Sports News Roundup: Oilers rally past Kraken for 12th straight win; Ivan Barbashev scores twice as Knights rout Rangers and more

Jonathan Marchessault and Brett Howden each had a goal and an assist and Keegan Kolesar also scored for Vegas, which improved to 17-5-2 at home. Short-staffed Pacers hold off Kings Ben Mathurin had 25 points and T.J. McConnell 20 in a balanced attack and the Indiana Pacers, playing short-handed after their big trade with the Toronto Raptors, survived a frantic finish to turn back the host Sacramento Kings 126-121 on Thursday night.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Auston Matthews posts hat trick as Maple Leafs edge Flames

Auston Matthews collected his fourth hat trick of the season in a four-point game to lead the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 comeback victory over the Calgary Flames that snapped their four-game winless skid on Thursday. Mitch Marner also scored for Toronto, while William Nylander collected two assists. Goaltender Martin Jones made 23 saves.

Top 25 roundup: USF rallies, stuns No. 10 Memphis

Kasean Pryor made a foul shot with 4.4 seconds left Thursday night, capping visiting South Florida's comeback from a 20-point, second-half deficit as the Bulls upset No. 10 Memphis 74-73. Pryor, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls (10-5, 3-1 American Athletic Conference), got wide open on an inbounds play and drove the lane. Nae'Qwan Tomlin had no choice but to foul him in order to prevent a certain dunk.

Rugby-World Rugby partners with USA Rugby and MLR in new expansion club

USA Rugby, Major League Rugby (MLR) and World Rugby announced a partnership on Friday to launch a new expansion club to promote the development of the game in the U.S. as the country prepares to host the Rugby World Cup. The new club Anthem Rugby Carolina (RC), mainly featuring young Americans, is to be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and will join the 2024 MLR season, playing at the American Legion Memorial Stadium.

No. 12 Arizona aims to speed up play vs. UCLA

Emotions and nostalgia will run high when No. 12 Arizona hosts UCLA for the final time in Pac-12 play on Saturday afternoon in Tucson, Ariz. The best basketball rivalry in the West for decades is winding down -- there is one more scheduled game in Los Angeles in March -- but Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd is in no mood to dwell on the past.

Gustav Nyquist scores deciding goal as Predators edge Kings

Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and an assist for the visiting Nashville Predators in a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. Gustav Nyquist also scored and Juuse Saros made 33 saves for the Predators, who have won six of nine.

NHL roundup: Oilers rally past Kraken for 12th straight win

Warren Foegele scored twice and Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists as the Edmonton Oilers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the visiting Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 12 games. Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist and Evander Kane added two helpers for the Oilers. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 25 saves.

Dakota Joshua nets game winner as Canucks beat Coyotes

Dakota Joshua scored the game-winner as the host Vancouver Canucks edged the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 on Thursday. Elias Pettersson had the other goal for Vancouver, while Thatcher Demko, who was playing in his 200th career NHL game, made 20 saves to improve to 11-1-1 in his last 13 games.

Ivan Barbashev scores twice as Knights rout Rangers

Ivan Barbashev scored two goals and Logan Thompson made 29 saves to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night in Las Vegas. It was the eighth multigoal game of Barbashev's career. Jonathan Marchessault and Brett Howden each had a goal and an assist and Keegan Kolesar also scored for Vegas, which improved to 17-5-2 at home.

Short-staffed Pacers hold off Kings

Ben Mathurin had 25 points and T.J. McConnell 20 in a balanced attack and the Indiana Pacers, playing short-handed after their big trade with the Toronto Raptors, survived a frantic finish to turn back the host Sacramento Kings 126-121 on Thursday night. The win came as Indiana awaited the Pacers debut of Pascal Siakam, acquired in a trade from the Raptors in a three-team deal in which the Pacers gave up Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, two first-round picks and a conditional third first-rounder to Toronto.

Timberwolves dominate fourth quarter to beat Grizzlies

Anthony Edwards scored 28 points on 11-for-19 shooting, and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 118-103 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night in Minneapolis. Edwards had two points at halftime before erupting for 26 points in the second half for Minnesota, which won its second game in as many nights and its fourth in a row. Naz Reid scored 20 points off the bench as the Timberwolves improved to 17-2 at home.

(With inputs from agencies.)