Nelson leads Islanders to 3-2 shootout win over Flyers

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April 9, 2021

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Brock Nelson scored in regulation and got the only goal in a five-round shootout to give the New York Islanders a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

Jordan Eberle also scored and Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves as the Islanders won their fourth straight. New York improved to 17-1-2 at Nassau Coliseum, the only team in the league with one regulation loss on home ice.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Jakub Voracek scored for Philadelphia, which has lost three of four. Carter Hart made 21 saves.

After a scoreless four rounds in the shootout, Nelson fired a snap shot past the blocker of Hart. Sorokin made impressive stops of Sean Couturier, Nolan Patrick and Travis Konecny in the shootout before denying Joel Farabee to seal the victory.

Voracek knotted the score at 2-2 early in the second period with his seventh of the season. The Czech winger beat Sorokin with a wrist shot on the blocker side.

New York controlled the game out of the gate and grabbed a two-goal lead after scoring twice within 63 seconds midway through the first period.

Nelson opened the scoring with his team-leading 15th goal at 6:10 of the first period. Defenseman Ryan Pulock skated into the offensive zone, circled the net and found Nelson near the right face-off circle.

Eberle doubled the Islanders’ advantage after burying a feed from Leo Komarov. Mathew Barzal’s aggressive forecheck forced a turnover in Philadelphia’s defensive zone, and New York took advantage.

Aube-Kubel cut the Flyers’ deficit in half with a long-distance shot that caught Sorokin off guard at 13:53 of the first period.

The Islanders missed an opportunity to go ahead by three goals when Flyers defenseman Samuel Morin received a major penalty for boarding and was ejected 14 seconds after Eberle’s goal. New York only generated three shots on the five-minute power play.

THREE OR MORE

The Islanders are 19-3-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners). Under Barry Trotz, New York is 85-8-10 when scoring three or more.

WHEELIN’ AND DEALIN’

The Islanders made the first significant move ahead of the trade deadline, acquiring forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2021 first-round draft pick, a conditional fourth-round pick in 2022 and two prospects. Both players made their debuts for New York on Thursday.

LONG-LASTING RIVALRY

The Flyers and Islanders had never met fewer than four times in a regular season until last season, when they only played three times. Their final scheduled meeting was canceled because of the COVID-19 shutdown. The Flyers went 0-2-1, the first time since the Islanders joined the league in 1972 that they did not pick up at least one regular season win against the Islanders. The teams have played seven of the eight scheduled games so far this season. The series will conclude April 18th in Philadelphia.

IRON MEN

The Islanders have two players (Nelson and Barzal) who have active streaks of at least 250 consecutive games, and they are two of 15 players in the NHL whose streaks began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season. Four players — Nelson (284), Barzal (271), Pulock (234) and Josh Bailey (192) — have appeared in every game since Trotz became the Islanders’ coach ahead of the 2018-19 season.

UP NEXT

Flyers: Host Boston on Saturday.

Islanders: Host the New York Rangers on Friday night.

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

LEADING OFF

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The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

A look at what’s happening around the majors Friday:

RINGING IN THE NEW SEASON

The Los Angeles Dodgers will raise the World Series flag for the first time since 1988 and will hand out championship rings before Friday’s home opener against Washington, the first time fans are allowed into Dodger Stadium since the Game 5 loss in the 2019 NL Division Series. The Dodgers will special jerseys for the weekend series, with “Dodgers” trimmed in gold, and caps with the interlocking “LA” trimmed in gold. Ace Walker Buehler (0-0) starts for Los Angeles and Joe Ross (0-0) for the Nationals, starting a weekend that includes a pregame tribute Saturday to late manager Tommy Lasorda and a celebration Sunday of the 40th anniversary of Fernando Valenzuela’s rookie season.

FLAG DAY 2

The Tampa Bay Rays raise their second American League pennant when they host the New York Yankees before a sold-out crowd limited to about 9,000 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Rich Hill (0-0) starts for the AL champions and Corey Kluber (0-0) for the Yankees, who are starting their first trip of the season.

