The Boston Bruins advanced to the second round of playoffs for the first time since 1999, brushing aside the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Wednesday to sweep their best-of-seven series.
Former Canadien Michael Ryder scored twice to help the top-seeded Bruins end a stretch of five straight playoff series defeats — three of them at the hands of the Canadiens.
“It’s definitely a good feeling to beat your old team here in Montreal and make it the last one,” Ryder, a free agent signing by Boston, told reporters. “I kind of actually forgot about what happened last year. I’m a Bruin now and it’s a lot of fun.”
Tim Thomas had 26 saves in the triumph while David Krejci and Philip Kessel completed the scoring for Boston to clinch the 4-0 series victory.
FLAMES 6, BLACKHAWKS 4
At Calgary, Alberta, Eric Nystrom scored off a rebound with 6:56 remaining as Calgary to bear Chicago and even the best-of-seven series 2-2.
Nystrom also had two assists, Olli Jokinen scored the first two goals of his playoff career, Jarome Iginla completed a two-goal game with an empty-netter, and Adrian Aucoin added a goal for the Flames, 4-2 winners Monday night at home after dropping the first two games in Chicago.
Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg, Cam Barker and Samuel Pahlsson scored for Chicago.
Game 5 is tomorrow night in Chicago.
RANGERS 2, CAPITALS 1
In New York, Henrik Lundqvist made 38 saves as the New York Rangers put the favored Washington Capitals on the brink of elimination from the playoffs with a 2-1 victory.
Lundqvist, who had a 1-0 win in Game 2, was on top of his game all night as the Capitals controlled play from the second period to the end — outshooting New York 39-21. But it’s the Rangers who hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Paul Mara staked the Rangers to the lead with 6:05 left in the first period, scoring just the second goal against Simeon Varlamov, the Russian rookie who has stopped 75 of 78 shots since taking over for Jose Theodore after New York’s 4-3 win in Game 1.
Chris Drury added his first goal of the series for the seventh-seeded Rangers.
Varlamov got Washington back into the series with a 4-0 win on Monday but now the Capitals — the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference — could be out of the playoffs today when they host Game 5.
Alex Ovechkin scored for Washington early in the third period.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
RSS