Brayden Schenn scored twice, and Vincent Lecavalier added his first goal in nearly three months as the Philadelphia Flyers had little trouble with the injury-depleted Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Wednesday night.
Carlo Colaiacovo chipped in a rare goal for the Flyers, who ended a nine-game, road losing streak. Steve Mason stopped 24 shots for Philadelphia as the Flyers won their seventh straight game in Pittsburgh.
Sidney Crosby scored his 300th career goal for the Penguins and boosted his NHL-leading point total to 80, but Pittsburgh mustered little offense on a night the team played without injured stars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for the Penguins, who remained tied with the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
DUCKS 5, OILERS 1
In Anaheim, California, Andrew Cogliano and Francois Beauchemin each had a goal and an assist as Anaheim clinched their third straight Pacific Division title with a victory over Edmonton.
Corey Perry, Nate Thompson and Simon Despres also scored in the fourth straight win for the NHL-leading Ducks, who became the first team to wrap up a division race with their eighth victory in 10 games overall.
Frederik Andersen made 22 saves, while Jakob Silfverberg had a career-high three assists in a dominant effort by the Ducks, who lead Nashville by four points for home-ice advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored and Ben Scrivens stopped 22 shots for the 28th-placed Oilers, whose three-game winning streak ended.
Anaheim swept the clubs’ four-game season series.
SABRES 4, MAPLE LEAFS 1In Buffalo, New York, Matt Moulson and Matt Ellis scored 1 minute, 41 seconds apart in the third period as Buffalo rallied to beat Toronto.
The Sabres overcame a 3-1 second-period deficit and won their second straight, inching closer to moving out of last place in the NHL. Zac Dalpe and Cody Hodgson also scored.
Ellis added an assist, while Brian Gionta set up two goals for Buffalo (22-47-8), who moved to within two points of 29th-placed Arizona.
James van Riemsdyk, Eric Brewer and Nazem Kadri scored for Toronto (29-43-6), who squandered a chance to win three straight for the first time since a six-game run from Dec. 10 to Dec. 16 last year. The Maple Leafs are 10-34-3 since.
SHARKS 5, AVALANCHE 1
In San Jose, California, Scott Hannan and Chris Tierney scored to help San Jose keep their slim playoff hopes alive in a win over Colorado.
Patrick Marleau also scored, while Logan Couture and John Scott added empty-net goals for the Sharks, who have won 13 straight regular-season home games against Colorado.
Alex Stalock made 19 saves in his third straight start in place of sick starter Antti Niemi.
Matt Duchene scored a power-play goal for the Avalanche, who began a three-game road trip with a loss.
Reto Barra made 25 saves.
The Sharks moved within five points of Winnipeg for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with five games remaining.
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
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely