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After capturing gold, Wild trio focused on Blues

NHL: Minnesota Wild at Nashville PredatorsFeb 4, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) celebrates defenseman Jared Spurgeon (46) winning goal against the Nashville Predators during the overtime period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

A trio of United States Olympic gold medal winners are about to return “home.”

It’s likely that fans from the “State of Hockey” will welcome them back with a roar.

Matt Boldy and defensemen Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber will be front and center when the Minnesota Wild face off against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday in Saint Paul, Minn. It will be their first home game since Feb. 2 for the Wild, who had a three-week break for the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Faber might get the loudest cheer when he is recognized as part of a U.S. team that won the nation’s first gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980. The local product grew up in suburban Maple Grove, Minn., and starred collegiately for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

How’s he feeling after the whirlwind of February?

“Good enough, right?” Faber said. “I played hockey the whole time, so I’m still in game shape.”

The Wild have split their two games since returning from the Olympic break. They stormed to a 5-2 road win against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night but lost by the same score versus the Utah Mammoth on Friday.

The loss might have come with added cost as veteran forward Joel Eriksson Ek left the game after taking a high stick to the face.

Eriksson Ek’s status is uncertain for Sunday. He has 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) in 54 games this season.

“We all know the type of player ‘Ekky’ is and the situations we count on him to play in,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “It’s unfortunate, but hopefully he’s OK.”

St. Louis also will try to bounce back from a loss after falling short 3-1 against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Pavel Buchnevich scored the lone goal for the Blues.

Blues forward Jake Neighbours said he and his teammates needed to come out with a better effort against the Wild. He said the team recorded a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday because of a great effort level and lost its most recent game because of a reduced effort level.

“To me, it’s battles,” Neighbours said. “I thought on Thursday, our compete (level) was really high. We were excited. There was a lot of energy on the bench and in the dressing room.

“For whatever reason, (on Saturday), it just didn’t seem like we could muster up the momentum and the energy to take over the game.”

Joel Hofer could get the start for the Blues in net one night after Jordan Binnington turned aside 30 of 32 shots against the Devils. Hofer is 13-11-3 with a 2.87 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage this season, and he is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .944 save percentage in his only career game against Minnesota.

Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson likely will get the nod after fellow netminder Jesper Wallstedt started against Utah. Gustavsson is 21-9-6 with a 2.60 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season, and he is 5-2-0 with a 2.32 GAA and a .919 save percentage in eight career appearances against the Blues.

–Field Level Media

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Anders Lee's game-winner downs Panthers, caps another Islanders comeback

NHL: Florida Panthers at New York IslandersMar 1, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) controls the puck against the Florida Panthers during the first period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

Anders Lee scored the game-winning goal with 30.9 seconds left Sunday night for the surging New York Islanders, who overcame another two-goal deficit to beat the Florida Panthers, 5-4, in Elmont. N.Y.

Lee got a step on Aaron Ekblad, extended his stick to draw out goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and buried a forehand into the wide open left corner of the net.

Rookie Mathew Schafer scored twice while Carson Soucy and Bo Horvat also scored for the Islanders, who have won five straight games. New York has trailed 2-0 in each of its last three victories.

Goalie David Rittich made 29 saves.

Sam Bennett scored twice while Sandis Vilmanis and Sam Reinhart scored one apiece for the Panthers, who have lost seven of nine (2-7-0). Bobrovsky recorded 21 saves.

Vilmanis opened the scoring 3:44 after the opening faceoff, when he gloved a pass from A.J. Greer and backhanded a shot that trickled under Rittich’s legs.

Bennett doubled the lead by scoring six seconds into a power play with 5:06 left, when his shot from the left faceoff circle sailed past Rittich’s glove.

The Islanders began their latest comeback in unusual fashion with 1:59 remaining, when Schaefer’s shot from the right faceoff circle bounced before the crease, caromed over Bobrovsky’s head and glanced off the top post before bouncing off his back and into the net.

Soucy tied the score with a 4-on-4 goal 7:28 into the second. The defenseman took a drop pass from Simon Holmstrom, who was draped by the Panthers’ Gustav Forsling, and sent a shot under Bobrovsky’s glove.

Bennett gave the Panthers the lead again with 7:56 remaining, when his backhander from the middle of the right faceoff circle went under Rittich’s stick arm.

Horvat tied the score with 2:46 left with an angled shot from near the goal line that landed beneath Bobrovsky’s stick.

Schaefer gave the Islanders their first lead by scoring from the slot with 9:31 left in the third. This gave Schaefer 20 on the year at just 18 years old, making him the youngest defenseman to ever record 20 goals in a season and the youngest since Dion Phaneuf (20 years old) did it for the Calgary Flames in 2005-06.

With Bobrovsky pulled for an extra attacker, Reinhart tied it back up with 1:58 remaining.

