Jiri Kulich had a goal and two assists to help the visiting Buffalo Sabres rally for a 3-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
JJ Peterka added a goal and two assists, Tage Thompson also scored and Rasmus Dahlin had two assists for the Sabres, who had lost three of their previous four games. Ukko- Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves for the win.
Phillip Di Giuseppe and Elias Pettersson scored, and Thatcher Demko stopped 24 shots for the Canucks, who are 2-5-2 in their past nine games.
Kulich tied it 2-2 at 8:42 of the third period. Peterka collected Dahlin's rim around the boards behind the net and spotted Kulich uncovered in front, where the rookie quickly directed it stick side past Demko.
Peterka put the Sabres ahead 3-2 at 13:33. After Kulich won the faceoff, Dahlin retrieved the puck along the left wall before feeding Peterka inside the circle for the one-timer.
Thompson gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 17:34 of the first period. After a Vancouver icing, Kulich won the ensuing faceoff, Thompson collected the puck above the slot and to ok it to above the right circle before firing a wrist shot through traffic that beat Demko under his right arm.
Di Giuseppe tied it 1-1 at 3:05 of the second period. Carson Soucy's shot deflected and hit the end boards. Luukkonen moved to his right, but it landed to his left, where Di Giuseppe backhanded it into the open side.
Thompson's stick broke on a good chance from the left circle midway through the second period, sending the Canucks the other way and leading the home side to put the pressure on for a stretch in the offensive zone.
The Sabres struggled to clear, and Vancouver capitalized. Quinn Hughes corralled the puck down low and quickly fed Petterson, who sent a wrister high glove side over Luukkonen for a 2-1 advantage at 10:29.
Buffalo had its chances moments after but couldn't convert. Demko deflected a Dylan Cozens shot from on a two-on-one to send it high. A few minutes later, the goalie held on to Owen Power's attempt from the right circle, and shortly thereafter he stopped Alex Tuch's wrist shot from the left side.
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The Jets and any other rival of the Avalanche lost out on Victor Olofsson, as the top remaining NHL free agent has just signed a one-year deal with Colorado. One of the best remaining unrestricted free agents is no longer available. The Colorado Avalanche signed forward Victor Olofsson to a one-year, $1.575 million contract through 2025-26, the team announced Wednesday. PuckPedia reported the agreement Tuesday night. Victor Olofsson entered free agency after a bounce-back season with the Vegas Golden Knights. After six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, the team that drafted him in the seventh round in 2014, the Swedish winger signed a one-year, $1.075 million contract with Vegas this past summer. That followed a difficult 2023-24 campaign in Buffalo, where he posted just 15 points in 51 games. In Vegas, the 30-year-old regained some of his scoring touch. Although he was limited to 56 games due to injuries, he netted 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points. Not quite the 40-point pace he was in his prime with the Sabres, but Olofsson proved he could be a reliable depth scorer for a playoff team. He registered four points in nine playoff games before the Golden Knights were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round. Olofsson has 105 goals and 106 assists for 211 points in 370 NHL career games. Last spring was his first taste of playoff action. Olofsson could be the key for the Avalanche to win the Central Division Now, Olofsson becomes a part of a Colorado team that is seeking a return to Central Division supremacy after being defeated by the Dallas Stars in last season's semifinals. This could pose a problem for the Winnipeg Jets, as their direct rivals have just gotten better up front. With stars such as Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the now-returning Gabriel Landeskog around him, he'll get the chance to find a significant role on a contender. For Olofsson, the Avalanche provides a clean slate and an opportunity to demonstrate that there is still much more to give. If all goes well, Colorado will be giving their Western Conference foes a real hard time in the upcoming season.
