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WASHINGTON – The Vancouver Canucks†most emotional moment Sunday, in a game brimming with them, occurred not on the ice but in their dressing room in the first intermission.

After their best period of the National Hockey League season ended with a three-goal lead against the Washington Capitals and a devastating blindside hit on Canuck centre Filip Chytil, whose career has looked jeopardized by previous concussions, Vancouver players had to measure their anger and sadness about Tom Wilson injuring their friend against the importance of winning the game.

“I mean, guys hung in there together,†winger Conor Garland said. “We didn’t get stupid. I think we were, you know, focused on Filip, which is normal. That’s a friend of ours, a great teammate. And to lose him to that (hit), you never want to see. But just to stay focused and band together was great. It felt like the bench was pretty wide open today.â€

Longest-tenured Canuck Brock Boeser was already missing, suddenly on leave for personal reasons.

Canuck rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki also did not survive the first period, suffering a possible shoulder injury in a collision with Capitals defenceman Matt Roy along the boards. Another Vancouver centre, Teddy Blueger, who scored his first goal of the season in the second period after missing the first four games with a knee injury, did not finish the third period when the Canucks were under siege.

Amid all this, there was Swedish rookie Linus Karlsson engaging Wilson without hesitating. And defenceman Victor Mancini had never had a fight in his life – “Like, a full-on fight, never. In school, I was a pretty peaceful kid, I guess†– but traded bombs with Brandon Duhaime in the second period.

The oldest Canuck, Tyler Myers, 35, logged 25:50 on defence and contributed a goal and assist. Elias Pettersson scored his first of the season and dug in for the battle, blocking a pair of Alex Ovechkin shots in the final minute, Garland played a foot taller than his five-foot-nine frame and Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko was again outstanding.

With all this, the Canucks hung on to beat the powerful Capitals 4-3 for their third road win over two time zones in less than 72 hours.

“It’s insane; we just stuck together,†winger Kiefer Sherwood said after his career-high 23:16 of ice time included a goal and four hits. “The coaches made sure that we didn’t get too haywire after losing Heats there. I don’t know if it was clean or dirty, but when you see a guy that’s dealt with that (concussion) stuff. . . you just feel really sorry for him, you know?

“I mean, we’re a family here. It was emotional in between periods, and we just kind of had to gather ourselves and stick together. Everyone went in there (to the medical room) and saw Heats, just trying to lift his spirits and stuff. And then Lekky, and then Teddy at the end. We were down to nine forwards; Iâ€ve never seen something like that.â€

As weâ€ve said before, every win may be worth the same two points, but not every win is equal.

With Sundayâ€s victory, the Canucks†third straight after a sketchy opening weekend to the season, the family got a little closer. And the team got a lot closer to re-establishing its identity after last yearâ€s lost season.

“You know, the schedule’s been tough the last three days,†Demko said. “We had some pressure on us coming into this road trip; I’m not going to pretend like it’s not there. Media was talking about it, guys in our room were talking about it, coaching staff’s talking about it. I think we all knew what position we were in coming into the trip, and to get the first three (wins) is huge. It’s been a great start to the trip.â€

The Canucks will rest Monday before visiting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Theyâ€ll need more players.

Centre Aatu Raty, a healthy scratch the last two games due to the return of Blueger, will go back into the lineup and minor-league callup Max Sasson could find himself centring the second line.

But depending on the status of Boeser, Lekkerimaki and Blueger, the team may need to recall a couple of forwards from the Abbotsford Canucks. Vancouverâ€s road trip ends Thursday in Nashville.

Coach Adam Foote told reporters after the game that Boeser, at least, should be back soon. The wingerâ€s departure was announced by general manager Patrik Allvin less than an hour before faceoff.

“I’m hearing that it’s not going to be long at all,†Foote said.

On Wilsonâ€s open-ice hit with 36 seconds left in the first period, Foote said: “It looked like, from my first view, that it was a clean hit. Iâ€ve got to look at it again. I mean, he’s a big guy. I liked the way our players didnâ€t get caught… in the trap after a hit like that, running after him and trying to get him. We have to get two points first. That other stuff takes care of itself later down the road, if it needs to be taken care of.â€

The Canucks were up 3-0 when Wilson crushed Chytil, who was looking right and following his pass into the neutral zone as one of the NHLâ€s most notorious players closed on him from the left. The hit looked a step late.

