TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and the 38th of his career in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 3-0 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

Nikita Kucherov, Erik Cernak and Brandon Hagel scored to help Tampa Bay win its seventh consecutive game. The streak is the Lightning’s longest since a 10-game run Jan. 29 to Feb. 17, 2020. Tampa Bay is 8-0-1 in the past nine games.

Dustin Wolf made 20 saves for Calgary. The Flames were shut out for the third time this season.

Kucherov opened the scoring on a power play with 45 seconds left in the first period. His attempted pass through the slot deflected off the skate of Calgary defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.

Cernak made it 2-0 at 3:51 of the third period, and Hagel added an empty-net goal with 2:50 left.

Takeaways

Flames: LW Blake Coleman, who won Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021, appeared in his 600th career game. … Nazem Kadri’s seven-game scoring streak came to an end.

Lightning: C Anthony Cirelli tied a career high with 45 points. … Vasilevskiy improved 11-0-1 in his past 12 starts.

Key moment

The Flames were on a power play in the opening minutes of the second period down by a goal when Jonathan Huberdeau had a rebound chance that Andrei Vasilevskiy stretched out to his left to deny.

Key stat

Tampa Bay won its 20th consecutive game when leading after two periods.

Up next

Both teams are in action Saturday night. Calgary is at Florida, and Tampa Bay is at Washington.

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The NFL used the Super Bowl to get Arizona voters to approve MLK Day.

On February 2^nd, 1967, there was a challenge to the National Basketball Association’s claim to basketball superiority. The American Basketball Association was created and league organizers sold 10 franchises to investors in Anaheim, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oakland and Pittsburgh. The ABA folded in 1976 with the NBA taking in four franchises in Denver, in Indianapolis, in San Antonio and in Uniondale, New York. Since 1976, the NBA has ruled basketball. Now the NBA and its ownership group have decided that it is time to explore Europe not just as an off one market but to plant teams on the continent despite the fact there is an established league operating. The NBA is thinking that even though we do take Europe’s best players, we can offer a better product on the continent and that could mean battling the existing league or poaching local teams in places like Madrid, Spain or Greece. In the Basketball Association of America or the NBA’s history, the BAA or NBA took teams from the National Basketball League and the American Basketball League in the late 1940s. The NBA could establish a permanent presence in Europe very quickly.

“We are looking very closely to see if there’s an opportunity to professionalize the game to another level here, to create a larger commercial opportunity,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “And not just because commercial opportunity suggests you can grow revenue, but because we believe that with markets, if you can create proper incentives, you can get significant additional investment. And ultimately, that’s the way to grow the game at all levels.” According to the Spanish news agency Relevo, there has been some communication between the NBA and Madrid owners to gauge the Madrid ownerships’ interest in joining the NBA. There is a long way to go and politicians might have a say in the process but the NBA wants Europe.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

There’s a new No. 1 in town. The Oklahoma Sooners have claimed the top spot in college softball after the Texas Longhorns dropped their first game of the season over the weekend. There was also movement farther down the poll with the Oregon Ducks and Duke Blue Devils rising and the Missouri Tigers falling out. And for the first time in at least two decades, the Virginia Cavaliers have entered our top 25 rankings. 

The third week of the 2025 college softball season also brought standout performances such as Karlyn Pickens’ fastball and an impressive catch by Duke’s Amiah Burgess.  

Here’s the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 ranking, plus our play of the week and what to watch for in Week 4. 

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Play of the week

Bottom of the seventh inning. Two outs. Check out this incredible catch by outfielder Amiah Burgess to give Duke the win over UCLA. 

Player to watch

Karlyn Pickens, P, Tennessee. The 2024 SEC Pitcher of the Year hasn’t slowed down. Literally. She threw a 77 mph heater versus Oregon, which tied former Volunteers star Monica Abbott’s record for the fastest softball pitch in history. Pickens has 61 strikeouts in 38 innings this season. Related video: NMSU softball falls to UCSB in 2025 season opener (KTSM El Paso)

To Las Cruces, NM state softball so starting its season

NMSU softball falls to UCSB in 2025 season opener

Game to watch

No. 15 Oklahoma State vs. No. 16 Nebraska (Friday at 1:30 p.m.)

