Friday Sports: Oilers On The Brink

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS (Round 2)

CANUCKS 3, OILERS 2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — J.T. Miller scored with 33 seconds remaining to lead Vancouver to a victory over Edmonton that put them a win away from the Western Conference Final.

Carson Soucy and Phillip Di Giuseppe both scored in their returns to the lineup for Vancouver, which will try to wrap up the series in Game 6 on Saturday in Edmonton. Rookie Arturs Silovs made 21 saves for the Canucks.

With the game tied at 2, Vancouver’s Pius Suter fired a shot from near the boards and it bounced off the skate of teammate Elias Pettersson in front of the net and hit the post. Miller picked it up and batted it in for the go-ahead goal, his third of the playoffs.

Evander Kane and Mattias Janmark scored for the Oilers, who got 32 saves from Calvin Pickard.

RANGERS 5 HURRICANES 3

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Chris Kreider had a third-period hat trick to help the New York Rangers erase a two-goal deficit and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 6 on Thursday night to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

Kreider single-handedly erased the Hurricanes’ 3-1 lead entering the final period. The go-ahead score came when he got position on Jalen Chatfield at the top of the crease and tipped in Ryan Lindgren’s pass to make it 4-3 at the 15:41 mark.

That finally allowed the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers to put away the Hurricanes, who had won two straight after falling into a 3-0 hole in the best-of-7 series. The Hurricanes appeared on the verge of forcing a Game 7 for a pressure-packed finale, but couldn’t contain Kreider and the Rangers’ surge in the final 14 minutes.

• The Boston Bruins can force a Game 7 in their second-round series against the Florida Panthers Friday night at TD Garden. Boston trails Florida three games to two after staying alive with a 2-1 win in Game 5 on Tuesday. In the West, the Dallas Stars look to clinch their spot in the conference final as they visit the Colorado Avalanche. Dallas leads the series 3-2.

PWHL

Toronto hosts Minnesota in a winner-take-all Game 5 in the Professional Women’s Hockey League playoffs. Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinal, but Minnesota stormed back with two wins of its own to tie things up. Claire Butorac scored in double overtime in a 1-0 Minnesota win Wednesday. The series winner takes on Boston in the Walter Cup final.

MLB

Chris Bassitt takes the mound as the Toronto Blue Jays open a three-game weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre. Toronto ranks last in the American League East with a 19-and-23 record this season.

CFL

• Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly has formally withdrawn from the CFL club’s training camp. Kelly made the announcement Thursday in a statement provided to The Canadian Press. The CFL’s outstanding player last year wants to digest the findings of the league-mandated investigation that figured prominently in his suspension for both Toronto’s exhibition games and at least nine regular-season contests. Kelly said he wants to “work to earn both reinstatement in the CFL and everyone’s trust.”
• Chris Streveler won’t be flying to football games in a luxury private plane this season, but he’s fine with that. The backup quarterback is grateful for the glitz and growth he experienced playing in the NFL, but also really pumped to return to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Streveler had a smile on his face at training camp this week as he talked about his football journey and being back on the team he won the 2019 Grey Cup with in his second CFL season.

NFL

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL is distancing itself from Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, saying “his views are not those of the NFL as an organization.” Butker served as the commencement speaker at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts school, last week and said most of the women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having children. The NFL says “Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

NBA PLAYOFFS (Round 2)

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 on Wednesday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 30 points in a triple-double, and Dallas beat Oklahoma City 104-92 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.

(Canadian Press)