Sometimes it’s not easy to come home again. Especially when the scrappy St. Louis Blues are visiting.

Playing at Grand Casino Arena for the first time in a month, the Minnesota Wild saw a second period lead disappear quickly, as the Blues rallied for a 3-1 win on Sunday.

Pavel Buchnevich scored the game-winner late in the third period for the Blues, snapping a shot just under the crossbar behind Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson as Minnesota lost back-to-back games for the first time since mid-January.

Robert Thomas added an empty-net goal for the Blues in the final minute.

Kirill Kaprizov scored the only goal for the Wild, who got 21 saves from Gustavsson in the loss.

“I thought we had enough looks to be able to get, you know, more than one goal,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “Then they had a good look in the third and that was a heck of a shot by their guy. Unfortunately it was a game where we didn’t find a way to penetrate through, but I thought our effort was there.”

While the Blues applied steady pressure in the scoreless first period, Minnesota had the best scoring chance when a long lead pass sprung Kaprizov on a breakaway from the blue line. But St. Louis goalie Joel Hofer thwarted the Russian star’s attempt at a flip of the puck over the leg pad.

Minnesota finally broke through late in the second on a power play. After St. Louis made a shorthanded rush to the net, Minnesota came back with numbers, and put the game’s first goal on the board when Matt Boldy fed Kaprizov for a chip-in at the side of the net.

The goal was Kaprizov’s 219th of his career, which tied him with Marian Gaborik for most in franchise history.

“We see him every day, so we just know how good he is,” said Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek. “I think it’s just a matter of time and he’s going to break it. The more he scores, the better chance we have to win the game.”

The lead was brief, as Blues defenseman Logan Mailloux zipped a shot through a screen and past Gustavsson with less than two minutes to play in the middle frame.

“It just goes very close to (Quinn Hughes’) leg there,” Gustavsson said. “You lose it for half a second and that’s all it takes.”

The Blues got 22 saves from Joel Hofer, to even their season series with Minnesota at 1-1. With Gustavsson on the bench for an extra attacker, Hofer’s shot at the empty net with 1:07 to play was deflected and went just wide.

“I think we go to the net a lot today, and we have so many chances,” Kaprizov said. “(Their) goalie played pretty good.”

The Wild suffered a loss before the game began, with veteran winger Marcus Foligno missing due to a lower body injury he incurred on Friday in Utah. There was no update on the severity of the injury after the game, with Hynes saying Foligno is still being assessed. Minnesota had called up Tyler Pitlick from Iowa to take Foligno’s place on the fourth line. It was the 32nd game for Pitlick, the former Centennial High School standout who is in his first season with the Wild.

Prior to the opening faceoff, the Wild honored eight of their 10 players, and several members of their support staff, who participated in the 2026 Winter Olympics, including their three American gold medal winners.

Briefly

The Wild made a minor league trade on Sunday evening, sending Iowa forward Boris Katchouk to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Roman Schmidt. Originally from Michigan, Schmidt, 23, is listed at 6-foot-5 and 218 pounds. He has spent all of this season with the Flyers’ AHL team and will report to Iowa for the Wild.

Katchouk was acquired by the Wild on Dec. 28 and had played eight games for Iowa.

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By ADIL JAWAD AND MUNIR AHMED

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Violent clashes between protesters and security forces in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi and in the country’s north left at least 22 people dead and more than 120 others injured as demonstrators supportive of the Iranian government attempted to storm a U.S. Consulate on Sunday, authorities said.

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In the north of the country, demonstrators attacked U.N. and government offices.

The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said that at least 50 people were also wounded in the clashes and some of them were in critical condition.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his “profound sorrow over the martyrdom” of Khamenei and conveyed his condolences to Iran, according to his office. He said: “Pakistan stands with the Iranian nation in this moment of grief and shares in their loss.”

Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at the city’s main government hospital, confirmed six bodies and multiple injured people were brought to the facility. However, she said the death toll rose to 10 after four critically wounded people died.

