Sports
NHL roundup: Blues blitz Blackhawks in Winter Classic
Dec 31, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Cam Fowler (17) celebrates after his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images Cam Fowler scored two goals in his 1,000th career game as the visiting St. Louis Blues routed the Blackhawks 6-2 on Tuesday in the NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Justin Faulk had a goal and two assists to boost the Blues, who improved to 3-0-0 in Winter Classic games.
Dylan Holloway and Alexandre Texier both had a goal and assist to help the Blues win for the third time in four games while sending the Blackhawks to their fifth straight defeat. Jordan Binnington stopped 28 shots for St. Louis.
Taylor Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for Chicago, while Petr Mrazek made 22 saves. Chicago fell to 0-5-0 in the Winter Classic and 1-6-0 in outdoor games.
Capitals 3, Bruins 1
Washington scored twice in a first-period span of 5:06 and held on for a win over visiting Boston.
Aliaksei Protas scored two bookending goals around Jakob Chychrun’s game-winner for the Capitals. Tom Wilson dished out a pair of assists for Washington, and Logan Thompson made 26 saves en route to his third straight win.
Justin Brazeau opened the scoring with his third goal in four games while Jeremy Swayman stopped 24 shots for the Bruins, who finished 9-4-1 in December despite losing two of their last three.
Maple Leafs 3, Islanders 1
Steven Lorentz scored the go-ahead goal in the second period as Toronto defeated visiting New York.
David Kampf and John Tavares also scored for the Maple Leafs, who had lost three of their previous four games. William Nylander had two assists, and Joseph Woll stopped 30 shots.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Islanders, who have lost three of four entering a home rematch against the Maple Leafs on Thursday. Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves.
Canadiens 3, Golden Knights 2
Kirby Dach scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and Sam Montembeault made 27 saves as visiting Montreal scored three unanswered goals in its comeback victory at Las Vegas.
Cole Caufield scored his 100th career goal and Emil Heineman also scored for the Canadiens, who won their third straight game with their first multi-goal comeback win of the season.
Zach Whitecloud and Noah Hanifin scored goals for Vegas, which had a season-best six-game win streak snapped. Adin Hill finished with 19 saves for the Golden Knights, who fell to 15-4-0 at home this season.
Stars 4, Sabres 2
Jason Robertson had a goal and two assists for Dallas in a victory against visiting Buffalo.
Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell also scored, Thomas Harley added two assists and Casey DeSmith made 21 saves for the Stars, who are 3-0-1 in their past four games.
Jason Zucker and Beck Malenstyn scored for the Sabres, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 29 saves.
Wild 5, Predators 3
Marco Rossi had two goals and one assist as Minnesota pulled away for a win over Nashville in Saint Paul, Minn.
Mats Zuccarello and Jonas Brodin each added one goal and one assist for the Wild, who earned their third win in four games. Minnesota’s Declan Chisholm also scored, Joel Eriksson Ek logged two assists, and Filip Gustavsson stopped 43 of 46 shots.
Colton Sissons, Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan O’Reilly each scored for the Predators, who got two assists from Brady Skjei. Justus Annunen allowed five goals on 38 shots.
Blue Jackets 4, Hurricanes 3 (SO)
Adam Fantilli scored the shootout winner in the fourth round as host Columbus edged Carolina to improve to 4-1-1 in its past six games.
Kirill Marchenko scored twice, Dmitri Voronkov added a goal and an assist, and Sean Monahan had three helpers for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins made 32 saves for his third win in his past four starts (3-0-1).
Ty Smith, Jack Roslovic and Jesperi Kotkaniemi tallied for Carolina, which fell to 2-3-1 over its past six. Sebastian Aho had a pair of helpers, and Kochetkov stopped 25 shots.
Avalanche 5, Jets 2
Casey Mittelstadt scored the go-ahead goal in the third period as Colorado beat Winnipeg in Denver.
Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Mikko Rantanen and Ross Colton also scored, Josh Manson and Jonathan Drouin each had two assists and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 20 shots for the Avalanche, who have won five in a row.
Gabriel Vilardi and Rasmus Kupari had goals and Eric Comrie made 33 saves for the Jets, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Red Wings 4, Penguins 2
J.T. Compher scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 5:34 remaining as host Detroit topped Pittsburgh.
Detroit coach Todd McLellan, who replaced Derek Lalonde last week, recorded his 600th career victory. He improved to 2-1-0 behind the Red Wings’ bench. Compher and Jonatan Berggren each had a goal and an assist while Patrick Kane and Dylan Larkin also scored for Detroit.
Drew O’Connor notched the second multi-goal game of his career for the Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 21 shots.
