GLENDALE, Ariz. — Carson Beck scrambled for a three-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and Miami will head back home for a shot at its first national championship since 2001 after beating Mississippi 31-27 in an exhilarating College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.
The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (13-2) had their vaunted defense picked apart by the sixth-ranked Rebels (13-2) in a wild fourth quarter, falling into a 27-24 hole after Trinidad Chambliss threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dae’Quan Wright with 3:13 left.
Beck, who won a national title as a backup at Georgia, kept the Hurricanes calm amid the storm, leading them down the field for the winning score — and a shot at a national title on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19. Beck is 37-5 as a starter, including two seasons at Georgia.
The sixth-seeded Rebels lost their coach before the playoff, but not their cool.
If anything, Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt for LSU seemed to harden Mississippi’s resolve, pushing the Rebels to the best season in school history — and within a game of their first national championship game.
Ole Miss kept Miami within reach when its offense labored and took a 19-17 lead on Lucas Carneiro’s fourth field goal, from 21 yards.
Malachi Toney, the hero of Miami’s opening CFP win over Texas A&M, turned a screen pass into a 36-yard touchdown that put Miami up 24-19.
Chambliss’ TD pass to Wright put the Rebels back on top, but the improbable run came to an end when the defense couldn’t hold the Hurricanes.
But what a run it was.
With Pete Golding calling the shots after being promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach, and most of the assistants sticking around, the Rebels blew out Tulane to open the playoff and took down mighty Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals.
They faced a different kind of storm in the Hurricanes.
Miami has rekindled memories of its 2001 national championship team behind a defense that went from porous to nearly impenetrable in its first season under coordinator Corey Hetherman.
The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Mississippi to minus-one yard.
One play revved up the Rebels and their rowdy fans.
Kewan Lacy, the nation’s third-leading rusher, burst through a hole up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter — the longest run allowed by Miami’s defense since 2018.
The Hurricanes seemed content to grind away at the Rebels in small chunks offensively, setting up CharMar Brown’s four-yard touchdown run and a field goal.
Miami unlocked the deep game just before halftime, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Jalen Chatfield’s first goal of the season was a tiebreaker and goalie Frederik Andersen snapped a personal nine-game losing streak as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ducks 5-2 on Thursday night.
Chatfield, a defenseman playing in his 300th career game, scored during the Hurricanes’ three-goal second period. He also had an assist.
Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall each had a goal and an assist, and Mark Jankowski and Jackson Blake also scored for the Hurricanes (27-14-3), who won their third straight. Andersen made 11 saves for his first victory since Nov. 6. He had gone 0-7-2 during his winless stretch.
The Ducks had leads in each of the first two periods.
Poehling scored with 6:42 left in the first period. Jankowski tied the score on Carolina’s 17th shot of the game at 8:56 of the second period, with the puck swept into the goal by Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson’s skate.
Granlund shot wide through the crease on an open net, but pretty much stayed in the same position and then tapped in a pass from Mason McTavish for the Ducks’ 2-1 lead with 6:42 left in the second. Stankoven scored for the third game in a row, taking a pass from Taylor Hall on a two-man rush to pull the Hurricanes even.
Chatfield’s goal came with 3:52 remaining in the second period. Carolina outshot the Ducks 18-3 in the period.
Blake and Hall scored in the third period, with Hall’s goal into an empty net.
Winger Troy Terry, who co-leads the Ducks with 42 points, missed a game for the first time this season because of an upper-body injury.
Up next for the Ducks: Close out a four-game trip at Buffalo on Saturday.
Israeli gunfire killed 11-year-old Hamsa Hosou in northern Gaza, her family says, despite a ceasefire in place for nearly three months. She is among more than 400 Palestinians reported killed since the truce took effect.
NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high seven assists, Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and the New York Knicks snapped their four-game losing streak with a 123-111 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night.
Towns bounced back from a quiet game Monday in Detroit, when he took just four shots and had only six points and six turnovers in the Knicks’ 121-90 loss that gave them their longest losing streak of the season. This time, the center had 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks break open the game.
