The New York Islanders' point streak has become a team record. The Islanders are 15-0-1 in their last 16 games after Brock Nelson scored late in overtime to give them a 4-3 victory over the Penguins.
Nelson also tallied on a power play with 4:52 remaining in the third period to give New York a 3-2 lead, but Pittsburgh extended the game when Bryan Rust netted his second of the night with 29.9 seconds left in regulation. The 16-game point streak breaks the Islanders team mark of 15 established three times before this season, including a 15-game winning streak in 1981-82. The current streak follows a 1-3-0 start to the season.
Brad Marchand scored twice and David Pastrnak netted his NHL-leading 20th goal of the season in the Bruins' 3-2 verdict over the Sabres. Tuukka Rask stopped 35 shots to help Boston improve to 3-0-1 following a season-high four-game skid.
The Flyers earned a 5-3 win over the Hurricanes as Claude Giroux collected two goals and two assists. Morgan Frost had a goal and an assist in his second NHL game to help Philadelphia end a four-game slide.
Jordan Binnington stopped 40 shots for his sixth career shutout and Oskar Sundqvist scored twice as the Blues dumped the Flames, 5-0. Zach Sanford had a goal and three assists in helping the St. Louis improve to 9-1-2 in its last 12 games.
Aaron Ekblad delivered a pair of goals while the Panthers turned a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 overtime win against the Ducks. Brett Connolly sparked the comeback with two goals in 27 seconds of the second period, but Florida didn't win it until Ekblad tallied 22 seconds into OT.
Third-period goals by Oliver Bjorkstrand, Boone Jenner and Eric Robinson carried the Blue Jackets past the Red Wings, 5-4. Jenner beat Jimmy Howard with a sharp-angle shot 8:43 into the third, 63 seconds after Bjorkstrand's tying power-play goal.
The Maple Leafs won their first game under coach Sheldon Keefe as Pierre Engvall's short-handed goal was the deciding tally in a 3-1 win at Arizona. Tyson Barrie and Auston Matthews sandwiched goals around Engvall's first NHL tally as Toronto ended a six-game losing streak.
Tyler Toffoli had two goals and an assist to send Los Angeles to a 5-1 victory against Edmonton. Jeff Carter added a goal and two assists in the Kings' fifth straight home win.
Dallas squandered a 3-0 lead before Jamie Benn backhanded a tiebreaking goal with 4:21 left to send the red-hot Stars to a 5-3 victory over the Jets. Corey Perry collected three assists in the second period before Benn's tally left the Stars 12-1-1 in their last 14 games.
Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point scored 2:39 apart midway through the third period to push the Lightning to their first win in three games, 4-2 at Chicago. Mikhail Sergachev scored a power-play goal in the first period, and backup Curtis McElhinney made 32 saves for Tampa Bay.
Jason Zucker scored midway through the third period of the Wild's 3-2 victory against the Avalanche. Mats Zuccarello and Jordan Greenway also scored for Minnesota, which has won consecutive games for the second time this season.
Bo Horvat scored one of Vancouver's five power-play goals in a 6-3 win at Nashville. Elias Pettersson had a goal and two assists as the Canucks ended a three-game skid and dealt the Predators their sixth consecutive loss.
Logan Couture scored in overtime and Aaron Dell made 37 saves to lead the Sharks to a 2-1 win over the Golden Knights. Timo Meier scored early in the second period for San Jose, which won for the seventh time in eight games.
NBA
The Milwaukee Bucks are owners of a six-game winning streak following their highest-scoring output of the season. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high 15 assists for his second triple-double of the season to power the Bucks past the Trail Blazers, 137-129. Eric Bledsoe added 30 points and six assists for the Bucks, who own the best record in the NBA's Eastern Conference at 12-3. CJ McCollum scored a game-high 37 points and Skal Labissiere added 22 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks off the bench for Portland.
In Thursday's only other NBA game, Brandon Ingram scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter of the Pelicans' 124-121 victory at Phoenix. JJ Redick chipped in 26 points and Jrue Holiday added 23 points with nine assists to help New Orleans pick up its third straight win.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men's college basketball, Hartford took down Emerson 78-63, and UConn defeated Buffalo 79-68. In women's college basketball, Stony Brook held off Iona 59-40.
In other top-25 basketball, Mike Krzyzewski will own an impressive coaching record if Duke beats Georgetown in the 2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The Blue Devils' 87-52 pounding of California gives Krzyzewski 217 victories as coach of a top-ranked team, tying him with UCLA's John Wooden. Krzyzewski is 217-34 when the Blue Devils hold the top spot, a mark they hit this week in The Associated Press poll. Vernon Carey led Duke with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Carey scored 21 points in the first half, one point better than the best in his brief career. The Hoyas became the Blue Devils' next opponent by whipping No. 22 Texas, 82-66. Mac McClung scored 19 points and Georgetown went on a 12-0 run in the second half to pull away. Jamorko Pickett scored 15 points and James Akinjo had 14 to help the Hoyas win in coach Patrick Ewing's return to Madison Square Garden.
Davide Moretti shot 4-for-4 from 3-point range while scoring 13 of his 19 points in the second half to lead No. 12 Texas Tech to a 72-57 win over Tennessee State. Freshmen Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jahmi'us Ramsey each scored 13 points as the Red Raiders moved to 4-0.
Josh Green dropped in 15 points and Nico Mannion added 14 to help No. 14 Arizona overcome a slow start and top South Dakota State, 71-64. The Wildcats trailed by one with 14 ½ minutes left until Green hit a 15-footer to spark a 12-0 run.
