ARLINGTON, Va. -- Nicklas Backstrom had a smile on his face and no concerns about missing another game.

"I'm good to go," Backstrom said. "It's like that guy in 'Mighty Ducks.' I woke up, no pain."

Backstrom was referring to the fictional Adam Banks character who returned from a wrist injury in time for a championship game. The Washington Capitals are getting the real standout Swedish center back while they're on a roll.

The Capitals are expected to have Backstrom back Monday when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets. He missed the past eight games with an undisclosed upper-body injury, and Washington went 6-1-1 in that time.

With Backstrom ready to go, the Capitals are set to have their full, healthy lineup on the ice for the first time this season. Despite injuries, they lead the NHL with 22 wins and 49 points through 31 games.

"As of right now, we are playing good hockey and we are getting the points we needed," Backstrom said Sunday. "It is still early in the season, so you have to keep build, build and build. We are a team that is building for upcoming things."

Upcoming are matchups against the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, a popular preseason pick to win the Stanley Cup. But Backstrom is of course referring to the playoffs, where the Capitals are looking to bounce back from last season's first-round exit and make another championship run like they did in 2018.

There's no reason to think they couldn't do that, especially given their success more than a quarter of the way through the season without the full complement of healthy bodies.

"That shows the depth that we have all the way through our lineup," coach Todd Reirden said. "That's been a good problem to have, and it's allowed us to see some other players get opportunities and showcase some of the abilities they have."

Backstrom's return puts Washington's lineup back in regular order. He'll take his regular place between Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson, allowing Reirden to keep the hot second line of Jakub Vrana, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie together.

Braden Holtby is expected to start in goal against Columbus.

BEL OMBRE, Mauritius - Danish rookie Rasmus Hojgaard won a three-way playoff at the Mauritius Open with an eagle to become the third youngest winner on the European Tour on Sunday.

The 18-year-old Hojgaard overcame two bogeys in his opening nine and birdied the last hole in a round of 4-under 68 to get to 19-under overall, tied for first with Antoine Rozner of France and Renato Paratore of Italy.

In the playoff, Hojgaard and Rozner both birdied the par-5 last hole as Paratore made par.

Both Hojgaard and Rozner birdied again on the 18th before the Dane won the title with an eagle.

Hojgaard is the youngest player to win a European Tour title since Italy’s Matteo Manassero.

It was Hojgaard’s fifth event.

Forward Mario Balotelli gave struggling Brescia a 1-0 win at SPAL to lift them off the bottom of the Serie A table on Sunday as Eugenio Corini took charge of the team again a little more than a month after being sacked.

Corini, who lifted Brescia out of Serie B last season, was fired following a defeat at Verona but then rehired after his replacement Fabio Grosso lost all three games in charge and was himself dismissed.

Grosso also dropped maverick forward Balotelli for one match, saying he had not put in enough effort in training.

Balotelli scored the only goal in the 54th minute of the meeting between Serie A's bottom two sides, tapping in from close range, after SPAL goalkeeper Etrit Berisha had blocked two shots in succession, for his third goal of the season.

SPAL won a penalty in the 74th minute but Andrea Petagna saw his effort saved by Jesse Joronen.

Former Manchester City, Inter Milan and AC Milan forward Balotelli has struggled since joining Brescia this season and was also the victim of racist insults at Verona.

"I saw a mature player," said Corini when asked about Balotelli's performance. "Sometimes he drops off a bit, but I want him connected for the whole game. If he learns to play collectively, he'll have even more fun."

Balotelli was asked about a possible Italy recall for Euro 2020. "Everyone wants to play in the European championship but for me the important thing is to save Brescia. That's what is in my head," he said.

Brescia moved up to 19th in the 20-team table with 10 points, one ahead of SPAL.

India captain Virat Kohli said his side couldn't expect to win matches if they continued to slip up in the field. West Indies beat India by eight wickets in the second T20I on Sunday to leave the series 1-1 going into the decider. While the margin eight wickets with nine balls to spare appeared comprehensive, West Indies benefitted from three dropped catches in their chase. That followed from the first T20I, which India won despite five dropped chances.

In the second game, two catches were put down in the fifth over, bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, benefitting openers Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis.

Washington Sundar dropped a straightforward chance at mid-off when Simmons was on 6 - he would go on to make 67* off 45 - while Rishabh Pant put down a more difficult chance two balls later, having to dive to his left after following the batsman by moving to his right. Lewis was on 16 then and the initial pressure built by tight bowling quickly dissipated.

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Later on, the returning Nicholas Pooran was also put down by Shreyas Iyer in the 17th over when he was on 18, and West Indies hunted down India's 170 for 7 comfortably.