OG Anunoby added 20 points and Deuce McBride had 16 for the Knicks, who had a 24-7 run starting late in the third quarter and extending into the fourth to turn a four-point deficit into a 105-92 advantage.
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points for the Clippers (13-23), who lost for just the second time in nine games. James Harden had 23 points and nine assists after sitting out Monday against Golden State because of right shoulder soreness.
The Clippers raced to a 14-5 lead, but the Knicks answered with eight straight points and the game was close for the first three quarters. The Clippers were up 85-81 late in the third before the Knicks finished strong to take a 90-87 edge to the fourth.
Towns then started the period with a three-point play and follow shot, and later had four points in an 8-0 run that pushed a five-point lead to 105-92.
Ivica Zubac had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, and John Collins added 18 points and four boards.
The shots had stopped falling. The tension had started rising. Fresh off its worst loss of the Lindsay Gottlieb era, USC had, for the better part of three quarters, looked well on its way to a get-right win Tuesday, the sort that might help ease the embarrassment from a 34-point loss to bitter rival UCLA.
But over the course of the fourth quarter, as Oregon clawed its way back, the Trojans tightened up. The offense looked out of sorts. The defense looked out of breath. No. 21 USC (10-5, 2-2 in the Big Ten) missed its first eight shots of the quarter, just as Oregon (14-3, 2-2) exploded on that end, its worst fears coming to life out of the loss.
Over four minutes and 46 painful seconds, the Trojans went scoreless, unable to do much of anything but watch as Oregon stole a 71-66 victory Tuesday.
The loss was USC’s second in a row, marking the first time since January 2024 that the Trojans suffered consecutive defeats.
Even as Oregon mounted a late run, USC had its chances to shoot its way back into the game. Londynn Jones hit a three-pointer, and freshman Jazzy Davidson made a jumper, her only bucket of the second half, to give the Trojans a nine-point lead with just under five minutes remaining.
But those were the last two buckets USC would score. Oregon’s Ari Long hit a three-pointer, then drained another on the next possession. The Galen Center crowd groaned, seemingly knowing what was coming next.
With 32 seconds remaining, Oregon called a timeout. The Ducks found Long again coming out of the break, and she sank a third three-pointer, this one costly.
Kara Dunn did what she could to keep USC afloat, scoring 21 points and adding nine rebounds. Davidson struggled to find her shooting stroke, but still filled the stat sheet with 13 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals to go with 14 points.
Jones even gave USC critical contributions throughout, as the Trojans were forced to play without sophomore Kennedy Smith, their best defender who has a leg injury, according to the team.
She was missed Tuesday, especially down the stretch, as Long torched the Trojans for nine of her 11 points in the final minutes.
Where USC goes from here remains to be seen, but the schedule doesn’t get any easier, with four more matchups against ranked teams before January is up.
It took nearly four minutes for USC to find the basket to start the game, its offense picking up right where it left off Saturday in its sluggish loss to UCLA. The Trojans missed nine of their first 10 shots, unable to find any semblance of a rhythm.
Then finally, Malia Samuels hit a corner three. Jones sank a three-pointer of her own. Then Dunn got in the party.
USC exhaled — and proceeded to finish the first quarter on a 16-0 run.
The defense did most of the heavy lifting from there, holding Oregon at arm’s length until the fourth quarter, when the Ducks flew out in front, dealing the Trojans another loss.
Andrei Kuzmenko had a goal and an assist, and the Kings held on to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 on Monday night.
Warren Foegele, Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe also scored, and Darcy Kuemper stopped 33 shots for the Kings, who beat the Wild for the second time in three nights and got just their fourth win in 12 games (4-6-2).
Jared Spurgeon had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Hartman also scored for Minnesota, which snapped a six-game point streak (3-0-3). and Filip Gustavsson had 29 saves.
The Wild are 3-1-2 on a seven-game road trip that ends Thursday at Seattle. They also lost at Los Angeles 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday night.
