Dana Lane

The St. Louis Blues will try to ride the momentum from their improbable Saturday night comeback at Florida when they host the Dallas Stars on Monday.

The Blues trailed the Panthers 4-1 with less than 12 minutes remaining before rallying for a 5-4 overtime victory. The dramatic victory snapped a two-game skid.

"We understand that games are at a premium," the Blues' Torey Krug said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "You need to collect points when you can. So we knew if there was a chance -- if we got one -- that we could come back in the game. We didn't hang our heads, we just kept our heads up and went to work, and like I said, we got rewarded."

The Blues hope to start a new streak during their roller coaster of a season. They won their first three games, lost eight straight in regulation time, then won seven consecutive games before losing the next two.

For the first time in a decade, the first clash of a season between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers can be accompanied by visions of a playoff rematch.

A pair of Eastern Conference contenders will oppose each other for the first time this year Monday night, when the Devils are slated to visit the Rangers in a battle of longtime rivals.

Both teams were off Sunday after playing at home Saturday, when the surging Devils beat the Washington Capitals 5-1 and the Rangers squandered a three-goal third-period lead and fell to the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3.

The Devils' win was notable in a number of ways. The victory was the 800th for coach Lindy Ruff, who is just the fifth coach to reach 800 wins in NHL history.

"It means I've been around a long time," Ruff said. "You've got to do a lot of right things, have good teams, and the way our team is playing, I have to give them a lot of credit for getting me there."

The victory was also the 15th in the last 16 games for the Devils, who have outscored the Capitals and Buffalo Sabres by a combined margin of 8-2 since a 13-game winning streak -- tied for the longest in franchise history -- ended Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

At least one streak will end in Detroit on Monday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to finish off a perfect four-game road trip against the host Red Wings on Monday. Also, Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner will seek to extend his point streak to 17 games.

Detroit, in turn, will try to extend its winning streak to five games and defenseman Filip Hronek will aim to score for the fifth consecutive contest.

Toronto has collected victories against New Jersey, Minnesota and Pittsburgh during its road swing. It posted a 4-1 win over the Penguins on Saturday as Marner scored in the first minute and added an assist.

Marner has 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) during the point streak and needs at least one point against Detroit and San Jose on Wednesday to tie the club record set by Darryl Sittler (1977-78) and Eddie Olczyk (1989-90).

"I guess it's cool, but we're trying to get wins as a hockey team," Marner said. "We're trying to do something special. We're just trying to collect wins and do our thing."

The Maple Leafs haven't lost in regulation over the last eight games, going 6-0-2 during that streak. During the last five victories, they have outscored the opposition 10-1 in the first period. A pair of those wins came in Pittsburgh, as they beat the Penguins 5-2 on Nov. 15 after scoring two goals in the first period.

LeBron James is back, and the Los Angeles Lakers' offense is firing better than it has all season, with another test waiting at home Monday night from the Indiana Pacers.

After missing five games because of a groin injury, James returned for a two-game road set against the San Antonio Spurs beginning Friday. The Lakers won both contests, including a 143-point offensive eruption on Saturday.

After a 2-10 start to the season, the Lakers have won five of six.

That the most recent victory came without Anthony Davis made it even more impressive.

James scored a season-best 39 points on Saturday -- making seven 3-pointers -- and added 11 rebounds.

There was the matter of the Lakers' defense allowing 138 points in the second victory over the Spurs. That type of effort could spell doom against the Pacers, who have won eight of their past 11 games, even with a 114-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

The Spurs delivered a season-high output in points against the Lakers while plummeting toward an eighth consecutive defeat.

Davis, who had been dealing with back tightness this season, was out because of a bruised left calf, although his absence was characterized as precautionary.

Injuries and illness created an opportunity for Vlatko Cancar to show he can make a valuable contribution to the Denver Nuggets. After three years of mop-up minutes, he is showing he belongs in the rotation.

Cancar played a total of 25 minutes through the first month of the season, but with several players missing he has been pushed into service. He is averaging 23.4 minutes over the last four games and has made key contributions on both offense and defense.

He'll get more quality time when Denver hosts Houston on Monday night in the first of two home games against the Rockets.

Michael Porter Jr. (heel) and Jeff Green (knee) are not expected to play.

