The Rangers outshot the Islanders 17-1 in the third period, but Josh Bailey's goal with 1:26 remaining sent the Isles to a 4-3 win at Madison Square Garden. Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists in the Isles' seventh win in eight games.
John Tavares notched his 300th NHL goal while scoring twice in the second period of the Maple Leafs' 4-2 win at New Jersey. Michael Hutchinson turned back 27 shots and blanked New Jersey after Blake Coleman and Brian Boyle scored 26 seconds apart to cut Toronto's lead to 3-2 late in the second period.
The Flyers ended their eight-game losing streak as Carter Hart stopped 37 shots in a 2-1 verdict over the Stars. James van Riemsdyk set up Travis Konecny's second-period goal and scored 7 1/2 minutes later to help Philadelphia win for the first time since Dec. 23.
Elsewhere on NHL ice, the Washington Capitals have expanded their lead in the NHL's Metropolitan Division by defeating the Boston Bruins for the 14th consecutive time. Nicklas Backstrom's third-period goal snapped a 2-2 tie and pushed the Capitals toward a 4-2 triumph at Boston. The Capitals squandered a pair of one-goal leads before Backstrom ripped a shot past Jaroslav Halak less than six minutes into the final stanza, about a minute after David Krejci tied the game. Alex Ovechkin notched his league-leading 31st and 32nd goal for the Capitals, and TJ Oshie had two assists in Washington's third straight win. Braden Holtby stopped 39 shots as the Caps stopped the Bruins' five-game winning streak.
Brayden Point had a tiebreaking, power-play goal in the third period and added a late empty-netter to secure the Lightning's 3-1 triumph over the Hurricanes. Ondrej Palat also scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves as the NHL leaders improved to 17-1-1 over their last 19 games.
Melker Karlsson and Joonas Donskoi scored third-period goals 39 seconds apart to lift the Sharks over Vegas, 3-2. San Jose won its fifth straight, pulled within one point of the Western Conference lead and ended the Golden Knights' seven-game winning streak.
Artemi Panarin scored his second goal of the night 1:22 into overtime to lift the Blue Jackets past the Predators, 4-3. Boone Jenner also tallied twice for Columbus, which led 3-1 in the third period until Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm scored 38 seconds apart to tie it.
The Wild are 3-0 versus the Jets this season after Jason Zucker scored twice in a 3-2 victory at Minnesota. Jordan Greenway also scored and Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves as Minnesota pushed the Jets two points behind the Central Division-leading Predators.
Oskar Sundqvist had a goal and an assist to back rookie Jordan Binnington's 28-save performance in the Blues' 4-1 win over the Canadiens. Binnington improved to 2-0 after becoming the 35th goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout in his first career start on Monday at Philadelphia.
Connor McDavid scored twice in regulation and again in a shootout as the Oilers prevailed against the Panthers, 4-3. McDavid tied the game with eight seconds left in regulation before the Oilers won for the third time in five games since a six-game losing streak.
The Coyotes skated away with a 4-3 win at Vancouver on Richard Panik's goal 4:10 into overtime. Panik also notched the game's first goal and Darcy Kuemper turned back 33 shots as Arizona won its second straight to begin its three-game trek through Western Canada.
The Senators have their first road winning streak of the season after Chris Tierney scored twice and Bobby Ryan added a power-play goal in a 4-1 downing of the Kings. Anders Nilsson made 33 saves in helping Ottawa hand Los Angeles its fourth loss in five games.
In NHL news, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky missed Thursday's game against the Predators because of an unspecified team "incident." General manager Jarmo Kekalainen says in a statement that "there are certain expectations and values that we have established for our players that define our culture. An incident occurred in which Sergei failed to meet those expectations and values." The 30-year-old Bobrovsky is 18-13-1 in the final year of his contract and so far has declined to sign a long-term extension.
NBA
Josh Richardson hit four of the Heat's season-high 18 3-pointers while scoring 18 points in a 115-99 victory against Boston. Dwyane Wade had a team-high 19 points for Miami, which had 33 assists on 45 field goals and became the first team to hold Boston under 100 points since Nov. 17.
Checking out Thursday's other NBA action,the Spurs have continued their midseason surge by winning a thrilling marathon against the Oklahoma City Thunder. LaMarcus Aldridge delivered seven of his career-high 56 points in double-overtime as the Spurs earned a wild 154-147 victory against the Thunder. San Antonio hit its first 14 3-point attempts and won for the sixth time in seven games. The Spurs have won 14 of 18 since opening the season 11-14. Russell Westbrook also had an outstanding game, finishing with 24 points, 24 assists and 13 rebounds.
Nikola Jokic posted his 21st career triple-double and the Nuggets ran their home winning streak to 11 games by slamming the Clippers, 121-100. Jokic had 18 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for the Western Conference leaders, who also received 23 points from Jamal Murray.
Buddy Hield scored 18 points and Willie Cauley-Stein chipped in 14 with 14 rebounds as the Kings won for only the second time in seven games, 112-102 over the Pistons. Stanley Johnson had 16 points off the bench for Detroit, which gave forward Blake Griffin the night off after he played 37 minutes the previous night.
In NBA news, the Lakers say LeBron James likely will miss at least three more games after being cleared Thursday to increase his on-court activity in his comeback from a groin injury. The team says it will provide another update on Jan. 16, which likely means he will miss the Lakers' three upcoming games against Utah, Cleveland and Chicago. The Lakers have gone 3-5 since James suffered the injury during a 127-101 rout of the Warriors at Golden State on Christmas Day.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men's basketball last night, UConn outshot Southern Methodist University, 76-64. Meanwhile, in women's basketball, Quinnipiac topped Marist, 76-69, and Canisius beat Iona, 48-40.
