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WAMC Sports Report 2/22/24: Alex Tuch breaks tie with short-handed goal, Sabres beat Canadians 3-2

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) carries the puck around the net past Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Buffalo N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP
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FR171450 AP
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) carries the puck around the net past Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Buffalo N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

NHL

Alex Tuch scored short-handed to break a second-period tie in the Buffalo Sabres’ 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadians on Wednesday night. Zemgus Girgensons and Jeff Skinner also scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 29 saves to help the Sabres improve to 25-27-4. Skinner has 27 goals against the Canadiens, the second-most among active players behind Alex Ovechkin (38). Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble scored for Montreal and Sam Montembeault made 20 saves. Montreal has lost three straight and five of six to fall to 22-26-8. Tuch scored with 1:52 left in the second period after a Canadiens power play that included three turnovers by Cole Caufield.

Charlie McAvoy scored in overtime to lift Boston to a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers after the Bruins blew a three-goal lead. McAvoy sent a backhand past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner 3:10 into the extra period that started with Edmonton on the power play. Morgan Geekie, Brad Marchand, Trent Frederic, Jake DeBrusk and David Pastrnak also scored for the Bruins. Mason Lohrei had three assists and Jeremy Swayman made 37 saves. Warren Foegele had a pair of goals and Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, who had won eight in a row at home. Skinner stopped 30 shots.

Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim and Garent Hathaway scored, Samuel Ersson made 22 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Wednesday night. Philadelphia is 5-1-1 in its last seven games. Chicago, last overall in the NHL, has lost 10 of 11. Colin Blackwell scored for Chicago. Arvid Soderblom stopped 30 shots. The Flyers’ puck-control attack and stingy defense limited Chicago’s chances. Philadelphia allowed 40 shots Saturday in a 6-3 outdoor loss to New Jersey.

Yegor Chinakhov scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Columbus Blue Jackets blew a four-goal lead before rallying for a 7-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Sean Kuraly got his second goal of the night 49 seconds after Chinakhov’s score. Zach Werenski scored two goals in the first period and Johnny Gaudreau ended his 17-game goal drought for the Jackets. The Ducks trailed 4-0 before they tied it up in an 11-minute burst to close the second period, with Mason McTavish getting two of the four goals. Alex Killorn made it 4-4 with a short-handed goal 24 seconds before the second intermission.

Auston Matthews scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season in his hometown to break a tie as the fastest U.S.-born player to reach 50 and help the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the crumbling Arizona Coyotes 6-3 on Wednesday night. Matthews’ milestone goal came on a power play 5:01 into the game, his 54th game of the season — making him the fastest player to score 50 in a season since Mario Lemieux did it in 50 games in 1995-96. Wayne Gretzky holds the record, scoring his 50th in his 39th game for Edmonton in 1981-82. Matthews shared the previous U.S.-born mark with Kevin Stevens at 62 games. Matthews and the Maple Leafs sent the Coyotes to their 11th straight loss.

Auston Matthews scored his 50th goal of the season Wednesday night in the Toronto Maple Leafs star’s hometown return, becoming the fastest NHL player to reach that mark in 28 years. Playing his 54th game, Matthews scored early in the first period on a power play to give Toronto a 2-0 lead over the Arizona Coyotes. He added his 51st — giving him 350 career goals in 535 games — late in the second period for a 4-2 lead. From nearby Scottsdale, Matthews scored No. 50 on a shot from the circle to the left of goaltender Karel Vejmelka. Wayne Gretzky holds that record, scoring his 50th in his 39th game for Edmonton in 1981-82. Matthews is the fastest to 50 among U.S.-born players.

It has been two years since hockey at the Beijing Olympics went ahead without NHL players because of COVID-19 pandemic-related scheduling issues. Since then, nearly 30 players from that tournament have played in the league, including several making big impacts. Seattle's Matty Beniers, Toronto's Matthew Knies and Minnesota's Brock Faber have grown into substantial NHL roles after starring for the United States in Beijing. Canada also had a handful of prospects turn into pros, from Buffalo's Owen Power to Anaheim's Mason McTavish. Juraj Slafkovsky of Slovakia was the No. 1 pick several months after being the Olympic MVP and now is growing his game with Montreal.