Kings center Anze Kopitar left the game after playing 4:54 in the first period. The Kings later ruled him out for the rest of the game because of a lower-body injury.
The Kings had 16-8 advantage on shots on goal in the second period and scored twice to take a 2-0 lead. Minnesota had two power plays in the period, but managed just one shot during the advantages.
Foegele gave the Kings a 1-0 lead with a long shot from just inside the blue line with 4:26 left in the second period.
Fiala doubled the Kings’ lead with 2:08 to go in the middle period. Kuzmenko’s pass deflected off Fiala’s skate on the left doorstep and past Gustavsson for Fiala’s 15th of the season.
Spurgeon got the Wild on the scoreboard at 5:55 of the third period with a shot from the left point through traffic to spoiled Kuemper’s bid for his third shutout of the season.
Kuzmenko restored the Kings’ two-goal lead at 9:20 as he skated with the puck from the left side across the front of the net and put the puck past Gustavsson from the right side.
Hartman pulled the Wild to 3-2 with a power-play goal with 4:39 remaining, but Kempe sealed the Kings’ win with an empty-netter three minutes later..
Up next for the Kings: vs. San Jose on Wednesday night to finish a four-game homestand.
WASHINGTON — Justin Sourdif scored his first NHL hat trick and added two assists and the Washington Capitals beat the Ducks 7-4 on Monday night.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Ryan Leonard had a goal and an assist, John Carlson also scored and Connor McMichael had four assists for the Capitals, who ended a two-game slide. Charlie Lindgren made 41 saves in the win.
Kreider opened the scoring just 6:33 into the first period, ending a 15-game goal drought.
Sourdif evened the score, firing home a drop pass from Connor McMichael in the slot. Three minutes later, the rookie struck again, beating Mrazek glove side to give Washington (22-15-6) a 2-1 lead going into the second.
Sourdif picked up where he left off, finding Ryan Leonard, who banked in a shot off Mrazek to make it 3-1. Just 1:36 later, Leonard returned the favor, setting up Sourdif for a tap-in for his third goal of the game. Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought.
Sourdif is the ninth rookie in franchise history to get a hat trick and the first since Jan. 13, 2006, when Ovechkin did it at Anaheim.
The Ducks (21-18-3) had a furious rally in the third, outshooting Washington 17-5.
The Capitals were without Tom Wilson, who was named to Canada’s Olympic roster on Wednesday, and Aliaksei Protas, who are listed as day to day.
It wasn’t an accident that the Lakers’ first play went to Deandre Ayton. Or that the star big man got the first shot of the third. Or that teammates fed him for back-to-back dunks to help spark a run of five consecutive scoring possessions early in the second half.
After Ayton finished last Friday’s win on the bench, the 7-foot center bounced back with 15 points and eight rebounds against the Grizzlies on Sunday as the Lakers made a point to involve the big man early.
Ayton scored just four points with six rebounds during Friday’s win and watched a tight fourth quarter from the bench because, as coach JJ Redick said, backup Jaxson Hayes “was playing better.” Redick said Saturday that Ayton was “frustrated” he wasn’t getting the ball more in recent games, and his disillusionment showed up on the court.
“It’s a tale as old as time for a big guy,” Redick said after Sunday’s game. “That’s the reality of being a big: someone has to pass you the ball. You’re not initiating the offense.”
Redick said the team identified moments where teammates could have been better at finding the former No. 1 overall pick. There were also other times when Ayton could have been more active on his own. Redick said he mostly wanted to see Ayton being active, engaged and assertive in the game.
Ayton responded by converting six of his eight shots Sunday and helping the team lock down on defense in the fourth. The Lakers clawed back from an 11-point deficit late in the third and held the Grizzlies (15-19) to just 16 points in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter. Ayton had two blocks in the fourth quarter.
“We’re winning the right way,” Ayton said. “Bigs can’t feed themselves and I just try my best to do what I can to bring effort. And I trust my playmakers out there to find me.”
The Lakers had 30 assists on 38 made shots, their highest percentage of assisted field goals of the season.
