BOSTON (AP) — Morgan Geekie hustled to a loose puck behind the net, collected it and slipped it inside the left post with 4.5 seconds left in the second period and the Boston Bruins snapped their six-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday, handing the Avalanche their first regulation loss of the season.

Boston’s losing streak was its longest since it dropped 10 straight March 13 to April 3 after trading away players and starting a rebuild.

The Avalanche (5-1-3) entered the day as one of only two teams in the NHL unbeaten in regulation. Vegas was the other.

Viktor Arvidsson and Michael Eyssimont also scored for Boston. Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves.

Geekie outhustled defenseman Josh Manson, got the puck and turned to his left with goalie Scott Wedgewood moving to the other direction for a brief second, giving Geekie time to slip a shot between his right pad and post to make it 3-1.

Artturi Lehkonen scored both goals for Colorado. His first slipped between Swayman’s right arm and the post to make it 1-0 at 4:26 of the first period.

Arvidsson and Eyssimont then scored 39 seconds apart late in the first to move Boston ahead 2-1. Eyssimont one-timed a shot by Wedgewood at the end of a 2-on-1 break.

Wedgewood, who has started every game, stopped 16 shots. Last season’s No. 1 goalie, Mackenzie Blackwood, has been out with a lower-body injury.

There was a tussle between the players on the ice when the game ended.

The Avalanche beat the Bruins 4-1 at home last Saturday. It matched their second-best streak to start a season, only behind the 2000-01 Stanley Cup-winning team that opened 9-0-2 for 11 points.

Colorado winger Martin Necas had his eight-game point streak stopped.

Up next

Avalanche: At New Jersey on Sunday.

Bruins: At Ottawa on Monday.

Jokic's triple-double lifts Nuggets over Suns 133-111

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had his second triple-double of the season despite a quiet shooting night, Jamal Murray scored 23 points, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 133-111 in their home opener on Saturday night.

Jokic finished with 15 assists, 14 rebounds and 14 points on just 5 of 8 shooting. His first field goal attempt came with 2:26 left in the second quarter. He notched the triple-double on a turnaround hook shot with 57 seconds in the period.

Jokic has 166 career triple-doubles during the regular season, third behind Russell Westbrook (203) and Oscar Robertson (181), and 18 more in the playoffs.

Devin Booker had 31 points and Grayson Allen scored 17 for the Suns, who were playing the second game of a tough back-to-back. They tipped off Saturday night 20 hours after losing by 27 to the Los Angeles Clippers and didn’t have center Mark Williams, who was out with a right knee injury.

Phoenix trailed by 20 early in the third quarter but went on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 83-74. The Nuggets scored the next 11 points and took a 100-83 lead into the fourth.

Murray, who had 25 points and 10 assists in the loss at Golden State, sparked Denver at the start of the final period with a 3-pointer that made it 108-86. He also beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter with a 55-foot pullup jumper.

The Suns got within 110-99 midway through the fourth but the Nuggets answered with a 14-2 run to put it away.

Aaron Gordon followed his career-high 50-point game Thursday night with 17 points and was 1 of 6 from deep.

Up next

Suns: Visit the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

Nuggets: At the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Freshman QB Byrd Ficklin shines in first start as Utah runs over Colorado for 53-7 victory

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Byrd Ficklin passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in his first career start to lead Utah to a 53-7 win over Colorado on Saturday night.

Ficklin, a true freshman, filled in for injured starter Devon Dampier and hit the ground running – literally. He piled up 163 yards and a touchdown on the ground by halftime and finished with 291 yards on offense.

Wayshawn Parker added 145 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries to help the Utes (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) become bowl eligible after winning just two conference games a year ago. Utah ran for a season-high 422 yards – eclipsing 400 rushing yards for the first time this season.

“I told (the offensive line) before the game, ‘We go out here and have fun, and play our game, we’re gonna do something great,’” Ficklin said. “And that’s what we did. We had something to prove.”

Kaidon Salter tallied 37 yards and an interception on 9-of-22 passing for Colorado. Salter was sacked five times before halftime while facing nonstop pressure.

“I watched over 10 hours of film and a lot of pressures that came up today were nowhere to be found on tape, so I felt like today they schemed up this pressure just for us,” Salter said.

The Buffaloes (3-5, 1-4) lost to Utah for the 12th time in the last 14 meetings in the series.

It ended up being the worst margin of defeat for the Buffaloes against the Utes.

Colorado finished with 140 total yards and averaged 2.1 yards per play.

“This is probably the worst beating I’ve ever had except when my momma whooped me as a kid,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said.

Long-distance runs helped the Utes quickly seize control. Utah racked up 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter while averaging 12.8 yards per carry.

Ficklin cut upfield and raced 63 yards untouched for a touchdown on Utah’s second play. Then, Parker, opened the Utes’ fourth drive by hitting a hole, turning on the jets, and racing 58 yards to extend the lead to 17-0.

Ficklin added a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter — a 22-yard pinpoint strike to JJ Buchanan and a 20-yard back shoulder throw to Larry Simmons — to help Utah take a 43-0 lead into halftime.

