TUESDAY SPORTS PAGE: JETS BACK ON TRACK

JETS 3 CAPITALS 0

WINNIPEG, Man. (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck stopped 23 shots for his fourth shutout of the season as Winnipeg beat Washington 3-0 on Monday night.

Hellebuyck improved to 30-14-3, becoming the fourth goalie this season to reach the 30-win mark. He accomplished the feat for the fifth time in his career. It was Hellebuyck’s 36th career shutout.

Neal Pionk, Alex Iafallo and Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, who were coming off a 5-0 shutout loss to Vancouver on Saturday that Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness described as the worst game “by far” the team had played in his two-year tenure.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:

RANGERS 3 DEVILS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Mika Zibanejad and Erik Gustafsson scored in the second period as the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1.

The Devils lost for the the third time in four games under interim coach Travis Green, who replaced Lindy Ruff on March 4. They trail Detroit by six points for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.

KINGS 3 ISLANDERS 0

LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Rittich stopped 26 shots for his sixth career shutout, Adrian Kempe reached the 20-goal mark for the third straight season and Los Angeles snapped New York’s six-game winning streak, beating the Islanders 3-0.

BLUES 5 BRUINS 1

BOSTON (AP) — Kasperi Kapanen and Robert Thomas each scored in the first period, Joel Hofer stopped 36 shots and St. Louis beat Boston 5-1.

NFL

Kirk Cousins is heading to the Falcons. Saquon Barkley is joining the Eagles. Brian Burns is going to the Giants.

The first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period was a free-for-all frenzy with teams making one big move after another, highlighted by Cousins’ decision to leave Minnesota for Atlanta.

The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback and the Falcons agreed on a $180 million, four-year deal with $100 million guaranteed and a $50 million signing bonus.

Barkley bolted New York for NFC East rival Philadelphia, agreeing on a three-year, $37.75 million deal with $26 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the contract told the AP.

Hours after losing Barkley, the Giants made a splash on the defensive side. They’re sending a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-rounder to Carolina for Burns, who is getting a five-year contract worth up to $150 million with $87.5 million in guarantees, according to a person with knowledge of the terms.

It was a busy day for running backs, who have been undervalued by NFL teams in recent years.

Josh Jacobs, a 2022 All-Pro, is leaving Las Vegas for Green Bay. Tony Pollard is going from Dallas to Tennessee, Austin Ekeler from the Los Angeles Chargers to Washington, Devin Singletary from Houston to the Giants, Gus Edwards from Baltimore to the Chargers, Antonio Gibson from the Commanders to New England and Zack Moss from Indianapolis to Cincinnati.

Like the Giants, the Raiders made a major splash on defense after losing their starting running back. Las Vegas and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins agreed to a four-year, $110 contract with $84.75 million guaranteed, agent David Mulugheta said.

The Raiders also are bringing in quarterback Gardner Minshew, who went 7-6 filling in for Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis last season.

MLB

• Ernie Clement had a home run and three RBIs as the Toronto Blue Jays thumped the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2 in pre-season action on Monday. Danny Jansen had a two-run home run and Davis Schneider also hit one over the wall for Toronto (7-9), which scored eight of its runs in the first four innings. Toronto takes on the New York Yankees on Tuesday in Dunedin, Fla.
• The pitching staffs of longtime M-L-B rivals New York and Boston are hurting as the regular season approaches. Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole will have an M-R-I on his right elbow after experiencing issues recovering after spring training starts, while Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito will have surgery tomorrow and be out indefinitely. Both Cole, the 2023 A-L Cy Young Award winner, and Giolito, who agreed to a 38.5-million-dollar, two-year deal with the Red Sox during the off-season, have been durable in their careers.

NBA

The injury-riddled Toronto Raptors came up just short of pulling off a major upset Monday, dropping a 125-119 decision to the host Denver Nuggets. The Raptors, who led 68-51 at halftime and 98-93 after three quarters, faded down the stretch. Jamal Murray scored 12 of his 26 points in the final quarter for the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 35 points. Toronto native R-J Barrett led the Raptors with 26 points, while Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., scored 24.

(Canadian Press)