Sports
Sabres finding ways to win, while Stars seek to repeat recent history
Dec 29, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Sabres left wing Jason Zucker (17) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images The Buffalo Sabres appear to be finding their way again.
They’ve won three in a row after going 0-10-3 over a 13-game slide, outscoring opponents 17-5 in the process, and will look to keep the momentum going when they close out 2024 with a visit to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
Their most recent triumph, a 4-2 victory against the host St. Louis Blues on Sunday, was one in which Buffalo got production where it had struggled for most of the season — finding its B-game when it didn’t have its A-game that had delivered the two previous wins.
“You have to win games a different way,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “The special teams won us the game. It’s something we’ve been dying to see all year. I thought that power-play goal in the third period is something that’s been missing.”
Jason Zucker’s power-play tally broke a 2-2 tie after the Blues erased the Sabres’ two-goal lead. It was their second goal with the man advantage in the game, marking just the second time this season they’ve scored more than one.
They’re 4-for-10 on the power play over their past four games.
They’ve also benefited from individual improvement, notably from forward Jack Quinn. The 23-year-old had one goal — an empty-netter — and four assists in his first 24 games before finally potting his first two goals against a goalie on Dec. 15 in a 5-3 loss to the host Toronto Maple Leafs.
Ruff spoke to him a few weeks ago about getting more “pop” into his game. The chat paid off, with Quinn bringing six points (two goals, four assists) in a three-game point streak into Tuesday’s tilt.
“I think it’s got me playing a little more direct and helping out with the habits in my game, too,” Quinn said.
The Stars are hoping a 5-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday will be a part of a strong second-half push, somewhat similar to last season.
A year ago, Dallas was 21-9-4 after an overtime victory against the Blackhawks. They were fifth in the Western Conference, three points out of the top spot, which they would ultimately claim at season’s end. This season, the Stars are 21-13-1, seventh in the West, but with a larger deficit for No. 1 at 10 points back of the Vegas Golden Knights.
They’ve struggled a bit of late, going 5-5-1 in their past 11 games. Injuries haven’t helped, nor has a woeful power play with a 15.4 percent success rate that ranked 27th in the NHL entering Monday’s schedule.
The power play was 0-for-20 before finally connecting for one in the second period against Chicago to put the Stars ahead 2-1.
“It was huge,” captain Jamie Benn said. “We got one on the power play (by Jason Robertson) to take the lead, and then (Matt Duchene) made a great pass to (Evgenii Dadonov) to go up two, and we kind of rolled from there.”
They’ll need Robertson, who had foot surgery in the offseason, to keep building off a strong December, in which he’s had 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 13 games after 13 points in his first 22.
“I think December has been trending in the right direction,” he said. “I’m definitely feeling better 35 games in, and it’s exciting because we have a whole new year.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
NBA roundup: Luke Kennard's 27 sparks Lakers past Rockets in Game 1
Apr 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) dribbles the ball against Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) in the first half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Luke Kennard scored 27 points and LeBron James added 19 points with 13 assists as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers earned a 107-98 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Saturday in Game 1 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Deandre Ayton scored 19 points with 11 rebounds and Marcus Smart added 15 points with eight assists as the fourth-seeded Lakers won with leading scorers Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) watching from the bench.
In just his seventh start since joining the Lakers from the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline, Kennard went 9 of 13 from the floor and 5 of 5 from 3-point range while delivering a season high in points to fill the scoring void at guard.
Alperen Sengun scored 19 points while Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard each added 17 for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who were playing without leading scorer Kevin Durant (knee).
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 16 points with 12 rebounds and Tari Eason also had 16 points for Houston, which has lost three consecutive road games to Los Angeles since the middle of March.
Nuggets 116, Timberwolves 105
Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, Jamal Murray scored a game-high 30 points and host Denver beat Minnesota to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Murray was perfect from the line, hitting a career-high 16 free throws. Aaron Gordon finished with 17 points, nearly half of which came during the Nuggets’ 14-0 third-quarter run which broke a deadlock and put them in control of the game after a slow start.
Anthony Edwards, who was questionable after missing 11 of the Timberwolves’ final 14 regular-season games with right knee issues, led Minnesota with 22 points. Rudy Gobert produced 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter.
Knicks 113, Hawks 102
Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to start the decisive third-quarter run for host New York, which pulled away for a win over Atlanta in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Jalen Brunson scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the first quarter for the third-seeded Knicks, who reached the Eastern Conference finals last year for the first time since 2000. Towns finished with 25 points and was 10 of 10 from the free throw line while Anunoby collected 18 points.