This is what the Lakers imagined when they nearly broke the NBA with the trade that brought Luka Doncic to L.A.
Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 or more points in a game for just the third time as teammates Friday to help the Lakers hold off the Memphis Grizzlies 128-121 at Crypto.com Arena. Doncic led the way with 34 points, using 17-for-20 shooting from the free-throw line to maintain his NBA-leading scoring average, while James had 31 points on 12-for-18 shooting with nine rebounds and six assists.
The Lakers (21-11) needed 41-year-old James to be at his best. They squandered 13- and 15-point leads in the first and second quarters, respectively, but pieced together a timely 12-2 run in the fourth to improve their record in clutch games to 11-0.
“It felt like nearly every time we needed a bucket, he just kind of willed [it],” coach JJ Redick said of James, “whether it was driving the basketball, getting to the paint, getting to 2 feet, and he was just phenomenal tonight.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
Jake LaRavia stars in his role
Laker Jake LaRavia celebrates making a three-pointer against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
James and Doncic led the way, but another player set the strongest tone for the night.
“Obviously it started with Jake,” James said.
Jake LaRavia, in the starting lineup for the injured Rui Hachimura (calf), delivered the necessary spark of energy on defense while also getting his shot going early to add a scoring punch. LaRavia scored 21 points, hitting three of six three-point attempts, with nine rebounds, two steals and a block.
“When I just talk about roles and the amount of hats that I can wear with this team, some nights, this is what happens,” LaRavia said. “Other nights I’m that defender, connector, crasher, like all that kind of stuff. So just continuing to play confidently throughout but also understanding what my role is going to be each game.”
The Lakers coveted the 6-foot-7, 24-year-old forward during the offseason for his versatility on defense and three-point shooting. He hit his first three-point shot Friday then nailed a midrange jumper 28 seconds later. He had 11 points in the first quarter and 18 in the first half.
LaRavia knew almost instantly it finally could be his night again.
LaRavia hadn’t scored 20 points in a game since Nov. 2 as his playing time has fluctuated with the Lakers’ ever-changing injury report. He also is shooting a career-low 30.9% from three after shooting 42.3% from long distance last season.
But LaRavia asked teammates to maintain their confidence in him as he worked with assistant coach Beau Levesque to fine-tune his shot.
“He says, ‘Control the input and the output is going to show for itself,’” LaRavia said of the coach. “So that’s kind of what I’m doing right now. I’m just working on my shot, starting with the basics again, and just kind of going from there. And, you know, hopefully I can find my rhythm again. And tonight was just the start.”
Friday was LaRavia’s first game with three three-pointers since Oct. 29 when he made five of six against the Minnesota Timberwolves, prompting the viral moment of fans shouting “Who is No. 12?”
Jaxson Hayes gets the closing nod
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes yells as he dunks in front of Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and center Jock Landale during the fourth quarter at Crypto.com Arena on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Last year Jaxson Hayes watched the Lakers’ season end from the bench after he fell out of the playoff rotation in the first round against Minnesota. The 7-foot center started the first four playoff games but never played more than 10 minutes in each as his role dwindled to not playing at all in the decisive Game 5.
After the benching, Hayes said, he had something to prove this season. He made a loud statement Friday, earning the closing minutes over starter Deandre Ayton. Hayes played 11 minutes 9 seconds of the tight fourth quarter and finished with 12 points on five-for-six shooting.
Ayton had six rebounds and four points, and the Lakers were outscored by one during his almost 25 minutes compared with a plus-eight scoring margin during Hayes’ 23 minutes.
“He was playing better,” Redick said of the decision to play Hayes at the end.
Hayes has 25 points on 10-for-11 shooting in two games since returning from an ankle injury. Defensively, Hayes added two steals, two rebounds and a block Friday. He’s shooting a career-best 78% but does not qualify for the league’s official leaderboard with 64 makes on just 82 attempts.
Doncic praised Hayes for his improvement in the pick and roll, noting how the center is finding “the right pocket” while Doncic is handling the ball.
