It was the coldest outdoor game in N-H-L history – and St. Louis came out on top. The Blues defeated the Minnesota Wild 6-4 on Jordan Kyrou’s two goals and two assists in the Winter Classic. The official faceoff temperature was -21 degrees Celsius. It was the 33rd modern outdoor game in N-H-L history.
The Seattle Kraken and the Vancouver Canucks may battle on the ice, but the two N-H-L teams came together Saturday night to say a special thanks to one Seattle fan. Both franchises celebrated Nadia Popovici, who back in October told Canucks’ assistant equipment manager, Brian “Red” Hamilton she believed a mole on the back of his neck was cancerous and he needed to get it checked. Turns out she was right and in a show of appreciation, the two teams donated a 10-thousand-dollar scholarship for her medical school aspirations.
NHL brass has a meeting scheduled this January with politicians in Quebec City — sparking rumours of a possible return of the Nordiques. Still, some once-bitten-twice-shy fans aren’t holding their breath. The Nordiques left Quebec City after the 1994-95 N-H-L season, relocating to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche. And if the departure wasn’t stinging enough, the Avalanche went on to win the Stanley Cup in their first season.
DeMar DeRozan hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the second straight game to give the Chicago Bulls a 120-119 win over the Washington Wizards in the N-B-A. DeRozan finished with 28 points and Zach LaVine had 35 points. The Bulls have won seven straight games. It’s their longest win streak since 2014.
Steph Curry scored 28 points and had nine assists to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 123-116 win over the Utah Jazz in the N-B-A. Andrew Wiggins had 25 points for the Warriors. Rudy Gobert had 20 points and 19 rebounds in Utah’s seventh home loss.
Canada lost 3-0 to the United States in their A-T-P Cup tennis matchup in Sydney, Australia. John Isner beat Brayden Schnur in the opening singles match. Taylor Fritz came from a set down to rally past Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second singles match. And the Americans won the doubles match to complete the sweep.
It remains unclear if Novak Djokovic will compete at this month’s Australian Open. The nine-time champion has refused to reveal if he is vaccinated against COVID-19 – a requirement to play in the opening Grand Slam tournament of the year. But there has been speculation Djokovic could apply for a medical exemption to play. The world’s top-ranked player is eyeing a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam singles title.
Gold again for Canadian freestyle skier Brendan Mackay. The Calgary native finished first in the men’s Freeski Halfpipe for a second World Cup victory at home. The win came two days after Mackay claimed gold in the same event on Thursday. Fellow Calgarian Noah Bowman was third. Rachael Karker of Guelph, Ontario took home silver in the women’s competition.
Saturday’s Scores
NHL
Boston 4 Buffalo 3 (OT)
Carolina 7 Columbus 4
Florida 5 Montreal 2
Nashville 6 Chicago 1
N.Y. Islanders 3 Edmonton 2 (OT)
Toronto 6 Ottawa 0
St. Louis 6 Minnesota 4
Vancouver 5 Seattle 2
Los Angeles 6 Philadelphia 3
NBA
Milwaukee 136 New Orleans 113
Chicago 120 Washington 119
Detroit 117 San Antonio 116 (OT)
L.A. Clippers 120 Brooklyn 116
Denver 124 Houston 111
Golden State 123 Utah 116
Sunday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NHL
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Rangers, 12:30 p.m.
Boston at Detroit, 1 p.m.
San Jose at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Anaheim at Colorado, 3 p.m.
New Jersey at Washington, 3 p.m.
Winnipeg at Vegas, 4 p.m.
Calgary at Chicago, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Arizona, ppd
NBA
New York at Toronto, 3:30 p.m.
Indiana at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
Miami at Sacramento, 6 p.m.
Orlando at Boston, 6 p.m.
Dallas at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Phoenix at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.
NFL
Atlanta at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at New England, 1 p.m.
Kansas City at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
L.A. Rams at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Las Vegas at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.
Miami at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Denver at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m.
Houston at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.
Arizona at Dallas, 4:25 p.m.
Carolina at New Orleans, 4:25 p.m.
Detroit at Seattle, 4:25 p.m.
Minnesota at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m.