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NHL roundup: Blues, Isles win in OT
By The Sports Xchange

ST. LOUIS -- Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 10th goal of the season 3:24 into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday.
Dallas' Jamie Oleksiak scored his second goal of the game with just 50 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. It was the second consecutive game the Blues allowed a tying goal after the opponent pulled its goalie in favor of an extra attacker at the end of regulation.
David Perron had put the Blues ahead 3-2 on his seventh goal of the year at 13:12 of the third period off a pass from left winger Jaden Schwartz. The goal extended his point-scoring streak to eight consecutive games (three goals, eight assists).
The win was the fifth in a row at home for the Blues, who improved their home record for the season to 10-1-2, including an 8-0-2 mark in their past 10 games at Scottrade Center.

Islanders 2, Flames 1 (OT)
NEW YORK -- Thomas Hickey scored 1:53 into overtime as slumping New York at least momentarily righted itself with a victory over Calgary.
Moments after jumping on the ice during a shift change, Islanders center John Tavares grabbed the puck near the left faceoff circle and fired a backhanded shot at the net. Hickey, stationed with his back to goalie Brian Elliott, got a stick on the shot, which trickled under Elliott's legs.
Tavares scored in the first period for the Islanders, who won for just the third time in 10 games (3-4-3). New York goalie Thomas Greiss had 25 saves.
Sean Monahan scored in the third period for the Flames, who finished a six-game Eastern Conference road trip at 3-2-1. Elliott made 25 saves.

Preview: Lightning (13-9) at Blue Jackets (11-5)

Date: November 29, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After a short two-game trip to Florida, the Columbus Blue Jackets return home for a Tuesday night game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nationwide Arena. This is the second meeting in four days for the teams, having last met Friday, a 5-3 Blue Jackets win at Amalie Arena.

The Blue Jackets (11-5-4) earned three of a possible four points on the road trip and currently hold the first wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 26 points. They currently have a 7-3-1 record at home.

"We hung in there, found a way to get a point," Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella told the club's website. "Five games in seven nights here at 2-1-2...we'll go home feeling pretty good about ourselves.

"We picked up right where we left off last night with how quick we were playing and how quick we were going north. You always want the extra point, but to grind away here on the road and get one (point) on a back-to-back, we'll take it."

The Lightning (13-9-1) are third in the Atlantic Division with 27 points and have won seven of the last eight games against Columbus at Nationwide Arena. They are strong away from home, notwithstanding the 4-1 loss at TD Garden on Sunday.

"There (are) so many ebbs and flows," Lightning head coach John Cooper told the team's website. "The lows aren't that low in the big picture and the highs aren't really that high. You've got to kind of just stay the course.

"It's no different than when our goal scorer doesn't score in 10 and everybody uses the gripping the stick too tight (excuse). Keep going to work and eventually the goal scorers will score and guys that set up guys will set up guys and good goalies will stop pucks. It's what happens, just got to weather through it."

Tortorella guided the Lightning to its only Stanley Cup Championship in 2004. He was with the Lightning for seven seasons.

Former Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards is an assistant coach to John Cooper in Tampa. In his five seasons with the Blue Jackets, Richards compiled a record of 127-112-21 to become the winningest coach in Blue Jackets history.

Both teams have a potent power play, with the Blue Jackets ranking first in the league and have a 28.3 percent conversion rate. The Lightning rank fourth, converting at 23.5 percent.

The Lightning are without center Steven Stamkos (out four months with a Lateral Meniscus tear in right knee), defenseman Anton Stralman (day-to-day with an upper-body injury) and right winger J.T. Brown (day-to-day with an upper-body injury).

The Blue Jackets are without defenseman Dalton Prout and left winter Matt Calvert (both day-to-day with upper-body injuries).

In net, Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start for the Blue Jackets, with Ben Bishop likely to start for the Lightning.

The Blue Jackets announced Monday that they traded defenseman Cody Goloubef to the Colorado Avalanche for D Ryan Stanton, with both players reporting to their new respective AHL-affiliated clubs.

Preview: Hurricanes (9-8) at Rangers (15-7)

Date: November 29, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

A look at the standings shows the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes aren't in the same class.

The Rangers are near the top of the Eastern Conference and are far and away the highest-scoring team in the league while the Hurricanes are barely above .500 and outside the playoff picture. But as of right now, Carolina might be the team playing better hockey.

When the teams meet in New York on Tuesday -- Carolina won the first meeting 3-2 at home on Oct. 28 -- the Hurricanes will be the team pointed upward. They won six of eight and did not allow their opponents to score more than two goals in a game over that stretch.

The Rangers dropped four of six and lost four straight at Madison Square Garden, the site of Tuesday night's game.

New York may be ripe for the picking, as it is coming off a 2-0 home loss to the Senators, which marked the first time it was shut out this season.

"Yeah, we had one game where we didn't find the back of the net and didn't generate as perfectly as we had, but when a team plays as good as (Ottawa) did defensively, you have to execute perfectly," Rangers center Derek Stepan told the New York Daily News. "Otherwise you're gonna do what we did and kind of just chase the puck and not really get much done."

New York totaled four goals in the past three games, something that was inevitable after averaging more than four goals for most of the season.

"We are a team that likes to create on the rush and (Ottawa) didn't give us many opportunities to do that," Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said to the New York Daily News. "They didn't turn pucks over. They made sure they got pucks in deep. They made us go the full length of the ice for the majority of the game and they had numbers back.

"But in the end, we have to find a way -- some in-zone plays, running our cycles, getting pucks up top, and getting shots down at the net. There are other ways to create offense and that was a test for us (Sunday) that we didn't accomplish."

If the Rangers didn't pass the Senators' test, that could mean trouble against the Hurricanes.

Only two teams cracked 30 shots against Carolina over the past nine games. The Hurricanes are allowing an average of 27.6 shots, the fifth-best mark in the NHL. But when they take the ice Tuesday, they'll have to do so without one of their better forwards.

Center Jordan Staal was placed on injured reserve Monday with a concussion suffered in the team's 3-2 win against the Florida Panthers on Sunday. Staal owns five goals and nine points in 21 games.

Even when Carolina dropped two in a row before beating Florida, coach Bill Peters felt his team was playing well but just not scoring enough. His team failed to reach three goals in those losses but found a third goal against the Panthers.

If they can find a third goal against the Rangers, that should be enough given the current state of each team.

"The game is fair. It will all even out in the end. That's why you play 82 times, right?" Peters said to The News & Observer. "If we take these efforts and keep going, it will be fine in the end.

"So, what do you have to do? You have to persevere, you have to be honest about what's going on and there's a reason you're not scoring, and you have to figure that out."

Preview: Bruins (12-10) at Flyers (10-10)

Date: November 29, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA -- Six weeks into the season, the Flyers and Bruins are looking like a pair of teams who could battle it out for one of the two wild card playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

They'll battle it out for the first time this season Tuesday night when the Bruins visit South Philadelphia.

