Sports
NHL roundup: Jake Guentzel caps dramatic comeback for Lightning in OT
Feb 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) is congratulated by left wing Brandon Hagel (38), defenseman Victor Hedman (77) and center Jake Guentzel (59) after he scored a goal against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Jake Guentzel scored a breakaway goal with 15 seconds left in overtime as the host Tampa Bay Lightning won their ninth straight home game, beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Tuesday night despite trailing with less than 30 seconds left in regulation.
Nikita Kucherov spun and fired a half-length-of-the-ice pass to Guentzel, who snared it and beat Buffalo goaltender Colten Ellis (31 saves) for his second straight game-winner. Kucherov increased his point streak to nine games (six goals, 17 assists) with a tally and three helpers.
Tampa Bay defenseman Darren Raddysh scored a goal in his fifth straight game — tying the contest with 26 seconds left in regulation — and also had an assist.
Guentzel logged two points, and teammate Oliver Bjorkstrand tallied on the man advantage. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 23 shots as the Lightning improved to 18-1-1 in the past 20 games. The Sabres fell to 6-1-1 in the past eight after splitting their back-to-back Florida trip.
Maple Leafs 5, Oilers 2
Matias Maccelli scored twice as visiting Toronto upended Edmonton.
Matthew Knies added a goal and an assist and John Tavares and Bobby McMann also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won three straight. Anthony Stolarz made 34 saves.
Jake Walman and Kasperi Kapanen responded for the Oilers, who have lost back-to-back games. Connor Ingram stopped 22 shots.
Blue Jackets 3, Devils 0
Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season and Mathieu Olivier scored two goals as Columbus scored three times in the third period to beat New Jersey in Newark, N.J.
The Blue Jackets extended their season-high winning streak to six games. Columbus is 10-1-0 in its past 11 games and has won five straight away games after completing a 3-0-0 road trip on Tuesday. Merzlikins earn his 12th career shutout while improving to 11-8-1 on the season.
Olivier’s two goals and Dante Fabbro’s go-ahead goal all came during a commanding third period for the Blue Jackets, who outshot the Devils 13-7 in the final frame. Jacob Markstrom stopped 23 of 25 shots in the game for New Jersey, which is 1-4-0 in its past five games.
Islanders 5, Penguins 4 (OT)
Bo Horvat scored a breakaway goal 52 seconds into overtime Tuesday night for New York, which overcame a trio of deficits to edge Pittsburgh in Elmont, N.Y.
Barzal, Matthew Schaefer and Ryan Pulock also scored for the Islanders, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves. Barzal notched two assists while Schaefer and Horvat had one apiece.
Anthony Mantha, Egor Chinakhov, Bryan Rust and Justin Brazeau scored for the Penguins, who have lost two straight following a six-game winning streak. Brazeau registered two points, and Stuart Skinner recorded 18 saves.
Flyers 4, Capitals 2
Jamie Drysdale scored a power-play goal with 5:23 remaining as host Philadelphia snapped a four-game losing streak by topping Washington.
Dan Vladar (26 saves) authored a terrific performance, while Owen Tippett, Carl Grundstrom and Rasmus Ristolainen also scored for the Flyers and Travis Konecny picked up two assists.
Anthony Beauvillier notched a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who came in on a three-game winning streak. Aliaksei Protas also scored for Washington, while Clay Stevenson turned aside 18 shots.
Hurricanes 4, Senators 3
Seth Jarvis scored two goals and Jordan Staal scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:07 remaining as Carolina hung on to beat Ottawa in Raleigh, N.C., the Hurricanes’ final home game before the Olympic break.
Brandon Bussi made 22 saves, including strong work down the stretch, to boost his record to 22-3-1 as a rookie. The Hurricanes, whose points streak increased to a season-best nine games (7-0-2), saw a two-goal lead vanish. However, they recovered on Staal’s 14th goal of the season when the Senators were slow to respond on a line change.
Stephen Halliday, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson, who also had an assist, scored for the Senators, who fell short of notching their first five-game winning streak of the season. Dylan Cozens provided two assists. James Reimer, a former Carolina goalie (2019-21), made 14 saves in defeat.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bo Horvat nets OT winner as Islanders outlast Penguins
Feb 3, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) celebrates his game winning overtime goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins with center Mathew Barzal (13) and defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Bo Horvat scored a breakaway goal 52 seconds into overtime Tuesday night for the New York Islanders, who overcame a trio of deficits to edge the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-4, in Elmont, N.Y.
Brett Kulak whiffed on a shot deep in the Islanders’ zone before Mathew Barzal picked up the puck and passed to Horvat, who beat Stuart Skinner for his second goal of the game.
Barzal, Matthew Schaefer and Ryan Pulock also scored for the Islanders, who snapped a two-game losing streak and moved within a point of the second-place Penguins in the Metropolitan Division. Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves.
Anthony Mantha, Egor Chinakhov, Bryan Rust and Justin Brazeau scored for the Penguins, who have lost two straight following a six-game winning streak. Skinner recorded 18 saves.
Mantha opened the scoring with a nifty assist from Brazeau, who maneuvered a one-handed pass around Adam Pelech at the goal line to Mantha, who beat Sorokin stick side with 7:51 left in the first.
The Islanders tied the score and took the lead in the final 79 seconds of the period. After Barzal’s shot glanced off Skinner’s glove, Ryan Shea tried to backhand the puck out of the crease. But the puck hit Anders Lee’s skate and deflected off Skinner’s pads before Horvat lunged past Shea and tucked home a backhanded shot.
