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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Toronto Maple Leafs fans travel so well, Auston Matthews became accustomed hearing the chants “We want 60!” whether at home or on the road over the past week.

In Buffalo on Saturday, playing in the same building the Maple Leafs drafted him with the No. 1 pick in 2016, and an arena brimming with fans wearing blue and white jerseys, Matthews delivered.

Sweeping a loose puck into the open left side of the Sabres net with 5:37 left in regulation to cap Toronto’s 3-0 victory, Matthews sparked a electric celebration by becoming the NHL’s first two-time 60-goal scorer in 30 years.

Bending to one knee and punching the air, Matthews was mobbed by his teammates at the boards, while chants of “MVP!” rained from the thousands of Maple Leaf fans who made the 90-minute cross-border trek from Toronto.

“It means a lot, obviously,” Matthews said. “It’s always a fun atmosphere here with all the blue and white in the stands. Definitely pretty cool.”

Matthews matched the franchise record he set when he led the NHL in goals two seasons ago. The 26-year-old joins a group of eight NHL players to have multiple 60-goal seasons, and first since Pavel Bure had back-to-back 60-goal campaigns with the Vancouver Canucks in 1992-93 and 1993-94.

Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy lead the list with five 60-goal seasons.

Matthews, from Scottsdale, Arizona, was the first U.S.-born player to score 60 — and he’s now done it twice.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to think about stuff like that. Honestly, it’s special, obviously,” Matthews said, when asked to put his feat into historical context. “I’ve been fortunate to play with some really great players and a supportive team behind us. I just try to go out every day and compete.”

Matthews became just the sixth player to reach 60 goals in the 2000s. Of those players, he trails only Edmonton captain Connor McDavid, who scored 64 last season, and Washington captain Alex Ovechkin, who had 65 in 2007-08.

By scoring, Matthews extended his point streak to seven games, in which he has five goals and eight assist. Of his 60 goals, an NHL-leading 45 have come in even-strength situations.

And Matthews has been on a tear since December. After being limited to 13 goals in his first 21 games, Matthews has combined for 47 in his past 51 — a stretch in which he’s not gone more than two games without scoring.

“He’s had an incredible season, scored in different ways,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He does so much for our team. It’s more than just the goals. But for him to get that is great and if you’re not going to get it at home, this is probably second-best. That was great and I loved the way that the fans acknowledged him, too.”

Matthews and the Leafs didn’t have to look far to feel at home.

Right behind the Sabres bench were eight fans wearing white shirts spelling out his name, “M-A-T-T-H-E-W-S.” In celebrating Matthews’ goal, they raised two gold air balloons of a 6 and 0.

The goal was a hustle play by Matthews in which he chased down Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram, who broke his stick while attempting to play the puck in Buffalo’s zone. After his first attempt was stopped by Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen, Matthews sent the puck back to the point. Lukkonenen stopped Conor Timmins‘ shot, with Matthews converting the rebound.

“I don’t think he really sets limits on himself. I think he just wants to continue to get better and work on his game adn go out there each and every night and be consistent and impact it,” said Maple Leafs captain John Tavares, who opened the scoring while playing in his 1,100th career game.

Certainly he wants to continue to be one of the best in the world and drive our team, and obviously make an impact with the way he can play the game,” Tavares added. “Obviously, he’s able to score a lot of goals, but his play in all three zones away from the puck with the puck is just exceptional. He’s just the total package.”

Matthews shifted his focus on the win, which inched the Maple Leafs within three points of clinching a playoff spot, and the importance of the final two-plus weeks of the season.

“Obviously, you want to be heading into April trying to feel confident and play your best hockey,” Matthews said. “An important week for us coming up here. It’ll be nice to enjoy this one and come get the focus on what’s to come.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Irish jockey O’Sullivan, 24, dies after Thurles fall

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Irish jockey O'Sullivan, 24, dies after Thurles fall

Irish jockey Michael O’Sullivan died on Sunday, 10 days after sustaining injuries in a fall at Thurles Racecourse in Ireland, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) said.

O’Sullivan, aged 24, who has ridden 90 winners in Ireland and five in Britain, and his mount Wee Charlie were one of three fallers at the final fence in the second race on the Feb. 6 card.

O’Sullivan was treated on the course before being airlifted to hospital, where he was placed in intensive care.

“Michael sadly passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning surrounded by his loving family in Cork University Hospital,” Dr Jennifer Pugh, Chief Medical Officer of the IHRB, said in a statement.

His family took the decision to donate his organs, Pugh said.

“I have had the privilege of knowing Michael through his amateur and professional career and his dedication, modesty and kind nature always made him a pleasure to be around,” Pugh added.

