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Kucherov first tripped Nutivaara and then slammed the defenseless Nutivaara’s head against the boards from behind. The Lightning finished the regular season with an NHL record-tying 62 victories and were expected to dominate the eighth-seeded Blue Jackets in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoff series. Instead, the Blue Jackets won the first two games of the best-of-seven series on the road. Friday’s 5-1 loss came two days after Tampa Bay jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead only to lose 4-3....

The 23-year-old star has been a force to reckoned with during the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, and MacKinnon continued his stellar play with the opening goal in his team’s 3-0 Game 4 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Midway through the second period, MacKinnon set up beside the Sharks’ net and pounced on a rebound. After San Jose goalie Martin Jones made the initial save, MacKinnon poked in the loose puck to give his team the lead....

Nice at 80/1 odds to win Ligue 1 The 20-year-old has spent each of the past two seasons on loan at Bundesliga side Hannover and Bastia, respectively, but now joins Nice on a permanent basic. The terms of the transfer were not disclosed by either club. Earlier on Monday, Nice completed the signing of experienced Netherlands playmaker Wesley Sneijder on a free transfer. Lucien Favre’s side began their Ligue 1 campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Saint-Etienne and face Napoli in the first leg of a keenly anticipated Champions League play-off clash next week....

Southgate is a household name in the United Kingdom, although it is Gareth, the Three Lions boss, and not golfer Matthew writing the headlines with a run to the last four of the World Cup. However, just hours after England crashed out of the tournament, Matthew was out on the course at Gullane and emerging as the early leader after a five-under front nine. And the surname he shares with the England manager did not go unnoticed....

That’s why his comments on Tuesday about the Astros’ cheating scandal should resonate loudly across baseball as perhaps the greatest indicator of how much anger seethes among MLB players over Houston’s illegal sign-stealing. Though we’ve seen other players bash the Houston squad and MLB’s investigation and rulings, Markakis’ words deserve special attention. “To see something like that, it’s damaging to baseball. It’s anger. I feel like every single guy over there needs a beating," Markakis told reporters Tuesday morning as he reported to spring training....

It’s a problem that has vexed the best of both college football and NFL. And it could reach absurd levels in 2017. Because this could be the year Alabama and New England finally win it all — in the same season. Believe it or not, that hasn’t happened once since Nick Saban took over Alabama in 2007. The Crimson Tide beat Georgia in the College Football Playoff championship game Monday, and the Patriots enter the NFL playoffs looking to defend their latest Super Bowl with the AFC’s top seed after a 13-3 record....

The betting lines used in this story are available as of Friday. Visit our odds page for current NFL Week 4 spreads and totals. Giants at Bills Line: Bills -5.5, Total: 46Time: 1 p.m. ET, FOX Regression to the mean is something we rarely heard in handicapping circles five years ago. Now it seems like I hear it every time a handicapper picks an underdog. If regression to the mean was some hard and fast rule, then I would expect to see a bunch of 2-14 seasons coming from Tom Brady and Bill Belichick....

For current spreads and totals, visit our live odds board . Thursday, November 13 Bills at Dolphins (-6, 42) While Miami opened between -5 and -6 around Las Vegas, the line’s been creeping in the Dolphins’ direction. Bettors looking at the favorite, though, can find cheaper prices, with CG Technology dealing -5. UNDER players can find 42.5 for a total. Sunday, November 16 Texans at Browns (-3/-120, 41.5) Cleveland has hovered between -3 (plus the increased vig) and -3....

MORE WILD CARD RANKINGS: QB | WR | TE | DEF 1. DeMarco Murray, Cowboys vs. Lions. It’s no surprise DraftKings is pricing him at $8,800. 2. Jeremy Hill, Bengals @ Colts. Hill has thrived since taking over the lead role. 3. Justin Forsett, Ravens @ Steelers. Forsett has been a factor in every facet of the running game this season. 4. Giovani Bernard, Bengals @ Colts. Even in a complementary role, Bernard has been effective in recent weeks....

