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Tobias Bjornfot scores twice, tripling his career total as Panthers beat Blackhawks

CHICAGO (AP) — In just over a period of hockey, Florida defenseman Tobias Bjornfot scored twice, tripling his career goal output.

It helped the Panthers rally late for a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night and cruise to their third straight win.

The 24-year-old Swedish defenseman entered the game with just one goal in 138 career NHL games over seven seasons. The journeyman added two more against Chicago to help Florida win for the sixth time in eight games and keep rolling following a 4-3 overtime win in Minnesota on Saturday.

Bjornfot wrapped in a fluke goal with 4:27 left in the second period against the Blackhawks to open the scoring. He capped Florida’s four-goal third period, cruising into the slot and firing in Carter Verhaeghe’s feed with 22 seconds left.

Bjornfot skated in just his fifth NHL game this season after playing 22 with Charlotte of the AHL. His previous NHL score came in May 1, 2021, with Los Angeles at Anaheim during the COVID-19 altered season.

Bjornfot, the Kings first-round draft pick in 2019 (22nd overall) was just 20 years old when he netted that one.

“It felt good,” Bjornfot said Sunday. “It’s been awhile since my first one.”

Bjornfot got career goal No. 2 following a faceoff in the Chicago zone. He circled the net and jammed in the puck through Spencer Knight’s pads from the right side. He flashed a big grin during an understated celebration as he returned to the bench.

“They were just happy for me,” Bjornfot said of his teammates. “They thought it was my first goal, maybe, but it’s nice to get one.”

“I didn’t know who was in the slot,” Bjornfot added. “I was thinking maybe to pass it to him and I saw he wasn’t open and I thought ‘just take it to the net’ and it went well.

“I’m not really a goal scorer, but it helps.”

After Florida took a 3-1 lead early in the third on goals by Mackie Samoskevich and Verhaeghe just over two minutes apart. Sam Reinhart added an empty-netter with 1:49 left. With Knight back in goal, Bjornfot connected again.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers have relied on depth to stay in the thick of the playoff hunt this season after being hit by injuries to key players. Forward Matthew Tkachuk played just his fourth game on Sunday after missing the first 47 following surgery last summer to repair sports hernia and torn adductor muscle.

Aleksander Barkov and Tomas Nosek have yet to play this season. Standout defenseman Seth Jones, removed from the U.S. Olympic roster last week, missed his 11th game on Sunday with a collarbone injury.

“Toby’s been unbelievable for us since he came in,” said fellow defenseman Gustav Forsling, an anchor on Florida’s blueline. “He really helps us and to get two goals today, I’m very happy for him.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(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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