ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matthew Kessel and Pavel Buchnevich each scored in the third period to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Friday.
Jordan Kyrou and Oskar Sundqvist also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 25 saves for St. Louis, which won for the third time in its last 10 games.
David Perron, Fabian Zetterlund and Shane Pinto scored, and Leevi Merilainen made 27 saves for Ottawa, which has gone 3-2 over the first five games of a seven-game road trip.
Kessel swatted in a rebound for his second goal of the season to take a 4-3 lead just 1 minute, 48 seconds after Perron scored his third goal of the season 7:31 into the third period to tie the game at 3-all.
Buchnevich one-timed a feed from Brayden Schenn for his third goal of the season 5:33 into the third period to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead. Buchnevich’s first even-strength goal of the season snapped a 16-game scoring drought since scoring his last goal on Oct. 25 at Detroit.
Kyrou backhanded a feed from Jake Neighbours past Merilainen for his team-leading seventh goal of the season 2:01 into the third period to tie the game at 2-2.
Zetterlund scored his ninth goal of the season with 1:33 remaining in the second period to put Ottawa ahead 2-1.
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk assisted on Zetterlund’s goal in his return to the lineup after missing 20 games with a thumb injury that required surgery to repair torn ligaments.
Pinto scored his team-leading 12th goal of the season 10:11 into the second period to tie the game at 1-all.
Sundqvist scored his first goal of the season 7:59 into the second period.
Senators: At Dallas Sunday night.
Blues: Host Utah Saturday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
St. Louis Blues' Pavel Buchnevich (89) is congratulated by Brayden Schenn after scoring during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
St. Louis Blues' Matthew Kessel (51) scores past Ottawa Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen (1) and Nikolas Matinpalo (33) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department does not believe there is currently any basis to open a criminal civil rights investigation into the killing of a woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, a top department official said Tuesday.
The decision to keep the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division out of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good marks a sharp departure from past administrations, which have moved quickly to probe shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights offenses.
While an FBI probe is ongoing, lawyers in the Civil Rights Division were informed last week that they would not play a role in the investigation at this time, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal department deliberations.
And on Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that “there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.” The statement, first reported by CNN, did not elaborate on how the department had reached a conclusion that no investigation was warranted.
Federal officials have said that the officer acted in self-defense and that the driver of the Honda was engaging in “an act of domestic terrorism” when she pulled forward toward him.
The quick pronouncement by administration officials before any meaningful investigation could be completed has raised concerns about the federal government’s determination to conduct a thorough review of the chain of events precipitating the shooting. Minnesota officials have also raised alarm after federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing evidence and declared that Minnesota has no jurisdiction to investigate the killing.
Also this week, roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned and several supervisors in the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division in Washington gave notice of their departures amid turmoil over the federal probe, according to people familiar with the matter.
Among the departures in Minnesota is First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes in the state, two other people said. At least four other prosecutors in the Minnesota U.S. attorney's office joined Thompson in resigning amid a period of tension in the office, the people said. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
They are the latest in an exodus of career Justice Department attorneys who have resigned or been forced out over concerns over political pressure or shifting priorities under the Trump administration. Hundreds of Justice Department lawyers have been fired or have left voluntarily over the last year.
Minnesota Democratic lawmakers criticized the departures, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling the resignations “a loss for our state and for public safety” and warning that prosecutions should not be driven by politics. Gov. Tim Walz said the departures raised concerns about political pressure on career Justice Department officials.
The resignations of the lawyers in the Civil Rights Division's criminal section, including its chief, were announced to staff on Monday, days after lawyers were told the section would not be involved in the probe. The Justice Department on Tuesday said those prosecutors had requested to participate in an early retirement program “well before the events in Minnesota,” and added that “any suggestion to the contrary is false.”
Founded nearly 70 years ago, the Civil Rights Division has a long history of investigating shootings by law enforcement even though prosecutors typically need to clear a high bar to mount a criminal prosecution.
In prior administrations, the division has moved quickly to open and publicly announce such investigations, not only to reflect federal jurisdiction over potential civil rights violations but also in hopes of soothing community angst that sometimes accompanies shootings involving law enforcement.
“The level of grief, tension and anxiety on the ground in Minnesota is not surprising,” said Kristen Clarke, who led the Civil Rights Division under the Biden administration. “And historically the federal government has played an important role by being a neutral and impartial agency committing its resources to conducting a full and fair investigation, and the public loses out when that doesn’t happen,” she said.
In Minneapolis, for instance, the Justice Department during the first Trump administration opened a civil rights investigation into the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of city police officers that resulted in criminal charges. The Minneapolis Police Department was separately scrutinized by the Biden administration for potential systemic civil rights violations through what’s known as a “pattern or practice” investigation, a type of police reform inquiry that is out of favor in the current Trump administration Justice Department.
Protesters demonstrate against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