Cancar's expanded role started at Dallas on Nov. 18 when the Nuggets were without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. Denver lost that game by 28 points but beat the Mavericks two nights later, and a big reason was Cancar's halfcourt heave that ended the second quarter.

In the last two games he has played 60 minutes, averaging 16 points while playing strong defense. He had three blocks in an overtime win at Oklahoma City on Wednesday and was disruptive in a win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

Players returning from injuries or offseason surgery normally sit out a portion of a back-to-back set, but the way Brooklyn's Seth Curry performed Sunday afternoon against the Portland Trail Blazers might make it a harder-than-usual decision for the Nets.

After Curry's 29 points and seven 3-pointers helped the Nets successfully start their season-high seven-game homestand, Brooklyn will attempt to reach the .500 mark for the second time this season when it hosts the Orlando Magic on the back end of a back-to-back on Monday night.

Brooklyn is attempting to reach .500 for the first time since it beat Toronto in the second game of the season after getting blown out by New Orleans in the season opener. The Nets were one game under .500 twice last week but followed both instances with losses (in Philadelphia and Indiana).

After collapsing in the fourth quarter Friday, Curry helped the Nets pull away in the final 12 minutes of Sunday's 111-97 victory over the Blazers. He scored 13 points in the quarter, including 11 in the time Kevin Durant spent getting a rest.

The 29 points was Curry's highest total in 30 regular-season games since becoming a Net along with Ben Simmons in the trade for James Harden. Following offseason ankle surgery, Curry is averaging 11.4 points a game and shooting 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from 3-point range.

The Charlotte Hornets will be without guard Gordon Hayward when they visit the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

According to multiple reports, Hayward has a fractured left shoulder and is expected to be out for an extended period of time.

Hayward, 32, missed eight consecutive games earlier this month with what was originally termed a shoulder contusion. He played in three consecutive games before sitting out Friday night's 110-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves due to the shoulder injury.

Hayward has appeared in 11 games this season. He's averaging 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from 3-point range. He spent three seasons with the Celtics, who sent him to the Hornets in a sign-and-trade agreement in 2020.

Boston was without star forward Jason Tatum (ankle) for Sunday night's 130-121 victory over the Washington Wizards. It was the third game of a six-game homestand for the Celtics, who have won three in a row. It was also the first game Tatum has missed this season.

Tatum injured his ankle against the Chicago Bulls last Monday, but he played in Wednesday's 125-112 victory over the Dallas Mavericks and in Friday's 122-104 victory over the Sacramento Kings. He was Boston's leading scorer and rebounder in each game.

Tatum is averaging 36.9 minutes, 30.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game this season. He is listed as day to day.

The team with the biggest discrepancy in the NBA between home and road wins will attempt to shrink that gap when the Phoenix Suns visit the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

The Suns have won four in a row, all at home, to improve their record at Phoenix to 11-1. They are the winningest home team in the NBA.

But Phoenix also has one of the worst road records in the NBA at 2-5, having lost their last three away from home. Their only road wins have come against the Los Angeles Clippers in October and the Minnesota Timberwolves almost three weeks ago.

Trips to Sacramento were generally enjoyable for the Suns last season, although their 2-0 road sweep didn't come easily, with the wins coming by a total of eight points, including one in overtime.

But that was when the Kings were en route to their 16th straight season without a playoff appearance. They could be on a different path this year, having opened 10-8 and just 2 1/2 games behind Phoenix's best-in-the-West pace.

The Kings have lost two straight, which came at the end of a tough three-game trip to Memphis, Atlanta and Boston that began with a win over the Grizzlies. Sacramento has won its last six home games after an 0-3 start.

Washington (5-1) also has enjoyed some early-season success, returning home after claiming the championship of the Wooden Legacy tournament at Anaheim, Calif., with a 68-64 overtime victory Friday against Saint Mary's.

"We found ways to win and at the end of the day, that's what it's all about," Huskies coach Mike Hopkins said. "Win the game in front of you. Get better. And move forward."

The Huskies were led by a pair of transfers in tourney MVP Keion Brooks Jr. (Kentucky) and all-tournament pick Franck Kepnang (Oregon). Brooks had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the title game and Kepnang added 10 points and five rebounds.

"It was big for our team just to get this win and go back to Seattle with the trophy," Kepnang said. "That's what we said coming into the game is that we're coming back home ... with the trophy."

