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 shutout Buffalo for a 3-0 win. Four Flyers’ players were back in action after spending two weeks in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol including 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.
— Mattias Ekholm scored a pair of second-period goals for his 200th career point to lead the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Juuse Saros made 29 saves for Nashville, a winner of three of four games. Cam Atkinson scored the lone goal Saturday and Joonas Korpisalo made 31 saves for Columbus, loser of four straight. This was the first multi-goal game of Ekholm’s 551-game NHL career.
NHL-NEWS-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:
— Kofi Cockburn scored 19 points and No. 5 Illinois topped No. 23 Wisconsin 74-69, completing its first sweep of the regular-season series since 2005. Wisconsin’s D’Mitrik Trice scored 19 points in the final 2:12. Wisconsin trailed by 13 with less than three minutes left but got within one on Trice’s 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining. Trice finished with 29 points. Illinois played without All-American candidate Ayo Dosunmu, who missed a second straight game after breaking his nose during a loss at Michigan State.
— Freshman star Cade Cunningham scored 10 of his season-high 40 points in overtime and Oklahoma State defeated No. 7 Oklahoma 94-90. The Cowboys have won four straight. De’Vion Harmon matched a career high with 23 points and Austin Reaves had 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Oklahoma. The teams will meet again on Monday at Oklahoma State.
— 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.
— Keve Aluma scored 23 points, Tyrece Radford had 15 and No. 16 Virginia Tech pounded Wake Forest 84-46. Virginia Tech recorded its largest margin of victory for an Atlantic Coast Conference game. The previous record for the Hokies was a 94-65 win over Wake Forest in 2011.
— 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 and had five players score in double figures against the Volunteers.
— Justin Smith had 19 points and 10 rebounds, helping No. 20 Arkansas beat Cameron Thomas and LSU 83-75. The Razorbacks had four players score in double figures in their sixth straight win. Thomas, the No. 4 scorer in the nation, scored 25 points, shooting 11 of 19 from the field.
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.
MLB-NEWS
LeMahieu, Yankees looking forward to fans in stands again
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — DJ LeMahieu and the New York Yankees are happy there will be a little bit of baseball normalcy when spring training games begin on Sunday. That means fans in the stands when the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays at Steinbrenner Field.
Due to restrictions brought about by the coronavirus, it will be the first time fans will see the Yankees play in-person since a spring training game last March 12.
The limited crowd due to safety protocols for the game is expected to be around 2,800 in the ballpark that has a capacity of over 10,000.
GOLF-LPGA TOUR
Nelly Korda leads LPGA as Sorenstam falls to bottom of pack
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) —Nelly Korda is one shot ahead going into the final round of the Gainbridge LPGA. Annika Sorenstam had a tough day and sank to the bottom of the pack.
Korda is trying to join older sister Jessica Korda as winners this year. She shot a 68 and leads by one over Patty Tavatanakit. The former UCLA star birdied her last three holes for a 66.
Also in the mix are world No. 1 Jin Young Ko and Lydia Ko.
Sorenstam is making a one-time appearance on her home course of Lake Nona. She shot 79 and was in last place.
