FRIDAY SPORTS: LEAFS PULL IT OUT IN CALGARY

NHL

MAPLE LEAFS 4, FLAMES 3

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Auston Matthews had a hat trick to push his NHL-leading goals total to 37 and added an assist in Toronto’s comeback victory over Calgary.

Mitch Marner also scored and Martin Jones made 24 saves to help the Maple Leafs end a four-game skid and improve to 22-13-8. William Nylander and Pontus Holmberg each had two assists.

Yegor Sharangovich, former Toronto forward Nazem Kadri and Andrew Mangiapane scored for the Flames, who had won a season-high four in a row. Dan Vladar stopped 29 shots.

OILERS 4, KRAKEN 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Warren Foegele scored twice, Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists, and Edmonton rallied past Seattle to extend its winning streak to a franchise-record 12 games.

Zach Hyman also scored for Edmonton, and Stuart Skinner stopped 25 shots. The Oilers are 20-3-0 in their last 23 games to improve to 25-15-1. They tied the record for the longest winning streak by a Canadian team set by the 1967-68 Montreal Canadiens.

BRUINS 5 AVALANCHE 2

BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak scored on the opening shift and added two insurance goals late in the third period as the Boston Bruins beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Thursday night.

Cale Makar had an assist for the Avalanche but fell one point short of tying Hall of Famer Bobby Orr as the fastest defenseman to reach 300 career points. Orr did it in his 279th game on Dec. 13, 1970. Makar played his 279th game Thursday and now has 299 points.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, RANGERS 1

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ivan Barbashev had his first two-goal game of the season and Logan Thompson made 29 saves as Vegas topped the New York Rangers.

Barbashev ended his 10-game goal drought, hitting the back of the net for the first time since Dec. 21. Jonathan Marchessault had a goal and an assist, Keegan Kolesar also scored and Brett Howden added an empty-net goal with the Golden Knights short-handed. Mark Stone and Nic Roy each had two assists.

CAPITALS 5, BLUES 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — T.J. Oshie had a hat trick against his old team and Washington beat St. Louis for its second consecutive victory.

Oshie’s two goals on the power play and a late empty-netter gave him five goals in his past four games after scoring just two in his first 21 this season. It was Oshie’s sixth career hat trick and first since Oct. 25, 2021.

FLYERS 5, STARS 1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Owen Tippett scored twice, including a highlight-reel goal late in the third period, Scott Laughton converted a penalty shot and streaking Philadelphia defeated Dallas for its fifth straight victory.

Sean Walker and Cam Atkinson also scored for Philadelphia, which outshot Dallas 43-16. Morgan Frost added two assists and Sam Ersson made 15 saves for the Flyers, who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Stars.

LIGHTNING 7, WILD 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov had three assists to reach 500 for his career, Anthony Cirelli scored twice and Tampa Bay beat Minnesota.

Kucherov, who leads the league with 75 points, had his fourth game this season with three or more assists. He reached the milestone in his 688th game, the third-fewest among active players behind Connor McDavid (527) and Sidney Crosby (554).

PREDATORS 2, KINGS 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan O’Reilly had a power-play goal and an assist, Gustav Nyquist also scored and Nashville edged Los Angeles.

SABRES 3, BLACKHAWKS 0

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 19 saves for his second consecutive shutout and Buffalo blanked Chicago in a game moved back a day because of snow.

SENATORS 6, CANADIENS 2

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Tim Stutzle had a goal and two assists, Joonas Korpisalo stopped 21 shots and Ottawa beat Montreal.

(Canadian Press)

NHL TONIGHT

There are four games in the league tonight, but all seven Canadian teams have the evening off. The Carolina Hurricanes host the Detroit Red Wings, the Columbus Blue Jackets entertain the New Jersey Devils, the Minnesota Wild visit the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders are in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. All seven Canadian teams return to play tomorrow.

NBA

The Toronto Raptors are off Friday night after beating the Miami Heat and losing to the Chicago Bulls on back-to-back nights at home following the trade of star forward Pascal Siakam. Toronto visits the New York Knicks Saturday. It’s the first game between the two teams since Toronto sent a package centred around O-G Anunoby to New York for R-J Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

Pascal Siakam’s Indiana Pacers visit the Portland Trail Blazers Friday. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has not confirmed when the two-time all-star will make his debut for the team. The league-leading Boston Celtics also host the defending-champion Denver Nuggets as part of a seven-game slate in the NBA.

GOLF

Brooke Henderson is four shots off the lead entering the second round at the LPGA Tour’s season-opening Tournament of Champions in Orlando. The defending champion from Smiths Falls, Ontario, won last year’s tournament wire-to-wire but didn’t win again over the rest of the season. Japan’s Ayaka Furue leads after shooting a first round of 7-under 65.

Adam Hadwin is three shots off the lead heading into Day 2 of The American Express golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The 36-year-old from Abbotsford, B-C, shot a 7-under 65 in La Quinta, California yesterday. American Zach Johnson shares the lead with Sweden’s Alex Noren after a 10-under 62 in the first round. Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ontario, and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford are the next-best Canadians at 4-under.

(CP)