New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist earned his 46th NHL shutout to help his team to a 2-0 win over Washington on Wednesday, ending a run of three games without a win.
Brad Richards helped set up goals by Ryan Callahan and John Moore, and Lundqvist made 22 saves.
The Capitals were unable to produce much of a scoring threat, even with their formidable power play and three-time NHL MVP Alex Ovechkin, and fell to 2-5.
The Capitals have not scored a goal against Lundqvist since Game 5 of last season’s Eastern Conference quarter-finals, which the Rangers won in seven games.
Since then, Lundqvist has shut out New York for nine consecutive periods, stopping 86 straight shots.
Ovechkin, who leads the Caps with six goals, recorded a team-high seven shots, but continued to be frustrated by Lundqvist, who held him to one goal on 30 shots during last year’s playoff series.
In the day’s other game, Anaheim beat Calgary 3-2 to extend their best-ever start to a season.
Finn Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, while Dustin Penner and Kyle Palmieri scored first-period goals for the Ducks, who have won five of their first six games for the first time in the club’s two-decade history.
The Ducks have won 26 of their past 27 home games against Calgary.
The Flames have not won in Anaheim since Jan. 19, 2004, the longest drought for any Ducks opponent.
Lee Stempniak scored a short-handed goal and Jiri Hudler got credit for a deflected goal early in the third period for the Flames, who lost in regulation for the first time this season.
Anaheim goalie Victor Fasth recorded 33 saves, while Calgary goaltender Joey MacDonald finished with 19 stops.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
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