“His ability to control the paint for us has been huge,” said guard Marcus Smart, who flirted with a triple-double with 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. “… Just his ability to go get the ball at the highest point when we throw it and then defensively to alter shots, whether he’s blocking them or just changing shots for us, allows our defense to pick it up from our guards even more. To have that urgency that he brings, that’s huge.”
Dalton Knecht to get more playing time
Lakers forward Dalton Knecht extends to shoot the ball while being guarded by Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Caroline Brehman / Associated Press)
Diminished defense headlined the Lakers’ December struggles, but the offense also was out of sync during the Lakers’ 5-7 month. They were 18th in offensive rating and shot 33.9% from three-point range, which ranked 25th.
With several of the team’s top shooters injured, Redick is opening the door for second-year forward Dalton Knecht to work back into the rotation. Knecht will get “consistent” playing time the next few weeks, Redick said, and won’t be judged solely on his shooting percentage while he tries to stick in the lineup.
“Play hard,” Redick said before the game of what Knecht needs to do to stay in the lineup. “That’s been the biggest playing emphasis for him all season. He’s not going to be judged on whether he makes or misses shots. That helps. When you go through a stretch and you feel like your team isn’t playing hard, you got to play the guys that are consistently playing hard.”
Knecht was scoreless in almost 11 minutes against the Grizzlies, missing both three-point attempts and turning the ball over once.
Knecht is shooting 37.3% from three in his short NBA career but has struggled to stick in the lineup because of defensive lapses. He grabbed veteran Maxi Kleber’s minutes at the end of the rotation after not playing in the first half of a game since Dec. 23 against Phoenix, a blowout loss.
Kleber is shooting a team-worst 31% and 20% on threes.
The Lakers are digging into their bench while injuries pile up. Austin Reaves remains out at least three more weeks because of a calf strain. Forward Adou Thiero was diagnosed with a sprain of his right medial collateral ligament on New Year’s Eve and will be reevaluated in four weeks.
Guard Gabe Vincent is closing in on a return from a back injury that’s cost him seven games. He had a modified practice with some three-on-three work Saturday, and the Lakers hope he can be available for at least one of their upcoming road games against New Orleans on Tuesday and San Antonio on Wednesday.
Danila Yurov scored twice, Quinn Hughes had four assists and the Minnesota Wild beat the Ducks 5-2 on Friday night.
Kirill Kaprizov, Yakov Trenin and Nico Sturm also scored for the Wild, who earned a point for the fifth straight game (3-0-2). Filip Gustavsson stopped 26 shots.
Minnesota is 22-4-4 in its last 30 games, and 8-1-2 since acquiring Hughes, the 2024 Norris Trophy winner, in a blockbuster with Vancouver on Dec. 12.
Yurov put the game out of reach when he redirected Hughes’ shot past Dostal for a 4-1 lead 3:21 into the third. Sturm’s shot from the left circle made it 5-1 with 4:58 left.
Dostal made eight saves during a pair of penalty kills in the first seven minutes of the second, but he caught an unlucky break when the Wild scored on a double-deflection to take a 2-0 lead at the 8:10 mark.
Hughes, one of eight Minnesota players named to Winter Olympic teams Friday, sent a shot from the blue line that hit Trenin’s stick and Yurov’s right skate before trickling into the net.
The Ducks grabbed some momentum when Mason McTavish’s faceoff swipe from the left circle landed on the stick of Sennecke, whose snap shot beat Gustavsson stick-side to cut the lead to 2-1. Sennecke leads NHL rookies with 13 goals.
But Minnesota pushed it to 3-1 with 5:15 left in the second when Trenin took a pass from Hughes in the right circle and rifled a shot past Dostal.
Minnesota took advantage of Alex Killorn’s tripping penalty, needing only nine seconds to score on the power play for a 1-0 lead 5:39 into the first. Dostal blocked Hughes’ slap shot from the point, but Kaprizov banged a shot past Dostal after a scramble in front of the net for his 24th goal.
