Sports
NHL roundup: Matt Boldy posts hat trick in Wild's OT win over Predators
Feb 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 Matt Boldy scored a hat trick in the first period and set up Jared Spurgeon’s game-winning goal as the Minnesota Wild pulled off a crazy 6-5 overtime victory against the host Nashville Predators on Wednesday night.
Late in the extra session, Boldy sent a cross-ice pass to Spurgeon, who beat Juuse Saros with 46 seconds remaining.
Quinn Hughes had two assists, and Filip Gustavsson made 30 saves for the Wild, who have won five in a row heading into the Olympic break.
Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg each had a goal and an assist and Steven Stamkos and Ryan O’Reilly each had three-point nights for the Predators, whose two-game winning streak ended. Saros made 38 saves.
Panthers 5, Bruins 4 (SO)
Anton Lundell came off the injured list and provided one goal and two assists in regulation and also scored in the shootout as Florida defeated Boston in Sunrise, Fla.
The Panthers also got goals from Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinskis and Matthew Tkachuk. Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves for his first win since Jan. 24.
The Bruins got two goals from Michael Eyssimont and one goal each from Mark Kastelic and Casey Mittelstadt. Joonas Korpisalo added 22 saves as Boston lost consecutive games for the first time this calendar year.
Stars 5, Blues 4
Jamie Benn had two goals, including the winner with 23 seconds left, and an assist as Dallas defeated visiting St. Louis for its sixth straight victory. The Stars beat the Blues three times during that span, all on late goals.
Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Mavrik Bourque also scored, Miro Heiskanen had two assists, and Jake Oettinger made 14 saves.
Jordan Kyrou and Jimmy Snuggerud had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who lost for the eighth time in nine games. Pavel Buchnevich and Alexey Toropchenko also scored for St. Louis. Justin Faulk earned two assists and Jordan Binnington stopped 23 shots.
Mammoth 4, Red Wings 1
Nick Schmaltz scored his fourth goal in two games and added an assist as Utah beat Detroit in Salt Lake City.
Clayton Keller also had a goal and an assist for Utah, which has won two straight after losing two in a row. Sean Durzi and Dylan Guenther also scored, and Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves.
Dylan Larkin scored for the Red Wings, who have lost four of their past five games (1-3-1) while scoring just seven goals. John Gibson turned aside 21 shots.
Kraken 4, Kings 2
Shane Wright scored two goals for visiting Seattle in a win against Los Angeles.
Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn also scored, Chandler Stephenson and Frederick Gaudreau had two assists each and Joey Daccord made 25 saves for the Kraken, who were coming off a 4-2 loss at the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday that ended a four-game winning streak.
Andrei Kuzmenko scored two goals on his 30th birthday, Kevin Fiala had two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves for the Kings, who have lost three of four.
Flames 4, Oilers 3
Ryan Lomberg broke a third-period tie and rookie Matvei Gridin scored a goal and added an assist, leading host Calgary past slumping Edmonton.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor Zary also scored for the Flames, who claimed the season’s Battle of Alberta by winning three of the four meetings. Calgary’s Devin Cooley made 36 saves and recorded an assist, and Zach Whitecloud, MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri all collected two assists.
Leon Draisaitl scored twice while Kasperi Kapanen added a single for the Oilers, who have lost three straight games and five of eight outings. Tristan Jarry stopped 21 shots, and Evan Bouchard notched three assists.
Canadiens 5, Jets 1
Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson each had a goal and two assists as visiting Montreal defeated Winnipeg 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.
Blue Jackets 4, Blackhawks 0
Jet Greaves made 21 saves as host Columbus registered its second consecutive shutout, beating Chicago.
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).
Avalanche 4, Sharks 2
Artturi Lehkonen had two goals, Josh Manson scored a go-ahead goal midway through the third period and Colorado beat San Jose in Denver.
Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to top 700 for his career, Valeri Nichushkin contributed three assists, Brock Nelson had a goal and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 23 shots for the Avalanche head into the Olympic hiatus with a league-leading 83 points.
Timothy Liljegren and Philipp Kurashev scored goals and Yaroslav Askarov made 38 saves for the Sharks, who have lost four in a row heading into the Olympic break.
Golden Knights 5, Canucks 2
Jack Eichel scored a goal and had an assist and Mark Stone added two assists as Vegas snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over Vancouver in Las Vegas.
Cole Reinhardt, Ivan Barbashev, Pavel Dorofeyev and Alexander Holtz also scored goals and Akira Schmid made 21 saves for the Golden Knights, who took sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.
Elias N. Pettersson and Pierre-Olivier Joseph scored goals and Teddy Blueger added two assists for the Canucks, who took their third straight loss. Kevin Lankinen finished with 26 saves.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Iowa dominates Washington behind Bennett Stirtz's 22 points
Feb 4, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Bennett Stirtz scored 22 points and dished out five assists Wednesday night as Iowa rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit for an 84-74 Big Ten Conference road win over Washington in Seattle.
The Hawkeyes (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) also got 16 points off the bench from Alvaro Folgueiras, plus 11 each from Tavion Banks and Cooper Koch. All of Koch’s came after halftime, when Iowa canned 14 of 24 field goals, including 6 of 10 from the 3-point line.
Hannes Steinbach scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Huskies (12-11, 4-8), giving him a program-record 15 double-doubles as a freshman. Zoom Diallo added 16 points and 12 assists, 10 of the assists coming in the first half.
