Dave Bolland’s go-ahead goal in the second period helped the Chicago Blackhawks secure a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators in a Central Division match-up on Sunday.
Dustin Byfuglien scored in the opening period and Martin Havlat delivered an empty-netter with 10 seconds remaining for Chicago, who avenged Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Predators in Nashville with their first win in three games.
Martin Erat tallied for Nashville 11:03 into the first period, two minutes after Byfuglien scored on a powerplay for Chicago. Nikolai Khabibulin made 26 saves for the Blackhawks.
“The last couple of games we didn’t have good starts or first periods,” Khabibulin told reporters.
“Whether it’s mentally or physically, we were a little flat. Coming back home we really wanted to have a good start and use the fans to our advantage,” added Khabibulin, who improved his record on home ice to 7-0-3.
“It wasn’t a pretty game, but we accomplished what we needed to,” he said.
The difference between the Blackhawks’ play on Saturday and Sunday was the team’s attitude, said the Predators’ J.P. Dumont.
“The Blackhawks were a lot more physical,” Dumont said. “They are a very skilled team, and they came out more determined.”
Byfuglien, who scored his power-play goal from the top of the left circle, said the team had realized it needed to refocus.
“We were in a little slump and we got down on ourselves and got away from our game plan,” he said. “We got back into it [on Sunday night] and got on the puck and did our job.”
OILERS 2, BLUES 1
At Edmonton, Alberta, Sam Gagner scored the winning goal and set up another, while Dwayne Roloson made 21 saves in Edmonton’s victory over St Louis.
Gilbert Brule also scored and Ryan Potulny had two assists in his first game for the Oilers. Potulny was called up from Springfield of the second-tier American Hockey League on Sunday to replace Zach Stortini, placed on injured reserve after sustaining a lower-body injury Friday in a fight with San Jose’s Brad Staubitz.
DUCKS 4, DEVILS 3
At Anaheim, California, Chris Kunitz scored twice in the third period for Anaheim, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 18 saves for his first win since Dec. 14.
Bobby Ryan and Samuel Pahlsson also scored for Anaheim. Corey Perry assisted on both of Kunitz’s goals in his return after a four-game suspension for elbowing Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux in the head on Jan. 2.
‘SU-PENKO’: Hsieh and Ostapenko face a rematch against their Australian Open final opponents, the same duo Hsieh played in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday survived a near upset to the unseeded duo of Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, setting up a semi-final showdown against last year’s winners. Despite losing a hard-fought opening set 7-6 (7/4) on a tiebreak, the fourth seeds turned up the heat, losing just five games in the final two sets to handily put down Cirstea and Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. Nicknamed “Su-Penko,” the pair are next to face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in a reversal of last
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and her Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko finished runners-up in the Wimbledon women's doubles final yesterday, losing 6-3, 2-6, 4-6. The three-set match against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium lasted two hours and 23 minutes. The loss denied 39-year-old Hsieh a chance to claim her 10th Grand Slam title. Although the Taiwanese-Latvian duo trailed 1-3 in the opening set, they rallied with two service breaks to take it 6-3. In the second set, Mertens and Kudermetova raced to a 5-1 lead and wrapped it up 6-2 to even the match. In the final set, Hsieh and
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei and her Latvian partner, Jelena Ostapenko, advanced to the Wimbledon women’s doubles final on Friday, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in straight sets. The fourth-seeded duo bounced back quickly after losing their opening service game, capitalizing on frequent unforced errors by their opponents to take the first set 7-5. Maintaining their momentum in the second set, Hsieh and Ostapenko broke serve early and held their lead to close out the match 6-4. They are set to face the eighth-seeded pair of Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens
Outside Anfield, the red sea of tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, has continued to grow this week, along with questions over whether Liverpool could play at Preston today, their first game since the brothers’ tragic loss. Inside Anfield, and specifically a grieving Liverpool dressing room, there was no major debate over the pre-season friendly. The English Premier League champions intend to honor their teammate in the best way they know how. It would be only 10 days since the deaths of Jota and Silva when Liverpool appear at Deepdale Stadium for what is certain to be a hugely
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