The magical 16-game winning streak of the Columbus Blue Jackets ended one shy of matching the NHL record for consecutive wins, but coach John Tortorella was understandably proud of his club.
“I just addressed the team. I usually don’t go in the room, win or lose. All year long I haven’t been in there, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t,” Tortorella said after Thursday’s 5-0 shutout at the hands of the Washington Capitals. “That is one hell of a run by a hockey team. They should feel really good about it.”
It was the first loss by Columbus since Nov. 26, as the Washington shutout notched by goaltender Braden Holtby preserved the Pittsburgh Penguins’ record of 17 in a row registered in 1993.
Photo: AP
“We played well, we couldn’t find a way on Holtby. Made some great saves at key times and then we kind of lost ourselves,” Tortorella said. “I’m proud of the team. We’re a good hockey team. They’ll get a day off tomorrow and we’ll get whackin’ at it again against New York [Rangers] the next day.”
Holtby, last year’s Vezina trophy winner as the NHL’s best goalie, saved all 29 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season.
“It took a performance like Holtby’s to knock us off,” Columbus captain Nick Foligno told reporters. “We had chances, glorious chances that we seemed to shoot into him, or even shots that were through screens and he just swallowed them up. Credit to him, he played outstanding tonight.”
The Blue Jackets slipped to 27-6-4, but can take pride in rocketing to the best record in the league during their hot streak.
Washington improved to 24-9-5.
“That’s very impressive, the streak,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “In this day and age that is very impressive.”
After a pair of Capitals goals in each of the first two periods at the Verizon Center in Washington, Justin Williams capped the scoring at 5 minutes, 36 seconds of the third period when he fired over Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky’s shoulder from a tough angle.
“I wanted to stop the streak,” Williams said. “Who wouldn’t want to stop a streak? I’m lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it.”
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
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
A soccer jersey carrying a national map including disputed Western Sahara has become a hot commodity in Morocco after a diplomatic dispute with Algeria. Retailers said RS Berkane jerseys have been flying off the shelves after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match against Algerian club USM Alger was canceled last month over the jerseys. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” said Brahim Rabii, representative of the official RS Berkane jersey distributor. Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue of Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco, but claimed
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just