Sports
Wild, Canadiens each carry 3-game win streaks into matchup
Jan 20, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov (93) plays the puck and Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber (7) defends during the second period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images The Minnesota Wild have one home game remaining before the NHL’s extended Olympic break.
On Monday night, the Wild will try to make the most of it.
Minnesota will return to home ice to face off against the Montreal Canadiens in Saint Paul, Minn. Both teams are riding three-game winning streaks, but only one squad will extend it to four.
The Wild are coming off a resounding 7-3 win on the road against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. That followed a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames and a 4-3 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, which means Minnesota has outscored teams 15-7 in the past three games.
Wild coach John Hynes said a well-rounded approach has led to the team’s recent success.
“It’s good to see us be able to get some scoring throughout the lineup,” Hynes said. “That always gives you a competitive advantage.”
A date against the Canadiens figures to pose a challenge for the Wild.
Montreal is coming off a 4-2 road win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Two days earlier, the Canadiens rolled to a 7-3 win against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche, and two days before that, the Canadiens held off the Vegas Golden Knights for a 3-2 overtime win.
Now, Montreal will go for its first four-game winning streak since the second through fifth games of the season from Oct. 9-16.
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis has guided his team to third place in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. They are only one point behind the Detroit Red Wings and three points behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning entering Sunday’s action.
“We’re playing good hockey,” St. Louis said. “And we’ve been able to correct ourselves.”
The Wild’s top scorer is Kirill Kaprizov, who has 67 points (30 goals, 37 assists) in 56 games. Matt Boldy is second with 56 points (29 G, 27 A), and Joel Eriksson Ek rounds out the top three with 38 points (14 G, 24 A).
For Montreal, Nick Suzuki is the team leader with 64 points (18 G, 46 A) in 55 games. Cole Caufield is the top goal scorer with 57 points (32 G, 25 A), and Lane Hutson is close behind on the scoring list with 56 points (9 G, 47 A).
The Wild’s options in net include Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. Gustavsson is 18-9-6 with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage, and Wallstedt is 14-5-4 with a 2.72 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
Gustavsson is 2-2-1 with a 2.93 GAA and an .899 save percentage in five career games against Montreal. Wallstedt is 0-1-0 with a 4.07 GAA and an .879 save percentage in his only career matchup against the Canadiens.
Montreal’s goaltending duo includes Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault. Dobes is 18-5-3 with a 2.92 GAA and an .894 save percentage, and Montembeault is 9-8-2 with a 3.46 GAA and an .868 save percentage.
The 24-year-old Dobes is 1-1-0 with a 3.10 GAA and an .870 save percentage in two career games against Minnesota. Montembeault has faced the Wild four times, and he is 1-2-1 with a 3.23 GAA and an .885 save percentage in those games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
David Coit takes over late as Maryland beats Minnesota
Feb 8, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) works around Maryland Terrapins guard George Turkson Jr. (11) during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images David Coit scored seven of his 29 points in the final 26 seconds as Maryland snapped a four-game losing streak, outlasting Minnesota 67-62 Sunday in Big Ten play at Minneapolis.
Andre Mills added 12 points and Darius Adams contributed 11 points as Maryland improved to 18-3 all-time against Minnesota.
Solomon Washington put up nine points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins (9-14, 2-10 Big Ten), who had lost their previous four games by an average margin of 28 points.
After Cade Tyson hit two free throws with 53 seconds left to put Minnesota up 62-60, Coit scored the game’s final seven points.
The key play came with 26 seconds left when Coit drained a side-step 3-pointer to put the Terrapins up 63-62. Coit then added four free throws in the final 11 seconds.
“Coach got on me after the last game. He called me out. I was being selfish with my body language,” Coit said. “I had to respond.”
Coit made 9 of 13 shots from the floor, 4 of 7 from distance and hit all seven of his free throw attempts.
Isaac Asuma scored all 18 of his points from behind the arc to lead Minnesota (11-13, 4-9), which was coming off an upset of No. 10 Michigan State on Wednesday. The loss was the Golden Gophers’ eighth in their last nine games.
Tyson finished with 12 points and Langston Reynolds contributed 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Golden Gophers.
Midway through the first half, Mills made a 3-pointer which gave Maryland a 17-14 lead, before Asuma responded with consecutive triples to give Minnesota a lead that it held the rest of the period.
Two 3-pointers by Bobby Durkin pushed the Golden Gophers’ edge to 33-26. Coit answered with a 3-pointer and a driving three-point play to cut the deficit to 33-32 at the break.
Midway through the second half, two driving layups by Reynolds gave Minnesota the biggest lead of the second half, 53-47.
But Coit put the Terrapins on his back scoring 15 of his points in the final 8:41.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bam Adebayo, Heat rout Wizards to snap out of miniature skid
Feb 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) inks the ball against the Washington Wizards during the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images Bam Adebayo and Kasparas Jakucionis scored 22 points apiece to help the visiting Miami Heat breeze past the Washington Wizards for a 132-101 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Norman Powell added 21 points and Kel’el Ware had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who had dropped three of their previous four. Simone Fontecchio scored 12 and Andrew Wiggins had 11 points and 10 boards.
Tristan Vukcevic paced Washington with 14 points, while Justin Champagnie, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington scored 13 each. Alex Sarr collected 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who fell to a game ahead of the Indiana Pacers for last place in the Eastern Conference.
After leading by 22 at halftime, Miami extended the margin to 31 as Wiggins and Powell bookended an 8-0 run to give the Heat a 92-61 edge with 6:54 remaining in the third.
Jamir Watkins’ floater and six straight points from Vukcevic cut the Washington deficit to 22, forcing a Miami timeout with 3:35 left in the third.
From there, the Heat scored 10 straight to open up a 105-73 edge. Ware finished the third with a layup to send the visitors into the final quarter with a 107-75 lead.
Washington won the fourth quarter 26-25 to end the lopsided game.
Washington jumped out to a 20-11 lead on Bilal Coulibaly’s layup at the 7:21 mark.
Miami finished the opening quarter on a 14-2 run, with Jakucionis drilling a pair of triples in the final minute to give the Heat a 37-33 edge entering the second quarter.
Miami built its lead to double figures as Fontecchio’s trey began a 12-0 run, which was stamped with Adebayo’s 3-pointer to give the visitors a 58-39 lead.
George hit a pair of free throws to pull the Wizards within 15, but Adebayo’s layup began a 7-0 spurt to end the half, giving the Heat a 74-52 halftime advantage.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Two-time champ Damian Lillard to participate in 3-point contest
Dec 29, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) warms up before a game against the Dallas Mavericks at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images Rehabbing Portland Trail Blazers icon Damian Lillard will be part of the eight-man field competing in Saturday’s 3-point contest as part of All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
Lillard won the competitions in 2023 in Salt Lake City and 2024 in Indianapolis. He is sitting out this season after sustaining a torn Achilles tendon in a playoff game with the Milwaukee Bucks last April.
Hall of Famer Larry Bird (1986-88) and Craig Hodges (1990-92) are the only three-time winners of the event.
Lillard ranks fifth in NBA history with 2,804 treys over 13 NBA seasons.
The others in the competition are Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), rookie Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Bobby Portis Jr. (Milwaukee Bucks) and Norman Powell (Miami Heat).
Mitchell leads the NBA with 180 3-pointers, five ahead of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, who is not part of the festivities.
Knueppel ranks third with 174, Maxey stands fourth at 169 and Murray is ninth at 156. Knueppel can become the first rookie to capture the title.
Portis boasts the best 3-point accuracy (45.1%) of the group this season. He has converted 92 of 204 attempts.
–Field Level Media
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