Hockey

Blue Jackets top Wild with winning streaks on the line

Cam Atkinson scored twice, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 on Saturday in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the first game in major pro sports history between teams carrying winning streaks of 12 games or more.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves as Columbus extended its run of victories to 15, closing in on the 1992-93 Penguins’ NHL record of 17.

The Wild’s franchise-record winning stretch ended at 12.

Jack Johnson and Seth Jones also scored for Columbus. Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker scored for the Wild, and Devan Dubnyk made 21 saves.

• T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin scored 33 seconds apart in the second period to power the Washington Capitals to a 6-2 road victory, and a split of a home-and-home series with the New Jersey Devils.

Brett Connolly, Jay Beagle, Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson also scored for Washington. Backup goalie Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.

Kyle Palmieri and Beau Bennett scored for the Devils.

Devils defenseman John Moore was removed from the ice on a stretcher following a check by Washington’s Tom Wilson in the first period.

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: Colin White and Jordan Greenway scored early power-play goals and Joseph Woll made 25 saves to help the United States beat Canada 3-1 in Toronto for the top spot in Group B.

Jeremy Bracco also scored for the United States (4-0).

Thomas Chabot scored on a 5 on 3 power play for Canada (3-1).

• Jonathan Dahlen had a hat trick and Sweden (4-0) won Group A, beating the Czech Republic 5-2 in Montreal for its 40th consecutive group stage win since 2007.

BASKETBALL

NBA: Mike Conley had 22 points and eight rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies used a big third quarter to beat the host Sacramento Kings, 112-98.

JaMychal Green made four of Memphis’ 17 3-pointers and finished with 18 points. Zach Randolph and Vince Carter each scored 14, and Tony Allen and Troy Daniels had 11 points apiece.

DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points, eight assists and five steals for Sacramento.

SOCCER

PREMIER LEAGUE: Chelsea fought off a dogged Stoke for a record-equaling 13th consecutive league win, a 4-2 victory at London.

Willian scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute, as Chelsea matched the mark set in 2002 by Arsenal.

• Liverpool maintained its pursuit of the leaders with a 1-0 home victory over Manchester City thanks to Georginio Wijnaldum’s eighth-minute header. It was Liverpool’s fourth straight win.

• Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba scored in the 85th and 86th minutes to rescue a fifth successive win for Manchester United, 2-1 over Middlesbrough at home.

• Leicester moved six points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win at home against West Ham, with Islam Slimani’s header ending a three-game winless streak for the struggling champions.

RUNNING

ST. SILVESTER: Kenya’s Jemima Sumgong won another title in Brazil this year, setting a record for the St. Silvester road race in Sao Paulo following her gold in the marathon at the Rio Olympics.

Sumgong clocked 48 minutes, 35 seconds in the 15-kilometer event, finishing 40 seconds ahead of fellow Kenyan, Flomena Cheyech Daniel. The previous record was 48:48, set in 2011.

– Staff and news service report

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