Mikael Samuelsson’s hat-trick inspired a stirring fightback for the Vancouver Canucks in a 6-4 victory over Northwest Division rivals the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
The Canucks trailed 3-0 in the second before Samuelsson tallied three times in 12 minutes to pull the visitors to within 4-3 by the start of the final period after Peter Mueller had added a fourth goal for the Avalanche.
Alexandre Burrows scored from a wrist shot at 8:04 in the third to tie the game before Jannik Hansen notched the go-ahead goal with 2:08 remaining and Daniel Sedin capped the scoring as Vancouver closed the contest with five unanswered goals.
“We wish we didn’t have to come back like this. It takes a lot of energy out of you, that’s for sure,” Samuelsson told reporters. “At the same time, we play for 60 minutes and that’s a good thing. We know we can do it.”
The Canucks (41-23-2) extended their division lead to four points with a fourth straight triumph over Colorado (37-23-6).
The Avalanche eased to a three-goal lead in the first on two scores from Matt Duchene and another by Chris Stewart, but Colorado struggled to contain their opponents late on and have lost three of five since returning from the Olympic break.
Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson started in his team-record 21st straight game and had 26 saves but allowed the key goals in the last two periods.
Vancouver continued its trend of comeback wins this season and now has 10 victories in which they entered the third period trailing.
The Canucks have played 13 straight road games brought on by the Winter Olympics and have one remaining during their record stint away from home.
FLYERS 3, ISLANDERS 2
Simon Gagne’s power-play goal broke a third-period deadlock as the Philadelphia Flyers rallied to earn their franchise-record 15th straight victory over the New York Islanders.
Gagne’s goal finished off the Flyers’ comeback from a 2-0 deficit.
Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux also scored for the Flyers, who started their streak against the Islanders on Feb. 12, 2008.
John Tavares and Kyle Okposo had goals for the Islanders.
MAPLE LEAFS 4, BRUINS 3, OT
At Toronto, Nikolai Kulemin scored 4:11 into overtime to lift Toronto over the Boston Bruins.
Kulemin made the most of a broken 2-on-1 rush with Mikhail Grabovski, beating prone Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. Grabovski was playing for the first time after missing 23 games because of a broken wrist.
The Leafs forced overtime after Luca Caputi scored the tying goal by swatting home a rebound 7:13 into the third. Wayne Primeau and Carl Gunnarsson also scored for Toronto. Jonas Gustavsson stopped 26 shots.
Mark Recchi and Marco Sturm each scored a goal and added two assists for Boston. Patrice Bergeron had the Bruins’ other goal.
PANTHERS 3, WILD 2, SO
At St Paul, Cory Stillman scored the winning shootout goal as Florida held the Minnesota Wild to 11 shots.
The Wild also tied a season low for shots by a home team in the NHL this season. Minnesota set its team mark when it managed only 11 shots on Jan. 23, 2004, at Anaheim. The Wild’s previous low for shots on goal at home was 13 against Vancouver on Oct. 14, 2005.
The Panthers rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit and held a 31-9 shots advantage after regulation. It was Florida’s third straight win and first over Minnesota since Feb. 7, 2001.
Michael Frolik and Stillman scored for the Panthers to tie the game in the third. It was Frolik’s fourth goal in three games and Stillman’s fifth point in his last four.
Mikko Koivu and Robbie Earl scored first-period goals for the Wild.
FLAMES 4, RED WINGS 2
At Detroit, Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque scored 1:31 apart in the third period to give Calgary a win over Detroit. The Flames moved into eighth place in the Western Conference and pushed the Red Wings to ninth.
Calgary’s Daymond Langkow scored 5:18 into the second after a scoreless first. Pavel Datsyuk scored midway through the period to tie it, and Tomas Holmstrom had a power-play goal late in the period to put Detroit ahead.
Iginla snapped his 19-game streak without a goal against Detroit to make it 2-all. Bourque scored the winner 7:16 into the third.
Christopher Higgins added an empty-net goal in the final minute.
PREDATORS 2, THRASHERS 1
At Atlanta, Colin Wilson scored off an Atlanta miscue and Dan Ellis turned aside 30 shots, leading the Nashville Predators past the slumping Thrashers.
Ryan Suter scored Nashville’s first goal, and Wilson took advantage of a hideous turnover by Mark Popovic to make it 2-0 before the first period was done.
Ellis made the lead stand up. The Thrashers were held to a second-period goal by Nik Antropov and took their third straight loss.
CANADIENS 5, LIGHTNING 3
At Montreal, Scott Gomez had a goal and two assists, and Mathieu Darche scored twice to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a victory against Tampa Bay.
Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves for Montreal, which gave coach Jacques Martin his 550th career win in the team’s first home game since the Olympic break.
Glen Metropolit notched his career-high 15th goal and added an assist. Benoit Pouliot also scored as the Canadiens won their third in a row.
Steven Stamkos scored his 41st goal for Tampa Bay. He set a Lightning record with his 17th power-play goal and extended his club-record point streak to 17 games.
BLUE JACKETS 5, DUCKS 2
At Anaheim, California, Jakub Voracek scored during Columbus’ first power play and set up another second-period goal by Fedor Tyutin to lead Columbus over Anaheim.
Mathieu Garon made 36 saves one night after relieving Steve Mason, who gave up four goals on 12 shots against Los Angeles in the first period of a 6-0 loss.
Derek Dorsett scored his fourth goal of the season and the Blue Jackets got power-play goals from Antoine Vermette and Derick Brassard in the final 1:58.
SENATORS 4, OILERS 1
At Edmonton, Alberta, Chris Kelly had a goal and an assist, and Matt Cullen, Milan Michalek and Mike Fisher also scored for the Ottawa Senators, which snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Edmonton.
Fernando Pisani had the lone goal for the Oilers.
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