Matt Duchene on Friday had a goal and three assists as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated hosts Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1, taking a stunning 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Tampa Bay lost each of their first two games of the best-of-seven series at home after tying the NHL single-season record for wins (62).
Nikita Kucherov, who led the NHL with 128 points this season, was held pointless and had just three shots on goal.
Photo: AP
Kucherov’s frustration was apparent, as he was assessed a minor penalty for tripping, a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for an incident involving Columbus’ Markus Nutivaara with 4 minutes, 26 seconds remaining.
The Lightning star was to have a hearing yesterday with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety to discuss that hit.
Per the NHL, boarding is the grounds on which the league is considering additional discipline — which could include a suspension.
ISLANDERS 3, PENGUINS 1
Jordan Eberle and Josh Bailey scored fewer than four minutes apart in the third period of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarter-finals for New York, who beat Pittsburgh in Uniondale, New York.
The Islanders, who have home-ice advantage for the first time since 1988, hold a 2-0 series lead for the first time since they swept the Edmonton Oilers in the 1983 Stanley Cup.
The Penguins are down 0-2 in a series for the first time since being swept by the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals.
BLUES 4, JETS 3
Ryan O’Reilly’s goal early in the third period was the game-winner as visiting St Louis beat Winnipeg to claim both road games in the Manitoba capital and stake a 2-0 lead in their opening-round Western Conference playoff series.
With the score tied in the third period in a back-and-forth affair, O’Reilly raced up the ice and used the defenseman as a screen when he shot from the right face-off dot and hit the mark on the stick side at the 3 minute, 46 second mark of the final frame.
Taking a lead for the third time was the charm for the Blues.
Oskar Sundqvist scored twice for St Louis, who also got a goal from Patrick Maroon.
Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler scored for Winnipeg.
KNIGHTS 5, SHARKS 3
Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist, and William Karlsson and Colin Miller each scored short-handed goals to lead Vegas past hosts San Jose to even their first-round Western Conference playoff series at 1-1.
Mark Stone and Cody Eakin also scored goals, and Paul Stastny added two assists for Vegas.
Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 34 saves for his 76th career playoff win, one behind Mike Vernon for seventh all-time.
Logan Couture had a goal and an assist, Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl also scored goals, and Erik Karlsson had two assists for San Jose, who finished just 1-8 on the power play.
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