Raúl Jiménez deepened West Ham’s relegation worries as Fulham snatched victory with five minutes remaining, his second goal in two matches giving Fulham a third straight win. The West Ham youngster Ollie Scarles was in tears after his mistake handed Fulham the victory and deepened his side’s relegation fears.
Manchester City’s lunchtime win at Nottingham Forest gave the Hammers the chance to cut the gap to 17th place to just two points. But instead they remain five points adrift of the last safe spot after the first of a run of supposedly winnable games, with Brighton and Forest still to come to east London, either side of a trip to rock-bottom Wolves.
Who: Nashville Predators (16-16-4, 5th Central) at St. Louis Blues (14-16-8, 6th Central)
When: 7 p.m. CST
Where: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo.
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Radio: 102.5 The Game
Line (via BetMGM): Predators (+1.5) Blues (-1.5). Over/under 5.5 (-118/-102).
Blues for the Blues
The Nashville Predators dominated the St. Louis Blues in both meetings so far this season.
In the Dec. 11 matchup, Steven Stamkos scored four goals en route to a 7-2 Predators win. Four days later in St. Louis, Filip Forsberg scored a hat trick in the Predators' 5-2 win over the Blues.
It's a complete turnaround from last season, as the Predators did not win a game against the Blues, going 0-4-0 in their meetings.
Nashville has battled back in the Central Division after starting the year 1-5-2 against Central Division opponents; they are now 5-6-2 against local opposition.
Climb continues
The Predators have seemingly dug themselves out of a hole created in the first month and a half of the season, and are beginning to move up in the standings.
Nashville has won 10 of its last 14 and three straight. It's the Predators' longest winning streak of the season and longest since they won four straight from March 4, 2025, to March 11.
A win against the Blues would give Nashville its first winning record since Oct. 25, when it defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in a shootout to improve to 4-3-2 on the year. Defeating St. Louis would move Nashville to 17-16-4 on the season.
In the standings, a win gains more separation between fifth and sixth and puts Nashville one point outside of the final Wild Card spot behind the Utah Mammoth (39 points).
Forsberg, O'Reilly point streaks
Two of the Predators' top forwards, Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly, are looking to extend multi-game point streaks tonight.
O'Reilly has a game point streak, scoring 11 points in that run and has four points in the last two games. Forsberg has a nine-game point streak, scoring 12 points in that time, which included the hat-trick game against the Blues on Dec. 15.
Scouting St. Louis
The Blues have been hovering around .500 over their last six games, posting a 3-2-1 record in that stretch.
Prior to the break, they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, on Dec. 22.
Robert Thomas (27 points) and Justin Faulk (20 points) continue to power the Blues offense as they are looking to keep pace with the Predators and possibly jump ahead in the s
SACRAMENTO – The Kings have been playing a lot like the weather lately. Gloomy, depressing and not much reason to go outside.
The sun broke through the clouds Saturday, and ironically or not, the Kings followed suit and lit up the Mavericks, dropping a 113-107 hammer on Dallas at Golden 1 Center.
Russell Westbrook led the way with another monster game (21 points, five rebounds, nine assists). Keon Ellis, back in the starting rotation for the first time in two months, added 21 points with five 3-pointers. Maxime Raynaud had 19 points and six rebounds.
The Kings only trailed once in the first half and went on a 20-10 run in the third quarter after the Mavericks pulled within 68-60. Ellis made a pair of threes and scored eight points as part of the run.
The win was Sacramento’s fourth straight over Dallas and upped Doug Christie’s record to 35-48 since taking over as coach when Mike Brown was fired last season.
Coincidentally, Christie’s first win for the Kings came against the Mavericks nearly a year ago to the day, with De’Aaron Fox leading the way with 33 points.
Fox is gone, but the Kings’ backcourt once again proved too much for the Mavs to handle.
Here are the takeaways from Saturday:
Russ Chasing Milestones
Westbrook already was one of the greatest point guards in NBA history before signing with the Kings, and the 37-year-old added another layer to his Hall of Fame resume in front of the G1C crowd Saturday.
Westbrook surpassed legendary Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson (10,141) for seventh place on the NBA’s all-time assist list. Westbrook now has 10,149 career assists.
Russell Westbrook moves into No. 7 on the NBA's all-time assists leaderboard 🤝 pic.twitter.com/tql32a6cUz
Keon Ellis might be the second-most popular player among Kings fans, and he got a chance to show out in front of the home crowd while making his second start of the 2025-26 NBA season and first since Oct. 26.
