Sunday Sports: Rivalry Night

NHL

Evan Bouchard scored the go-ahead goal 10:36 into the third period and the Edmonton Oilers kept on rolling with a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. Leon Draisaitl hit the 40-goal mark for the third straight season and fifth time in his career, good for third in franchise history. Connor McDavid also collected his 98th and 99th assists of the season, as the Oilers got within three points of the Canucks for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Saturday:

PENGUINS 5 LIGHTNING 4

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Michael Bunting snapped a tie with 5:28 left in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins moved into a playoff spot with a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

Referee Steve Kozari was taken off the ice on a stretcher after colliding with Lightning defenseman Haydn Fleury 6:11 into the third period. Kozari was able to move his arms. Fleury did not return.

BLACKHAWKS 3, STARS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Connor Bedard, Andreas Athanasiou and Seth Jones scored in the second period, and Chicago stopped Dallas’ franchise-record win streak at eight games with a victory over the Stars.

BRUINS 3, PANTHERS 2, OT

BOSTON (AP) — Jesper Boqvist scored 2:05 into overtime, Linus Ullmark stopped 28 shots and the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Atlantic Division. Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

JETS 4, WILD 2

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Vladislav Namestnikov had a goal and two assists, linemate Alex Iafallo a goal and an assist, and Winnipeg beat Minnesota. The Jets, who clinched a playoff berth Thursday, are two points behind Colorado for second place in the Central Division. Each team has five games remaining including against each other April 13 in Denver.

SHARKS 3, BLUES 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — William Eklund scored in overtime to finish a hat trick, Devin Cooley made 34 saves in his first NHLwin, and San Jose beat St. Louis.

BLUE JACKETS 6, FLYERS 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Damon Severson and Zach Werenski each scored twice, Jet Greaves had 37 saves and Columbus extended Philadelphias’ skid to seven games with a win.

MAPLE LEAFS 4, CANADIENS 2

MONTREAL (AP) — Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 64th goal of the season in a four-goal second period and Toronto defeated archrival Montreal. Matthews hit the 100-point mark for the second time in his career and extended his point streak to 10 games in the process.

DEVILS 4, SENATORS 3

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brendan Smith had a goal and two assists and New Jersey snapped a three-game losing streak by holding on for a win over Ottawa.

ISLANDERS 2, PREDATORS 0

NEW YORK (AP) — Semyon Varlamov had a season-high 40 saves for his third shutout of the season, and the New York Islanders beat Nashville, getting a crucial win in their playoff push.

KINGS 6, CANUCKS 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adrian Kempe had two goals and an assist, Trevor Moore reached 30 goals for the first time in his career and the Los Angeles Kings got closer to wrapping up a playoff spot with a victory over Vancouver.

WORLD WOMENS HOCKEY

Canada looks to make it three straight wins when they take on Czechia Sunday at the women’s world hockey championship in Utica, New York. Canada earned a 4-1 win over Finland and 3-0 victory over Switzerland on Thursday and Friday. After Czechia, the Canadians face their rival and undefeated Americans Monday in both teams’ final preliminary game.

WORLD MENS CURLING

Brad Gushue seeks his second world title today when Canada takes on Sweden’s Niklas Edin at the world men’s curling championship. Canada defeated Scotland 9-4 in yesterday’s semifinal. Gushue is one-and-three in the world championship gold-medal finals, having won his lone title in 2017.

NLL

Saskatoon, SK – Saturday night on Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre, the Saskatchewan Rush topped the Calgary Roughnecks 12-9 in the Battle Of The Prairies.

Zach Manns had a hat trick, while Robert Church added eight points and captain Ryan Keenan notched seven In the win. Goaltender Frank Scigliano made 42 saves against his former squad.

Next up on Co-op Field, the Saskatchewan Rush host the San Diego Seals on Saturday, April 13th.

(SaskRush.com)

MLB

Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo homered, and the New York Yankees chased Kevin Gausman in the second inning of a 9-8 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees scored six runs in the first two innings and held a 9-2 edge after the sixth. Toronto scored three runs apiece in the seventh and ninth innings but ultimately fell short.

MARCH MADNESS

UConn kept its bid to repeat as national champion intact by surviving its first true test of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies got 21 points from freshman Stephon Castle while clamping down defensively in the second half of an 86-72 win over Alabama in the Final Four. UConn will meet Purdue and star Canadian big man Zach Edey in the title game on Monday. The Boilermakers downed N.C. State 63-60 in Glendale, AZ.
Iowa’s 71-69 victory over UConn at the women’s Final Four on Friday night averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game on record and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcast.

MLS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi returned and helped salvage a tie for Inter Miami. Messi scored shortly after checking in to begin the second half, then helped set up Leo Afonso’s go-ahead score two minutes later — but Cole Bassett’s goal in the 88th minute capped the scoring and helped the Colorado Rapids get a 2-2 tie with Inter Miami on Saturday night. It was Messi’s first appearance for Inter Miami since a hamstring issue led to him getting subbed out early in the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Nashville on March 13. He had missed four Inter Miami games since, plus two games with Argentina.

(Canadian Press)