Yahoo SportsPaul George with a buzzer beater vs the New Orleans Pelicans
Paul George (LA Clippers) with a buzzer beater vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 01/13/2021
Paul George (LA Clippers) with a buzzer beater vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 01/13/2021
The Jets and Blue Jackets have pulled off a blockbuster trade involving two potential superstars.
Kyrie Irving still believes the Nets are one of the best teams in the NBA.
As McGregor vows to finish Poirier in 60 seconds and to produce “a masterpiece” in their rematch, White’s working on the next mega-event.
Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse disagreed with the idea that his team is a veteran squad. He also discusses how disappointed he was with his team’s effort last game and why it’s important to show up for every game in the NBA.
Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski, ranked 10th in the world in women's doubles, is in full isolation in Melbourne.
The basic facts of Evander Kane's money troubles are laid bare on page 16 of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy claim filed in the Northern District of California on Jan. 9. Total debts owed by the San Jose Sharks veteran: $26.8 million. Total assets: $10.2 million, most of it in the value of three houses — two in Vancouver and one in San Jose. What's less plain to see is how the 29-year-old arrived at this financial breaking point, a dozen years into a professional hockey career that has to date earned him $53 million. Part of the answer may lie a little deeper in the 73 page document, in the section where the filer has to list losses sustained in the previous one year due to theft, fire, disaster or gambling. There is a single entry: $1.5 million lost because of "gambling at casino and via bookie (sports betting)." It's not the first time Kane's gambling has received a public airing. In 2019, he was sued for half a million dollars by The Cosmopolitan, a casino in Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, court documents stated he owed the casino for eight credits or "markers" in amounts between $20,000 and $100,000 taken out on or about April 15, 2019. The date coincided with the Sharks playing the Golden Knights in Las Vegas during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Cosmopolitan dropped the lawsuit in 2020, likely due to an out-of-court settlement. But the Chapter 7 filing suggests gambling may be a problem for the East Vancouver native. And he'd hardly be an isolated case, says Declan Hill, University of New Haven professor of investigations specializing in sports, gambling and organized crime. "This is the tip of an iceberg," said Hill. "There is a silent epidemic of gambling-related addiction issues among professional athletes." Athletes suck at gambling Research has shown athletes can be more susceptible to gambling problems. Simply, the qualities that make someone excel in sport are the same ones that make them suck at gambling, said Hill. "They're dedicated, they're focused, they never give up. They're always chasing because they can overturn a deficit ... going into the last minute or third period," he said. There's also a dynamic between the casinos or bookmakers who are happy to supply action to young, confident men with money in search of an outlet to their high pressure job. And unlike other addictions, said Hill, gambling problems aren't easy to spot. "If a top athlete becomes addicted to cocaine or alcohol, you are going to know. You're going to be able to see physically quite quickly that the athlete is just not as good as they should be," said Hill. "Become an addict to gambling, and there's no physical sign. The only symptom is the bank account." Player assistance program NHL players can seek help through the player assistance program, run jointly by the NHL Players' Association and National Hockey League. A 1-800 number is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week allowing players to connect confidentially to targeted counselling for things like gambling addiction and substance abuse. According to NHLPA spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon, program doctors also meet with each team every season to give an overview of the service, including discussions about gambling addiction. "Per the [Collective Bargaining Agreement] NHL players are not able to bet on NHL games," said Weatherdon. Kane's bankruptcy filing lists 47 creditors including banks, credit card companies, the IRS, lawyers, his agency and a number of individuals who appear to have extended personal loans. Generally, in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the filer's non-exempt assets are liquidated and the proceeds used to pay creditors. Kane's filing asks the three houses and other personal property be exempted. It also lists seven dependents: his newborn daughter, his parents, a grandmother, two uncles and a sister. The filing also says he could opt out of his contract at some point this season because of COVID-19 concerns, affecting his salary. Whatever the final result, most of his creditors will likely receive pennies on the dollar, if anything at all. The news is much better for Kane himself. Once his debts are discharged he gets a fresh financial start and some breathing room, one would assume, to move on with what's been a life-changing year in other, more positive ways. He became a father for the first time in the summer. And in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder and the rise of Black Lives Matter, he became a central figure in calling out racial injustice in hockey and is now co-head of the Hockey Diversity Alliance. And his hockey career is far from over, with four-plus years remaining on the seven year, $49 million contract signed with the Sharks in 2018. As pro sports and governments rush to increase their revenue base through expanded gaming, Hill says it's important that people understand a basic truth about gambling. "To be a successful gambler is very, very difficult and the only people who really do it well are emotionless math geeks," he said. "Everyone else should leave it well alone."
