sports movies November 22 - While without another key performer, the Vancouver Canucks hope to have two others along for the ride when they open a six-game trip against the Ottawa Senators, who are mired in their longest slide of the season. The struggling Canucks will try to right the ship by handing the Senators a fifth straight loss Saturday night. Vancouver has lost two straight and four of six following a 7-1-1 stretch, and the team announced this week that star J.T. Miller will take a leave of absence for personal reasons. It's reported he likely won't be available through this road stretch. "We don't know when he'll be back," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said of Miller, who is second on the team with 16 points. Vancouver has also been without fellow All-Star Brock Boeser (upper-body injury), who has 11 points in 12 games, for the past six contests. But it's been reported Boeser is with the team for this trip and could be set for a return to the ice. Also, fellow star Thatcher Demko is expected to join the Canucks on this Eastern road trip. However, it's uncertain when he'll make his season debut following a knee injury suffered in the 2024 playoffs. "I definitely know that I'll be playing here," said Demko, who set career bests with 35 wins, a 2.45 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage last season. "I can't give you the timeline yet, but I'll definitely be back. (I'm) just enjoying being where I am today and keep making progress." In the meantime, veteran Kevin Lankinen has been solid in Vancouver's net with a 2.71 goals-against average in 13 starts. However, he's allowed four goals apiece in each of his last two. Backup Arturs Silovs, who made 29 saves in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers, is 1-3-1 with a 3.91 GAA in six games (five starts) this season. The Canucks have not suffered three consecutive regulation losses in 2024-25. The club has won four in a row amid a 5-0-1 stretch versus Ottawa. Quinn Hughes has a team-leading 19 points, and 18 in 17 career games against the Senators. Meanwhile, teammate Elias Pettersson, with five goals and four assists in the last eight games, has recorded 10 goals and 10 assists in 13 games versus Ottawa. The Senators have struggled to win consistently. They've allowed 17 goals while mired in an 0-3-1 rut after winning two straight. That said, Ottawa battled Vegas hard during Thursday's 3-2 home loss. "We just need to keep working, keep believing in each other," said the Senators' Drake Batherson, who scored his eighth goal Thursday. "You can't get down. Just come to the rink positive and work hard." Former Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark has allowed 13 goals during his current 0-2-1 starting stretch for the Senators, but made 29 saves against the Golden Knights. Teammate Anton Forsberg has yielded three goals apiece in losing his last two starts. Despite Ottawa's middling performance to begin the season, Tim Stutzle has recorded 17 of his team-leading 23 points at home. He has a goal and five assists spanning his last five games versus Vancouver. --Field Level Media Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tabWASHINGTON — A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying at night over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns the unmanned aircraft. “We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday, as concerns about the drones spread across Capitol Hill. People in the New York region are also concerned that the drones may be sharing airspace with commercial airlines, he said, demanding more transparency from the Biden administration. The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby said, echoing statements from the Pentagon and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh has said they are not U.S. military drones. In a joint statement issued Thursday afternoon, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said they and their federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, “continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.” The agencies said they have not corroborated any of the reported sightings with electronic detection, and that reviews of available images appear to show many of the reported drones are actually manned aircraft. “There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space,” according to the statement. The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security. The number of sightings has increased in recent days, though officials say many of the objects seen may have been planes rather than drones. It’s also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once. The worry stems partly from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. In a post on the social media platform X, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia described the drones as up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights switched off. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use but are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified. Most, but not all, of the drones spotted in New Jersey appeared to be larger than those typically used by hobbyists. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he was frustrated by the lack of transparency, saying it could help spread fear and misinformation. “We should know what’s going on over our skies,” he said Thursday. John Duesler, president of the Pennsylvania Drone Association, said witnesses may be confused about what they are seeing, especially in the dark, and noted it’s hard to know the size of the drones or how close they might be. “There are certainly big drones, such as agricultural drones, but typically they are not the type you see flying around in urban or suburban spaces,” Duesler said Thursday. Duesler said the drones — and those flying them — likely cannot evade detection. “They will leave a radio frequency footprint, they all leave a signature," he said. "We will find out what kind of drones they were, who was flying them and where they were flying them.” Fantasia, a Morris County Republican, was among several lawmakers who met with state police and Homeland Security officials to discuss the sightings from the New York City area across New Jersey and westward into parts of Pennsylvania, including over Philadelphia. It is unknown at this time whether the sightings are related. Duesler said the public wants to know what's going on. “I hope (the government agencies) will come out with more information about this to ease our fears. But this could just be the acts of rogue drone operators, it’s not an ‘invasion’ as some reports have called it,” Duesler said. “I am concerned about this it but not alarmed by it.” ___ Associated Press reporters Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and reporter Darlene Superville and videojournalists Serkan Gurbuz and Nathan Ellgren in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.Arizona State makes College Football Playoff with 45-19 win over Iowa State in Big 12 title game

East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., a potential first-round pick, declared for the 2025 NFL Draft on Friday. Revel, who sustained a torn left ACL in practice in September, had one season of eligibility remaining. "After an incredible journey at East Carolina, I am officially declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft," the senior posted on social media. "... Pirates nation, thank you for your unwavering energy and support every game. Representing ECU is an honor, and I look forward to continuing to do so on Sundays!" Revel recorded two interceptions in three games this season, returning one 50 yards for a touchdown on Sept. 14 against Appalachian State. Over three seasons with the Pirates, Revel had three interceptions, 15 passes defensed and 70 tackles in 24 games. He was a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection last season. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Revel as the No. 2 cornerback and No. 23 overall prospect in the 2025 draft class. --Field Level Media

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