NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Dawson Mercer scored twice during New Jersey’s four-goal second period, and the Devils beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 on Wednesday night.
Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists, Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist, and Stefan Noesen also scored, and Timo Meier had two assists to help the Devils snap a four-game skid. Jacob Markstrom had six saves before leaving early in the second period after after a collision, and Jake Allen stopped all 16 shots he faced.
Morgan Geekie scored for Boston. Jeremy Swayman had 25 saves through two periods, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped five shots in the third.
BLUE JACKETS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 1
TORONTO (AP) — Adam Fantilli scored three goals for his first career hat trick, Elvis Merzlikins stopped 29 shots, and Columbus beat Toronto.
Luca Del Bel Belluz had a goal and an assist, and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Columbus. The Blue Jackets improved to 7-1-1 in their last nine games and moved into the Eastern Conference’s first wild card spot.
Auston Matthews scored for Toronto, and Dennis Hildeby had 14 saves. The Maple Leafs snapped a three-game winning streak.
JETS 3, AVALANCHE 2, OT
DENVER (AP) — Neal Pionk scored 17 seconds into overtime, and Winnipeg beat Colorado.
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck started the winning play when he sent the puck to Vladislav Namestnikov, who fed Pionk skating down the right side. Pionk’s slap shot beat Mackenzie Blackwood to end Winnipeg’s two-game skid.
Morgan Barron and Gabriel Vilardi also scored for Winnipeg, and Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots.
Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar scored for Colorado, and Blackwood had 22 saves.
Colorado took a 1-0 lead in the second on MacKinnon’s 19th goal of the season, but Barron and Vilardi scored before the second intermission to give the Jets the lead.
Makar tied it at 7:05 of the third when he got behind the Winnipeg defense and sent a shot over Hellebuycky’s left shoulder as he was falling to the ice.
PANTHERS , KINGS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Samuel Helenius and Adrian Kempe scored in the third period, and Los Angeles rallied to beat Florida.
Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 shots for Los Angeles, which was held to two goals or fewer for the seventh time in eight games and snapped a two-game skid.
Evan Rodrigues scored a power-play goal and Spencer Knight made 26 saves for the Panthers, who were coming off a 5-2 win at Anaheim on Tuesday night.
Helenius got his first NHL goal at 6:41 of the third to tie the score. Kempe then scored for the fourth straight game when he tipped in Kevin Fiala’s shot with 6:48 left to put the Kings ahead.
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman reacts after giving up a goal to New Jersey Devils right wing Stefan Noesen (11) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Legislators in Algeria voted to declare France’s colonization of the North African country a crime, approving a law that calls for restitution of property taken by France during its 130-year rule, among other demands seeking to redress historical wrongs.
France slammed the law as a “hostile act” threatening bilateral efforts to heal wounds of the past. The two countries retain close cultural and economic ties but have troubled diplomatic relations.
In a solemn ceremony steeped in symbolism, 340 of 407 members of Algeria’s National Assembly voted late Wednesday to approve the law. The move came just a few weeks after African countries made a collective resolution for recognition and reparations for colonial-era crimes.
The law covers the period from the landing of King Charles X’s army on the beaches of Sidi Ferruch west of Algiers in 1830 to July 5, 1962, the date of Algeria’s official independence.
The text provides for the restitution of Algerian archives and property moved to France during the colonial period, and the transmission to Algiers of detailed maps of French nuclear tests conducted in Algeria from 1960 to 1966. It also calls for the repatriation of the remains of some Algerian resistance fighters taken to France.
The law stipulates prison sentences for any action by an Algerian celebrating French colonialism, for attacks on symbols of the Algerian resistance, and “remarks with colonial connotations.”
France is unlikely to heed the demands in the law.
The law is “a manifestly hostile initiative,” the French Foreign Ministry spokesperson's office said in a statement to The Associated Press. It noted efforts under French President Emmanuel Macron to address colonial-era grievances, and added: “We continue to work toward the renewal of dialogue,” notably about security and migration issues.
Macron, in 2017, described elements of France’s history in Algeria as a crime against humanity, but stopped short of an official apology. Meanwhile, the resurgent far right in France celebrates colonialists.
The economic cost of colonialism in Africa is believed to be staggering. Algeria suffered some of the most brutal forms of French colonial rule.
Nearly a million European settlers held greater political, economic and social privileges, even though Algeria was legally part of France and its men were conscripted in World War II. Hundreds of thousands died in Algeria’s revolution, during which French forces tortured detainees, disappeared suspects and devastated villages as part of a counterinsurgency strategy to maintain their grip on power.
Huge Algerian flags adorned the lower house of parliament as speaker Mohamed Boughali delivered his opening address Wednesday.
“Today, December 24, 2025, is a historic day, to be written in letters of gold in the national narrative,” he began, before being interrupted by lawmakers intoning an excerpt from the Algerian national anthem: “O France, the hour of reckoning has arrived … we have sworn to revive Algeria, bear witness! Bear witness!”
The speaker called the law, ″a political message and an explicit moral stance.″
Government officials, professors, and former members of parliament who championed the bill were all invited to the ceremony. As the speaker declared the law adopted, shouts of “Allahu Akbar!” and “Tahya Al Djazair!” (Long live Algeria!) rose from the floor.
“This is a special day for me, full of emotion and pride. Today marks the culmination of a long struggle that we began in 2001 with fellow members of parliament, for the memory and honor of all those who fought against French colonization,” Mohamed Arezki Ferrad, a former lawmaker who initiated the bill, told the AP.
The law, which contains five chapters and 27 articles, declares that there is no statute of limitation on colonial-era crimes.
The Algerian flag flies outside the National Assembly as Parliament members vote on a bill seeking to criminalize France's colonisation, considering it a "state crime," and demanding that France issue an official apology and take legal responsibility for its colonial past in addition to compensations, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025 at her National Assembly in Algiers. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
Parliament members vote on a bill seeking to criminalize France's colonisation, considering it a "state crime," and demanding that France issue an official apology and take legal responsibility for its colonial past in addition to compensations, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025 at her National Assembly in Algiers. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