Raptors centre Chris Boucher is putting up some extraordinary offensive numbers, reminiscent of Pascal Siakam's breakout 2018-19 season.
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Islanders broadcaster Brendan Burke explains what the voice of hockey in the United States, Doc Emrick, has meant to him and his career.
Shaq's awkward interview with Donovan Mitchell has been criticized by many.
WASHINGTON — The shorthanded Washington Wizards signed free agent centres Alex Len and Jordan Bell on Saturday, trying to fill out a roster decimated by COVID-19 and injuries. The Wizards have scrapped six games since a win over Phoenix on Jan. 11 made them 3-8. They’re scheduled to play Sunday at San Antonio. Six Washington players have tested positive for the coronavirus and three other players were sidelined after contact tracing determined they might have been exposed to the illness. Starting centre Thomas Bryant is out for the season with an injured left knee and point guard Russell Westbrook is still dealing with a left quadriceps injury. The 7-foot Len averaged 7.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in 474 games over eight seasons with Phoenix, Atlanta, Sacramento and Toronto. He played seven games for the Raptors this season. The 27-year-old from Ukraine played at Maryland before he was the fifth overall pick by Phoenix in the 2013 draft. The 6-8 Bell averaged 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 154 games over three seasons with Golden State, Minnesota and Memphis. The 26-year-old hadn’t played in the NBA this season. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
Reece Howden is accustomed to leading ski cross competitions but on Saturday employed a different strategy, purposely sitting back before waiting for a break on the way to a second World Cup victory in 33 days. The 22-year-old from Cultus Lake, B.C., settled in the middle of the pack for much of the big finals until the final turn on the full-length course in Idre Fjall, Sweden. "The plan was to not come out in front, the draft was too strong," he told Alpine Canada. "I wanted to chill in the middle of the pack and give my legs a bit of a break and once I made that last turn fire up those engines and get out in front," said Howden, who sits atop the season rankings. "Today was a day of racing, not a day of leading, so I was super happy with my execution and it couldn't have gone any better." WATCH | Reece Howden earns his 3rd World Cup medal: Howden captured silver and the next day gold in late December in Val Thorens, France. He has been able to devote more time to skiing this season after graduating from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in the spring. Howden's teammate, veteran ski cross racer Chris Del Bosco of Montreal, was third in the small finals on Saturday and seventh overall for his best finish since 2018. "It's been a while since I've been back in the small finals," said Del Bosco, who ruptured his Achilles last summer. "It felt really good to get the monkey off my back. I made a few small mistakes in that last round, but I am heading in the right direction." Hoffos, Thompson inside top 10 Ottawa's Jared Schmidt delivered a career-best 29th-place finish while Brady Leman (27th), Kris Mahler (32nd) and Carson Cook (48th) rounded out the Canadian contingent. In the women's event, Tiana Gairns of Prince George, B.C., placed a career-best fifth, followed by Courtney Hoffos (Invermere, B.C.) and Marielle Thompson (Whistler, B.C.) in sixth and eighth, respectively. "Idre is interesting since it's such a long track with such a long straight section that you don't want to pass at the beginning," Gairns said. Added Hoffos: "You almost want to be patient and hold your composure in fourth place so you can boost ahead of everyone at the last second." Zoe Chore (16th) and Hannah Schmidt (17th) were the other Canadian competitors. The men and women return to the Swedish course on Sunday at 6 a.m. ET.
BetMGM is offering a special promo for Saturday night's MMA fights.