Pettersson picked the top corner from a Garland pass just 59 seconds into the game, and Myers†cleanup from a chaotic scramble doubled the Canucks†lead at 17:09. When Capitals coach Spencer Carbery unsuccessfully challenged the goal because Canuck Evander Kane had contacted goalie Charlie Lindgren in the mosh pit around the net, Vancouverâ€s power play made it 3-0 at 17:52 when Sherwood tapped in a loose puck.

Bluegerâ€s goal, on a savvy kick-pass from Kane after Myers forced a turnover inside the Washington blue line, made it 4-0 at 4:54 of the middle period.

But Ryan Leonard, after a brilliant initial save by Demko, scored on a Capitals†power play at 13:42 of the second period. The Canucks†short bench and long travel worked against them in the third period, and goals by Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson brought the Capitals within one with 2:14 remaining.

With Washington attacking six-on-five, Vancouver survived an awful giveaway by Kane, got the two blocks from Pettersson and others from Myers and Sherwood, and Demko made the last of his 27 saves on a sharp Ovechkin redirect one second remaining.

“We bent there, but we didn’t break and we just stuck together,†Sherwood said. “We literally used every guy tonight. Demmer stood on his head, and the D were just mucking it out, and we got everyone just contributing and pulling the rope together.

“It’s a high-character win against a good team. Really happy with the way the guys just dug in and got it done.â€

Mancini on fighting Duhaime:†I mean, he asked me and I wasn’t going to turn him down. Especially in those circumstances — obviously, that’s not the guy who hit Fil — but I want to protect my teammates, stand up for my teammates. So, yeah, I was ready to answer the bell.â€

Karlsson on grabbing Wilson after his hit on Chytil: “Our guy went down pretty bad, so I didn’t really even think. I know (Wilson) is a tough guy; I was just trying to stick up for the guys. We fought for each other.â€

Foote on Pettersson: “He played great. He had more pace in his game going at guys, had more confidence. On the defensive side, we saw him with two big blocks, too. So I really liked his game, especially in not-a-friendly environment. It could have gotten really physical, and he didn’t seem to mind.â€

Myers on Chytil: “Yeah, it was tough. It’s never what you want to see, really, from any player, whether he’s on your team or not on your team. I hope he’s okay. He’s a true pro, and has been a true pro since the day he got here. And I know he will be (again) in getting better and getting back on the ice.â€

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After No. 7 Penn State suffered a shocking 42-37 loss to UCLA on Saturday, Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin wanted his team to stay united moving forward.

“We gotta stick together,” Franklin told reporters following the defeat (5:30 mark). “The coaches, the players in the locker room, the offense, defense, special teams. The reality is we didn’t play well enough in all three phases to win the game. There’s gonna be a lot out there to divide, divide, divide and we gotta tune all of that out and stick together. I think we’ll do that.”

Saturday’s final result was especially shocking considering the Bruins entered the game with an 0-4 start to the season. They became the first team with a record of at least 0-4 to take down a top-10 opponent since 1985.

UCLA jumped out in front with an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter and continued to excel offensively, eventually holding a 27-7 advantage at halftime.

While the Nittany Lions scored 30 points in the second half, their defense couldn’t find a way to consistently slow down Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Iamaleava finished 17-of-24 for 166 yards while scoring five total touchdowns. He also rushed for a game-high 128 yards on 16 attempts.

UCLA’s run game was stellar, picking up 269 yards on 53 carries as a team.

After Penn State advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinal last season, Franklin’s squad has now lost each of its first two Big Ten matchups this year.

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Keegan Bradley faces scrutiny over player power in the United States Ryder Cup team and his own inflexibility after the captain produced curious pairings for the Saturday morning foursomes at Bethpage. Bradley and the US are under pressure after Europe won both sessions on Friday, taking them to a 5 ½ to 2 ½ lead as they seek to retain the trophy.