"We had to get those 15 extra runs to defend, but look, if you field like that, then no total is big enough," Kohli told Star Sports after the match. "Last two games we have been below par in the field. We were good with the ball, in the first four overs we created enough pressure… and then you drop two chances in a T20 game in one over, that's going to cost you. If they lose two wickets in one over, the pressure's on them. I think it's a game of margins and we need to understand where we went wrong. It's pretty evident. It's there for everyone to see and for us to improve on. I think fielding is something we need to be more brave about, and not worry about dropping catches."

"It's there for everyone to see and for us to improve on. I think fielding is something we need to be more brave about, and not worry about dropping catches." Virat Kohli

Kohli himself pulled off the most difficult catch of the match, sprinting to his right at long-on to hold onto a hard, flat Shimron Hetmyer hit. "It was one of those catches that just stuck in the hand. It came out of the lights a little bit, but I just committed to the ball and put both hands out, and luckily it came into my hand," Kohli said. "Last game I put one hand out and I dropped it. It's about putting in the effort when you can and sometimes they stick and sometimes they don't."

Going with two hands instead of one was not the only thing Kohli changed from the first game to the second. He pushed himself down the order to No.4, and sent in the raw Shivam Dube at No.3.

"Well we knew the pitch is going to offer something to the spinners. They were going to start with a spinner, so we thought why not Shivam goes up and tries and attacks the spinner," Kohli explained. "Because the batting line-up that we have will probably go unused if two guys at the top fire. That was the plan behind it, worked pretty well.

"We were really good for the first 16 overs - we were 140 for 4 [144 for 4]. From there on I think you expect to get about 40-45 runs in the last four overs and not 30. I think we lacked there a little bit, so we have to focus on that more. I think Shivam's knock is what propelled us towards 170 because the ball wasn't coming on to the bat so well in the first half. To be honest, West Indies assessed the pitch really nicely and they bowled enough cutters and changes of pace to not let us get any momentum."

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan became the 10th quarterback in NFL history to reach 50,000 career passing yards during Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers

Ryan, who entered the game needing 34 yards to hit the milestone, reached 50,000 following a 14-yard pass to Russell Gage in the first quarter. The accomplishment occurred in Ryan's 186th career game.

Former Miami Dolphins star Dan Marino was the first quarterback to 50,000 career yards, in November 1996. The other players to achieve the accomplishment are Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, and John Elway. Marino, Rivers and Ryan are the only players on the list without Super Bowl titles to their name, with Rivers and Ryan still active.

Ryan, 34, now in his 12th NFL season, spoke previously about what it would mean to reach 50,000.

"Anytime you're on a list with those other guys, that's pretty cool,'' Ryan said. "You have images of [some] of those guys in your head from when you were a kid, and that's who you grew up idolizing."

Ryan moved into the Top 10 all-time passers during a 29-3 victory over Carolina in Week 11, surpassing Warren Moon's 49,325.

Ryan is looking for his ninth consecutive season of throwing for at least 4,000 passing yards.

Brees currently stands as the NFL's all-time leading passer. He entered Sunday's action with 76,228 career passing yards.

The undefeated Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes are underdogs heading into the College Football Playoff.

No. 3 Clemson opened as a 2-point favorite over No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday at Caesars Sportsbook. The Tigers and Buckeyes will face off Dec. 28 in the Fiesta Bowl in the second semifinal.

No. 1 LSU opened as a 10-point favorite over No. 4 Oklahoma in the other semifinal. LSU and the Sooners play Dec. 28 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Ohio State went from a potential double-digit favorite over Oklahoma to an underdog with the CFP selection committee's decision to move LSU past the Buckeyes and into the No. 1 seed. Caesars Sportsbook oddsmakers were considering making Ohio State an 11.5-point favorite over Oklahoma. Instead, the Buckeyes are underdogs for the first time this season.

The favored team has won nine of 15 CFP games.

LSU is the fifth double-digit favorite in College Football Playoff history. The previous four won straight-up, and double-digit favorites overall have won their games outright 89.6% of the time over the past five seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The point spreads for both semifinals were on the move quickly Sunday afternoon. An hour after sportsbooks posted their opening lines, the consensus lines were Clemson -2.5 and LSU -11.5.

LSU, at 5-2, has the best odds to win the national championship at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by Clemson (2-1) and Ohio State (5-2). Oklahoma is a 12-1 long shot.

Clemson is the seventh lower seed to be favored in a CFP game. Lower-seeded favorites are 4-2 in the CFP.

The over/under on Clemson-Ohio State opened at 63.5 at Caesars Sportsbook. The over/under on Oklahoma-LSU opened at 75.5.

For the first time since 2015, four Power 5 conference champions have been selected for the College Football Playoff.

No. 1 LSU will face No. 4 Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, and No. 2 Ohio State will play No. 3 Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, as decided by the CFP selection committee Sunday.

Both semifinal games will take place Dec. 28. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be held Jan. 13 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

LSU (13-0) reclaimed the No. 1 ranking with its 37-10 win over Georgia on Saturday in the SEC championship game. The victory was the Tigers' fifth over an Associated Press top-10 team this season, which ties a record in the AP Poll era (since 1936) for most top-10 victories in a single season.