SOUTHAMPTON, England — Defending-champion Arsenal was eliminated from FA Cup competition following a 1-0 fourth-round loss Satuday to Southampton. Adding insult to injury was the defeat came the result of Gabriel's own goal. His decision to try to block a shot from Kyle Walker-Peters proved costly for Arsenal. Right-back Walker-Peters was allowed plenty of space to overlap the Arsenal defence, but his shot looked to be heading narrowly wide of the far post before Gabriel's failed attempt deflected the ball off the post and in. It was the first goal Arsenal had conceded since Dec. 26 after five consecutive shutouts. "I’m very disappointed because we wanted to continue in the competition, we had a dream to do it again like last year and the dream today is over,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. "I am as well disappointed with the way we conceded the goal in an area where we know we shouldn’t be doing that. "At the same time, I cannot fault the effort of the players, how they tried and how they went to get a goal in the second half.” Arsenal has won the FA Cup a record 14 times and Arteta before kickoff called it “our favourite competition.” Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored both of the team's goals in the 2-1 win over Chelsea in last year's final, but he wasn't available Saturday due to what Arteta called “a personal matter.” Arteta said he couldn't yet predict when Aubameyang might return. Southampton moves on to a fifth-round game away at Wolverhampton, which beat sixth-tier Chorley on Friday. Premier League clubs Manchester City, Brighton, West Ham and Sheffield United are all in action later Saturday against lower-league teams. There is also a rescheduled Premier League game between Aston Villa and Newcastle. ___ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
Columbus and Winnipeg hooked up for a blockbuster NHL trade Saturday, with the Blue Jackets dealing Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third-round draft pick to the Jets for fellow forwards Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, who signed a two-year, $3.8-million US deal with his new team. The 22-year-old Dubois, who requested a trade earlier this season, had a goal in five games and reportedly would have been a healthy scratch for Saturday's afternoon game against Tampa Bay. He probably hastened the move by loafing in the first period of Thursday's loss to Tampa Bay. Head coach John Tortorella benched him for the rest of the game but on Friday he and Dubois tried to downplay their growing rift. The Blue Jackets' No. 1 centre, Dubois made it clear when he signed a two-year contract at the end of December he wanted a change of scenery. The native of Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., topped Columbus in points (49) and assists (31) last season before recording a team-high four goals and 10 points in 10 playoff games. Dubois had a career season in 2018-19, his second as a Blue Jacket, with career-best 27 goals, 61 points and plus-16 rating in 82 regular-season contests. Drafted third overall in 2016, he has 66 goals and 159 points in 239 NHL regular-season games. His father, Eric, is an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose, the Jets' American Hockey League affiliate. Laine day-to-day with upper-body injury "Strengthening our lineup offensively has been a priority for us and the additions of Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic accomplish just that," Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement. "Patrik is a player we know very well and in a short time has become one of our league's most proficient goal scorers. Jack is an exciting young player with great potential and we're thrilled to bring him home to Columbus as a Blue Jacket." Laine, 22, scored two goals and three points in Winnipeg's season-opening 4-3 overtime win over Calgary but has sat out the past three games due to an upper-body injury. On Friday, he was placed on injured reserve and is considered day-to-day. In a news release, the Jets stated they would retain 26 per cent of Laine's reported $7.5 million salary for this season. The Finnish winger has scored 36, 44, 30 and 28 goals in each of his four NHL seasons but has grown into a better all-around player in the process. Roslovic, 23, is returning to his native Columbus after posting 12 goals and 29 points — both career highs — in 71 games last season. Winnipeg was unable to sign the restricted free agent, who has 26 goals and 67 points in 180 contests since being selected 25th overall in the 2015 NHL draft.
Dana White offered a blunt prediction for the upcoming exhibition between Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather.
