NHL
Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist to help the Vancouver Canucks lock up their fifth straight Northwest Division title with a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
Jannik Hansen and Zack Kassian also scored for the Canucks, who won their eighth in a row at home and are guaranteed of home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Photo: Reuters
Henrik Sedin added two assists and Cory Schneider made 24 saves for the Canucks, who have put some distance between themselves and slumping Minnesota in the past few weeks.
Daniel Carcillo scored for Chicago, who trailed 1-0 after the first period and 3-0 after the second.
Cory Crawford made 29 saves as the NHL-leading Blackhawks made clinching first place overall a bit more difficult with a second straight loss.
The Blackhawks are trying to win their first Presidents’ Trophy since 1991, when Mike Keenan was coach. Chicago have 73 points with three games remaining, while Pittsburgh have 70 with three games also left on their schedule.
DUCKS 3, OILERS 0
In Edmonton, Alberta, Viktor Fasth made 24 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as Anaheim beat Edmonton to clinch the Pacific Division title.
Ryan Getzlaf, Radek Dvorak and Sami Vatanen scored for the Ducks, who won back-to-back games in Edmonton to win their first division title since 2006-2007 — the season they went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The Oilers have lost eight of their past nine games and seem destined for yet another high draft pick in the off-season.
Anaheim officially eliminated the Oilers from contention on Sunday, making them the team with the longest active post-season drought at seven consecutive seasons.
PENGUINS 3, SENATORS 1
In Ottawa, Tomas Vokoun made 34 saves, while Dustin Jeffrey had a goal and an assist to lead Pittsburgh to their seventh straight victory with a win over Ottawa.
Jarome Iginla and Tyler Kennedy also scored, while Brenden Morrow had two assists for the Penguins, who have already clinched first place in the Eastern Conference.
Craig Anderson stopped 21 shots and Patrick Wiercioch scored for the Senators, who did not get any help when Winnipeg beat Buffalo 2-1.
The Jets now trail the Senators and the New York Rangers by just a single point for the final playoff spot in the conference. Both the seventh-placed Rangers and the eighth-placed Senators have a game in hand on Winnipeg.
JETS 2, SABRES 1
In Buffalo, New York, Antti Miettinen scored with 7 minutes, 36 seconds left to keep surging Winnipeg in the playoff race with a win over Buffalo.
Ondrej Pavelec stopped 24 shots, including a huge glove save on Thomas Vanek with 5:45 left, to preserve the victory.
The Winnipeg Jets improved 6-0-1 in their past seven games and moved within a point of the idle New York Rangers, who hold the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot.
The Jets also crept within a point of Southeast Division-leading Washington, setting up a critical showdown yesterday, when the Winnipeg Jets traveled to play the Capitals.
Aaron Gagnon also scored for Winnipeg, while Vanek scored the lone goal for Buffalo.
RED WINGS 4, COYOTES 0
In Detroit, Michigan, Johan Franzen scored twice and Jimmy Howard had 34 saves to help Detroit beat Phoenix for two desperately needed points in the Red Wings’ push to make the playoffs.
The Wings moved within a point of eighth-placed Columbus in the Western Conference and are hoping to finish their final three games of the regular season strong enough to extend the franchise’s post-season streak to 22 years.
Damien Brunner scored late in the first period and Valtteri Filppula had a power-play goal late in the second for Detroit, who had won only one of their previous six games.
The Coyotes are five points behind the Blue Jackets and on the brink of elimination.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two