Keller has 2 goals, 2 assists as Utah beats Predators 7-3

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Keller has 2 goals, 2 assists as Utah beats Predators 7-3

2025-04-15 11:18 Last Updated At：11:31

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Clayton Keller had two goals and two assists, and the Utah Hockey Club beat the Nashville Predators 7-3 on Monday night.

Logan Cooley had a goal and two assists, Michael Kesselring had a goal and an assist, and Nick Schmaltz, Nick Bjugstad and Kevin Stenlund also scored for Utah. Alexander Kerfoot had two assists and Matt Villalta finished with 27 saves to get his first career win in his second NHL start.

Ryan O'Reilly, Luke Evangelista and Michael Bunting scored for Nashville, and Juuse Saros had 29 saves.

O'Reilly gave the Predators a 1-0 lead 6:10 into the game as he got the puck in the right circle, skated up and fired it into the top right corner over Villalta's glove just as a power play was expiring. It was his 20th.

Kesselring tied it with 7:30 remaining in the first, and Bjugstad put Utah up 2-1 with 1:39 left in the period.

Cooley made it a two-goal lead with his third goal in four games at 3:03 of the second for his 25th, and Schmaltz made it 4-1 just 1:10 later.

Evangelista scored on a rebound with just under 9 minutes left in the second, and Bunting knocked in the rebound of Matthew Wood's hard shot that hit off the right post and fell behind Villalta in the crease with 5:40 remaining in the period to pull the Predators within one.

Keller, playing in his 600th game, scored with 7:55 left to give Utah some cushion, and then added an empty-netter for his 29th with 1:47 remaining. Stenlund capped the scoring in the final minute.

Utah: Utah is 6-1-1 over its last eight games and will finish the season no more than seven points out of a playoff spot.

Predators: Nashville has lost eight of the last 10 — all the losses in regulation — and will likely finish nearly 30 points out of the playoffs.

Schmaltz’s power-play goal made it 4-1 at 4:13 of the second period. It was Schmaltz’s 20th goal of the season.

Keller reached 60 assists for the first time. His previous career high was 49 assists during the 2022-23 season.

Utah visits St. Louis for its season finale on Tuesday night. Nashville closes out its schedule when it hosts Dallas on Wednesday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

England ends 18-match winless streak in Australia with 4-wicket victory in the 4th Ashes test

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — England ended an 18-match winless streak in Australia and beat the home side by four wickets in the fourth Ashes test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.

England lost each of the first three tests to allow Australia to retain the Ashes in just 11 days of on-field action at Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.

But England returned the favor by winning the MCG test Saturday inside two days, similar to Australia's opening win at Perth.

It was the first time the same series has had multiple two-day tests in 129 years.

The England winless streak had dated to the 2013-14 Ashes series, which Australia won 5-0. Since England convincingly won the 2010-11 Ashes 3-1, England had lost 16 matches and drawn the other two of their 18 tests Down Under over a period of nearly 15 years.

Needing 175 second-innings runs to win and 98 after the tea break, England reached its target at 178-6 to clinch the match and send thousands of its long-suffering but faithful “Barmy Army” fans into frenzied celebration.

England raced to 70-2 off the first 10 overs in its second innings, losing the wickets of Ben Duckett (34) and Brydon Carse (6). Scott Boland removed Zak Crawley (37) and Jacob Bethell (40), who both made valuable contributions.

Joe Root (15) and captain Ben Stokes (2) fell cheaply before Jamie Smith and Harry Brook guided the visiting side to a morale-boosting win ahead of the fifth and final test beginning Jan. 4 in Sydney.

Earlier Saturday, England bowled out Australia out for 132 in its second innings after lunch on Day 2. On an MCG pitch offering substantial sideways movement for pace bowlers, England successfully chased down a target of 175 to win after 30 wickets had fallen in 4 1-2 sessions.

The dismissal of opener Travis Head (46) was quickly followed by the departures of Usman Khawaja (0) and Alex Carey (4) in the next two overs as Australia slumped from 82-3 to 88-6 in the morning session.

Ben Stokes (3-24) claimed the important wicket of Cameron Green (19) after lunch, caught at second slip, and Brydon Carse sliced through the tail to finish with 4-34.

Australia held an overall lead of 46 Friday after scoring 152, running through England for 110 in a dramatic first day

Josh Tongue, named player of the match, claimed a career-best 5-45 to lead England’s bowling attack Friday before Michael Neser grabbed 4-45 for Australia.

Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said Saturday “short tests are bad for business," and said CA would consider a closer role in pitch preparation in the future.

“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach in all of our wicket preparation and allowed the staff and the conditions and those characteristics to be presented,” Greenberg told SEN Radio. ”But it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, particularly commercially."

The attendance at the MCG on Saturday was 92,045, the second-highest test crowd in Australia, only behind Friday's opening-day crowd of 94,199.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket