ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Other than being soaked from a postgame shower from teammates, it was hard to tell after the Ducks' 2-1 victory over the Stars on Tuesday night that John Gibson had achieved a milestone.

The Ducks' veteran goaltender became the first netminder in franchise history to play 500 games.

It was another milestone in what could be a series of them for Gibson over the next couple of months.

He won his 200th NHL game Jan. 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tuesday's victory also leaves him four wins from tying Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the most in franchise history.

Gibson, though, tried to focus on the present instead of looking back at his career or any milestones still ahead.

"Tonight obviously was a little more special, so it's nice to get the win on top of it," Gibson said. "I was talking to someone earlier, I think it's something that I can be able to look back and reminisce on maybe towards the end of the career in the summer when you're with family and stuff like that."

He is the 10th American-born netminder to reach 500 games and the third active. The New York Rangers' Jonathan Quick has appeared in 797 games, and Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck has played in 547.

Gibson made 26 saves in what was a tight contest throughout. The only one that got past the 31-year-old netminder came early in the third period when Dallas' Colin Blackwell had a one-timer off a pass by Sam Steel to tie it at 1-all.

"He's played so much. He's so calm. When you have a goalie that's got that calmness, it kind of has a domino effect on the team," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said.

Trevor Zegras put Anaheim back ahead three minutes later, and Gibson made a couple of key saves in the final two minutes after the Stars pulled their goaltender for an extra skater.

"I mean, he's amazing," Zegras said. "I have been saying that since I got here: He is one of the best athletes and humans that I have been around, and to get to experience that moment with him and after the game was pretty special."

Gibson has spent his entire 12-year NHL career with the Ducks and has been the franchise's top goalie for most of the past decade, including three appearances in the All-Star Game. He struggled through last season, going 13-27-2 with a career-worst .888 save percentage.

This season didn't start off great either as Gibson missed the first 12 games after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.

Gibson and Lukas Dostal have split the netminding duties. Gibson though has started 22 of the 41 games since returning and is 9-9-2 with a 2.70 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.

Gibson's veteran presence will be counted on more down the stretch. The Ducks, who have not been to the playoffs since the 2017-18 season, are seven points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference but have won five of six, including four straight at home. Anaheim has 52 points, which is 21 points ahead of last year's pace, when it finished with 59.

"He's having a great year. I'm really happy for him and I'm happy for the team. He's got a little bit of that mentorship going on with the young kids here and he's got a really good attitude," Cronin said. "I think Peter Budaj (who is in his first season as Anaheim's goaltending coach) has done an unbelievable job with him. The fact that Peter played in the league a long time, he can really drill in to John's game in terms of trying to make him own some things he can be better at. It has created a real good dynamic and I think he has benefited from that relationship."

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury.

Crosby did not practice Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he got caught between a pair of New Jersey Devils in the third period of what became a 3-2 shootout loss.

The Penguins superstar missed several shifts in the third period after colliding with New Jersey's Luke Hughes and Erik Haula. Crosby skated to the bench favoring his left arm/hand but returned after being examined in the locker room.

Crosby played the final minutes of regulation and overtime. He also participated in the shootout. Asked afterward about the injury, Crosby said he simply got "tangled up" and did not get into specifics.

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan did not speculate on whether Crosby would miss any time, saying "let's not get ahead of ourselves" when asked whether there's a chance the team could be forced to play without Crosby.

The Penguins play the New York Rangers on Friday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Crosby, 37, is slated to serve as captain for Team Canada in the tournament.

The Canadians open play against Sweden on Feb. 12 in Montreal.

The 4 Nations Face-Off, which is a round-robin hockey tournament scheduled for Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston, will boast an international field stacked with elite scorers, playmakers, shutdown defenders and elite goaltenders: Connor McDavid is on for Canada, as are Nathan MacKinnon and Connor Hellebuyck in net. The USA team boasts Auston Matthews and Quinn Hughes; Sweden has William Nylander and Linus Ullmark (if healthy); Finland is led by the likes of Sebastian Aho and Juuse Saros.

The tournament, which replaces the NHL's typical All-Star Weekend, will feature rosters of NHL players from the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland, all locked in a battle for bragging rights about which country has produced the best talent in the world.

But which player truly stands out as the most gifted among them?

Thanks to NHL EDGE tracking data, we can quantify factors such as the skating speed and shot power of every skater, among other attributes. Not only will those skills make a difference to the outcome of the tournament, but they're also darned exciting to watch in action.

Here are the 4 Nations players, selected among the four rosters of 23 players each, who excel in the metrics that define hockey dominance this season.