OTHER HOME OPENERS

Philadelphia is at Atlanta. Charlie Morton (0-1) starts for the Braves against Zach Wheeler (1-0).

Colorado at San Francisco. Johnny Cueto (0-0) starts for the Giants against Austin Gomber (0-1).

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

LaVine, Vucevic lead Bulls past Raptors, 122-113

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The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

TAMPA, Fla. — Nikola Vucevic and Zach Levine each scored 22 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors 122-133 on Thursday night for their third straight victory.

LaVine also had 15 assists, and Lauri Markkanen came off the bench to score 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

Chris Boucher scored a career-high 38 points and had 19 rebounds for the Raptors. They have lost 15 of 18.

Pascal Siakam added 27 points and eight rebounds for Toronto.

LaVine and Vucevic combined for 15 points on an early 19-3 run that gave the Bulls their first 10-point lead.

Chicago ran off 13 straight points while the Raptors missed 10 straight shots, and a 3-pointer by Coby White made it 51-31 with 6:04 left in the first half.

Two 3-pointers and a three-point play by Boucher helped Toronto cut the margin to seven late in he fourth quarter, but LaVine closed it out with a layup and a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left.

Rookie Malachi Flynn got his first NBA start for the Raptors, who had only eight players available for the game. They signed Freddie Gillespie to a 10-day contract early Thursday, but the 6-foot-9 former G-League player had not cleared the NBA’s entry protocol in time to play.

TIP-INS

Bulls: The Bulls have not won four straight since a seven-game winning streak in December 2017. . . . F Garrett Temple (hamstring) participated in Thursday’s shootaround but is not ready to sprint, according to coach Billy Donovan.

Raptors: F DeAndre Bembry sat out a one-game suspension for his part in an altercation during the first quarter of Tuesday night’s game against the Lakers. G Fred VanVleet was also given a one-game suspension that will be served when he is eligible to return from the injured list. He missed his third game with left hip flexor. . . G Kyle Lowry missed a fifth game with right foot infection.

UP NEXT

Bulls: At Atlanta on Friday night.

Raptors: At Cleveland on Saturday night.

Nedeljkovic excels as Hurricanes blank Panthers 3-0

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The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

RALEIGH, N.C. — Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for his third career shutout, all in his last 12 games, and Vincent Trocheck scored another goal against his former team as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Thursday night.

Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas also scored for Carolina, which swept a two-game set from the Panthers to move ahead of Florida in the closely contested Central Division.

Chris Driedger made 19 saves for the Panthers, who were shut out for the third time this season.

Aho scored on a first-period power play just 7 seconds after Matt Kiersted’s hooking penalty. Trocheck sent a pass through the slot and Aho launched a shot without resistance.

Trocheck’s goal came in the second period when the puck was airborne above Driedger and the Panthers couldn’t get control of it before it trickled into the net.

Trocheck, traded from the Panthers less than 15 months ago, has scored one goal in each of Carolina’s six games against Florida this season.

Necas had an empty-net goal.

AHO DELIVERS

Aho has become a consistent scorer for the Hurricanes. His goal pushed him to 300 career points in 349 career games.

Since the franchise relocated from Connecticut almost 25 years ago, only two Carolina players – former forwards Ray Whitney and Cory Stillman – have more points per game than Aho.

IN THE MARKET

The Panthers entered the trade market earlier Thursday, acquiring defenseman Lucas Carlsson and forward Lucas Wallmark from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Wallmark made his NHL debut as a Carolina player. Last season, he played for the Panthers after a trade from the Hurricanes.

The Panthers sent forward Brett Connolly and defenseman Riley Stillman to Chicago along with restricted free-agent rights to forward Henrik Borgstrom and a 2021 seventh-ranked draft pick.

