Marine inspector general suspended amid tank sinking probe

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May 4, 2021

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Marine Corps inspector general, Major General Robert Castellvi, has been suspended amid the ongoing probes into last summer’s fatal sinking of a seafaring tank off the Southern California coast, a newspaper reported Monday.

Nine men died in the accident involving an amphibious assault vehicle July 30 near San Clemente Island.

Castellvi becomes the highest-ranking officer to face discipline in the multiple investigations into the disaster, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. His suspension was announced by the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps commander in a hearing before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness on Monday.

Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered the suspension last week pending the outcome of the probe, the newspaper said.

Castellvi was the commanding general of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Division until September. He was named in a previous investigation as someone who has some responsibility in the accident, however, the Marines did not punish him.

The commanding officers of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Battalion Landing Team involved in the accident were both relieved of command and seven other Marines faced other administrative or disciplinary actions, the Marines said.

The Marine Corps has said last year’s accident was caused by mechanical failures, shabby maintenance, inadequate training, and poor judgment by commanders.

The Marines use the vehicles to transport troops and their equipment from Navy ships to land. The armored vehicles outfitted with machine guns and grenade launchers look like tanks as they roll ashore.

Caufield scores in OT again as Canadiens slip past Leafs 3-2

By

The Associated Press

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May 4, 2021

MONTREAL — Cole Caufield scored at 4:43 of overtime and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in a potential North Division playoff preview Monday.

The rookie took a pass from Jeff Petry and wired home his second NHL goal — and second OT winner in as many games.

Tyler Toffoli and Philip Danault scored in regulation for Montreal. Jake Allen made 27 stops for the Canadiens, who entered having won two in a row, including Saturday’s dramatic 2-1 overtime triumph at the Bell Centre against the Ottawa Senators when Caufield was also the star.

Petry and Nick Suzuki added three assists each on Monday.

Auston Matthews, with his league-leading 39th goal of the season, and Morgan Rielly scored for Toronto, which got 20 saves from Jack Campbell.

The first-place Leafs fell to 5-3-0 against the Canadiens, who are chasing the Winnipeg Jets for third in the division.

Toronto lost veteran forward Nick Foligno to a lower-body injury right before Matthews scored late in the second period.

The Leafs and Canadiens will play twice more this week — Thursday and Saturday in Toronto — although Montreal also has a matchup with the Senators in Ottawa on Wednesday.

The Canadiens were once again without injured No. 1 goalie Carey Price, captain Shea Weber, as well as forwards Tomas Tatar, Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher, while winger Jonathan Drouin remains out for personal reasons.

Leafs defenseman Justin Holl didn’t dress after taking a puck in the face Saturday, which opened the door for Timothy Liljegren to draw in on the second blue-line pair with Jake Muzzin. Zach Hyman and Zach Bogosian also remain sidelined with injuries.

Down 2-1 late in the third period, Danaut jammed in his fifth of the season with 51.8 seconds left in regulation after beating Matthews on an offensive zone faceoff.

Toffoli missed the net on a breakaway in extra time looking for his second goal of the game before Matthews and Mitch Marner couldn’t connect on a 2-on-0. John Tavares then hit the post for Toronto.

Matthews snapped a 1-1 tie with 2:39 left in the second, tipping Muzzin’s point shot past Allen as he battled in front with Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson.

The goal was Matthews’ sixth in as many games, 18th in his past 18 games, and 18th in 22 career outings versus the Canadiens.

Toffoli got Montreal on the board earlier in the period on a power play when he took a pass from Suzuki and beat Campbell for his 28th at 1:55 on Toronto’s third penalty of the game.

The Leafs got their first man advantage not long after, but Campbell had to make a big stop off Artturi Lehkonen on a 2-on-1 with Jake Evans following Rasmus Sandin’s turnover.

Allen stopped William Nylander on a breakaway later in the period, but Matthews wouldn’t be denied on his deflection.

Montreal looked to push in the third, with Campbell denying Ben Chiarot on a delayed penalty before stopping Josh Anderson at the side of his net before Danault forced OT late.

Rielly opened the scoring at 4:07 of the first on a point shot through a screen for his fifth goal of the season, and first in 13 games. The sequence was set up by Alex Galchenyuk, who earned his first-ever point against Montreal in his 10th game against the team that drafted him No. 3 overall in 2012.

Montreal came close to getting on the board later in the period when Caufield rang a shot off Campbell’s crossbar on the power play. Toronto almost made it 2-0 seconds later when Marner stole the puck from Alexander Romanov, but Allen got a piece of the breakaway chance.

