Nathan MacKinnon stayed hot and the Colorado Avalanche bounced back from a lacklustre loss to beat the San Jose Sharks 6-2 on Sunday.
MacKinnon tallied a season-best four points, recording two goals and two assists to extend his point streak to 15 games one night after the Avalanche fell behind 3-0 and 5-1 in a 6-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
MacKinnon now has eight goals and 19 assists during his point streak, which ties the longest point streak of his career from the 2020-2021 season. He also has 38 points in his last 21 games and has at least one point in all 16 home games this season.
His 47 points on the season are second only to Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, who has 52.
Mikko Rantanen, Ryan Johansen, Valeri Nichushkin and Miles Wood also had goals for Colorado, while Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 27 shots.
It marked the third win in four games for the Avalanche (19-10-2), who scored at least five goals in all of those victories.
The Sharks (9-19-3), meanwhile, lost their second in a row following a 3-0-1 stretch.
Tomas Hertl scored both of San Jose's goals, while MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 23 of 28 shots.
Boeser moves into NHL-lead for goals scored as Canucks top Blackhawks
The Vancouver Canucks didn't look quite awake for the start of their early afternoon game in Chicago.
They suddenly woke up in the second period and pulled out a 4-3 win over the Blackhawks.
After managing just one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes and five shots in the opening period, the Canucks found themselves trailing 2-1 on Nick Foligno's second goal of the game 35 seconds into the second period.
Vancouver then came alive, trying things up on Dakota Joshua's goal and took the lead 41 seconds later on Brock Boeser's score. Ilya Mikheyev also scored in the second period for the Canucks (21-9-2), who improved to 5-0-1 since a 6-5 loss to the New Jersey Devils on December 5.
Boeser's goal was his 10th in the last 11 games and 23rd of the season to move him into a tie with Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews for the most in the NHL.
Elias Pettersson also scored for the Canucks and Thatcher Demko made 25 saves to win his fourth consecutive start.
Petr Mrazek stopped 22 shots and rookie sensation Connor Bedard notched two assists to give him 14 on the season for the Blackhawks (9-20-1), who lost their fourth straight game and fell to 4-13-1 since November 12.
Eichel helps Golden Knights beat Senators
Jack Eichel scored 1:37 into the game and the Vegas Golden Knights went on to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Eichel's goal was his 14th of the season and extended his point streak to a franchise-record 10 games.
Eichel also added an assist, and Ivan Barbashev had a goal and an assist as well for the NHL-best Golden Knights (21-6-5), who bounced back from their first regulation loss since November 25.
Logan Thompson came off the bench to make 20 saves for Vegas after Adin Hill was forced out only 6:25 into the game.
The Golden Knights extended their win streak over the Senators to nine games and improved to 10-1-0 all-time against them.
Ottawa (11-15-0) lost its fourth in a row overall, allowing at least four goals in each of those defeats.
Niners star Aiyuk suffers season-ending ACL, MCL tears
The San Francisco 49ers have confirmed Brandon Aiyuk has torn the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season.
Star wide receiver Aiyuk was injured near the end of the second quarter as the 49ers lost a Super Bowl LVIII rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs, 28-18, on Sunday.
That result dropped them to 3-4 after an injury-plagued start to 2024, with running back Christian McAffrey another big-name absentee.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan suggested after the game that Aiyuk's injury looked serious, and the team's worst fears were confirmed when he undertook additional tests on Monday.
"I talked with him last night, just calling him at his house," Shanahan said of Aiyuk. "He was hurting, just bummed out, exactly how you'd expect.
"But he's a strong dude and spiritual guy and believes everything happens for a reason, so he'll be all right.
"He was definitely a little down last night, and I was just telling him how bad I felt for him and just let him know we're all here for him through this."
Fellow wideout Deebo Samuel, meanwhile, was limited to four snaps against the Chiefs after feeling unwell and was subsequently checked into hospital with a form of pneumonia.
"I think it started acting up in the middle of the night Saturday night or early Sunday morning and then it just evolved as the day went on," Shanahan said of Samuel.
"Once we found out he had the fluid in his lungs after the game, then I believe they sent him over there."
There is no timeline for Samuel's return to action, with the Niners' next outing pitting them against their long-time rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, on Sunday.
Browns coach Stefanski fears season-ending injury for Watson
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski fears that quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during their 21-14 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Watson will go through tests to confirm a diagnosis for his injury, which he suffered on Sunday.