"Our goal was to go to the SEC championship and win it; that was one of our goals," LSU coach Ed Orgeron told ESPN on Sunday. "... But we're not done yet. That wasn't our final destination. I'm very proud of our offense, I'm very proud of our defense and all our coaches, but we still have some work to do."

Being the top-ranked team again might not faze Orgeron, who said he didn't care about being No. 1 or No. 2.

"It didn't matter to us," Orgeron said of his Tigers' ranking. "Anytime, anywhere, anybody -- we're ready to play. We're gonna be playing Oklahoma, a great football team.

"Wherever they tell us to play, we're gonna show up and we're gonna be ready."

Ohio State (13-0) maintained its 19-game winning streak with a second-half comeback against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game Saturday. Quarterback Justin Fields said the early adversity against the Badgers "made us stronger," while star defensive end Chase Young said it proved the Buckeyes were "a No. 1-worthy team."

The Buckeyes are making their and the Big Ten's first playoff appearance since 2016. Ohio State won the inaugural playoff in 2014.

Clemson (13-0) is in the playoff for the fifth straight year, winning the national title in 2016 and 2018. The Tigers haven't lost since the 2017 season, racking up their 28th straight win with a 62-17 blowout of Virginia in the ACC title game Saturday.

But this year's résumé has been questioned after the Tigers rolled through a weak ACC and a schedule that could wind up with zero teams in the final CFP Top 25, assuming Virginia drops out after its 45-point loss. (The rest of the final College Football Playoff rankings and New Year's Six bowls will be announced later Sunday.)

It's a situation that has frustrated coach Dabo Swinney, who said last week that the ACC doesn't get enough credit and that Clemson is held to a higher standard.

He continued to make light of the situation Sunday, telling his team it was the first to start the season No. 1, go undefeated through the regular season and be ranked third.

"So congratulations on that," Swinney told the team.

Oklahoma (12-1) was the biggest beneficiary of conference championship weekend. The Sooners' 30-23 overtime victory over Baylor in the Big 12 title game -- paired with losses by Georgia and Utah -- vaulted them into the playoff for the third straight year.

The Sooners might not be favored in their playoff game(s), but the No. 4 seed has more titles in the past five years (two) than the No. 1 seeds (0).

LSU opened as a 10-point favorite over Oklahoma, and Clemson is a 2-point favorite against Ohio State in opening lines at Caesars Sportsbook.

According to ESPN's Football Power Index, Ohio State has the best projection to win the playoff, with a 35% chance of claiming the title. LSU narrowly has the second-best projection at 29%, followed by Clemson (28%) and Oklahoma (9%).

The Pac-12 was shut out of the playoff for the third straight year. Utah entered the weekend ranked No. 5, but its case was ruined by a 37-15 loss to Oregon on Friday. Oregon (2014) and Washington (2016) remain the conference's only representatives in the six-year history of the playoff.

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints picked a good time to find another go-to guy in their passing offense.

Drew Brees hit tight end Jared Cook with touchdown passes of 38 and 26 yards in the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers' vaunted defense Sunday. Cook did a terrific job of holding onto the second one, as he drew an unnecessary roughness penalty against 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon as he caught it.

Cook went back to the locker room after the hit and has not returned to the field yet. But his TD catches helped spark a track meet that no one expected in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, as New Orleans took a 20-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

AND-1 ‼️@JaredCook89 ? | #SAINTS pic.twitter.com/QAovFjXoTd

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 8, 2019

Cook, who signed with the Saints as a free agent this offseason, now has six TD catches on the season and four over the past four games.

NEW ORLEANS - Earlier this week, San Francisco 49ers wideout Emmanuel Sanders stood in front of his fellow receivers and emphasized the importance of locking in for Sunday's big game against the New Orleans Saints.

That's clearly been no problem for Sanders. With the Niners defense struggling and facing a 13-point deficit early in the second quarter, Sanders got his team right back in it with a 75-yard touchdown catch.

On first-and-10 from San Francisco's 25, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo dropped back and looked deep for Sanders, who had split both New Orleans safeties. Sanders adjusted to the ball as safety Marcus Williams fell down and hauled it in.

After rolling over, Sanders stood up, evaded two Saints defenders and reached the end zone for the touchdown.

The 75-yard touchdown matches the longest of Sanders' career. He also caught a 75-yard touchdown from Peyton Manning on Oct. 18, 2015 when both played for the Denver Broncos, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

?@ESanders_10 to @RMos_8Ball ?‍♂️#GoNiners #SFvsNO pic.twitter.com/3AzpuJVbPE

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 8, 2019

Minutes later, Sanders threw for a touchdown.

?@JimmyG_10 to @ESanders_10 #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/RsAmpfDR2r

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 8, 2019