Devils rake Leafs, off to 3-0-0 start
John Gibson made 38 saves and Anaheim beat the Islanders, 3-2, on Wednesday night. Andrew Cogliano, Rickard Rakell and Patrick Eaves all scored for the Ducks, who won despite being outshot 41-30.
Brock Nelson scored twice and Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves for the Isles, who never led the entire game.
l Brian Gibbons had a rare 3-on-5 goal, Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha each scored twice and the unbeaten Devils beat host Toronto, 6-3, to end the Maple Leafs’ perfect start. Blake Coleman also scored, and Cory Schneider made 47 saves to help the Devils open 3-0-0 for the first time since 2014-15.
l Patric Hornqvist scored a powerplay goal and assisted on another in his season debut to help visiting Pittsburgh beat Washington, 3-2.
NETS LOSE
Caris Levert scored 16 and Jeremy Lin added 14 in the Nets’ 133-114 loss to Philadelphia at Nassau Coliseum. The Nets led by 10 early but got outscored by 35 points over the rest of the half, and eventually trailed by 36.
JAMES HURTING
LeBron James won’t play again in the preseason because of a sprained left ankle and his status for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season opener is in question.
James aggravated his ankle while making his exhibition debut Tuesday night against Chicago. He scored 17 points and had eight turnovers as the Cavaliers fell to 0-4. He did not practice Wednesday and coach Tyronn Lue said the four-time MVP won’t practice Thursday or play in Friday’s preseason finale at Orlando.
The Cavs open the season on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics and former Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving. Lue was noncommittal when asked if James will be ready for the game, saying “I’m not sure.”
l The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed Andrew Wiggins to a multi-million dollar extension. Terms were not disclosed, but owner Glen Taylor said in August that he had offered Wiggins a fiveyear max contract worth $148 million.
TOM: DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is telling New England fans not to worry about the left shoulder injury that kept him out of practice earlier in the week.
Brady says he’ll be on the field Sunday at MetLife Stadium to play the Jets in a fight for first place in the AFC East.
Brady reportedly went for an MRI on the left shoulder this week. But he says it’s just the typical bumps and bruises all players pick up this time of year.
l Mike Ditka is apologizing for saying he wasn’t aware of any racial oppression in the U.S. over the last 100 years. The famed former Chicago Bears coach issued the apology Tuesday, a day after he made the comments during a radio interview while discussing National Football League players kneeling during the national anthem. Ditka was harshly criticized for seemingly ignoring Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation and the lynching of blacks that occurred well into his lifetime.