Ellis had a nice game (21 points on 8-of-15 shooting with three steals and two blocks), but his most impressive play might have been a running block he had against Max Christie. Christie appeared to have an open look before Ellis raced over to knock the shot away.
Ellis has had an up-and-down campaign, partially due to the way he has been used this season. It will be interesting to see what the Kings plans are for him for next season.
Raynaud, Interior D Step Up
Ever since losing Domantas Sabonis to a knee injury, the Kings have been very vulnerable when defending the paint. That changed a little bit against the Mavericks, with Raynaud providing a nice spark in the key.
Making his ninth straight start, the rookie played steady all afternoon in 27 minutes. It helped that Dallas was without Anthony Davis, but Raynaud has been making steady progress all season no matter who he has faced, although he did miss an easy bunny in the third quarter.
Given where the team is in the standings and where Sabonis is in his recovery, it would make sense for Sacramento to shut the big man down for the remainder of the schedule and give him a full offseason to heal. At the same time, that would open the door for Raynaud to get increased minutes on the court to continue his path on the learning curve.
The Islanders will take the ice without their top goaltender for at least one more game, as Ilya Sorokin (lower-body injury) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, ahead of their home matchup against the rival Rangers.
In a corresponding move, the Islanders called up AHL Bridgeport goalie Marcus Hogberg as their emergency backup.
With the IR decision retroactive to Dec. 20, Sorokin will be eligible to return to action Sunday, when the Islanders visit the Blue Jackets. The NHL requires a seven-day IR stint, so the prodecural designation for Sorokin could simply be precautionary, rather than the sign of some setback.
But the status on Sorokin's injury is still unclear. The 30-year-old netminder last played on Dec. 19 against the Canucks, allowing three first-period goals in a 4-1 home loss.
He stopped 27 of 30 shots then, and played until the Islanders pulled him in the closing minutes for an extra skater with the net empty.
In his absence, the Islanders have turned to David Rittich, who's allowed three goals and made 61 saves in their last two games.
Sorokin, who became one of the NHL's highest-paid goalies by signing an eight-year, $66 million extension in 2023, is a star talent the Islanders sorely need to compete for a playoff spot.
In 24 games this season, he owns a 12-10-2 record (three shutouts) with a 2.55 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. He began December on a five-game winning streak, but over his last two starts, he's allowed six goals on 51 shots.
The Islanders (20-13-4) currently sit in third place in the competitive Metropolitan Division, with 44 points and a plus-3 goal differential.
‘Monster’ dominates Picasso to defend undisputed title
Unanimous decision in Riyadh keeps Inoue unbeaten
Nakatani victory fuels chatter of Tokyo super-fight
Naoya Inoue moved a step closer to the biggest bout in Japanese boxing history after outclassing Alan Picasso by unanimous decision in Riyadh on Saturday, retaining his undisputed super-bantamweight titles and clearing the runway for a long-anticipated showdown with countryman Junto Nakatani.
Inoue, widely regarded as one of the finest pound-for-pound fighters in the world alongside Oleksandr Usyk and the recently retired Terence Crawford, was in control from the opening bell at the Mohammed Abdo Arena, neutralizing the previously unbeaten Mexican challenger with precision, speed and sustained pressure over 12 rounds. The judges scored the contest 120-108, 119-109 and 117-111 in favor of the 32-year-old champion.
An exciting day north and south of the border as title-chasing Arsenal, Manchester City and Celtic all won … but Hearts came a cropper in the Edinburgh derby
In Scotland, Hearts are making a go of things in the derby at Easter Road. Lawrence Shankland pulled one back on 75 minutes. That seemed no more than a consolation, but Cammy Devlin has made it 3-2 on 89 minutes, and there will be six additional minutes. Is an absurd comeback on?
On an afternoon when John Robertson was remembered at the City Ground, City were forced to dig extremely deep in order to make off with all three points
Manchester City: Although nothing has officially been agree between the two clubs, Manchester City are in pole position to sign Antoine Semenyo in January after Chelsea cooled their interest in the Bournemouth winger. Jacob Steinberg reports …
Kon Knueppel, the Charlotte Hornets' standout rookie, limped off the court just before the end of the first half Friday night against Orlando and did not play in the second half.
