GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The loss of safety Earl Thomas to a season-ending injury left a gaping hole in the Seattle Seahawks’ formidable defense. Life without Thomas begins Sunday when Seattle travels to Lambeau Field in an important game in the NFC playoff picture. The Packers need a win to keep pace with first-place Detroit in the NFC North. The Seahawks have two avenues to clinch the NFC West on Sunday, the easiest being a win over Green Bay along with an Arizona loss or tie.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jayson Megna and Jack Skille both had two goals, Ryan Miller made 38 saves before leaving with six minutes left in the third period and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Thursday night. Erik Gudbranson also scored for the Canucks, who are 1-1 on a five-game road.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Marc Gasol scored 36 points and Toney Douglas made two free throws with less than a second left to give the Memphis Grizzlies an 88-86 comeback victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday night. CJ McCollum led the Trail Blazers with 24 points.
CHENEY, Wash. (AP) — Ty Gibson had a career-high 19 points, Bogdan Bliznyuk added 18 points and Eastern Washington cruised to a 103-76 win over Great Falls Thursday night. Felix Von Hofe hit three 3s and scored 13 points while Jacob Wiley had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.