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.
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