WOLVERHAMPTON, England — Wolverhampton has signed Brazilian striker Willian José on loan from Spanish club Real Sociedad until the end of the season, the Premier League club said Saturday. The loan signing adds depth to the Wolves squad after forward Raúl Jiménez suffered a fractured skull against Arsenal on Nov. 29. Wolves said the deal remains subject to Willian José being granted a work permit and international clearance, and that it includes an option to buy at the end of the season. Wolves said he is unlikely to be available for the team's next game against Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday. Willian José has scored 62 goals in 170 games for Real Sociedad but scored only three times in 13 games in La Liga this season. He scored twice in his last game for the Spanish club in a 2-0 win over Cordoba in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were coming off an AFC championship heartbreak against the New England Patriots that rested largely on the shoulders of their defence, which couldn't stop Tom Brady and Co. in overtime. Not enough talent? Maybe. Not enough playmakers? Absolutely. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid knew they needed to rectify the problem or risk squandering the best years of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. So they hired Steve Spagnuolo to co-ordinate the defence, traded for elite pass rusher Frank Clark, drafted wisely and — perhaps most importantly — outbid the Texans for safety Tyrann Mathieu. The Honey Badger has made that $42 million, three-year deal look like a bargain. After helping the Chiefs win their first Super Bowl in five decades last season, Mathieu has followed up with what can only be described as the best season of his career. He has seven interceptions, including one in last week's divisional-round win over Cleveland, and has become the biggest playmaker on a defence that suddenly seems underappreciated. “He's a great player,” said Bills coach Sean McDermott, whose team offence gets the next crack at the Honey Badger in the AFC championship game Sunday. “Watched his career unfold at LSU and the different places he's been — he brings a lot of energy and juice to their team, and their defence in this case.” The numbers alone are impressive. Mathieu has picked off five passes in the past seven games, and he returned one for a touchdown against New England earlier this season. Quarterback ratings plummet when they throw in his direction, and his versatility is evident in the fact that he has tackles-for-loss in three of his past five games. No wonder he was voted an All-Pro for the second straight year and the third time in his career. “Just the energy he brings, what he's saying to guys on the sideline or in the huddle — they trust him,” Spagnuolo said. “They believe in him. The guy is a winner. He's made plays for us, and when you get enough guys like that you have a unit.” It's hard to find another guy like Mathieu, though, with his unique ability to wreak havoc from his “robber” position. He bounces around the field like a pinball, both before the snap and after, putting constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks to make sure they know where he is on any given play. On a quarter of snaps this season, he's lined up in the deep safety spot. In about a third, he's lined up in the box to provide run support. On almost 40% of snaps, he has lined up in the slot, essentially becoming an extra cornerback. In other words, Spagnuolo is using Mathieu in ways he's never used another player in 40 years in coaching. “I hadn’t thought about it until you just said that,” Spagnuolo said, "but I’d probably say yes, that we have gone a little more beyond, because there are some things that we do with him now that I don’t recall us doing in prior places. “First and foremost, him from the chin to the hairline, you’re talking about an intelligent football player that loves it. You know that if you feed something to Tyrann, he’s going to get it and he’s going to know why,” Spagnuolo said. “We lay out all of these plans and you go from Monday to Saturday and into Sunday, but things change so quick on game day. The one thing about Tyrann is you can go over to him and say, ‘Let’s tweak this or do that.’ He knows exactly why and he does it.” He gets everybody else to do it, too. The middle linebacker may call the defensive plays — for the Chiefs, that's Anthony Hitchens — but Mathieu is often the one making sure everybody everybody knows what is going on. Then he takes care of his own business. “I think any position on the field allows you the chance to make plays,” Mathieu said. “It's all about staying committed. “Early in the season I wasn't making those plays,” he continued, "and as a high competitor you can get out of it thinking none of those plays is ever going to come to you. For me, it's just about staying involved, staying committed to what my coaches want me doing.” ___ More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL Dave Skretta, The Associated Press