In addition, 12 people were killed and over 80 wounded in clashes with police in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region when thousands of protesters angered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran attacked the offices of the U.N. Military Observer Group and the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), local police official Asghar Ali said.

A government spokesman, Shabir Mir, said all staff working for those organizations was safe. He said protesters repeatedly clashed with police at various places in the region, damaged the offices of a local charity, and set fire to police offices. However, he said authorities had deployed troops and brought the situation under control.

The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan said in a post on X that it was monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the U.S. Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, as well as calls for additional protests at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the consulate general in Peshawar.

It advised U.S. citizens in Pakistan to monitor local news, stay aware of their surroundings, avoid large crowds and keep their travel registration with the U.S. government up to date.

U. S. Consulate windows smashed

In Karachi, which is the capital of southern Sindh province and Pakistan’s largest city, senior police official Irfan Baloch said that protesters briefly attacked the perimeter of the U.S. Consulate, but were later dispersed.

He dismissed reports that any part of the consulate building was set on fire. However, he said that protesters torched a nearby police post and smashed windows of the consulate before security forces arrived and regained control.

Protests in the area surrounding the consulate went on for hours, with dozens of youth, some covering their faces, throwing stones at law enforcement officials and vowing to reach the consulate where hundreds of police and paramilitary officers have been deployed.

The clashes prompted Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to issue an appeal for calm.

“Following the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, every citizen of Pakistan shares in the grief of the people of Iran,” Naqvi said in a statement, but urged people not to take the law into their own hands and to express their protests peacefully. The provincial government of Sindh also urged citizens to express their views peacefully and warned against engaging in violence.

Protests took place elsewhere in Pakistan

In Islamabad, police fired tear gas and swung batons as hundreds of protesters, angered by the killing of Khamenei, tried to march toward the U.S. Embassy. The clashes took place outside the city’s diplomatic enclave, where the embassy is located, and additional police had been deployed.

Meanwhile, in the northwestern city of Peshawar, authorities also used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of demonstrators attempting to approach the U.S. Consulate to hold a rally and to denounce the killing of the Iranian leader, police said.

Protesters also held a peaceful rally in Multan, a city in Punjab province, chanting slogans against Israel and the United States.

Mamoona Sherazi, who attended the rally, said that she was protesting Khamenei’s killing. “God willing, we will never bow before America and Israel,” she said.

Protesters also rallied and clashed with police repeatedly near the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, police said. Authorities said that the government has stepped up security around the U.S. Embassy in the capital, and consulates across the country to avoid any further violence.

Munir Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, Babar Dogar in Lahore, and Asim Tanveer in Multan, contributed to this story.

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rose sharply when market trading began Sunday, as U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. military installations around the Gulf sent disruptions through the global energy supply chain.

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Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East would slow or grind to a halt. Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, have restricted countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world. Prolonged attacks would likely result in higher prices for crude oil and gasoline, according to energy experts.

West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for about $72 a barrel Sunday night, up around 8% from its trading price of about $67 on Friday, according to data from CME group.

A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around $79 per barrel Sunday night, according to FactSet, up about 8% from its trading price of $72.87 on Friday, which had been a seven-month high at the time.

Higher global energy prices could lead to consumers paying more for gasoline at the pump and shelling out more for groceries and other goods, at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.

Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil per day — about 20% of the world’s oil — are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, making it the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, according to Rystad Energy. Tankers traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran.

FILE – Fishermen work in front of oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz Jan. 19, 2012, offshore the town of Ras Al Khaimah in United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

Iran had temporarily shut down parts of the strait in mid-February for what it said was a military drill, which led oil prices to jump about 6% higher in the days that followed.

Against that backdrop, eight countries that are part of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced they would boost production of crude Sunday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a meeting planned before the war began, said it would increase production by 206,000 barrels per day in April, which was more than analysts had been expecting. The countries boosting output include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.

“Roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for world trade, meaning markets are more concerned with whether barrels can move than with spare capacity on paper,” said Jorge León, Rystad’s senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis, in an email. “If flows through the Gulf are constrained, additional production will provide limited immediate relief, making access to export routes far more important than headline output targets.”

Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, mostly to China, which may need to look elsewhere for supply if Iran’s exports are disrupted, another factor that could increase energy prices.

By MARC LEVY

Hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers scrambled to make new connections and get through to airlines on jammed phone lines Sunday after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down much of the Middle East to air travel.

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Tourists and business travelers crowded hotels and airports, with no word on when many airports would reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would resume. Some governments advised their stranded citizens to shelter in place.

Shutdown airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha — including Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world — are important hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and the West to Asia. All three were directly hit by strikes.

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, in the crowd at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said he wasn’t concerned about the war, but that he needs to get his flight to the Middle East to make a living.

“We have set out to go for work, and we must go,” he said. “My only concern is how to go abroad and how to earn an income.”

Confusion reigned for many travelers as they tried to get answers on online portals or through busy phone lines.

In Dubai, stranded travelers could hear fighter jets overhead and an explosion when the Fairmont Palm Hotel was hit by a missile strike.

Many were unable to get updated flight information from tour operators or Dubai-based Emirates, which suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Monday afternoon.

Louise Herrle and her husband had their flight to Washington canceled on their way back to their Pittsburgh home after a tour of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with no word when they could reschedule.

“We’re in the hotel room, we are not leaving it, so you’re not going to give it up until we know we have a flight out of here,” Herrle said. “I’m sure everyone else is in the same situation.”

Flights canceled, airports and airspaces still closed

Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said it is hard to calculate the number of travelers stranded worldwide.

However, it estimated that at least 90,000 people alone change flights daily in the airports in Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi on just three airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.

Airspace or airports in Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were closed, according to flight tracking sites and government agencies there.

More than 2,800 flights were canceled Sunday to and from airports across the Middle East, including those that remained open in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, according figures on flight tracking site FlightAware. International airports in London, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangkok, Istanbul, Sri Lanka and Paris each reported dozens of flights canceled, as well.

Cancellations will extend beyond Sunday, at least.

Emirates suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Monday afternoon. Air India suspended all flights to and from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar until Tuesday. Israeli airline EL AL said it was preparing to fly home Israelis stranded abroad once the airspace reopened and closed ticket sales for flights through March 21 to ensure stranded customers get priority.

Two airports in the United Arab Emirates reported strikes as the government there condemned what it called a “blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles” on Saturday.

Officials at Dubai International Airport said four people were injured, while Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said one person was killed and seven others were injured in a drone strike. Strikes were also reported at Kuwait International Airport.

Iran did not publicly claim responsibility.

Flight disruptions are likely to continue

Airlines urged passengers to check their flight status online before heading to the airport. Some airlines issued waivers to affected travelers that will allow them to rebook their flight plans without paying extra fees or higher fares. Others offered full refunds.

“For travelers, there’s no way to sugarcoat this,” said Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. “You should prepare for delays or cancellations for the next few days as these attacks evolve and hopefully end.”

Mike McCormick, who used to oversee air traffic control for the Federal Aviation Administration, said countries might reopen their airspace once American and Israeli officials tell airlines where military flights are operating and how capable Iran remains at firing missiles.

‘No one really knows what’s going on’

The reverberations echoed far outside the Middle East — for example, airport authorities in the resort island of Bali in Indonesia said more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Sunday after five flights to the Middle East were canceled or postponed.

Airlines that are crossing the Middle East will have to reroute flights around the conflict with many flights headed south over Saudi Arabia. That will cause delays and higher costs.

Kristy Ellmer, an American who had been on business meetings in Dubai, said she was staying in a hotel and keeping multiple flights booked in case airports reopen.

She said she was gaining confidence in the government’s ability to protect the city from missiles, but also keeping away from windows when she hears explosions.

“You hear a lot of explosions at times, there’s hundreds of them,” Ellmer said. “And so when we hear them we sort of just don’t stay near the windows just in case the glass was to break or there was some impact.”

___

Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press writers Julie Walker in New York, Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.