The Boston Bruins beat old foes the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 in the opener of their first-round NHL playoff series on Thursday.
The Bruins are the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, but haven’t advanced from the first round in a decade.
They made a good start as Phil Kessel scored twice and added an assist, while Zdeno Chara scored with 8 minutes, 45 seconds left to break a third-period tie. Tim Thomas stopped 26 shots and Carey Price made 35 saves for the Canadiens.
PHOTO: AP
Kessel and David Krejci gave Boston a 2-0 lead before Montreal tied it on goals from Chris Higgins and Alex Kovalev. Kessel made it 4-2 with 13.4 seconds left on an empty-netter from a Milan Lucic pass, a goal that prompted a round of fisticuffs that continued after the final whistle.
Montreal and Boston have met an NHL-record 32 times in the playoffs, with the Canadiens winning 24 times, including last year when they had the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference but needed seven games to get out of the first round.
PHOTO: AP
BLACKHAWKS 3, FLAMES 2
In Chicago, Martin Havlat scored 12 seconds into overtime as Chicago beat Calgary to win their first playoff game in seven years.
After tying it late in regulation, Havlat drove a wrist shot past Miikka Kiprusoff from between the circles for the third-fastest overtime goal in playoff history, sending a towel-waving crowd at the United Center into a frenzy.
Mike Cammalleri gave Calgary a 2-1 lead about 4 minutes into the final period when he scored on a two-on-one break, taking a nice pass from Daymond Langkow.
But Chicago got even with 5 minutes, 33 seconds left when Havlat scored on his own rebound after Kiprusoff stopped his initial shot from the right circle.
David Moss opened the scoring for the Flames in the first period and Chicago’s Cam Barker tied it in the second.
Havlat was three seconds off the NHL record of nine seconds set by Brian Skrudland for Montreal in 3-2 victory over Calgary on May 18, 1986, in the Stanley Cup finals. J.P. Parise of the Islanders scored in 11 seconds of overtime against the Rangers in 1975 and Chicago’s Pit Martin also scored after 12 seconds in 1972 against Pittsburgh.
Game 2 is tonight in Chicago.
DUCKS 2, SHARKS 0
In San Jose, California, Jonas Hiller made 35 saves in a sparkling playoff debut for eighth-seeded Anaheim, while Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist in the third period.
Getzlaf set up captain Scott Niedermayer’s tiebreaking power-play goal early in the third before roaring out of the penalty box to score his own goal with 2 minutes, 25 seconds to play.
With Hiller’s flawless play, the playoff-tested Ducks put an early playoff scare into San Jose, the Presidents’ Trophy winners with 117 points.
Evgeni Nabokov made 15 saves for San Jose in the opener of the first post-season series between two California clubs in four decades.
Game 2 is tomorrow night in San Jose.
RED WINGS 4, BLUE JACKETS 1
In Detroit, Michigan, Jonathan Ericsson was credited with the go-ahead goal for Detroit with 6 minutes, 39 seconds left in the second period on a shot that Manny Malhotra redirected into his own net trying to stop the puck with his glove.
Jiri Hudler, Nicklas Kronwall and Johan Franzen also scored for Stanley Cup champions Detroit, while Chris Osgood made 20 saves, allowing only R.J. Umberger’s goal.
Columbus rookie Steve Mason stopped the first 21 shots he faced before giving up three goals in a five-shot span. He finished with 30 saves.
Game 2 is tonight in Detroit.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB