Patrik Elias set up Jamie Langenbrunner after 68 seconds, then scored eight minutes later in leading the New Jersey Devils over surprise starter Jaromir Jagr and the New York Rangers 3-0 in NHL playoffs on Wednesday.
Martin Brodeur stopped 25 shots for his 21st career postseason shutout, two off the NHL mark held by Patrick Roy, as the Devils won their 14th straight game.
New Jersey took advantage of New York's deficient special teams in winning the opening two games of the series, and then built a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven matchup by scoring three goals at even strength.
PHOTO: AP
Not even the unexpected return of Jagr, who is battling a left shoulder injury, could spark the Rangers in their first home playoff game in nine years.
Flyers 4, Sabres 2
At Philadelphia, Peter Forsberg scored two goals and Robert Esche made 26 saves to give Philadelphia some home-ice tonic.
Buffalo still leads the best-of-seven series 2-1 with Game 4 on today, also in Philadelphia.
The Flyers were humiliated in their six-goal loss on Monday, and they were left looking for an edge as coaches Ken Hitchcock and Lindy Ruff got into a verbal spat.
Alex Kotalik gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead just more than three minutes into the game, but the Flyers scored the next three goals. Brian Savage tied the game in the first period with a short-handed goal, and Forsberg scored two in the second period for a 3-1 lead.
Buffalo closed to 3-2 early in the third when Tim Connolly scored, making for a very tense final period. But Esche made the lead stand up, and Simon Gagne scored an empty-net goal with 15 seconds left to put the game away.
Hurricanes 2, Canadiens 1
At Montreal, Eric Staal scored a power-play goal 3:38 into overtime to help Carolina avoid falling into a 0-3 hole in the first-round playoff series.
Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour tied the game 11:27 into the third period with his third goal in two games.
Montreal's Tomas Plekanec was sent off for hooking 2:35 into overtime and Staal won it with a drive from the point that went through traffic and past goalie Cristobal Huet. Rookie Cam Ward stopped 27 shots in his first career playoff start as the second-seeded Hurricanes recovered from two home losses to trail only 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Game 4 is today in Montreal. The Hurricanes have never come back to win a playoff series after losing the first two games.
Canadiens captain Saku Koivu left early in the second period, bleeding from a cut in the area of his left eye after he was clipped by Hurricanes right wing Justin Williams' stick while cutting past Carolina's net.
Richard Zednik had given the Canadiens a 1-0 lead on a power play 9:07 into the second.
Avalanche 4, Stars 3, OT
At Denver, Alex Tanguay scored 1:09 into overtime to give Colorado a 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven series with Dallas.
Ian Laperriere assisted on Tanguay's second goal of the game, which ruined a solid performance by Dallas goaltender Marty Turco, who looked for most of the night like he was going to reward coach Dave Tippett's decision to stick with him in net.
But he allowed the tying goal with less than a minute left in the third period, then gave up the game-winner just over a minute into the extra period. It was Dallas' second straight overtime loss.
Sergei Zubov's 5-on-3 goal from the right circle with 15 seconds left in the second period broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Stars their first lead of the night, which held up behind Dallas' spectacular defense until Andrew Brunette's power-play goal with 56 seconds left in the third period.
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
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was