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Mercer scores 2 as Devils beat Bruins 5-1 to snap four-game skid

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Mercer scores 2 as Devils beat Bruins 5-1 to snap four-game skid
Sport

Sport

Mercer scores 2 as Devils beat Bruins 5-1 to snap four-game skid

2025-01-23 14:10 Last Updated At:14:20

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)

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)

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Three more Israelis held captive in the Gaza Strip are on the verge of being freed Saturday as part of a shaky ceasefire deal that requires Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

The truce that began nearly four weeks ago had been jeopardized in recent days by a tense dispute that threatened to renew the fighting.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to remove more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region has cast even more doubt on the future of the ceasefire.

But Hamas said Thursday it would move ahead with the release of more hostages after talks with Egyptian and Qatari officials. The group said the mediators had pledged to “remove all hurdles” to assure Israel would allow more tents, medical supplies and other essentials into Gaza.

It will be the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19. So far, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce.

As with previous exchanges, dozens of masked, armed Hamas fighters lined up near a stage festooned with Palestinian flags and the banners of militant factions while music blared from loudspeakers.

The militants are expected to parade the hostages before crowds and cameras onto the stage, which has been set up near a heavily damaged multistory building, before handing them over to the Red Cross. The humanitarian organization will then transport them to Israeli forces

The three hostages set to be released after more than 16 months in captivity are: Iair Horn, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina; Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, who is American-Israeli; and Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship.

The trio were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest-hit communities in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the devastating war.

Horn was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who had been staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity.

Dekel Chen had been working outside when militants stormed the kibbutz. His wife hid in a safe room with their two daughters. She gave birth to their third daughter two months later.

Troufanov was taken hostage along with his grandmother, mother and girlfriend. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanov’s father was killed in the Oct. 7 attack.

The Hamas-linked Prisoners’ Information Office said Friday that 369 Palestinians were set to be released from Israeli prisons on Saturday. It said 36 of those were serving life sentences.

Among the most prominent Palestinian prisoners set to be released is Ahmed Barghouti, 48, a close aide of Marwan Barghouti, a militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure.

Israel sentenced Ahmed Barghouti to life on charges that he dispatched suicide bombers during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He was arrested alongside Marwan Barghouti in 2002.

Of the 251 people abducted, 73 remain in Gaza, around half of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly all the remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.

Concern has been growing about the remaining hostages’ condition, particularly after the release of three last Saturday, who emerged looking emaciated and frail.

One of them, 65-year-old Keith Siegel, said Friday in a video message addressed to Trump that his captors treated him worse as the 15-month war intensified, kicking him, spitting on him and holding him without water or light.

The ceasefire appeared dangerously close to collapse in recent days.

Hamas had said it would delay the release of the hostages after accusing Israel of not adhering to their agreement by not allowing in enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble. Israel said it would resume fighting Saturday unless hostages were freed.

While the immediate crisis may have been averted, the truce faces a much bigger challenge with the deal’s first phase set to conclude in early March. There have not yet been substantive negotiations over the second phase, in which Hamas would release all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war.

At its height, the fighting displaced 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million. Hundreds of thousands have since returned to their homes as the ceasefire took hold, though many found only rubble, buried human remains and unexploded ordnance.

The war has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Trump’s proposal to remove some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them elsewhere in the region has thrown the truce’s future into further doubt.

The idea has been welcomed by Israel’s government. But it has been strongly rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries. Human rights groups say it could amount to a war crime under international law.

Trump has proposed that once the fighting ends, Israel would transfer control of Gaza to the United States, which would then redevelop it as the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right allies are already calling for a resumption of the war after the first phase with the goal of destroying Hamas and implementing Trump’s plan. The militant group remains in control of the territory after surviving one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history.

Hamas may be unwilling to release any more hostages if it believes the war will resume. The captives are among the only bargaining chips it has left.

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip

Palestinians gather to attend Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians gather to attend Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians gather to attend the Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians gather to attend the Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians perform Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians perform Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians gather to attend Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians gather to attend Friday prayers at the Great Omari Mosque, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation in Gaza City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians queue for food distribution in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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