"We've got to scratch and claw every night right now," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol told the Philadelphia Inquirer of his 10-10-3 team. "We're a .500 hockey team and it seems like we've talked about that quite a lot. We can keep talking about it, or we can worry about doing something about it."

The Flyers will play eight games in the next 13 days and 13 games in the 24-day stretch leading up to their Christmas break. They are looking to string together their first two-game win streak since early November when they won three straight.

"This is a critical stretch between now and the Christmas break," Hakstol said. "That's about as big picture as I want to get, and we absolutely have to narrow it down a lot further than that -- right down to the points that are available against Boston."

The Bruins (12-10-0) are coming off Sunday's 4-1 home win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Forward Jimmy Hayes recorded his first point in 36 games with his first goal since Feb. 24.

He was so relieved by the goal that he threw an imaginary monkey off his back in celebration.

"It was more of a joke that it was an elephant," Hayes told CSN New England. "I think I lost about a hundred pounds there."

The four goals against the Lightning matched the total the Bruins had scored during their three-game losing streak.

Goaltender Tuukka Rask came within 2:39 of a shutout in the win, stopping 30 shots to improve his record to 12-4-0 and lower his GAA to 1.63.

Tuukka has had to keep the Bruins afloat this season because of a shortage of offense. Aside from the top-line forwards David Patrnak (team-high 13 goals, 17 points) and Brad Marchand (six goals, 19 points) the Bruins have struggled to produce this season, ranking 20th with 52 goals. Through 19 games Patrice Bergeron has just three goals and three assists.

The Flyers have had no trouble putting up goals. They rank second behind the Rangers with 72 goals, led by Wayne Simmonds (11) and Jakub Voracek (eight).

But they've allowed an NHL-worst 76 goals, including three by rookie goalie Anthony Stolarz in a 5-3 win Sunday night against the Calgary Flames.

The Flyers allowed the first goal in that game and have scored first in just eight of their 23 games. They are 5-1-2 when scoring first and 5-9-1 when they don't.

Goaltender Steve Mason (5-8-3, 3.04) is expected to return to action Tuesday night. He's lost three of his last four starts and is 2-3-1 since Michael Neuvirth suffered a knee sprain.

The Bruins could be without a pair of veteran defensemen against the Flyers.

Zdeno Chara has missed the past three games with a lower body injury and is not expected to play Tuesday night. Bruins defenseman John-Michael Liles left Sunday's game with an upper-body injury after sliding head first into the end boards. He's questionable for Tuesday and if he cannot play the Bruins likely will recall a defenseman from AHL Providence.

Preview: Sabres (7-9) at Senators (14-7)

Date: November 29, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

OTTAWA -- The offensively challenged Buffalo Sabres are expected to get a boost with the return of center Jack Eichel to the lineup when they visit the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday.

The 20-year old star missed the team's first 21 games with a high ankle sprain suffered the day before the season opener.

"You just want to get back to playing," Eichel told The Buffalo News after practice Monday. "That's what you trained for all summer. You prepared for it, and it's tough that the season starts a little bit later for me. I'm just excited for it."

The Sabres (7-9-5) have lost their last two games while continuing to have troubles putting the puck in the net, averaging a league-low 1.81 goals per game. Eichel, who scored 24 times and added 32 assists as a rookie last season, will likely take a regular shift between wingers Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart.

The Senators (14-7-1) are not exactly what the doctor orders for teams will scoring deficiencies these days. They're coming off a 2-0 victory in New York against a Rangers team that leads the league with 3.70 goals per game. It was Ottawa's fourth win in a row, all with goalie Craig Anderson working between the pipes.

Anderson allowed just five goals in the four games to capture the NHL's first star of the week honors for the second time this month.

There is a strong chance he'll miss Tuesday's game to be with his wife Nicholle, who is battling throat cancer. That would mean Mike Condon would likely get the start against Buffalo.

"You use (playing) as a moment in time to do something positive with your teammates," Anderson told reporters at Madison Square Garden after Sunday's shutout, the 36th of his career. "Hockey is one of those things where it's the same as if a (person) is feeling frustrated and they go to the gym to get a hard workout in. This is my way to vent and take all my energy and use it to do something good. It's staying in the moment. At that moment time stops and worry about life and other stuff after."

Former Senators goalie Robin Lehner is expected to get the start in goal for Buffalo. In five games against his old team, Lehner has a 2-0-2 record with a .956 save percentage and a 1.30 goals against average.

This will be the teams' third meeting this month. The Sabres defeated the Senators 2-1 in Ottawa on November 5, when wingers Kyle Okposo and Reinhart scored third period goals.

The Senators won 2-1 in Buffalo on Nov. 9 when winger Bobby Ryan scored the decisive goal in a shootout.

Along with Anderson's sterling play, the Senators have shown a new dedication to playing defense this season. As of Monday, they were third in the league in blocked shots, a stat that pleases coach Guy Boucher to no end.

"When you've got Erik Karlsson, who is the best offensive defenseman in the world, being No. 1 in shot-blocking in the NHL, you know your team is going in the right direction," said Boucher.

Preview: Stars (9-8) at Red Wings (10-10)

Date: November 29, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

DETROIT -- The Dallas Stars and the Detroit Red Wings are both coming off overtime losses heading into a meeting at Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday night.

The Stars (9-8-6) fell 4-3 to the Blues on Monday night in St. Louis on Vladimir Tarasenko's goal with 1:36 left in the extra period.

The Red Wings (10-10-2) lost 2-1 to the Montreal Canadiens in OT in Saturday night in Detroit.

Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said after the Monday defeat, "I thought we had some guys that struggled and couldn't get the legs going early on, so tomorrow is going to be a guessing game where we're at. Sometimes you can feel better on a second night, so we'll see where we're at."

The Stars fell to 1-6 in overtime games. Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak scored twice for Dallas, and Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists.

Detroit registered points in each of its past three games (2-0-1). However, the Red Wings are a banged-up team after two more players, defenseman Brendan Smith and rookie forward Tyler Bertuzzi, sustained injuries Saturday night.

Smith will miss about four weeks with a right medial collateral ligament sprain from a knee-on-knee collision with Montreal winger Phillip Danault. Bertuzzi will be out three to five weeks with a left high ankle sprain after he crashed into the boards awkwardly following a check by Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin.

Detroit was already missing: goalie Jimmy Howard, who is expected to miss a week after injuring his groin Friday night in a 5-4 overtime win in New Jersey; center Darren Helm, who is expected to miss at least a month more with a separated shoulder; forward Andreas Athanasiou, out due to a sprained knee; and defenseman Alexey Marchenko, still sidelined with an upper-body injury.

