GOOD FRIDAY SPORTSBREAK

The San Jose Sharks coughed up a big lead, but still held off the L.A. Kings for a 6-3 victory in Game 1 of their playoff series Thursday evening. Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s power-play goal late in the second period gave San Jose a 5-nothing lead by the second intermission. But Los Angeles reeled off three goals in the third to make it 5-3. Brett Burns scored into an open nets for the Sharks to make it 6-3.

—

The St. Louis Blues won a marathon series opener against Chicago. Alex Steen scored 26 seconds into the third overtime as the Blues beat the Blackhawks 4-3 to take Game 1. It was the longest overtime in Blues’ franchise history. They meet again Saturday afternoon.

—

Paul Stastny saved the Colorado Avalanche all on his own in Game 1. Stastny tied the game against Minnesota with 14 seconds left in regulation then scored again in overtime as the Avs stunned the Wild 5-4. Minnesota led 4-2 going into the third before Colorado rallied.

—

The power play paid off in the third period for New York. The Rangers went ahead with goals by Brad Richards and Derek Stepan en route to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1. Henrik Lundqvist stopped only 14 shots for the Rangers while Flyers backup Ray Emery was far busier with 32 saves.

—

Giving the ball to the bullpen backfired against the Blue Jays. The Twins trailed 5-1 before Toronto issued eight walks off three relievers in the eighth inning. Minnesota also scored three straight runs on wild pitches to shock the Jays 9-5. The win came after the Twins shut out the Jays 7-0 in the first game of the doubleheader.

—

Still with baseball, the New York Yankees turned a triple play against Tampa Bay en route to a 10-2 win. Boston’s Jon Lester outduelled Chris Sale in the Red Sox 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. St. Louis shutout Washington 8-0, Pittsburgh slammed Milwaukee 11-2 and Colorado beat San Diego 3-1.

—

Former NFL star Chad Johnson will make his return to the gridiron in the Canadian Football League.

The veteran receiver signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday after impressing team brass at a minicamp in Vero Beach, Fla.

“Chad Johnson did an outstanding job the last three days,” Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said in a release. “As we added him into the mix, it was to see how he communicated with the players, how he held himself, the way he physically held up, his true interest in coming to the CFL.

“It was a total evaluation so that it’s a good fit. He was very happy and very excited to be on the field again and we are happy to welcome him to the Alouettes.”

Johnson, who once changed his last name to Ochocinco, spent most of his 11 NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. In 166 career games, the six-time Pro Bowler caught 766 passes for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns.

The six-foot-one 188-pounder last appeared in an NFL game during the 2011 season with New England. He was in training camp with the Miami Dolphins _ his hometown team _ the following summer, but his contract was terminated one day after he was charged with misdemeanour domestic battery.

A plea deal was eventually worked out, but after a probation violation Johnson wound up going to jail for a few days anyway after a judge objected to the way he slapped his lawyer on the backside in celebration.

Montreal already has a solid core of receivers in Duron Carter, S.J. Green and Jamel Richardson. However, the team did release receiver Arland Bruce in the off-season.

The Alouettes will hold a training camp in June and then open their regular season at Calgary on June 28.

(Canadian Press)