SUNDAY SPORTS: CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY

MONTANA’S BRIER

Defending Brier champion Brad Gushue gained an express ticket to Sunday night’s championship game with a 7-3 playoff win over Brendan Bottcher of Alberta on Saturday at Regina’s Brandt Centre. Bottcher, the tournament’s top seed, dropped to Sunday’s semifinal to face Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen, who was a 6-5 winner over Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone. Gushue could become the first man to skip a team to six national titles.

NHL

• Alex Tuch scored the decisive shootout goal and the Buffalo Sabres overcame a two-goal deficit and a disallowed overtime goal in a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
• All-Star goalie Thatcher Demko left midway through the second period after stopping all 12 shots he faced in Vancouver’s 5-0 victory over Winnipeg. Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander and Pius Suter each had a goal and assist and J.T. Miller and Phillip Di Giuseppe also scored. Quinn Hughes had two assists in a battle of Stanley Cup contenders.
• Jonathan Marchessault scored three times, including the go-ahead goal with 2:44 left, to help Vegas top Detroit 5-3 and snap a four-game skid.
• Vladimir Tarasenko scored his first two goals as a Panther and Florida has won 17 of their past 20 games, beating Calgary 5-1.
• David Pastrnak reached 40 goals for the third consecutive season, and Boston beat fading Pittsburgh 5-1.
• Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for his 13th career shutout in his 200th career NHL game, Vincent Trocheck and Jimmy Vesey scored first-period goals and New York has won nine of its last 10 at Madison Square Garden, beating the Blues 4-0.
• Jesperi Kotkaniemi broke a tie with a bad-angle shot early in the third period and Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 saves to lead Carolina over New Jersey 4-2.
• Radek Faksa and Jason Robertson scored 18 seconds apart in the second period, Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, and Dallas extended its winning streak to a season-high five games with a 4-1 win over Los Angeles.
• John Tavares broke a tie with 6:46 left with his 20th goal of the season and Toronto defeated Montreal 3-2.
• Luke Evangelista scored a tiebreaking goal in the third period, Kevin Lankinen made 32 stops and Nashville beat Columbus 2-1 for its 10th win in 11 games.
• Defenceman Darren Raddysh had five assists and Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia 7-0 in a game that saw irate Flyers coach John Tortorella reluctantly leave the bench after he was ejected in the first period.
• Tom Wilson scored for a second consecutive game, Charlie Lindgren robbed Connor Bedard among his 29 saves, and Washington beat Chicago 4-1 to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
• Thomas Bordeleau scored two power-play goals, Magnus Chrona made 31 saves for his first NHL win and San Jose beat Ottawa 2-1  to snap a nine-game losing streak.

MLB

George Springer and Dasan Brown had two runs each as the Toronto Blue Jays rolled to a 13-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in spring training action today. Toronto had a total of 11 different batters combining for runs in the exhibition win, with eight runs coming in the eighth inning alone.

NFL

A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press the Kansas City Chiefs and All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones had agreed on the framework of a five-year deal that includes $95 million guaranteed. The move keeps Jones with the Super Bowl champions ahead of free agency starting this week. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the details of the contract were still being finalized. Jones will become one of the highest-paid defensive players in NFL history, just behind the $34 million average annual salary that is being earned by San Francisco pass rusher Nick Bosa.

CFL

Dave Ritchie, who was the head coach of the B.C. Lions for their iconic ’94 Grey Cup victory over the Baltimore Stallions, died Saturday. He was 85. 

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, another CFL team Ritchie coached, confirmed the death. The cause was not immediately divulged.

Ritchie amassed a 52-41-1 regular-season record as a head coach with Winnipeg (1999-2004). That left him fourth overall in club history behind Bud Grant (102), current head coach Mike O’Shea (96) and Cal Murphy (86).

But it was during Ritchie’s tenure as B.C.’s head coach that his club united Canada. The Lions dispatched Baltimore 26-23 in the 82nd Grey Cup on Lui Passaglia’s game-ending 38-yard field goal at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, capping the first championship ever in pro football to feature a U.S.-Canada matchup.

(Canadian Press)