Up next for the Ducks: at Washington on Monday night.
Columbus was without defenseman Zach Werenski, who is day to day with a lower body injury sustained blocking a shot against the Ducks on Saturday. Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in goals, assists and points, and his 14 goals are tied with Washington’s Jakob Chychrun for most in the NHL by a defenseman.
However, newcomer Marchment made up for it, scoring twice in the first period, giving him three goals in two games since being acquired from Seattle on Friday. He opened the scoring 4:07 into the game with a wrist shot off Forsberg’s blocker, before making it 2-0 with 23.5 seconds remaining in the first period when Boone Jenner’s shot took a double deflection and went in off Marchment’s shoulder.
Kuzmenko got the Kings on the scoreboard with 1:19 remaining in the second, but Marchenko added a third power-play tally for the Blue Jackets with 5:46 remaining in the third. The three goals with the man-advantage were a season high, and it was the third time the Blue Jackets had multiple power-play goals.
The Kings were playing for the first time since trading third-line center Phillip Danault to Montreal on Friday, but newly promoted bottom six centers Alex Turcotte and Samuel Helenius struggled to make a consistent impact with frequent penalties creating a choppy game flow.
Up next for the Kings: vs. Seattle at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
Jordan Eberle scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and added an empty-netter in the final minute, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Ducks 3-1 on Monday night.
Frederick Gaudreau also scored and Kaapo Kakko had two assists for the Kraken. Philipp Grubauer stopped 39 shots.
Matty Beniers set up the go-ahead goal when he slid the puck past defender Radko Gudas and onto the stick of a wide-open Eberle, who snapped a shot from the left circle into the upper-right corner of the net for a 2-1 Kraken lead with 9:56 left.
Eberle then sealed the win with an empty-netter with 36 seconds remaining.
Grubauer had 16 saves in the second period and 15 in the third.
Seattle took a 1-0 lead 4:49 into the second when Gaudreau gathered the rebound of Shane Wright’s shot and flipped the puck into a near-open net for a power-play goal.
The Ducks tied it with 4:20 left in the second when Granlund battled Vince Dunn for position in the slot and redirected Jacob Trouba’s shot from above the right circle past Grubauer for his fourth goal in four games.
Granlund, who has missed 18 games because of injuries, has seven goals and four assists in his last 13 games.
The Ducks played without leading scorer Leo Carlsson, who missed his first game of the season because of a lower-body injury. Seattle played without top defenseman Brandon Montour, who underwent hand surgery Monday and will be out for four weeks. Montour was injured in last week’s fight against Colorado.
Linesman Ryan Gibbons departed with 53 seconds left in the first after tripping in front of the Seattle bench and hitting the back of his head on the ice. He did not return.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
Clipper Kris Dunn grabs Laker Maxi Kleber ‘s jersey in front of a ref Saturday at the Intuit Dome.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
The Lakers have been assessed five technical fouls in the last two games because of conduct with officials as frustration over inconsistent calls is starting to boil over. After Doncic, Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart were all given technical fouls in the third quarter of Thursday’s win over Utah, Doncic and Smart were T’ed up again Saturday in the first and third quarters, respectively.
“I think if any coach, any player, what we ask for is consistency,” Redick said. “And that’s not to single any official out or any crew out, it’s not about that. We need to know what it is night to night.”
Smart also drew a technical foul against Utah after attempting to talk to an official at halftime. When Smart walked away frustrated, he raised his middle finger toward the official, a gesture that got him fined $35,000 Saturday, the NBA announced.
“Sometimes you got to take the hit to get your point across,” Smart said Saturday.
Redick expressed additional frustration with the lack of transparency in the replay system and murky communication with officials. He said he has not received any feedback when he requests it and the distinction between plays that can and can’t be challenged appears to change every night.
The lack of communication has been frustrating for players as well, Smart said, who met with referees before the Utah game as a team captain, but still had his questions dismissed.