The Washington Commanders have a potentially significant problem on special teams. During Saturday's 30-3 preseason Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, kicker Matt Gay missed a 53-yard field goal wide left at the end of Washington's first offensive possession. Gay finished the preseason 3-of-5 on field goal attempts. He also missed a 49-yarder wide left in preseason Week 1 against the New England Patriots. Gay's struggles continue the chaotic journey for the Commanders at kicker. Last season's Week 1 starter, Cade York, went 0-of-2 in the opener and was promptly released. His replacement, Austin Seibert, was in the midst of a fantastic season through Week 9, going 25-of-27 on field goals and 22-of-22 on extra points before missing two weeks with a hip injury. He was later placed on injured reserve after missing three kicks in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys, including a would-be tying extra point following a wild 86-yard touchdown with under a minute remaining. Zane Gonzalez and Greg Joseph combined to go 7-of-10 on field goals the rest of the season, including each missing a 50-yard attempt. Overall, Commanders kickers struggled from long distance, with the four combining to go 2-of-8 on attempts of 50 yards or more. Only the Philadelphia Eagles had a worse percentage (14.3%) on attempts of at least 50 yards, per Pro Football Reference data. Washington signed Gay to a one-year, $4.25M fully guaranteed contract in late April following the 2025 NFL Draft. Per CBS Sports, it's the largest guaranteed contract for a kicker on a one-year deal in NFL history. Last season while with the Indianapolis Colts, Gay was 3-of-9 on 50-yard field goals. The Commanders have the talent on offense to be one of the league's top scoring units, so they might not need to convert many tries from over 50 yards. Still, having a kicker who can reliably hit from that distance is an undeniable asset, particularly late in close games or on possessions that stall after crossing midfield. Washington largely has a roster capable of contending for a Super Bowl. But following its final tune-up before the regular season, kicking is a notable flaw.
The Green Bay Packers are about to kick off their 2025 NFL regular season, so it feels like a good time for some of the players to look back at some of the key moments and experiences they’ve had in the offseason. For quarterback Jordan Love and tight end Luke Musgrave, the 2025 NFL offseason will always be one that they’ll cherish — and not just because of anything that’s football-related. Love and Musgrave both got married to their respective longtime girlfriends in the offseason. The signal-caller tied the knot with Ronika Stone in June, while Musgrave and Madi Weisner exchanged vows in July. Ronika Stone’s wedding lookback gets Green Bay tight end’s wife’s reactions Mrs. Love recently shared a post on Instagram that shows a series of snapshots from her wedding with the Packers’ signal caller. “Every detail was SPECTACULAR ,” Ronika wrote as a caption for the post. She clearly is still awed by how her wedding looked that day, with several beautiful flower arrangements adorning the special day. Ronika’s post drew plenty of comments, including one from Mrs. Musgrave, who wrote “UNREAL.” It’s great to see Packers players’ wives showing support for each other just as Love and Musgrave do on the field. For Musgrave, he is looking to have a big rebound in 2025 after only appearing in seven games and coming up with 45 receiving yards with zero touchdowns and only a couple of first downs on seven receptions and 10 targets. The Packers, who will play the Seattle Seahawks at home this Saturday for both teams’ 2025 NFL preseason finale, will face the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field in Week 1 of the 2025 regular season.
The Philadelphia Phillies received the update they did not want to hear on Saturday. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler is going to miss the remainder of the 2025 season due thoracic outlet syndrome, the team announced. He will have surgery to correct the issue with a recovery time of six to eight months There is no way to sugarcoat this for the Phillies — this is brutal news and a potentially crushing blow to their World Series chances in the National League. While they still have a strong rotation and two excellent front-line starters in Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, Wheeler is their unquestioned ace and been one of the best overall pitchers in the National League since he joined the Phillies prior to the 2020 season. The Phillies are still pretty much a playoff lock at this point and entered the weekend with a six-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East standings. But taking a front-line starter away from them this late in the season is going to be impossible to replace. With Wheeler, Sanchez and Suarez, they would have had a fierce trio to throw at teams in a short series (or a best-of-seven series) that could have stacked up with anybody. Sanchez and Suarez are still going to give them a great chance, but it's definitely not what they wanted. Prior to Saturday's announcement, Wheeler had a 2.71 ERA and was leading the league in both strikeouts (195) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.7) pitched. He also has the lowest WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched) in the league (.935).
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