Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and two assists as the New York Rangers scored five times in the third period and beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3. Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and assist, and Filip Chytil, Ryan Strome, and Artemi Panarin scored for New York, which won for the fifth time in six games.
Pavel Francouz made 27 saves and lost his first NHL shutout with just over two minutes remaining as the Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Islanders 3-1. Gabriel Landeskog, Andre Burakovsky and Joonas Donskoi had goals to help Colorado end a three-game skid against a scuffling New York team.
Jamie Oleksiak broke a third-period tie with his first goal in 26 games and the Dallas Stars held on to beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Wednesday night. Oleksiak stepped up into the top of the slot, took a pass from Alexander Radulov and sent a low snap shot past goalie Antti Raanta with 8:22 remaining. Dallas is 5-0-1 in its last six games to pull even with Central Division leader St. Louis. Ben Bishop made 21 of his season-high 39 saves in the first period. Corey Perry and Radek Faksa scored power-play goals for Dallas. Taylor Hall had a power-play goal for Arizona, Christian Fischer also scored in the second period and Raanta stopped 30 shots.
Vincent Trocheck and Aleksi Saarela each scored second-period goals off fortuitous rebounds and the Florida Panthers were able to rally from an early deficit for a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Aleksander Barkov and MacKenzie Weegar also scored a goal for Florida, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves as the Panthers improved to 2-0 on a key five-game West Coast road trip. Max Jones scored a goal, while John Gibson had 28 saves for the Ducks.
Alex Galchenyuk scored the tying goal and the shootout winner as the Minnesota Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3. Kevin Fiala and Luke Kunin also scored in regulation for Minnesota, and Mats Zuccarello had two assists. Devan Dubnyk stopped 31 shots. J.T. Miller scored twice in the third period and Jay Beagle added a goal for Vancouver.
In NHL news, the Los Angeles Kings have traded Stanley Cup-winning goal scorer Alec Martinez to the Vegas Golden Knights for two second-round draft picks. Martinez has spent his entire career with the Kings, who drafted him in 2007. Although he has never scored more than 11 goals in a regular season, he earned a permanent place in franchise lore by scoring the series-winning overtime goals in both the Western Conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final six years ago. Martinez also was a member of the Kings' first championship team in 2012. He has 62 goals and 136 assists in 597 career games, and he has six goals and 10 assists in 64 career postseason games.
For the first time since October, the Washington Capitals took the ice for practice as something other than a first-place team. Defensive lapses and a glaring lack of structure have added up to losses in six of nine games and a .500 record over the past 10. It's a struggle for the Capitals right now, but they hope a trade for defenseman Brenden Dillon and a few adjustments will shake them out of their midseason doldrums. Dillon could play as soon as Thursday night against Montreal, but he can't solve all everything by himself. Even with Holtby finding a groove, the Capitals have allowed almost 3.5 goals per game during this stretch and not looked like a group that led the NHL for much of the year.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men’s college basketball, Siena edged Iona 65-64, Louisville crushed Syracuse 90-66, and Seton Hall upset Butler 74-72.
In women’s college basketball, UMBC ripped UAlbany 54-44, Stony Brook outscored Vermont 72-68, New Hampshire took down Hartford 64-55, and UConn conquered Tulane 74-31.
In men's top-25 basketball, Sandro Mamukelashvili hit an off-balance shot in the lane at the buzzer to give No. 16 Seton Hall a stunning 74-72 victory over No. 21 Butler. The game-winning shot came on an inbounds play after the officials reviewed a missed shot by Quincy McKnight and added two tenths of a second, putting 0.6 on the clock. McKnight inbounded the ball and Mamukelashvili caught it and tossed it at the basket. It hit the rim and rolled in, breaking a two-game losing streak for the Pirates (19-7, 11-3 Big East). Butler (19-7, 7-7) made three 3-pointers in the final 64 seconds to wipe out a five-point deficit. Sean McDermott hit the last two, tying the game at 72 with 8.8 seconds left. McKnight led the Pirates with 18 points and Myles Powell had 16. Mamukelashvili and Romaro Gill added 15 points apiece. Kamar Baldwin had 20 to lead the Bulldogs, while Bryce Golden added 17 points before fouling out with 2:19 to play.
