Samuelsson, Sabres make it eight in a row with 4-1 win over Bruins
December 27, 2025
BUFFALO, N.Y. By The Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mattias Samuelsson had a goal and two assists as the
BUFFALO, N.Y. By The Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mattias Samuelsson had a goal and two assists as the
Martin Necas scored two goals in regulation and another during the shootout and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 6-5. Nathan MacKinnon also scored for Colorado in the shootout, while Mitch Marner was the only one to score for the Knights. Colorado, which extended its win streak to seven games, has registered points in 27 of its last 28 games. Artturi Lehkonen, Samuel Girard and Nathan MacKinnon added goals for the Avalanche. Scott Wedgewood stopped 20 shots. Alexander Holtz, Ivan Barbashev, Ben Hutton and Brett Howden also scored for the Golden Knights.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis characterized the shoulder injury that caused him to head to the locker room midway through the fourth quarter Saturday as nothing more than a “tweak.” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Willis could have reentered the game if necessary. The Packers instead opted to keep Willis on the sidelines after Baltimore’s Derrick Henry scored a game-clinching touchdown with less than two minutes left in the Baltimore Ravens’ 41-24 victory. Willis had performed brilliantly while starting in place of the injured Jordan Love.
Alex Laferriere scored three times and the Los Angeles Kings finally found their offense in a 6-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist, Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore also scored, and Anze Kopitar added three assists as the Kings tied their season high for goals. Anton Forsberg made 24 saves. Mason McTavish had a power-play goal and Lukas Dostal stopped 24 shots for the Ducks, who have dropped four of five. The Kings had been held to two goals or fewer in their previous seven games, but they broke out of their scoring funk by finding the back of the net three times in the opening 10:21.
Devin Booker scored 20 points, including two clutch jumpers down the stretch, and the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-114 for a two-game sweep of their back-to-back set. Booker led seven Suns in double figures. Dillon Brooks had 18 points, Collin Gillespie scored 17, Jordan Goodwin added 16 and Royce O’Neale finished with 15. Trey Muphy III had 24 points for the Pelicans, and Zion Williamson scored 22 off the bench on 8-of-11 shooting. Rookie center Derik Queen had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Jeremiah Fears scored 18 and Saddiq Bey finished with 17. The game got chippy in the third quarter, when Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Phoenix center Mark Williams exchanged punches. Both were ejected.
Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams and New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jose Alvarado were ejected after getting into a fight in the third quarter Saturday night. The 7-foot-1 Williams and 6-foot Alvarado exchanged punches following a foul call on Alvarado as he tried to fight through a screen set by Williams. Phoenix won 123-114 for a two-game sweep of a back-to-back set between the teams in New Orleans.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. By The Associated Press INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — C.J. Stroud threw for two long touchdowns on Houston’s first
Derrick Henry rushed for a season-high 216 yards and matched a career high with four touchdown runs as the Baltimore Ravens kept their playoff hopes alive by defeating the Green Bay Packers 41-24 on Saturday night. Henry had three touchdown runs in the first half and then scored again on a 25-yard run with 1:56 left in the game. His seventh career 200-yard rushing performance moved him ahead of Adrian Peterson and O.J. Simpson for the most in NFL history. His 36 carries represented a career high.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. By The Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Russell Westbrook scored 21 points and moved past Magic Johnson
Harrison Waylee ran for a touchdown, Chandler Morris threw for 198 yards and No. 20 Virginia edged 25th-ranked Missouri 13-7 in the Gator Bowl on Saturday night. The Cavaliers bounced back from a crushing loss to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game — an overtime stunner that cost them a spot in the College Football Playoff — and reached 11 wins for the first time in the program’s 122 years. Missouri All-American Ahmad Hardy ran 15 times for 89 yards. He broke Missouri’s single-season school record set by Cody Schrader (1,627 yards) in 2023 but didn’t do enough to spark Missouri’s offense.
Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each score 28 points as the Miami Heat defeat the Indiana Pacers 142-116. The game took place on Saturday night. Miami pulls away in the fourth quarter, outscoring Indiana 44-22. Norman Powell adds 23 points for the Heat, who win for the second consecutive night. Miami scores 83 points in the second half and has a 60-23 edge in bench scoring. Nikola Jovic scores 19 points, with the Heat outscoring Indiana by 35 during his 25 minutes on the court. Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith returns after missing 19 games with a shoulder injury.
Anthony Black scored a career-high 38 points, Desmond Bane made two free throws with 6.9 seconds left and the Orlando Magic overcame another huge triple-double by Nikola Jokic to beat the Denver Nuggets 127-126 on Saturday night. Jokic had 34 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists, his 180th triple-double and 16th of the season. Two nights after finishing with 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists in a Christmas overtime victory over Minnesota, he pulled within one of Oscar Robertson for second on the NBA’s career triple-doubles list. Jamal Murray scored 24 points for Denver, but missed a long jump shot at the horn.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points in three quarters to lead the Houston Rockets to an easy 117-100 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. The Rockets won their second straight after they lost four of their previous five games. Durant, who also had seven assists and four rebounds, didn’t play in the fourth quarter with Houston up by 27 points after three. Reserve Jaylon Tyson had 23 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell added 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting for the Cavaliers.
Pontus Holmberg scores with 7.3 seconds left in the first period, putting Tampa Bay ahead for good. Nikita Kucherov scores twice, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 in a penalty-filled game. Jake Guentzel also scores for Tampa Bay, which has won three straight. Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen score for the Panthers, who lose for just the second time in their last seven games. Both teams set season-highs for penalty minutes. Tampa Bay’s Scott Sabourin draws two minors and a misconduct early in the third period. The rivalry between these teams remains intense.
Defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored in overtime and Logan Thompson made 35 saves as the Washington Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Saturday night. Chychrun beat Devils netminder Jake Allen with his 15th goal 4:06 into the extra session to lift Washington to only its second win in its last eight games. New Jersey lost its third straight. Aliaksei Protas also scored and added two assists for Washington. Anthony Beauvillier and Alex Ovechkin also scored for the Capitals. Jesper Bratt scored twice for New Jersey. Cody Glass also scored for the Devils
Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes snapped a season-worst three-game skid with a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night in a matchup of divisional leaders. Jackson Blake and Eric Robinson scored during the Hurricanes’ three-goal second period. Jordan Martinook, who missed the three previous games with an injury, scored his 100th career goal with an empty-netter with 1:21 to play. Brandon Bussi made 18 saves and boosted his record to 12-1-1. Michael Rasmussen and Andrew Copp scored for the Atlantic Division-leading Red Wings. John Gibson stopped 33 shots and lost for the first time in nine December outings.
C.J Stroud’s dynamic first quarter was merely the opening act for the Houston Texans. It was the defense that was a headliner once again. The Texans had five sacks in their 20-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday that extended Houston’s winning streak to eight and clinched a third consecutive playoff berth for the first time in franchise history. Defensive end Derek Barnett had two of Houston’s five sacks after he entered with three over the first 15 games. Houston entered Week 17 as the NFL leader in yards allowed at 273.3 per game as well as points allowed with 16.6 per game.
David Rittich made 27 saves for his ninth career shutout, Anders Lee scored less than a minute into the game, and the New York Islanders blanked the New York Rangers 2-0. Lee’s unassisted goal 58 seconds in extended his point streak to five games as the Islanders won their second straight. Simon Holmstrom added an empty-netter with 16 seconds left in the game. Igor Shesterkin finished with 24 saves but the Rangers were shut out for the eighth time this season. The Islanders placed starting goaltender Ilya Sorokin on injured reserve prior to the game.