NBA

There’s no NBA player who is a bigger fan of harness racing than Denver’s Nikola Jokic. He owns horses, goes to tracks whenever he can and even accepted one of his MVP awards while riding around at his farm in Serbia. He knows the stretch run often decides races. And the same holds true in the NBA, which is entering its stretch run. The All-Star break is over, games resume on Thursday and the defending champion Nuggets are hoping that this is the time when they can start hitting their best stride.

The new rule that rendered Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid ineligible for a second consecutive NBA MVP award because he’s missing too many games has the potential to create something the league hasn’t seen in almost two decades. That would be a wide-open MVP race. Embiid was running away with the award when he got hurt. Now Denver's Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokoumpo have seen their chances of a third MVP soar. Or maybe the winner will be a first-timer, like Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Boston's Jayson Tatum. The seeds are planted for what could turn into quite the race.

MLB

New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga has experienced some arm fatigue after throwing a side session during spring training. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Senga was being examined by the team’s trainers. Mendoza wasn’t sure if the Japanese pitcher would have an MRI. The Mets are looking to the 31-year-old Senga to help anchor their rotation after he put together an impressive rookie season. He went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts. At the Los Angeles Dodgers' camp, Shohei Ohtani told reporters he is feeling good at the plate and seeing the ball well. He wants to get 50 at-bats during spring training to prepare for the regular season.

GOLF

Charlie Woods is taking the first step toward trying to play on the PGA Tour. The 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods is in the pre-qualifier Thursday for the Cognizant Classic. Roughly the leading 25 players advance to the Monday qualifier. Only four players get into the tournament. Charlie Woods is no stranger to the spotlight. He's been playing with his father in the PNC Championship the last four years. That's the 36-hole event in which major champions team up with a family member. Charlie Woods will be on his own this time at Lost Lake Golf Club.

Joaquin Niemann now has something money can't buy. He's going to the Masters. Niemann is one of three players awarded special invitations by Augusta National. The Chilean is the only player from LIV Golf to get an exemption, but this isn't about the Saudi-funded league. The Masters looked at his willingness to play outside LIV and try to get world ranking points. Niemann won the Australian Open. He had high finishes at the Australian PGA and Dubai Desert Classic. Augusta National also awarded invitations to Ryo Hisatsune of Japan and Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark. The Masters will have 13 players with LIV Golf, including defending champion Jon Rahm.

SOCCER

Lionel Messi had an assist and Inter Miami opened the Major League Soccer season with a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night. It was the first match of MLS' 29th season. Robert Taylor and Diego Gomez had the goals for Inter Miami. Messi was in midseason form, darting through and around defenders, almost giving the sellout crowd what they wanted to see by nearly scoring on a free kick and then a corner kick midway through the first half.

Soccer star Dani Alves has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub. A three-judge panel in a Barcelona court sentenced Alves to four years, six months. The 40-year-old Alves denied any wrongdoing during a trial that took place over three days this month. The decision can be appealed. The court found Alves sexually assaulted his victim early in the morning of Dec. 31, 2022. She said he raped her in a bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub.

NFL

The Chicago Bears have hired Jennifer King as the first female assistant coach in franchise history. She will be an offensive assistant working with running backs. Coach Matt Eberflus filled out his staff by announcing the final six members Wednesday. Chris Beatty will be the wide receivers coach; Chad Morton will be in charge of running backs with Thomas Brown the offensive passing game coordinator. Jason Houghtaling will be the assistant offensive line coach. Robbie Picazo will be an offensive assistant working with quarterbacks and receivers.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The 12-team College Football Playoff is 10 months away from kicking off. The format is finally locked in. University presidents have unanimously approved one last tweak to increase the number of at-large bids from six to seven. The change reserves five spots for conference champions instead of six. The move was prompted by conference realignment and the demise of the Pac-12. The process of expanding the CFP from four to 12 teams began in 2019. The new system finally arrives during the upcoming 2024 season. The next two seasons are expected to be something of a test drive.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Loyola 64 UMass 52

© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A 2022 Siena College graduate, Alexander began his journalism career as a sports writer for Siena College's student paper The Promethean, and as a host for Siena's school radio station, WVCR-FM "The Saint." A Cubs fan, Alexander hosts the morning Sports Report in addition to producing Morning Edition. You can hear the sports reports over-the-air at 6:19 and 7:19 AM, and online on WAMC.org. He also speaks Spanish as a second language. To reach him, email ababbie@wamc.org, or call (518)-465-5233 x 190. You can also find him on Twitter/X: @ABabbieWAMC.