tomorrow when the Rockets take on the 1st seeded Detroit Pistons in Detroit. Traveling after a deflating overtime loss will make things more difficult, but if you’re a veteran fan of Houston sports then you know that making things difficult rather than easy is what we do. Check in with TDS tomorrow for a preview of the game against the Pistons, Rockets discussion during the game, and a post-game recap.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Kennedy Blair scored 21 points, and No. 13 Michigan State women held off Southern California's late surge for a 74-68 victory on Thursday night.
Michigan State opened the fourth quarter on a 13-5 run to stretch its lead to 66-54 with 5:15 remaining. Jazzy Davidson scored the last five points in a 10-0 run to help pull USC to 66-64 with 4:10 left before the Spartans sealed it from the free-throw line. Blair led the Spartans with eight points.
Blair shot 8 of 15 from the floor overall, made 5 of 6 free throws and had five steals. Grace VanSlooten scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds for Michigan State (18-2, 7-2 Big Ten), which rebounded from a 75-68 loss to then-No. 10 Iowa. Rashunda Jones scored 16 points and Ines Sotelo added 12 to go with seven rebounds for the Spartans.
Michigan State scored 25 points from 24 USC turnovers.
Kara Dunn scored 23 points and Jazzy Davidson added 21 to lead USC (11-8, 3-5). Kennedy Smith scored 15 points.
After a long, emotional stretch of games celebrating the past, the Chicago Blackhawks are now back to being focused solely on the future. On Thursday night, they hit the road for one game to take on the Carolina Hurricanes.
Carolina, known for playing a suffocating style defensively, is a hard team to play against, especially in their own building. The Blackhawks needed a big effort to even think about beating them.
Frank Nazar returned to the lineup for Chicago in this game. That means that Nazar, Connor Bedard, Nick Lardis, Oliver Moore, and Artyom Levshunov skated in the same lineup for the first time together. The future brightens for the organization every day. There are more great prospects on the way.
The Blackhawks weren't playing at their best early in this game, but that didn't stop them from going up 1-0. Ilya Mikheyev scored a short-handed goal to make it 1-0 at 11:12 of the first period.
The lead didn't last long, however, as Joel Nystrom scored his first career NHL goal to tie the game up at one.
In the second period, Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato made a nifty play to find Nick Lardis, who scored his 6th of the season to make it 2-1 Blackhawks.
Before long, at 9:16 of the middle frame, Jordan Staal tied the game back up. He created a two-on-one by taking advantage of a tough Artyom Levshunov pinch. That put Connor Bedard in a bad position, and Staal took full advantage.
Later in the period, Lardis took a big hit from Hurricanes defenseman Alex Nikishin. Oliver Moore, who was celebrating his 21st birthday on Thursday, came to the defense of his linemate.
Although the fight decisively went to Nikishin (three punches), it was a great move by Moore as he stood up for his fellow rookie. After connecting on a goal earlier in the period, you can expect more big moments for Moore and Lardis together.
The 2-2 tie held through the second intermission. In the final frame, the two teams exchanged goals once more.
Connor Murphy received a beautiful pass from Tyler Bertuzzi before putting on the moves to score his second goal of the season, less than a minute before Jackson Blake scored a tap-in goal on a neat pass by Logan Stankoven.
Nothing more came in regulation time or overtime, so the match went to a shootout. There, Connor Bedard and Andrei Svechnikov each scored in the second round, but that was all of the scoring until they got all the way to the sixth round.
In that sixth round, after Spencer Knight kept Mark Jankowski from scoring, Oliver Moore completed his big birthday game with the shootout winner.
This won't count as an official Gordie Howe Hat Trick for Moore on his birthday, but for all intents and purposes, he scored one. His team won in large part because of the way he played.
It must also be noted that the Blackhawks went 5/5 on the penalty kill in this game. They are now up to 85.1 percent on the PK, officially jumping the Colorado Avalanche for first in the NHL.
The Blackhawks are not likely going to jump enough teams to be a playoff team, but wins like this prove that they deserve to be in the conversation as a bubble team.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Yankees added some depth to their minor league system Thursday, when they claimed Marco Luciano off waivers from the Orioles.
The 24-year-old Luciano last appeared in the majors for the Giants in 2024 and played 41 games for San Francisco from 2023-24, putting up an OPS of just .590.
Primarily a middle infielder earlier in his minor league career, Luciano spent all of last season with Triple-A Sacramento and played left field.
Marco Luciano of the Giants bats during a spring training game against the Athletics at HoHoKam Stadium on Feb. 25, 2025 in Mesa, Ariz. Getty Images
It’s been a busy offseason for Luciano, who was claimed off waivers by the Pirates and Orioles earlier in the offseason, so there’s no guarantee he’ll make it to Tampa for spring training with the Yankees.
