Wednesday Sports: Jays Win Again, Hockey Round-Up
Photo: Blue Jays
MLB
Bo Bichette hit a two-run homer and Chris Bassitt threw a solid 6-and-two-thirds innings as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners 5-3 on Tuesday at Rogers Centre. Bichette went deep off Seattle starter George Kirby in Toronto’s three-run third inning. The Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the fourth en route to securing their first series win of the season. The 6-and-6 Jays look to sweep the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon.
NBA
Tyrese Haliburton scored 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists to lead the visiting Indiana Pacers past the Toronto Raptors 140-123 in NBA action. Former Raptors all-star Pascal Siakam received a warm welcome from fans before scoring 16 points as Indiana won its third straight. R-J Barrett of Mississauga, Ontario, had 23 points for the Raptors, who had already been eliminated from the post-season picture.
NHL
Kyle Connor scored at 1:52 of overtime to give the visiting Winnipeg Jets a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators. Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists and netminder Connor Hellebuyck made a season-high 45 saves for the Jets, who have won four in a row. With the overtime loser point, the Predators clinched a playoff spot. The Preds have reached the post-season in nine of the last 10 years.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Tuesday:
PANTHERS 2 SENATORS 0
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Stolarz stopped 25 shots and had an assist, Anton Lundell and Nick Cousins scored, and the Florida Panthers shut out the Ottawa Senators for the third time this season with a 2-0 victory on Tuesday night.
CAPITALS 2, RED WINGS 1
DETROIT (AP) — Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome scored a minute apart late in the second period, Charlie Lindgren finished with 42 saves and Washington held on to beat Detroit 2-1 in a matchup of teams vying for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, DEVILS 2
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Auston Matthews scored his 66th goal and inched closer to becoming the ninth player in NHL history to tally 70 in a season in leading Toronto’s victory over New Jersey, ending the disappointing Devils’ playoff hopes.
ISLANDERS 4, RANGERS 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat had a goal and an assist, Noah Dobson added two assists and the New York Islanders used a three-goal first period to propel them to a win against the Eastern-Conference leading New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
LIGHTNING 5, BLUE JACKETS 2
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos had three goals and an assist, NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov picked up his fourth straight three-point game with three assists, and playoff-bound Tampa Bay beat Columbus.
CANADIENS 9, FLYERS 3
MONTREAL (AP) — Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first career hat trick, and Montreal dealt stumbling Philadelphia their eighth straight defeat with a blowout win.
HURRICANES 4, BRUINS 1
BOSTON (AP) — Andrei Svechnikov opened the scoring with a lacrosse-style goal and Carolina beat Boston.
STARS 3, SABRES 2
DALLAS (AP) — Joe Pavelski scored the go-ahead goal on a deflection with his back to the net and playoff-bound Dallas got their 50th win of the season over Buffalo.
AVALANCHE 5, WILD 2
DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon notched his seventh career hat trick as part of a four-point performance, and Colorado broke out of a two-game funk with a win over the Minnesota.
DUCKS 3, KINGS 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Alex Killorn and Trevor Zegras scored in the third period, and Anaheim Ducks prevented the Los Angeles Kings from securing a playoff spot with a win.
KRAKEN 5, COYOTES 0
SEATTLE (AP) — Shane Wright scored 68 seconds into the first period for his fourth goal in four games since being called up from the AHL, Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves in his second shutout of the season, and Seattle beat Arizona.
FLAMES 3, SHARKS 2, OT
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Andrei Kuzmenko scored a power-play goal 2:58 into overtime and Calgary came back to beat San Jose.
SJHL PLAYOFFS (Round 2)
Flin Flon 5 Battlefords 1 (Bombers win series 4-0)
Humboldt 3 Melfort 2 3OT (Mustangs lead series 2-1)
WORLD WOMENS HOCKEY
The quarterfinal matchups for Thursday have been determined for the world women’s hockey championship in Utica, New York. Canada will play Sweden, the unbeaten United States will face Japan, Finland meets Switzerland, and Czechia plays Germany. All games will be played at the Adirondack Bank Center.
MARCH MADNESS TV
The women’s NCAA championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time, with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching undefeated South Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark. The Sunday afternoon game on ABC and ESPN outdrew Monday’s men’s final between UConn and Purdue by four million. The Huskies’ 75-60 victory averaged 14.82 million on TBS and TNT. The women’s final was the second most-watched non-Olympic women’s sporting event on U.S. television, trailing only the 2015 Women’s World Cup final between the United States and Japan.
MASTERS
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods is 48 and coping with injuries that limit his practice and how often he can play. What he hasn’t lost is hope. Woods says he still thinks he can win the Masters and match Jack Nicklaus with a sixth green jacket. The evidence is stacked against him, most notably that he has played only 24 holes in one tournament this year. Woods has a chance this week to set the Masters record by making his 24th consecutive cut. Fred Couples currently shares the record and he says Woods isn’t thinking about that. Couples says Woods is playing to win.
(Canadian Press)
