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DENVER — Valeri Nichushkin parked himself in front of the net in overtime and started whacking at a loose puck until it went in, setting off a roar from the crowd.

How’s that for a return?

Nichushkin knocked in a power-play goal 2:32 into overtime in his return to the lineup after a two-month absence, Alexandar Georgiev stopped a penalty shot late in regulation, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Friday night.

Nichushkin scored the winner shortly after Kirill Kaprizov drew a penalty for hooking.

Nichushkin was back for his first game since Jan. 10 after receiving care through the player assistance program. He was serenaded by fans as he remained behind on the ice for a brief postgame interview.

He thanked the crowd.

His teammates later thanked him.

“We’re happy he’s back. He’s a huge part of our team,” Georgiev said. “Hopefully, good times for him coming up. Huge goal. He’s such a big competitor. He always wants to help us win.”

Added Colorado coach Jared Bednar: “It’s great to have him back and great to see the support he’s getting from our fans. … It can help a guy mentally when he’s feeling supported by the community and by our fans.”

Nathan MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 32 games with two assists. He is tied with Guy Lafleur (1978-79) for the third-longest home point run in NHL history.

Artturi Lehkonen had a goal 42 seconds into the game for the Avalanche, who made a flurry of deals at the trade deadline. New additions Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Duhaime, Yakov Trenin and Sean Walker were scattered throughout the lineup.

“The new guys looked great,” MacKinnon said.

Devon Toews scored with around 2:30 remaining in third period, but the Wild challenged for offside. After a review, the goal was taken off the board.

Georgiev made 29 saves. He also thwarted Mats Zuccarello‘s penalty shot with 5:55 remaining. Georgiev was sprawled out when Zuccarello sent his shot wide. Zuccarello was awarded a penalty shot after Andrew Cogliano sent a stick laying on the ice into the Wild forward.

Both teams struggled on the power play, going a combined 1-for-8.

Brock Faber had a goal for a Minnesota team that showed few signs of fatigue after a 5-2 win the night before in Arizona. The Wild remain on the fringe of the playoff picture.

Colorado entered the game as the highest-scoring team in the NHL, averaging 3.70 goals per game. But Filip Gustavsson turned in big save after big save, with an assist to a friendly post as the Avalanche clanged a few shots off the iron. He stopped 38 shots.

“Tough back-to-back against a good fresh, hockey team,” Faber said. “Obviously [Gustavsson] played great and we gave ourselves a chance to win. It’s frustrating, though.”

Lehkonen scored early on a no-look pass from MacKinnon. It was MacKinnon’s 70th assist of the season (he later added No. 71). The last Colorado player to have 70 or more assists in a season was Peter Forsberg (77 in 2002-03).

Faber tied it in the second on a wide-open wrist shot. He now has 37 points this season, the third-highest mark for a rookie in Wild history. He trails only Kaprizov (51 in 2020-21) and Matt Boldy (39 in 2021-22).

For Duhaime, his first game in an Avalanche sweater happened to be against his former Wild teammates. He was a fourth-round pick by Minnesota in 2016 and spent his career with the team.

“Definitely a weird experience for sure,” Duhaime said.

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Zilisch breaks collarbone in scary Victory Lane fall

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Zilisch breaks collarbone in scary Victory Lane fall

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — NASCAR Xfinity Series points leader Connor Zilisch broke his collarbone after a hard fall in Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International.

After his series-leading sixth victory, Zilisch was climbing onto the roof of his No. 88 Chevrolet to celebrate. He slipped after apparently getting his left foot caught in the driver’s side window netting and tumbled awkwardly onto the asphalt.

Zilisch, 19, was taken on a backboard to the trackside medical center and then transported to a hospital for further evaluation. He posted on X about two hours later that he had a broken collarbone and that CT scans showed no head injury.

“Thank you everybody for reaching out today,” Zilisch posted. “I’m out of the hospital and getting better already. Thankful for all the medics for quick attention and grateful it wasn’t any worse.”

Zilisch will not be available for the Cup race Sunday at Watkins Glen. After racing in the Truck and Xfinity Series the past two days at the road course, he was scheduled to complete a tripleheader by making his fourth Cup start this season for Trackhouse Racing.

The scary incident capped an eventful day for Zilisch, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports team.

After starting from the pole position, Zilisch wrecked teammate Shane van Gisbergen’s car while battling for the lead on Lap 65. After being bumped from the lead to fifth on a restart, Zilisch retook first and led the final four laps.

“He did such a great job of getting back through the field and getting the lead,” crew chief Mardy Lindley told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after the race. “Praying for Connor right now that he’s OK. I think he’s going to be fine.”

Zilisch missed a race earlier this season at Texas Motor Speedway after suffering a back injury during a crash at Talladega Superspeedway. He has 11 consecutive top-five finishes and five wins since his return.

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White Sox nail tribute to former owner Veeck

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White Sox nail tribute to former owner Veeck

CHICAGO –The White Sox threw a party that would have made Bill Veeck proud.

The club celebrated its quirky former owner with Bill Veeck Night on Saturday by bringing back some of the stunts, tricks and exhibitions that added to the lore of the legendary showman and Hall of Famer.

There was a pregame petting zoo and a roving circus with — what else? — a clown to entertain fans entering Rate Field. There was ice sculpting on the concourse in the outfield and a chance to get a photo taken with a 50-foot hot dog, along with an offer of free haircuts. The first 15,000 fans received a Veeck bobblehead, and postgame fireworks were planned.

Another highlight was what the team described as a “married in a minute” event, with two White Sox fans tying the knot in a 60-second ceremony officiated by 1983 American League Rookie of the Year Ron Kittle.

Veeck’s son, Mike, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the White Sox took on the Cleveland Guardians.

The fun wasn’t limited to fans in the stands. White Sox players turned back the clock by wearing pinstriped shorts during pregame warmups and batting practice. The team wore those unusual shorts — along with collared uniform tops — for some games during the 1976 season.

Veeck was a two-time owner of the White Sox, first from 1959-61 and again from 1975-81. His tenure was marked by memorable and forgettable stunts to enhance the fans’ game-day experience through entertainment.

His stunts included an exploding scoreboard in 1960 and a disastrous disco demolition night in 1979, when a crate of disco records was blown up between games of a doubleheader. The playing surface at Comiskey Field was so damaged by the blast and fans who rushed the field after the stunt that Chicago was forced to forfeit the second game to Detroit.

Another of his famous acts was signing 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel to be a pinch hitter in 1951, when Veeck owned the St. Louis Browns. Gaedel, who had a miniscule strike zone, walked on four pitches.

Veeck died in 1986 at 71 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

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Athletics put P Severino on IL with oblique strain

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Athletics put P Severino on IL with oblique strain

Right-hander Luis Severino, who recently has pitched like the high-priced free agent the Athletics signed in the offseason, was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday because of a left oblique strain.

The move is retroactive to Wednesday.

The A’s called up left-hander Hogan Harris from Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding transaction.

Severino signed a $67 million, three-year contract in December with the A’s, but he can opt out after next season. It was largest-ever contract for the typically low-spending A’s, though they since made other similar deals with Brent Rooker ( $60 million over five years ) and Lawrence Butler ( $65.5 million over seven years ) in anticipation of their scheduled move to Las Vegas in 2028.

Unless he agrees to an extension, the 31-year-old Severino likely won’t be part of those plans.

He started slow this season, but in his past five starts went 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 27 2/3 innings. That improved his record to 6-11 with a 4.82 ERA.

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