The Florida Panthers continue to be one of the NHL’s top teams at home. Sam Bennett’s second hat trick of the season highlighted the Panthers’ blowout 7-1 win over the Stars. Bennett finished with four points and Jonathan Huberdeau added a goal and three assists for the Cats, who are 7-0-and-1 since the COVID-19 pause and 19-3-and-0 overall at home.
Four goals in the third period powered the Wild to a decisive 7-3 win over the Ducks. Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello scored four seconds apart as Minnesota won their 10th straight against Anaheim. The streak marks the franchises’ longest against one opponent in team history.
Nazem Kadri scored the winner in a shootout and Colorado extended the NHL’s longest home winning streak in nearly four years to 13 games with a victory over undermanned Arizona. Mikko Rantanen, Tyson Jost and Andre Burakovsky scored in regulation for the Avalanche, and Pavel Francouz stopped 23 shots. The last team to win 13 straight at home was Toronto from January 31st to March 24th, 2018.
Nick Nurse says his Toronto Raptors didn’t come out ready to play against the Detroit Pistons last night. The head coach says his team had low energy at the start and spent the whole night trying to find it before losing 103-87. The Raptors don’t have long to lick their wounds — they’re back in action tonight, facing the Bucks in Milwaukee.
A tough night for the Bulls. Chicago not only suffered its worst loss of the season in a 138-96 rout by the Golden State Warriors, but it lost Zach LaVine to a knee injury in the process. The Bulls trailed 78-47 at halftime and were booed off the court.
The Cavaliers are bringing back former guard Jose Calderon as a special advisor in their front office. Calderon played 14 seasons in the NBA, spending the 2017-18 season in Cleveland as the Cavs made their fourth straight trip to the Finals.
Friday’s Scores
NHL
Florida 7 Dallas 1
Minnesota 7 Anaheim 3
Colorado 4 Arizona 3 (SO)
Vegas at Edmonton, ppd.
NBA
Philadelphia 111 Boston 99
Phoenix 112 Indiana 94
Orlando 116 Charlotte 109
Detroit 103 Toronto 87
Golden State 138 Chicago 96
Miami 124 Atlanta 118
Cleveland 114 San Antonio 109
Dallas 112 Memphis 85
Sacramento 126 Houston 114
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NHL
Nashville at Boston, 1 p.m.
Vancouver at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Washington at N.Y. Islanders, 2 p.m.
Columbus at Florida, 6 p.m.
Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Toronto at St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Anaheim at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado at Arizona, 9 p.m.
Los Angeles at Seattle, 10 p.m.
Ottawa at Edmonton, 10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Montreal, ppd.
Ottawa at Winnipeg, ppd.
Vegas at Calgary, ppd.
NFL playoffs – Wild-card round
Las Vegas at Cincinnati, 4:30 p.m.
New England at Buffalo, 8:15 p.m
NBA
Toronto at Milwaukee, 6:30 p.m.
Portland at Washington, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
New York at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Miami, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Boston, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9 p.m.
Orlando at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.