After recording an 11-3-0 record in December, one of the best months in team history, the Florida Panthers extended the contract of head coach Gerard Gallant on Saturday. “We’ve started to build a strong foundation with a great staff and group of players here in Florida,’’ Gallant said. ‘‘We want to continue to build on the recent success we’ve had and create a winning team for years to come.’’ The news came one day after the club extended general manager Dale Tallon, adding three years to his contract. Now Tallon and Gallant will be in place in Florida through the 2018-19 season. ‘‘He has done an excellent job of creating a winning culture and developing our young players in his time with the Panthers,’’ Tallon said of Gallant, who has gone to the Stanley Cup playoffs as a player and an assistant coach, but never as a head coach. ‘‘He is an ideal fit for our group and we look forward to having him lead our team as we work toward our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.’’ . . . Arizona Coyotes forward John Scott, an improbable selection that was a byproduct of a fan campaign to send the journeyman to his first All-Star Game, was one of four captains chosen by fans for the NHL All-Star Game Jan. 31 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Scott will join Florida forward Jaromir Jagr, Washington forward Alex Ovechkin, and Chicago forward Patrick Kane as captains for the reformatted All-Star event in which one player from each division will lead a team in the three-on-three game . . . The Blackhawks plan to honor Kane for his club-record 26-game point streak with a video tribute and presentation before Sunday’s home game against Ottawa. Kane’s streak from Oct. 17 to Dec. 13 was the longest by an American-born player and longest by anyone in the NHL since the 1992-93 season.

Kane was the subject of a three-month investigation into a rape allegation in August that failed to produce enough evidence for charges to be filed against him.

US advances to World Junior semifinals

Auston Matthews, expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft, had a hat trick to lead the United States to a 7-0 victory over the Czech Republic on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the World Juniors hockey championship in Helsinki. Nick Schmaltz, Christian Dvorak, Scott Eansor, and Alex DeBrincat also scored for the Americans. Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves for his first shutout of the tournament. The US team will face Russia in the semifinals Monday, while host Finland will face Sweden in the other semifinal. Vladislav Kamenev scored his second goal in overtime as Russia advanced by beating Denmark, 4-3. Canada was eliminated by Finland, losing, 6-5, despite getting two power-play goals from Mitch Marner in the third period.

Colleges

New Year’s Six bowl TV ratings take nosediveLopsided games and having the College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year’s Eve for the first time led to a 13 percent drop in TV ratings for the New Year’s Six Bowls from last year, according to ESPN. The Rose Bowl Friday drew its lowest rating (7.9) since it became part of the BCS in 1999. Overall, the ratings for the six major games played on Thursday and Friday, including the semifinals in the Orange and Cotton bowls on Dec. 31, averaged a 7.1 overnight rating, down from 8.2 last year. ‘‘That decline, frankly, is not much of a surprise and it’s modest,’’ said Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff. The average margin of victory in the New Year’s Six games was 24.2 points . . . Miami coach Mark Richt hired Manny Diaz, a Miami native and the son of the city’s former mayor, to be the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator . . . LSU coach Les Miles hired Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to be the Tigers’ defensive leader after Kevin Steele left to take a similar post at Auburn . . . Pittsburgh wide receiver Tyler Boyd announced he is skipping his senior year to enter the NFL Draft . . . Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw will attempt to become the 10th Division 1 coach with 800 career victories when the Fighting Irish visit Pittsburgh on Sunday. A victory would put her in the same company as Hall of Famers Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer, C. Vivian Stringer, and Geno Auriemma. ‘‘I would say I’d be honored to be in that group,’’ McGraw said.

NFL

Packers upgrade DT Raji

The Packers upgraded defensive tackle B.J. Raji, who missed last week’s loss against Arizona with a concussion, to probable for Green Bay’s game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday night. The move gives the Packers hope that they’ll have one of their top run-stuffers available to contain NFL leading rusher Adrian Peterson. The Packers also upgraded linebacker Mike Neal, who had been bothered by a sore hip, to probable after Saturday’s practice . . . The Eagles interviewed running backs coach Duce Staley, 40, Friday for their vacant coaching position after Chip Kelly was fired Tuesday. Staley, a fan favorite in Philadelphia who played seven seasons for the Eagles (1997-2003) and rushed for 1,000 yards three times, was an assistant on Andy Reid’s staff for two seasons and served under Kelly the past three seasons with the Eagles.