Barzal, Beauvillier lead Islanders to 7-2 win over Rangers

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Mathew Barzal was terrific and Jaroslav Halak stepped up at a couple of key moments.

It was the Islanders’ day again in New York.

Barzal had two goals and three assists, Beauvillier added two goals and an assist, and the Islanders beat the Rangers 7-2 on Saturday for their ninth win in the last 10 meetings of the crosstown rivals.

Shane Prince, Thomas Hickey and Cal Clutterbuck also scored, helping the Islanders to the victory in both teams’ first game after their respective five-day byes. Jordan Eberle had four assists in the Isles’ highest scoring game of the season, and Halak stopped 37 shots.

“Just one of those nights where everything kind of finds its way into the back of the net,” said Barzal, who leads NHL rookies with 29 assists and 44 points. “It was a great team effort honestly.”

The Islanders won their second straight after a season-high six-game losing streak, and coach Doug Weight credited Halak’s play, especially early in the third period when the Rangers picked up their intensity.

“When they were blitzing us ... he came up with big save after big save in a four- to five-minute span and kind of defeated them a little bit,” Weight said. “Those are the flurries, those are the saves he was absolutely in charge of his game.”

Kevin Hayes and Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers, who have lost three of four. Ondrej Pavelec was pulled in the second period after giving up five goals on 19 shots, and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 16 saves.

“Mostly I am just disappointed. ... Points mean a lot right now,” Lundqvist said. “We have to regroup here because it’s another big one tomorrow (at Pittsburgh). I think the biggest thing right now is not trying to find an answer in everything. You just have to go to yourself right now, try to play your best game to try to help the group, and not figure out everything.”

The Rangers had a two-man advantage for 18 seconds about seven minutes into the third, but came up empty.

Zibanejad, standing on the left doorstep, then redirected Mats Zuccarello’s shot from the left circle past Halak for his 14th goal, making it 5-2 at 9:05. Zuccarello got his 200th career assist on the play.

Hickey restored the Islanders’ four-goal lead when his centering pass to Beauvillier from the right side deflected in off Zuccarello’s skate with 3:52 left. Clutterbuck made it 7-2 with his eighth of the season and fourth goal in the last four games with 1:05 remaining.

“I was really impressed with our lineup right through,” Weight said “It was an excellent win.”

The Islanders grabbed control with four straight goals after Hayes tied it at 1 at 14:25 of the first.

Prince scored his first goal of the season two minutes after Hayes’ power-play goal. The Isles then scored three more in the second.

Barzal made it 3-1 just 37 seconds into the period on a backhander past Pavelec and into the top right corner. He then scored his 15th of the season when he knocked in the rebound of his own shot at 4:11.

Beauvillier got his second of the game and seventh of the season when he beat Pavelec from the left circle at 6:51. The Rangers then pulled Pavelec and sent in Lundqvist, drawing cheers from the crowd and chants of “Hen-rik! Hen-rik!”

NOTES: LW Michael Dal Colle made his NHL debut for the Islanders. ... Injured forwards Josh Bailey, selected to his first All-Star appearance earlier in the week, and Andrew Ladd were out of the Islanders’ lineup for the second straight game. ... Islanders F Casey Cizikas left with an upper-body injury in the second period. Weight said Cizikas’ status was “not great” and he would not travel with the team to Montreal. ... The Islanders won 4-3 in a shootout at MSG on Oct. 19. The teams play two more times — both at Barclays Center — on Feb. 15 and April 5. ... The Rangers scored a power-play goal for the third time in five games, but are just 3 for 30 over their last 10 games.

UP NEXT

Rangers: At Pittsburgh on Sunday night.

Islanders: At Montreal on Monday night.

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Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP

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More AP NHL: www.apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

NY governor: Those who must work face ‘ugly’ commute

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says people who absolutely have to go to work during the snowstorm face an “ugly, long commute.”

