Friday Sports: Be-LEAF!

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS (Round 1)

• TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander scored twice, Joseph Woll made 22 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday night to force a seventh game in the first-round Eastern Conference series. Toronto has overcame a 3-1 series deficit, also staving off elimination with a 2-1 victory in overtime in Boston on Tuesday night, to send the series back to Boston for a winner-take-all finale Saturday night. The series winner will face the Florida Panthers. Jeremy Swayman stopped 24 shots for the Bruins, who also blew a 3-1 lead against the Florida Panthers last year in the first round before losing in Game 7 following a record-setting regular season. Morgan Geekie spoiled Woll’s shutout bid with 0.1 seconds left.
• The Canucks need just one win tonight to book their ticket into the second round of the NHL playoffs. Vancouver carries a 3-2 lead in its best-of-seven opening-round series into Nashville against the Predators. The Canucks fell 2-1 on Tuesday with a chance to take the series in five games. Elsewhere, Dallas looks to earn a backdoor sweep against Vegas in Game 6.

WHL WEST CONFERENCE FINAL

Koehn Ziemmer scored two goals and had an assist as the Prince George Cougars avoided elimination with an emphatic 6-1 win over the Portland Winterhawks on Thursday in Western Hockey League playoff action.

Hunter Laing, Ondrej Becher, Borya Valis and Keaton Dowhaniuk also scored for Prince George. Joshua Ravensbergen made 25 saves.

The Cougars are now down 3-2 in the best-of-seven third-round series. Game 6 will be Monday at CN Centre in Prince George, B.C., with the winner of the series heading to the WHLfinals.

Gabe Klassen scored the game’s opening goal at 7:03 of the first period for Portland, which got 31 stops from Jan Spunar.

Ziemmer’s two goals in the opening frame kick-started a run of six unanswered goals for the Cougars, capped by Dowhaniuk at 13:30 of the third period.

MLB

The Toronto Blue Jays are in Washington to open a three-game series against the Nationals, aiming to snap a two-game skid. Toronto dropped the final two of three games at home against Kansas City earlier in the week, falling to 15-and-17 on the season. Yusei Kikuchi will start on the mound for the Jays, while the Nationals counter with Patrick Corbin.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

• ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia’s Kirby Smart has agreed to a contract extension that makes him the highest-paid coach in college football with an annual salary of $13 million. Smart surpasses Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, who is set to make $11 million in 2024. Smart gets a bump in salary of $1.75 million annually as part of the deal, which ties him to the Bulldogs through 2033. He could also receive up to $1.55 million per year in bonuses based on the new 12-team playoff structure, an increase from $1.3 million under the previous terms. Athletic director Josh Brooks got an extension that raises his salary to $1.275 million annually.
• SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — With the expanded College Football Playoff locked in through 2031, questions still remain about what the rest of the postseason will look like. One thing is certain, there will still be bowls. Nick Carparelli, the executive director of the organization that represents bowls games, a more professionalized version of college football could quell players opting-out of bowls by tying compensation to postseason participation. He also said giving bowl organizers more freedom to make matchups could help create more compelling games.

NBA

• Josh Hart made a go-ahead three-pointer from the top of the arc with 24.4 seconds left, and the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-115 in Game 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Jalen Brunson had 41 points and 12 assists to lead the Knicks, who move on to face the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks are through to the second round in consecutive years for the first time since the post-seasons from 1992-2000.
• The Indiana Pacers gave themselves plenty to celebrate. Obi Toppin scored 21 points, T-J McConnell had 20 points and nine assists as the Pacers won a playoff series for the first time in a decade, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 120-98 in Game 6. The Pacers will face New York in their first Eastern Conference semifinal in a decade. Indiana’s milestone victory came exactly 30 years after it swept Orlando 3-0 to advance in the NBA playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

(Canadian Press)