Markell Johnson scored a career-high 28 points to help North Carolina State to beat sixth-ranked Duke 88-66 on Wednesday night. Devon Daniels added a career-high 25 points for the Wolfpack, who led by 15 at halftime and by as many as 27 late in a surprisingly lopsided win against the ACC-leading Blue Devils. Vernon Carey Jr. had 27 points to lead Duke. The Blue Devils shot 38% but struggled at the line and from behind the arc. Duke made 4 of 17 3-pointers and 10 of 22 foul shots. N.C. State shot 45%.
Jordan Nwora scored 17 points, Dwayne Sutton added 16 and No. 11 Louisville routed Syracuse 90-66 to end a two-game losing streak. The Cardinals never trailed the Orange after losses at Georgia Tech and Clemson dropped them from the conference lead. They stretched a 41-34 halftime lead to double digits early in the second half before an 18-2 run made it 69-44. Nwora shot just 5 of 18 from the field and 2 of 7 from beyond the arc but regrouped from scoring just seven points the past two games. Buddy Boeheim had 15 points and Quincy Guerrrier for Syracuse.
Saddiq Bey and Collin Gillespie each made five of Villanova's 18 3-pointers, and the 12th-ranked Wildcats used their long-range shooting to beat DePaul 91-71. Villanova went 18 for 26 from deep in its 20th straight victory against DePaul. The Wildcats have made at least nine 3s in their last five games, including 17 during Sunday's 76-56 victory at Temple. Bey finished with 22 points and seven assists. Gillespie and Justin Moore had 17 points apiece. DePaul dropped its eighth straight game. The Blue Demons took the Wildcats to overtime in a 79-75 loss on Jan. 14, but the rematch was a blowout.
Anthony Edwards' big night for Georgia has left No. 13 Auburn with its second straight loss. Edwards scored 18 points, including a late 3-pointer to slow Auburn's comeback attempt, and the Bulldogs beat the Tigers 65-55. Auburn fell to 22-4 overall and 9-4 in the Southeastern Conference, thanks to its second straight loss to a team with a losing record. The two straight losses followed seven straight wins. Georgia ended a four-game losing streak. J'Von McCormick led Auburn with 22 points. Georgia's Toumani Camara sank seven of eight free throws in the final minute to help protect the lead.
Caleb Mills scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half to lead No. 22 Houston to a 76-43 win over Tulsa on Wednesday night. Mills shot 9 of 16, including hitting 5 of 9 on 3-pointers. Nate Hinton added 15 points for Houston which shot 41%. The Cougars moved into sole possession of first place in the American with the win combined with Cincinnati's loss to Central Florida on Wednesday. Martins Igbanu had 15 points, and Jeriah Horne added 12 points and seven rebounds for Tulsa (17-9, 9-4).
NASCAR
Ryan Newman was released from a Florida hospital Wednesday two days after a frightening crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500. He had been hospitalized since Monday night. Roush Fenway Racing says the 42-year-old driver was fully alert and walking around the hospital in the hours before he left. No details about his injuries have been released. The team has since updated its roster for this weekend's race at Las Vegas with Ross Chastain filling in for Newman. There is no timetable for Newman's return.
MLB
The Pittsburgh Pirates' Pablo Reyes was suspended 80 games under the major league drug program following a positive test for the performance-enhancing drug Boldenone. He became the second player in three days suspended for Boldenone, which is sold under the brand name Equipose and is commonly used on horses. Houston pitcher Francis Martes also was suspended. Reyes is a 26-year-old outfielder and infielder who made his major league debut in September 2018 and hit .293 with three homers and seven RBIs. He hit .203 with two homers and 19 RBIs for the Pirates last year.
