The Toronto Maple Leafs ended the Ottawa Senators’ 11-game winning streak with a stunning 5-0 victory on Saturday.
Newly acquired netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere recorded his second shutout in as many games for the Leafs, making 30 saves.
Giguere, who was traded from Anaheim yesterday, had blanked the New Jersey Devils 3-0 on Tuesday.
“It doesn’t even look like he’s trying,” Leafs coach Ron Wilson told reporters. “He makes every save look easy. Which means your guys are thinking, oh we’re doing everything right, which just breeds confidence.”
Phil Kessel and Luke Schenn both scored twice for Toronto, who have the worst record in the Northeast Division, 21 points behind second-ranked Ottawa.
The victory came on an emotional night for the Leafs, who honored general manager Brian Burke’s late son Brendan before the game. Brendan, 21, was killed in a car crash on Friday.
■KINGS VS RED WINGS
AFP, LOS ANGELES
Michal Handzus scored two goals as Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Saturday, giving the Kings a franchise record nine consecutive wins.
Handzus, who will play for Slovakia in the upcoming Olympics, Russian Alexander Frolov and Ryan Smyth of Canada all scored in the second for the Kings who surpassed the eight-game winning streaks established by Wayne Gretzky’s 1991 to 1992 Kings’ team and the 1972 to 1973 team.
Kings red-hot goalie Jonathan Quick made 20 saves for his league leading 34th victory.
Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals for the Red Wings who lost for the ninth time in 12 games.
Swedish Olympic forward Tomas Holmstrom injured his left leg late in the first period and did not return to the game for Detroit.
■SHARKS VS PREDATORS
AP, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
The San Jose Sharks maintained their lead atop the NHL’s Western Conference with a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
In other NHL play, it was:
• Blackhawks 2, Blues 1
• Stars 4, Coyotes 0
• Canadiens 5, Penguins 3
• Rangers 3, Devils 1
• Canucks 3, Bruins 2, SO
• Blue Jackets 4, Sabres 0
• Lightning 2, Flames 1
• Wild 2, Flyers 1
• Thrashers 4, Panthers 2
• Avalanche 3, Oilers 0
• Hurricanes 3, Islanders 1
His nickname might mean “Little Gabriel,” but even though he is just 1.21m tall, Gabriel dos Santos Araujo is a giant of Paralympic swimming. “My name is Gabrielzinho and I’m going for three gold medals at the Paris Paralympics,” the smiling 22-year-old Brazilian said, before receiving a kiss on the forehead from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at an official ceremony last month in Brasilia. Gabrielzinho’s objective at the Paralympics, which opens on Wednesday, is to upgrade from the two golds and one silver he won at the Tokyo Games three years ago. When he is not doing
BACK ON COURT: After arriving on court in a brightly colored outfit with a giant bow, Osaka stunned Ostapenko to record her first top-10 win in four years Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday survived US Open first-round wobbles to stay on course for a semi-final showdown, while two-time champion Naomi Osaka made a tearful and colorful return to Flushing Meadows. World No. 1 Sinner fought back from a set and break down to defeat 140th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald in his first match since being embroiled in a doping test controversy. Italian Sinner battled to a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win over American opponent McDonald at Arthur Ashe Stadium, racing away with 18 of the last 22 games. The 23-year-old was returning to action just a week after it was revealed
NOT THIS YEAR: Teams from Taiwan have won 17 titles at the tournament, second only to the US with 30. This year was the nation’s first championship game since 2009 Taiwan fell just short in Sunday’s championship game of the Little League World Series (LLWS) in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, losing 2-1 to Florida. Despite the defeat, it was still the best finish for Taiwan at the LLWS since Taoyuan’s Guishan Little League, the country’s representative again this year, lost the 2009 championship game 6-3 to California. Entering Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Sunday on a five-game winning streak in Williamsport, Guishan took an early lead in the opening frame on an RBI single by Hu Yen-chun. However, Guishan failed to extend the margin as its players struggled at the plate, tallying only five
HISTORIC GAME: Taiwan, which have claimed the title 17 times, more than any other international team, have a chance to win it for the first time since 1996 Taiwan could not get much going at the plate on Saturday. However, the way starter Lai Cheng-ci was pitching, it did not matter. Lai struck out 12 batters and allowed just three hits in 5-1/3 innings as Taiwan beat Venezuela 4-1 to advance to the Little League World Series (LLWS) championship. “He’s the ace pitcher for the team and he shows leadership,” manager Lee Cheng-ta said through an interpreter. “He’s calm and he works hard, so every time we’ve had an important game he’s always the one to be carrying the responsibility.” Taiwan also managed only three hits, but collected eight walks and