SUNDAY SPORTS

BRIER:  Team Canada’s John Morris will face Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs in Sunday’s final of the Canadian men’s curling championship.

Canada beat Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador 8-6 in Saturday’s semifinal at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Canada edged Saskatchewan’s Steve Laycock 8-7 in an extra end in Saturday’s earlier playoff game between the third and fourth seeds.

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WHL:  The Regina Pats split their weekend road swing into Alberta.  Following a 6-4 win at Edmonton Friday, the Queen City Kids followed it up with a 5-3 loss in Red Deer Saturday evening.

The Rebels used goals from five different scorers while Regina’s offense came from Colby Williams, Chase Harrison and Braden Christoffer.  Regina was outshot 34-26 as goalkeeper Tyler Brown took the loss.

Regina (35-21-5-4) visits the P.A. Raiders on Tuesday The Pats’ next home game is Saturday, March 14 when they welcome the Moose Jaw Warriors on 620 CKRM.

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NHL:  The Montreal Canadiens increased their Eastern Conference lead to two points over Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders by salvaging the final game of their West Coast trip, 2-0 over Arizona Saturday night. Carey Price turned back all 29 shots he faced for his seventh shutout. The Habs finished 1-3 on their West Coast swing.

Lars Eller broke a scoreless tie with his 10th goal midway through the second period. Brendan Gallagher added an empty-net goal with 1.5 seconds left, his 19th of the season.

In other NHL action:

– Jonathan Huberdeau scored the deciding shootout goal to lift the Florida Panthers over the New York Islanders 4-3.

– The Nashville Predators’ late-season slide continues. Winnipeg beat the Predators 3-1, handing Nashville its sixth straight loss.

– Jarome Iginla, Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene scored in the first 10 minutes, and Semyon Varlamov made 44 saves to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-0 victory over Columbus.

– Alex Ovechkin returned from a one-game absence to score his league-leading 44th goal, and the Washington Capitals routed the Buffalo Sabres 6-1.

– Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman scored early third-period goals, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied to beat the Dallas Stars 5-4.

– St. Louis embarrassed Toronto 6-1. Victor Tarasenko scored his 32nd goal, and added an assist.

– In the lone day game, the Bruins edged the Flyers 3-2 as Brad Marchand scored the tying goal and game-winner for the home team. Marchand sent it to OT with 14.1 seconds left in regulation and scored the winning goal with 1:08 to play in overtime. The Bruins are 4-1-1 in their last six games after going 0-4-2 in their previous six games.

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MLB SPRING TRAINING:  Rangers ace Yu Darvish might require season-ending Tommy John surgery after an MRI exam revealed partially torn ligaments in his troublesome right elbow. Texas general manager Jon Daniels says Darvish could try to pitch through the injury, rest for up to four months or undergo surgery. Daniels said the club would get a second opinion this weekend but indicated that surgery may be the preferred option.

– Washington Nationals second baseman Yunel Escobar has a strained side and will be sidelined seven to 10 days. Manager Matt Williams says the team will be cautious about the injury and adds he anticipates Escobar returning to spring training games and being ready for opening day.

– All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy of the Mets is listed as day to day after X-rays on his right hand came back negative. Murphy was hit on the hand by a David Price fastball in the second inning against Detroit on Friday and says it is unlikely he’ll swing a bat until Sunday at the earliest.

– Blue Jays reliever Brett Cecil has an inflamed shoulder but is expected to resume throwing next week. Cecil is entering his seventh season with the Blue Jays and is bidding to become their closer. The left-hander missed a scheduled appearance Friday against Baltimore because of a tender shoulder and he requested a precautionary MRI and was encouraged by the results.

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NFL:  The Cowboys have re-signed right tackle Doug Free to a three-year deal worth $15 million, with $6 million guaranteed. The 31-year old was a key part of the offensive line that blocked for NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray last season.

Free, who had off-season surgery on his left ankle but should be ready for training camp, started at left tackle for two seasons before switching to the right side in 2012. He took a pay cut to stay with Dallas last season.

(AP/CP)