Cuomo said Thursday on NY1 that roads are “terrible” in New York City, suburban Long Island and Westchester County — and will continue to deteriorate throughout the day.

Cuomo noted that the snow, wind and biting cold are an especially bad combination.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said weather-related problems were causing some transit delays.

Extra snowplows have been brought to the New York City area from upstate.

Beal's 27, Wall's 25 lead Wizards over Knicks 121-103

By RICH DUBROFF
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) – For weeks, the Washington Wizards have been hearing about their struggles against teams with losing records. Now that they've won two straight and elevated their record to 11-10 against sub-.500 teams, perhaps they've taken a step toward ending that discussion.

"We'll find out in the next 10, 20 games," Washington center Marcin Gortat said.

Gortat had a season-high 21 points, making 9 of 10 from the field, Bradley Beal scored 27 and John Wall had 25 points and nine assists in the Wizards' 121-103 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.

Playing for the first time since he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Beal followed his 39-point outburst on Sunday against Chicago by hitting 11 of his 14 field goal attempts for Washington, which has won five of six.

Beal has answered plenty of questions about the Wizards' lapses against the NBA's bottom-feeders.

"Nobody criticizes themselves more than us." Beal said. "We're aware of it. We know that our job is to finish. We have more to prove."

Michael Beasley had 20 points, including 16 in the second half, to lead the Knicks, who have lost six of seven.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 16 points. New York has lost 14 of its last 15 to Washington.

In an energetic first half that ended with both teams shooting 58.1 percent, Wall's jumper at the horn gave the Wizards a 64-63 halftime lead.

The first seven Washington baskets in the third quarter were from inside, and the resulting 15-3 run gave the Wizards a 79-66 lead with 7:47 to play in the quarter.

The Knicks lost at home against San Antonio on Tuesday, and they had little energy after halftime.

"Not to make any excuses, but it's always tougher to play the back-to-backs and I think it got to us," Porzingis said. "Our energy just wasn't there. They had three days of rest and came out fresh and we just didn't have it for the second half."

TIP-INS

Knicks: G Ron Baker returned to the lineup after missing a game with a left orbital fracture. Baker donned a protective mask, and he expects to wear it for at least four weeks.

Wizards: F Chris McCullough was assigned to the Wisconsin Herd of the G League. McCullough is averaging 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12 games. ... F Mike Young, who was signed to a two-way contract last spring but never played for Washington, was waived. ... The Wizards (22-16) are a season-high six games over .500. . F Markieff Morris tied a season high with 11 rebounds.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Beal knows Washington's 3-1 week helped win him his first Player of the Week award.

"If we didn't win games, I wouldn't have been considered for it," Beal said. "Hopefully, many more to come, but that's never my focus."

GORTAT ON OFFENSE

Gortat entered the game averaging 8.6 points per game, and hasn't been as much of an offensive force for the Wizards as he's been in the past.

"It's just one game in the season where I'm going to score like that," Gortat said.

KNICKS SLOW

Porzingis, who entered averaging 24.1 points per game, had a rough second half. He had just two points in 17 minutes, missing five of six shots.

"He's got to use his athletic ability running down the court, and we got a little slow there for a while," New York coach Jeff Hornacek said.

UP NEXT

Knicks: Visit the Miami Heat on Friday

Wizards: Visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

Nets cool off Timberwolves 98-97 on Dinwiddie's jumper

By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) – The Brooklyn Nets were well aware that Minnesota had been blowing teams off the starting line.

The Nets not only hung in at the beginning, they made the big plays at the end.

Spencer Dinwiddie made the go-ahead jumper with 10.1 seconds left and tied his career high with 26 points, leading Brooklyn to a 98-97 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

The Wolves raced to a 17-0 lead against Indiana on Sunday and then 16-0 against the Lakers the next night, but the Nets never let them find an early flow.