CJ McCollum scored 26 points for the Hawks, who earned the sixth seed in their first trip to the playoffs since 2023. Jalen Johnson had 23 points while Onyeka Okongwu (19) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (17) each scored in double figures.
Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113
Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points and James Harden added 22 points and 10 assists, powering Cleveland to a victory over visiting Toronto in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Max Strus had 24 points off the bench and Evan Mobley scored 17 for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who have won 11 straight playoff games over the Raptors. Game 2 is Monday in Cleveland, where Toronto is 0-8 all-time in the postseason.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Scottie Barnes contributed 21 points and seven assists for the fifth-seeded Raptors. Brandon Ingram added 17 points and Jamal Shead had 17 points in his playoff debut, starting for injured guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cody Bellinger hits 2 of Yanks' 4 HRs in rout of Royals
Apr 18, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) hits a two run home run against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Cody Bellinger homered twice and collected five RBIs as the New York Yankees easily recorded a 13-4 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.
The Yankees notched their most lopsided win this season after their previous five victories were decided in the final at-bat.
Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer and Ben Rice hit a solo shot during a five-run third off Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron (1-1).
Rosario started the scoring with his two-run blast to left after a three-base error by Kansas City center fielder Kyle Isbel.
J.C. Escarra hit a fly ball to the warning track in center field, and the ball was not caught when Isbel and right fielder Jac Caglianone converged. Isbel knocked the ball out of Caglianone’s glove and was charged with a three-base error.
After Rosario’s homer, Aaron Judge walked, then Bellinger sent a first-pitch slider into the second deck in right. Rice homered two batters later when he hit a fastball into the right field seats for his third straight game with a homer.
Bellinger homered again in the sixth off Mitch Spence for a 10-0 lead. It was Bellinger’s 20th career multi-homer game and his eighth game with at least five RBIs.
Bellinger also had an RBI single in between homers. Rosario added a run-scoring single in the sixth and Escarra contributed an RBI double in the fourth.
Escarra also drove in two with his first career triple in the seventh as the Yankees collected 11 hits. Randal Grichuk added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for his first RBI with New York.
New York’s Will Warren (2-0) allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. The right-hander matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts and walked none.
The Royals dropped their sixth straight. Kansas City was blanked until Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the seventh and got a two-run double from Michael Massey in the ninth.
Cameron was shelled for a career-worst seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in four innings.
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro was tossed by second base umpire Nestor Ceja before Cameron threw a pitch after the Royals batted in the first.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL roundup: Flyers win Game 1 of in-state playoff series vs. Penguins
Apr 18, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim (6) celebrates his goal with the Flyers bench against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Porter Martone scored a timely goal late for the Philadelphia Flyers, who skated away with a 3-2 road victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series on Saturday night.
Martone, a 19-year-old playing in his 10th NHL game, scored an insurance goal to make it 3-1 with 2:37 left in the Battle of Pennsylvania rivalry series. That proved crucial when the Penguins’ Bryan Rust found the net with 1:01 left.
Travis Sanheim and Jamie Drysdale also scored for Philadelphia in the franchise’s first playoff game in six years. The Flyers got 15 saves from Dan Vladar in his playoff debut, including one on a point-blank shot from Anthony Mantha in the closing seconds.
Evgeni Malkin scored his 68th postseason goal for the Penguins and assisted on Rust’s goal. Stuart Skinner made 17 saves. Game 2 is Monday in Pittsburgh.
Wild 6, Stars 1
Matt Boldy had two goals and an assist for visiting Minnesota in a win against Dallas in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice, Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist and Mats Zuccarello had three assists for the Wild, who are trying to win their first playoff series since 2015 after getting eliminated in the opening round eight times since then. Rookie Jesper Wallstedt got the start and made 27 saves.
Jason Robertson scored and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for Dallas, which lost Game 1 of its first-round series 5-1 against the Colorado Avalanche last season before rebounding and eventually reaching the Western Conference finals. Game 2 is Monday in Dallas.
Hurricanes 2, Senators 0
Frederik Andersen made 22 saves and Logan Stankoven had a goal and an assist as Carolina overcame a slow start to defeat Ottawa in the opener of the first-round series in Raleigh, N.C.
Andersen recorded his sixth career playoff shutout after not having any in 35 regular-season starts this season. Taylor Hall also scored and Jackson Blake had two assists for the Hurricanes.
Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for the Senators, who saw 13 of their 22 shots on goal come in the third period but were unable to get on the board, even with a late power-play opportunity. Game 2 is Monday in Raleigh.
–Field Level Media
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