WEDNESDAY SPORTS: HOCKEY ROUND-UP, MLB, NFL NOTEBOOKS

NHL

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk scored a goal and had an assist in his return from injury and the Florida Panthers defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Tuesday night. Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour also scored for the Panthers while Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves.

AVALANCHE 5, STARS 1

DENVER (AP) — Andrew Cogliano and Nathan MacKinnon scored 49 seconds apart, Alexandar Georgiev stopped 33 shots and Colorado cruised to a 5-1 win over Dallas.

PENGUINS 4, CANUCKS 3, OT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Erik Karlsson scored the winning goal at 1:42 of overtime to lift the Penguins over the Canucks 4-3 for their third consecutive victory.

JETS 4, BLUES 2

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Sean Monahan scored a goal and added an assist after missing a game because of an illness to help Winnipeg extend its win streak to four games, beating St. Louis 4-2.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 2

TORONTO (AP) — Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and an assist, William Karlsson had a goal and an assist, and Vegas snapped Toronto’s seven-game winning streak, beating the Leafs 6-2.

HURRICANES 3, WILD 2

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Stefan Noesen scored a goal with his face midway through the third period and Carolina rallied to beat Minnesota 3-2.

DEVILS 7, SHARKS 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Nico Hischier had a goal and three assists, Jack Hughes added a goal and two assists and the Devils beat the Sharks 7-2.

RED WINGS 8, CAPITALS 3

DETROIT (AP) — Shayne Gostisbehere scored in each of the first two periods and Detroit beat Washington 8-3 for their first six-game winning streak in nearly five years.

FLYERS 6, LIGHTNING 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink each scored as Philadelphia defeated Tampa Bay 6=2 after a power outage led to a nine-minute delay in the first period.

FLAMES 4, KINGS 2

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Yegor Sharangovich scored the go-ahead goal at 12:09 of the third period as Calgary earned its fourth straight win, beating L.A. 4-2. The Flames remain five points back of Nashville for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

PREDATORS 4, SENATORS 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Roman Josi had two goals and an assist as Nashville extended its winning streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over Ottawa.

CANADIENS 4, COYOTES 2

MONTREAL (AP) — Sam Montembeault made 36 saves to help Montreal snap their five-game losing streak with a victory 4-2 over Arizona.

WHL

REBELS 5 BLADES 0

Chase Wutzke earned a 36-save shutout in helping lift the Red Deer Rebels to a 5-0 win over the Saskatoon Blades in Western Hockey League action on Tuesday.

Kai Uchacz, with two goals, Ollie Josephson, Frantisek Formanek and Talon Brigley scored for Red Deer (30-20-2-6).

The two goals helped Uchacz reach 40 goals on the season, making him one of eight players to hit the mark in the WHL in 2023-24.

Austin Elliott gave up three goals on 12 shots before exiting the game 13:07 into the second period. Evan Gardner stopped six of the eight shots he faced in relief for Saskatoon (42-10-2-3), which sits atop the WHL with 89 points.

—

THUNDERBIRDS 5 PATS 1

SEATTLE – Braeden Cootes led the way with two goals as the Seattle Thunderbirds topped the Regina Pats 5-1.

Sam Popowich, Simon Lovsin and Jeremy Hanzel added the others for Seattle (20-34-2).

Zane Rowan had the lone goal for Regina (21-31-4-2).

MLB

• Shohei Ohtani needed just three exhibition at-bats to show what a $700 million man can do for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Japanese star hit a two-run homer in his first game wearing Dodger blue, working a full count in the fifth inning before blasting an opposite field homer off righty Dominic Leone that just cleared the left-field wall. Ohtani was hitless in his first two plate appearances, striking out on four pitches in the first inning before hitting a hard grounder into a double play in the third.
• It was a mixed bag for Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah in his first start of spring training. Manoah hit three batters and threw just 17 of 38 pitches for strikes while working 1 2/3 innings of four-run ball during Tuesday’s 6-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers. But he also showed improved velocity, reaching the mid-90s with his fastball.

NFL NOTEBOOK

• Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid walked to the podium Tuesday in Indianapolis with a message that went beyond the football world. He paid tribute to the woman who was killed two weeks ago at the city’s Super Bowl celebration — and with togetherness and love tragedies could be avoided in the future. It’s the first time since the Feb. 14 shooting that killed Lisa Lopez-Galvan and left 22 injured, that anyone from the organization spoke publicly about the incident.
• Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton says he won’t know until next week at the earliest if he’s moving on from quarterback Russell Wilson. But Payton did hint at an upcoming split when he suggested it’s imperative for the team to hit on ‘the next one’ at quarterback. A solid starter has been elusive for the Broncos ever since Peyton Manning’s retirement in 2016. They’ve churned through 13 starting quarterbacks since then. Wilson was believed to be the answer but he’s won just 11 of 30 starts and was benched for Jarrett Stidham in December.
• The Chicago Bears already faced this decision once — keep quarterback Justin Fields or start anew with the No. 1 overall pick. A year ago, they stuck with Fields and traded the pick to Carolina. And what they do this time could have a serious impact on how the draft goes as well as what other teams do with quarterbacks they could deal. The list could include teams with the first four picks — Chicago, Washington, New England and Arizona. It could even include teams such as the New York Giants, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

(Canadian Press)