Rookie Bobby Ryan scored two goals and Jonas Hiller made 31 saves in his second playoff shutout as the Anaheim Ducks rocked the top-seeded San Jose Sharks again, winning 4-0 on Thursday to take a 3-1 series lead.
Corey Perry had a late goal and an assist and Ryan Getzlaf added two assists for the Ducks, who emphatically moved within one game of becoming the eighth No. 8 seed to win an NHL playoff series since 1994.
Ryan scored twice in a 3:40 span of the second period, giving him four goals in the four-game series. Anaheim then clamped down on Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and the Sharks’ top scorers, making Hiller’s job relatively easy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Game five is tonight in San Jose, California.FLYERS 3, PENGUINS 0
At Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Arron Asham and Claude Giroux scored the first two goals as Philadelphia avoided elimination by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Thursday to force a sixth game in the NHL Eastern Conference first-round series. Martin Biron made 28 saves and Mike Knuble also scored for Philadelphia.
After winning 2-1 in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, the Penguins were in position to finish off the Flyers in game five on home ice for a second successive season.
Game six is scheduled for today in Philadelphia.
DEVILS 1, HURRICANES 0
At Newark, New Jersey, Martin Brodeur tied Patrick Roy’s NHL record for playoff shutouts, making 44 saves to help New Jersey beat Carolina and take a 3-2 series lead.
David Clarkson scored a power-play goal in helping Brodeur post his 23rd postseason shutout and win a great goaltending duel with Cam Ward, who stopped 41 shots.
Brodeur’s gem, which ended with the crowd shouting “Mar-tee! Mar-tee!” came just 48 hours after a 4-3 loss in game four on a controversial goal by Jussi Jokinen with less than a second to play.
Jokinen and Brodeur bumped in front of the crease seconds before the goal and Brodeur felt the officials should have blown the play dead.
Game six is scheduled to be played tomorrow at Carolina.
RED WINGS 6, BLUE JACKETS 5
At Columbus, Ohio, Johan Franzen scored on a power play with 46.6 seconds left to give Detroit a first-round sweep over St Louis.
The call that led to the man advantage was hotly disputed by the Blue Jackets, who were assessed a bench minor for having too many men on the ice.
Marian Hossa had two goals, Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom each had a goal and an assist and Daniel Cleary also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings.
Rick Nash, Kristian Huselius and Kris Russell each had a goal and an assist and R.J. Umberger and Fredrik Modin also scored for Columbus.
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday said that she hoped she would be able to play tennis under the Belarusian flag after the International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on the country’s athletes competing in the Olympics. World No. 1 Sabalenka has had to compete under a neutral banner as a consequence of her country’s support for Russia following its ally’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC earlier on Thursday lifted its ban on Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics, although restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place. Asked whether the women’s tour would drop the ban on her representing her country, Sabalenka said:
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