“Hard to find negatives in that game. Offense, defense, special teams – all hitting on all cylinders,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Jumped on them early. That first half was about as good of football as we played here.”

The Takeaway

Colorado: Nothing went right for the Buffaloes on either side of the ball when it mattered. Colorado allowed 8.1 yards per play in the first half and totaled minus 18 yards by halftime, enduring their worst halftime deficit since 2012.

Utah: Ficklin made the absence of Dampier not sting after leading the Utes to touchdowns on five of nine first-half drives.

Game-time decision

Ficklin did not get the call to start until shortly before kickoff. Dampier was listed as probable on Utah’s final pregame injury report after suffering an ankle injury against BYU a week earlier.

“Devin hadn’t had much practice all week, but he’s a guy that knows this offense inside and out,” Whittingham said. “Had he felt up to the task in pregame, then there would have been a tough decision to make. But he was not feeling it.”

Ficklin struggled with his accuracy, throwing five straight incompletions, before completing six of his final 10 passes in the first half. He completed 10 of 22 overall.

Quick strikes

Five of Utah’s nine scoring drives took less than a minute off the clock. The Utes had three touchdown drives covering two plays and one covering a single play.

“Sometimes you just are dumbfounded, man,” Sanders said. “You just look at this day and say, ‘Wow, what happened?’ There’s no way.”

Up Next

Colorado: Hosts Arizona on Saturday.

Utah: Hosts Cincinnati on Saturday.

Anderson tosses 2 TDs and Wyoming defense stymies Colorado State in 28-0 win

LARAMIE, Wyo (AP) — Kaden Anderson threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns and Wyoming beat Colorado State 28-0 on Saturday night.

Landon Sims got the scoring started when he crashed in from the 1 with 2:43 left in the first quarter. Anderson's 22-yard touchdown pass to Michael Fitzgerald 45 seconds into the second quarter made it 14-0. Then, 36 seconds before halftime, Anderson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Chris Durr Jr.

Sam Scott made it a four-touchdown lead with a 37-yard scoring run with 10:15 left in the third.

Darius Curry threw for 112 yards for Colorado State. Reserve Jackson Brousseau threw three interceptions.

Wyoming (4-4, 2-2 Mountain West Conference) has won two of its last three following a three-game losing streak.

The last time the Rams were shutout was the beginning of the 2024 season when No. 4 Texas beat them, 52-0 in Austin, Texas on Aug. 31.

Colorado State (2-6, 1-3) still leads the series 60-52-5.

Harper throws 3 TDs, Gbatu Jr. has 108 yards receiving, UC Davis beats Northern Colorado 27-16

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Grant Harper threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns on 15-for-31 passing, Samuel Gbatu Jr. caught five passes for 108 yards and a score, and UC Davis defeated Northern Colorado, 27-16 on Saturday.

The Aggies (6-1, 4-0 Big Sky), ranked No. 9 in the FCS coaches poll, rode a 21-point second quarter to secure the victory, as Harper threw all three of his touchdown passes in the frame. Gbatu hauled in a 34-yarder, Jordan Fisher added a 24-yard grab, and Laviel Pickett collected an 18-yard score to lift UC Davis to the win.

Carter Vargas added 94 yards rushing on 15 carries for UC Davis. Nate Rutchena led with 11 total tackles.

Brayden Munroe caught a 51-yard touchdown late in the second quarter for Northern Colorado, but the Bears were unable to carry that momentum into the second half. Eric Gibson was 30-for-42 passing for 272 yards and one touchdown.

UC Davis has won five straight following a 60-point blowout at the hands of FBS Washington, while the Bears (3-5, 1-3) have dropped three of their last four games.

Cowboys place Trevon Diggs on IR after cornerback sustained concussion at home

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys placed Trevon Diggs on injured reserve Saturday, sidelining the star cornerback at least four more games after he sustained a concussion in an accident at home.

Diggs had already missed last week's 44-22 victory over Washington, which was three days after the accident. He reported to the team's facility the next day with concussion symptoms and has been in the protocol ever since.

Executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said on his radio show Friday that Diggs also was dealing with issues from previous injuries. He was limited to 13 games total over the past two seasons because of knee injuries. Diggs had already been ruled out for Sunday's visit to Denver.

Diggs was an All-Pro in 2021, when he led the NFL with 11 interceptions. The former Alabama player's production declined a year later, and he was lost for the 2023 season when he tore a knee ligament in practice after two games.

Diggs was considered ahead of schedule when he played in the 24-20 loss to Philadelphia in the NFL opener, but he has struggled in the team’s primarily zone scheme under first-year defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.

The Cowboys can release Diggs next offseason with little impact on their salary cap. He signed a $97 million, five-year extension in 2023.

After he was injured two years ago, DaRon Bland set an NFL record by returning five interceptions for touchdowns. Bland signed a $92 million, four-year extension before the season started.

Dallas also will be without center Cooper Beebe at least one more game. He injured a foot in Week 2. This was the second week Beebe was eligible to return from IR.

Safety Juanyeh Thomas was ruled out for the second week in a row. He has been dealing with migraines. Thomas had been moved into a starting role after Malik Hooker's toe injury. Hooker is still on IR.