National Sports

VANCOUVER — All season long, Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has been tinkering with his lineup, trying to fill the gaping holes left by a string of injuries and absences.

MONTREAL (AP) — Bryan Rust scored three goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins scored six times in the third period to rout the Montreal Canadiens 9-2 on Thursday night.

VANCOUVER — Kevin Lankinen stopped all 27 shots he faced on Thursday, backstopping the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-0 victory over the Florida Panthers. The win marked the Finnish goalie's third shutout of the season and sixth of his NHL career.

CALGARY — Nikita Kucherov contributed a goal and five assists to the Tampa Bay Lightning's 8-3 win over the host Calgary Flames on Thursday.

WINNIPEG — Ivan Barbashev scored at 3:47 of overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. His 14th goal of the season beat Connor Hellebuyck on the blocker side after a Winnipeg turnover.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Joshua Karty kicked four field goals and the Los Angeles Rams survived a slugfest a week after winning a shootout, beating the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 on Thursday night in a key game in the NFC West race.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored his NHL -leading 21st goal and had three assists, sending the Edmonton Oilers past the Minnesota Wild 7-1 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 16 rebounds and five assists and the Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors 114-104 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.

MONTREAL — Bryan Rust scored a hat trick and added an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins crushed the Montreal Canadiens 9-2 on Thursday night.

CALGARY — Former NHL star Joe Thornton and Calgary Flames front office executive Brad Pascall are heading the management team for Canada's Spengler Cup squad for a second straight year.