Stillman had played in the past seven games for the Panthers. Connolly had been a scratch for the last three games while he was with the organization.

NOT AGAIN

The three times the Panthers have been blanked this season, the final score has been 3-0 in each case.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Travel to Dallas for games Saturday and Tuesday.

Hurricanes: Play on Saturday and Monday at home vs. Detroit.

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

Jeremy Swayman wins 2nd NHL start, Bruins beat Capitals 4-2

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The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

WASHINGTON — Brad Marchand scored a shorthanded goal, Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves to win his second NHL start and the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Thursday night.

Jeremy Lauzon, Anton Blidh and Craig Smith also scored for Boston, which won back-to-back starts by its rookie fourth-string goaltender fresh out of college in his first professional season. Swayman allowed two power-play goals in under 20 seconds to Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie but kept the Bruins ahead when the Capitals tilted the ice toward him in the second period.

Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov allowed a leaky goal to Lauzon 33 seconds into the game and was unlucky when defenseman Justin Schultz’s attempt to flick the puck off the glass behind the net instead took a fluky bounce to Blidh for a tap-in later in the first period. The goal was Blidh’s second in the NHL and first since 2016.

Marchand gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead early in the second period when he deked two Washington defenders and lifted a backhander past Samsonov, who finished with 28 saves.

Despite Ovechkin’s 5-on-3 power-play goal that gave him 20 this season and 726 for his career and Oshie’s team-leading eighth on the power play, the Capitals couldn’t tie it and Smith scored on the power play with 3:05 left in the game.

Washington has lost two in a row and four of its past six.

MORE OVECHKIN MILESTONES

Ovechkin’s goal got him to 20 for a 16th consecutive season. It was also his 266th on the power play, breaking a tie with Brett Hull for second on the career list. Ovechkin is eight back of Dave Andreychuk for the most power-play goals in league history.

Swayman is the 146th different goalie Ovechkin has scored on.

THURSDAY NIGHT FIGHT

Tensions always seem to be high between these teams, and this was their first meeting since Capitals winger Tom Wilson injured Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo with a hit that landed Wilson a seven-game suspension. Boston’s Nick Ritchie and Washington’s Garnet Hathaway dropped the gloves late in the first, and there were a combined 13 minor penalties doled out during the game.

LINEUP CHANGES

Boston was without defenseman Charlie McAvoy for a second consecutive game because of an upper-body injury, and forward Trent Frederic wasn’t available because of a non-COVID-19-related illness. Dan Vladar dressed as the backup goaltender with Tuukka Rask injured and Jaroslav Halak on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.

Washington’s Daniel Carr saw his first NHL action since Feb. 7, replacing Daniel Sprong. Carr was added to the Capitals’ roster after Richard Panik cleared waivers and was sent to the taxi squad.

STILL NO FANS

Washington is the only team left in the East Division to not allow some fans into its arena, and one of just three remaining in the U.S. without announced plans for a limited capacity to attend games. Owner Ted Leonsis tweeted this week the organization was “disappointed with the city’s failure” to grant a waiver for 10% of capacity at Capital One Arena, which is roughly 1,800 fans.

UP NEXT

The Capitals visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and the Bruins return to Philadelphia to face the Flyers on Saturday before these teams meet again Sunday in Boston.

Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno

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

Connor Hellebuyck makes 36 saves, Jets beat Canadiens 4-2

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The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

MONTREAL — Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday night to open a five-game trip.

Josh Morrissey, Trevor Lewis, Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrew Copp scored for the Jets. The improved to 24-13-3, with only two regulation losses in their last nine games.

Phillip Danault and Paul Byron scored for the Canadiens, and Jake Allen made 23 saves.

Canadiens starting goalie Carey Price is not expected to be available until next week because of a lower-body injury.

The teams will complete the two-game set in Montreal on Saturday night.