“The captain should be able to come talk to them,” Smart said. “They still don’t want to hear it. So control what you can control. They don’t want to talk, you know, you try and you move on. But it definitely is frustrating when you pour your heart out to this game and the feedback is literally waving you off, telling you to get out your face, and then giving you a tech because you’re asking a simple question.”
Mikael Granlund threaded a pass from the right circle to set up Mintyukov, and also scored. Jacob Trouba and Mason McTavish added goals to help the Ducks move back into first place in the Pacific Division.
Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal made 23 saves. He was pulled Friday night in an 8-3 loss to Dallas after he gave up four goals on seven shots in the first 14½ minutes.
Dmitri Voronkov, Mason Marchment and Zach Werenski scored for Columbus. Merzlikins made 24 saves.
Werenski tied it 3-3 with 7:16 left, taking a pass from Denton Mateychuk and snapping a shot from the left circle over Dostal’s right blocker. He has five goals in three games and 14 overall.
Werenski was injured when he blocked a shot with 2:11 left and struggled to get to the bench, the Blue Jackets taking a penalty for too many men on the ice that stifled any comeback hopes.
Columbus tied it 2-2 when Marchment, acquired from the Seattle Kraken on Friday, redirected a waist-high, blue-line shot from Damon Severson past Dostal 3:39 into the second.
The Ducks took a 3-2 lead when fourth-line winger Ross Johnston slipped a pass from behind the Columbus net to McTavish, who snapped a shot from the slot over Merzlikins’ right shoulder with 6:24 left in the second.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. Seattle at Honda Center on Monday night.
Dec. 20 (UPI) — Three officers with the Rochester (N.Y.) Police Department and another man were shot by an assailant, whom police tracked down and killed in a gunfight on Friday night.
The officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at 10:15 p.m. from a man who reported another man was trying to break into his girlfriend’s apartment and might be armed, USA Today reported.
The caller also said he was armed with a pistol and had a permit for it.
When the officers arrived at the woman’s home, they found the suspect on the side of the house.
“He immediately pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots from close range toward the officers and the victim, striking two officers,” Rochester Police Chief David Smith told media on Saturday morning.
The man who called the police engaged the suspect and exchanged gunfire, but was shot several times.
The suspect then fled the scene, but another police officer located him within minutes.
The suspect also shot that officer, but that officer and others who arrived at the scene shot and killed the suspect.
An officer who had been shot several times in the upper body was hospitalized in stable condition, while another who was shot in the upper body underwent surgery and is in stable but critical condition.
The third wounded officer was seriously injured but is in stable condition, while the man who called the police is hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds that are not life-threatening and is in serious condition.
None of the identities of those involved have been released, and an investigation into the matter is ongoing.
Jason Robertson had two goals and an assist and the Dallas Stars beat the Ducks 8-3 on Friday night for their third straight win.
Roope Hintz and Thomas Harley each had a goal and an assist, and Oskar Bäck, Sam Steel, Ilya Lybushkin and Adam Erne also scored for the Stars. who are an NHL-best 13-2-4 on the road. Mikko Rantanen and Miro Heiskanen each had two assists, and Casey DeSmith had 23 saves.
Ryan Poehling, Beckett Sennecke and Mikael Granlund scored for the Ducks, who have lost four of five. Lukas Dostal gave up four goals on seven shots before he was pulled with 5:41 left in the first period. Petr Mrazek came on and stopped 14 of the 18 shots he faced the rest of the way.
The Stars’ eight-goal output tied a season high, matching their 8-3 win at Edmonton on Nov. 25, and was the most the Ducks have given up this season.
Bäck gave the Stars a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded goal 2:37 into the game after the Ducks turned the puck over behind their net.
Poehling tied it 55 seconds later, scoring in close on the rebound of a point shot by Radko Gudas.
Hintz put Dallas back ahead at 4:42, getting a pass from Robertson in the slot, sliding backward and firing a shot past Dostal for his 11th.
Steel pushed the Stars’ lead to 3-1 with 7:19 left in the first, scoring past Dostal while crashing into the net and dislodging it. The goal was confirmed after a review.
