Alexei Ponikarovsky and Alex Steen scored early in the third period and Jean-Sebastien Aubin made 28 saves in his second start of the season to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
Mats Sundin added a goal for the Maple Leafs, who are trying to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since the 1997-1998 season.
Joni Pitkanen and R.J. Umberger scored for the Flyers, who had a four-game winning streak snapped and missed a chance to move into a tie for first with the idle New York Rangers in the Atlantic Division.
PHOTO: AFP
Blue Jackets 4, Sharks 1
At Columbus, Ohio, Rick Nash scored two goals and Columbus tied the franchise record for wins by beating San Jose.
Columbus won its third in a row, and at 29-40-3 matched the 2002-2003 team's victory total (29-42-8-3).
Mark Hartigan broke a scoring drought with his second goal, and Manny Malhotra added an empty-netter to stretch his goal streak to three games. David Vyborny had two assists and Marc Denis made 28 saves.
Steve Bernier had the goal for San Jose.
The loss was costly for the Sharks, who came into the final game of a five-game road trip night needing a win to tie Vancouver for eighth place in the Western Conference.
Canadiens 2, Islanders 0
At Montreal, Cristobal Huet made 36 saves for his sixth shutout, and rookie Chris Higgins scored his third goal in two games to lead Montreal over New York.
Radek Bonk scored into an empty net for the Canadiens, who won their fourth in a row since a road loss to the Islanders on March 21.
Huet, who barely kept the puck from crossing the line on Miroslav Satan's wraparound attempt with 9.8 seconds remaining, has recorded all of his shutouts since wresting the starting job away from Jose Theodore on Feb. 2.
Rick DiPietro stopped 34 shots for the Islanders, who dressed seven rookies and remain 12th in the East with 71 points.
New York, which has 11 games remaining, has lost five straight on the road (0-4-1).
Devils 3, Senators 2, SO
At Ottawa, Scott Gomez scored the only goal of a shootout to lift New Jersey.
Gomez tried to deke Ray Emery on New Jersey's third shootout try but was stopped as the goaltender slid back into the net. The goal counted after a video review.
Martin Brodeur stopped Daniel Alfredsson to seal the victory.
Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta failed to score for the Devils, and Antoine Vermette and Dany Heatley missed for Ottawa.
Heatley scored twice in regulation to set a career high with 42 goals, including the equalizer with 30.5 seconds left in regulation.
John Madden gave the Devils a first-period lead with a short-handed, and Gionta scored his 40th.
Brodeur stopped 36 shots for New Jersey to earn his 436th victory and move within one of tying Jacques Plante for fourth place on the league's career list.
It was just the second victory in six games and third in nine for the Devils, who moved into a tie with Tampa Bay for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Emery finished with 33 saves in regulation for Ottawa (48-16-7), which leads Carolina by three points atop the East.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely