Jet Greaves made 21 saves for Columbus’ second consecutive shutout in their 4-0 win over visiting Chicago on Wednesday night.

It was the final game before the Olympic break for both teams.

The Blue Jackets shut out the New Jersey Devils 3-0 in Newark on Monday night behind Elvis Merzlikins. Greaves got the fourth shutout of his career and second of the season on Wednesday.

Columbus has not allowed a goal in 146:25 of game time.

Defensemen Zach Werenski and Ivan Provorov, Danton Heinen and Sean Monahan scored for the Blue Jackets, who won their seventh straight and have 11 wins in their last 12. Charlie Coyle had two assists.

Spencer Knight stopped 16 shots for the Blackhawks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-4-2).

Goals by defensemen gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Werenski got his 20th, 4:46 into the game when his shot from the bottom of the left circle off the rush deflected in off the skates of both Blackhawks’ defensemen, Louis Crevier and Alex Vlasic.

Provorov scored with 7:10 left in the opening period on another shot from the bottom of the left circle. It came just seconds after Chicago’s Ryan Donato leveled Columbus’ Mason Marchment, who got the second assist, with a check at the top of the left circle.

Heinen made it 3-0, 2:55 into the second period to capitalize on a turnover by the Blackhawk’s Nick Foligno in his own zone. Heinen also beat Knight from the bottom of the left circle.

Monahan added an empty-net goal with 4:27 left.

Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser left with a lower-body injury after Werenski was checked awkwardly into Kaiser’s leg a little over seven minutes into the first period. That left Chicago with five defensemen for the remainder of the contest.

The Blackhawks’ Colton Dach left the contest early in the second period with an undisclosed injury.

The Blue Jackets’ Kirill Marchenko missed his second game with an illness.

-Field Level Media

Ryan Preece overcame snow and rain to win NASCAR’s inaugural race of 2026, the Cook Out Clash exhibition race, on Wednesday at historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Winless in 223 career Cup Series races, the RFK Racing Ford driver found the point by passing Shane van Gisbergen with 43 laps left and topped William Byron by 1.752 seconds in the 200-lap event that featured 17 cautions.

Preece, 35, joined Jeff Gordon (1994) and Denny Hamlin (2006) as drivers to win the Clash before recording a Cup victory.

Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

After Josh Berry and Austin Cindric raced their way in during the last-chance race and Alex Bowman used a provisional to fill the 23-car field, the Clash, delayed from Sunday night due to snow consuming the Tar Heel State, began with polesitter Kyle Larson up front on the quarter-mile flat track.

Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet led the first 40 laps until caution flew for debris in Turn 4, which bunched up the field with teammate Byron and Chase Briscoe rounding out the top three drivers one-fifth of the way through the season’s first race.

Bubba Wallace was spun after an accordion effect led to Blaney spinning Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota entering Turn 3.

Off Turn 2 on Lap 72, Byron worked his No. 24 Chevrolet past Larson with Briscoe making the move as well. Soon, van Gisbergen hit Cindric and turned him for the third caution.

Briscoe’s hard charge hit its peak when he raced by Byron on Lap 85 with Ty Gibbs close behind. Blaney entered the top five as his No. 12 Ford came to life.

Gibbs made the right move and led at the 100-lap halftime break, but snow began to fall, creating a red-flag condition as crews put on rain tires to adapt to the moisture.

The wet-weather rubber proved to be a tricky proposition, so the second 100 laps was a mess as cars slid their way to 13 more caution periods.

Briscoe saw Gibbs slip up the track and pounced. Then Hamlin looped his No. 11 Toyota to wipe out Larson among others on the first lap under green after the lengthy red flag.

With Preece’s No. 60 Ford leading and 35 laps left, NASCAR decided teams should be allowed to pit for fuel, and every team came in for fuel and more rain tires as the track was not considered dry.

–Field Level Media

Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson each had a goal and two assists as the visiting Montreal Canadiens defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 on Wednesday during the final game for both teams ahead of the Olympic break.

Oliver Kapanen, Lane Hutson and Phillip Danault also scored for the Canadiens, while Noah Dobson picked up two assists. Goalie Samuel Montembeault made 36 saves as Montreal improved to 4-0-1 in the past five games.

Kyle Connor scored the lone goal for Winnipeg, which has just one win in four games (1-2-1). Netminder Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 shots.

The Jets opened the scoring on a power play 6:07 into the game. Quick puck movement between Mark Scheifele and Vilardi set up Connor for a snap shot from just beyond the crease.

That tally gave Connor his ninth straight season with 25 or more goals.

Montreal tied the game 1-1 with 3:34 remaining in the first period. Hellebuyck stopped Dobson’s initial shot, but the rebound sat loose in the crease and was swept home by Kapanen.

The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead when Anderson went to the front of the net and was left all alone to tip in a long shot from Jayden Struble at 5:28 of the second period.

The Canadiens extended the advantage to 3-1 only 1:16 later, striking off the rush. Anderson sent a long backhand pass to Hutson, who weaved back and forth with the puck and beat Hellebuyck with a quick shot from a tight angle.

Montreal added to its cushion in the third period, as Gallagher converted a neat feed from Kirby Dach with a wrist shot from the side of the net on the power play at 10:57.

With 14 seconds left, Danault scored short-handed into an empty net.

The Jets are off until a Feb. 25 game at Vancouver. The Canadiens resume action the next night, at home against the New York Islanders.

–Field Level Media