pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko has returned to Russia before the start of the NHL season after his father was killed by a bear.

Kuzmenko’s father Alexander, who was an ice hockey coach in Russia, was on a fishing trip along the Krasnaya River in Southern Siberia with a group of seven others when a bear attacked from the trees.

The 62-year-old suffered severe facial injuries in the attack.

A member of the fishing party called for an ambulance but the dense forest made it difficult for emergency services to reach the area.

Kuzmenko was taken by river downstream for four hours before then being airlifted to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Penguins president Kyle Dubas said the team was “deeply saddened” by the death.

“Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the Kuzmenko family and their loved ones as they grieve the loss of Alexander. We ask that the privacy of Andrei and the Kuzmenko family be respected at this time,” the team said in a statement.

“Andrei chose to be surrounded by his team-mates and practice with the team this morning before returning to Moscow to be with his family this afternoon. Andrei and the Kuzmenko family have the full support of the Penguins organisation during this time.”

The 30-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Penguins this summer and is about to compete in his fifth season in the NHL, following previous stints with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings.

The NHL season begins on 29 September.

Tyler Shough threw an incomplete pass in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt, allowing the Lions to escape with a 31-30 win in overtime over the New Orleans Saints in Detroit on Sunday.

Saints coach Kellen Moore chose to go for the win instead of tying the game with 1:34 left in overtime after his team came back from a three-touchdown deficit in the third quarter and allowed a touchdown on the opening possession of the extra period.

Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, the second score a five-yard throw early in overtime, and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for two touchdowns.

New Orleans rallied from a 21-0 deficit and pulled into a 24-all tie on Shough’s nine-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson with 1:07 left in the game.

Detroit went three-and-out on offense, giving the Saints the ball with a chance to win it and Ryan Wright missed a 62-yard field-goal attempt as time expired.

Gibbs had a career-high 29 carries for 156 yards. He also had five catches for 30 yards.

Goff was 26 of 39 for 206 yards without a turnover.

at Bengals 33, Buccaneers 27: Cincinnati’s new-look defense forced four turnovers — including its first fumble recovery for a touchdown since 2022 — and Joe Burrow passed for 254 yards and a touchdown during a victory over Tampa Bay. Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield surrendered three fumbles during the loss.

Jets 23, at Titans 10: Breece Hall ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, Geno Smith threw for 215 yards and New York defeated Tennessee. The Jets never trailed and held the ball for just over 38 minutes. Cam Ward was 19 of 32 passing for 140 yards and a late touchdown toss.

Ravens 41, at Colts 23: Derrick Henry ran for three touchdowns to move into third on the NFL’s career list, Lamar Jackson threw for 324 yards and a TD and rushed for a score and Baltimore beat Indianapolis. Jesse Minter won his debut as the Ravens’ coach.

at Steelers 20, Falcons 13: T.J. Watt returned an interception of Cooper Rush 35 yards for a touchdown to help Pittsburgh secure a win over visiting Atlanta. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 221 yards and a touchdown. Rush, who was filling in for the injured Tua Tagovailoa, threw for a touchdown and a pair of interceptions that Pittsburgh turned into scores.

Bears 59, at Panthers 37: Caleb Williams threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 65 yards and two more scores as Chicago defeated Carolina in the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history.

at Jaguars 34, Browns 10: Trevor Lawrence threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns, helping Jacksonville spoil the debut of new Cleveland coach Todd Monken. Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson threw an interception on the opening drive.

Bills 36, at Texans 31: Josh Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining to lift Buffalo past host Houston during a back-and-forth season opener. Allen had 334 yards passing with two touchdowns and ran for two more scores. The Texans had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but Greg Rousseau earned his second strip sack of the day, taking down C.J. Stroud at the Buffalo 28.

at Eagles 24, Commanders 22: Jalen Hurts passed for 203 yards and three touchdowns, helping Philadelphia edge Washington. Jayden Daniels passed for 164 yards and two touchdowns, but the Philadelphia defense stuffed a late Commanders two-point conversion attempt to seal the win.

at Vikings 39, Packers 22: Kyler Murray suffered a hit to the head on a run play in the first quarter and was placed in concussion protocol. Carson Wentz replaced Murray and passed for three touchdowns and Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones Sr. added two more rushing scores to help the Vikings beat the Packers.

at Raiders 27, Dolphins 13: Kirk Cousins passed for 160 yards and three touchdowns, helping Las Vegas beat Miami. Both teams were scoreless in the fourth quarter, with the Raiders doing just enough to overcome two Cousins interceptions.