Rick Nash played his game. No wonder that was more than enough for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Nash had two goals — one on a goal-mouth setup by Michael Peca and another on a mid-air deflection — and added an assist, and Columbus’ Jiri Novotny scored twice to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Tyler Arnason had a goal and assist, and the Colorado Avalanche made Ryan Smyth’s return to Edmonton successful with a 4-2 victory over the Oilers on Tuesday night. Jaroslav Hlinka, Wojtek Wolski and Brett Clark also scored for the Avalanche, who signed Smyth to a five-year, $31.25 million free-agent deal this summer.
Just like that, the Atlanta Thrashers are surging and the Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling. Ilya Kovalchuk scored the winner in a shootout to give last-place Atlanta a 5-4 victory over Toronto after the Thrashers allowed the tying to goal to the hometown Maple Leafs in the closing seconds of regulation Tuesday night.
The St. Louis Blues signed Paul Kariya, hoping he would add some much-needed offense. So far, so good. Kariya scored a goal and had three assists Tuesday night as the Blues kept Anaheim winless on the road by beating the Ducks 4-2 Tuesday night. Kariya, who had 72 points for Nashville last season, has nine assists and 11 points for the Blues in his first seven games.
Don Mattingly has been making managerial moves with the New York Yankees for several seasons — in his head. “I’ve heard that experience thing come up a lot,” he said, “but in my own mind I’ve been managing for the last four years, and to be honest with you, as a player you’re playing along the whole time.” After four seasons as a coach, Mattingly was interviewed Tuesday to replace departed…
The San Diego Chargers boarded a plane for Phoenix on Tuesday night, not knowing where or when they’ll play their next game. They left town because of the wildfires that chased many in the organization out of their homes, fouled the air and left Sunday’s scheduled home game against the Houston Texans in doubt.
Josh Howard scored 19 points before leaving in the third quarter with a wrist injury, and the Dallas Mavericks completed their preseason schedule with a 96-88 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. Howard was on defense when he sprained his left wrist while reacting to a pump-fake by Chicago’s Ben Gordon.
When the Miami Heat return to the practice floor sometime Thursday, they’ll have two simple tasks. Forget about October. Get ready for November. Manu Ginobili scored 22 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and the San Antonio Spurs sealed a dismal exhibition season for the Heat with a 104-87 victory Tuesday night.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, sidelined since the start of training camp after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder, could miss the first two weeks of the season. “It could be five games, it could be one or two games. We don’t know,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Tuesday night before a game against the Utah Jazz at Honda Center.
Allen Iverson had 21 points, Carmelo Anthony added 18 and the Denver Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-102 on Tuesday night.
