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Oilers strike for quick-fire goals in 2nd period, take down Utah

NHL: Utah at Edmonton OilersDec 31, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard (2) celebrates with defenceman Mattias Ekholm (14) and right winger Vasily Podkllxin (92) and left winger Viktor Arvidsson (33) after a goal during the first period against Utah Hockey Club at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Troy Stecher scored 20 seconds apart in the second period as the Edmonton Oilers shut down the 2024 calendar year with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night.

With the game tied at 1, Nugent-Hopkins notched the go-ahead goal at the 4:53 mark on an odd-man break before Stecher created a two-goal margin shortly thereafter.

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 games at home. Connor McDavid and Connor Brown had two assists apiece for Edmonton. Goaltender Stuart Skinner had 26 saves for his 14th win of the season.

For Utah, Jack McBain scored while goalie Jaxson Stauber made 34 saves as the club lost its fifth straight game (0-4-1). Clayton Keller, who has a team-high 37 points on the season, was a late scratch due to an illness.

The Oilers got on the board at 4:26 of the first period when defenseman Ekholm stepped up into the left circle and ripped home a slap shot.

However, Utah’s leading goal-scorer, Dylan Guenther, played the role of giver 1:34 later, dishing the puck from the half-boards into the slot to a charging McBain, who slickly beat Skinner for the equalizer.

In a fast-paced first period, Edmonton fired 15 shots on Stauber, but the 25-year-old goalie turned away 14 of them.

The home side broke the game open in the second period with a pair of quick goals.

Nugent-Hopkins, who had the game-winning goal in overtime against the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 29 in Salt Lake City, forced a turnover and finished a breakaway off a pass from McDavid. Stecher then made it 3-1 before Nugent-Hopkins’ tally had even been announced.

In the third, Utah had a chance to cut into the deficit on its second power play of the game, but it came up empty.

Draisaitl’s league-leading 27th goal of the season went into an empty net at 18:58 of the third to finish off the win.

–Field Level Media

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Flyers strike in 3rd to snap Bruins' 8-game point streak

NHL: Boston Bruins at Philadelphia FlyersFeb 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) reaches for the puck against the Boston Bruins in the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Flyers scored back-to-back goals to start the third period and held on to defeat the visiting Boston Bruins 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale both scored and assisted on each other’s goals for Philadelphia, which has won two of its three games since the Olympic break. Drysdale tallied the eventual game-winner with 8:05 left.

Sean Couturier added an empty-net goal with 55 seconds remaining, Christian Dvorak recorded two assists, and Dan Vladar was excellent with a 26-save performance to help the Flyers win.

Boston’s Charlie McAvoy extended his point streak to nine games with a third-period goal that cut the hosts’ lead to 2-1.

Jeremy Swayman made 14 saves for Boston, which entered on an eight-game point streak (5-0-3).

With the game scoreless through two periods, the Bruins looked to take a 1-0 lead 1:05 into the third as Hampus Lindholm’s point shot beat Vladar, but the goal was immediately waved off due to goaltender interference.

Instead, Konecny scored first at 3:41. After Dvorak’s shot into the zone hit a stanchion behind the net, he recovered the bounce and made a tight backhand feed to his oncoming linemate to bury into an open side of the net.

Drysdale doubled Philadelphia’s lead at 11:55 by slipping down the slot on a Konecny pass and firing an open wrist shot past Swayman’s blocker.

The Bruins found an answer from McAvoy 1:08 later. Pavel Zacha won the faceoff right to Hampus Lindholm, who found his fellow defenseman cutting to the net to make it a 2-1 game.

Swayman followed up that goal by stopping Konecny on a breakaway with 5:36 left, but Boston could not find an equalizer.

Philadelphia had a 7-6 shot advantage in a scoreless first. Swayman made one of his best early saves halfway through as Trevor Zegras fired a turnaround shot from the slot.

Vladar made two close-range stops on Morgan Geekie within the first eight minutes of the second period, including one early in Boston’s second power play. The first stop occurred when David Pastrnak set up Geekie for a one-timer in the slot at the 5:00 mark.

Less than a minute after Vladar’s second stop on Geekie, Swayman returned to the highlight reel at the other end of the ice. Konecny’s wraparound put the puck on goal before Swayman robbed Dvorak with the glove on a rebound effort coming to the doorstep.

