Islanders score three unanswered goals to beat Penguins, 4-3, in OT
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brock Nelson scored on a breakaway in overtime and the Islanders rallied to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Thursday night.
Nelson beat Tristan Jarry to the blocker side at 2:13 of the extra period as the Islanders — who trailed 3-1 late in the third — swept the season series against the Penguins for the first time in franchise history. New York also solidified its first winning record on the road at Pittsburgh since the 2014-15 season.
Nelson scored five goals and had eight points in four games against Pittsburgh this season.
Anders Lee had two goals and Hudson Fasching also scored for the Islanders, who scored twice in the final 5:29 of regulation to force overtime. Ilya Sorokin stopped 33 shots and assisted on the winning goal for New York, which is two points ahead of Pittsburgh for the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Islanders, who won their eighth game when trailing through two periods, have outscored opponents 17-1 in the third period in their last 10 games.
Rangers outlast Canadiens, 4-3
MONTREAL (AP) — Mika Zibanejad scored the shootout winner, giving the Rangers a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
Patrick Kane scored his first goal with the Rangers and Alexis Lafreniere and Jacob Trouba added goals in regulation. Artemi Panarin finished with three assists. Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves as New York snapped a two-game losing streak.
Kaiden Guhle, Alex Belzile and Josh Anderson scored for Montreal, which lost its fifth straight. Sam Montembeault stopped 30 shots.
Knicks’ comeback falls short in loss to Kings
The Knicks erased a 20-point deficit without Jalen Brunson in the second half, but ultimately lost 122-117 to the Kings on Thursday night.
Jalen Brunson returned to the lineup after missing two games with a sore foot. He was joined by Julius Randle, Quentin Grimes, RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup.
Nets fight back after early deficit but fall short in 118-113 loss to Bucks
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brook Lopez had 24 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high nine blocks and the Milwaukee Bucks outlasted the short-handed Nets 118-113 on Thursday night.
The nine blocks are most by an NBA player this season. Bobby Portis added a season-high 28 points to go along with 13 rebounds to help the NBA-leading Bucks win for the 19th time in 20 games.