HOCKEY
Jack Studnicka scored in the first period and David Backes in the third to lead the Boston Bruins to a 2-0 preseason win over the New Jersey Devils Wednesday night at Boston.
Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves for the shutout.
Boston has three wins and two losses in the preseason with one game remaining – 3 p.m. Saturday at home against Chicago.
The Bruins open the regular season Thursday Oct. 3 at Dallas.
• Cammi Granato, the former U.S. Olympic team captain, gold medalist and Hockey Hall of Famer, was hired as one of five pro scouts for Seattle’s as-yet unnamed franchise, which begins play with the 2021-22 season.
Granato, who is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, joins a handful of women working on the hockey operations side of an NHL franchise and she is the only female pro scout currently in the league. Last year, Toronto hired Hayley Wickenheiser as assistant director of player development and Noelle Needham as an amateur scout.
• The Calgary Flames signed forward Matthew Tkachuk to a three-year, $21-million deal.
• Columbus Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky likely will miss the start of the season with a wrist injury.
GM Jarmo Kekalainen said the 33-year-old Dubinsky is out indefinitely. No other details were provided.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: Roush Fenway Racing made a surprise driver change, saying Chris Buescher will replace veteran Ricky Stenhouse Jr. next season.
Stenhouse has driven the No. 17 Ford for Roush the past seven seasons and Roush held options on his contract for 2020 and 2021. But the team informed him it is parting ways with the two-time Xfinity Series champion.
SOCCER
ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP: Manchester United was taken to a penalty shootout by third-tier Rochdale before advancing to the fourth round, having conceded an equalizer in normal time to a 16-year-old school kid.
On a night when three Premier League teams were eliminated by lower-division opposition, a United team containing Paul Pogba only just avoided a major scare at Old Trafford.
Luke Matheson took the game to penalties after scoring in the 76th minute for Rochdale, which is in 17th place in League One, to cancel out fellow teenager Mason Greenwood’s opening goal for United.
United converted all its spot kicks in the shootout, winning 5-3.
SPANISH LEAGUE: Barcelona says Lionel Messi will be sidelined because of a muscle injury picked up in the first half against Villarreal in a Spanish league match on Tuesday.
The club says Messi has a left abductor injury but did not give a timeline for his recovery.
Spanish media says Messi is expected to miss the league game at Getafe on Saturday and is doubtful for the Champions League match against Inter Milan on Wednesday.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Kyrie Irving sustained a left side facial fracture after being elbowed during a pickup game, and the Nets said the All-Star point guard is listed as day to day.
Irving was hurt Tuesday in one of the final workouts before the team opens training camp.
TENNIS
WUHAN OPEN: Top-ranked Ash Barty advanced to the quarterfinals for the third straight year with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Sofia Kenin at Wuhan, China.
Barty fell behind 5-3 in the second set but saved two set points against her American opponent and won four straight games to avoid a third set.
DOPING
BRAZIL: Olympic judo champion Rafaela Silva of Brazil has been stripped of her Pan American Games gold medal after failing a doping test.
The 27-year-old Silva announced last week that she tested positive for fenoterol, a drug used to treat asthma. The judoka blamed her frequent contact with a 7-month-old baby that suffers from asthma for the doping result.
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