However, the Red Wings will have forward Tomas Jurco on Tuesday night. He makes his season debut after undergoing back surgery during the offseason. It will be his first NHL game since April 7. Jurco played two American Hockey League games with the Grand Rapids Griffins last week during a conditioning stint, and he registered a goal and an assist.

"I told him I have lots of patience with him," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told www.mlive.com. "He's not going to get tons of minutes early. We're going to work him into it. But I think he's somebody that can help our lineup."

Jurco will play on the fourth line with Riley Sheahan and either Steve Ott or Drew Miller.

Stars general manager Jim Nill is quite familiar with Detroit and Joe Louis Arena. He spent 19 seasons as a part of the Red Wings management team, the final 15 as the assistant general manager under Ken Holland. Nill is in his fourth season as Dallas' general manager.

The Stars feature two former Red Wings players, right winger Patrick Eaves, who is off to a fast start with nine goals and 16 points, and forward Jiri Hudler, who is on injured reserve due to an illness. Hudler has been limited to four games this season.

Preview: Devils (10-6) at Jets (10-12)

Date: November 29, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Winnipeg Jets are preparing to welcome a nearly point-per-game player to their line-up and it's not going to cost them a single draft pick.

Ordinarily, the addition of somebody of Bryan Little's ilk would require a nearly-blockbuster trade, but instead the Jets will merely activate him from injured reserve.

Little, 29, played all of four shifts this season before going down with a lower-body injury during the season-opener against the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 13. He had been the team's No. 1 center since the Jets moved north from Atlanta in 2011, but a fractured vertebrae in his back late last season, which caused Little to miss another 25 games, enabled Mark Scheifele to move into that spot.

Little practiced with the Jets Monday morning at the MTS Centre as they prepared to face the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. He pronounced himself fit to return to the line-up.

"If it was up to me, yes," he told the Winnipeg Free Press. "I feel pretty good. It was kind of my plan today to see if everything went well today. I feel comfortable playing. I can't really test it much more other than if I get back into a game and see how it goes. As of now, I haven't had any hiccups in the last couple of weeks."

The Jets, who defeated the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Sunday, are hoping to continue making up ground during a three-game homestand, which concludes against NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Prior to Sunday, they had lost five consecutive road games.

The Devils come to town in a similar predicament, having lost five out of six games, including two in a row, most recently a 4-3 shootout loss to the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

They are also hoping to soon welcome back a first-line player - left winger Taylor Hall, who has been out since having arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee on Nov. 16. He was expected to miss three or four weeks but now the word is he could be back in the line-up before this road trip is done. The Devils travel to Chicago for a game against the Blackhawks on Thursday and to Nashville to play the Predators on Saturday.

Hall practiced with the team at the MTS Centre on Monday, his first skate with his teammates since his injury, but isn't expected to play against the Jets.

"When I'm ready to play, I'll play," he told The Record. "You look at the timeline they gave me 12 days out of surgery 1/8Monday 3/8, and I was skating at a week. I'm trying to build to get ready to play games here soon. I don't think I'm rushing anything. I'm not being pressured to play any quicker than I have to. 'd love to play at some point on the trip."

The Devils currently sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 10-6-5 for 25 points. The Jets are sixth place in the Central Division with a record of 10-12-2 for 22 points.

Preview: Panthers (11-10) at Blackhawks (14-6)

Date: November 29, 2016 8:30 PM EDT

CHICAGO -- Florida Panthers general manager Tom Rowe and his bosses in the front office did not like the way the season was unfolding after the first quarter of the season.

Instead of waiting any longer, the group decided it was time to make a change. Coach Gerard Gallant was fired after two-plus seasons behind the bench, and Rowe -- the team's first-year general manager -- was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.

Rowe will make his NHL head coaching debut Tuesday when the Panthers (11-10-1) visit the Chicago Blackhawks (14-6-3). The 60-year-old served as an assistant coach in the NHL and a head coach in the AHL before joining the Panthers' front-office staff this year.

With Rowe as the new coach, the Panthers' general manager duties will be split among team president Dale Tallon and assistant general managers Eric Joyce and Steve Werier.

"The priority today, and it's going to be every day, is to get us into the playoffs," Rowe told reporters Monday. "What we do going forward, we'll worry about that in the offseason. There is just too much inconsistency.

"I'm not saying that's Gerard's fault. That falls on all of us. It falls on me. It falls on the players. It falls on the other coaches. At the end of the day, we've just got to get this team on track. We think we have a very good team, but there are things we have to get moving in a different direction, and we have to get them moving quicker."

The Blackhawks know a thing or two about quickness.

Chicago has tallied 31 points in its first 23 games to jump atop the Western Conference's Central Division. The club has won three Stanley Cup championships in seven seasons and seems to be well on its way to its ninth consecutive playoff appearance.

Not everything has been perfect for the Blackhawks this season as they return to home ice for the first time in more than two weeks. Center Jonathan Toews, the team's star captain, has missed the past two games because of an upper-body injury and is questionable to play against the Panthers.

Toews did not practice Monday. He has 12 points (4 G, 8 A) in 21 games this season and serves as the team's best faceoff option as well as a valuable penalty killer.

"When you're missing a guy like that, you've got to find other ways to work around it," center Marcus Kruger told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I think we did a good job (in the last two games), but we obviously want him back as soon as we can."

Corey Crawford is expected to start in net for the Blackhawks. He is 10-6-2 with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage this season. He will be rested because Scott Darling made a spot start in the team's road finale Saturday against Los Angeles.

For the Panthers, veteran Roberto Luongo is likely to make his 15th start of the season. Luongo is 8-6-0 with a 2.20 GAA and a .925 save percentage.

The Blackhawks are 8-1-2 at home this season. The Panthers are 4-6-1 on the road.

Rowe knows he has to win over his players, as well as skeptics who believe that Gallant was treated unfairly after leading the team to a 103-point finish one season ago.

"I've got to lay out what our plan is and how we're going to do things differently," Rowe said. "The reason the players loved Gerard so much is he treated them with respect, he held them accountable. I'm not too much different than that. I think anybody wants to be treated with respect, and when you treat people with respect, you get the respect back. That's what we're going to do as a coaching staff and that's what we plan to do moving forward."

Preview: Predators (10-8) at Avalanche (9-10)

Date: November 29, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

The Nashville Predators opened November with a dominant win in Denver. They're looking to end the month the same way.

Nashville left Pepsi Center with a 5-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 1 but it might be tough to duplicate the results when the teams play Tuesday night. Nashville is without leading goal scorer James Neal, who didn't make the brief two-game trip that started Sunday with a 3-0 loss in Winnipeg.

Defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Colton Sissons also didn't make the trip after being put on injured reserve. The Predators called up reinforcements from Milwaukee of the AHL, but it didn't help in the shutout loss to the Jets.

