Thursday Sports: Best Of 3!

WHL PLAYOFFS (Conference Finals)

BLADES 5 WARRIORS 4 OT
(Series tied 2-2)

Egor Sidorov has become the latest overtime hero in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference final series.

Sidorov scored his 13th goal of the post-season 3:29 into the extra session on Wednesday night as the visiting Saskatoon Blades beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-4 to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2, with Game 5 set for Friday at SaskTel Centre.

Three of the games in the tight series have been decided in overtime.

Brandon Lisowsky, Trevor Wong, Alexander Suzdalev and Tanner Molendyk scored in regulation time for the Blades, who were outshot 37-24.

Brayden Yager scored twice for the Warriors, while Jagger Firkus and Rilen Kovacevic added singles.

The Blades led 4-2 after the first period and the teams were tied 4-4 heading into the third.

The Warriors went 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Blades were 0-for-2.

The Warriors on Game 1 in Saskatoon 4-3 in overtime, the Blades bounced back with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2, and the Warriors won Game 3 3-1 at Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Elsewhere in the WHL on Wednesday:

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WINTERHAWKS 5 COUGARS 2
(Portland leads best-of-seven series 3-1)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Marcus Nguyen had two goals and an assist, and Nate Danielson added a goal and three assists as the Portland Winterhawks defeated the visiting Prince George Cougars 5-2 to take a commanding lead in the WHL’s Western Conference final series.

Gabe Klassen and Diego Buttazzoni also scored for the Winterhawks, who lead the best-of-seven series 3-1. Game 5 is Thursday night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Hudson Thornton scored twice for the Cougars, who won the series opener 5-0 at home, but have since lost three straight — 5-3, 4-1 and 5-2.

The Winterhawks led 2-0 after the first period and took a 3-1 lead into the third. The Winterhawks outshot the visitors 39-28.

The Winterhawks went 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Cougars were 2-for-3.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS (Round 1)

STARS 3 GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2

DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored a power-play goal to put Dallas ahead late in the second period after Tyler Seguin took a shot to the face and the Stars beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in Game 5 on Wednesday night, becoming the first home team to win in this opening-round series that they now lead.

Evgenii Dadonov and Matt Duchene also scored for the Stars, who have won three in a row after dropping the first two games at home last week as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Seguin was down on the ice and a bit dazed after Alex Pietrangelo took a big backhanded swing and connected to the face of the Stars forward when they were together against the boards. The play was initially called a five-minute major, but changed to a minor penalty after replay review.

Still, it was a major hit against the Knights since Robertson scored on their first shot with an advantage. His third goal of this series came after he got his own ricochet and knocked the puck through traffic in front of the net and past Adin Hill, the goalie starting his first game for the Knights this series.

OILERS 4, KINGS 3

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored twice, and Edmonton beat Los Angeles 4-3 in Game 5 to win their first-round NHL playoff series. Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles in the opening round for the third straight year after coming out on top in six games in 2023 and seven in 2022.

Zach Hyman — with his seventh goal of the post-season — and Evander Kane also scored for Edmonton, which only dropped a 5-4 loss in overtime of Game 2 in the best-of-seven series.

Evan Bouchard added three assists, and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two each as Edmonton’s offense broke out at Rogers Place. McDavid extended his points total to a playoff-leading 12 (one goal, 11 assists).

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• The NHL spotlight is on Toronto Thursday night as the Maple Leafs fight for their playoff lives against the visiting Boston Bruins in the only game on the schedule. Toronto avoided first-round elimination Tuesday with a 2-1 overtime win in Boston. If the Leafs win tonight, and tie the best-of-seven series at 3-all, Game 7 will be played Saturday at T-D Garden in Boston.

MLB

The Toronto Blue Jays, who lost two of three games to the visiting Kansas City Royals including Wednesday’s 6-1 setback, have a day off Thursday and then open a three-game road series against the Washington Nationals. The 15-and-17 Jaysare fourth in the five-team A-L East, five games behind the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees. The Nationals have a 15-and-15 record and sit third in the National League East.

NFL

Ezekiel Elliott’s reunion with the Dallas Cowboys comes long after his days as a two-time rushing champion, presumably as part of a committee of running backs. The 2016 All-Pro isn’t ready to settle for such a role just yet. Elliott told reporters Wednesday night, a day after signing a one-year deal worth up to three-million-dollars U-S, that he is still a dominant NFL player and that he promises to proof it this season.

NBA

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the short-handed Miami Heat 118-84 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 20 of his 35 points in the second half and added 10 assists and seven rebounds, propelling Dallas to a 123-93 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 and a 3-2 lead in their first-round series.