FRIDAY SPORTS: ROUND OF 6, NHL TRADE DEADLINE & MORE

MONTANA’S BRIER

The field is set for the start of the playoffs on Friday at the Canadian men’s curling championship. Northwest Territories’ Jamie Koe, Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen, and defending champion Brad Gushue all advanced from Pool B. Meanwhile, Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers, Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher and Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone made it in from Pool A.

McEwen meets Bottcher and Gushue faces Carruthers on Friday afternoon. The winners head to Saturday’s Page playoff game that sends the victor to the final and the loser to the semifinal Sunday.

Friday afternoon’s losers play again in the evening against third seeds Koe and Dunstone. Those winners advance to Saturday’s Page playoff that determines Sunday’s other semifinalist.

NHL (12)

• The Carolina Hurricanes made the biggest splash in the league on the eve of the NHL trade deadline. Carolina acquired two-time 40-goal scorer Jake Guentzel in a blockbuster deal finalized Thursday night with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Guentzel was considered the top player available at the deadline.
• Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves and the Boston Bruins beat the weary Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Thursday night.
• Alex Ovechkin scored his 840th goal and added an assist to help Washington rout Pittsburgh 6-0.
• Thatcher Demko made 27 saves, Quinn Hughes, Phillip Di Giuseppe and Conor Garland scored and Western Conference-leading Vancouver beat Vegas 3-1.
• Garnet Hathaway scored off a rebound with 22 seconds left to lift Philadelphia past Florida 2-1.
• Matthew Olivier, Alex Nylander and Dmitri Vornkov scored in the first period and Columbus ended Edmonton’s winning streak at five, beating the Oilers 4-2.
• Bo Horvat opened New York’s four-goal, second-period burst with his 25th goal and the Islanders routed San Jose 7-2.
• Yegor Sharangovich had two goals and two assists, Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves and Calgary beat Tampa Bay 6-3 for its sixth victory in seven games.
• Joel Eriksson Ek broke a third-period tie with his 29th goal, Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves and Minnesota beat Arizona 5-2.
• Timo Meier scored three goals and added an assist on an empty-net goal by Erik Haula and New Jersey beat St. Louis 4-1, giving New Jersey interim coach Travis Green his first win since replacing Lindy Ruff r this week.
• Filip Forsberg scored three goals for his ninth career hat trick, leading Nashville past Buffalo 4-2.
• Kevin Fiala scored on a spinning backhander two minutes into overtime to lift Los Angeles past Ottawa 4-3 for its third victory in four games.
• Brady Skjei scored two goals, Frederik Andersen made 24 saves after a four-month absence and Carolina beat Montreal 4-1.

MLB

Kevin Kiermaier and Daniel Vogelbach each homered as the Toronto Blue Jays took command early and held on for a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers in pre-season action on Thursday. Vogelbach’s home run in the fifth inning gave the Blue Jays a 5-1 lead. The Blue Jays next face the New York Yankees on Friday in Dunedin, Fla.

NBA

Kevin Durant scored 35 points, Grayson Allen added 26 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Toronto Raptors 120-113. Bradley Beal had 20 points and eight assists for the Suns, who never trailed. Gary Trent Junior led Toronto with 30 points, while R-J Barrett scored 23. Immanuel Quickley added 21 points and 18 assists.

NFL

Another NFL free agency period is about to begin but buyers should beware that signing other teams’ veterans comes with plenty of risk. Some veterans will test the open market only to come back and re-sign with their old team. Every general manager in the league has a topflight player or two that he wants to keep from calling the moving trucks.

(Canadian Press)