Update on the latest sports
NHL-SCHEDULE
Capitals beat Devils 5-2
UNDATED (AP) — Garnet Hathaway and Daniel Sprong scored in the opening 5:06 and the streaking Washington Capitals built a big lead and held off the slumping New Jersey Devils 5-2.
Lars Eller added the third goal in the big first period and Jabub Vrana gave the Capitals breathing room with a third-period breakaway tally. Rookie Vitek Vanecek (VEE’-thk VAN’-eh-chehk) had 22 saves in his ninth win.
Nico Hischier and Pavel Zacha (ZAH’-kah) each scored for the second consecutive game for New Jersey, which has lost four of five. Mackenzie Blackwood had 19 saves.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Brian Elliott stopped 23 shots as the Philadelphia Flyers shut out the Buffalo Sabres, 3-0. The Flyers were spurred by a replenished lineup in which four players returned after spending two weeks in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. They included Scott Laughton, who scored a breakaway goal to make it 3-0 late in the second period. Sean Couturier (koo-TOOR’-ee-ay) had a goal and assist to extend his points streak to five games. Shayne Gostisbehere (GAHS’-tihs-behr) also scored. Philadelphia improved to 3-2-2 in its past seven.
— The Calgary Flames used a balanced scoring attack, getting goals from six players in a 6-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Juuso Valimaki, Mikael Backlund, Elias (eh-LEE’-uhs) Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Andrew Mangiapane (mahn-juh-PAN’-ee) and Matthew Tkachuk (kah-CHUHK’) scored for the Flames, who ended Ottawa’s three-game win streak. Drake Batherson, Colin White and Brady Tkachuk replied for the last-place Senators. The Flames opened the scoring four minutes into the game and didn’t look back.
NHL-MAPLE LEAFS-MATTHEWS OUT
Leafs’ Auston Matthews to miss Oilers game with sore wrist
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews is out for Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers because of a sore wrist.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe announced the decision before the start of a three-game series between these teams. Matthews has 18 goals and 13 assists in 20 games this year and has been dealing with the wrist injury much of the way.
Toronto, however, will have three players back in the lineup after recovering from injuries — forward Joe Thornton, defenseman Jake Muzzin and goalie Jack Campbell.
The Leafs lead the all-Canadian North Division, with the Oilers four points back.
T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
No. 3 Michigan continues to roll with 73-57 win at Indiana
UNDATED (AP) — Franz Wagner matched his season high with 21 points and Isaiah Livers added 16 to help No. 3 Michigan pull away for a 73-57 victory at Indiana.
The Wolverines took another major step toward the league title by winning their seventh straight, improving to 5-0 since resuming play following a COVID-19 pause, and capturing their third straight victory in Bloomington. They’ve won nine straight in the series since their last loss in February 2016.
Aljami Durham led Indiana with 15 points and Race Thompson finished with 11 points and six rebounds. The Hoosiers have lost three in a row and four of their last five as they fight for an NCAA Tournament spot.
In other top 25 games:
— Mac McClung had 16 points to lead five Texas Tech players scoring in double figures and the No. 18 Red Raiders snapped a three-game losing streak with a 68-59 victory over No. 14 Texas. The game was tied at halftime before Texas Tech went ahead to stay when six different players scored in a 19-6 run to open the second half. That spurt came over a nearly nine-minute span when the Longhorns got all their points on free throws while missing 11 shots in a row. Jericho Sims led Texas with 11 points.
— Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 23 points and had seven rebounds to lead Auburn to a 77-72 victory over No. 25 Tennessee. The Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak without freshman point guard Sharife Cooper, out for the second straight game with a left ankle injury. They had five players score in double figures against the Volunteers, a one-time Top 10 team that made a late charge led by freshmen Keon Johnson and Jared Springer. Devan Cambridge scored 15 and Jamal Johnson 14 for Auburn. Johnson led the Volunteers with 23 and Springer added 20.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NEWS
No. 9 Iowa loses forward Nunge to season-ending knee injury
UNDATED (AP) — Iowa forward Jack Nunge will miss the remainder of the season after injuring his right knee in the ninth-ranked Hawkeyes’ loss at No. 3 Michigan last Thursday. School officials say the 6-foot-11 sophomore has a torn meniscus and is expected to undergo surgery next week.
Nunge was averaging 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. This marks the second time Nunge suffered a season-ending knee injury in just over a year. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee in 2019.
In other college basketball news:
— Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Temple and Central Florida has been canceled because of COVID-19 cases within the Temple program. The American Athletic Conference says the game at Orlando will not be made up. Temple is 5-10 and has lost six of its last seven games. UCF is 8-11 and won four of its last six. The league tournament starts March 11 in Fort Worth, Texas.
HALF-DOME-SKIERS
2 skiers defy death in descent of Yosemite’s Half Dome
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Two men have navigated down the precipitous shoulder of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and alternately skied and rappelled back to the valley floor in an unusually daring feat.
Jason Torlano and Zach Milligan completed the descent in five hours on Sunday. They said they carefully carved their way in crusty snow and used ropes to rappel several sections of bare rock known as the “death slabs” beneath the iconic face of Half Dome.
Professional skiers say there’s no margin for error, and a small misstep could lead to death.
Snowboarder Jim Zellers is believed to be the first to descend the 800-foot upper section on the shoulder of the dome in 2000. But no one is known to have attempted the entire 4,800-foot descent from peak to valley.
Torlano said he had been dreaming about skiing the dome since his family moved to Yosemite when he was 5 years old.