"When you spot a team that many points, it's always hard to come back and that's something we really didn't want to happen," Dinwiddie said, "and obviously we didn't."

Jimmy Butler missed at the buzzer as the Timberwolves lost for just the second time in nine games.

"I just think as a whole we didn't play that much good basketball and we get put in that situation which from the jump could have went either way," Butler said. "At least we fought and got back in the game, but I didn't make a shot."

Dinwiddie added nine assists as the Nets improved to 2-0 in the new year - more wins than they had all last January, when they were 1-15. Joe Harris came off the bench to score 17 points.

"Really proud of how the team's progressing and just showing a resiliency that I felt that we didn't have last year," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We felt last year we kind of crumbled in a situation like that where they made a run. We stayed together and really showed a lot of physical and mental toughness."

Butler finished with 30 points, mostly on the strength of 16-of-18 shooting at the foul line. Andrew Wiggins added 17 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Dinwiddie had given the Nets a 96-94 lead on a jumper with 1:11 to play before three straight free throws from Butler put Minnesota back on top. The next Nets possession didn't seem to be going anywhere as the clock ran down, but Dinwiddie dribbled left away from Taj Gibson and lofted a floater that went in.

Butler then dribbled right while defended by DeMarre Carroll and got off a good look that missed.

The Nets led 24-22 after one quarter and held Minnesota to 39.5 percent shooting in the first half, taking a 48-43 lead on Dinwiddie's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Brooklyn scored the first seven points of the third quarter to open a 55-43 lead before Minnesota finally got going, using a 23-7 run to build a 66-62 advantage. The Wolves were ahead 73-71 after three thanks to Wiggins' jumper at the buzzer.

"The thing is, I told them this: `It may not be going our way early but then we've got to make it go our way," Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought we showed some resiliency in the second half but we talked about how important it is to play for 48 minutes and sometimes you miss some shots."

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: Minnesota fell to 4-9 against Eastern Conference teams. ... The Wolves had won 11 of the last 16 meetings.

Nets: Brooklyn played without Caris LeVert, who had been the only Nets player to appear in all 37 games, because of a left groin strain. Atkinson said the injury wasn't serious and hoped LeVert could play Saturday against Boston. ... Atkinson said the Nets couldn't call up Isaiah Whitehead from their G League affiliate to be the backup point guard in LeVert's absence because he was dealing with a knee injury.

BETTER BASKETBALL

The game matched two of the most improved teams in the NBA through the same number of games as last season. The Wolves came in 24-14, a league-best 12-game improvement over their 12-26 mark. Miami was improved by nine wins, while the Nets were tied for third with Philadelphia after improving by nine wins. The Nets entered 14-23 - they were 8-29 after 37 games in 2016-17.

OKAFOR OK

Jahlil Okafor had two points in 11 minutes, his second appearance for the Nets since they acquired him from Philadelphia last month. After the first stint, the team decided to get him back into playing shape before putting him in games again. Okafor had sat out almost all season after falling out of the Sixers' rotation.

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Visit the Boston Celtics on Friday.

Nets: Host the Celtics on Saturday.

Sharp breaks tie in third, Blackhawks beat Rangers 5-2

By SCOTT CHARLES
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) – Jeff Glass is starting to get comfortable in goal for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Glass, the 32-year old rookie who bounced around the hockey world before finally reaching the NHL last month, made 23 saves to lead Chicago to a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.

"This is my chance right now," Glass said after securing his second career NHL victory. "We played a strong game as a unit, I just did my part. It was a lot of fun out there."

Patrick Sharp broke a tie early in the third period as the Blackhawks concluded a six-game trip. Nick Schmaltz, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane also scored

"Contributing offensively is to be expected from every line," Sharp said. "We're more than capable of doing it but more than anything, I thought we played real stingy tonight and didn't give up a whole lot so that was one of the keys tonight."

Nick Holden and Mika Zibanejad scored for New York in the Rangers' second regulation loss at home since Nov. 28.

