Champion Bruins return to .500 mark

NHL: The Boston Bruins are playing like Stanley Cup champions again.

Brad Marchand scored twice and Tyler Seguin had a goal and an assist as the Bruins increased their season-high winning streak to four with a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

Boston (7-7) has scored 24 goals during the streak and is back at .500 for the first time since a 1-1 start.

“We didn’t seem to have the same determination in our game,” said Marchand, who doubled his season goal total by scoring in the second and third periods. “Right now it just seems like everyone’s buying into the system and what we have to do. Because we’re working a little harder, we’re getting some bounces, as well.”

Joe Corvo had three assists, and backup goalie Tuukka Rask won in his second straight start, getting a lot of help from his teammates in front of him.

• Kessel’s shootout goal sparks Leafs: Phil Kessel scored the lone shootout goal for Toronto, and Ben Scrivens stopped all three St. Louis shooters in the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 victory over the host Blues.

• Canadiens win in overtime: Josh Gorges scored 1:45 into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens edged the host Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 at Glendale, Ariz.

• Power-play goal gives Avalanche OT victory: Kyle Quincey scored a power-play goal 2:39 into overtime and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 30 saves, helping the host Colorado Avalanche rally from a three-goal deficit and beat the slumping New York Islanders 4-3 at Denver.

Woods returns to top of leaderboard

Golf: Tiger Woods led the Australian Open at the halfway mark today in Sydney after a scintillating second round in which he carded five birdies on the first nine holes, played safe on the back nine and ended the day with a five-under-par 67.

He held a one-stroke lead over veteran Australian Peter O’Malley, who shot a six-under 66, with youngster Jason Day, another Australian, two shots behind the leader after a four-under 68.

Woods has not won a golf tournament since he was last in Australia two years ago and is a lowly 58 in the rankings.

It is only the second time that he has been atop the leaderboard – he briefly led the U.S. Masters at the Augusta National course in April – since his game and his marriage dissolved in 2009.

• Veteran Inkster chases Tour history: Hall of Famer Juli Inkster shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead with Suzann Pettersen in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The 51-year-old Inkster is trying to become the oldest winner in LPGA Tour history. Beth Daniel was 46 when she won the 2003 Canadian Women’s Open. Inkster won the last of her 31 LPGA Tour titles in 2006.

Government directs hunt for Ramos

Baseball: The government sent top investigators to hunt for Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, whose abduction has shaken Venezuela’s elite athletes and focused attention on the nation’s sharp rise in kidnappings for ransom.

The 24-year-old player, who had returned to Venezuela after his rookie season, was just outside the front door at his home in the town of Santa Ines on Wednesday night when an SUV approached, armed men got out “and they took him away,” said Ramos’ agent, Gustavo Marcano.

It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela, though the relatives of some ballplayers have previously been held captive for ransom.

Police found the kidnappers’ vehicle abandoned in the nearby town of Bejuma on Thursday morning, Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said.

• Pirates sign Barajas: The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran catcher Rod Barajas agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.

Barajas will make $4 million in 2012 and $3.5 million if he is retained for the 2013 season. He had 16 home runs and 47 RBIs while hitting .230 last season while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Busch will race without main sponsor

Auto racing: Kyle Busch will be allowed to race in the final two Sprint Cup Series events but without main sponsor M&M’s, The Associated Press has learned.

Busch will drive Sunday at Phoenix and in next weekend’s season finale at Homestead with Interstate Batteries as his sponsor instead, a person familiar with Joe Gibbs Racing’s plans told the AP.

• IndyCar schedules race in China: The Izod IndyCar Series will race in China in 2012, choosing a street circuit in the seaport city of Qingdao to replace its traditional trip to Japan.

NCAA accuses OSU of ‘failure to monitor’

College football: The NCAA accused Ohio State for the first time of a “failure to monitor” for permitting a booster to continue to have contact with players after he was involved in NCAA problems earlier in the year.

Ohio State President Gordon Gee expressed disappointment in athletic director Gene Smith for not properly monitoring the actions of Robert DiGeronimo, who got several Buckeyes football players into trouble with the NCAA.

The university agreed to reduce its football scholarships over the next three years as the latest self-imposed punishment over a year of violations and sanctions.

In the letter to Smith, dated on Thursday, Gee wrote, “I am disappointed that this is where we find ourselves. You know I find this unacceptable.”