“The O’Sullivan family have asked for privacy at this time.”

O’Sullivan turned professional in 2022 and he won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the Fred Winter at Cheltenham the following year.

“Michael was an exceptionally talented young rider who was always popular in the weighroom and will be deeply missed by everyone in racing who had the pleasure of knowing him,” Darragh O’Loughlin, chief executive of the IHRB, said.

As a mark of respect, Sunday’s fixture at Punchestown and the point-to-point fixtures in Ireland have been cancelled.

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Granlund OT goal gives Finland 1st 4 Nations win

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Granlund OT goal gives Finland 1st 4 Nations win

MONTREAL — Mikael Granlund scored the overtime winner, and Finland beat Sweden 4-3 Saturday in an instant classic, back-and-forth game between the bitter rivals at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Granlund scored 1:49 into 3-on-3 OT, sending fans in Finland’s blue and white at Bell Centre to the exits cheering and chanting, “Suomi!”

“It’s always great to beat Sweden,” Granlund said in his postgame media availability.

Anton Lundell and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Finland, and Kevin Lankinen made 21 saves in his debut at the NHL-run international tournament, including a pad stop on Mika Zibanejad seconds into overtime. Coach Antti Pennanen switched from Juuse Saros to Lankinen after his team lost 6-1 to the United States on Thursday night.

“I don’t think we needed to do much, we knew that there was a lot of good things we did in the game against USA,” Finland captain Aleksander Barkov said in his postgame interview on SportsNet. “Obviously, the result, 6-1, was not great, it did not look good. But I thought we did a lot of good things. And same thing today.”

Knocking off Sweden puts the Finns right back in it with one game for them left in round-robin play. The top two teams among the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland meet in the championship game next week in Boston.

Despite goals from Zibanejad and Rasmus Dahlin, the Swedes are in trouble and now might need some help to make the final. Filip Gustavsson was pulled after allowing two goals on four shots in the first period, and Linus Ullmark allowed two on 17 the rest of the way.

Finland also has a potential injury situation to monitor after Barkov came up limping from blocking a shot late in the second. The reigning Stanley Cup champion from the Florida Panthers continued playing through it.

“We got a little better, and played for a full 60-something minutes,” Barkov said. “We knew, playing against Sweden, even if it’s 4 a.m., it doesn’t matter. Everyone is going to be fired up. We came out hard, and we played really well.”

The U.S. faces Canada on Saturday night in the most anticipated game in Montreal, but Sweden and Finland put on quite the show in the matinee. Facing off 19 years after Sweden defeated Finland in the 2006 Olympic gold medal game in Turin, this time the Finns were on the winning end of an entertaining game featuring a blend of speed, skill and physicality — and some pushing and shoving after the whistles, which was expected of players from countries that do not like each other.

The tournament shifts to Boston, where Finland faces Canada on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET and Sweden plays the United States at 8 p.m.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Finland sits Saros after giving up 6 in loss to U.S.

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Finland sits Saros after giving up 6 in loss to U.S.

MONTREAL — Kevin Lankinen will start in net for Finland against Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday after Juuse Saros allowed six goals on 32 shots in a 6-1 loss to the United States in each team’s tournament opener, coach Antti Pennanen said.

“We have three good goalies,” Pennanen said after practice Friday. “It’s a good situation for us. Juuse, I think he was really good the first 40 minutes, but 6-1, so we need to do something. And Kevin, he has played good games lately, so that was behind that decision.”

Saros’ struggles stretched into the 4 Nations from his rough half-season-plus in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. The 29-year-old has lost 29 of his 41 starts, ranks 38th among goalies in goals-against average with a 2.95 and is 33rd in save percentage with an .899.

Asked how he would evaluate his performance against the U.S., Saros said: “Obviously you always want to help your team even more on games like that.”

Saros’ new, eight-year, $61.92 million contract does not even kick in until next season.

Lankinen is 19-8-7 for the Vancouver Canucks with a 2.53 GAA and a .905 save percentage, making just above the league minimum at $875,000. A late bloomer who was never drafted, he grinded through minor leagues in Finland and North America before breaking through.

“I feel like there’s still more — a lot more — to accomplish, so many more levels to step up to, and I feel like every single season so far has been good progress,” Lankinen said. “Some of the pieces are coming together, but at the same time I recognize there is so much more to achieve.”

Pennanen hinted at making other lineup changes after scratching Kaapo Kakko and Juuso Valimaki on Thursday night but would not reveal much. Valimaki said he was not playing.

“Could be, but tomorrow you will know about those,” Pennanen said. “Again, 6-1, I think you need to do something but I know more exactly tomorrow, and those changes are public tomorrow.”

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