NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists just a few hours after signing a new contract and the surging Boston Bruins became the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points by beating the Buffalo Sabres 7-1. Jakub Lauko scored twice, Dmitry Orlov added a goal and two assists and Jeremy Swayman stopped 26 shots as the Bruins overcame the loss of Brad Marchand to a lower body injury to win their ninth straight. Pavel Zacha, Patrice Bergeron and Connor Clifton added goals for Boston. Casey Mittelstadt scored for Buffalo and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 35 shots.
Meanwhile, the Bruins got the action going Thursday by acquiring winger Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit for a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2024 and a fourth-rounder in 2025, the latest move by a Stanley Cup contender to keep pace in the loaded East. The Red Wings are retaining half of Bertuzzi's salary for the rest of the season. Bruins coach Jim Montgomery called Bertuzzi an excellent player and a “great complementary winger.”
Claude Giroux broke a tie early in the third period, former Ranger Derick Brassard scored twice and the Ottawa Senators beat New York 5-3 on Thursday night to spoil Patrick Kane’s Rangers debut. The Rangers led 3-2 entering the third after Vladimir Tarasenko scored a highlight-reel goal late in the second, but Ottawa scored twice in a two-minute span, then held on for its fourth straight win. Brassard — playing his 1,000th game — tied it at 1:35 with his 11th of the season off an assist from Giroux, who beat netminder Jaroslav Halak for his 26th goal at 3:26 to put Ottawa ahead to stay. Shane Pinto and Tim Stutzle also scored for Ottawa, and Cam Talbot made 29 saves.
Jason Zucker scored his second goal of the game 2:13 into overtime, and the Pittsburgh Penguins completed a three-game season sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-4 victory Thursday night. Zucker was wide-open in the slot and one-timed a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Penguins moved into the first wild card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of the New York Islanders. Defenseman Jeff Petry scored twice in 25 seconds, Drew O’Connor also scored and Tristan Jarry made 27 saves for the Penguins. Ross Colton, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiymade 27 saves for the Lightning.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Luka Doncic scored 42 points, Kyrie Irving added 40 and the new All-Star pairing sparkled throughout the Dallas Mavericks’ 133-126 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Doncic won a matchup of the NBA’s top two scorers as Joel Embiid finished with 35 points for the 76ers. Irving and Doncic became the first Dallas teammates to score at least 40 in the same game. Doncic and Irving won for the second time in six games together since Irving was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Brooklyn.
Kyle Kuzma scored the game’s first 10 points and finished with 30, Kristaps Porzingis added 25 points, and the Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors 119-108 in the opener of a two-game set between Eastern Conference playoff contenders. Daniel Gafford scored 18 points and Delon Wright had a season-high 11 assists for the Wizards, who moved within percentage points of the ninth-place Raptors in the East standings. O.G. Anunoby scored 26 points and Jakob Poeltl had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who had won five of their previous six games.
LeBron James is expected to miss most of March with an injured tendon in his right foot, the Los Angeles Lakers said on Thursday. And if that timetable holds, the Lakers will have to find a way to stay in the playoff race without the league’s all-time scoring leader. The Lakers did not disclose the full extent of the injury, saying that it was a tendon issue and that he will be “reevaluated in approximately three weeks.” If James misses three more weeks, starting with Thursday, that would keep him out for at least 10 of the Lakers’ final 19 games.
NFL
Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter has returned to the NFL scouting combine after turning himself in to Athens police Wednesday night and posting a combined bond of $4,000 on charges of reckless driving and racing in relation to a fatal crash that killed a teammate and team staffer. Carter, projected as one of the top players in next month’s NFL draft, left the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis after being informed of the arrest warrant issued in conjunction with the Jan. 15 crash that killed teammate Devin Willock and a recruiting staff member. Carter says he expects to be “fully exonerated.”
ARENA FOOTBALL
Albany’s arena football team is getting a big boost from one of the sport’s most talented and divisive figures. Antonio Brown, whose father Eddie Brown starred for the defunct Albany Firebirds throughout the 1990s, is joining the Albany Empire as a part owner. His father will join the front office to work on day-to-day operations. Antonio Brown says he’s looking forward to renewing his ties with the Capital Region, where he went to elementary school:
Brown’s NFL career came to an abrupt end with the Bucs in 2022, when he took off his shirt and pads and ran off the MetLife field in the third quarter of a game. Brown claimed Tampa Bay had mishandled his ankle injuries and the Buccaneers promptly released him. Brown was also suspended for eight games in 2020 over his personal conduct. The Empire begin their third season in the National Arena League April 16th.
GOLF
Stop if you've heard this one before — Jon Rahm is playing great golf. The hottest player in golf had no trouble at one of the toughest tests in Florida. Rahm opened with three straight birdies at Bay Hill. He finished eagle-birdie-birdie. It adds to a 65 and a two-shot lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Rahm already has three PGA Tour wins this year. He's won five of his last nine tournaments. Chris Kirk, Cameron Young and Kurt Kitayama were two back. The group three behind includes defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Bay Hill newcomer Patrick Cantlay.
(C) 2023 Associated Press