Wesley Yates III chipped in 15 points for Washington despite missing time in the second half with a leg injury. Quimari Peterson contributed 11 off the bench and Bryson Tucker potted 10 points.
Iowa trailed 50-41 after Steinbach scored to open the second half but overtook the Huskies when Folgueiras nailed two foul shots with 14:21 left for a 58-56 edge for the Hawkeyes. That was part of a 9-0 burst that put Iowa up to stay.
Steinbach’s putback drew the Huskies within 67-66 at the 8:45 mark but Iowa responded with eight straight points, then led by as many as 13 in the last 2 1/2 minutes.
The teams presented a fascinating contrast in styles. Undersized Iowa entered with four straight wins behind efficient offense and improving defense but figured to be tested by Steinbach, who entered the night with four straight double-doubles.
It was Washington that carried most of the first half as it simply couldn’t miss a shot. It connected on 20 of 26, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point line. The Hawkeyes couldn’t cope with the Huskies’ size and managed only four rebounds all half.
Yet Iowa canned 17 of 28 from the field and owned a 40-39 edge on Banks’ layup at the 2:41 mark before Washington ripped off nine straight points, highlighted by Yates’ 3-pointer with 48.0 seconds left. That enabled it to take a 48-41 advantage to halftime.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rangers' post-Panarin era begins with streaking Canes
Feb 8, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing Jordan Martinook (48) celebrates his empty net goal with center Seth Jarvis (24) against the Utah Hockey Club during the third period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images The Carolina Hurricanes have led the Metropolitan Division most of the season and their recent hot streak has hoisted them within striking range of the President’s Trophy.
The Hurricanes attempt to earn a point in a season-high 10th straight game Thursday night when they visit the last-place New York Rangers — who traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday — in the final game for both teams before the Olympic break.
Carolina has gone 7-0-2 since a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 13. That left them 14 points behind the Colorado Avalanche in the race for the most points in the NHL, but the Hurricanes entered Wednesday’s action just five points back with 26 games left.
The Hurricanes are outscoring opponents 37-20 during this streak, though three of their past four wins are by one goal. The latest was Tuesday’s 4-3 home win over the Ottawa Senators when the Hurricanes blew a two-goal lead for the third straight game. They allowed two power-play tallies before Jordan Staal scored with 5:07 left in the third period.
“We’ll take wins any way we can, right?” said Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, who scored for the third straight game.” That’s what we’re trying to do here: win hockey games, get some points and get to the playoffs. As of late, we’ve done a pretty good job on that.”
Seth Jarvis added two goals and has 10 points (four goals and six assists) during the past nine games.
“You don’t want to sit on a loss for three weeks,” Jarvis said. “You don’t want to sit on a bad game. Just coming in with the mindset of keeping this thing rolling, grinding one more out, and leaving it on the ice, and you’ve got three weeks to recoup.”
Rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi has started seven games during the hot streak and boasts a 22-3-1 record. But Thursday could be another milestone for him as the Long Island native can make his first appearance at Madison Square Garden.
The Hurricanes are 6-1-0 in the past seven meetings with the Rangers, whose 46 points are the fewest in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers will play their first game of the post-Panarin era, though they have a sense of how things might go. While they held him out to facilitate a trade, the Rangers went 0-3-0 while getting outscored 13-8.
New York received forward Liam Greentree, a conditional third-round pick in the upcoming draft and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2028 draft in exchange for Panarin, who piled up 205 goals and 402 assists in 482 regular-season games over not quite seven years with the Rangers.
In the Rangers’ most recent game, they trailed 5-1 at Pittsburgh before scoring four goals in the final 10-plus minutes as Alexis Lafreniere scored twice and Vincent Trocheck scored to go along with two assists.
Mika Zibanejad added an assist, giving him 11 goals and 23 points over his past 15 games. If the Rangers make numerous trades, Zibanejad and J.T. Miller might be among the veterans on a roster with younger players such as Gabe Perreault and waiver claims such as defenseman Vincent Iorio getting long looks.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Stan Wawrinka, 40, earns noteworthy win in Montpellier
Jan 24, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in action against Taylor Fritz of United States in the third round of the menís singles at the Australian Open at John Cain Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Stan Wawrinka wasn’t acting his age on Wednesday during a first-round victory over Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in the first round of the Open Occitanie on Wednesday in Montpellier, France.
The 40-year-old Swiss veteran prevailed 7-6 (3), 6-4 to become the oldest man to win an ATP Tour indoor match since 1980 (excluding the Davis Cup). The last player older than Wawrinka to log an indoor win was Ken Rosewall, then 45.
A wild-card entrant who is ranked 113th in the world, Wawrinka won despite putting just 38% of his first serves in play. He saved four of the five break points he faced.
Two seeded players lost their second-round matches.
Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, the third seed, trailed France’s Arthur Gea 6-3, 4-5 before retiring because of a knee injury. Adrian Mannarino rallied past fifth-seeded Ugo Humbert 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (4) in an all-French matchup.
Eighth-seeded Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States overtook 16-year-old French qualifier Moise Kouame 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2 in first-round action. Also earning first-round wins were Italy’s Luca Nardi and the U.S. qualifier Martin Damm.
–Field Level Media
Iowa dominates Washington behind Bennett Stirtz's 22 points
NYT Pips hints, answers for February 5, 2026