Campbell then robbed Jesperi Kotkaniemi with his glove on another man advantage before also denying Eric Staal.

UP NEXT:

Maple Leafs: host Montreal on Thursday.

Canadiens: at Ottawa on Wednesday.

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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Gallinari, Bogdanovic lead Hawks past Trail Blazers 123-114

By

The Associated Press

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May 4, 2021

ATLANTA — Danilo Gallinari made seven 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 123-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in a matchup Monday night of teams battling for playoff positioning in their respective conferences.

The Hawks snapped Portland’s four-game winning streak, which had come entirely on the road.

Atlanta came into the night tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference, with the Trail Blazers holding the same spot in the West. Both teams are looking to avoid dropping as low as seventh, which would force them into the play-in tournament.

After getting in early Monday from Boston, where they beat the Celtics the previous night, the Trail Blazers were forced from the hotel rooms for about a half-hour by a tornado warning in Atlanta.

They ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, ruining a 33-point night for Damian Lillard.

Bogdan Bogdanovic provided the bulk of Atlanta’s offense over the first two quarters, scoring 23 of his 25 points for the second highest-scoring half of his career. He also made seven 3s, one shy of his career best.

Gallinari took over in the second half, scoring 21 points and hitting six of seven beyond the arc.

As a team, the Hawks were 20 of 41 from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

Trail Blazers: CJ McCollum had 20 points. … Norman Powell was able to play more than 32 minutes despite a sore right knee. He was listed as questionable but suited up and scored 15 points after playing 39 minutes the night before at Boston.

Hawks: Have won six consecutive home games, one off their high for the season, and 14 of 16 at State Farm Arena. They won seven straight at home from Feb. 21 to April 6. … Trae Young had 21 points and 11 assists. He went eight of eight at the foul line, moving past Walt Bellamy for the 24th spot in franchise history with 1,269 free throws made.

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: Wrap up a six-game road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Hawks: Host the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, continuing a stretch where they are closing the regular season with seven of their last eight games at home.

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/paulnewberry

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Curry’s 41 points push Warriors past Pelicans 123-108

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The Associated Press

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May 4, 2021

NEW ORLEANS — Stephen Curry scored 41 points, Draymond Green had 10 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors took a big step toward locking up a postseason berth with a 123-108 victory over the desperate New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.

The Warriors, who currently occupy a Western Conference play-in position, moved four games ahead of 11th-place New Orleans with seven games remaining. But these teams meet twice more, giving the Pelicans a small measure of hope — if they can figure out how to contain Curry.

Pelicans defenders often looked mesmerized by the Warriors star as he dribbled along the perimeter before pulling up for deep 3-pointers or initiating clever drives toward the rim. His eight 3s included a pull-up from 30 feet as he seemed to dazzle what should have been a hostile New Orleans crowd of nearly 4,000.

Andrew Wiggins added 26 points for Golden State, with 10 coming in a key stretch early in the fourth quarter.

Zion Williamson scored 32 points and Brandon Ingram added 19 points for the Pelicans, who trailed by as many as 25 in the first half of a game they urgently needed to win. Lonzo Ball, who helped spur an overtime victory in Minnesota two night earlier, continued to struggle with consistent production.

He missed 15 of 18 shots, going 1 of 9 from 3-point range.

New Orleans was as close as six points when Willy Hernangomez’s short hook made it 79-73 with nearly five minutes still remaining in the third quarter.

That’s when Curry led another Warriors surge, highlighted by his step-back 3 from 28 feet that made it 92-76.

Despite Curry and Green heading to the bench early in the fourth quarter, New Orleans struggled to close the gap. Wiggins scored Golden State’s first 10 points of the final period, hitting a pair of 3s and a leaning, left-handed layup before tumbling across the baseline.

Then Curry checked back in and hit his final 3 of the night to make it 108-90.

Curry scored 21 points in the first half, including a trio of 3s in the first quarter, the final two of which had the crowd gasping. On the first, Curry pulled up from 30 feet. He came back soon after with a 27-footer that gave him 17 first-quarter points and the Warriors their first 20-point lead at 39-19.

Pool’s 3 made it 58-33 before the Pelicans suddenly found a bit of momentum. They closed the half on a 19-6 run, which included Eric Bledsoe’s double-pump pull-up from the top of the key as he was fouled from behind, and Ball’s right wing 3 at the horn.

