Panthers earn gritty 2-1 shootout win over Jets

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.

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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)

Senators Blow Another Big Lead, Fall 5-3 In Nashville On Stamkos Hat Trick

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.

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).

Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa

Rockets road woes continue in a 128-122 loss to the 76ers in OT

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.

Blair scores 21 points; No. 13 Michigan State women hold off USC 74-68

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.

Up next

USC: At No. 7 Michigan on Sunday.

Michigan State: At Purdue on Thursday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Oiver Moore's Big Birthday Performance Powers Blackhawks Past Hurricanes In Shootout

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. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks are back in action on Friday night. They will host the Tampa Bay Lightning at the United Center on a cold night in Chicago. 

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Friday's Time Schedule

All Times EST

Friday, Jan. 23

NBA

Houston at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Boston at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Phoenix at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Sacramento at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Denver at Milwaukee, 9:30 p.m.

Toronto at Portland, 10 p.m.

NHL

Tampa Bay at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Vegas at Toronto, 7 p.m.

St. Louis at Dallas, 8 p.m.

Philadelphia at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Washington at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Anaheim at Seattle, 10 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers at San Jose, 10 p.m.

New Jersey at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

T25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 3 Michigan vs. Ohio St., 8 p.m.

No. 24 Saint Louis at St. Bonaventure, 5:30 p.m.

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Yankees add young infielder to minor league system as depth piece

An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows Marco Luciano #37 of the San Francisco Giants bats during a spring training game against the Athletics at HoHoKam Stadium on February 25, 2025 in Mesa, Arizona.

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.

Oliver Moore scores in shootout on 21st birthday, leads Blackhawks to 4-3 win over Hurricanes

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.

Up next

Blackhawks: Host Tampa Bay on Friday night.

Hurricanes: Travel to Ottawa on Saturday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Sovereignty wins Horse of the Year at Eclipse Awards, Bill Mott named top trainer

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.

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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Jaloni Cambridge scores 22 and No. 12 Ohio State women beat Indiana 81-67

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.

Up next

Indiana: Visits Purdue on Sunday.

Ohio State: Visits No. 10 Iowa on Sunday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Sabres beat Canadiens 4-2 for their 17th victory in 21 games

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.

Up next

Sabres: At the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Canadiens: At Boston on Saturday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

3 things to know from the Mavericks’ 123-115 win over the Golden State Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors Thursday night, winning 123-115. The win brings the Mavericks’ record to 19-26. The Warriors drop to 25-21. Steph Curry led all scorers with 38 points, while Naji Marshall led Dallas with 30.

The game started about an hour earlier than most Mavericks home games, and the disruption in the schedule seemed to throw both teams. The Warriors didn’t score until 8:32 left in the first quarter, when a Steph Curry 3-pointer finally got them on the board. The Mavericks didn’t fare much better, though, only able to open a 6-0 lead in that time. The teams finally found some offensive rhythm midway through the first quarter, but couldn’t sustain it. The Warriors continued to miss shots in the second quarter, but found their way to the line. The Mavericks started hitting some shots, but kept turning the ball over. With some tough rebounding and getting out on fast breaks often, Dallas was able to grind out a 55-50 lead at halftime.

The Warriors came out firing in the third quarter and took the lead, but couldn’t keep the momentum going. The Mavericks looked like the better team for a large stretch of the third. The only problem was Steph Curry. He simply decided Golden State wasn’t going to roll over and unleashed a flurry of shots, scoring 13 points in the quarter. His offensive burst opened things up for his teammates, and by the end of the third, the Warriors had flipped the Mavericks’ five-point lead and went up 89-84.

Dallas refused to quit, though. They muddied up the game and then got their own momentum, taking a big lead halfway through the fourth quarter. The constant pressure from the Mavericks seemed to wear down the Warriors, who suddenly couldn’t score or get a stop. The Mavericks took a double-digit lead with a 24-5 run. Once they had the lead, Dallas just grinded out the last four minutes, taking home the win.

Here are three thoughts from the game:

Cooper’s complete game

Halfway through Flagg’s rookie season, it’s becoming obvious that he’s got a well-rounded game. He does a little of everything on the stat sheet, and some things that don’t show up in the box score. That was on full display tonight. To go along with his 21 points, he also put up 11 rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He was active on defense all night and put pressure on the Warriors when he had the ball. The only thing really missing from his game right now is consistent 3-point shooting. There’s no reason to think he won’t figure that out. The great ones have an almost supernatural ability to sharpen the weak edges in their game, and Flagg is showing some glaring potential of greatness.

Sloppy play almost gave the game away

The Mavericks played better than the Warriors for most of the game tonight. They dominated the boards, scored more points on fast breaks and in the paint, and shot better. But they almost gave the game away because they couldn’t stop giving the ball away. They turned the ball over 22 times on Thursday, conceding 21 points off those give aways. They tightened it up in the fourth quarter when they went on the run to take over the game, but still turned it over five times in the last period. (Some of those were in absolute garbage time.) Once they held onto the ball, they took a commanding lead and coasted to the win.

