The Dallas Stars spotted the Montreal Canadiens the first two goals of the game, but stormed back with four unanswered markers to post a 4-2 N-H-L victory in Texas. Roope Hintz paced the Stars with two goals, while Wyatt Johnston and Joel Kiviranta added singles. Jake Evans and Michael Pezzetta scored for the Habs, who were outscored 3-0 in the third period.
Bo Horvat had two goals and two assists and J-T Miller had a pair of goals as the visiting Vancouver Canucks headed into the Christmas holiday break on a high note with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Ilya Mikheyev also scored for the Canucks, who have won two in a row. Derek Ryan and Connor McDavid responded with goals for the Oilers, who have lost four of their last five.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each had a goal and two assists and the Chicago Blackhawks ended an eight-game N-H-L skid with a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Alex Stalock made 27 saves in his return from a concussion to help last-place Chicago snap an 11-game home losing streak and earn just its second win in 18 games overall. Marcus Bjork had a goal and and assist and Kirill Marchenko scored on a power play as the Blue Jackets lost their sixth straight.
Jesper Fast scored twice in the first period and the Carolina Hurricanes set a franchise record with a 14-game N-H-L points streak, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5. Stefan Noesen, Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also scored as the Hurricanes won their 8th straight. Jordan Staal had three assists. Travis Sanheim, Tony DeAngelo, Nick Seeler, Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny scored for the Flyers, who lost for the third time in four games.
Luka Doncic scored a season-high 50 points , including 17 in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Houston Rockets 112-106 in N-B-A action. Doncic, who also had 10 assists and eight rebounds, was 17-of-30 from the field, including 6-of-12 on 3-pointers. It was Doncic’s second career 50-point game.
Kevin Durant scored 24 points, and the Brooklyn Nets held Giannis Antetokounmpo scoreless in the fourth quarter to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-100. Brooklyn won its eighth straight to match its longest winning streak since moving from New Jersey a decade ago. Nic Claxton made his first nine shots and finished 9-for-10 for a season high-tying 19 points for the Nets, who have won 12 of their last 13 games.
Friday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Vancouver 5 Edmonton 2
Calgary 3 Anaheim 2 (OT)
Washington 4 Winnipeg 1
Dallas 4 Montreal 2
Boston 4 New Jersey 3
Carolina 6 Philadelphia 5
N.Y. Islanders 5 Florida 1
Colorado 3 Nashville 2 (OT)
Chicago 5 Columbus 2
Arizona 2 Los Angeles 1 (SO)
Vegas 5 St. Louis 4 (SO)
Detroit at Ottawa, ppd.
World Junior Men’s Hockey Championship Pre-tournament
at Halifax
Canada 5 Finland 3
Switzerland 4 Sweden 3 (OT)
at Truro
Slovakia 5 Austria 1
NBA
Toronto 118 Cleveland 107
Philadelphia 119 L.A. Clippers 114
Orlando 133 San Antonio 113
Chicago 118 New York 117
Atlanta 130 Detroit 105
Brooklyn 118 Milwaukee 100
Boston 121 Minnesota 109
Dallas 112 Houston 106
Indiana 111 Miami 108
New Orleans 128 Oklahoma City 125 (OT)
Denver 120 Portland 107
Memphis 125 Phoenix 100
Washington 125 Sacramento 111
Charlotte 134 L.A. Lakers 130
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NFL
Atlanta at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Buffalo at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at New England, 1 p.m.
Detroit at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Houston at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Minnesota, 1 p.m.
New Orleans at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Seattle at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Washington at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 4:25 p.m.
Las Vegas at Pittsburgh, 8:15 p.m.