The spurt cut the Warriors’ lead to 66-54 and gave the Pelicans hope. That is, until Curry squelched it.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Juan Toscano-Anderson scored 14 points and Poole finished with 11. … Improved to 2-1 on their current four-game trip and have won nine of 13 overall. … Curry’s point total eclipsed his already prolific 36.5-point average during his previous 17 games. … Curry has nine 40-point games this season, including six in the past 15 games. … Combined for 17 3s. … Outscored New Orleans 23-14 on fast breaks.

Pelicans: Naji Marshall scored 12 points, while Bledsoe added 11 and Hernangomez 10. … Fell to 17-17 at home. … Missed 20 of 25 3-point attempts. … Committed 17 turnovers, leading to 29 Warriors points.

UP NEXT

Warriors: Remain in New Orleans to play the Pelicans again on Tuesday night before heading home for their final six regular-season games.

Pelicans: A five-game road trip follows the rematch with Golden State.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Sprong sends Capitals to 6-3 win over eliminated Rangers

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The Associated Press

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May 4, 2021

NEW YORK — Daniel Sprong’s tiebreaking goal in the third period propelled the Washington Capitals to a 6-3 victory over the fading New York Rangers, who were knocked out of playoff contention Monday night.

Nic Dowd, Conor Sheary, Garnet Hathaway, Niklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson also scored for the Capitals as they snapped a two-game skid. Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves to earn the 19th win of his rookie season.

Mika Zibanejad scored twice and Kaapo Kakko also had a goal for New York, which dropped its third consecutive game. Artemi Panarin added two assists and Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 shots, but the Rangers were eliminated from the postseason picture when Boston beat New Jersey.

Alex Ovechkin returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury but went to the locker room after playing 39 seconds in the first period and did not return. Washington’s captain remains one goal from tying Marcel Dionne for fifth on the NHL’s career list.

Sprong put the Capitals ahead 4-3 at 4:37 of the third period. Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith misplayed a puck that set up Sprong for his 12th goal of the season.

Backstrom provided insurance when he flipped the puck over the glove of Shesterkin at 11:41 to make it 5-3.

Hathaway knotted the game at 3 with his sixth of the season at 18:30 of the second. Dowd stripped the puck from 21-year-old defenseman K’Andre Miller prior to a scramble in front that Hathaway eventually capitalized on.

New York erased a 2-0 deficit in the first period with three consecutive goals.

Zibanejad notched his second of the game on the power play at 2:30 of the second. Ryan Strome found the Swedish center all alone in the slot after receiving a cross-ice pass from Panarin.

Kakko gave New York a 3-2 advantage at 4:35 with a skilled forehand-backhand maneuver. Alexis Lafreniere fooled Washington defenseman Zdeno Chara with a deke to his backhand to set up Kaako.

Zibanejad trimmed the Rangers’ first-period deficit to one goal with his 21st of the season at 18:00. Panarin received a pass outside the blue line, then gracefully spun into the offensive zone and found a streaking Zibanejad. The goal helped the Rangers snap a 144:11 scoring drought that included back-to-back shutout losses against the New York Islanders.

The Capitals gained a two-goal advantage with first-period goals from Dowd and Sheary just 92 seconds apart.

Dowd opened the scoring when his wrist shot zipped through the legs of Shesterkin at 14:12.

Washington doubled its advantage when a puck eluded several Rangers skaters and found its way to Sheary’s stick before a turnaround wrist shot. Michael Raffl and Tom Wilson assisted.

Panarin did not return after a second-period quarrel that led to a double-minor penalty and 10-minute misconduct for Wilson. The bruising forward added an empty-net goal late in the third.

ROSTER SHUFFLING

Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and goaltender Ilya Samsonov did not dress for disciplinary reasons after being late to a team function. … F T.J. Oshie missed the game while attending to a personal family matter. … D Justin Schultz unexpectedly did not participate in warmups due to a lower-body injury. As a result, Washington was only able to dress 17 skaters (11 forwards, six defensemen) instead of the permitted 18.

BALANCED ATTACK

The Rangers are the only NHL team that has five players with at least 44 points (no other team has more than three). New York is one of two clubs with three players who have 20 or more goals (Pittsburgh is the other).

TRI-STATE AREA

The Rangers are in the midst of a 17-game stretch in which they only play in the New York metropolitan area (11 games at MSG, four at Nassau Coliseum and two at Prudential Center in New Jersey). It began April 6 and will end Thursday when the Rangers visit Boston.

UP NEXT

The teams conclude their eight-game season series Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Predators improve playoff position, beat Blue Jackets in OT

By

The Associated Press

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May 4, 2021

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Roman Josi scored 3:24 into overtime and the Nashville Predators tightened their hold on a playoff spot with a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night.

Emil Bemstrom scored three goals in the third to rally Columbus from a 3-0 deficit before Josi ended it with his second goal of the night.

