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)
DHARAMSALA, India (AP) — Venkatesh Iyer was 73 not out off 40 balls and Virat Kohli hit a 37-ball 58 as defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings by 23 runs to advance to the knockout stage of the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Put into bat, Bengaluru scored an impressive 222-4. In reply, Punjab reached 199-8 in 20 overs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar picking up 2-38 in four overs.
Bengaluru confirmed its spot in the top four with a game to spare – it has 18 points from nine wins in 13 games.
For Punjab, it was a sixth straight loss. It is fourth with 13 points from 13 games. The Kings must now win their final game against already eliminated Lucknow Super Giants but will still depend on other results going their way.
In Sunday’s late game, Delhi Capitals takes on Rajasthan Royals.
Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar bowled opener Jacob Bethell for 11 but Bengaluru went on to score 61-1 in the powerplay.
Kohli hit his fourth half-century of the season off 31 balls. Kohli struck three sixes and four fours overall, putting on 76 runs for the second wicket off 41 balls with Devdutt Padikkal (45), who hit three sixes off 25 balls before he was caught off Brar.
Iyer and Kohli then came together to add 60 off 35, before Kohli was caught off Yuzvendra Chahal in the 15th over.
Bengaluru accelerated despite that loss as Iyer smashed his first 50 of the season, coming off 29 balls. Overall, he hit four sixes and eight fours.
Tim David’s 12-ball 28 included two sixes as Bengaluru eased past 200 with 65 runs off the last five overs.
It was the 53rd 200-plus score in this edition of the IPL, and the most for any season. The previous record was in 2025 with 52 200-plus totals in 74 matches.
In reply, Punjab quickly slipped to 19-3 in 3.2 overs. Kumar struck twice in 11 balls, removing attacking openers Priyansh Arya (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (2).
Rasikh Salam (3-36 in four overs) had skipper Shreyas Iyer caught behind for 1. Punjab only managed 49-3 in the powerplay.
Cooper Connolly (37) and Suryansh Shedge (35) stabilized the innings, and Marcus Stoinis (37) and Shashank Singh put on 67 off 32 deliveries for the sixth wicket.
Josh Hazlewood broke that partnership, trapping Stoinis lbw, after Punjab fought back from 93-5 to 160-6 in 16.1 overs.
Singh (56 off 27) overcame his poor run to score 50 off 22 balls, and Azmatullah Omarzai contributed 14. Both fell in the final over.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Punjab Kings' Shashank Singh, left, and Azmatullah Omarzai during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamshala, India, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Venkatesh Iyer plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamshala, India, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli reacts after miss field during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamshala, India, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli bats during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamshala, India, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