Oilers 4, Utah 1
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Troy Stecher scored 20 seconds apart in the second period as Edmonton beat the visiting Utah Hockey Club.
Mattias Ekholm had a goal and an assist and Leon Draisaitl also scored as the Oilers moved to 9-1-0 in their past 10 home games. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Connor Brown had two assists apiece, and Stuart Skinner stopped 26 shots.
Jack McBain scored for Utah, which lost its fifth straight game (0-4-1). Jaxson Stauber made 34 saves.
Ducks 3, Devils 2
Ryan Strome scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:24 remaining as Anaheim escaped with its second straight win after blowing a two-goal lead against visiting New Jersey.
Troy Terry and Robby Fabbri scored the first two goals for the Ducks, who lost the lead in a span of nearly eight minutes in the third period. Strome wound up with two points, as did teammate Frank Vatrano (two assists). Lukas Dostal made 32 saves.
Jonas Siegenthaler and Timo Meier tallied for New Jersey, which has dropped back-to-back games. Jacob Markstrom stopped 23 shots but had a personal six-game winning streak end.
Flames 3, Canucks 1
Nazem Kadri scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist to lead Calgary past visiting Vancouver.
Connor Zary also scored for the Flames, who improved to 13-4-3 at home and 4-1-2 in the past seven games overall. Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf made 23 saves, hiking his home record to 10-1-1.
Brock Boeser scored and Kevin Lankinen finished with 26 saves for the Canucks, who fell to 1-2-3 in the past six games.
Flyers 4, Sharks 0
Samuel Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov combined to stop all 22 shots they faced as Philadelphia sent host San Jose to its eighth straight loss.
Ersson made 15 saves across two periods before being forced out with an undisclosed injury. Kolosov handled all seven shots he faced in the third. Nick Seeler, Ryan Poehling, Travis Konecny and Egor Zamula all scored, with Jamie Drysdale and Bobby Brink each tallying two assists. Zamula added an assist.
Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 30 of the 34 shots he faced as the Sharks slipped to 0-7-1 in the past eight games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Surge, Gentle Mates unbeaten in CDL Stage 3 Major qualifying
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
The Paris Gentle Mates and Vancouver Surge are atop the standings at 2-0 after Saturday, the second day of qualifying for the Call of Duty League’s Stage 3.
The Surge outlasted the Carolina Royal Ravens 3-2, while Paris topped G2 Minnesota 3-1.
FaZe Vegas swept Boston Breach 3-0 to open play, and Toronto KOI got the better of the Riyadh Falcons 3-1 in the other match of the day.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the third major of the season, to be held May 15-17 as part of the DreamHack Atlanta event.
On Saturday, FaZe Vegas dominated Boston Breach, winning 250-98 on Sake Hardpoint, 6-3 on Fringe Search and Destroy and 3-2 on Scar Overload.
Toronto KOI started strong, winning 250-183 on Den Hardpoint and 6-2 on Plaza Search and Destroy before the Riyadh Falcons notched a 4-3 decision on Exposure Overload. Toronto closed out the match with a 250-179 victory on Sake Hardpoint.
The Paris Gentle Mates opened with a narrow 250-230 win on Sake Hardpoint before G2 Minnesota responded with a 6-4 win on Scar Search and Destroy. Paris edged Minnesota 6-5 on Den Overload before taking Colossus Hardpoint 250-157.
The Vancouver Surge emerged from a back-and-forth battle with the Carolina Royal Ravens. The Surge won on Sake Hardpoint (250-233) and Fringe Search and Destroy (6-1), then the Royal Ravens drew even with victories on Scar Overload (3-2) and Gridlock Hardpoint (250-223). Vancouver secured the victory with a 6-1 triumph on Plaza Search and Destroy.
Sunday’s schedule:
–Toronto KOI vs. Boston Breach
–Riyadh Falcons vs. FaZe Vegas
–OpTic Texas vs. Cloud9 New York
Call of Duty League Stage 3 Major qualifying, with match record and map differential
T1. Paris Gentle Mates, 2-0, 6-2
T1. Vancouver Surge, 2-0, 6-2
3. FaZe Vegas, 1-0, 3-0
T4. Los Angeles Thieves, 1-0, 3-1
T4. Toronto KOI, 1-0, 3-1
T6. Cloud9 New York, 0-0, 0-0
T6. OpTic Texas, 0-0, 0-0
T8. Miami Heretics, 0-1, 1-3
T8. Riyadh Falcons, 0-1, 1-3
T10. Boston Breach, 0-1, 0-3
11. Carolina Royal Ravens, 0-2, 3-6
12. G2 Minnesota, 0-2, 1-6
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cloud9 remains unbeaten in Week 3 opener of LCS Spring
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. Cloud9 improved to 3-0 and Sentinels earned their first win to kick off Week 3 of the regular season of the LCS Spring event on Saturday.