Oilers beat Senators 3-1 to sweep 9-game season series

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The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

OTTAWA, Ontario — Devin Shore broke a tie with 7:02 left, Mike Smith made 39 saves and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Thursday night to sweep the nine-game season series.

Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi, into an empty net, also scored for Edmonton.

The Oilers have points in nine of their last 10 games, and moved back within five points of the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the Canadian-based North Division.

Connor Brown tied a franchise record by scoring in a sixth straight game for Ottawa.

Anton Forsberg stopped 20 shots for the Senators. They have lost three straight and four of their last five in regulation.

Ottawa managed to keep Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl mostly in check after the pair combined for eight points in the Oilers’ 4-2 victory over the Senators on Wednesday night.

UP NEXT

Oilers: At Calgary on Saturday night.

Senators: At Toronto on Saturday night.

Avs’ MacDonald gets 2-game ban for hit to head vs. Wild

By

The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

NEW YORK — Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jacob MacDonald was suspended Thursday for two games without pay for an illegal check to the head on Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman.

The NHL’s department of player safety said the contact was avoidable for MacDonald, who approached Hartman on a back check and knocked him to the ice with a sideswipe hit in the first period of the game Wednesday at Minnesota.

The play went unpenalized, drawing boos from the limited crowd at Xcel Energy Center as the replay was shown on the videoboard. MacDonald pointed to his shoulder as he watched it, appearing to claim he clipped Hartman there and not on his head.

MacDonald has one goal, six assists and a plus-13 rating in 27 games this season. He will forfeit $12,500, based on his average annual salary.

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

Letang, Rodrigues lead Penguins to 5-2 win over Rangers

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The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

NEW YORK — Kris Letang and Evan Rodrigues scored in the second period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-2 Thursday night.

Radim Zohorna and Jason Zucker each added a goal and an assist, Mark Jankowski also scored, and Letang and Rodrigues also each had an assist. Tristan Jarry stopped 22 shots to help Pittsburgh snap a two-game skid.

The Penguins beat the Rangers for the sixth time in eight games this season.

Colin Blackwell and Kevin Rooney scored for the Rangers, who were 3-0-1 in their last four. Igor Shesterkin, starting for the fifth straight game, made 27 saves.

The Penguins had given up 15 goals in their previous two games — a 7-5 loss at Boston last Saturday and 8-4 here to the Rangers on Tuesday night.

Zucker scored on a backhander with 9:31 left in the third for is sixth to give the Penguins a 4-1 lead.

Rooney pulled the Rangers within two with 6:12 left. Adam Fox drew Jarry out to the goalie’s left as he skated past the goal line and sent a pass back in front and Rooney scored into the open goal.

The Rangers pulled Shesterkin for an extra skater with a little more than 2 1/2 minutes left, but Jankowski sealed it with an empty-netter a minute later to seal it.

Blackwell tied it at 1 at 2:02 of the second. With the Rangers on their second power play of the game, Kaapo Kakko sent a pass to Pavel Buchnevich at the bottom of the right circle, and Buchnevich passed it in front to Blackwell, who quickly beat Jarry for his 11th.

Letang put the Penguins back in front 1:21 later as his pass toward the front of the net for Bryan Rust, deflected off Chris Kreider’s stick and through defenseman Ryan Lindgren’s legs and past Shesterkin. It was Letang’s seventh.

On the Penguins’ second power play of the game, Zohorna got a pass from Zucker below the left circle near the goal line and sent it in front to Rodrigues, who beat Shesterkin with 8:32 left for his fifth to make it 3-1.

Penguins star center Sidney Crosby went to the dressing room late in the second period due to an equipment issue, but was back on the ice for the third.

Kreider had a penalty shot with 2:01 left in the middle period after he was taken down by Cody Ceci on a breakaway, but Jarry denied his attempt.

The Penguins came out aggressive and outshot the Rangers 13-5 in the first period, including 9-2 over the first 5 1/2 minutes. Pittsburgh then broke though on its 10th attempt.

