SATURDAY SPORTS: JETS TOP BLACKHAWKS IN OT

NHL

• Kyle Connor scored 25 seconds into overtime as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Connor’s 21st goal of the season deflected off the skate of Nick Foligno and past goalie Petr Mrazek. Nikolai Ehlers scored twice in regulation for Winnipeg, ending his 10-game goal-scoring drought. Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard was held pointless.
• Matt Boldy scored a pair of goals as the Minnesota Wild came away with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Jonas Brodin and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Wild, who have gone 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman responded for the Oilers (33-18-2), who have lost two in a row. Elsewhere Buffalo downed Columbus 2-1.

SCOTTIES

Kerri Einarson’s bid for a record five straight Canadian women’s curling championships has ended with a playoff loss to Kate Cameron. Einarson fell 9-4 to Manitoba’s Cameron to remain tied with Colleen Jones for the record of four consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts titles. Einarson’s team from Manitoba’s Gimli Curling Club was minus regular lead Briane Harris in Calgary. Curling Canada announced hours before the opening draw eight days ago that the organization was “made aware” that Harris was ineligible to compete. 

WHL

Spokane, Wash. – The Regina Pats lost the first game of their six game U.S. road trip on Friday, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Spokane Chiefs at the Spokane Arena.

The Pats got off to a 2-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the game, with Tye Spencer and Braxton Whitehead scoring Regina’s goals. The Chiefs made it a one goal game after one before tying the contest at 2-2 in the second. In the third, Conner Roulette scored the go-ahead goal to make it 3-2 as part of a three goal third period and five unanswered goals by the Chiefs.

Whitehead finished the game with a pair of points (1G-1A), while Spencer’s marker was his team leading 10th power play goal of the season. Tanner Howe also chipped in with two helpers and Ewan Huet made 31 saves in the loss.

(ReginaPats.com)

NBA

• Immanuel Quickley had a career high six three-pointers and scored 24 points to help the Toronto Raptors down the Atlanta Hawks 123-121. It was Toronto’s second straight win after the all-star break. The Raptors are now 3 1/2 games back of Atlanta for 10th in the N-B-A’s Eastern Conference and the last play-in spot.
• Miami’s Jimmy Butler was among four players ejected after a scuffle early in the fourth quarter in the Heat’s 106-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Heat reserve Thomas Bryant and two Pelicans — Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall — were also ejected after fisticuffs erupted with 11:19 left and Miami leading 84-81. 

CFL

• TORONTO – A former strength and conditioning coach with the Toronto Argonauts is suing the CFL club for wrongful dismissal and star quarterback Chad Kelly for alleged violations of the Ontario Human Rights Code. In a statement of claim filed Wednesday with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the complainant alleges she was continually harassed by Kelly, starting with unwanted romantic overtures and escalating into incidents where Kelly used threatening language. She said the Argonauts did not act when told of Kelly’s behaviour and claims assistant general manager John Murphy said she “opened a can of worms that didn’t need to be opened.” The complainant said she was told Jan. 29 that her contract would not be renewed. She had joined the Argonauts in 2018 and said her contract had previously been continually renewed.
• WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed Sergio Castillo to a one-year contract as the veteran kicker looks to build on an outstanding 2023 CFL campaign. Castillo joined the Bombers for a third stint in May after being released by the Edmonton Elks. He went on to set a club record by converting 90.2 per cent (46 of 51) of his field goal attempts last year.

NLL

• Saskatoon, SK –– The Saskatchewan Rush (3-4) and Halifax Thunderbirds (6-4) will battle it out on Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre on Saturday night. The Rush are coming off a 13-9 win over the Vancouver Warriors. Ryan Keenan led the way with three goals and six points in the victory, bringing his season total up to 34 points. Faceoff Saturday evening is at 7:00 p.m. CT.

NFL

The NFL’s salary cap for 2024 will be $255.4 million, up a record $30.6 million from last year. The cap number has gone from $198.2 million in 2020 to $182.5 million in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic. It increased to $208.2 million in 2022 and $224.8 million last year. Teams are heading into next week’s NFL combine and preparing for the free agency period to open March 13 with an opportunity to spend more freely. The increased cap total could impact how teams use the franchise tag. The 15-day window to apply the tag to impending free agents began on Feb. 20.