Luciano was among the top international free agents when he signed with the Giants for $2.6 million in 2018 out of the Dominican Republic.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Oliver Moore scored in the shootout on his 21st birthday and Spencer Knight stopped five of six shots by Carolina to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 shootout win over the Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Connor Murphy, Ilya Mikheyev and Nick Lardis scored in regulation for the Blackhawks. Knight, who shut out Winnipeg on Monday night, made 28 saves in regulation and overtime for his second straight win.
Joel Nystrom, Jordan Staal and Jackson Blake scored for the Hurricanes, whose five-game home winning streak ended. Frederik Andersen stopped 18 shots and four more in the shootout.
The win capped an eventful night for Moore, who celebrated a milestone birthday. He was on the wrong side of a fight with Alexander Nikishin in the second period and then nearly won the game in overtime but was robbed by Andersen.
Chicago led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but couldn’t put the Hurricanes away in regulation. Carolina has yet to lose in regulation with top defenseman Jaccob Slavin in the lineup (8-0-3).
Murphy and Blake traded goals 82 seconds apart near in the back half of the third period to send it to overtime.
Andersen came up with a pair saves — on Moore and Frank Nazar — in the third period to keep the game tied at 2 . He made two bigger saves — on Wyatt Kaiser and Moore — in overtime.
The Hurricanes tied it at 2 on Staal’s first goal since Dec. 19 at 9:16 of the second. Chicago had taken a 2-1 advantage after Lardis’ goal at 4:35 in the second.
Mikheyev swatted in his own rebound at 11:12 in the first to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. It was Mikheyev’s first short-handed goal of the season.
Nystrom tied it with his first NHL goal at 12:50 in the first. The rookie defenseman has nine points in 36 games.
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Sovereignty won Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards on Thursday night, as well as 3-year-old male honors, and Bill Mott, who guided the colt to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, was named trainer of the year.
Sovereignty skipped the Preakness and won the Belmont during Triple Crown season. He was forced to miss the Breeders’ Cup Classic because of a fever.
The 55th annual ceremony at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach also crowned Ted Noffey as 2-year-old male horse, capping a season in which he went 4-for-4, including a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
The colt trainer by Todd Pletcher is the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby in May.
Ted Noffey won his career debut at Saratoga in August. He followed up with an 8 1/2-length victory in the Hopeful Stakes at the upstate New York track. Then came a 2 3/4-length win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. He closed 2025 with a one-length win in the BC Juvenile at Del Mar.
In other categories, Flavien Prat won jockey of the year and Pietro Moran was named apprentice jockey. Godolphin LLC, the racing and breeding operation of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, won as owner. Godolphin was named breeder of the year.
Other male winners were Japan-bred Forever Young as older dirt male; Book'em Danno as male sprinter; and Britain-bred Notable Speech as male turf horse.
Among female horses, Super Corredora won as 2-year-old filly; Nitrogen was chosen 3-year-old filly; Thorpedo Anna was named older dirt female; Shisospicy won female sprinter; and She Feels Pretty won female turf horse honors.
Cool Jet took steeplechase horse honors.
Named for the 18th-century horse and sire Eclipse, the awards are voted on by members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.
___
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge scored 22 points and Chance Gray and Kennedy Cambridge each added 13 for No. 12 Ohio State in an 81-67 comeback win over Indiana on Thursday night.
The Buckeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten) were down 42-32 at halftime. But a 14-1 run in the third quarter, lasting almost three minutes, gave the Buckeyes the lead they would not relinquish. It is the fifth time this season Ohio State has gone into halftime trailing before going on to win the game.
Jaloni Cambridge scored 13 points in the second half and Gray added 10.
Lenée Beaumont scored 20 for Indiana (11-9, 0-8) and Shay Ciezki, the Big Ten's leading scorer, added 19 before fouling out. Zania Socka-Nguemen had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ciezki was 7 of 11 from the field, including five made 3-pointers.
Indiana committed 26 turnovers, 15 in the second half, which turned into 34 Buckeye points. The Hoosiers shot 56.4% from the field, including 11 of 17 from 3-point range.
MONTREAL (AP) — Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves, Jason Zucker, Beck Malenstyn and Zach Benson gave Buffalo an early lead and the Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday night for their 17th victory in 21 games.
Peyton Krebs added an empty-netter in the third. The Sabres improved to 28-17-5, beating Montreal for the second time in eight days.
Cole Caufield scored for the fourth straight game for Montreal, and Nick Suzuki also connected, The Canadiens dropped to 28-16-7. They had won two in a row.
Samuel Montembeault stopped 13 shots in his first regulation loss since being called up from a conditioning assignment with Laval of the AHL on Dec. 27.
Buffalo is two points behind Montreal for third place in the Atlantic Division.
