DENVER (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon added two assists to break the franchise’s single-season points mark and the Colorado Avalanche cruised into the playoffs behind a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. MacKinnon wrapped up the regular season with 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) to top Peter Stastny’s franchise record of 139 set in 1981-82 when the club was in Quebec. The speedy MacKinnon couldn’t catch Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov in the race for the
CALGARY — Blake Coleman scored his 30th goal and MacKenzie Weegar got his 20th as the Calgary Flames set multiple personal milestones in a season-ending 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. Adam Klapka, with his first NHL goal, Oliver Kylington, and Kevin Rooney also scored for Calgary (38-39-5). The Flames finished 25th overall in missing the post-season for the second year in a row. Dustin Wolf, who lost his bid for his first NHL shutout with nine seconds left in the game, h
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson exited Thursday night’s start against the San Francisco Giants with a bruised pitching elbow after getting hit by a line drive in the second inning. The ball left Mike Yastrzemski's bat at 87 mph. Nelson recovered to field the ball and throw out Yastrzemski at first base, ending the inning. But the pitcher grimaced and held his right forearm as he walked back to the dugout. The 26-year-old Nelson threw 27 pitches, allowing two hi