Mike Fiers is scheduled to start a split-squad game for Oakland on Sunday in his first game action since revealing the Houston Astros' cheating scheme. It has not been determined whether Fiers' spring training debut will come in the home game versus San Francisco or against Arizona on the road. In a story published by The Athletic in November, Fiers said the Astros had stolen signs using a camera in center field during their run to the 2017 World Series championship. Fiers played on that team.
Max Scherzer is scheduled to start the Washington Nationals' exhibition opener Saturday against the Houston Astros in a rematch of last year's World Series. Scherzer's last start came in Game 7 of the Fall Classic at Houston. Scherzer threw his first live batting practice of spring training Wednesday and declared that his shoulder felt tired — which the three-time Cy Young Award winner said is a good thing.
Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi expects catcher J.T. Realmuto to be back in spring training in Clearwater, Florida this week and does not believe there will be any fallout from his arbitration hearing in Arizona. Realmuto is seeking a salary of $12.4 million for 2020 after making $6.05 million last year. The Phillies have offered $10 million. Girardi said he expects Realmuto's focus to be on baseball when he returns from the hearing in Phoenix
Houston infielder Aledmys Díaz, Miami first baseman Jesús Aguilar and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Brian Goodwin all won their salary arbitration cases, cutting the teams' advantage to 6-4 in decisions this year with three cases remaining. Díaz was awarded $2.6 million rather than $2 million, Aguilar $2,575,000 instead of $2,325,000 and Goodwin $2.2 million rather than $1.85 million. A decision is pending for Arizona pitcher Archie Bradley, whose case was argued Tuesday. Two players remain scheduled for hearings this week: Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto and reliever Héctor Neris.
Ultilityman Brock Holt and the Milwaukee Brewers have finalized a one-year contract. The deal includes a team option for 2021. The 31-year-old left-handed batter had spent his first eight major league seasons with the Boston Red Sox and was an All-Star in 2015. He hit a career-high .297 last year with three homers and 31 RBIs in 295 plate appearances while playing every position except pitcher, catcher and center field.
The Baltimore Orioles have claimed infielder Andrew Velazquez on waivers from the Cleveland Indians. The 25-year-old Velazquez joins a crowded competition for infield spots with Baltimore. The Orioles designated infielder Richard Urena for assignment.
Major league players could be punished for future sign-stealing violations in the wake of the Houston Astros' scandal that only resulted in discipline for managers, coaches and executives. No players were punished by MLB, and opponents from other teams have expressed dismay over that fact since spring training opened last week. Many have also called for Houston to be of its 2017 World Series title.
The Tampa Bay Rays are offering fans a win-win-win-win proposition in an attempt to draw bigger crowds to barren Tropicana Field. The "Win Pack'' lets a fan pick any four regular-season Rays game to attend for a total of $99. If the Rays win all four, the fan gets a voucher redeemable for a free ticket to another game.
NFL
NFL offensive tackle Greg Robinson have been jailed in West Texas after federal officials said they found 157 pounds of marijuana in a car in which he and another man were riding. El Paso County jail records show that the 27-year-old was booked Tuesday. The complaint says the pair were driving from Los Angeles to Louisiana when the Border Patrol stopped them Monday night and found several large duffel bags of marijuana in their sport utility vehicle. Robinson was a standout at Auburn University and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. He signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2018. The Browns recently informed Robinson's representatives they did not intend to re-sign him as a free agent.
TENNIS
Top-seeded Simona Halep's first match since losing to Garbine Muguruza in the Australian Open semifinals was a tough three-set win over Ons Jabeur at the Dubai Championships. Halep will meet Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals after Sabalenka beat Elise Mertens in straight sets. Anett Kontaveit beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and will play Petra Martic, who defeated Barbora Strycova in straight sets. Jennifer Brady will play Muguruza in the quarterfinal after Brady beat Marketa Vondrousova and Muguruza defeated Veronika Kudermetova, both in three sets.
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