Nashville had 20 shots in the third period of the loss but couldn't get one by Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

"I think we played well the first 20 minutes and then the second period wasn't nearly good enough," Predators defenseman P.K. Subban told NHL.com. "The third period we had opportunities to score but couldn't put it in. We've got to understand that to win on the road we need to play a full 60-minute game. That's what it's going to take."

The Predators aren't alone when it comes to injuries. The Avalanche will be without captain Gabriel Landeskog for a sixth straight game with a lower-body injury and goaltender Semyon Varlamov's wrist has improved enough that he will serve as Calvin Pickard's backup, but he will not start for the second straight game.

Landeskog hasn't skated since Friday but coach Jared Bednar said he is close to returning.

"He's still considered day to day for me," Bednar told HockeyBuzz.com. "He's having good days and bad days right now."

Defenseman Erik Johnson didn't practice Monday because of illness but is expected to play Tuesday.

The Avalanche received a bit of good news. Leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon will play after slamming hard into the boards in Saturday's shootout loss to Vancouver. MacKinnon got treatment on his neck and back Sunday and is good to go.

"I was skating as fast as I could and lost an edge, and kind of spun," he told HockeyBuzz.com after Monday's practice. "If we were playing (Sunday) I think I would have been able to skate. I got some treatment from the trainers and I feel better today."

Colorado is trying to find some consistency seven weeks into the season. The Avalanche haven't won or lost more than two games in a row yet and are 9-10-1 with three games left on this five-game homestand.

They would like to turn things around against a Nashville team that beat them handily Nov. 1. Colorado was guilty of playing poor defense and taking undisciplined penalties against the Predators, and it prompted a team meeting right after that game ended.

A win Tuesday would even Colorado's record and probably mean no team meeting.

"It'd be nice to get to .500 -- I know it really (wouldn't) be .500, but it is in our minds," MacKinnon told HockeyBuzz.com. "I guess we're happy we got a point (against Vancouver), but we obviously wanted to get the win. We're getting better. I think it's a process. We're better than we were last year. We're definitely improving."

Preview: Maple Leafs (9-8) at Oilers (12-9)

Date: November 29, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

EDMONTON -- For the foreseeable future, any matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers will be focused on Auston Matthews versus Connor McDavid.

Mitch Marner is making a pretty good case to be included in future conversations.

All three players will be on display Tuesday night when the Maple Leafs open begin a three-game, five-night swing across western Canada against the Oilers.

Toronto defeated Edmonton 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 1 at the Air Canada Centre, but none of the three emerging stars recorded a point. Nazem Kadri's second goal of the game 12 seconds into the extra session lifted the Maple Leafs to the win.

Since then, McDavid has gone on a tear with a league-best 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 13 games. The top overall pick in 2015 drew an assist in the Oilers' 2-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday, giving him five goals and five assists in a five-game points streak.

At just 19, Edmonton's captain leads the league with 19 assists and 29 points, and needs one goal to tie NHL-leading Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Following that initial meeting, Matthews struggled with just three helpers in nine games. In his last two games, though, the top pick from 2016 had three goals and an assist, including the first game-winning goal of his career in a 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

"(Even when I wasn't scoring), I was still creating chances, still out there playing and I feel like every game there's little things that kind of go unseen that I think I'm improving on," Matthews told the league's official website.

While Matthews seems to be breaking out of his slump, Marner hasn't slowed down since Toronto's first meeting with Edmonton.

Taken three picks after McDavid, Marner has six goals and six assists in his last 11 games. Over that span, Marner has five multi-point games, including two assists in Saturday's win.

With 18 points, Marner (seven goals, 11 assists) is tied with Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets for the scoring lead among rookies, one point ahead of Matthews (nine goals, eight assists) and three in front of fellow teammate William Nylander (six goals, nine assists), who's day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The road has not been a welcoming place for the Maple Leafs (9-8-4). Toronto has been outscored 35-24 while going 1-5-4 away from the ACC. Three of the five regulation losses have been one-goal decisions, and the club has been outscored 9-3 while dropping two straight in Edmonton.

"We know we've got three tough tests ahead of us," said center Tyler Bozak, second on the team with 10 assists. "It's always tough that road swing, playing (Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver) ... you can't make the playoffs or go far in this league if you don't win more games on the road."

Marner said Toronto must continue to stick to its game plan when holding a lead away from home.

"We've had leads for almost every single one of those games," Marner said. "We've just got to make sure that when we have a lead we're not just backing down, were still playing the same way we want to play.

"I think when we get a lead on the road, we're scared (to) make mistakes. You know, kind of play the game that we played the whole game ... not just kind of skating back and giving space to other teams."

McDavid is the face of the Oilers (12-9-2), but he's not their leading goal-scorer at home. Milan Lucic and Tyler Pitlick share that honor with four apiece. Lucic ended a four-game goal-scoring drought at Rogers Place with his seventh of the season on Sunday while Pitlick has just one in his last five home games.

Cam Talbot has posted a 2.05 goals-against average at home this month, but is just 1-3-0 with the win coming in a shutout of the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 21. He made 28 saves in the Oilers' loss at Toronto earlier in the month.

Despite losing two straight, Edmonton leads the Pacific Division by one point over the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings.

"That's the conversation you want to be part of," Talbot recently told the Edmonton Sun regarding a postseason berth. "...We're in a pretty good spot right now. We want to continue to move up and put some distance between us and the teams that aren't in playoffs."

Edmonton hasn't been to the postseason since losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 Stanley Cup final.

Preview: Canadiens (16-4) at Ducks (10-8)

Date: November 29, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The NHL's best team will seek to exploit a struggling opponent when the Montreal Canadiens meet the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night at the Honda Center.

The Canadiens enter the game with 16 wins and 34 points, both league highs. Montreal owned an even better record at this time last season, when the club won its first nine games to set a team record while going 18-4-2 through Nov. 27 of last year.

But the loss of goalie Carey Price sabotaged the Canadiens' playoff hopes. Price strained his right medial collateral ligament last Nov. 25 against the New York Rangers and missed the rest of the season. As a result, Montreal won only 20 of its final 58 games and finished sixth in the Atlantic Division.

This season, however, Price is back among the league's elite. The 2015 winner of the Hart and Vezina trophies leads the NHL with 13 wins, holds second place with a .947 save percentage and shares third place with a 1.66 goals-against average.

Supporting Price on defense is Shea Weber, who came from the Nashville Predators in exchange for P.K. Subban, a former Norris Trophy winner. All Weber has done is amass a league-high seven power-play goals and compile a plus-18 rating, the best among NHL defensemen, while joining Alexei Emelin to form a physically intimidating pairing.

"They're very demanding to play against," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien told the Montreal Gazette.