More 4 Nations Face-Off coverage:
Pick Team USA's lineup | See the jerseys
How to watch, schedule | Format, rules
Grading the rosters; snubs, surprises

Fastest Skater: Jack Hughes, USA and Connor McDavid, Canada (tie)

Metrics of choice: Top speed and average skating speed at even strength

Chelsea forward Sam Kerr said she feared for her life when "trapped" in a taxi before she was alleged to have caused racially aggravated harassment to a police officer, a court heard.

The Australia captain gave evidence at her trial on Wednesday, saying she was "terrified" and her partner, West Ham United and United States midfielder Kristie Mewis, was "crying and scared."

Kerr, 31, who is one of the top women's football players in the world, is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to police constable Stephen Lovell during an incident in southwest London in the early hours of Jan. 30, 2023.

It is alleged that Kerr and Mewis had been out drinking when they were driven to Twickenham Police Station by a taxi driver, who complained that they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, and that one of them smashed the vehicle's rear window.

At the police station Kerr is alleged to have become "abusive and insulting" towards PC Lovell, calling him "stupid and white." Kerr accepts making the comments but denies that they amount to the charge.

Giving evidence, Kerr told the jury she put her head out of the window when she began to feel sick before the driver "rolled it up" and began to "drive dangerously."

She said the dangerous driving continued for 15 to 20 minutes.

"I was terrified for my life," she said. "We were not in control ... I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving but also because he could have taken us anywhere. He couldn't be tracked so no one knew where we were."

Kerr said the pair tried to open the doors and windows multiple times but they remained locked before Mewis "kicked out (the window) with her boot."

Footage from PC Lovell's body camera was previously played to jurors, in which Kerr tells him and PC Samuel Limb that she and Mewis were "very scared" and "trying to escape" the cab when they damaged the vehicle.

The court also heard that, at the police station, Kerr made reference to Sarah Everard, who was murdered by Met Police officer Wayne Couzens in 2023, telling officers about a "girl in Clapham" who "got raped and killed."

She allegedly said to PC Lovell: "I know it wasn't you ... but both of us are scared."

Born in Perth, she also made reference to the Australian Claremont serial killer: "I lived in a state where for 30 years there was a serial killer that was thought to have been a taxi driver. Everyone was talking about not getting in a taxi."

The trial continues.

Ange Postecoglou has said that he is totally convinced that new signing Mathys Tel wants to be at Tottenham Hotspur after the forward initially stalled over a move to the club before agreeing to join them in a dramatic U-turn on deadline day.

Tel, 19, is in line to make his Spurs debut in the team's Carabao Cup semifinal clash against Liverpool on Thursday after he joined the club in a loan deal that contains an option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the season.

Sources have told ESPN that Tel had rejected a move to Postecoglou's injury-hit team after they had a 60 million ($62.5m) accepted by Bayern Munich before a conversation with the Australian prompted him to make the move to north London after all.

Asked whether he is "100%" convinced Tel wants to be at Spurs, Postecoglou said: "100%. More than 100. Because he took so much time and was so diligent about finding out everything. When he made the decision it was us, and he obviously had options, that gave me even more confidence we were getting the right kind of mentality and player.

"He is very ambitious and has a great deal of self belief and self confidence. He feels like he can reach the very top of the game and he has chosen us which is great vindication for what we are doing."

The highly rated France under-21 international is Bayern's youngest-ever goalscorer (17 years and 126 days old) but struggled for game time under head coach Vincent Kompany this season.

Sources have told ESPN that Tel was pursued by several clubs including Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea during the January transfer window after he told Bayern he was keen to explore a move away from the club.

"It's a simplistic way of looking at it [whether he had to convince Tel to join Spurs]," Postecoglou said. "People need to understand that you are talking about a 19-year-old player who has to make a major decision about his career. It's not so much that he rejected us or anyone else.

"Rightly so, he was getting as much information as possible. More than anything I think he just wanted to be comfortable with the decision. The sense I get was he didn't want to be pushed in a certain direction. I think it is credit to him that he took his time and spoke to the right people.

"I had a conversation with him and mine was purely about football. I think he will find a really great place for him in terms of where he is in his career. He obviously wants to play and we have already shown that irrespective of age you will get an opportunity here. And I think the way we play would suit him and certainly with what we have in the next few months and more importantly what we are building beyond I thought it would be a perfect fit for his next step. At the same time I think it was right to take as long as he did and he was totally comfortable with it.

Napoli sporting director Gioanni Manna has said that Alejandro Garnacho's financial demands to leave Manchester United in the January transfer window were too high for the Italian club.

