Martin Biron stopped 38 shots and Mike Richards had a short-handed goal to lift Philadelphia to a 2-1 triumph over Boston on Saturday in a game marred by Flyers defenseman Randy Jones' ferocious hit on Bruins center Patrice Bergeron.
Bergeron lost consciousness and was taken from the ice on a stretcher during the first period after he was hammered face-first into the boards by Jones.
As the whistle blew, Boston's Chuck Kobasew went after Jones, drawing a two-minute roughing penalty. Jones drew a 5-minute major and a game misconduct.
Biron yielded only a second-period power play goal to Marco Sturm and the Flyers moved to 7-3. One of Biron's saves was a penalty shot by Phil Kessel.
Richards assisted on Joffrey Lupol's power goal at the 13-minute mark of the second period as the Bruins lost for the second time in their last seven games and fell to 3-1 at home.
Bergeron lay motionless on the ice for 10 minutes after the hit by Jones, which came in the first period.
Team doctor Thomas Gill and Bruins trainers worked to get him immobilized, and fans gave Bergeron an ovation as he was taken off the ice to an ambulance.
"After initially losing consciousness on the ice, Patrice has regained consciousness and has been taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is undergoing a series of tests," Bruins team doctor Bert Zarins said in a statement.
"Patrice has sustained a concussion and a broken nose. The initial X-rays and CT scan have not shown any other serious injury to his head or neck, and he has full feeling and motion in all of his extremities. We will continue to monitor Patrice and await the final results of his medical studies," the statement said.
Bergeron had just passed the puck when Jones checked him from behind, crashing Bergeron headfirst into the glass and metal wall of the rink.
Blue Jackets 2, Sharks 1
At Columbus, Ohio, Sergei Fedorov scored the decisive goal late in the second period as Columbus beat San Jose.
Dan Fritsche also scored for Columbus, off to the best start in franchise history at 6-3-1. Manny Malhotra added two assists.
Leclaire allowed only Joe Thornton's goal, sending San Jose to its second straight loss.
Maple Leafs 4, Rangers 1
At New York, Pavel Kubina's first of the season woke up the Maple Leafs in the second period and started a three-goal binge against the Rangers that carried Toronto to the win.
The defenseman lifted the Leafs into a 1-1 tie at 8:35, just 2:51 after Jaromir Jagr gave the Rangers the lead. Until then, New York held the advantage on the scoreboard and shot clock with a 20-7 edge.
Toronto grabbed a 2-1 edge on John Pohl's first with 4:14 left. Nik Antropov pushed the lead to two goals, when he shot past Lundqvist as he stood untouched in front.
In other NHL games on Saturday it was:
* Hurricanes 8, Islanders 3
* Senators 4, Devils 1
* Canadiens 4, Penguins 3, SO
* Sabres 4, Lightning 3, OT
* Predators 4, Panthers 3
* Thrashers 3, Blackhawks 2
* Blues 4, Capitals 3
* Kings 4, Oilers 1
* Stars 5, Coyotes
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