Sports
Kings take series lead with shutout of Sharks
LOS ANGELES — Jonathan Quick made 24 saves in his seventh career playoff shutout, and the Los Angeles Kings moved to the brink of their second straight trip to the Western Conference finals with a 3-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 on Thursday night.
Anze Kopitar and Slava Voynov scored, and Jeff Carter added an empty-net goal as the defending Stanley Cup champions won their 13th consecutive home game in dominant fashion and lead the series 3-2. READ
Rangers stay alive with OT win over Bruins
NEW YORK — Chris Kreider steered in a pass from Rick Nash 7:03 into overtime, and the New York Rangers stayed alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. New York, which erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in the critical Game 4 matchup in the Eastern Conference semifinals, still trails the series 3-1. The Rangers will need to win again on Saturday in Boston to force a Game 6 back in Madison Square Garden. READ
Blades ousted by Knights at Memorial Cup
SASKATOON — Bo Horvat scored on a short-handed penalty shot in the first period and Jake Patterson made 32 saves Thursday as the London Knights defeated the host Saskatoon Blades 6-1 in the tiebreaker game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup. London will now take on the Portland Winterhawks in Friday’s semifinal, while Saskatoon’s up-and-down season came to a disappointing end. READ
Canadians in contention at Colonial
FORT WORTH, Texas — Ryan Palmer was standing in the fairway on his last hole Thursday when his longtime caddie and fellow Colonial member issued a challenge. James Edmondson, who won his third Colonial club championship last year, told Palmer that a birdie would match the caddie’s low round at Hogan’s Alley. “What do you do when you get that thrown at you,” Palmer said. READ
Renegades are looking for success on the pitch this season
Red Deer Renegades head coach Ado Sarcevic has a good feeling about the Alberta Women’s Major League season. Not that he expects to dominate the league, but with a veteran lineup and the addition of several new faces, he believes the team will take a step in the right direction. READ
Encarnacion slam lifts Jays over Orioles
TORONTO — Plenty of star power and promising pitching by the Baltimore Orioles gave the Toronto Blue Jays every reason to resign themselves to a long night. Through three innings, that is. Edwin Encarnacion’s grand slam was the highlight of Toronto’s 12-6 win over the Orioles on Thursday, but the adjustments made by Adam Lind, J.P. Arencibia and Brandon Morrow helped the Blue Jays overcome an early 3-0 deficit. READ
Wings continue to roll with shutout win over Hawks
DETROIT — Jimmy Howard kept Jonathan Toews in his misery, making three saves against the struggling star to help the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Thursday night in Game 4 of the second round series to put the NHL’s best team during the regular season on the brink of elimination. When Howard wasn’t using his glove or pads to deny Toews, Detroit’s skaters were rattling him and his teammates with a physical presence that is clearly making them uncomfortable. READ
Stars among destinations for former Canucks head coach Vigneault
VANCOUVER — Former Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault appears to have some interesting opportunities as he pursues a new job. Given his experience and success with the Canucks, Vigneault should get some consideration for the vacant Dallas Stars job. READ
Cornish says goal is to get Stamps back to Grey Cup
Star Calgary running back Jon Cornish may get odd looks when he stands on one foot ordering lunch or spins through a doorway. But he says he can’t stop working on ways to improve his game, after setting a new CFL record last season for a Canadian with 1,457 rushing yards. “You just live like that and it becomes your norm. If people think it’s weird then, whatever,” he said Thursday on a CFL pre-season conference call. READ
Hamlin wins Coca Cola 600 pole in record fashion
CONCORD, N.C. — Denny Hamlin isn’t ready to say he’s back, even after winning the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 with a record-setting qualifying lap Thursday night. He said it would take a win Sunday night or at another Sprint Cup race later in the season before he’s willing to make that declaration. READ
Indy 500 to have four women behind the wheel
INDIANAPOLIS — Katherine Legge didn’t know she’d have a shot at the Indianapolis 500 until it was time to qualify, when Schmidt Peterson Motorsports decided to put her in its second car at the last second. Pippa Mann chatted with tire makers, dropped in on the folks from the television networks and even tried to get cozy with engine maker Honda in the hopes of landing a ride. READ
Big names have rough day at BMW PGA Championship
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Rory McIlroy could only manage a disappointing 2 over par 74, while defending champion and former No. 1 Luke Donald slumped to a 78 on a rain-affected first round of the BMW PGA Championship on Thursday. South Africa’s James Kingston led the field after finishing with a 6 under 66 before play was interrupted by a 90-minute rain delay during the afternoon. Later, five groups were yet to finish as darkness fell and play was suspended. READ
Haas, Waldorf share lead at Senior PGA Championship
ST. LOUIS — Jay Haas is familiar with Bellerive Country Club — and it showed in the first round of the Senior PGA Championship. Haas, who grew up in nearby Belleville, Ill., and Duffy Waldorf shared the lead Thursday, shooting 5-under 66 in breezy, cool conditions. READ
Cell phone use to be curbed at Memorial golf tournament
DUBLIN, Ohio — There isn’t a pro golfer who doesn’t have a story about a “Play That Funky Music” ringtone coming from the gallery during a backswing, or the time a tourist with a flip phone was snapping photos in the middle of a critical putt. The Memorial is the latest tournament to try to do something about it. READ
Avalanche hire former goalie Patrick Roy as coach
Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy is returning to the Colorado Avalanche as their head coach. READ
Penguins blow out Senators
OTTAWA — It’s textbook media training for hockey players: don’t utter a word about the next round of the playoffs until you have all four games of your current series in the bag. It’s a lesson Sidney Crosby has apparently learned well. “I’m not talking about anything ahead of Game 5,” was all the Pittsburgh Penguins captain would say when asked about a potential Eastern Conference final against, likely, the Boston Bruins. READ
Winterhawks best Blades to move on to semifinal
SASKATOON — The Portland Winterhawks scored three times in the third period Wednesday to defeat the Saskatoon Blades 4-2 in the final round-robin game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup. With the score tied 1-1, Chase De Leo gave Portland the lead for good at 4:08 of the third when he jammed a loose puck past Blades goalie Andrey Makarov as the Winterhawks (2-1) clinched a spot in Friday’s semifinal. READ
Bautista shoulders load for Jays win over Rays
TORONTO — Mark Buehrle provided the quality start and slugger Jose Bautista came through with the dramatics in Toronto’s first walk-off victory of the season Wednesday at Rogers Centre. Bautista tied it in the ninth inning with his second homer of the game and drove in the winning run in the 10th to give the Blue Jays a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Bautista lashed an 0-2 pitch from Kyle Farnsworth to right field that brought Colby Rasmus home from third base for the victory. READ
Pearson excels at area track and field championship
Scott Pearson decided if he was ever going to compete in track and field now was the time. “I decided with this being my Grade 12 year (at Hunting Hills) to give it a shot as I wouldn’t get a chance later,” he explained. It was a great decision as he won all three events he entered at the Central Alberta area track and field championship at Lindsay Thurber Wednesday. READ
Canucks fire Vigneault after first-round sweep
VANCOUVER — Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis is in no rush to name a replacement for fired coach Alain Vigneault. “I don’t have a timeframe,” said Gillis during a news conference Wednesday after Vigneault’s dismissal was confirmed. “We just are focused on getting the right person, moving ahead and executing a plan that we have that is going to get us back to the level that we expect.” READ