After starting the season 5-4, the Cowgirls won three straight to get back on track. Can they keep this momentum going against Nebraska’s high-scoring offense? The Cornhuskers are averaging 8.75 runs per game, the fifth-best mark in the nation. 

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Week 3 Top 25

Here is the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 ranking, plus each team’s next game.

All times Eastern.

1. Oklahoma (11 first-place votes)

Previous rank: 2

2025 record: 14-0

Next game: vs. Marshall, Friday at 2:45 p.m. on SECN+

2. Texas 

Previous rank: 1

2025 record: 15-1

Next game: vs. South Florida, Friday at 5 p.m. on SECN+

3. Florida 

Previous rank: 3

2025 record: 18-1

Next game: vs. Florida Gulf Coast, Wednesday at 6 p.m. on SECN+

4. UCLA

Previous rank: 4

2025 record: 14-2

Next game: vs. LSU, Thursday at 3 p.m. 

5. Texas A&M

Previous rank: 6

2025 record: 15-1

Next game: vs. Texas State, Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on SECN+ 

6. LSU

Previous rank: 7

2025 record: 14-0

Next game: vs. UCLA, Thursday at 3 p.m. 

7. Tennessee

Previous rank: 7

2025 record: 13-3

Next game: vs. Radford, Wednesday at 5 p.m. on SECN+

8. Florida State

Previous rank: 8

2025 record: 11-3

Next game: vs. Florida Gulf Coast, Thursday at 6 p.m. on ACCN Extra

9. Duke

Previous rank: 14

2025 record: 13-3

Next game: vs. Michigan, Thursday at 5 p.m.

10. Arizona

Previous rank: 11

2025 record: 15-2

Next game: vs. Weber State, Friday at 8 p.m. 

11. Georgia

Previous rank: 9

2025 record: 14-0

Next game: at Clemson, Wednesday at 4 p.m. on ACC Extra

12. Arkansas

Previous rank: 10

2025 record: 14-1

Next game: vs. Iowa, Friday at 4 p.m.

13. Texas Tech

Previous rank: 12

2025 record: 14-3

Next game: vs. North Texas, Wednesday at 3 p.m. on ESPN+

14. Oregon 

Previous rank: 19

2025 record: 15-1

Next game: vs. San Diego, Friday at 6:30 p.m. 

15. Oklahoma State

Previous rank: 13

2025 record: 7-4

Next game: vs. South Dakota State, Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

16. Nebraska

Previous rank: 15

2025 record: 12-4

Next game: vs. South Dakota State, Friday at 11 a.m. 

17. Virginia Tech

Previous rank: 17

2025 record: 12-3

Next game: at Liberty, Wednesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+

18. Stanford

Previous rank: 20

2025 record: 12-2

Next game: at Georgia Tech, Friday at 5 p.m. on ACC Extra 

19. Auburn

Previous rank: 18

2025 record: 14-1

Next game: vs. Rutgers, Friday at 4 p.m. on SECN+

20. Mississippi State

Previous rank: 16

2025 record: 13-2

Next game: vs. UAB, Wednesday at 5 p.m. on SECN+

21. South Carolina

Previous rank: 24

2025 record: 15-0

Next game: at Charlotte, Tuesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+

22. Alabama

Previous rank: 21

2025 record: 10-6

Next game: vs. UAB, Friday at 5 p.m. on SECN+

23. San Diego State

Previous rank: 23

2025 record: 12-3

Next game: vs. California Baptist, Tuesday at 9 p.m.

24. Liberty

Previous rank: 25

2025 record: 12-3

Next game: vs. Virginia Tech, Wednesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+

25. Virginia

Previous rank: Unranked

2025 record: 9-5

Next game: vs. Cornell, Friday at 1:30 p.m. on ACC Extra