Chris Mason made 28 saves for his sixth shutout of the season, helping the St Louis Blues take the sixth playoff spot in the Western Conference with a 1-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday in the regular-season finale.
In the playoffs for the first time in five years, the Blues — with nine wins in their final 11 games, will face Vancouver in the opening round.
Brad Boyes scored the only goal of the game early in the first period.
PHOTO: AP
RANGERS 4, FLYERS 3
At Philadelphia, Sean Avery and Blair Betts scored third-period goals to lift New York, spoiling Philadelphia’s shot at home-ice advantage against Pittsburgh in its opening playoff series.
Brandon Dubinsky scored two goals for the Rangers, set to open the playoffs against Southeast Division champion Washington.
Dubinsky’s second goal was short-handed, wrecking Philadelphia’s shot at becoming the first team in NHL history to play an entire season without allowing one. The Flyers’ streak of 103 games without surrendering a short-handed goal was the longest since Montreal went 122 games from March 1975 to November 1976.
Jeff Carter scored his 46th goal to finish second behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (56) for the NHL lead. Danny Briere and Claude Giroux also scored.
BLACKHAWKS 3, RED WINGS 0
At Chicago, Nikolai Khabibulin made 37 saves for his 41st career shutout as the Blackhawks tuned up for their first playoff appearance in seven years by beating Detroit.
Andrew Ladd and Jonathan Toews scored first-period goal, and Dave Bolland converted on the power play in the third. Khabibulin has three shutouts this season. Chicago, a 4-2 winner over the Red Wings on Saturday in Detroit, was 6-0-1 in its final seven games and will open the playoffs against Calgary. Defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings will face Columbus in the first round.
BRUINS 6, ISLANDERS 2
At Uniondale, New York, Phil Kessel had three goals and an assist, and Tim Thomas made 32 saves for his 36th victory for Eastern Conference champion Boston.
Michael Ryder, Marc Savard and Chuck Kobasew also scored for the Bruins, who will face Montreal in the first round of the playoffs.
Radek Martinek and Doug Weight scored for New York. The Islanders finished last overall in the NHL, losing their last four games.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
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