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Bennett scores in overtime as the Panthers top the Blue Jackets 7-6

NEW YORK (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored 2:46 into overtime for his second goal of the game, helping the Colorado Avalanche top Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers 3-2 on Saturday.

MacKinnon finished Colorado’s third win in four games when he beat Igor Shesterkin for his NHL-best 24th goal. He also batted the puck past Shesterkin at 15:26 of the third, lifting the Avalanche to a 2-1 lead.

MacKinnon has 10 goals and five assists in his last nine games.

Parker Kelly also scored for Colorado, and Martin Necas had three assists. The NHL-leading Avalanche bounced back nicely after losing 6-3 at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Panarin and Conor Sheary scored for New York, which had won five of six. Shesterkin made 39 saves.

PANTHERS 7, BLUE JACKETS 6, OT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Bennett scored 4:56 into overtime, lifting Florida to a wild victory over Columbus Blue Jackets.

Bennett and Brad Marchand each had a goal and three assists for Florida, which trailed 4-1 midway through the second period. Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist, and defenseman Seth Jones had a goal and an assist.

A streaking Bennett got a slick pass from Marchand and beat Elvis Merzlikins on the goaltender’s stick side. It was Bennett’s seventh goal of the season.

Cole Sillinger, Isac Lundestrom, Dmitri Voronkov and Miles Wood each had a goal and an assist for Columbus in the opener of a three-game trip. Damon Severson and Kirill Marchenko also scored.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for Florida, and Merzlikins finished with 33 saves.

Voronkov, Marchenko and Wood scored in the second to help Columbus open a 4-1 lead. It was No. 10 on the season for Voronkov and Marchenko.

BRUINS 4, DEVILS 1

BOSTON (AP) — Morgan Geekie scored his 22nd goal, Jeremy Swayman made 29 saves and Boston beat New Jersey, sending the Devils to their season-high fifth straight loss.

Fraser Minten, Casey Mittelstadt and Andrew Peeke also scored for Boston, and Elias Lindholm set up Geekie’s score early in the second period. Geekie has the second-most goals in the league, trailing Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon by two.

The Bruins were without star winger David Pastrnak, who was sidelined for the fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury.

Timo Meier scored for New Jersey and Jake Allen stopped 17 shots.

ISLANDERS 2, LIGHTNING 0

NEW YORK (AP) — Ilya Sorokin stopped all 32 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season, tying the Islanders’ franchise record for career shutouts, and New York beat Tampa Bay.

Sorokin recorded his 25th career shutout to tie Glenn “Chico” Resch for most in Islanders history.

Calum Ritchie scored in the third period and Casey Cizikas added an empty net goal with 2 seconds left.

Jonas Johansson finished with 17 saves for Tampa Bay, which lost its third consecutive game. The Lightning also lost to the Islanders in New York on Tuesday.

HURRICANES 6, PREDATORS 3

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jackson Blake had two goals and an assist to help Carolina beat Nashville.

Nikolaj Ehlers added a goal and two assists, and Taylor Hall, William Carrier and Sebastian Aho also scored as Carolina matched its season high for goals. The first two goals came on power plays, giving the Hurricanes multiple power-play goals for the first time this season.

Rookie goalie Brandon Bussi made 21 saves, but was denied a second consecutive shutout when allowing three third-period goals. He improved to 8-1-0, and the Hurricanes won for the third time in four games.

Michael Bunting, Matthew Wood and Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators, who were thwarted in securing their first three-game winning streak of the season. Juuse Saros made 32 saves, but he was pulled after allowing the sixth goal at 8:12 of the third. Justus Annunen made three saves the rest of the way. Nashville lost for the second time in its last six games.

FLAMES 2, MAMMOTH 0

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Dustin Wolf stopped 28 shots for his fifth career shutout and Calgary beat Utah.

Yegor Sharangovich and Connor Zary scored for Calgary in its sixth win in nine games (6-2-1).

Vitek Vanecek had 21 saves while taking his sixth straight loss (0-5-1). Utah, which came in with two straight wins, finished 2-4-0 on a six-game road trip. The Mammoth were also shut out in St. Louis on Nov. 29.

Wolf has stopped 54 of 55 shots in two straight starts after backup Devin Cooley started three in a row. Wolf turned in another sterling performance after 26 saves in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.

CANADIENS 2, MAPLE LEAFS 1, SO

TORONTO (AP) — Cole Caufield scored in regulation and a shootout, Alexandre Texier had the winner in the tiebreaker and Montreal beat the Toronto.

Jakub Dobes made 22 saves to help Montreal improve to 15-9-3.

Scott Laughton scored for Toronto, and Dennis Hildeby stopped 33 shots. The Maple Leafs dropped to 13-11-4. They had won three in a row.

KINGS 6, BLACKHAWKS 0

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brandt Clarke scored twice to help Los Angeles break out of an offensive funk, Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves and the Kings beat Chicago to split a two-game set.

Warren Foegele, Andrei Kuzmenko, Mikey Anderson and Alex Turcotte also scored after the Kings had been held to two goals or fewer in seven of their past nine games. The six goals are their most in regulation this season and they won by more than one goal for the first time since a 5-1 victory at Montreal on Nov. 11.

Spencer Knight made 26 saves for the Blackhawks. Chicago forward Teuvo Teravainen did not play after he was struck in the face by a puck in the final minute of a 2-1 victory over the Kings on Thursday night.

BLUES 2, SENATORS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Joel Hofer made 41 saves, Jake Neighbours scored twice and St. Louis beat Ottawa.

Fabian Zetterlund scored, and Linus Ullmark made 18 saves for Ottawa. The Senators have lost four of five games.

The Blues also beat the Senators 4-3 on Nov. 28 in St. Louis.

OILERS 6, JETS 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard each had a goal and an assist and Edmonton raced past Winnipeg.

The Oilers scored four times in the first period to chase goalie Eric Comrie.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matthew Savoie, Curtis Lazar and David Tomasek also scored for the Oilers. Connor McDavid had two assists, and Stuart Skinner made 19 saves. Edmonton has won three of four to improve to 13-11-5.

Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Koepke scored the Winnpeg. They have lost seven of nine to fall to 14-13-1.

Comrie allowed four goals on 16 shots in the first period. Thomas Milic came in to start the second and made 10 saves.

CANUCKS 4, WILD 2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Aatu Raty had two goals and an assist, and Vancouver beat Minnesota to snap a four-game skid.

Tom Willander and defenseman Elias Pettersson also scored for the Canucks, and Nikita Tolopilo stopped 27 shots.

Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 16 shots while losing in regulation for the first time in 11 starts (8-1-2) this season.

RED WINGS 4, KRAKEN 3

SEATTLE (AP) — Patrick Kane scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:29 remaining in the third period and Detroit beat Seattle.

Emmitt Finnie, Andrew Copp and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Red Wings. Simon Edvinsson added two assists and John Gibson made 24 saves completed a sweep of the two-game season series.

Kane, now three goals shy of 500 for his career, helped the Red Wings extend their point streak to four games (2-0-2). Alex DeBrincat found Kane in the slot for his second consecutive game with a goal.

Brandon Montour, Adam Larsson, and Chandler Stephenson scored for the Kraken, who have lost five straight (0-4-1). Joey Daccord stopped 21 shots.

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Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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