Garnacho, 20, was among the players that Napoli had considered to strengthen their attack in January.

Napoli lost star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who signed for Paris Saint-Germain in a 60 million ($61m) transfer last month.

"Garnacho is a player that we like and we have liked," Manna told a news conference on Wednesday.

"We considered him even before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's departure. We met. We made a very important offer to United. We came close to their demands, very close."

Even if a transfer fee was agreed with United, Manna said the deal would not have been completed because of the Argentina winger's financial requests.

"In order to leave the Premier League in January, because in July it is different, the player [Garnacho] probably wanted to be satisfied financially," Manna said.

"It's something which we can't do right now, we are no willing to do and I don't think it is right. When you have an average salary within the dressing room and I bring in a young player that earns a medium to high salary, I don't find it correct for those players that are doing important work here."

Manna also revealed that Borussia Dortmund striker Karim Adeyemi turned down a move to Napoli.

Adeyemi, 23, is a reported target of several Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Chelsea.

"For Adeyemi we had a draft agreement with Dortmund," Manna said.

"We were there, we spoke to the player who wasn't sure and didn't want to come now. I read that he already has agreements with others, but that's not the case. I didn't want to insist, all those who have arrived since I've been here have strongly wanted to come to Napoli."

Napoli, who are top of Serie A, signed Switzerland striker Noah Okafor on loan from AC Milan on transfer deadline day.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola faces a selection headache as he will need to leave out one of the club's January signings from the Champions League knockout stages ahead of Thursday's deadline.

City, amid a prolonged run of poor form, spent 210 million ($219m) last month on forward Omar Marmoush, midfielder Nico González and defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.

Clubs must inform UEFA of their 25-man squad for the knockout stages by 11 p.m. GMT on Thursday (6 p.m. E.T.), however each club can only make three changes from their league phase squad. It means City must leave at least out one of their four new signings.

City face Real Madrid in the playoff stage, with the opening leg at the Etihad scheduled for Feb. 11 and a return leg at the Bernabéu set for Feb. 19.

It is the fourth consecutive season that City and Madrid will face off in the Champions League knockout stages. Last season, they drew both legs before the Spanish giants eventually progressed after winning penalties and went on to lift the title against Borussia Dortmund. The year before, City won 5-1 on aggregate in the semifinals before beating Inter Milan in the final to complete a historic treble.

Manchester City could join the race to sign AC Milan's Theo Hernández, while Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha is eyeing a summer move after being linked to Arsenal in January. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumors and gossip from around the globe.

Transfers homepage | Done deals | Men's January grades | Women's January grades

TOP STORIES

- City must omit new signing for UCL knockouts
- Transfer desperation ranking: Man City top after mega-spend
- Galatasaray keen to sign Newcastle's Trippier - source
- Manna: Garnacho demands were too much for Napoli

TRENDING RUMORS

- Manchester City could rival Real Madrid in the race to sign AC Milan left-back Theo Hernández this summer, reports TeamTalk. While Pep Guardiola's first-choice transfer target remains Juventus' Andrea Cambiaso, the club have also added Hernández to their left-back shortlist -- should they miss out on the Italian. Madrid are regarded as the 27-year-old's most "serious" suitor, although Milan still hold out hope that Hernández will stay at San Siro by signing a two-year contract extension.

- Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Matheus Cunha is eager to join a "bigger club" despite recently signing a new deal, Football Insider reports. The Brazilian had been the subject of interest from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in January, all of whom are expected to be vying for his signature again in the summer. The inclusion of a release clause was reportedly "demanded" by the 25-year-old, who is eyeing a transfer once it becomes active in June.

- Chelsea are already planning for Christopher Nkunku's exit this summer, Football Insider have reported. The 27-year-old was heavily linked with Bayern Munich and Manchester United last month, but a move failed to materialize before the transfer window closed on Feb. 3. However, with Nkunku expected to remain a back-up option at Stamford Bridge under Enzo Maresca, the forward is said to be assessing his future.

- Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were linked with moves away from Manchester United in January, and the Guardian reports that a summer transfer could still be on the cards. Garnacho was wanted by Napoli and Chelsea, while the west London club were also said to be considering a move for Mainoo. United need to create more headroom to allow Ruben Amorim to rebuild the squad, and finding new clubs for the two academy graduates would provide pure profit for PSR calculations -- giving the new boss more funds to reinvest.