The respected analytics site Data Golf had Collin Morikawa and Harris English as 132nd in a list of compatible American players for foursomes. Morikawa and English slumped to a 5&4 foursomes defeat to Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood on Friday morning. Not only has Bradley returned Morikawa and English for Saturday morning but they will face the same European duo.

“We’re really comfortable with our plan,†said Bradley. “We’re really comfortable with those two players. Excited [by] who they are playing tomorrow. It will be an exciting match and we’re sticking to our plan. We’re not going to panic. We’re not going to panic and make those sort of mistakes. We’re going to stick to what we know.â€

Pressed on the rationale behind his decision, Bradley hinted at a theme which has regularly surrounded US teams. “They were really bummed out that they lost their match today,†added the captain. “They were eager to get back out on the course and that’s why we did that.â€

Bradley has also retained Russell Henley in partnership with Scottie Scheffler. That duo, who lost to Ludvig Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick on Friday morning, will now face Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland. The European captain Luke Donald has retained the foursomes pairings from a 3-1 session win, changing only their order. Åberg and Fitzpatrick will lead off for Europe against Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Young. The remaining match will see Europe’s Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton face Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.

The American players struggled on Bethpage’s greens on day one; it would be no shock if they are speeded up for Ryder Cup Saturday. “When you try too hard in golf, you don’t play as well,†said Bradley. “We go out tomorrow, we get back into our process. We have a whole different mindset. We are playing from behind.â€

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Donald has no such issues, albeit the Englishman was keen to stress the Ryder Cup has a long way to run. “The only one thing that people remember is who is the winner on Sunday,†Donald said. “That is our goal and that continues to be our goal. I am very excited and proud of the team, how they dug in there. It’s a tough environment out there. The crowd was loud and like we expected.â€

Donald said he unaware of footage circulating online which many claimed showed McIlroy gesturing towards US supporters on the 11th hole of the afternoon session. The images are not particularly clear. McIlroy was a target for heckling throughout much of Friday.

Joelinton says it was troubling to see Newcastle United team-mate Lewis Miley “get stick” after a landmark moment, but the Brazilian believes genuine supporters are firmly behind the teenager.

Miley chose to limit replies to a post he made on X to mark his 50th first-team game for Newcastle at the weekend. It is understood this was a precaution as he is still young.

The 19-year-old put in an accomplished display in the goalless draw against Bournemouth – his first Premier League start since February – but he still came in for criticism from a small minority of social media users who questioned his first-team credentials.

Miley’s course of action on the social media platform was noticed, and fans have since sent messages of support, while captain Bruno Guimaraes hailed his fellow midfielder as a “top player and guy”.

Joelinton played alongside academy graduate Miley in Newcastle’s 4-1 win against Bradford City on Wednesday night and said the youngster has a “great future in front of him”.

“It’s always difficult when you see your team-mate get stick,” Joelinton said following the Carabao Cup third-round tie. “I have had a difficult time here, too. I know how it is.

“I know the fans are behind the team and a really good young player. He played really well on Sunday. The team has to get better and everyone has to look on the mirror and get better.”

Miley praised Newcastle’s “amazing” travelling support in his post on Sunday, saying he was “very proud” to have hit the milestone for his boyhood club.

The midfielder broke a number of records during a breakout campaign at Newcastle a couple of years ago, including becoming the youngest player in Champions League history to provide an assist for an English side by doing so at the age of 17 years and 226 days.

Miley went on to suffer back and foot injuries and has faced intense competition for a starting berth while competing with fellow midfielders Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali.

But Miley, tellingly, kept his place in Eddie Howe’s starting line-up for the visit of Bradford.

“I thought Lewie was excellent,” the Newcastle head coach said. “In part, I think he really helped us in the first half. He played some lovely little deft touches and short passes into midfield using Joe and Bruno as a springboard, really, to control that midfield area.

“He’s come back into the team and produced two really good performances back-to-back. I thought he was really good against Bournemouth in maybe a slightly different way to tonight, but he’s developing his experience all the time and I’m really pleased with him.”

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CHICAGO — Cubs rookie starter Cade Horton has been almost unhittable since the All-Star break.In fact, for the first five…