Offensively, center Alex Galchenyuk is on pace to exceed the career highs of 30 goals and 56 points he established last season. Galchenyuk, 22, has nine goals and 22 points in 22 games. Right winger Alexander Radulov returned to the NHL after five seasons in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League and has nine points in his past eight games playing alongside Galchenyuk.

Tuesday night's game is the second in a five-game road trip, the team's longest this season. Montreal began the excursion with a 2-1 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings.

"It's a trip that's coming at just the right time for us," Therrien told the Gazette. "It's going to be tough. We'll face good teams and I'm eager to see how we respond. We've been playing with confidence but we'll take things one game at a time."

The Canadiens will face an opponent that remains a work in progress. Anaheim broke a three-game losing streak Saturday night with a 3-2 victory in San Jose.

"It feels good," Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf told the Orange County Register. "We've got to feel good about ourselves and try and carry that over. Remember that feeling. Remember the work that went into it. Try and carry it over to the next one."

Getzlaf also ended a stretch of personal futility by scoring his first goal in 15 games Saturday night. The goal was just Getzlaf's second of the season. Right winger Corey Perry has failed to score in 14 successive games. Yet Rickard Rakell owns eight goals and 12 points in 13 games, and fellow Swede Jakob Silfverberg has five goals and 11 points in his past 11 appearances.

"We haven't done enough consistently with the puck to say that we're happy or satisfied," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle told the Register and added that one problem is having "everybody on the same page on a play that we have on."

Preview: Wild (11-7) at Canucks (9-11)

Date: November 29, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The challenges continue for the Vancouver Canucks' defense corps.

It was learned Monday that top rearguard Alex Edler will need surgery to repair a broken finger and be out for the next month. Edler's injury means that Vancouver will be without him and fellow veteran Chris Tanev for an extended period, starting Tuesday as the Canucks (9-11-2) host the Minnesota Wild (11-7-3) at Rogers Arena.

"It's tough," Vancouver defenseman Philip Larsen told reporters after practice Monday. "That's our first (defense) pairing. A lot of (defensemen) have to step up and do as good as we can."

The absences of Edler and Tanev, who has been sidelined in recent weeks and shows no signs of returning soon, pose more challenges for a Vancouver defense crew that is trending younger this season. Since the start of the campaign, injuries, other health woes and inconsistency have forced coach Willie Desjardins to adjust his pairings and give more playing time to some defensemen than he would like.

Edler, 30, who usually records the most minutes per game among defensemen, if not the whole team, was injured on Saturday night while blocking a shot in the first period of a 3-2 shootout victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. With Edler and Tanev now both out, Larsen, a 26-year-old offensive defenseman from Esbjerg, Denmark, who is in his first season with the Canucks, has a chance to play a more active role.

But it remains to be seen how much action Larsen will see. He resumed practicing with the team Monday after being sidelined with a virus.

"It's been a tough couple weeks," said Larsen, a right-side rearguard. "It's nice to be back. It was a tough practice and it was kind of nice to get it going."

At the outset of the season, Larsen was seen as a positive addition to Vancouver's power play, but it has been terrible most of the season - and he has rarely been on it. He has lacked consistency after returning to the National Hockey League following two seasons in Europe's Kontinental Hockey League. Before getting sick, he struggled to stay in the lineup.

"It was tough," he said. "I got out of the lineup and I wanted to get back in as quick as possible. Then when I got sick on top of that, it was pretty frustrating."

With Edler out for an extended period, rookie Troy Stecher, 22, will almost assuredly play a more prominent role. Stecher, a native of the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, B.C., began the season with Utica of the American Hockey League -- and is on his second call-up -- but has quickly emerged as one of the Canucks' top blueliners.

A right-handed shot, Stecher has played on both the right and left sides while taking a regular shift and pulling duty on both specialty teams. If Larsen can return soon Stecher may soon see more action on the left side, which is Edler's usual spot. The rookie stood out in Denver after Edler's injury limited the Canucks to five defensemen, leading the Canucks with five shots.

Stecher is determined to make a difference in spite of his neophyte status.

"I think you have to have that mindset," Stecher, an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of North Dakota, told The Vancouver Sun. "I think if you go into (the NHL) and kind of dip your toe in the water, that's when you're going to get exposed. You might as well just do a cannonball and throw everything you have into it."

The Canucks are hoping to go on a cannonball run of sorts after finishing their worst first quarter of a season since 1997. They won two of three games on their recent road trip and are looking to keep the good times rolling against the Wild.

Meanwhile, Wild coach Bruce Boudreau would also like his team to get on a winning streak. The Wild enter Tuesday's contest on the heels of a 4-3 shootout loss in St. Louis. The Wild squandered a 2-1 lead in the third period, rallied to force overtime, but still lost.

However, Minnesota, which will play its second contest on a five-game road trip Tuesday, has still fared well lately. The Wild went 2-0-2 in four games last week, earning six of a possible eight points.

"I think we're playing good hockey," Boudreau told reporters. "It's just not winning eight in a row. I would like to be able to put something together."

Preview: Coyotes (8-10) at Sharks (12-9)

Date: November 29, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

The San Jose Sharks are intent on defending their Western Conference title, but to get the chance to do so they'll need to keep collecting points against the NHL's weaker teams.

That means beating the Arizona Coyotes for the first time in 2016-17.

The Sharks will try to close a lengthy homestand on a positive note Tuesday night, when they welcome the last-place Coyotes to the SAP Center for the first time this season.

San Jose (12-9-1) dropped the first two meetings with the Coyotes, 3-2 in regulation on Nov. 1 and by the same score in overtime on Nov. 19. In northern California, however, the Sharks won four in a row from Arizona -- including two straight by shutout -- and picked up at least one point in 11 straight matchups (8-0-3).

"For them, in this building, they just want to pound shots on net, kind of create some chaos down there, so we have to be aware of that," Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski told the team's official website after Monday's practice.

San Jose won three of four on its current homestand to improve to 7-3-0 at SAP Center. The defending West champs begin play Monday tied with the Los Angeles Kings for second place, one point behind the Pacific Division-leading Edmonton Oilers.

The Sharks fell to 1-1-0 in the second games of back-to-back contests with Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. San Jose coach Peter DeBoer wouldn't say that the quick turnaround was the reason for the defeat.

"I don't think it's as much the back-to-back as the last seven, eight, nine days," he said. "There's no doubt it takes a toll. "

Logan Couture has been a sparkplug for the Sharks at home so far. His goal versus the Ducks was his fourth of the season on home ice -- all on the power play.

Brent Burns's streak of three straight multi-point games ended in the loss, but he's also scored four times at home to tie Couture for the team high. Burns, named the league's third star of the week on Monday, leads all NHL defensemen in scoring (eight goals, 12 assists), and posted six assists in his last six home games against Arizona.

