San Jose’s Logan Couture returned from an injury to score in overtime and give the Sharks a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, cutting the deficit in their NHL second-round playoff series to 2-1.
Also on Saturday, Detroit beat Chicago to square their series at 1-1.
San Jose had suffered a couple of galling defeats in the opening two rounds of the series, but they responded on Saturday in a game they could not afford to lose.
Whereas the Kings had received some contentious calls in the opening two games, this time the Sharks were the beneficiaries.
Tommy Wingels drew a hooking penalty on Robyn Regehr with 41.7 seconds left in regulation. However, the call that really had the Kings steaming came when Trevor Lewis was called for goaltender interference when he crashed into Antti Niemi with 4.5 seconds remaining.
Los Angeles argued that Patrick Marleau pushed Lewis, and goalie Jonathan Quick got a game misconduct for arguing with the officials after the game.
That gave San Jose a five-on-three advantage for the first 1:19 of overtime. The Sharks could not convert with two extra men, but got the winner when Marleau set up Couture in front, who beat Quick for the game-winner.
Rookie Tyler Toffoli scored the lone goal for the defending Stanley Cup champions Kings, who had won six straight games since dropping the first two in the opening round in St Louis.
Couture’s first career playoff overtime goal came after he missed most of the second period when he limped off the ice favoring his left leg. He returned to an ovation in the final minute of the second.
Meanwhile, Detroit’s Damien Brunner and Brendan Smith scored in the second period as the Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1.
Just as the Blackhawks did in Game 1, Detroit took control in the second period and put the game away in the third.
Patrick Kane gave Chicago a 1-0 lead late in the first, but the game changed markedly after that.
Brunner tied it when he deflected a wrist shot by Jakub Kindl early in the second, and Smith gave the Red Wings the lead when he scored off a feed from Henrik Zetterberg on a three-on-one late in the second.
Johan Franzen made it 3-1 in the third when he fired a rising shot past Crawford after a perfect pass from Jonathan Ericsson in the Detroit zone. Valtteri Filppula closed out the scoring with 7:57 left in the game.
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
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and