Barry Melrose got his first win as Tampa Bay coach when Vincent Lecavalier scored a power-play goal with 3:19 left in overtime to lift the Lightning to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday night.
Lecavalier scored from near the low slot off a pass from Martin St. Louis.
Melrose’s first season with the Lightning started with five losses, including three in overtime or a shootout. It’s also his first NHL win since 1995 when he was coaching the Los Angeles Kings.
PHOTO: AP
FLAMES 2, CAPITALS 1
At Calgary, Alberta, Jarome Iginla scored and Matthew Lombardi put the Flames ahead for good in the second period to help Calgary to its first win over Washington since 1999.
Sergei Fedorov scored for Washington, which lost in regulation for the first time since the season opener. Fedorov’s goal was No. 473 of his career, tying him with Alexander Mogilny for most career NHL goals by a Russian-born player.
Miikka Kiprusoff made 30 saves for the Flames, who went 0-6-2 against the Caps since March 13, 1999.
BLUE JACKETS 4, CANUCKS 2
At Columbus, Ohio, Derek Dorsett got his first NHL goal and Rick Nash scored into an empty net.
Nash assisted on Kristian Huselius’ goal and Jason Chimera also scored for Columbus, which improved to 2-0 at home. Rookie Jake Voracek had two assists.
Pascal Leclaire made 24 saves — several during a penalty kill late in the third period — in his return after missing one game with a bruised hand.
Kyle Wellwood, called up to the injury-riddled Canucks before the game, had a goal and an assist and Kevin Bieksa also scored for Vancouver, which lost its third straight to finish a six-game road trip 2-4.
SABRES 3, BRUINS 2, SO
At Buffalo, New York, Thomas Vanek scored the decisive shootout goal and Ryan Miller stopped four of five chances to cap the Buffalo Sabres’ come-from-behind victory.
Drew Stafford and Clarke MacArthur scored in regulation in helping Buffalo improve to 5-0-1.
After Stafford and Boston’s David Krejci traded shootout goals, Vanek scored with a nifty move. Driving to the net, he faked a shot and let the puck float at his skates for a second, before beating Manny Fernandez on the glove side.
The game ended when Marc Savard failed on his attempt to force a sixth round of the shootout when the puck rolled off his stick while making a move in front of Miller.
DUCKS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2, SO
At Toronto, Francois Beauchemin and George Parros scored for Anaheim and Toronto coach Ron Wilson’s gamble on Curtis Joseph in the shootout came up empty.
Nik Antropov scored both goals for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three shootouts already this season.
Wilson inserted Joseph for the shootout after Vesa Toskala played the entire game, but the move didn’t pay off. Anaheim’s Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne beat Joseph for the win.
With the Leafs down 2-1, Antropov scored with 52.8 seconds left in the third period to force overtime.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
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