FRIDAY SPORTS: ANOTHER LEAFS LETDOWN

NHL

SABRES 9, MAPLE LEAFS 3

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Jeff Skinner scored twice, including the go-ahead goal, and added an assist as Buffalo responded to its most embarrassing loss of the season by routing Toronto.

Tage Thompson had a goal and two assists and captain Kyle Okposo scored twice, two nights after a 9-4 loss to Columbus when the team was booed off the ice and fans chanted “Fire Donnie” in reference to coach Don Granato. Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Jordan Greenway and Jack Quinn also scored for Buffalo, which won for just the fourth time in 12 games.

CAPITALS 3 BLUE JACKETS 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal in 15 games with 53 seconds left on the clock in overtime Thursday night to lift the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

LIGHTNING 5, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Nicholas Paul scored the winning goal with 1:13 left and added two assists as Tampa Bay beat Vegas.

PENGUINS 2, HURRICANES 1, SO

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sidney Crosby scored his 19th goal of the season in regulation and then beat Pyotr Kochetkov in a shootout to send Pittsburgh past Carolina for its fourth victory in five games.

AVALANCHE 6, SENATORS 4

DENVER (AP) – Nathan MacKinnon scored four goals to extend his career-best point streak to 17 games, and Colorado rallied past Ottawa.

BLUES 4, PANTHERS 1

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Joel Hofer stopped 36 shots, Pavel Buchnevich scored twice and St. Louis topped sliding Florida.

OILERS 6, DEVILS 3

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Adam Erne scored in a span of 69 seconds early in the third period as Edmonton beat New Jersey to snap a three-game losing streak.

PREDATORS 4, FLYERS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Philip Tomasino scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 4:01 remaining, and Nashville beat Philadelphia.

STARS 4, CANUCKS 3, OT

DALLAS (AP) – Matt Duchene scored with 9.2 seconds remaining on the clock in overtime to give Dallas a win over Vancouver.

WILD 4, CANADIENS 3, OT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Kirill Kaprizov scored with 4.9 seconds left in overtime to lift Minnesota over Montreal.

FLAMES 3, DUCKS 0

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Elias Lindholm had a goal and two assists, Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves for his 200th career win and Calgary extended its winning streak to a season-best three games with a victory over Anaheim.

COYOTES 5, SHARKS 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Clayton Keller scored his third goal in three games and Arizona beat San Jose to extend its win streak to four.

BOCA BLOWOUT

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) – Byrum Brown threw three touchdown passes and became the second USF quarterback with 4,000 total yards in a season, leading the Bulls to a 45-0 rout of undermanned Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl on Thursday night.

Brown, a redshirt freshman, closed out his outstanding season with 4,101 total yards. Quinton Flowers had 4,339 for the Bulls in 2016.

“I’ve said it before, tough, smart, gritty,” South Florida coach Alex Golesh said.

USF (7-6) finished above .500 for the first time since 2018. The shutout was the Bulls’ first since 2009 against Charleston Southern.

“Seven wins is not the pinnacle of college football, but it’s certainly the foundation,” Golesh said. “We will win championships in Tampa. We will win championships at South Florida.”

Syracuse (6-7) struggled at quarterback. With starter Garrett Shrader missing the game following shoulder surgery, interim coach Nunzio Campanile employed a hodgepodge approach at quarterback. The plan went about as well as it sounds.

Tight end Dan Villari, a former QB at Michigan, drew the start, with backup quarterback Braden Davis and running back LeQuint Allen Jr. also sharing snaps. The Orange managed 159 yards against a defense that surrendered more than 450 yards per game during the regular season.

“We had to do what we had to do,” Campanile said.

But, help is on the way for Syracuse. After leading Ohio State to an 11-1 regular season, quarterback Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal and signed with Orange. Both McCord and incoming coach Fran Brown attended the Boca Bowl.

NFL

Matthew Stafford passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns as the Los Angeles Rams surged forward in the NFC playoff race with a 30-22 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Rookie Puka Nacua had nine catches for a career-high 164 yards and a T-D. The Saints loss means New Orleans’ two-game win streak is over.