The Predators are dueling with Dallas for the Central Division’s fourth playoff spot and increased their lead to four points with the Stars’ overtime loss to Florida on Monday night. Nashville has three games remaining and the Stars have four.

Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and an assist, and Juuse Saros had 30 saves for Nashville.

Elvis Merzlikins had 34 saves for Columbus.

After a scoreless first period, the Predators got on the board at 9:01 of the second when a falling Forsberg swatted in a rebounded puck.

Nashville tallied again 2 1/2 minutes later on a power play, with Johansen putting back a rebound in front of the net. The Preds made it 3-0 late in the second with the prettiest shot of the evening, a heavy one-timer from the high slot by Josi.

The Blue Jackets rallied in the third behind Bemstrom, who had never had two goals in a game, let alone a hat trick. They were also his first goals this season.

He got credit for his first after a video replay showed his batted puck going in off the bar. Then his snipe from the left circle went over Saros’ shoulder on the near side to make it 3-2 at at 7:26. He got his third on a power play — from the same spot — to tie the game at 15:07.

The Blue Jackets, who have lost two straight and 10 of 11, are trying to finish out of the basement after making the playoffs the last four seasons. With injuries to key players and a sell-off at the trade deadline, they’re putting responsibility on young players like Bemstrom who may form the foundation of next season’s retooled team.

UP NEXT

The teams wrap up a two-game series on Wednesday night.

Follow Mitch Stacy at https://twitter.com/mitchstacy

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Barkov scores OT winner, Panthers over Stars 5-4.

By

The Associated Press

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May 4, 2021

SUNRISE, Fla. — Aleksander Barkov scored 2:50 into overtime to lift the Florida Panthers to a 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday night.

Jonathan Huberdeau, Nikita Gusev, Gustav Forsling and MacKenzie Weegar also scored for the Panthers, and Owen Tippett had two assists.

Spencer Knight stopped 25 shots in his third career start and fourth appearance. Knight, who turned 20 on April 19th, is the youngest goalie in NHL history to start 4-0.

The Panthers are two points behind Carolina for first place in the Central Division and two points ahead of Tampa Bay. The Hurricanes and Lightning each have two games in hand over the Panthers.

Tyler Seguin scored a goal in his first game of the season, Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist, and Joe Kiviranta and Joe Pavelski also scored for Dallas. Anton Khudobin allowed four goals on 15 shots before being replaced by Jake Oettinger early in the second period. Oettinger finished with 27 saves.

The Stars sit four points behind the Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot in the Central Division.

In overtime, Barkov fired a shot from the right circle during a power-play that beat Oettinger on the stick side.

Trailing 4-2, the Stars scored two goals in 11 seconds to tie the score. Kiviranta pulled the Stars within one when his shot from the left circle went past Knight’s glove and into the net at 3:55 of the third. Seguin, playing his first game since hip surger last Nov. 2, tied it when he backhanded in a rebound. It was the fastest two goals the Stars have scored this season.

Huberdeau and Gusev scored 49 seconds apart to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead 2:42 into the game.

Pavelski’s power-play goal pulled Dallas wthin one with 7:56 left in the first. Pavelski leads the Stars with 45 points, scoring 22 goals and 23 assists.

Weegar had a hand in the next two goals, but one was credited to Dallas. Weegar’s wrist shot from the slot stretched the Panthers lead to 3-1 with 5:47 left in the first.

Hintz was credited with a goal when forechecked Weegar before Weegar threw the puck across the crease and it hit Knight’s skate and went across the goal line. The fluky goal closed the score to 3-2 with 2:44 left in the first.

Forsling’s goal 54 seconds into the second put the Panthers ahead 4-2 and chased Khudobin from the game.

TIMELY RETURN

Seguin returned to action for the first time since undergoing a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair after the 2020 post-season. Seguin was activated off the injured reserve earlier on Monday and was a game-time decision. Seguin, 29, led the Stars in scoring the past two seasons.

FIRST TIME

Panthers goalie Philippe Desrosiers backed up Knight. Desrosiers, 25, was selected by the Stars in the second round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft anddonned an NHL jersey for the first time.

INJURY UPDATE

Panthers: Sam Bennett day-to-day (upper body), Carter Verhaeghe: out (upper body), Patric Hornqvist: day-to-day (upper body).

ATTENDANCE

The Panthers cap attendance at 25% capacity. Monday’s game drew 4,702.

UP NEXT

Stars: At Tampa Bay on Wednesday night to open a two-game series.

Panthers: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday night to open a two-game series.