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WAMC Sports Report 2/26/24: Blue Jackets win 4-2, snap Rangers' win streak at 10 games

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jack Roslovic, center, celebrates after his goal against the New York Rangers with teammates forward Johnny Gaudreau, left, and forward Boone Jenner, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Paul Vernon/AP
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FR66830 AP
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jack Roslovic, center, celebrates after his goal against the New York Rangers with teammates forward Johnny Gaudreau, left, and forward Boone Jenner, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

NHL

Jack Roslovic scored a tiebreaking goal in the second period to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-2 victory over New York, snapping the Rangers’ franchise record-tying 10-game win streak. Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko each had a goal and an assist, Ivan Provorov also scored, and Johnny Gaudreau had two assists for Columbus, which had lost three straight at home. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 38 shots as the Blue Jackets won the opener of the teams’ home-and-home set that concludes Wednesday in New York. Artemi Panarin and Adam Edstrom scored, and Jonathan Quick stopped 37 shots for the Rangers, who lost for the first time since Jan. 26. They still lead the Metropolitan Division with 81 points — seven ahead of second-place Carolina.

Casey Mittelstadt scored in the fourth shootout round, and the Buffalo Sabres extended their win streak to a season-best three straight with a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Owen Power forced overtime by scoring with 4:05 left in regulation, and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Sabres, who had not won three straight since a 3-0 run from April 6-10. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 30 shots through overtime, and didn’t allow a goal in the shootout round. Martin Necas had a goal and assist and Tony DeAngelo also scored for the Hurricanes who were playing on consecutive nights following a 2-1 home loss to Dallas.

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists and became the first player in the league to reach 100 points this season in leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a much-needed 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel were the recipients of Kucherov’s 62nd, 63rd and 64th assists of the season and added his 38th goal. He leads the NHL with 102 points. Tyler Toffoli scored his 25th goal of the season for the Devils, who are 2-9-1 in the second half of back-to-back games. Akira Schmid had 23 saves.

Drew O’Connor and Rickard Rakell scored less than two minutes apart in the third period to break open a tie game and the Pittsburgh Penguins held off the Philadelphia Flyers 7-6. Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists for Pittsburgh. The Penguins captain has 129 points (55 goals, 74 assists) in 87 regular season games against the Flyers. That's the most by any opponent against Philadelphia. Travis Sanheim and Tyson Foerster had two goals each for the Flyers.

Kyle Connor scored his second goal of the game on a 3-on-1 break in overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 4-3 victory over Arizona on Sunday night, extending the Coyotes’ losing streak to 12 games. Connor scored from the right side after two Arizona’s Nick Schmaltz and Sean Durzi collided and fell in the other end of the ice after a failed breakaway attempt. Mark Scheifele had a goal and three assists, Gabriel Vilardi also scored and Josh Morrissey had three assists. Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves to help Winnipeg improve to 36-15-5 with its third straight victory and sixth in seven games. Schmaltz scored twice and Matias Maccelli added a goal for Arizona in the opener of a five-game trip. The Coyotes dropped to 23-29-5.

Patrick Kane scored on a breakaway 1:43 into overtime in his return to Chicago, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks. Kane was all alone when he got the puck before skating in and beating Petr Mrazek for his 12th goal. The dynamic winger then held his arms in the air as the United Center crowd cheered. Kane starred for the Blackhawks for 16 seasons before he was traded to the New York Rangers a year ago. He signed with Detroit as a free agent and was repeatedly saluted with raucous cheers from a season-high crowd of 21,141 in his first game against his first NHL team.

Filip Forsberg broke a tie early in the third period and had an assist to help the Nashville Predators beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Sunday night for their fifth straight victory. Roman Josi, Michael McCarron and Gustav Nyquist also scored, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 shots for Nashville. Nashville has 18 road victories, tied for third-most in the NHL. The Predators have points in seven of their last eight games away from home. Brett Leason had a goal and an assist for Anaheim. Isac Lundestrom also scored and Lukas Dostal made 25 saves. The Ducks have lost three straight and four of five.

Patrick Kane returned to the United Center with the Detroit Red Wings, and he heard loud cheers all day long in his first game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Kane starred for the Blackhawks for 16 seasons before he was traded to the New York Rangers a year ago. He signed with Detroit as a free agent. Just like he has so many times before, Kane delivered. He had a goal and an assist in Detroit’s 3-2 victory, closing it out on a breakaway 1:43 into overtime. While celebrating his game-winner, Kane yelled “Showtime!” with his arms in the air as the season-high crowd of 21,141 cheered.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, Damian Lillard added 24 and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the 76ers 119-98 on Sunday in Doc Rivers’ return to Philadelphia. Rivers was fired by Philadelphia after last season. He coached the 76ers from 2020-23, never getting past the second round of the playoffs, and Sunday was 12th game since taking over in Milwaukee. Rivers was greeted by a chorus of boos from the sellout crowd during introductions, but his team quickly took the crowd out of the game with a blistering first quarter.

Grayson Allen scored 24 points, Kevin Durant added 22 and the Phoenix Suns pulled away late in the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-113 on Sunday. Allen and Royce O’Neale hit crucial 3s on back-to-back possessions to put the Suns up 116-104 with three minutes left. Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points, 22 rebounds and seven assists. The Lakers trailed by 20 points late in the first quarter, but slowly cut the deficit to 92-90 by late in the third. Phoenix responded with the next six points and didn’t trail in the fourth.

Myles Turner scored a season-high 33 points, Tyrese Haliburton added 17 points and 10 assists and the Indiana Pacers beat Dallas 133-111 to snap the Mavericks’ Western Conference-best seven-game winning streak. Luka Doncic finished with 33 points, six assists and six rebounds for the Mavericks, who shot 47% from the field but allowed Indiana to shoot 56% and make 14 3-pointers. Kyrie Irving had 29 points and six rebounds for Dallas.

Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Caris LeVert added 18 points and 12 boards, and the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided their first three-game skid since December with a 114-105 victory over the Washington Wizards. Evan Mobley added 21 points and Donovan Mitchell had 16 points in his return after missing the first two games following the All-Star break with an illness. The Cavs are second in the Eastern Conference, one game ahead of Milwaukee. Jordan Poole scored a season-high 31 points and Kyle Kuzma added 27 for the Wizards, who extended their season-worst losing streak to 11 games and fell to 2-12 under interim coach Brian Keefe.

Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds for his 31st double-double this season and 500th of his career, and the Chicago Bulls defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 114-106. DeMar DeRozan scored 24, including a left wing 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to give the Bulls a 111-106 lead. Ayo Desunmu added 21 points for Chicago. Zion Williamson scored 19 points, tied a career-high with 11 assists and grabbed nine rebounds for the Pelicans. Brandon Ingram was back from a two-game absence caused by a non-COVID illness and scored 22 points but committed nine of New Orleans' 19 turnovers. Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 17 rebounds for New Orleans.

Dejounte Murray had 25 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, finishing just short of his first triple-double of the season, and the Atlanta Hawks trounced the Orlando Magic 109-92 to snap a three-game skid. Murray helped offset the loss of All-Star guard Trae Young, who will undergo surgery on his left hand Tuesday and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Jalen Johnson had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks after a scoreless first quarter. Franz Wagner had 19 points to lead the Magic, who had won eight of their last 10 but fell to 1-7 when playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and Chet Holmgren added 29 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 123-110 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. It’s the fifth consecutive win for the Thunder and moves them into a tie with Minnesota for first place in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City was up by eight points with less than seven minutes left before scoring the next nine points, capped by 3s from Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander to push the advantage to 115-98 with 3 ½ minutes to go.

Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists for his third straight triple-double and 18th of the season after his long buzzer-beater against Golden State sealed the last meeting, leading the defending champion Denver Nuggets past the Warriors again in a 119-103 victory. Jokic hit a Stephen Curry-like 40-footer as Denver rallied for a 130-127 win at Chase Center on Jan. 4, then topped Curry and Co. to sweep the four-game season series. On Sunday, Jokic shot 13 for 24 on the way to his 122nd career regular-season triple-double.

Lauri Markkanen scored 26 points and the Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-109 to snap a five-game skid. Jordan Clarkson added 22 points and 10 assists for the Jazz. John Collins had 20 points and Collin Sexton added 16 points and 10 assists. Devin Vassell led San Antonio with 27 points and Victor Wembanyama added 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for the Spurs, who lost for the 11th time in 12 games. Zach Collins finished with 17 points and Tre Jones had 15 points and nine assists. The Jazz moved within three games of Golden State for the final Western Conference play-in spot.

Nick Richards had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets took advantage of Portland’s horrible 3-point shooting to beat the Trail Blazers 93-80 on Sunday night. Portland was 3 of 32 from 3-point range, with two of the makes coming in the final minutes. The Trail Blazers missed 23 in a row at one point in dropping their eighth straight to fall to 15-41. Miles Bridges added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, and Brandon Miller had 17 points. The Hornets improved to 15-42. Deandre Ayton led Portland with 26 points and 19 rebounds. He was 11 of 16 from field, while the Trail Blazers shot 34.7% overall from the field.

De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points, Domantas Sabonis had his NBA-leading 20th triple-double and the Sacramento Kings defeated the Clippers 123-107. Los Angeles has lost two in a row for the first time since late December. The Clippers were led by JNorman Powell with 21 points in his first start of the season. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard added 20 points each on a night when Paul George sat out with a sore knee. Sabonis had 17 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists. The Kings had six players in double figures, including all five starters while winning their third in a row.

Miami’s Jimmy Butler and New Orleans’ Naji Marshall have both been suspended for one game for instigating an on-court altercation that happened during the Heat-Pelicans game on Friday night. Miami’s Thomas Bryant and New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado were both handed three-game suspensions for fighting and leaving the bench area. Miami’s Nikola Jovic also got a one-game suspension for leaving the bench area and entering the altercation.

The Atlanta Hawks have lost All-Star point guard Trae Young for at least four weeks with a torn ligament in his left pinkie finger. Young was hurt during Friday night’s loss to Toronto and will have surgery Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The team says Young will be evaluated in four weeks. The Hawks are fighting for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, and they also are facing front-line depth issues. Center Onyeka Okongwu has a sprained left toe and will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

Nashville’s Joe Willis and Carlos Coronel of the New York Red Bulls both opened the season with clean sheets in a scoreless season opener. Willis had three of his four saves in the first half for Nashville. Coronel did not face a shot on target before intermission. Coronel wasn’t tested until he saved a header by Teal Bunbury in the 58th minute. He finished with three saves. The Red Bulls’ Franuel Amaya hit the cross bar on a shot in the 63rd minute. New York improves to 2-0-3 all time versus Nashville and 13-10-6 in all time in openers.

Sean Johnson made seven saves and Toronto FC played FC Cincinnati to a scoreless draw in a season opener. Johnson turned away four shots in the second half to earn the clean sheet for Toronto, which has opened a season on the road in six straight and 16 of its 17 seasons since joining the league. Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak to Cincinnati. Roman Celentano made one save in each half in his shutout effort for Cincinnati — winners of the Supporters’ Shield last season.

Lionel Messi scored in the second minute of second-half injury time off a pass from Jordi Alba, and Inter Miami salvaged a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy. Dejan Joveljic scored in the 75th minute for the Galaxy, who were close to delivering a surprising early-season blow to Messi and his new MLS powerhouse before the Argentine superstar worked another bit of magic. After executing a give-and-go pass sequence with Alba, his longtime Barcelona teammate, Messi slid forward and delicately chipped a shot into the roof of the net above Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy.

