Newcomer Nathan Horton scored a second-period goal and added an assist to help lift the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday to split the teams’ two-game, NHL season-opening series in the Czech capital.
Tim Thomas in the Bruins goal recorded a 29-save shutout in his first game of the season, replacing Tuukka Rask.
Horton played just his second game for the Bruins after he joined them from the Florida Panthers. He scored both goals for Boston in the 5-2 loss to the Coyotes in the season opener on Saturday.
Photo: REUTERS
Phoenix and Boston were two of six NHL teams to open the season in Europe this year.
“Definitely, it’s nice to get goals and to contribute, to help the team win,” Horton said. “We had a little let down in the first game and tonight we bounced back and turned things around and we played quite well.”
He said he was happy with his move to Boston.
“Boston is hockey, it’s sports. It’s fun to be a Boston Bruin,” he said.
“Everyday, it’s getting better,” he said about his line with winger Milan Lucic and center David Krejci.
Lucic broke the tie halfway through the second with a slap shot after gathering a Horton pass. Horton added the second on a quick wrist shot over goalie Ilya Bryzgalov’s shoulder with 33 seconds left.
Following Saturday’s loss, the Bruins went on the attack and bombarded Bryzgalov from the start.
“We came out strong,” Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. “We created lot of chances, we were putting a lot of pressure on them didn’t give them much time to do anything and we got rewarded.”
Both teams were heading for long flights home immediately after Sunday’s game but Doan said the trip was still a positive experience.
“It was beautiful, I loved it, we had a great time. It was something we as a team enjoyed,” he said.
Oilers 3, Panthers 2
Dustin Penner, Ryan Jones and Shawn Horcoff scored in a 5:47 span early in the second period to help the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers.
Nikolai Khabibulin made 26 saves for Edmonton, three nights after stopping 37 shots in a 4-0 home victory over Calgary.
Flames 3, Kings 1
At Calgary, Alberta, Miikka Kiprusoff made 21 saves, Curtis Glencross had a short-handed goal, and Craig Conroy and Niklas Hagman also scored as Calgary downed Los Angeles.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set