The Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals staved off elimination to force game seven in their respective Eastern Conference playoff series with decisive victories on Sunday.
The Hurricanes stormed to a 4-0 triumph over the New Jersey Devils after the visiting Capitals had earlier defeated the New York Rangers 5-3.
Eric Staal scored twice and had an assist for the Hurricanes, while Ray Whitney scored once and assisted on three others and Cam Ward made 28 saves for a fired-up Carolina, who evened the series at 3-3.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Carolina blasted 15 shots at Devils netminder Martin Brodeur during the opening period, while New Jersey mustered only four.
Whitney scored midway through the period off assists by linemates Staal and Chad LaRose.
Then Staal struck twice within three minutes during the second period and Jussi Jokinen added a 5-on-3 clincher in the third as Carolina peppered Brodeur with 37 shots for the game.
Game seven of a see-saw series in which neither team has won consecutive contests is in New Jersey today.
In New York, former Rangers defenseman Tom Poti had a goal and three assists as Washington won its second consecutive game to tie the series at 3-3.
The second-seeded Capitals also had goals from two other defensemen, Mike Green and Milan Jurcina, while Russian forwards Viktor Kozlov and Alex Ovechkin also scored.
Scott Gomez, Ryan Callahan and Marc Staal responded for the Rangers.
Henrik Lundqvist, whose netminding enabled New York to take a 3-1 lead in the series, gave up five goals on 20 shots before being replaced.
Washington led 5-1 after two periods with New York scoring twice in the third. The Capitals host game seven today.
The Rangers played without coach John Tortorella, who was suspended for one game by the NHL after he threw a water bottle at a fan doused him in beer during game five in Washington. Assistant Jim Schoenfeld filled in.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
RSS