After Boston’s first man advantage came up empty, Vladar made another big save as Sean Kuraly separated from the Flyers’ defense for a breakaway with 5:43 left in the second.

–Field Level Media

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Heat rally in 4th quarter to take down Rockets

NBA: Houston Rockets at Miami HeatFeb 28, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) argues with Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Bam Adebayo posted a double-double, and Andrew Wiggins ignited a fourth-quarter rally after returning from an in-game injury to lead the Miami Heat to a 115-105 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Saturday.

Adebayo paired 24 points with 11 rebounds to help the Heat snap a two-game skid. Pelle Larsson (20 points) and Tyler Herro (18) contributed to the balanced scoring attack for the Heat, who also received double-digit efforts from Jaime Jaquez Jr. (14 points) and Kel’el Ware (13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds) off the bench. The Heat shot 50% overall from the floor.

But it was Wiggins, who took an elbow to the jaw from Rockets center Alperen Sengun and needed stitches in his cheek to close the gash, who led a critical fourth-quarter surge. He assisted on a Ware alley-oop and a Larsson 3 to put the Heat ahead 100-92 before his transition dunk resulted in a three-point play and a 111-103 lead with 2:24 remaining.

Wiggins finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 32 points and added eight assists for the Rockets. Amen Thompson (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Tari Eason (10 points, 11 boards) added double-doubles, while Reed Sheppard chipped in 14 points and five assists for Houston.

The Rockets turned an early run, capped by a Sheppard 3, into a 14-4 lead, only for the Heat to respond with an 8-0 rally. Adebayo hit a 3-pointer to give Miami a 27-26 lead, and the Heat carried a 32-28 advantage into the second quarter after hitting 6 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first.

Miami extended its lead to double digits on a Ware tip-in, and led 41-28 before the Rockets scored their first basket of the second quarter with an Aaron Holiday 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark. That ended a 19-2 run by the Heat and sparked another Houston rally, featuring Sheppard and Durant combining to hit three 3-pointers and tie the game at 48.

The Rockets led 52-51 at the intermission after Miami missed 7 of 8 3-pointers in the second.

–Field Level Media

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Braeden Carrington explodes for 32 points as Wisconsin routs Washington

NCAA Basketball: Wisconsin at WashingtonFeb 28, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Braeden Carrington (0) shoots a three point shot over Washington Huskies guard Zoom Diallo (5) during the second half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Braeden Carrington came off the bench Saturday to score a career-high 32 points and Wisconsin knocked down 17 3-pointers to earn a 90-73 Big Ten Conference road win over Washington in Seattle.

Nick Boyd added 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Badgers (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten), while Nolan Winter chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds. Wisconsin canned 44.7 % of its 38 3-point attempts, with Carrington going 9 of 15.

Freshman Hannes Steinbach led the Huskies (14-15, 6-12) with 22 points and 11 rebounds, his 18th double-double of the season and the most by a Big Ten player since Jared Sullinger of Ohio State collected the same total 29 years ago. Zoom Diallo scored 21 points.

Washington made 46% from the field but simply couldn’t mute the Badgers’ potent perimeter game. Bouncing back from an 85-71 upset loss Wednesday night at Oregon, Wisconsin earned a 39-35 edge on the boards and committed only six turnovers.

The final margin flattered the Huskies a bit. The Badgers led by as many as 28 points in the second half and cleared the bench by the time Washington scored the final seven points to make the margin more respectable.

Wisconsin set an early tone by stepping up its defense from the loss at Oregon. It held the Huskies without a field goal for a 6:04 stretch of the first half and opened up a 17-4 lead with 13:28 left when Carrington converted a 3-pointer.

Steinbach made two foul shots with 6:51 left to pull Washington within 22-14 but the Badgers pulled away when Carrington hit a 3-pointer and fed Winter for a layup and a 27-14 cushion.

With Boyd canning a short jumper from the baseline, Wisconsin went into halftime with a 36-21 advantage. The Huskies made only 7 of 28 field goals in the first 20 minutes and were outrebounded 25-17.

Boyd led the charge with 14 points in the half, sinking 7 of 14 shots from the field.

–Field Level Media

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