A Chris Kunitz hat-trick helped the Pittsburgh Penguins thrash the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-1 on Wednesday, turning an eagerly anticipated clash of NHL divisional leaders into a mismatch.
Evgeni Malkin got Pittsburgh going with a goal just seven seconds into the game and the Penguins, playing for the first time since the Winter Classic, never looked back.
Alex Goligoski added a goal and set up three others as Pittsburgh scored four times on its first eight shots while opening a 5-0 lead in the first period. Chris Conner, Tyler Kennedy and Mark Letestu also scored for the Penguins.
PHOTO: AFP
STARS 4, BLACKHAWKS 2
In Chicago, Mike Ribeiro broke a tie midway through the second period with his second power-play goal and Dallas went on to beat Chicago.
Brenden Morrow also scored with the man advantage for Dallas. The Stars were 3-for-3 on the power play and Steve Ott added a short-handed, empty-net goal.
Fernando Pisani and Tomas Kopecky scored for Chicago. The Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks dropped to 12-11-0 at the United Center, where they were 29-8-4 last season.
CANUCKS 3, FLAMES 1
In Vancouver, the hosts beat Calgary to extend their winning streak to seven games and break a tie for the top spot in the overall NHL standings.
Roberto Luongo made 43 saves, only conceding when Tim Jackman netted with 11 seconds left.
Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Daniel Sedin, with the 10,000th goal in the franchise’s 40-year history, scored for the streaking Canucks.
Fresh off a road sweep through Dallas, Colorado and San Jose, Vancouver hasn’t lost in regulation in a month.
In other NHL action, it was:
‧ Predators 4, Ducks 1
‧ Rangers 2, Hurricanes 1, OT
‧ Thrashers 3, Panthers 2
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care