The Mavericks need a veteran point guard

Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams are fun players. I’ve enjoyed watching them this year, and I hope at least one of them is on the team for a couple years. But the Mavericks need a veteran point guard who can run the offense and make the offense easier for the rest of the team. Especially for Flagg. Nembhard and Williams just don’t have the experience, and it shows at times. The offense becomes disjointed and inconsistent for stretches, and with the close games the Mavericks play, those stretches of stalled offense are the difference between wins and losses. It’s much too early to start thinking of specific players, but it’s something Dallas front office should have on their mind this summer.

Jet Greaves makes 28 saves, Zach Werenski scores to lead Blue Jackets to 1-0 win over Stars

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jet Greaves had 28 saves for his third career shutout, Zach Werenski scored his 19th goal of the season, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Dallas Stars 1-0 on Thursday night.

Werenski scored at 8:48 of the first period with a wrist shot from the right circle that went through traffic and inside the far post with assists from Damon Severson and Isac Lundestrom, who had missed 12 games with a lower-body injury suffered in practice on Dec. 27.

The Blue Jackets have now won five of their last six.

Casey DeSmith stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced but could not prevent the Stars from losing for the fourth time in their last five games. The Stars outshot the Blue Jackets 28-22.

Blue Jackets forward Charlie Coyle played in his 1,000th career game, the fifth player to reach the mark in a Columbus uniform. He scored into an empty net late in the game but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The former first-round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks has 199 goals and 316 assists in his career with Minnesota, Boston, Colorado and Columbus.

Mason Marchment returned to the Blue Jackets lineup after missing eight games with an upper-body injury suffered Jan. 4 against Pittsburgh.

Up next

Stars: Play at home against St. Louis on Friday night.

Blue Jackets: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday night in the third game of a five-game homestand.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Wizards vs. Nuggets recap: Washington falls short 107-97 against Denver

The Washington Wizards were unable to keep up with the Denver Nuggets on Thursday in a 107-97 loss at Capital One Arena, extending the team’s losing streak to eight games.

The Wiz Kids started this one ice cold, missing on 14 of their first 18 shot attempts as the Nuggets built up a double-digit lead in the first quarter. Will Riley helped stop the bleeding with back-to-back triples to close out the opening period, getting the good guys to within 27-23 after 1.

The first quarter also saw Alex Sarr and Aaron Gordon combine for an unusual bucket that would give anyone an automatic letter in a game of H.O.R.S.E.

Washington battled back in Q2 to take a momentary 34-33 lead off a Khris Middleton jumper. Kyshawn George led the way with 12 points at the half as his team trailed 48-46 heading into the break.

Tre Johnson got hot in the third quarter. He scored eight straight points in the span of a minute, capped off by this corner step-back three that would have made Ray Allen proud.

The Wizards kept pace with the Nuggets through the early stretches of the fourth quarter. A pair of Sarr free throws tied the game at 83. That’s when Denver, led by Peyton Watson’s career-high 35 points, put the game away with a 9-0 run.

George had a team-high 20 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists — the 10th time this season he’s led the team in scoring. Tre Johnson was a close second with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Will Riley made an impact as a reserve, accounting for 13 points of the Wizards’ 21 bench points.

Washington’s next chance to snap its losing streak comes Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets.

Jonathan Kuminga injury update: What we know after Warriors-Mavs exit

Jonathan Kuminga was ruled out for the rest of the game between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks on Thursday due to "left knee soreness," the Warriors said.

The forward came up limping after he was pushed by a member of the Mavericks during a dunk attempt with 4:28 remaining in the second quarter. Kuminga was seen limping after the attempt and appeared to ask a young girl to move from her seat so he could sit down.

He was later seen on the broadcast walking back to the locker room with a member of the Warriors' staff.

The Congolese player's injury is not expected to be serious, according to ESPN's Anthony Slater, who reported that Kuminga did twist his ankle and suffered a minor knee hyperextension. Kuminga had 10 points, two assists and two steals in nine minutes of play.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed to reporters that Kuminga's ankle and knee were both impacted and said Kuminga would be getting an MRI on Friday, Jan. 23.

"We’ll see how bad it is. Such a shame, he was playing great. That definitely hurt us, not having him available for the second half," Kerr said, per The San Francisco Standard's Danny Emerman.

The Mavericks dominated the Warriors down the stretch, outscoring them 39-26 in the fourth quarter, to win 123-115.

Kuminga was expected to see an increase in minutes within the Warriors' rotation after Jimmy Butler was ruled out for the season after he suffered a torn ACL earlier this week.

The fifth-year pro made headlines after demanding a trade away from Golden State on Jan. 15. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5. He’d recently missed 13 games for the team.

He signed a two-year deal worth $48.5 million to remain with the Warriors in late September.

This story has been updated with new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jonathan Kuminga injury update, what we know