Like many baseball writers, C. Trent Rosecrans viewed the Hall of Fame vote as a labour of love. The ballot would arrive around the end of November, and it would keep him occupied for much of December. He’d write down his research on players in a notebook and feel butterflies when putting his ballot in the mail. Then it was time for his most recent vote, and the whole process felt quite different. “That ballot sat out unopened until after Christmas, because I knew what was in it,” Rosecrans said. “And it wasn’t something I enjoyed.” The results of the 2021 vote will be announced Tuesday, and Rosecrans wasn’t alone in finding the task particularly agonizing this time around. With Curt Schilling's candidacy now front and centre — and Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens still on the ballot as well — voters have had to consider how much a player’s off-field behaviour should affect his Hall of Fame chances. For years, suspicions of performance-enhancing drug use have played a significant role in the voting. Now, some writers are reassessing other concerns about some of the game’s biggest stars — from Schilling’s incendiary social media presence to domestic violence allegations against Bonds and others. Ken Rosenthal, Rosecrans’ colleague with The Athletic, began a recent column this way: “I hate my Hall of Fame ballot. It might be my last." The top returning vote-getter on this year’s ballot is Schilling, who a year ago came within 20 votes of being elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. His support now seems to have stalled. As of early Saturday, Schilling had received 75.3% approval on ballots tallied at Ryan Thibodaux’s tracker, but that pace probably isn’t good enough. A player needs 75% for induction — and in the past, Schilling has fared far worse on private, unreleased ballots that aren’t part of Thibodaux’s tracker. Schilling has turned off voters with his post-career behaviour. ESPN suspended him from the Little League World Series a few years ago over a tweet in which he compared Muslim extremists to Nazi-era Germans. He was later fired by the network for Facebook comments about transgender people. On Jan. 6, the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, he said the following in a message on his Twitter account: “You cowards sat on your hands, did nothing while liberal trash looted rioted and burned for air Jordan’s and big screens, sit back .... and watch folks start a confrontation for (expletive) that matters like rights, democracy and the end of govt corruption.” That tweet was a few days after Hall of Fame ballots were due, but Rosecrans had already decided not to support Schilling — even though he’d voted for him in the past. “It would have been much easier for me to stick where I was and to check that box, like I have every other time I’ve voted, but I just don’t know if I would have been true to myself,” said Rosecrans, the BBWAA's president. "Had I done that, I may have felt better where I put it on that day. I don’t know if I would have felt better on January 6th.” Bonds and Clemens are polling just behind Schilling on Thibodaux’s tracker, but their candidacies now face scrutiny that goes beyond longstanding suspicion of PED use. Multiple players on this year's ballot have been accused of domestic violence, and Bonds is one of them. In 1995, his ex-wife testified during divorce proceedings that he beat and kicked her. Bonds said he never physically abused her but once kicked her after she kicked him. In 2008, the New York Daily News reported that Clemens had a decade-long relationship with country singer Mindy McCready that began when she was 15 and he was a star for the Boston Red Sox. Clemens apologized for unspecified mistakes in his personal life and denied having an affair with a 15-year-old. McCready later told “Inside Edition” she met Clemens when she was 16 and that the relationship didn’t turn sexual until several years later. Rosenthal acknowledged the domestic abuse allegations that have been made against Bonds, Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel, as well as the questions about Clemens and McCready. He ended up voting for those four players along with Schilling, and his 10-man ballot also included Todd Helton, who in recent years pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and served 48 hours in jail. Rosenthal called it his “sick-to-my-stomach ballot” and said he’s reevaluating whether he wants to vote at all in the future. Last January, ESPN’s Christina Kahrl said she’d looked at the questions surrounding Clemens and McCready. “Should he ultimately get elected, it will have to be without my support,” she wrote then. Rosecrans acknowledges he could be accused of inconsistency after voting against Schilling but in favour of people like Bonds and Jones. His main concern is the platform a Hall inductee receives — the ceremony and the speech, for example. “We have seen what Curt Schilling does with a platform, and it has been chilling,” Rosecrans said. At a time when social justice movements are pushing for a broader reckoning on sexual misconduct and racial inequality, the BBWAA recently voted overwhelmingly to remove the name and imprint of former Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis from MVP plaques. Landis became commissioner in 1920, and there were no Black players in the majors during his more than two decades in charge. The Hall of Fame, meanwhile, has sought to clarify the role of its plaque gallery and its museum. The plaques recognize members’ baseball accomplishments, while the rest of the museum might address other aspects of their careers. For example, Cap Anson’s plaque describes him as the greatest hitter and greatest National League player-manager of the 