Cole Swider nailed six 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 26 to lead 17th-ranked Villanova to a 98-69 romp over Middle Tennessee. Collin Gillespie added 16 points and hit four 3s for the Wildcats, who shot 57% and never trailed in advancing to the Myrtle Beach Invitational semifinals.
Tyrique Jones had 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 18 Xavier to a 73-51 romp over Towson. Jason Carter finished with 13 points and Bryce Moore added 12 points for the 5-0 Musketeers, including a four-point play with 9:50 to go.
Baylor also reached the Myrtle Beach semis as Jared Butler scored 19 points and Freddie Gillespie added 17 in the 24th-ranked Bears' 76-53 thumping of Ohio. Baylor scored 22 points off 19 Bobcats turnovers and took control with a late 15-0 run.
NFL
The Houston Texans have regained first place in the AFC South by rebounding from Sunday's 41-7 loss in Baltimore. Deshaun Watson threw two touchdown passes to DeAndre Hopkins and finished with 298 yards to help the Texans beat the Colts, 20-17. Houston trailed by four early in the fourth quarter when Hopkins got in front of Pierre Desir and stretched out to haul in a 30-yard reception to give the Texans a 20-17 lead. Hopkins finished with 94 yards receiving, including a 35-yard scoring grab in the second quarter. Jacoby Brissett ran for a touchdown but threw for only 129 yards as the 6-5 Colts dropped one game behind the division-leading Texans.
In NFL news, the NFL has upheld the indefinite suspension levied against Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett for his actions against Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph last Thursday. Garrett is banned for at least the final six regular-season games and any potential playoff games involving the Browns. He received the punishment for pulling off Rudolph's helmet and cracking him on the head with it in the closing seconds of Cleveland's 21-7 win. Garrett made his case to former player James Thrash, who didn't find enough compelling evidence to lessen the punishment. It's the longest suspension for an on-field incident in league history. Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey had a little more success in his appeal of a three-game suspension for punching and kicking Garrett in last Thursday's game. League appeals officer and Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks reduced Pouncey's suspension to two games but upheld the fine of more than $35,000. Meanwhile, Rudolph is denying an anonymous report alleging he used a racial slur shortly before his confrontation with Garrett last week. ESPN cited anonymous sources in reporting Garrett told the NFL during the appeal of his indefinite suspension Rudolph used a racial slur just before a confrontation between the two players. An NFL spokesman says the league found no such evidence of the slur.
Redskins safety Montae Nicholson says it was his decision to play last week, days after the death of a woman he dropped off at a hospital. Nicholson and another man took 21-year-old Julia Crabbe to a hospital last week, and she later died there of a drug overdose.
Former Vikings kicker Fred Cox has died at age 80, according to the team. Cox scored a Vikings-record 1,365 points while often kicking in nasty conditions because Minnesota played outdoors during his career from 1963-77. He was second to George Blanda on the NFL's all-time scoring list when he retired and was the co-creator of the Nerf football.
MLB
Major League Baseball has widened its investigation of alleged sign stealing by the Houston Astros and will probe activity by the team over the past three seasons. Commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB will "investigate the Astros situation as thoroughly as humanly possible." The probe includes the team's firing of an assistant general manager during the World Series for clubhouse comments directed at female reporters, behavior that the club at first accused Sports Illustrated of fabricating. Oakland pitcher Mike Fiers described the Astros' method of sign-stealing in an article published by The Atlantic last week. Fiers said the 2017 World Series champs stole signs during home games by using a camera positioned in center field while he was with the team. Houston players were suspected of whistling in the dugout to communicate pitch selection to batters during the postseason last month.
All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal agreed to a $73 million, four-year contract with the White Sox. The 31-year-old hit .246 and had career bests with 28 homers and 77 RBIs for the Brewers last season.
John Sherman has been approved as the new controlling owner of the Royals, and his group plans to close its deal to purchase the last-place team from David Glass and his family next week. The proposed sale is expected to be worth about $1 billion.
The Giants' ownership group has its new control person in Greg Johnson after he was approved by the major league clubs at the owners meetings. President and CEO Larry Baer will still represent the club at the meetings, along with Johnson and Rob Dean, who had been handling leadership duties since March.
NASCAR
Jimmie Johnson began his farewell tour with a ceremony at Hendrick Motorsports honoring the seven-time NASCAR champion. He says he decided last month that 2020 will be his final season and last chance to win a record eighth title. He's been mired in a losing streak for more than two years but says his on-track performance played little role in his decision. Johnson says he wants to step away from the 38-race grind to do different things and spend more time with his family.
PGA
Webb Simpson birdied seven of his last 10 holes for a 7-under 65 on the Plantation Course and the opening-round lead at the final PGA Tour event of the year, the RSM Classic in Georgia. Simpson began the birdie run on the par-5 18th and played the front nine in 6-under 30. Cameron Tringale and Kyoung-Hoon Lee shot 64 on Sea Island's Seaside Course, and Rhein Gibson had a 66 on the Plantation layout.
YALE
The Yale women's soccer coach has left the school after one season amid allegations of sexual misconduct by former players at a college where he previously coached. Yale officials said Brendan Faherty's last day was Wednesday, although the school did not reveal whether he was fired or resigned. The student newspaper, the Yale Daily News, reported that former players at the University of New Haven accused him of groping one player and having a consensual relationship with another. Faherty coached at New Haven from 2002 to 2009.
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