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AUSTIN, Texas — Reigning Craftsman Truck Series champion Zane Smith became the first repeat NASCAR winner at the Circuit of The Americas road course, holding off Kyle Busch to win the XPEL 225 on Saturday.

Smith, a 23-year-old driving the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, led the final 15 laps and crossed the finish line 5.451-seconds ahead of Busch.

Front Row Motorsports is a perfect 3-for-3 in Truck series races at COTA; Todd Gilliland won the inaugural 2021 race.

Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five.

“It was fast when it mattered,” said Smith, who won the season-opening race at Daytona. “I just enjoy coming to all the road courses, especially here. So cool. Just a true testament to this team.

“Once we got to that 8 [laps]-to-go point and I was told Kyle was in second, my heart rate went up a little bit — just because he’s so good at managing his stuff when it mattered. So I just tried not to make any mistakes.”

Chastain and Busch combined to lead 22 laps early on. Smith was able to take the lead after pitting just before the final caution, getting track position. Chastain actually fell back to 28th for the final restart and Busch was 17th, yet they both rallied to top-5 finishes.

Both of the NASCAR Cup Series full-timers wasted no time navigating upward through the field. On just the single restart lap, Busch picked off positions with ease, moving up 10 spots to run seventh. He moved into second with six laps to go, but by that point Smith had already opened up more than a 5-second advantage.

“Played the long game and unfortunately the long game didn’t work,” Busch said of gambling with a pit strategy that resulted in him pitting two laps — and a caution flag — after Smith made his final stop. “They got lucky and beat us.”

Corey Heim, rookie Nick Sanchez, Tanner Gray, Kaz Grala and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top 10.

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Foligno takes puck off hand, will miss 4 weeks

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Foligno takes puck off hand, will miss 4 weeks

Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno will miss four weeks after injuring his hand Saturday in his team’s 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, coach Jeff Blashill said.

Foligno, 38, suffered the injury with 90 seconds left in the second period when he was skating near the top of the Blackhawks’ defensive zone and Jake McCabe‘s shot on net deflected off Foligno’s hand.

Foligno immediately hunched over and favored his hand while skating back to the Blackhawks’ bench. Foligno, who did not return for the third period, finished with three shots on goal and logged 10:41 in ice time.

The absence of Foligno, who has six points in 15 games, means the Blackhawks will be without their fourth-line center who was anchoring a combination featuring Sam Lafferty and Landon Slaggert. His injury is also the second to impact the Blackhawks’ forward group with winger Jason Dickinson currently on injured reserve.

After finishing last season with the second-fewest points in the NHL, the Blackhawks (9-5-4) have emerged into one of the biggest surprises through the first quarter of the regular season. With their win against the Maple Leafs, they enter Sunday third in the Central Division and a point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference wild-card race.

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Devils’ Hughes out 8 weeks after finger surgery

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Devils' Hughes out 8 weeks after finger surgery

New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes had successful surgery on his finger Saturday, the team announced. The expected recovery time is eight weeks, though he will be reevaluated in six weeks.

According to sources, Hughes injured his hand in a “freak accident” that involved getting cut by glass at a team dinner Thursday.

Hughes’ procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

The 24-year-old was off to a terrific start for New Jersey, which is 12-4-1 and atop the Metropolitan Division entering Friday. The American-born star has 10 goals and 20 points in his first 17 games.

The injury will create an interesting predicament for Team USA ahead of the 2026 Olympics in Milan. Hughes’ brother, Quinn, has already been named to the team while the Devils star was expected to be a front-runner for the roster. Federations must submit rosters by Dec. 31. The Devils’ projected return-to-play timeline is around the second week of January. The Olympic men’s hockey tournament begins Feb. 11.

Olympic rosters feature 25 players, which is two more spots than teams had at Four Nations.

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Canucks sign ex-Leaf Kampf to one-year deal

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Canucks sign ex-Leaf Kampf to one-year deal

Center David Kampf signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, just a day after the Toronto Maple Leafs terminated his previous deal.

Kampf, whose deal with the Canucks will carry a $1.1 million cap hit, was entering the third year of his four-year contract with the Maple Leafs that was worth $2.4 million annually.

The Leafs waived Kampf before the season, and he began the year with their AHL affiliate. Kampf played four games in the AHL before taking a voluntary leave of absence, which wasn’t sanctioned by the Leafs, to evaluate his options.

Kampf, who scored 5 goals and 13 points in 59 games last season, gives the Canucks a two-way center who has logged more than 110 short-handed minutes in seven straight seasons.

The Canucks have faced defensive challenges under first-year coach Adam Foote, who already has had to navigate injuries to Filip Chytil, Thatcher Demko, Derek Forbort, Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes, among others.

Entering Saturday, the Canucks were allowing 3.53 goals per game, which is the fifth most in the NHL, while their penalty kill is the worst in the league at 66.1%. The Los Angeles Kings set the NHL record for the worst penalty kill in league history with a 68.2% success rate in the 1979-80 campaign.

Kampf also provides a veteran presence at center for the Canucks, who entered the season with questions at the position. Those concerns have intensified with Teddy Blueger and Chytil on injured reserve.

Entering Saturday, the Canucks (8-9-2) had the second-fewest points in the Pacific Division but were two points behind the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets for Western Conference wild-card spots.

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