19th century, but language exploring his role in baseball’s segregation has been installed in the museum’s “Ideals and Injustices” exhibit. “Given the importance of racial issues in the summer of 2020, our board decided we needed to tell a fuller story and explore issues surrounding race that involved several of our members,” Hall spokesman Jon Shestakofsky said. “With our baseball-focused mission, we are cautious about getting into other issues, given the fact that once you go down that path, reasonable people will disagree about what is and is not relevant and worthy of display in a baseball museum." So it remains up to the voters to decide how they’ll weigh off-field issues when evaluating Hall of Fame candidates. The Hall instructs voters to take into account “the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” Clearly, there’s room to consider a player’s off-field conduct. But the Hall is still primarily a baseball honour. Right now, the sport’s career leaders in home runs (Bonds) and hits (Pete Rose) are not enshrined. Neither is Clemens, with his seven Cy Young Awards, or Schilling, with his dazzling post-season resume. If too many of the top players are left out — particularly if it’s for non-baseball reasons — could the Hall lose credibility as a baseball shrine? Lynn Henning, a former columnist for the Detroit News, understands what makes some of these candidates objectionable — but he doesn’t think the Hall of Fame vote is the right forum for holding them accountable. “I believe there is a separate realm in which we can and must discuss all of those points, but I don’t think it should be adjudicated on a Hall of Fame ballot,” Henning said. ___ Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Noah Trister, The Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Gabriel Landeskog scored 1:38 into overtime, Mikko Rantanen extended his goal-scoring streak to four games, and the Colorado Avalanche topped the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Friday night. Landeskog was initially stopped by Anaheim goalie John Gibson on a breakaway, but he got his own rebound and converted a wraparound for his third goal of the season. “I wasn’t happy with the first shot. I have to raise the puck more knowing Gibson is going to take away the low shots,” Landeskog said. “But I was able to stay with it, come around the net and stuff it as fast as I could.” Joonas Donskoi also scored for Colorado and Phillip Grubauer stopped 36 shots. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar wasn't pleased with the way his team played the first two periods. “I didn’t think we deserved to win but the goaltending was outstanding and we got a couple timely goals,” Bednar said. "We were trying to skill our way through things and they were outworking us the first two periods. But our top guys were outstanding the final 20 minutes." Hampus Lindholm and Adam Henrique got their first goals of the season for Anaheim. Gibson made 30 saves. The game went to overtime after the teams traded goals during an 82-second span in the third period. Rantanen gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 6:20 with a one-timer in front of the goal after a great pass from rookie defenceman Bowen Byram. Rantanen has four goals and two assists in the last four games. Henrique tied it again at 7:42 after Danton Heinen fed him with a centring pass. Donskoi got the Avalanche on the board with a power-play goal 2:56 into the game. The left winger put it into the short side of the net after Samuel Girard's pass caught Gibson out of position. Lindholm evened it 47 seconds into the second with a one-timer that Grubauer was unable to get his glove on. Anaheim played much better compared to Wednesday's loss against Minnesota when coach Dallas Eakins ripped his team for lack of effort. The Ducks had 18 shots during the first period and ended up with a 38-32 advantage for the game. “It is so disappointing not to get both points when you play well. With a tiny bit of detail that’s a 2-0 game for us,” he said. “It was going our way in overtime and then we fumbled it at the blue line. We don’t want to be a team going into overtime. We want to lock it down in regulation and get both points.” FIRST POINT Byram, who was the fourth-overall pick in the 2019 draft, made his NHL debut Thursday against Los Angeles but appeared tentative. The nerves were gone one night later as he picked up his first NHL point in his second game. “I just got the puck on the top of the blue line there and tried to move my feet to create some space," he said. "It was a big goal in a tight game, and it helped us get a win.” POWERING UP Donskoi's score was Colorado's 10th power-play goal, which leads the league. It is also the most the Avalanche have had through five games in franchise history. The previous record was eight, which happened six times. STOPPED Gibson stopped Nathan MacKinnon on his short side during a penalty shot at 8:31 of the third period. Colorado was awarded the shot after Lindholm was called for covering the puck up in the Ducks crease. “It’s like a whole bunch of air being exhaled at the same time,” Eakins said about seeing Gibson's save. "Gibson handled it like it was nothing. It was a massive save at a key point in the game. UP NEXT The teams meet again Sunday night. ___ More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Joe Reedy, The Associated Press