While there are no details on the injury or how much time Knueppel may miss, coach Charles Lee said postgame that his X-rays were clean. The injury occurred while leaping to contest a shot by Orlando's Desmond Bane and coming down on Bane's foot.
Knueppel, the No. 4 pick last June out of Duke, has been a revelation for the Hornets, averaging 19.3 points (second on the team) and 5.1 rebounds a game, shooting 42.8% from 3-point range. He has become one of the clear frontrunners for Rookie of the Year.
Even without Knueppel, the Hornets beat the Magic 120-105 behind 22 points and seven rebounds from LaMelo Ball. Miles Bridges had 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Knueppel had 16 points in the first quarter of the win. Orlando reached the semifinals of the NBA Cup but is 2-4 since.
After a five-game road trip and holiday break, the new-look Vancouver Canucks (15–18–3) are back in town to take on the San Jose Sharks (17–17–3). Prior to the break, Vancouver suffered a 5–2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in their first game against former Head Coach Rick Tocchet. San Jose entered the holiday break with a string of losses, with their most recent being against the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 7–2.
This will be the first time that new players Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Liam Öhgren play in front of a home crowd as members of the Canucks. As well, this will be the first time Vancouver fans will watch their team without Quinn Hughes being a member of the organization since he made his debut back in 2019. Off the ice, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of reception the team ends up getting after making their biggest organizational move in a long time.
Prior to their most recent loss to the Flyers, the Canucks were on an impressive run of four straight wins, a good chunk in part due to a slightly tidier system and great goaltending from both Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen. For fans who want the team to bounce-back and make a push for the post-season, tonight’s game will mark the start of a potential comeback. For those who believe in committing to the rebuild (which feels like most fans), tonight will be about setting that precedent.
Players To Watch:
Zeev Buium
Canucks fans have yet to see Buium play in person as a player on their team, as the defenceman was acquired on the day that Vancouver departed for their five-game road trip. Since making his Canucks debut, he has a goal and two assists in five games while playing on a pairing with Tyler Myers. Touted as the heir apparent of Hughes’ place on the team, Buium is a dynamic offensive-defenceman who can contribute greatly to his team’s production. Fans will want to keep an eye specifically on him as a peek at what the future holds for Vancouver’s blueline.
Macklin Celebrini
Celebrini has been the biggest story in the Sharks’ season thus far, as he’s consistently remained near the top of the NHL in points since the beginning. He’s currently only trailing Connor McDavid (67) and Nathan MacKinnon (61), all while only being 19 years old. Many will already be paying attention to Celebrini solely due to the fact that he’s from North Vancouver and is noted to have been a Canucks fan before being drafted. Tonight will mark the third time he’ll play in Vancouver at the NHL level.
Vancouver Canucks (15–18–3):
Points:
Elias Pettersson: 8–14–22
Kiefer Sherwood: 16–4–20
Conor Garland: 7–13–20
Filip Hronek: 2–18–20
Evander Kane: 6–12–18
Goaltenders:
Thatcher Demko: 8–6–0
Kevin Lankinen: 5–10–3
Nikita Tolopilo: 2–1–0
Jiří Patera: 0–1–0
San Jose Sharks (17–17–3):
Points:
Macklin Celebrini: 19–36–55
Will Smith: 12–17–29
Tyler Toffoli: 10–15–25
Alexander Wennberg: 7–16–23
William Eklund: 8–14–22
Goaltenders:
Yaroslav Askarov: 12–10–1
Alex Nedeljkovic: 5–7–2
Game Information:
Start time: 7:00 pm PT
Venue: Rogers Arena
Television: Sportsnet Radio: Sportsnet 650
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs defends Isaiah Hartenstein of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter of Tuesday’s game.Photograph: Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images
I’ve seen enough: Give the San Antonio Spurs the keys to Santa Claus’ workshop. Put Stephon Castle in charge of toy assembly. Let De’Aaron Fox toss presents into chimneys, from whatever range he’d like. Devin Vassell can customize the Christmas cookies. Harrison Barnes has the army of elves covered. And, of course, Santa Claus’s sleigh must immediately be resized for a taller, thinner pilot so that the towering Victor Wembanyama can drive it comfortably. The sensational Spurs have felled the Oklahoma City Thunder three times in two weeks, and in doing so revitalized this NBA season. I now have more faith in the Spurs’ ability to grant joy to the masses than any holiday legends of old.