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Fairfield 88 Siena 64

Mt. St. Mary’s 72 Iona 65

St. Peter’s 69 Marist 60

(3)Purdue 84 Michigan 76

(7)Marquette 88 Xavier 64

St. John's 80 (15)Creighton 66

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Syracuse 63 Pittsburgh 53

UConn 104 DePaul 67

Caitlin Clark scored 24 points on the way to her 16th career triple-double, Hannah Stuelke added 20 and No. 4 Iowa defeated Illinois 101-85. Clark had 15 rebounds and 10 assists for her Division I-leading fifth triple-double of the season as Iowa bounced back from a loss to No. 14 Indiana. Clark, the nation’s leading scorer at 32.1 points per game, went 6 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 14 in 3-pointers. Makira Cook led Illinois with 26 points.

MLB SPRING TRAINING

N.Y. Mets        3          Houston          1         

Philadelphia   4          N.Y. Yankees  0

N.Y. Yankees  12        Toronto           6

Boston 8          Minnesota       6

Boston 5          Atlanta            4         

Baltimore 2 Pittsburgh 0

St. Louis 3 Houston 0

Arizona 5 Chicago White Sox 0

L.A. Dodgers 4 Oakland 2

Cincinnati 9 L.A. Angels 4

San Francisco 0 Texas 0

Kansas City 1 L.A. Angels 0

Final Cleveland 8 Seattle 4

Final Detroit 9 Tampa Bay 9

Final Washington 6 Miami 3

Final San Diego 7 Chicago Cubs 0

Final Colorado 10 Milwaukee 3

NASCAR

Daniel Suarez edged Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in a three-wide finish to win a crashed-filled NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch, who won the Trucks race on Saturday, moved to the middle between Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion, and Suarez to set the stage for the dramatic finish. Suarez earned his second career Cup Series win in his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Blaney was second, only three one-thousands of a second behind. Busch was third. A massive pileup of at least 16 cars on the race’s second lap set the pace for a procession of wrecks.

NFL

A video surfaced Sunday that appeared to show 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton being involved in a scuffle at a 7-on-7 youth football tournament in Atlanta. The video shows Newton, wearing one of his custom-made hats, being shoved by three people near the top of a set of steps before the altercation moves toward a fence line. The video lasts less than 30 seconds before the altercation is broken up by a policeman and event security at the WeBall Sports x DynastyU 7v7 tournament at B.E.S.T. Academy. Newton, the No. 1 overall pick in 2011 out of Auburn, does not appear to throw any punches in the video, although there is one punch thrown in his direction. It’s unclear if the punch landed on the former quarterback.

MLB

Cody Bellinger is going back to the Chicago Cubs, agreeing to an $80 million, three-year contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. The slugger can opt out of the deal after each of the first two years. The person confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it was pending a physical. Bellinger’s return would be a big win for the Cubs, who waited into spring training as the center fielder explored his options in free agency. He hit a career-best .307 with 26 homers, 97 RBIs and 20 steals in 130 games for Chicago in 2023.

SOCCER

Midfielder Weston McKennie will likely miss the CONCACAF Nations League finals at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium next month after dislocating his left shoulder. McKennie was injured while playing for Juventus on Sunday. He assisted on two goals for the first time in the Italian league before exiting the 3-2 win over Frosinone three minutes from time after landing awkwardly. Juventus teammate Adrien Rabiot also injured his left foot in the match. McKennie is a key member of the United States national team and the Americans face Jamaica in the Nations League semifinals on March 21 at AT&T Stadium. Juventus says it is still evaluating the timeframes for how long both players will be out.

MEXICO OPEN

Jake Knapp has won the Mexico Open, and it wasn't easy until the end. Knapp had a four-shot lead going into the final round. That was cut in half in three holes and gone after seven holes. But the 29-year-old rookie from UCLA never lost the lead. He hit only two fairways and leaned on a short game that carried him to a 71. He won by two shots over Sami Valimaki. The victory gives Knapp a spot in the Masters and the PGA Championship. He also gets into the remaining five signature events with a $20 million purse.

© 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.