Joe Pavelski comes into this contest on a six-game points streak (two goals, four assists). He's the Sharks' top scorer at home with 10 points (three goals, seven assists), and is especially productive at home against the Coyotes with six goals -- four coming with the man advantage -- and eight assists over the last 11 matchups.

Pavelski and Burns are also tied for the Sharks' scoring lead with 20 points each.

Martin Jones was in net Saturday, and is 2-1-0 with a 1.34 goals-against average, a .953 save percentage and a shutout during the homestand. While Jones has yet to beat Arizona this season, he's turned away 42 of 43 shots in two career home starts against them.

Though they're bringing up the rear in the conference, the Coyotes (8-10-2) are in search of their season-high third straight win after topping the Oilers 2-1 on Sunday to complete a home-and-home sweep. Radim Vrbata and Jamie McGinn scored for the Coyotes, who are 3-1-2 in the last six on the road after opening that portion of their schedule with five straight losses.

"I think we've definitely improved. The early road trip hurt us and we learned some lessons from that. The last little while here our games have looked better ... we've just got to keep building every day," Goligoski said.

Vrbata and Max Domi spearhead Arizona's offense with 14 points apiece. But both players have proved to be more production on the road -- Vrbata with four goals and four assists and Domi with a goal and seven helpers.

Vrbata scored four goals in a three-game streak at SAP Center, and five in his last six games in San Jose. Domi is still in search of his first career point on the road against the Sharks.

Another player San Jose's defense will want to look out for is Jordan Martinook, who's scored all five of his goals this season on the road.

Mike Smith stopped 41 shots Sunday for his first win three tries on the road. He made a season-high 43 saves in the win over the Sharks on Nov. 19.

As a member of the Coyotes, Smith is 3-4-1 with a 2.09 GAA, a .946 save percentage and two shutouts over his career in San Jose.

Grand Salami - November

The Grand Salami in pro hockey is decided by adding up all the goals scored in every game scheduled for that particular day. You can wager on 'over' or 'under' the Grand Salami total. The total is set by adding up all listed 'over/under' odds for each game on that particular day.

Note: The Grand Salami will have no action if any game is suspended or cancelled before the regulation time of three twenty minute periods. Also, regardless of the number of goals scored during the shoot out portion of the overtime, the final scored recorded for the game will give the winning team on more goal than its opponent based on the score at the end of regulation time.

*The majority of sportsbooks do not put out a total on the Grand Salami when there is only one game on the card. For tracking purposes, we will continue to show the 'over/under' for goals and combined goals scored on days with just one game.

NHL GRAND SALAMI
Date No. of Games Total Goals Combined Goals Scored Result
11/1 12 66.5 57 UNDER
11/2 3 16.5 16 UNDER
11/3 12 65.5 65 UNDER
11/4 3 16 24 OVER
11/5 13 69 70 OVER
11/6 6 32 33 OVER
11/7 3 15 14 UNDER
11/8 10 55.5 60 OVER
11/9 3 15.5 11 UNDER
11/10 10 54.5 54 UNDER
11/11 6 31.5 30 UNDER
11/12 11 56.5 61 OVER
11/13 6 32 28 UNDER
11/14 1 5.5 4 UNDER
11/15 13 70.5 63 UNDER
11/16 2 10.5 11 OVER
11/17 10 53.5 52 UNDER
11/18 5 26 22 UNDER
11/19 11 57 53 UNDER
11/20 5 26 24 UNDER
11/21 7 37 36 UNDER
11/22 5 26.5 25 UNDER
11/23 12 64.5 68 OVER
11/24 2 10.5 7 UNDER
11/25 11 58.5 61 OVER
11/26 9 47.5 42 UNDER
11/27 6 32 26 UNDER
11/28 2 10.5 10 UNDER
11/29 12 - - -
11/30 3 - - -

NHL

Tuesday’s games

Lightning won six of last eight games with Columbus; road team won five of last seven series games. Under is 7-3 in last ten series games. Tampa Bay lost three of last four games, losing 4-1/3-1 in last two road games. Columbus lost three of last four games, with three of those four staying under total. Blue Jackets lost 3-2/2-0 in last two home games.

Carolina won last two games with Rangers after losing 8 in row before that; Hurricanes lost last five visits to Manhattan by combined score of 14-5 (under 3-1-1). Carolina won six of its last eight games, losing last two road games, both by 2-1 scores. Under is 5-0-2 in their last seven games. New York lost its last three home games, outscored 11-3; over is 4-3 in their last seven games.

Boston won seven of its last nine games with Philly; under is 3-1-2 in last six series games. Bruins won four of their last five visits here. Boston lost three of last four games overall; under is 5-1-2 in their last eight games- those lost 3-1/1-0 in last two road games. Flyers lost four of their last six home games, are 4-6 in their last 10 games overall. Under is 6-4 in their last ten games.

Ottawa won six of last nine games with Buffalo; road team four of last six series games. Under is 7-0-1 in last eight series games. Sabres lost eight of last ten games, were outscored 15-4 in losing last four road games. Under is 6-2-2 in their last ten games. Senators won last four games, outscoring opponents 11-5; they won 2-1/3-1 in last two at home. Under is 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

Red Wings won six of last eight games with Dallas in series where road team won six of last seven meetings; Dallas Stars split last six games in Motor City. Detroit lost five of last seven games; their last three all went OT/SO. Under is 3-1-1 in Red Wings’ last five games. Dallas is 3-4 in last seven games, losing 5-4/5-2 in last two on road. Four of last six Stars’ games stayed under the total.

Devils lost six of last nine games with Winnipeg; last eight series games stayed under the total. New Jersey lost three of its last four games in this building. Devils lost five of their last six games; their last three all went OT/SO. Over is 4-1 in New Jersey’s last five games. Winnipeg lost five of last six games, scoring seven goals in last five games; under is 7-2-1 in their last 10.

Blackhawks won eight of last nine games with Florida; under is 7-1-2 in last ten series games. Panthers were outscored 19-7 in last five visits to Windy City. Florida is 5-3 in its last eight games, with four of five wins in OT/SO; they’re 3-2 in last five road tilts. Chicago lost three of last four games; under is 3-0-1 in those four- this is their first home game in sixteen days, coming off a 3-4 road trip.

Nashville won three of last four games with Colorado; last five series games went over the total. Predators won 5-1/5-2 in last two visits to Denver. Nashville lost three of last four road games but is 7-3 in last ten games overall; over is 4-3 in their last seven games. Colorado lost three of last four home games, losing last two 6-3/3-2so. Under is 4-1-3 in last eight Avalanche games.

Home side won last five Toronto-Edmonton games; Maple Leafs lost 5-2/4-1 in last two visits here. Three of last four series games stayed under the total. Toronto lost three of last four games; they were outscored 11-6 in losing last three road games. Edmonton lost seven of last ten games; they scored total of three goals in losing last two games. Three of their last four games stayed under.