It looked dire for a while there. The Thunder might have won the Larry O’Brien trophy in June, but began this season in even more ominous form. They reeled off 24 wins in their first 25 games (the lone loss was a fluky 20-point comeback). In most of them, Jalen Williams, their second-best player, was on the sidelines recovering from wrist surgery. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, their best, seldom had to play in fourth quarters. The Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings by 31. The Los Angeles Lakers, who some expected to be a plausible rival, lost by 29; their basketball savant Luka Doncic looked like he was playing against ten men. The Phoenix Suns’ valiant first earned them a close loss, by just four points. When they met again 12 days later, the Thunder won by 49. This game knocked all the remaining leaves off the trees and started winter 10 days ahead of schedule. Oklahoma City looked capable of shredding anything in its path, even the 2016 Golden State Warriors’ legendary regular season record of 73-9.
The Thunder do not play a particularly appealing style of basketball. They skillfully exploit the referees’ dilemma over which fouls to call (a consistent whistle interrupts the flow of the game, an absent one lets players get away with blatant violations), often resulting in Gilgeous-Alexander shooting free throws after whistles that would be better swallowed, while personified mosquito swarm Alex Caruso seems to have free rein to do whatever he likes on defense. Some profess to enjoy, or admire, Gilgeous-Alexander contorting his body to draw slight bumps from defenders; I can only assume those same people also like being kicked hard between the legs. That’s not to mention man-mountain Luguentz Dort flying off his feet and into opponents after plenty of suspiciously light touches. This chicanery enables haters to harbor the fantasy that in a world with ideal officiating, the Thunder would be a mediocre team. True basketball heads know it’s far more exasperating than integral to the Thunder’s success, but the general irritation is sufficient to nudge some fans who might otherwise be neutral into rooting for Oklahoma City’s downfall.
Dominance can be coldly thrilling to watch, but a historically great performance tends to evoke less awe the more times it repeats. How many times does anybody really want to watch one team beat another by 35? Eventually you remember that the drama is the point. The Thunder were draining the season of suspense, running up leads on other teams in the table as well as on the floor.
Through 21 minutes of the first Spurs-Thunder game this season, San Antonio trailed by 16 and looked likely to go the same way as every other team. Instead, they have wrought hell upon the Thunder ever since.
Against the Spurs, the Thunder look mortal. Each member of their core deserves immense credit for that, but this is Victor Wembanyama’s team, and the Thunder know it. “There’s this guy on their team that’s seven-foot-five and takes up a lot of space on the court,” Jalen Williams said, with some exasperation, when asked what made the Spurs such a tough out. The Thunder’s professional beanpole, 7ft 1in Chet Holmgren, is the tallest player on the floor in most games, free to grab rebounds and swat down opposing shots. Next to Wemby, he’s short, crude, and even timid. Wembanyama’s contempt for Holmgren is evident in how he celebrates each time Chet misses a free throw, as though he’s won the lottery; the way he fouls him with a bit of extra venom; the way he told reporters he doesn’t consider Holmgren a rival. (There is indeed no debate over which player is better.) At this rate Holmgren must expect Wemby to burst out of the cupboard, talking smack, when he reaches up for a snack.
Wembanyama and the Spurs made their most definitive statement yet on Christmas, thumping the Thunder by 15 on their home floor. San Antonio took the inevitable early punch well yet again, recovering to pile 41 points on the league’s best defense in the first quarter. Fox effortlessly found the miniscule holes in that defense to the tune of 29 points. The Spurs even held Gilgeous-Alexander to a season-low 22. He tried to make up for it by zipping passes to open teammates behind the arc, but they let him down by bricking almost every single attempt.
A Thunder optimist would say that enough of those threes will go in next time to produce a win or a tighter loss, but I found the misses symptomatic of a flaw. Off the strength of his silky-smooth stepback jumper, Gilgeous-Alexander is the steadiest scoring engine in the league. He is difficult to guard and impossible to stop. (LeBron James recently offered some advice on how to slow him down: “you gotta keep him off the free throw line. Which is hard.”) But even he can’t carry an offense entirely on his own. The Spurs put Gilgeous-Alexander under enough pressure that he had to delegate more than usual, and his supporting parts broke down under the heavier burden. Caruso and Dort are good for the occasional three-pointer, but relying on them to hit the long shot is the last place the Thunder want to be.