The reasons reportedly are safety and — you guessed it — money. According to a Sports Business Daily report, NFL teams will be able to sell “camera-visible signage to local sponsors” when the 2020 season plays out. Such ad sales are expected to “significantly defray pandemic-related revenue losses” in the event some or all fans are not allowed in stadiums. From SBD’s report: “The first six to eight rows of seating in every stadium -— including on-field suites — will be off limits to fans this season....

Spooner missed three games after suffering the injury March 6 against the Senators. After returning, he went the final 13 games without scoring a goal. He managed only three assists during that span, one in the final 11 games. MORE: What five-year deal with Zibanejad means for Rangers The 2010 second-rounder picked up two assists in the opening-round playoff series against Ottawa, but he was scratched the final two games after logging just 9:34 worth of ice-time in Game Four...

The 32-year-old wrote his name in the franchise’s record books again Thursday, when he scored against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. With the Capitals up 1-0 after a first-period tally by Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ovechkin doubled his team’s lead early in the third. Skating into the Penguins’ zone on a 2-on-1, Ovechkin used teammate Dmitry Orlov as a decoy before unleashing a wristshot over Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray’s left shoulder and into the net....

Wielding the NHL’s best regular-season record (62-16), Tampa Bay entered the Stanley Cup playoffs heavily favored against the eighth-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round. After Friday’s 5-1 loss, Tampa Bay is down 0-2 as the series shifts to Columbus. The Bolts lost two games in a row just three times during the regular season. NHL PLAYOFFS 2019: Matt Duchene scores goal, adds three assists to lead Blue Jackets to Game 2 victory over Lightning...

With the NHL’s Feb. 26 trade deadline less than a month away, speculation will grow regarding potential moves by playoff contenders. The Maple Leafs are among those expected to become buyers by deadline day. The Leafs’ defense is their biggest concern. Entering Wednesday’s contest against the Islanders, their shots against per game (33.8) are fourth-worst in the league and the highest among teams currently holding playoff berths. They have also had difficulty holding leads after two periods....

Apparently, one of the teams that pushed the hardest was the expansion Golden Knights. According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Vegas “was deep into Erik Karlsson trade talks up to the final minutes before the deadline.” In their inaugural season, Vegas has surprised everyone by spending most of the season atop the NHL standings. Trading for Karlsson may have come as an even bigger surprise, while the draft picks general manager George McPhee accrued during the expansion process could have gone a long way in facilitating a Karlsson deal....

Now, there are obvious variables in play here, as McKenzie said. Gagner counts $4.8 against the salary cap for this season and the two following it, and if the Oilers retain a portion of that, they'd have to do it in all three. Doing that, you'd think, would mean a larger return for the Oilers — and certainly larger than Clifford, who's an effective-enough bottom-six player. Gagner, inconsistant as he may be, is more than that — and his contract isn't all that bad, particularly as the cap rises....

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Pens are still actively pursuing Zucker after last May’s potential trade, which would have involved then-Penguin Phil Kessel. Kessel was eventually taken off the table when Pittsburgh traded him to the Arizona Coyotes in June 2019. Teams like Minnesota, according to Friedman, are likely to “test the value of their players, but hold off on final decisions until closer to the deadline” before finalizing a deal....

Well, we’re getting closer. The NHL’s 2015-16 season begins Oct. 7, and veterans are starting to join rookies in returning to their regular-season homes. Camp opens Sept. 18 for all teams with most conducting off-ice testing and media day. On-ice practice begins Saturday; preseason games for most teams begins Sept. 22. Below are details on each team’s training camp where applicable, including location and the date of first preseason games....

Level 5 has been busy with its burgenoning Yo-Kai Watch series, however, and there hasn’t been a definite timeline for the release of Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom or any real glimpses of what it could entail. That’s changed now, as the PlayStation Experience 2016 kickoff show featured a full-blown trailer for the upcoming Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom that also gave it a release date, kind of - at the very least, fans can now officially expect the sequel sometime in 2017....

As far as what those secrets might be, Hanke wouldn’t say but even that tease is sure to send some Pokémon GO players searching. Last time the fan base put their heads together, they discovered a way to control Eevee’s evolution in the game – a trick that only required naming the Pokémon ahead of time. It could be that this secret is on the level of Evee, or perhaps a clue toward undiscovered Pokémon, or it could be as simple as an unannounced feature....