Schaefer gave the Islanders the lead with 3.3 seconds remaining, when his shot from the high slot sailed past Skinner as he was screened by Lee.
The Penguins evened the game at 3:52 of the second. Erik Karlsson’s shot glanced off the back boards and was retrieved by Thomas Novak, who fed Chinakhov before the right winger beat Sorokin from the left faceoff circle.
Rust put the Penguins ahead in unusual fashion with 5:51 remaining in the period, when his shot from the goal line glanced off Sorokin’s glove and into the net.
Barzal tied it again with 11:23 left in the third when his shot from the high slot caromed off the far post as Skinner was screened by teammate Ilya Solovyov.
Brazeau snapped the tie just 2:03 later, when he redirected a shot by Brett Kulak before Pulock again pulled the Islanders even by scoring from just above the left faceoff circle with 4:36 remaining.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lightning score late in regulation, late in OT to top Sabres
Feb 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Dominic James (17) and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) celebrate after they beat the Buffalo Sabres during the overtime period at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Jake Guentzel scored a breakaway goal with 15 seconds left in overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning won their ninth straight home game, beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Nikita Kucherov spun and fired a half-length-of-the-ice pass to Guentzel, who snared it and beat Buffalo goaltender Colten Ellis (31 saves) for his second straight game-winner.
Kucherov increased his point streak to nine games (six goals, 17 assists) with a tally and three helpers.
Tampa Bay’s Darren Raddysh scored a goal in his fifth straight game — tying the contest with 26 seconds left in regulation — and also had an assist.
Guentzel logged two points, and teammate Oliver Bjorkstrand tallied on the man advantage. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 23 shots as the Lightning improved to 18-1-1 in the past 20 games.
Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson hit double figures in goals with two markers, and Josh Doan scored on the power play. However, the Sabres fell to 6-1-1 in the past eight after splitting their back-to-back Florida trip.
Midway through the first period, Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin broke his stick, and Jason Zucker handed him his — a much more curved stick used by the forward. Dahlin tried to advance the puck with a weak pass, and Kucherov quickly stole it for a marker at 10:24.
Late in the frame, Vasilevskiy robbed Ryan McLeod’s rebound attempt, but Samuelsson rifled in the tying goal at 16:53 from a sharp angle after skating unimpeded through the left circle.
In the second, a diving Vasilevskiy reached out to deny a chance near the post by Alex Tuch at 5:24 after the Buffalo forward stole the puck on the goalie’s pass from behind the cage.
After Ellis’ stop on Brandon Hagel in the third, McLeod fed Samuelsson, who skated into the high slot and blistered a shot past Vasilevskiy on the glove side at 4:08. Bjorkstrand matched it by netting his eighth power-play goal of the season at 8:53.
With just two seconds left in the Sabres’ third power play, Tage Thompson fed a pass that Doan chipped in from the blue paint for the go-ahead marker at 14:53.
The contest opened the teams’ four-game season series.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 22 St. John's uses decisive second-half run to put away DePaul
Feb 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA: St. John’s Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins (23) drives to the basket against the DePaul Blue Demons during the first half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images No. 22 St. John’s reeled off 12 straight points early in the second half to trigger a 68-56 Big East win over DePaul on Tuesday night in Chicago.
Zuby Ejiofor produced 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists to pace the Red Storm (17-5, 10-1), who won their eighth in a row to set up a first-place showdown with No. 3 UConn (22-1, 12-0) on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Bryce Hopkins notched 15 points and Oziyah Sellers added 13.
Layden Blocker posted 13 points for the Blue Demons (12-11, 4-8), who were trying to extend their home winning streak in league play to five games for the first time since March 2005. DePaul shot 34.6% from the field and committed 11 of its 15 turnovers in the second half.
The first half was a masterclass in physical and relentless man-to-man defense as the Red Storm and Blue Demons took umbrage at every shot, pass, dribble and cut.
St. John’s missed 12 of its first 14 shots and DePaul wasn’t much better as they combined for seven ties and six lead changes in the first half. Neither team led by more than one possession until the Blue Demons forged a 28-24 lead on Kaleb Banks’ free throw with 1:45 left in the half.
St. John’s responded with Sellers’ 3-point pullup and Hopkins’ layup to take a 29-28 lead into the break. The Blue Demons shot 33.3% from the field while the Red Storm hit just 30%.
The Red Storm cranked up their pressure another notch early in the second half. After CJ Gunn banked a stepback jumper from just beyond the free-throw line to give DePaul a 35-34 edge with 17:34 to go, the Blue Demons were held scoreless for the next 6:45.
While DePaul was busy committing four turnovers and missing seven consecutive shots, St. John’s went on a 12-0 spree. Ejiofor started it with a putback and two free throws before Sellers flew in for a tip-in and swished a 3-pointer. Ian Jackson closed the run with an open 3-pointer to give St. John’s a 46-35 lead with 11:10 to go.
As the Red Storm seized control, tempers boiled over and five technicals were handed out in less than two minutes. Sellers and DePaul’s Brandon Maclin picked up technicals at the 12:16 mark when Sellers didn’t appreciate Maclin trying to rip the ball out of his hands while calling a timeout, DePaul coach Chris Holtmann received a technical for questioning a foul call at 10:32 while Blocker and Hopkins got T’d up three seconds later for barking at each other after Hopkins fouled Blocker battling for a loose ball.
DePaul got as close as 56-50 when Blocker’s transition layup closed a 6-0 run with 3:35 to go, but St. John’s scored the next six to restore order.
–Field Level Media