Off a long pass from Marcus Pettersson, Zohorna skated up the right side, cut in front of the goal and beat Shesterkin from the left side at 6:26 for his second goal in four games this season.

RANGERS GET VACCINATED

The Rangers were able to get COVID vaccines on Wednesday, and most of the players got their shots.

“We’re very fortunate to be able to get that vaccine,” defenseman Jacob Trouba said. “It’s obviously been a crazy time. … Hopefully we can in the near future move on to a little more of normal life.”

PENGUINS INJURIES

D John Marino was back in the Penguins’ lineup after leaving Tuesday’s game in the third period with an undisclosed injury. He missed practice Wednesday, but took part in the optional morning skate Thursday.

The Penguins continue to be without injured forwards Teddy Blueger, Evgeni Malkin, Kasperi Kapanen and Brandon Tanev. Coach Mike Sullivan said F Anthony Angelo remained on the taxi squad because he did not accompany the team to New York for the four games against the Rangers and New Jersey Devils due to an upper body injury.

STREAKS

Penguins F Jake Guentzel had an assist on Letang’s second-period goal to give him three assists and six points in a four-game point streak. … Fox’s assist on Rooney’s goal extended his point streak to 12 games. He has 19 goals and 22 points in the stretch. … Rangers F Artemi Panarin ended a four-game point streak in which he had four goals and seven assists.

UP NEXT

Penguins: At New Jersey on Saturday night to open a two-game series.

Rangers: At the New York Islanders on Friday night to open a two-game series.

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

Lynn pitches 1st shutout of season, White Sox top Royals 6-0

By

The Associated Press

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April 9, 2021

CHICAGO — Lance Lynn pitched a five-hitter for the first complete game and shutout in the major leagues this season, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on a rainy Thursday.

Yermín Mercedes kept up his scorching start with a 485-foot homer. Yoán Moncada went deep, and the White Sox gave manager Tony La Russa the win in his first home game on the South Side in 35 years

Lynn (1-0) struck out 11 and walked none in his second shutout in 238 career starts, his first since a five-hitter against the New York Yankees on May 27, 2014.

A 33-year-old right-hander acquired from Texas in the offseason, Lynn threw 79 of 111 pitches for strikesin his fourth career complete game.

Moncada hit a two-run homer in the first, and Mercedes followed with a long shot to left-center against Brad Keller to make it 3-0. The 28-year-old rookie went 2 for 4, giving him a major league-leading 15 hits in 27 at-bats. And the White Sox came away with an easy win in a game delayed more than two hours at the start.

La Russa had not managed a home game on the South Side since a loss to the California Angels on June 11, 1986. Chicago fired him soon in a move chairman Jerry Reinsdorf regretted allowing, and the White Sox brought back the Hall of Famer in October to replace Rick Renteria, hoping he can push them to a championship.

Keller (0-1), coming off the shortest opening-day start in franchise history, got tagged for four runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings after getting just four outs against Texas last week.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: GM Rick Hahn said the White Sox expect star SS Tim Anderson (strained left hamstring) to return once he’s eligible to be activated from the 10-day injured list on April 15. … The White Sox placed OF Billy Hamilton (strained left hamstring) on the 10-day injured list and selected the contract of OF Nick Williams from their training facility in Schaumburg. Hamilton was replaced in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s loss at Seattle due to tightness in his hamstring after stealing third. … The White Sox also transferred LHP Jace Fry to the 60-day injured list. He’s recovering from a microdiscectomy to repair a herniated disk.

UP NEXT

The White Sox will try to win their 18th straight game against a left-handed starter and tie a major league record set by Atlanta from 2004-05 when they meet Mike Minor (1-0, 6.00) on Saturday. Chicago’s streak dates to a loss to Detroit on Sept. 28, 2019, when lefty Tyler Alexander started for the Tigers but did not figure in the decision. RHP Dylan Cease (0-0, 5.79 ERA) pitches Saturday for Chicago.

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