The Spurs’ surge couldn’t have come at a better time. Not only have they emphatically established themselves as title contenders – some say they’re too young, and inexperience has indeed undone plenty of fabulous teams in the playoffs, but the 23-7 Spurs aren’t contenders, hardly anyone is – but they’ve allowed fans to see the Thunder in higher definition other teams couldn’t come close to revealing. Oklahoma City, potentially the best team in history two weeks ago, is merely exceptional. If you take Gilgeous-Alexander’s word for it, the Spurs are better right now. 74-8 is off the table. With the Spurs just two and a half games behind, OKC has its hands full just holding onto its lead in the Western Conference. Even if only against one team, the Thunder have assumed the unfamiliar role of chaser, trying to solve a squad who torments them the way they torment so many others. In their newfound vulnerability, the Thunder are a little easier to enjoy and a little harder to hate. And any future wins against the Spurs will be a lot more meaningful.
They’ll get a few, maybe (or probably, but it’s thanks to the Spurs that choosing a word is difficult) as soon as this season. The Thunder are too good to stay down for long. When they rise the Spurs will eventually have to make their own adjustments. How’s this for terrifying: Wemby’s probably still a few years out from his peak. Christmases and NBA seasons can blend together, with only the most meaningful sticking out in the memory years later. Whatever happens next, the Spurs have given me enough reason to look back on these ones and smile.
This morning, at 9:30 AM, the Montreal Canadiens will board a charter flight to Florida to begin their traditional holiday trip in the sunbelt. Their first of five will be a tilt with the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 28. With 45 points, the Habs are second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference, behind the Carolina Hurricanes, who have just 47 points. In fact, only five points separate the Conference leaders and the last wild-card spot, held by the Florida Panthers. In other words, every point is crucial at this stage, and Martin St-Louis is aware of that fact.
While it’s a good position to be in, the Canadiens still have to decide on what they are going to do with their goaltenders. The plan may have been for the Habs to give Jacob Fowler a few games this season to see where he is, but because of the goaltending issues that have plagued the first half of the season, that plan came very early.
Before the Christmas break, former number one goaltender Samuel Montembeault was sent down to the Laval Rocket in the AHL to work on his game and play a couple of games. He won neither of them, although he couldn’t be blamed for the losses, but he did spend a lot of time with Rocket goalie coach Marco Marciano, going back to the basics.
In fact, the Canadiens were meant to call him up on December 21, but since he had played the night before and the Habs weren’t set to hold any practice in Pittsburgh or in Boston, they elected not to do so. He stayed behind with Marciano and worked hard in Brossard.
Now, the Habs will have to call him up, since the rules for a conditioning stint in the AHL allow it to last up to 14 days and require the player's consent. It’s doubtful that Montembeault will want to extend his stay, which means that unless the Habs send down a goaltender, they’ll be travelling with a trio of masked men.
While both Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler are waiver-exempt and could conceivably be sent down, I don’t think it would be wise to send Dobes down. Still, Fowler has made it very hard for the Canadiens to demote him, even though he’s in the first year of his professional career.
So far in five games, he has a 3-1-1 record, with a 2.40 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. Furthermore, as pointed out by TVA Sports’ Anthony Martineau, among all NHL goaltenders who have played at least five games this season, the youngster ranks first in expected goals saved per 60 minutes and second in save percentage on high-danger shots. In his last two games, he has shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins and backstopped the Canadiens to a big win against the Boston Bruins, on enemy territory. Even though the Bruins came out strong in the first frame, he weathered the storm as the hosts peppered his net with 17 shots in the first frame and allowed the Tricolore to come back in the game and get the two points.
How can the Canadiens justify sending him back down with the form he’s in? With the playoff race as tight as it is right now, Montreal cannot attempt to make a mistake. Sending the youngster down when he’s doing too well would send the wrong message. I can understand the organization wanting to give Montembeault a chance to bounce back, but it cannot afford to waste points. If the Becancour native falters, he needs to make way. Until he’s proven he’s got his game back, the Canadiens shouldn’t send down Fowler, even if his age, experience and contract situation make him the perfect candidate to go to Laval.
Professional sports is a results business; the Canadiens are no longer at the start of a rebuild. They need points, and they need them both now and, in the future, if they want to make the spring dance, and there is no doubt that they do. Whichever way you look at it, Fowler has made a fantastic case for himself to be kept around, and he has earned it, at least the way I see it. Despite money and contractual implications, it’s merit that should dictate the way forward; that’s how you build a winning team and culture.