Cloud9, one of just two unbeaten teams left, swept Disguised 2-0 as Sentinels came away with a 2-1 win over FlyQuest.
Eight teams will compete in best-of-three matches in the round-robin regular season before advancing to the playoffs of the League of Legends event, which will be contested in best-of-five matches in a double-elimination format. The top two teams will qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational.
Cloud9 didn’t face much interference in its third straight victory, winning both games in 25 minutes over Disguised, which fell to 1-2. Robert “Blaber” Huang and Denmark’s Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen led the victory with very similar kill-death-assist ratios of 12-1-18 and 12-2-18, respectively.
Sentinels won the opener vs. FlyQuest in 30 minutes, lost the second game in 31 minutes and won the deciding third matchup in 39 minutes. Cho “Rahel” Min-seong of South Korea led the victory with a 20-4-13 K-D-A ratio.
Week 3 concludes Sunday with LYON facing Shopify Rebellion and Dignitas versus Team Liquid.
Regular season standings (Win-loss total, map differential)
1. Cloud9, 3-0, 6-2
2. Team Liquid, 2-0, 4-1
3. LYON, 1-1, 3-3
4. Shopify Rebellion, 1-1, 2-2
5. FlyQuest, 1-2, 4-4
6. Sentinels, 1-2, 4-5
7. Disguised, 1-2, 2-5
8. Dignitas, 0-2, 1-4
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees out to continue success vs. lefties, sweep Royals
Apr 18, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) and center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) celebrate after defeating the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The New York Yankees struggled in most of their encounters against left-handed pitching until Saturday. Then they dominated Kansas City southpaw Noah Cameron and rolled to their most lopsided victory of the season.
After their best showing at the plate, the Yankees seek a three-game sweep Sunday afternoon when they host the Royals.
The Yankees will face another left-hander in Cole Ragans (0-3, 3.78 ERA) after going 7-for-20 with three homers off Cameron. New York raised its batting average against left-handed pitchers 19 points to .179 after Saturday’s 13-4 win.
Cody Bellinger, who entered Saturday 3-for-17 off lefties, hit a pair of two-run homers and drove in five runs. Bellinger also is 10-for-28 (.357) over his past seven games.
Ben Rice homered for the third straight game for the first time in his career and is 5-for-16 (.313) off lefties after hitting .208 against southpaws last season. Rice will remain in the lineup Sunday along with Paul Goldschmidt while Giancarlo Stanton gets a scheduled day off ahead of Monday’s off-day before the start of a three-game series at Boston.
The Yankees scored their most runs all season after their previous five wins were decided in the final at-bat. Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer, drove in three runs and is hitting .293 off lefties since the start of last season.
“We’re a talented team that can win in many different ways,” Bellinger said. “Obviously these games are more ideal but I like where we’re at.”
Since their 6-5 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2024 ALDS, the Royals are on a 10-game losing streak against New York. Kansas City has lost six straight and nine of 11.
The Royals were blanked until Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the seventh and also scored on a two-run double by Michael Massey in the ninth. Bobby Witt Jr. had one of Kansas City’s seven hits and is 5-for-20 on the road trip.
The Royals are coming off their most lopsided loss of the first 21 games after 10 of their previous 11 games were decided by two runs or fewer.
“It looks bad when you get your butt kicked like today, but every game this week has been a really close game,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “Guys are running hard, they’re playing hard, they’re preparing hard. It just hasn’t worked out.”
After getting seven sharp innings from Will Warren and not using any high-leverage relievers, the Yankees will send lefty Ryan Weathers (0-2, 4.29 ERA) to the mound.
Weathers, who struggled at times with his fastball command Tuesday in a 7-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, makes his first career start against Kansas City. Weathers is allowing a .268 average to opposing hitters and allowed three homers in a span of five pitches on fastballs to Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler.
Weathers also gave up a homer to Oswald Peraza on his changeup but wound up with 10 strikeouts in five-plus innings when he allowed five runs. He also became the first Yankee and 17th pitcher all-time to get at least 10 strikeouts and allow four homers.
In four starts, Ragans (0-3, 3.78) has received four runs from his offense and is coming off his best start this season. Ragans allowed one hit in six scoreless innings in a no-decision during Kansas City’s 2-1 loss at Detroit on Tuesday.
Ragans does not have a decision and a 2.57 ERA in a pair of appearances (one start) against the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Surge, Gentle Mates unbeaten in CDL Stage 3 Major qualifying
Cloud9 remains unbeaten in Week 3 opener of LCS Spring
