The New York Rangers have put together a three-game winning streak with a different script in each contest.
Adam Fox had a goal and an assist, Henrik Lundqvist stopped 41 shots, and the Rangers held on to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 Wednesday night.
Mika Zibanejad scored in his return after missing 13 games with an upper body injury, Brendan Smith also had a goal and Artemi Panarin added two assists to help the Rangers improve to 9-4-1 in their last 14 games.
Islanders drop second straight
After setting a franchise record by earning a point in 17 straight games, the Islanders dropped their second-straight game on the road in Los Angeles, losing to the Kings 4-1.
The Islanders went in front 1-0 at 8:46 of the first when Derick Brassard tipped Scott Mayfield’s shot from the blue line and sent it bouncing under Kings goalie Jonathan Quick.
The Kings took over the scoring after that as Dustin Brown tied it 1-1 at 9:46 by sneaking a sharp-angle shot from the left circle under the crossbar. They then rattled off three unanswered goals en route to victory.
New York was 15-0-2 in that point streak before losing 3-0 at Anaheim on Monday night.
Nets win streak snapped
On the road in Boston, the Nets saw their winning streak snapped during a 121-110 loss to the Celtics on a night when the fans seemed more interested in taunting former Celtics point guard, and currently sidelined Net, Kyrie Irving.
Garrett Temple scored 22 points and Joe Harris had 21 for Brooklyn, which made a season-high 21 of the 56 3-point shots it attempted. Jarrett Allen had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Spencer Dinwiddie had 16 points and 11 assists.
But the biggest name for the Nets — at least as far as the Boston fans were concerned — was Irving, who has missed the last seven games with a sore shoulder. The crowd came to heckle him, even in his absence.
Knicks squashed again
The defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors showed no mercy to the lowly Knicks, trouncing them Wednesday night in Toronto, 126-98.
Pascal Siakam produced a big night from 3-point range to keep the Toronto Raptors perfect at home. Chris Boucher had 13 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet and Terence Davis each scored 15 points as the Raptors set an NBA record by winning their 33rd straight at home against Atlantic Division opponents.
Julius Randle scored 19 points and Canadian rookie RJ Barrett had 16 as the Knicks matched a season worst by losing their fourth straight.
The 28-point margin was New York’s worst of the season. The Knicks lost 118-95 to Boston on Oct. 26.
— Scott Charles, Dan Greenspan, Jimmy Golen and Ian Harrison