In top-25 basketball, Michigan remains one of two Division One men's basketball teams with an unblemished record this season. Zavier Simpson scored 16 points and the second-ranked Wolverines improved to 16-0 with a 79-69 victory at Illinois. Jon Teske had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan, which jumped out to a 7-0 lead against the overmatched Illini.
Josh Perkins had a team-high 14 points and fifth-ranked Gonzaga allowed just 15 points in the first half of a 67-36 rout of Pacific. Zach Norvell contributed 11 points and six rebounds to the Bulldogs' 15th victory in 17 games. The Zags hit a season-low for points but gave up the fewest points they've allowed all year.
Notre Dame won a 1-2 matchup in women's basketball. Arike Ogunbowale scored 30 points and top-ranked Notre Dame overcame 18 turnovers to beat No. 2 Louisville 82-68. Brianna Turner added 16 points and Jackie Young had 14 for the 15-1 Irish, who dropped the Cardinals to 14-1.
MLB
The Washington Nationals and New York Mets worked out deals with veteran infielders on Thursday as they try to catch the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that free-agent second baseman Brian Dozier and the Nats have worked out a one-year, $9 million deal that's subject to a physical. Dozier hit a career-low .215 for the Dodgers and Twins last season, but he finished with 21 home runs and 72 RBIs. The 31-year-old Dozier is a lifetime .246 hitter with 172 homers and 511 RBIs in 1,002 big league games.
A person with knowledge of the contract says the Mets and Jed Lowrie have worked out a two-year, $20 million package, pending a physical. Lowrie made his first All-Star team last season and set career highs with 23 homers and 99 RBIs while batting .267 for Oakland. The 34-year-old Lowrie will likely play third and first for the Mets with Robinson Cano entrenched at second. The Mets also agreed to a minor league pact with lefty reliever Luis Avilan, who was 2-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 70 games for the White Sox and Phillies in 2018.
Oft-injured first baseman Greg Bird and the New York Yankees have agreed to a one-year, $1.2 million pact to avoid arbitration. The 26-year-old hit .214 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs in 311 plate appearances during an injury wrecked 2018 season.
In other baseball news, the Tigers have avoided arbitration with reliever Shane Greene by working out a one-year, $4 million contract with the right-hander. Greene went 4-6 with a 5.12 ERA and 32 saves last season.
Rockies right-handed reliever Scott Oberg has avoided arbitration by accepting a one-year, $1.3 million contract. The 28-year-old Oberg was 8-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 58 2/3 innings in 2018.
The Phillies have avoided arbitration with a pair of right-handed pitchers, giving one-year deals with former closer Hector Neris and starter Jerad Eickhoff.
Free agent outfielder Jon Jay and the White Sox have finalized a one-year, $4 million, one-year contract. The 33-year-old Jay played for Kansas City and Arizona last season, batting .268 with three homers and 40 RBIs in 143 games.
The Athletics and lefty reliever Ryan Buchter have agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million contract to avoid salary arbitration. Buchter was a key bullpen piece for AL Manager of the Year Bob Melvin last year, going 6-0 with a 2.75 ERA in 54 games and 39 1/3 innings.
An arbitrator has denied a grievance filed by the Major League Baseball Players Association on behalf of right-handed pitcher Carter Stewart, who failed to sign with the Braves last summer and will be eligible for this year's amateur draft. The union claimed the Braves failed to make Stewart an offer of at least 40 percent of his slot value.
NFL
Jets tight end Chris Herndon has had his driver's license suspended and was ordered to pay a $639 fine after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated in New Jersey. New Jersey State Police say the 22-year-old Herndon was driving his Nissan Armada in June when he crashed into a Toyota Land Cruiser that was towing a trailer carrying another vehicle.
In other NFL news, Thomas Davis says he's been informed by the Carolina Panthers he won't be back with them for a 15th NFL season. The three-time Pro Bowl linebacker is the Panthers' all-time leading tackler. He overcame a torn ACL in his same knee three times to record 1,094 tackles, 28 sacks and 13 interceptions. Davis was an All-Pro in 2015, the year he went to his only Super Bowl. However, Davis posted on Twitter late Wednesday night that the Panthers informed him they were moving in a different direction at linebacker.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Ohio State quarterback Tate Martell may be looking to transfer. Martell has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, according to a person with access to the portal. The move makes other schools free to talk to him about a potential transfer. Martell will be a third-year sophomore this year after sitting behind record-smashing quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. last season.
Also in college football, Clemson's national championship front four is off to the NFL after All-American defensive end Clelin Ferrell declared he's leaving school early. Ferrell joins All-American tackle Christian Wilkins, tackle Dexter Lawrence and end Austin Bryant in heading to the draft.
TENNIS
A tearful Andy Murray says the Australian Open could be his last tournament because of a hip injury that has hampered him for almost two years. The three-time Grand Slam champion says he plans to start his opening match against No. 22-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open, where he has reached the final five times but never won the title. Murray had right hip surgery in January 2018 and played only 12 matches in the year.
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are each aiming for a record seventh men's Australian Open title. The draw announced Thursday has ensured they can't play each other at Melbourne Park until the final. Seven-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams could meet top-ranked Simona Halep in the fourth round.
A previous version of this article misreported the Islanders-Rangers score.
© The Associated Press 2019. All Rights Reserved.