The Denver Broncos have clinched their first AFC West title in a decade after the Houston Texans beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-16 on Saturday. The Broncos, now 13-3, will host the Chargers (11-5) next weekend. This game won’t carry as much weight with the Chargers’ loss to Houston. But it’s hugely important to the Broncos who would clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC next week. After that, the Broncos because a win over the Chargers would secure the top seed in the AFC playoff bracket. The Broncos ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ nine-year division title run.
E.J. Warner threw for 214 yards and a touchdown, Dylan Lynch kicked four field goals and Fresno State defeated Miami of Ohio 18-3 in the Arizona Bowl. On defense, Fresno State kept Miami out of the red zone the whole game, except for the RedHawks’ opening possession when they reached the 15-yard line before kicking a field goal. The Bulldogs, one of 15 teams in FBS to keep their opponents under an average of 300 yards per game, allowed 192 yards. Fresno State, playing in its fifth consecutive bowl game, got the win for first-year coach Matt Entz. Miami, which also played in its fifth-straight bowl game, lost in a repeat appearance in the Arizona Bowl. The RedHawks defeated Colorado State 43-17 last year.
C.J. Stroud threw two long touchdowns on Houston’s first two drives, leading the Texans to a 20-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. This win clinched a third consecutive playoff berth for the Texans for the first time in franchise history. The Texans improved to 11-5 and have won eight in a row. It’s their longest winning streak since 2018. The Chargers fell to 11-5 and had their four-game winning streak snapped. The loss handed the AFC West title to first-place Denver. The Chargers have the best kicker in the NFL, but Cameron Dicker missed a 32-yard field goal and a point after attempt.
Russell Westbrook scored 21 points and moved past Magic Johnson for seventh place on the NBA’s career assists list while leading the Sacramento Kings to a 113-107 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Westbrook grabbed five rebounds, and his nine assists gave him 10,149 — eight more than Johnson. The 37-year-old Westbroook also moved within nine points of tying Dominique Wilkins for 19th on the NBA’s scoring chart while propelling Sacramento to its third victory in 13 games. Dallas got within 111-107 with nine seconds remaining before DeMar DeRozan made two free throws to seal it.
Jeffrey R. Holland, a senior official in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has died at 85. The church announced his death on Saturday from complications from kidney disease. Holland led the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a key governing body. He was next in line to become the church’s president. Henry B. Eyring is now next in line. Holland had been dealing with health issues and was hospitalized during the Christmas holiday. He previously served as president of Brigham Young University and was known for his work in education and interfaith relations.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will return to the starting lineup Saturday night against the Utah Jazz, but point guard De’Aaron Fox will miss the game after experiencing tightness in his left adductor. Wembanyama has come off the bench in seven straight games since returning from a strained left calf that kept him out for 12 games. San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson opted to bring Wembanyama off the bench due to a minutes restriction as the 7-foot-4 star worked to regain his strength and conditioning. Fox was downgraded to questionable on Friday afternoon and ruled out Saturday.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson won’t play Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers due to the back injury that knocked him out of a loss to the New England Patriots last weekend. The Ravens listed Jackson among their inactive players for Saturday’s must-win game. The two-time MVP hadn’t practiced all week and was listed as doubtful on the Ravens’ Thursday injury report. This means neither team will have its starting quarterback available. The Packers announced Friday that Jordan Love wouldn’t be available. Love has been in concussion protocol since absorbing a helmet-to-helmet hit in a loss at Chicago last weekend
Right-handed reliever Hunter Harvey agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement is pending a physical. The addition of Harvey is the latest move in a bullpen makeover for the Cubs, who have added Phil Maton, Hoby Milner and Jacob Webb and re-signed Caleb Thielbar. The 31-year-old Harvey was slowed by injuries last season with the Kansas City Royals. He pitched in 12 games and was 1-0 with 11 strikeouts in 10 2/3 shutout innings.
RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Rapid City Rush announced Saturday that the team’s home game scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 28,
Maxx Crosby’s season is over after the Las Vegas Raiders place him on injured reserve because of a knee injury. The decision means he won’t play in the final two games against the New York Giants and Kansas City. The Raiders said the move is in the best interest of both the team and Crosby. Coach Pete Carroll praised Crosby’s competitiveness. The Raiders, with a 2-13 record, are in rebuild mode, also sidelining tight end Brock Bowers and safety Jeremy Chinn. Crosby, a top pass rusher, has 10 sacks this season and remains focused on winning, despite speculation about his future with the team.
Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for a career-high 262 yards and two TDs, including a 73-yard strike to Trebor Pena early in the fourth quarter, and Penn State beat Clemson 22-10 in the Pinstripe Bowl. In his seventh start since Penn State lost Drew Allar to an injury, Grunkemeyer completed 23 of 34 passes, setting career bests for completions and attempts. His best throw was to Pena, who caught the ball at the Penn State 44, ran by Clemson safety Ricardo Jones and rumbled untouched down the left side for a 15-3 lead with 12:51 left in the fourth.
Chaston Ditta threw two second-half touchdown passes, and East Carolina overcame an inadvertent whistle that negated a long touchdown in a 23-17 victory over Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl. Marlon Gunn Jr.’s touchdown was called back because of the whistle, and two plays later, Ditta fumbled on a sack by Pitt’s Rasheem Biles, who recovered the ball and returned it 23 yards to the end zone to give the Panthers a 14-10 lead. The Pirates rebounded quickly when Ditta threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Smith, and ECU led the rest of the way.
East Carolina’s Marlon Gunn Jr. had a long touchdown run called back because of an inadvertant whistle — and two plays later, Pittsburgh forced a fumble and ran it back for a TD the other way in the Military Bowl. ECU led 10-7 and faced fourth-and-1 from its own 32 in the third quarter when Gunn shed a couple tacklers and went all the way to the end zone. But the play was negated because of the whistle, and Gunn was credited with a 14-yard gain instead. Two plays later, Chaston Ditta fumbled on a sack by Pitt’s Rasheem Biles, who recovered the ball and returned it 23 yards to the end zone.
Outfielder JJ Bleday and the Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a one-year contract. The 28-year-old hit .212 with 14 homers and 39 RBIs with the Athletics this year, down from a .243 average in 2024, when he set career bests with 20 homers and 60 RBIs for Oakland. Selected fourth overall by Miami in the 2019 amateur draft, Bleday became a free agent last month when the A’s designated him for assignment and failed to offer a 2026 contract.
Rapid City, SD – The Rapid City Rush, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, announced Saturday morning that the
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Harold “Butch” Kruse, aged 83, who left us peacefully
Kenneth (Ken) Bruce Dehn was born September 27, 1931 in Independence, Missouri to Kenneth R.G. and Nellie Dehn. Ken was
Comedian Mo Amer is gaining attention for his show “Mo,” which explores the journey of a Palestinian refugee family seeking asylum in the U.S. The series is part of a wave of TV shows by Arab or Muslim American creators that aim to tell authentic stories without relying on stereotypes. The second season of “Mo” begins with the main character running a falafel taco stand in Mexico. Other shows like “Muslim Matchmaker” and “#1 Happy Family USA” are also challenging traditional portrayals. Experts say positive representation can influence public opinion and policy, highlighting the importance of diverse storytelling.
President Donald Trump holds up the “One, Big Beautiful Bill” Act that he signed into law on the South Lawn
View The Obituary For Gary J. Rossow. Please join us in Loving, Sharing and Memorializing Gary J. Rossow on this
View The Obituary For Lois Maxine Townsend. Please join us in Loving, Sharing and Memorializing Lois Maxine Townsend on this permanent online memorial presented by Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home.
View The Obituary For Lois Maxine Townsend. Please join us in Loving, Sharing and Memorializing Lois Maxine Townsend on this permanent online memorial presented by Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home.
Campaign signs in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in November 2024. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) I don’t have a