Minnesota won seven of last ten games with Vancouver; over is 5-0-2 in last seven series games. Wild won four of last five visits to British Columbia. Minnesota lost three of last four road games, last three of which all went OT/SO. Under is 5-2-1 in their last eight games. Vancouver is 4-3 in its last seven games, with three of four wins in OT/SO; they split last four home games. Over is 5-2-3 in their last ten games.

Ducks won three of last four games with Montreal; under is 5-2 in last seven series games. Canadiens lost three of last four visits to Anaheim. Montreal won three of last four games, with all three wins by 2-1 scores- they lost two of last three on road; three of their last four games stayed under. Ducks lost three of last four games; their last seven games all pushed the total.

Home side won last six Arizona-San Jose games; Coyotes lost last four visits to Shark Tank, outscored 15-2; they got shut out in last two games here. Under is 6-0-1 in last seven games in series. Arizona won three of its last four games; under is 5-0-3 in its last eight games- they lost four of last five on road. San Jose won three of last four games; under is 4-0-4 in their last eight.

Warriors about to get hot if they continue mirroring 2010-11 Heat
By JASON LOGAN

The second Kevin Durant jumped ship from Oklahoma City to Golden State this past summer, comparisons were made between the 2016-17 Warriors and the 2010-11 Miami Heat.

Just seven seasons prior, LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in South Beach – a star-powered trio that would eventually put Miami in the NBA Finals in four straight years, winning championships in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Durant’s decision to team up with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson in the Bay Area instantly made Golden State the favorite to win the NBA title, over LeBron’s current team the Cleveland Cavaliers, and bracing Dubs bettors for some sizable spreads once the 2016-17 campaign got underway. And those expectations have been justified.

Through the first 16 games of the schedule, Golden State has been giving an average of 11.78 points to opponents through the spread and has been a single-digit favorite just six times.

Those lofty spreads and some growing pains as they work Durant into their offensive flow, have made the Warriors a barely breakeven option for NBA bettors, sitting just 8-7-1 ATS (14-2 SU) as of Saturday. And that’s where the comparisons to the 2010-11 Heat continue.

In the inaugural season for Miami’s “Big Three”, the Heat were tripped up by the same pitfalls. LeBron & Co. lacked cohesion and were an average favorite of -8.34 points through their first 16 games, stumbling out to a 9-7 SU mark and 5-11 ATS mark. However, things quickly turned around for Miami and appear to be on the up for the 2016-17 Warriors as well.

That Heat squad followed that slow start with a 13-2 SU and 11-4 ATS streak between November 27 and Christmas Day, when they smoked the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers 96-80 as 3.5-point road underdogs.

Golden State seems to be walking that same path, having won and covered in its last three games heading into Saturday’s home date with the Minnesota Timberwolves (-14). Even the Warriors’ upcoming schedule mirrors that of Miami’s in 2010.

Then, the Heat played 10 of their next 15 games on the road, including a stretch of six away dates in eight games between December 6 and December 18. The current Warriors have five home stands in a row before taking to the highway for a five-game road swing between December 7 and December 13. They will tackle a stretch of schedule that has them on the road for eight of 11 games, culminating in a Xmas Day showdown with the defending champion Cavaliers – similar to the December 25, 2010 matchup between Miami and Los Angeles.

The 2010-11 Heat eventually finished with a 58-24 SU record – going Under their season win total of 64.5 victories - and went 40-41-1 ATS in the regular season, followed by a 12-8-1 ATS run in the playoffs and loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the finals.

This summer, the Warriors were pegged with a season win total of 66.5 victories a year after breaking the NBA record for most regular season wins with a 73-win campaign. In order to play Over that season win total, Golden State must go at least 53-13 SU the rest of the way.

Early projected lines for the Christmas Day game between the Warriors and Cavaliers had Golden State as a 3-point road favorite, however that spread will change depending on how the Dubs handle the next 16 games.

If they continue to mimic the 2010-11 Heat, NBA bettors should expect a few extra points to be tossed on that line by Xmas Day.

NBA roundup: Warriors edge Hawks for 12th win in row
By The Sports Xchange

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Andre Iguodala scored two hoops in an eight-point run to start the fourth quarter Monday night as the Golden State Warriors rallied from a deficit to turn back the Atlanta Hawks 105-100 for their 12th straight win.
The Hawks, who lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, took an 81-80 lead into the final period, but they never led again after Kevin Durant hit a jumper on Golden State's first possession of the decisive quarter.
Durant and Stephen Curry scored 25 points apiece for the Warriors, who beat Atlanta for the fourth straight time. Klay Thompson added 20 points.
Dennis Schroder registered 24 points and six assists for the Hawks, who lost for the sixth time in seven games since a 9-2 start. Atlanta's Dwight Howard (14 points, game-high 16 rebounds) and Paul Millsap (14 points, 14 rebounds) recorded double-doubles.

Jazz 112, Timberwolves 103
MINNEAPOLIS -- Rudy Gobert scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, and Utah's stifling defense held Minnesota's young core in check.
George Hill and Gordon Hayward each had 24 points for Utah. Hill added eight rebounds and four assists, and Trey Lyles scored 13 off the bench as the Jazz won their third game in a row.
Zach LaVine finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Minnesota, which committed 15 turnovers. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost for the fifth time in six games.

Celtics 112, Heat 104
MIAMI -- Isaiah Thomas had 25 points and eight assists to lead Boston to a victory over short-handed Miami at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Celtics have won four straight in their series against the Heat. Boston has won at least one game in Miami in 10 of the past 11 years.
Miami got a scare before the game when center Hassan Whiteside woke up on Monday with a sore left knee. But after an MRI cleared him of anything beyond soreness, Whiteside started and finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds.

Thunder 112, Knicks 103
NEW YORK -- Russell Westbrook recorded his third straight triple-double and eighth this season, pacing Oklahoma City to a win over New York at Madison Square Garden.
Westbrook scored 27 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and handed out 14 assists for the 45th triple-double of his career. He was 9 of 23 from the floor and 7 of 7 from the line.
Center Enes Kanter came off the Thunder bench to score 27 points and pull down 10 rebounds in 28 minutes.

Wizards 101, Kings 95 (OT)
WASHINGTON -- Bradley Beal scored 31 points and sank a career-high seven 3-pointers as Washington outlasted DeMarcus Cousins and Sacramento in overtime.
John Wall had 19 points and 11 assists for the Wizards (6-10), who won despite Cousins finishing with 36 points and 20 rebounds for the Kings.
Washington let an eight-point margin with 5:12 remaining in regulation slip away, but scored the opening seven points of the extra session. Beal's final 3-pointer, set up by a Markieff Morris offensive rebound off a Beal miss, gave the Wizards room at 97-92 with 1:57 left. The Kings didn't score until 16.8 seconds remained.

