The San Jose Sharks reclaimed the outright lead of the NHL Western Conference in some style, coming from behind to beat the Nashville Predators 8-5 on Thursday.
San Jose entered the third period trailing 4-2, but Joe Pavelski set up two goals to bring the Sharks level and then scored the go-ahead goal with a scintillating spin move.
Dany Heatley also scored twice and had an assist, while Manny Malhotra had a goal and two assists in the third period. Patrick Marleau scored his 40th goal, while Joe Thornton and Jay Leach also netted for San Jose, who recorded their third straight comeback win.
Patric Hornqvist and J.P. Dumont each scored twice for Nashville, while Colin Wilson added the other goal.
Flames 2, Senators 0
In Calgary, Alberta, Miikka Kiprusoff made 33 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and the 34th overall as Calgary downed Ottawa.
Jamal Mayers and Christopher Higgins scored for the Flames, who have won four straight to match seventh-placed Nashville with 77 points in the Western Conference playoff race.
Hurricanes 4, Penguins 3, OT
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Brian Pothier scored 23 seconds into overtime to lift Carolina over Pittsburgh.
Eric Staal and Ray Whitney had a goal and an assist each, while Zach Boychuk also scored for the Hurricanes, who remain last in the Southeast Division, but are on a hot run of form that has moved them to the fringes of playoff contention.
Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal and Bill Guerin scored for the Penguins, who had their post-Olympic winning streak snapped at four.
Avalanche 3, Panthers 0
In Denver, Colorado, Craig Anderson made 27 saves to move into a tie for the NHL shutout lead with seven, as Colorado beat Florida.
Anderson matched New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, Florida’s Tomas Vokoun and Phoenix’s Ilya Bryzgalov for the shutout lead. Vokoun made 28 saves for the Panthers.
Paul Stastny scored twice and Matt Hendricks also netted for Colorado, ending the Panthers’ winning trot at three.
Bruins 5, Flyers 1
In Philadelphia, Tuukka Rask made 31 saves to help Boston overcome Philadelphia.
Mark Recchi, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci scored second-period goals for the Bruins, while Blake Wheeler and Marco Sturm also scored.
Jeff Carter scored for the Flyers.
Red Wings 5, Wild 1
In Detroit, Michigan, Johan Franzen scored twice in the Red Wings’ win over Minnesota.
Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and two assists, while Jimmy Howard made 21 saves for Detroit. Tomas Holmstrom added a goal and an assist, and Drew Miller also scored.
Andrew Ebbett netted for Minnesota.
Blue Jackets 2, Thrashers 1
In Columbus, Ohio, the Blue Jackets weathered a late rally to defeat the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Thrashers, who lost their fourth in a row, had several good scoring chances after Johnny Oduya’s goal with 2 minutes, 21 seconds left, but Mathieu Garon made 28 saves, including several big stops in the final minute while Atlanta had two extra attackers.
Kristian Huselius had a goal and an assist, and R.J. Umberger also scored for the Blue Jackets.
Atlanta’s defeat clinched the Southeast Division title for the Washington Capitals.
Blues 2, Islanders 1, SO
In Uniondale, New York, surging St Louis notched their sixth victory in seven games, beating New York.
Patrik Berglund scored the tying goal for the Blues in the second period after Matt Moulson put New York ahead in the closing seconds of the first.
T.J. Oshie and Brad Boyes scored shootout goals for the Blues.
Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 3, OT
In Toronto, Phil Kessel scored in overtime and Viktor Stahlberg also had two goals to help Toronto defeat Tampa Bay. Tyler Bozak set up the winning goal and also scored in regulation.
Steven Stamkos, extending his points streak to 18 games, Kurtis Foster and Steve Downie scored for the Lightning.
Canadiens 5, Oilers 4, SO
In Montreal, the hosts took their winning streak to four games by edging Edmonton in a shootout.
Andrei Kostitsyn scored on Montreal’s fifth shootout attempt, while Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak turned aside five Oilers’ shots in the tiebreaker.
Sam Gagner, whose gave Edmonton their only lead at 2-1, lost control of the puck on the Oilers’ final attempt.
Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta, Travis Moen and Sergei Kostitsyn scored in regulation for the Canadiens.
Robert Nilsson, Andrew Cogliano and Shawn Horcoff also scored for Edmonton.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
Brandon Miller scored 18 points, LaMelo Ball had 17 and the Charlotte Hornets built a 47-point lead in the first half of a 150-95 rout against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. It was the second-biggest win in franchise history for the Hornets and their largest on the road. The Hornets bounced back from a pair of frustrating losses in a big way, having fallen to Toronto by one point and Indiana by two in their last two games. Charlotte pounded the NBA champion Thunder by 27 in Oklahoma City before those defeats, previously the Hornets’ most lopsided victory of the season. Tre
RSS