Chicago on Sunday clinched their eighth straight playoff berth with a 3-2 win at slumping Vancouver, with Andrew Ladd scoring the go-ahead goal with 2 minutes, 27 seconds left.
Tomas Fleischmann and Teuvo Teravainen also scored, while Trevor van Riemsdyk had two assists for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Goaltender Scott Darling made 26 saves in his ninth victory of the season, filling in for regular starter Corey Crawford, who is not on this road trip due to an upper-body injury.
Photo: AP
Sven Baertschi and Alex Burrows scored for the Canucks, who have managed only seven goals during their eight-game losing skid. Emerson Etem had two assists, and Ryan Miller finished with 29 saves.
HURRICANES 3, DEVILS 2
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Victor Rask scored twice for the first multigoal game of his career to lead Carolina past New Jersey.
Rask, who has scored in three straight games, ended the Hurricanes’ skid of six consecutive games without a power-play goal when he connected in the first period.
He scored his 20th of the season early in the second to make it 3-0.
Ron Hainsey scored the other Carolina goal, and Cam Ward made 23 saves.
Bobby Farnham and Travis Zajac had the goals for New Jersey. Devils goalie Scott Wedgewood, playing in his fourth NHL game, stopped 20 shots.
PENGUINS 3, RANGERS 2, OT
In New York, Sidney Crosby scored on a deflection at 4 minutes, 30 seconds of overtime as surging Pittsburgh beat New York in a potential first-round playoff preview.
Matt Cullen and Phil Kessel also scored for the Penguins, who have won eight of nine. Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves.
Eric Staal scored twice for the Rangers, who had won three straight. Kevin Hayes and Jesper Fast assisted on both of Staal’s goals. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 shots.
Derick Brassard was called for high-sticking with 1.4 seconds left in regulation to give Pittsburgh a power play in the extra period. However, the Rangers killed it off before Kris Letang’s wrist shot from the point ricocheted in off Crosby in front.
Pittsburgh, third in the Metropolitan Division, moved within three points of the second-place Rangers and two ahead of the idle Islanders. The Penguins have a game in hand on the Rangers.
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