But Stefanski did not have a great outlook after the game.
"Obviously, it doesn't look good with the injury," he told ESPN.
"I'll give him a call here in a little but ... disappointed for him. Any of our guys that you lose, you're disappointed because you know much this means to them and how hard they work. It's tough."
Watson's injury was sustained during a non-contact play when his leg hyperextended and he fell to the ground.
It compounds a miserable start to the season for the Browns, who are bottom of the AFC North with a 1-6 record.
Fan frustration was noticeable, with many seeming to cheer Watson's injury after he had been booed during the pregame.
"We don't boo guys that are injured on the field, especially when the cart comes out," said defensive end Myles Garrett said after the game.
"We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall."
Stefanski was in agreement with Garrett.
"I don't think it's ever OK to cheer when someone's injured. I'm sure it's not every person in the building doing that, but that's disappointing," he said.
Meanwhile, it is feared San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL during their 28-18 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
"That's what it looks like, but we don't know for sure," coach Kyle Shanahan told ESPN. "Been wrong before. So, praying that we are [again]."
Further tests will confirm the exact issue and determine whether Aiyuk will miss the rest of the season.
With fitness problems mounting for the 49ers, Deebo Samuel was also announced to be suffering from illness before kick-off but was still expected to play.
He was withdrawn after four snaps with no catches or carries.
"Throat, stomach things, just real fatigued," Shanahan said, on Samuel. "Struggled to breathe, couldn't catch his breath ... he kept trying to fight through it, but once he was struggling with the breathing and everything, we had to shut him down."
Aiyuk's teammates, meanwhile, were vocal in their disappointment at potentially missing the wide receiver for the remainder of the season.
"It sucks," said tight end George Kittle. "I love Brandon Aiyuk, the energy that he brings, what he can do on the football field, routes, catching the ball. He's an incredible football player. You can't really replace, in my opinion, one of the best receivers in the NFL."
Quarterback Brock Purdy echoed Kittle's sentiments.
"What BA does for our offense and who he is and as a teammate and the brother of ours, man, it's sad," he said.
"Wish him nothing but the best and praying for him. So that's my guy. And when he goes down like that, obviously we have other guys that can step up and do their job really well ... we all just got to come together as a group collectively, the receiver unit and all of us."
Warner hails Niners for 'standing tall' in nervy Seattle win
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner hailed the team for standing tall on the road after they held off a Seattle Seahawks fightback for a crucial 36-24 win.
The Niners were in dire need of a victory after blowing double-digit fourth-quarter leads in losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals in Weeks 3 and 5.
They made a strong start to Thursday's meeting between two NFC West rivals, assuming a 23-3 lead early in the third quarter, as Brock Purdy threw a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown to Deebo Samuel and another score to George Kittle.
However, the defending NFC champions let Seattle back in and saw their lead trimmed to six points by the start of the fourth, with the Seahawks reeling off 14 straight points then getting the ball back via a Rasheem Green interception.
However, they held firm and another two touchdowns – a second Purdy-Kittle link-up and a six-yard Kyle Juszczyk rush – ensured they improved to 3-3, level with Seattle.
Asked if doubts began to creep in as the Niners' lead shrunk, three-time All-Pro Warner said: "A thousand percent.
"It sucks, but yes, it was something that felt familiar for sure. We could go one of two ways right there.
"We could stand tall in a hostile environment and get the game that we got to get or we could settle for exactly how we've been playing the last couple losses."
The 49ers' season has seen them hampered by injuries to the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Dre Greenlaw and Javon Hargrave, and head coach Kyle Shanahan was handed another headache on Thursday as running back Jordan Mason was forced off with a shoulder issue.
Asked for an update on Mason's condition after the game, Shanahan said: "He thought he was going to be alright.
"He went back in, and it just hurt him too much, so he went out. We'll find out more tomorrow."
San Francisco's victory came at a crucial time as they are involved in the matchup of the season so far in Week 7, when they face the Kansas City Chiefs in a repeat of February's Super Bowl LVIII clash.
Offensive tackle Trent Williams said of that game: "It's not like we can get payback for losing in the Super Bowl. That ship has sailed.
"Obviously, we know what type of team that is, one of the best teams in the league... All-Star quarterback, great coach.
"We're going to take these three days off and regroup and try to put a complete game together."
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