Claude Giroux scored 23 seconds in, while Simon Gagne added a goal in his first game back with the Flyers as Philadelphia rolled to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
Wayne Simmonds gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead less than four minutes later and Gagne scored his first goal of the season in the second period, one day after being reacquired by the Flyers from the Los Angeles Kings.
Max Talbot stretched the advantage to 4-0 in the second, chasing goalie Braden Holtby to the bench just one day following his home shutout of Carolina.
Photo: Reuters
Ilya Bryzgalov made 23 saves and was in line for a shutout until Joel Ward tipped in his own deflection with 2 minutes, 9 seconds left to cut the Capitals’ deficit to 4-1.
Gagne had not scored since Nov. 17, 2011 — a span of 28 games.
Philipp Grubauer made his NHL debut in relief of Holtby and blanked the Flyers the rest of the way.
CANADIENS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 2
In Toronto, Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty and Brian Gionta scored third-period goals in Montreal’s win over Toronto.
Gallagher scored his sixth of the season 9:08 into the third to break a 2-2 tie. Pacioretty cemented the win with his sixth goal — and second of the game — at 14:26. Gionta added an empty-net tally with 2:26 left.
Pacioretty also scored in the second period, while defenseman Alexei Emelin got Montreal on the board in the first period. Carey Price made 21 saves for his 11th win.
Frazer McLaren and Clarke MacArthur scored for Toronto (12-9), who have won three straight at home.
This victory was payback for the Canadiens (13-4-3), who were routed by the Maple Leafs 6-0 in Montreal on Feb. 9. Since then, the Canadiens have gone 7-0-2.
Montreal outshot Toronto 40-23.
Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens made his eighth straight start and kept his club in the game, finishing with 35 saves.
KINGS 2, RED WINGS 1
In Los Angeles, Anze Kopitar scored the tiebreaking goal on a slick pass from Dwight King with 4:48 to play as Los Angeles rallied from a third-period deficit against Detroit for their fifth straight victory.
Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who tied it with 9:34 left on Jeff Carter’s goal during a two-man advantage. King then made a spinning pass from the boards in front to Kopitar, who beat Jimmy Howard for his sixth goal of the season.
Howard stopped 27 shots for the Red Wings, who had won two straight after an 0-3-2 skid.
Kyle Quincey scored his first goal of the season on a misplay by Bernier in the first period.
Los Angeles are on their longest winning streak of the season, winning seven of eight overall after a 3-5-2 start to their title defense.
DUCKS 5, PREDATORS 1
In Anaheim, California, Kyle Palmieri ended a 10-game goal drought with his first NHL hat-trick. Viktor Fasth made 20 saves as Anaheim beat Nashville for their seventh straight home victory.
Nick Bonino and Saku Koivu also scored for Anaheim. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf assisted on all three goals by Palmieri, who had not scored since netting back-to-back game-winners on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 against Minnesota and Los Angeles.
Palmieri completed his outburst against Pekka Rinne 1:07 into the second period, during a power play after Nashville had too many men on the ice.
Anaheim (14-3-1) tied Montreal for the second-most points in the NHL behind Chicago’s 35. The Ducks have won seven of eight overall.
Rinne gave up five goals on 21 shots before he was replaced at the start of the third period. He has allowed at least four goals in three consecutive games.
Craig Smith scored Nashville’s goal.
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38