- Harry Kane has a release clause in his Bayern Munich contract, Bild reports, but it would take a huge offer to activate it. The England captain had one clause that could have been triggered in January with an offer of 80m, but that's now expired. The clause will now fall to 65m, but there is no suggestion that Kane, 31, is looking to the leave the Bundesliga club.

CONFIRMED TRANSFERS

- Defender Lloyd Kelly has joined Juventus from Newcastle United in a 17.2m deal.

- AS Roma have signed FC Twente left-back Anass Salah-Eddine for 8m.

- Ajax have signed Real Valladolid right-back Lucas Rosa for 3m.

- Orlando City have acquired winger Marco Pašalić from HNK Rijeka for an undisclosed fee.

EXPERT TAKE

ESPN's Dale Johnson on the numbers behind Matheus Cunha's rise in the Premier League.

Matheus Cunha was something of an enigma when arriving at Wolves two years ago.

The Brazil international was signed from Atlético Madrid on loan, with an obligation to make the move permanent after certain clauses were met for a fee which could rise to 35m.

It's fair to say Cunha didn't exactly suggest he would be value for money when he was on loan, scoring only two goals and providing zero assists in 17 Premier League appearances.

He then started last season slowly, but over the last 14 months has been one of the most productive players in the Premier League, scoring 21 goals and setting up another nine. He's netted 11 times already in this campaign, one behind his tally for 2023-24.

So on those numbers alone, it's easy to see why the bigger clubs have begun to sit up and take notice, and why Wolves sealed a contract extension in January.

And he's become more clinical, too. The 12 goals in the last campaign came from an xG of 9.55, while this season he has 11 goals from an xG of just 5.22. His minutes per goal is down from 204.4 to 170.5.

OTHER RUMORS

- USA midfielder Johnny Cardoso has extended his contract with Real Betis until June 2030. However, Tottenham Hotspur still hold a priority option to sign the 23-year-old. (Real Betis)

- Samuel Chukwueze is expected to remain at AC Milan until the end of the season after his proposed Fulham transfer collapsed. The two clubs ran out of time on deadline day to complete the 30m deal because of issues surrounding an obligatory purchase option. (Revelo)

- AC Milan made an approach to sign Ferran Torres from Barcelona, along with Napoli, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal, but the Catalan club decided to keep him. (Marca)

- Alphonso Davies' agent has revealed that Real Madrid was "a serious option" for the player before he decided to sign a new contract with Bayern Munich. (Marca)

- West Ham United made a late attempt to sign Endrick on loan from Real Madrid for the rest of the season. (Marca)

- Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Petar Sucic is expected to undergo a medical at Internazionale on Friday ahead of his summer transfer. The 16m deal will see Sucic join up with his new teammates in June -- just in time for him to feature at this summer's FIFA Club World Cup. (Nicolo Schira)

- Chelsea explored options to sign a new goalkeeper to replace Robert Sanchez in January, but could not identify a suitable target who would have been available. (Football Insider)

- Centre-back Murillo was also a target for Chelsea, but Nottingham Forest rejected an offer which would have broken their transfer record early in the window and insisted he was not up for transfer. (Daily Telegraph)

- Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal worth 1.6m plus add-ons for St Patrick's Athletic striker Mason Melia, but he cannot complete the move until next January. Cetlic, Everton, Club Brugge and Eintracht Frankfurt all wanted the Republic of Ireland youth international, who does not turn 18 until September. (The Sun)

- Arsenal discussed making a move for Alvaro Morata in January as their potential striker options reduced. The Spain international eventually moved on loan to Galatasaray from Juventus. (The Athletic)

- Galatasaray are pushing to sign Empoli defender Saba Goglichidze this month. (Gianluca Di Marzio)

- Manchester United are considering a move for Flamengo wonderkid Wesley França. (Goal)

- Brighton & Hove Albion have secured a deal to sign 19-year-old Brøndby midfielder Clement Bischoff. (The Athletic)

- FC Dallas have approached former Napoli left-back Mário Rui after his contract with the Serie A club was mutually terminated. (Fabrizio Romano)

- Former Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Mario Lemina is expected to undergo a medical at Galatasaray on Thursday. (Nicolo Schira)

- Başakşehir FK striker Krzysztof Piatek is attracting interest from several MLS clubs. (Ekrem Konur)

- Andrey Santos is set to become a "key player" for Enzo Maresca at Chelsea next season, having impressed on loan at Strasbourg. (Fabrizio Romano)

- Galatasaray have entered into negotiations to sign 19-year-old Anderlecht defender Jan-Carlo Simić. (Di Marzio)

- Valencia centre-back Yarek Gasiorowski has closed the door to a potential Galatasaray transfer this month. (Relevo)