Harley made it a three-goal lead 1:38 later as he got a pass from Rantanen and scored from the right circle.
Robertson scored in front on a power play with 8:50 remaining in the second, and then put a backhander past Mrazek from the right circle four minutes later to make it 6-1. It gave Robertson a team-leading 22 goals.
Erne made it a six-goal lead with 1:30 left in the middle period.
After Sennecke pulled the Ducks back within five 1:01 into the third, Lybushkin got his first of the season 41 seconds later to extend the Stars’ lead to 8-2. Granlund capped the scoring with 5:38 remaining.
SUNRISE, Fla. — Sam Bennett scored 10 seconds into the third period, Brad Marchand had two assists and the Florida Panthers beat the Kings 3-2 on Wednesday night to sweep the two-game season series.
Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida, which has won six of its last seven games. Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves for the Panthers, including a breakaway stop against the Kings’ Trevor Moore with just under five minutes left to preserve a one-goal lead.
Joel Armia and Kevin Fiala had the goals for the Kings, who fell to 0-2-2 in their last four contests. The four-game winless streak matches a season-long slide for the Kings, who were 0-2-2 from Oct. 11 through Oct. 18 as well.
Anton Forsberg stopped 25 shots for the Kings. Armia had the only goal in the first period, and Fiala made it 3-2 when a clearing attempt by Florida deflected off his shin and went past Tarasov with 15:12 left.
The Kings had a chance in the final minutes to tie the game, after Florida’s Anton Lundell was called for high-sticking with 3:05 left. The Kings managed only one shot on the ensuing power play — about half of which was with a two-man advantage after Forsberg was pulled for an extra attacker — and the Panthers held on from there.
Bennett’s goal that gave Florida a 3-1 lead tied for the third-fastest to start any period this season.
Kirill Marchenko scored for Columbus seven seconds into a second period against Minnesota on Oct. 11; Jackson LaCombe scored for the Ducks nine seconds into a second period against Vancouver on Nov. 26; and Connor McDavid scored for Edmonton 10 seconds into a third period against Buffalo on Dec. 9.
Up next
Kings: Visit Tampa Bay on Thursday night. Panthers: Host Carolina on Friday night.
NEW YORK — Cutter Gauthier scored the go-ahead goal six minutes into the third period and got his second on an empty-netter, Lukas Dostal stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced, and the Ducks beat the New York Rangers 4-1 on Monday night to end a two-game losing streak.
Gauthier’s first goal with one second left on a power play came off a perfectly placed pass from rookie Beckett Sennecke. Igor Shesterkin barely had a chance to react.
Defenseman Jackson LaCombe scored Anaheim’s first goal shorthanded in the second period, putting home a rebound after Jacob Trouba sprung Ryan Poehling up the ice late in the Rangers’ five-on-three power play. Dostal was brilliant at the other end of the rink, at one point making a toe save on J.T. Miller and sliding over to deny Vladislav Gavrikov immediately after.
The Ducks got a goal in the final seconds from Pavel Mintyukov and celebrated with Trouba and veteran forward Chris Kreider, who returned to play at Madison Square Garden for the first time since the Rangers sent them to Southern California in separate trades. Kreider and Trouba each waved to the crowd after tribute videos during timeouts in the first while fans applauded.
Matthew Robertson scored the only goal for the Rangers, who have lost 12 of 16 games at home. The shot from Robinson deflected off Frank Vatrano’s stick and popped into the air before going in off Dostal’s.
New York Rangers fans welcome Ducks forward Chris Kreider back to Madison Square Garden before the start of the Ducks’ 4-1 win on Monday night.
(Noah K. Murray / Associated Press)
New York was without center Mika Zibanejad, whom coach Mike Sullivan scratched for breaking a team rule by missing a meeting. Big winger Matt Rempe took Zibanejad’s spot in the lineup, back after he missed 24 games since getting injured in a fight Oct. 23.
Up next for the Ducks: Wrap up their five-game Eastern Conference trip Tuesday at Columbus.
