The Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals staved off elimination to force game seven in their respective Eastern Conference playoff series with decisive victories on Sunday.
The Hurricanes stormed to a 4-0 triumph over the New Jersey Devils after the visiting Capitals had earlier defeated the New York Rangers 5-3.
Eric Staal scored twice and had an assist for the Hurricanes, while Ray Whitney scored once and assisted on three others and Cam Ward made 28 saves for a fired-up Carolina, who evened the series at 3-3.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Carolina blasted 15 shots at Devils netminder Martin Brodeur during the opening period, while New Jersey mustered only four.
Whitney scored midway through the period off assists by linemates Staal and Chad LaRose.
Then Staal struck twice within three minutes during the second period and Jussi Jokinen added a 5-on-3 clincher in the third as Carolina peppered Brodeur with 37 shots for the game.
Game seven of a see-saw series in which neither team has won consecutive contests is in New Jersey today.
In New York, former Rangers defenseman Tom Poti had a goal and three assists as Washington won its second consecutive game to tie the series at 3-3.
The second-seeded Capitals also had goals from two other defensemen, Mike Green and Milan Jurcina, while Russian forwards Viktor Kozlov and Alex Ovechkin also scored.
Scott Gomez, Ryan Callahan and Marc Staal responded for the Rangers.
Henrik Lundqvist, whose netminding enabled New York to take a 3-1 lead in the series, gave up five goals on 20 shots before being replaced.
Washington led 5-1 after two periods with New York scoring twice in the third. The Capitals host game seven today.
The Rangers played without coach John Tortorella, who was suspended for one game by the NHL after he threw a water bottle at a fan doused him in beer during game five in Washington. Assistant Jim Schoenfeld filled in.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS