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The Columbus Blue Jackets will try to make it two straight wins when they visit the Capitals in Washington on Saturday night. The Blue Jackets snapped a four-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Columbus fell behind 2-1 in the second period against the Lightning but responded with three unanswered in the third to win for the first time since Oct. 21. “To come back the way we did

The Edmonton Oilers are searching for any positives they can find heading into their matchup against the visiting Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon. After reaching the Western Conference finals last spring and entering this fall full of optimism they could take it all the way, the Oilers have lost seven of their first nine games (2-6-1). “It’s not the start anybody wanted. There’s lots of expectations on this group,” Edmonton forward Sam Gagner said after

A terrible third period in Columbus has put the Tampa Bay Lightning in a sour mood to start their four-game road trip. After surrendering a trio of third-period goals against the Blue Jackets in Thursday’s 4-2 loss, the Lightning visit Canada’s capital to face the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. Coach Jon Cooper and the Lightning intend to leave the baggage from Thursday’s disaster at customs. Nursing a 2-1 lead in the third period, Cooper’s

The Boston Bruins emerged victorious against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday as part of their franchise-record, season-opening point streak. They’ll look for a repeat this Saturday when they visit the Red Wings. Boston posted a 4-1 home win over the Red Wings, then won in overtime against Florida on Monday and via a shootout versus Toronto on Thursday. The Bruins are now 9-0-1, their best start in franchise history. “It’s such a fun group

South Carolina wants to make the leap during the second season of the Lamont Paris era. The first opportunity to take a step forward comes Monday with a clash versus South Carolina Upstate in Columbia, S.C., in the opener for both teams. Paris replaced long-time coach Frank Martin and guided the Gamecocks to an 11-21 overall record (4-14 in the Southeastern Conference) last season, which served as a 12th-place finish in a 14-team league. South

Unless you have access to “one-and-done” players, you win in college basketball by getting old. Stanford coach Jerod Haase can finally make that claim about the Cardinal this season, which is why they’re optimistic heading into Monday night’s season opener against Cal State Northridge in Palo Alto, Calif. Stanford returns three starters from a 14-19 team that when it played its best last year, could beat anyone, as displayed in a late-season upset of Arizona.

Managing expectations will be at the forefront Saturday when the Houston Rockets play host to the Sacramento Kings. After finishing with the third-best record in the Western Conference last season, while snapping a playoff drought that covered 16 seasons, the Sacramento Kings have not opened this campaign like a house ablaze. The Kings led the NBA in offensive rating a year ago at 118.6 but have slipped to eighth thus far in the early stages

It won’t make up for what happened in the 2023 playoffs, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are riding high into Saturday’s game in Minneapolis against the Utah Jazz after picking up a big victory in their most recent performance. On Wednesday, the Timberwolves handed the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets their first loss of the 2023-24 season with a 110-89 blowout victory at home. Anthony Edwards scored 24 points for Minnesota, Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 21 points

The Atlanta Hawks have been on a roll over their last three games. After losing their first two games of the season, they have averaged 128 points in comfortable wins against Milwaukee, Minnesota and Washington. They’ll seek a fourth straight win when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. “The sky was not falling when we lost our first two,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said, “and we don’t need to congratulate ourselves for

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey is reaping the benefits of James Harden’s absence. Maxey has emerged as one of the league’s most promising young talents, and he will look to keep up his high level of play on Saturday afternoon when Philadelphia faces the visiting Phoenix Suns. With Harden holding out for a trade, Maxey stepped into a starting role, excelling right out of the gate. He averaged 30.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.3