–Field Level Media

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Lionel Messi, Miami score four in second half to upend Orlando

MLS: Inter Miami CF at Orlando CityMar 1, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) controls the ball from Orlando City SC defender Tahir Reid-Brown (29) in the first half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Lionel Messi recorded a brace, Telasco Sevogia scored the tiebreaking goal in the 85th minute and assisted on two others and Inter Miami dominated the second half to record a 4-2 comeback victory over host Orlando City on Sunday night.

Mateo Silvetti added a goal and an assist in Inter Miami’s four-goal second half that erased a 2-0 deficit. The Herons (1-1-0, 3 points) bounced back from a 3-0 season-opening loss to Los Angeles FC.

Messi, who scored in the 57th and 90th minutes, has eight goals in five meetings against the Lions across all competitions.

Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda scored goals for Orlando City (0-2-0, 0 points).

Orlando was unable to clear the ball out of its zone on the tiebreaking sequence.

Miami’s German Berterame came up with the ball to begin the sequence. Sevogia eventually received it and booted a right-footed shot into the net.

Three minutes later, Orlando City’s Colin Guske pulled Messi down and was given his second yellow card. The automatic upgrade to red led to Guske’s ejection, leaving the Lions with just 10 men for the rest of the match that included 10 minutes of stoppage time.

Messi then took a free kick from close range in the 90th minute and sent a left-footed shot past the wall and inside the left post to give the Herons a two-goal lead.

Dayne St. Clair made three saves for Miami, which outshot Orlando City 16-12 and placed eight shots on target to the Lions’ five.

Maxime Crepeau had four stops for Orlando City.

Orlando City won both regular-season meetings last season, prevailing by scores of 4-0 and 3-1.

Miami woke up fast after the halftime break.

Silvetti was beyond the box when he ripped a right-footed shot into the left corner of the net in the 49th minute.

Messi scored the equalizer eight minutes later by lining a left-footed shot inside the right post.

Ojeda had a big opportunity to put Orlando City back ahead in the 70th minute but St. Clair made a leg save on Ojeda’s close-ranged left-footed shot.

Orlando struck in the 18th minute when Ivan Angulo fed Pasalic, who sent a left-footed grounder that caromed off the arms of St. Clair and into the net.

Six minutes later, the Lions made it 2-0 when Ojeda performed a give-and-go with Griffin Dorsey. Upon receiving the ball back, Ojeda sent a right-footed shot into the right corner.

Crepeau made three first-half saves, including one of Messi in the 28th minute. Messi also sent a free kick wide left of the net late in the half.

–Field Level Media

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Stars aim for franchise-best winning streak on trip to Canucks

NHL: Dallas Stars at Vancouver CanucksNov 20, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Dallas Stars forward Colin Blackwell (15) drives past Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Confidence is riding high in Dallas as the Stars take their franchise-tying eight-game winning streak on the road to face the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

Wyatt Johnston and Nathan Bastian scored in regulation, and Jason Robertson added the overtime winner as the Stars erased a 2-0 deficit to top the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Saturday.

Jake Oettinger, making his first start since winning gold with Team USA at the Olympics, made 25 saves as the Stars matched their franchise record for consecutive wins. Dallas has won nine of 10 overall.

With the win, the Stars recorded their sixth multigoal comeback.

“I feel like with the win streak, the confidence goes higher and higher, and lately the simple things have been better, and the physical play — it sounds quite simple, but it has been effective,” Stars defenseman Esa Lindell said. “I feel like we just stuck with it and just kept working.

“Especially in the second period, I thought it started to turn for us, and I felt like we just kept pushing, and then got rewarded in the third and got the win in OT.”

Missing Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa, the Stars, second in the Western Conference, continue to find ways to win games. Dallas has not lost since Jan. 22.

“When you are missing such key guys, and you are able to still win hockey games, I think it shows positive signs of a good hockey team,” said Bastian, who snapped a nine-game goalless drought. “Guys like us maybe can’t bring all the skill, but we can make up for it in other areas.

“Maybe a little more physicality, and with a little more ice time, you get a little more confidence, and then all of a sudden you can string together some good games.”

Monday is the third and final meeting between the Canucks and Stars. Vancouver topped Dallas 5-3 on Oct. 16, while the Stars doubled up the Canucks 4-2 on Nov. 20.

The Canucks, on the opposite end of the Western Conference standings, open a brief two-game homestand following a 5-1 loss in Seattle on Saturday.

Liam Ohgren scored the lone Canucks goal, and Kevin Lankinen made 20 saves for Vancouver, which has lost five in a row and has just two wins over their past 21 (2-15-4).

“We had a couple mistakes early that they capitalized on. We know we can’t do that, but we did,” Canucks coach Adam Foote said. “We were around and it was closer than the score.”

Forward Elias Pettersson, who paces the Canucks with 35 points in 51 games this season, was benched for the final 10 minutes of the third period on Saturday with Foote trying to send a message to the veteran.

“He’s got to be better and he knows that. He’s aware of that,” Foote said. “He’s got to play with more zip, like with more pace to his game, more engaged, and good things will happen when he gets his motor going, and he’s aware of it. So, I’m sure we’ll see it next game.”

–Field Level Media

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