THURSDAY SPORTS: LEAFS TOP JETS IN THRILLER

NHL

MAPLE LEAFS 1, JETS 0, OT

TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 39th goal at 4:13 of overtime to lift Toronto past Winnipeg in the opener of a home-and-home set.

Matthews took a pass from Morgan Rielly at the lip of the crease and redirected the puck past goalie Laurent Brossoit. Ilya Samsonov made 32 saves for his second shutout of the season.

The teams will meet again Saturday night in Winnipeg.

Brossoit stopped 29 shots. Winnipeg has lost two straight for the first time since late November. The Jets fell 4-1 in Boston on Monday night.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Wednesday:

PANTHERS 6, COYOTES 2

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and Florida beat Arizona 6-2 in a game that started with fights off the first two faceoffs.

The game kicked off with the two fights in the first seven seconds, first between Ryan Lomberg and Jack McBain, then Gadjovich and Liam O’Brien.

Players from both sides met at center ice during pre-game warmups prior to the game, with the Panthers contingent unhappy after Arizona forward Jason Zucker left Florida forward Nick Cousins with a concussion after hitting him from behind in the last meeting between the two teams Jan. 2.

AVALANCHE 6 CAPITALS 2

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored three of his four goals consecutively in the second period for a natural hat trick and added an assist to help the Colorado Avalanche beat the Washington Capitals 6-2 on Wednesday night.

HURRICANES 3, BRUINS 2

BOSTON (AP) — Jordan Martinook snapped a tie on a breakaway with 2 1/2 minutes left, Spencer Martin stopped 25 shots and Carolina ended Boston’s winning streak at six games, winning 3-2.

BLUES 4, CANUCKS 3, OT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Brayden Schenn scored at 1:54 of overtime to lift St. Louis past Vancouver 4-3.

SABRES 5, KINGS 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JJ Peterka had two goals and an assist, Alex Tuch scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Buffalo rallied to beat Los Angeles 5-3.

KRAKEN 6, BLACKHAWKS 2

SEATTLE (AP) — Jared McCann scored his 19th goal of the season early in the first period, Joey Daccord made 34 saves and Seattle handed Chicago its 18th straight road loss.

The Blackhawks are tied for the fourth-longest single-season streak in NHL history, along with Pittsburgh (1982-83), Quebec (1989-90) and San Jose (1992-93).

NHL EXPANSION TO UTAH

SALT LAKE CITY – The owners of the NBA’s Utah Jazz have requested the NHL initiate an expansion process to bring a franchise to Utah.

Smith Entertainment Group, which also owns Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake, says it can accomodate an NHL franchise immediately, with Salt Lake City’s Delta Center serving as an interim home arena.

“SEG envisions a near future where the NHL will thrive in Utah, and we are 100 per cent focused on making this happen as soon as possible,” Ryan Smith, chairman of SEG and governor of the Utah Jazz, said in a statement.

The NHL called Utah a promising market and said it looked forward to continuing discussions in a statement released after SEG’s formal request.

“The NHL appreciates the interest expressed by Smith Entertainment Group to bring NHL hockey to Utah,” the statement read. “During conversations over the course of the past two years, we have been impressed by Ryan and Ashley Smith’s commitment to their community and their passion and vision for Utah, not only as a hockey market, but as a preeminent sports and entertainment destination.”

CHL TOP PROSPECTS GAME

MONCTON, N.B. – Raoul Boilard scored the go-ahead goal 5:52 into the third period and Team Red topped Team White 3-1 in the Canadian Hockey League top prospects game on Wednesday.

Boilard added an empty-netter with 1:20 remaining, along with an assist in the game. Ben Danford contributed the other marker for Team Red at Avenir Centre.

Ryerson Leenders stopped 19 of 20 shots starting the first half of the game, while Lukas Matecha turned away all 19 shots he faced in the second half.

Liam Greentree had the lone goal for Team White. Carter George stopped 11 of 12 shots as the starter in the first half of the contest. Dawson Cowan made 16 saves on 17 shots in relief.

HARBAUGH TAKING OVER CHARGERS

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Jim Harbaugh was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday, leaving Michigan after capping his ninth season as coach of college football’s winningest program with the school’s first national championship since 1997.

Harbaugh signed a five-year deal a person close to the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Chargers did not announce the terms.

Harbaugh made the highly anticipated decision to go back to the NFL after a second interview and resume his chase for a Super Bowl that eluded him as a quarterback and coach.

He will be the first former Chargers player to return to the team as head coach. He played for the Bolts in 1999-2000 before retiring following the 2001 season.