Raptors 122, 76ers 95
TORONTO -- Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, Terrence Ross added 22 points off the bench and Toronto defeated Philadelphia to stretch its winning streak to three games.
It was the 13th straight win for the Raptors over the 76ers.
The Raptors were in control most of the way, allowing the 76ers a lead no bigger than three points early in a game in which there were eight lead changes and two ties.

Hornets 104, Grizzlies 85
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Charlotte guards Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb each scored 21 points as the Hornets defeated Memphis at FedExForum.
Lamb, who came off the bench, also had nine rebounds, a steal and a block. Walker had three rebounds and three assists, but also committed five turnovers.
Up by 17 points at halftime, the Hornets stretched their advantage to as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter and Memphis never got the deficit below 10 points in the second half.

Preview: Pistons (8-10) at Hornets (10-7)

Date: November 29, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

Road games have been a big issue for the Detroit Pistons this season. With three road games in the next four days, they must figure out quickly how to collect wins away from The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Detroit has a 1-8 road record entering its game at Charlotte on Tuesday.

"There is something we have to figure out, especially since we want to be a really good team," forward Tobias Harris said. "We have to find ways to grind it out on the road. Effort coming in has to be better and even our focus, too, has to be a lot better. Obviously, we have a ways to go to be a good team on the road. This next little stretch we have is going to be a good test for us to try to get together."

The Pistons dropped the first game of the four-game trip to Oklahoma City on Saturday, 106-88. They also make stops in Boston on Wednesday and Atlanta on Friday before returning home.

"We've got to figure out these roads woes because we are like a totally different team," point guard Ish Smith said. "We are going to figure it out, that's a must. Like I said, tough three road games against all Eastern Conference teams above .500, all of us are fighting. We need to get in position for playoffs, so we are going to figure it out."

Smith has been starting all season in place of injured Reggie Jackson, who has been sidelined since early in training camp with knee tendinitis. Jackson went through his first full practice on Monday but he's not expected to return until the weekend at the earliest.

The Pistons (8-10) have relied on a balanced approach this season, with six players averaging double figures. Harris tops the list at 16.4 points per game, while center Andre Drummond is averaging 14.6 points and 13.4 rebounds.

Charlotte (10-7) won the season series, 2-1, a year ago with guard Kemba Walker averaging 19.7 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in those games.

Walker has lifted the Hornets to victories the past two games after a four-game slide. He averaged 24.5 points in wins over New York (107-102) and Memphis (104-85).

Swingman Jeremy Lamb also played an integral part in those wins, averaging 19.5 points and 13.0 rebounds.

Coach Steve Clifford is hoping Lamb can sustain that level of play.

"Most guys in this league can have a good game," he said in his postgame press conference. "A good portion of them can have a good two weeks. But it's about playing well over 82 games. Obviously, he's got a lot of energy and now the key is to sustain that level of play and keep getting better."

Clifford was pleased with the overall effort of his team in Memphis on Monday.

"That's two games in a row where we've gotten our defense back," he said. "We were more physical and the ball movement was terrific. It's a good win, especially on the road."

Small forward Nicolas Batum, who missed Saturday's win over the Knicks with a corneal abrasion, played on Monday and finished with six points.

Preview: Clippers (14-4) at Nets (4-12)

Date: November 29, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

NEW YORK -- The Los Angeles Clippers are halfway through a six-game road trip covering approximately 6,133 miles.

The first stop went well but the last two stops turned into nightmares for the Clippers.

The Brooklyn Nets can only hope two straight losses constitute a nightmare these days.

The Clippers continue their road trip Tuesday night and look to rebound from two double-digit losses when they face the Nets, who are dealing with an unsightly seven-game losing streak.

Los Angeles flew 1,240 miles to Dallas and improved to 14-2 by shooting 50.6 percent in a 20-point victory Wednesday. Then the Clippers flew 1,000 miles to Detroit, trailed by 12 after the first quarter and lost by 11 on Friday.

Following the loss to the Pistons, Los Angeles flew 240 miles to Indiana and once the Clippers took the court, things went even worse in a 91-70 loss to the Pacers. Los Angeles shot 31.4 percent, committed 20 turnovers and was outrebounded by 12.

The Clippers were held to 70 points or fewer for the first time since an 86-67 loss at Utah on Dec. 5, 2003. Los Angeles committed 20 turnovers for the only the 10th time since Doc Rivers took the coaching job in 2013 and the Clippers were held to their lowest shooting percentage since a 31.3 percent showing Feb. 27, 2008 vs. Portland.

"We don't turn the ball over, but we did tonight." Rivers said. "It's one of those nights. I just thought the turnovers changed the game early. They had 20 more shots than us at halftime, and we didn't seem very confident. I thought we settled the entire night offensively."

Rivers may be right.

His team was outscored 42-16 in the paint and were 15-of-50 on shots classified as jumpers.

Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Chris Paul and J.J. Reddick were a combined 4-of-18 from the floor.

"This was just all bad," Paul said. "We shot it bad. Our defense was bad. I think I had four turnovers in the first quarter. ...So this was just a bad game for us. But don't take anything away from Indiana. They beat us."

Now the Clippers will travel 648 miles to oppose a team that has been "bleeding" for the last two weeks.

The Nets were 4-5 when they took the court against the Clippers on Nov. 14. They were blitzed 127-95 and have continued losing, with six of those defeats coming by double-digits.

The latest setback was a 122-105 decision to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. The Nets had a one-point lead at halftime but again struggled in the third quarter.

Brooklyn was outscored 34-18 in the third quarter and in this skid teams are outscoring the Nets by a 222-150 margin. In those quarters, the Nets have shot 37.4 percent (55-of-147) while allowing opponents to shoot 53.3 percent (80-of-150).

"We're just getting outplayed and outworked, that's it," said center Brook Lopez, who has scored 25 points and shot 40 percent in third quarters during this skid.

The latest third quarter was so ineffective for the Nets that DeMarcus Cousins' had the same amount of points as Brooklyn. It resulted in a 15-point deficit and in their last seven games, the average deficit for the Nets has been 18 points entering the fourth quarter.

"We have to fix the third quarter blues," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. "For some reason we don't come out with the requisite energy that we need."

Sean Kilpatrick led the Nets with 22 points and was fouled hard by Matt Barnes. The flagrant foul resulted in Barnes' ejection and briefly got the Nets to within single digits.

"At the end of the day, if we're going to win in this league, we've got to come out with some type of edge," Kilpatrick said. "If it takes something like that for us to have some type of edge, then it's not good."

Los Angeles is 6-2 in the last eight meetings with the Nets. Griffin scored 20 points in the Clippers' blowout home win on Nov. 14 and had 21 in a 105-100 win in Brooklyn on Dec. 12 of last year.