Nieto capitalized on faulty stickwork by Calgary defenseman T.J. Brodie and ripped a shot past Mike Smith on a breakaway. Prior to Nieto’s goal, Colorado had not scored since April 6 when Nathan MacKinnon scored 89 seconds into the second period of the Avalanche’s final regular-season game. The goal was Nieto’s fourth in 31 playoff games and his first of 2019. All four of his regular-season goals came before the new year....

The Blackhawks freed up some valuable salary-cap last week by shipping the rights of winger Marian Hossa to the Coyotes in a seven-player deal. A persistent skin disorder sidelined Hossa throughout last season and has all but ended his playing career. It also left the Blackhawks with over $5.2 million in dead cap space through 2020-21. Shipping Hossa’s contract to the Coyotes leaves the Hawks with over $74 million invested in 22 players for 2018-19....

Multiple NHL teams are interested in signing former Kings defenseman Slava Voynov, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman . However, Voynov, unlike his fellow countryman, would return with a lot of extra baggage, if such a situation is even allowed by the league. 2018 UFA RANKINGS: Forwards | Defensemen | Goalies The 28-year-old has not played in the NHL since being arrested for domestic assault in October 2014. Voynov pleaded no-contest to a misdemeanor charge of corporal injury to a spouse and spent two months in jail....

The problem for Flyers fans, whether they know it or not, will start if and when Philadelphia tries to re-sign MacDonald. At 27 years old, and considering the market for defensemen who play a lot of minutes, block shots and put up decent points totals, he's going to look for gigantic raise — and the Flyers need defensemen enough to overpay him. What makes MacDonald a pretty strong buyer-beware: brutal puck possession numbers, even for a bad team....

Girardi and the Rangers were close on a contract extension Friday that would take the 29-year-old off the market, according to Sportsnet's John Shannon and Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Later in the day, Girardi has indeed sign for six years and a $5.5 million salary cap hit, according to multiple reports. There's no way he would've gotten less in the summer, so New York's choice was either sign him to this deal or not sign him at all....

Regardless of the unique territory that comes with playing in the heralded event, two points are still up for grabs just like in any other of the 82 regular season games each team will play in 2019-20. The last time the Stars and Nashville Predators met, Dallas dominated in a 4-1 victory. Will the host team repeat as victors or to the guest go the spoils on New Year’s Day?...

Long broke her silence on the scandal to The Hollywood Reporter, but she did not get into specifics about Udoka’s year-long suspension issued in September for what the NBA team called “violations of team policies.” The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported at the time that Udoka was allegedly involved in an “improper intimate and consensual relationship” with a female member of the Celtics organization. Long, an actress known for roles in films like Boyz n the Hood and TV shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, shares a son with Udoka....

“They sort of threw me out to dry,” Niang told Sporting News, with a slight chuckle. “I was a little fatigued at that moment, but I was signaling over for the play. Alabama’s a tough team to go against, all those big bodies for almost 40 minutes.” Niang soon managed a deflection that sent the ball over the baseline and stopped the clock with 3:44 left. It was a long walk to the Cyclones’ huddle at the opposite end of the floor....

Tension has been building with the Kyrgios and Tsitsipas camps since the controversial match at Wimbledon earlier this year when the Australian triumphed. During the heated blockbuster, Kyrgios asked the chair umpire to default Tsitsipas after the Greek star smashed a shot into crowd, and then refused to play until chatting to the tournament supervisor. In response, Tsitsipas purposefully belted a shot directly at Kyrgios in play as the Australian approached the net....

The Alabama head coach does care about the players he recruits, and does want them to develop into confident young men. MORE: Why you should watch each and every bowl game | CFB Playoff, a test of the best In 2013, Saban dismissed four-star defensive end D.J. Pettway following a robbery arrest. Pettway enrolled in at Eastern Mississippi Community College, where he was named a JuCo All-American. After a season away from the school, the Crimson Tide welcomed him back in January....

Saban, appearing on ESPN’s “The College Football Show” with Skubie Mageza and former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron on Saturday, said his team is deserving of a Playoff berth. He claims Alabama has grown from midseason losses to Tennessee and LSU and, more importantly, is healthier now — especially as it relates to 2021 Heisman Trophy winning-quarterback Bryce Young. “I think there’s some arguments for this team,” Saban said Saturday. “I think that during the middle of the season — we started out really strong — Bryce got hurt at Arkansas, so you’ve gotta kind of look at how teams are playing at present....

Swisher was in Cleveland this weekend for the team's Tribe Fest event, the winter warm-up for Indians faithful as the franchise prepares for training camp. Swisher is the first to admit 2013 wasn't his best season. And he told the Plain Dealer of Cleveland he hopes to makes amends, including for the disappointing way the season ended. The Indians lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in a one-game playoff for the AL wild-card berth....

The rap superstar made the announcement on Twitter on Thursday—within hours of the news that her husband, Kenneth Petty, is facing a possible prison sentence. When one of the “Anaconda” hitmaker’s followers asked whether she would be performing at the VMAs, set to take place in New York City on Sunday, Minaj responded: “I just pulled out. I’ll explain why another day.” The Trinidad-born star, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, went on to praise VMAs producer Bruce Gillmer, writing: “But I love those guys at MTV....

There have been numerous press conferences, get-to-know tours of his new home at the Prudential Center in Newark and visits to Yankee Stadium, the New York Stock Exchange, and a Red Bulls soccer match. MORE: Dan Girardi opens up about Rangers buyout When he returned home to Switzerland recently for a week or so there was a party in his honor in his small village where he received a congratulatory watch from friends and neighbors — a Swiss watch, of course....

Photos of the star in costume for his upcoming movie about the iconic vampire have sparked a huge reaction on social media. The Face Off actor is starring in the upcoming horror-comedy Renfield alongside Nicholas Hoult in a remake of the Bram Stoker classic that follows the “toxic and co-dependent relationship” between Dracula and his henchman. On-set photos have been obtained by People and they have subsequently gone viral on social media....

The show will be based on the Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,” by Leif Reigstad. After Tiger King dropped on Netflix and became a media sensation, many spoke about who they’d love to see cast in a scripted version of the docuseries. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you definitely have mentally cast your own version of the Netflix juggernaut....

The Super Eagles were ranked 51st in January rankings but this month, they moved a staggering nine places up despite their absence at the Africa Cup of Nations staged in Gabon. Even at this leap, they are seventh in Africa behind Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon, Tunisia, Congo DR and Burkina Faso. The Indomitable Lions, who silenced who defeated the Pharaohs to win their fifth African title climbed up 29 place to occupy number 33 in the world, though third in Africa....

Violence has plagued showings of “New Jack City” in suburban Boston, Brooklyn, N.Y., Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Nev., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sayreville, N.J., and Tukwila, Wash. In Brooklyn, where teenagers from rival housing projects fired more than 100 shots, killing one man and wounding a pregnant woman, a manager at the Duffield Twin likened the scene to “World War III.” In Los Angeles, a crowd of 1,500 who were turned away from the Mann Westwood Theatre opening night rioted, looting some 20 stores....