Under is 8-3 in Mustangs last 11 games following a straight up win. Under is 7-3 in Mustangs last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

Junior forward Dusan Neskovic leads the team in scoring and has reached double-digit scoring in four of five games prior to Sunday's game. His best game was a 23-point performance in the season-opener at Fordham. He added six rebounds and two assists in that game. For the season, he is averaging 13.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He has been red hot from the floor, connecting on 56.5% of his field goals, including 53.3% from the 3-point range.

Pittsburgh swept through its Thanksgiving week schedule with home wins against Alabama State, Fairleigh Dickinson and William & Mary, needing strong, second-half spurts to pull away each time.

Has something been amiss with the Panthers in the first 20 minutes of games entering Monday's visit to Evanston, Ill., to play Northwestern in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge?

"I wish I could tell you. It's frustrating," Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. "I don't know if there's something we need to change in warmups, but we need to figure it out. As we move forward, the competition increases, starting on Monday. If you dig yourself a hole in these next three games, it will be difficult to dig out of."

Pitt (4-3) is coming off Friday's 80-64 win against William & Mary. Trailing 37-33 at halftime, the Panthers relied on the second double-double of the season from Blake Hinson, who finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Nike Sibande narrowly missed a double-double, contributing 15 points and nine boards.

Monday's game begins a three-game road trip for the Panthers, with upcoming stops at North Carolina State and Vanderbilt.

Northwestern (5-1) absorbed its first defeat Wednesday, losing 43-42 to No. 13 Auburn in the championship game of the Cancun Challenge.

Louisiana Monroe returns five players who have starting experience but also welcomes eight newcomers, including five transfers. The new players will be asked to invigorate a lineup that couldn't close out games last season.

"Over the last couple of years, we've been competitive," ULM coach Keith Richard said. "We've been in almost all the games. In many games we led by six with eight minutes to go, and up four with four minutes to go. In some of those games, we just couldn't hang on. Whether it's the offensive end or the defensive end, we just haven't been a very strong team... I think these newcomers are the answer for us as far as how much better we can be."

The new players include 6-10 center Victor Bafutto (Mercer transfer), guard Jamari Blackmon (North Alabama transfer), 6-11 forward AD Diedhiou (UAB transfer), guard Devon Hancock (Milwaukee transfer), and guard Tyreke Locure (UAB transfer). Locus is leading the squad in scoring (13.0 PPG), Blackmon is averaging 10.7 points on 53.2 percent shooting, and Bafutto is contributing 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest. Junior forward Nika Metskhvarishvili (9.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG) and sophomore forward Thomas Howell (8.6 PPG and 6.6 RPG) are two returning starters making key contributions.

The Steelers (3-7) seem vulnerable. They've lost three of four overall, four straight on the road, and rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett has struggled with interceptions with his Monday night debut looming.

Similar to Indy, Pittsburgh has struggled to produce points and even its usually stout run defense has been susceptible this season.

Coach Mike Tomlin realizes that's a potential problem against 2021 NFL rushing champ Jonathan Taylor up next, even with defending NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt back from an injury.

"We haven't been in a stadium with him before, but we respect his talents and his resume," Tomlin said. "We believe quality play, for them, centers around his exploits and what he's able to do. We've got to minimize his impact on the game."

Taylor has rushed for 231 yards and two scores since Saturday replaced Frank Reich and Saturday seems more committed to the ground game.

Jeff Saturday knows the score.

The Indianapolis Colts have lost seven straight to the Pittsburgh Steelers since last winning 14 years ago - when Saturday was still in the prime of his playing career.

And if Indy hopes to change anything in this lopsided series, he understands the Colts must be more focused, more precise, and more efficient Monday night.

"We talked about just embracing the moment, having fun with it, appreciating it, and then performing at your best when you have these moments and opportunities," he said. "It's a huge challenge, and, obviously, Pittsburgh brings its own set of battles here."

For the Colts (4-6-1), winning this one is a must if they hope to revitalize their rapidly fading playoff hopes. They've lost their past two home games - both 17-16 after the defense gave up a touchdown in the final 90 seconds and the offense couldn't move into field-goal position.

Another agonizing loss to the Steelers could spell doom again for longtime Colts fans who have seen Pittsburgh repeatedly dash their dreams.