New York struggled to get through the neutral zone most of the evening and only converted one power play chance on six opportunities in their first game back since the Winter Classic at Citi Field.

"I saw one team playing hockey and the other chasing the whole night," Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh said. "It's really disappointing. We know we are coming off a big emotional win and a big stage but we're almost at the halfway point of the season where we need to start playing with some consistency and we didn't give ourselves a chance there. They were able to do whatever they wanted. We didn't finish checks, slow them down, their speed. They had time and space and we left our goalie out to dry."

Glass, a well-traveled hockey veteran has played on six Kontinental Hockey League teams and three American Hockey League teams before being called up on Dec. 27 when Corey Crawford was placed on injured reserve.

"I think Glasser came in and gave us a little jolt of personality and energy," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. "After coming out of three tough games going into the break, coming out of it not the way you want to be playing on the road. We'll go back home, we showed a lot better of an effort. I liked the response, the way we finished up the trip."

Sharp, a three-time Cup winner with Chicago who returned this season after spending the previous two years in Dallas, scored at 2:24 of the third when his wrist shot sailed past goalie Henrik Lundqvist's glove.

"I saw a lot of good things, a lot of the speed in the game," Joel Quenneville said. "We got to a lot of pucks first. We did a lot of good things, we were more disciplined than we've been in maybe any other game. We found a way to kill some big penalties."

Hinostroza opened the scoring with 3:51 left in the first period. After an offensive zone faceoff win, Toews retrieved a loose puck in the corner and slipped a backhand pass to Hinostroza.

The Rangers tied it two minutes later when Nick Holden fired a slap shot from the right point past Glass.

Chicago took a 2-1 lead midway through the second when Nick Schmaltz converted a breakaway. Rangers defenseman, Marc Staal, inadvertently put the puck in his own net before knocking the net off the moorings.

Zibanejad tied it on a one-timer with 7:28 to go in the period.

"They were better," Lundqvist said after his 30 save performance. "They started the game better, they had more jump. It felt like a lot of their chances came from odd-man rushes, hard to defend. They have a lot of patient players."

NOTES:

New York scratched defenseman Steven Kampfer and forward Vinni Lettieri. ... Chicago scratched defensemen Michal Kempny and Jan Rutta, and forward Richard Panik.

UP NEXT:

Rangers: At Arizona on Saturday night.

Blackhawks: Host Vegas on Friday night.

Islanders get Belmont Park site

Corey Sipkin/New York Post

NY Post Sports Desk

The Islanders are returning to Long Island.

After three seasons in Brooklyn on the miserable ice at Barclays Center, the Islanders have been awarded the rights to the Belmont Park for their new arena, The Post’s Rich Calder confirmed.

The team was competing with MLS’ New York City FC, who planned for a 26,000-seat stadium at the site.

“It’d be great for the fans and the city and the franchise and everything else. … We’re all hopeful and we’re all anticipatory but you don’t want to get ahead of yourself,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said before the announcement.

The Islanders’ plan calls for an 18,000-seat arena that will include an entertainment hub, hotel and retail village. The team is seeking to get out of its 25-year lease at the Barclays Center.

Accused NYC subway bomber expected to face federal charges

By COLLEEN LONG and JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A would-be suicide bomber was held Tuesday on state terrorism charges while federal prosecutors prepared their own case in the rush hour blast in the heart of the New York City subway system that failed to cause the bloodshed he intended, officials said.

Akayed Ullah, 27, was charged Tuesday with supporting an act of terrorism, making a terroristic threat and weapon possession, according to the New York Police Department. An announcement on federal charges was expected later.

It was unclear if the Bangladeshi immigrant, who was hospitalized with burns to his hands and stomach, was well enough to make a court appearance.

Overseas, Bangladesh counterterrorism officers were questioning the wife and other relatives of Ullah, officials there said Tuesday. Relatives and police said Ullah last visited Bangladesh in September to see his wife and newborn son before leaving them behind to return the United States.

Hours after Monday’s explosion in an underground passageway connecting two of Manhattan’s busiest stations, President Donald Trump cited the background of the bomber in renewing his call for closer scrutiny of foreigners who come to the country and less immigration based on family ties.

New York City bomb suspect Akayed Ullah’s family says they’re heartbroken and saddened by the suffering the attack caused. However, in a statement the family also said they’re outraged by alleged law enforcement actions following Ullah’s arrest. (Dec. 12)

Ullah — who told investigators he wanted to retaliate for American action against Islamic State extremists — came to the U.S. from Bangladesh in 2011 on a visa available to certain relatives of U.S. citizens.

“Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security,” Trump said in a statement that called for various changes to the immigration system. Earlier, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump’s proposed policies “could have prevented this.”

On his last visit to Bangladesh, the suspect mostly remained inside a small apartment in Dhaka’s Hazribagh area, said his uncle, Abdul Ahad. His nephew arrived in Bangladesh on Sept. 8 and returned to New York on Oct. 22, he said.

“He went out of his residence to offer prayers at a nearby mosque,” Ahad told The Associated Press.

In a scenario New York had dreaded for years, Ullah strapped on a crude pipe bomb with Velcro and plastic ties, slipped unnoticed into the nation’s busiest subway system and set off the device, authorities said.

The device didn’t work as intended; authorities said Ullah was the only person seriously wounded. But the attack sent frightened commuters fleeing through a smoky passageway, and three people suffered headaches and ringing ears from the first bomb blast in the subway in more than two decades.

Despite his injuries, Ullah spoke to investigators from his hospital bed, law enforcement officials said. He was “all over the place” about his motive but indicated he wanted to avenge what he portrayed as U.S. aggression against the Islamic State group, a law enforcement official said.

The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the blast.

Ullah’s low-tech bomb used explosive powder, a nine-volt battery, a Christmas light and matches, the officials said. Investigators said the suspect was seen on surveillance footage igniting the bomb. In the end, it wasn’t powerful enough to turn the pipe into deadly shrapnel, the officials said.

Law enforcement officials said Ullah looked at IS propaganda online but is not known to have any direct contact with the militants and probably acted alone.

The attack came less than two months after eight people died near the World Trade Center in a truck attack that, authorities said, was carried out by an Uzbek immigrant who admired the Islamic State group.

Since 1965, America’s immigration policy has centered on giving preference to people with advanced education or skills, or people with family ties to U.S. citizens and, in some cases, legal permanent residents. Citizens have been able to apply for spouses, parents, children, siblings and the siblings’ spouses and minor children; the would-be immigrants are then screened by U.S. officials to determine whether they can come.

Trump’s administration has called for a “merit-based” immigration system that would limit family-based green cards to spouses and minor children.

Ullah lived with his father, mother and brother in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Bangladeshi community, residents said. He was licensed to drive a livery cab between 2012 and 2015, but the license was allowed to lapse, according to law enforcement officials and New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission.

John Miller, NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism, said Tuesday on CBS “This Morning” that Ullah didn’t seem to have any obvious problems.

He “was living here, went through number of jobs, was not particularly struggling financially or had any known pressures,” Miller said, adding Ullah “was not on our radar at NYPD, not on the FBI radar.”

Security cameras captured the attacker walking casually through a crowded passageway when the bomb went off around 7:20 a.m. A plume of white smoke cleared to show the man sprawled on the ground and commuters scattering.

Port Authority police said officers found the man injured on the ground, with wires protruding from his jacket and the device strapped to his torso. They said he was reaching for a cellphone and they grabbed his hands.

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Associated Press writers Tom Hays, Jake Pearson, Kiley Armstrong, Larry Neumeister and David James Jeans in New York, Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles, Matt Pennington in Washington, D.C., and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.