WINNIPEG, Manitoba: Brian Elliott made 31 saves for his second consecutive shutout as the Calgary Flames extended their winning streak to nine games with a 3-0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik each scored on the power play as the victory also gave Calgary points in 11 straight games.
The Flames also jumped in the NHL standings. Their 80 points tied them with Anaheim, but Calgary moves into second place in the Pacific Division because they have three more wins than the idle Ducks.
Alex Chiasson also scored, while Frolik added one assist and Dougie Hamilton, a game-time decision, had three assists.
SENATORS 4, AVALANCHE 2: Craig Anderson made 14 saves to set the franchise wins mark as Ottawa defeated Colorado for its sixth consecutive victory.
Alex Burrows and Mike Hoffman each had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which tied Montreal atop the Atlantic Division with 84 points.
Anderson earned win No. 147 with Ottawa and passed Patrick Lalime for the top spot.
Fredrik Claesson and Ryan Dzingel also had goals for the Senators.
Calvin Pickard stopped 27 shots and Matt Nieto and Sven Andrighetto scored for the Avalanche.
KINGS 4, CAPITALS 2: Adrian Kempe scored his first NHL goal with 11:14 to play and captain Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist in Los Angeles’ victory over NHL-leading Washington.
Marian Gaborik also scored and Jonathan Quick made 17 saves in a big win for the Kings, who have won three of four as they fight to stay in the playoff race. Jeff Carter added an empty-net goal as Los Angeles won back-to-back games for the first time since early February.
The Kings are in ninth place in the Western Conference, trailing St. Louis by three points.
Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie scored for the Capitals, who have lost three straight regulation games for the first time in their outstanding season.
PENGUINS 3, CANUCKS 0: Matt Murray made 27 saves as Pittsburgh beat Vancouver.
Jake Guentzel, Ian Cole and Conor Sheary scored for the Penguins, who have won five straight and are in sole possession of second place in the Metropolitan Division ahead of Columbus.
The Canucks took another hit to their already bleak playoff outlook, slipping 10 points back for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller was outstanding despite the loss, making a season-high 45 saves.
BRUINS 2, FLYERS 1: Drew Stafford scored with 5.6 seconds left in the third period when his dump-in shot tipped off Philadelphia defenseman Brandon Manning’s stick, lifting Boston to the win.
David Pastrnak had a power-play goal, and Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for Boston, which improved to 10-3 under interim coach Bruce Cassidy, who replaced fired Claude Julien on Feb.7.
Jordan Weal had the Flyers’ goal, and Steve Mason stopped 25 shots. Philadelphia may be sliding out of a chance at a playoff berth with its ninth loss in 14 games (5-8-1).
PREDATORS 3, SHARKS 1: Ryan Johansen and James Neal scored goals to help Nashville snap a four-game losing streak with a victory over San Jose.
After starting their California swing with a shootout loss in Anaheim and an overtime defeat in Los Angeles, the Predators head home on a high note by beating the defending Western Conference champions. Backup goalie Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the win.
Paul Martin scored the lone goal for the first-place Sharks, who lost for just the second time in seven games.
MAPLE LEAFS 3, HURRICANES 2, OT: Morgan Rielly scored 2:13 into overtime to lift Toronto over the Carolina.
Rielly’s wrist shot past Cam Ward gave Toronto its third straight victory and moved them one point ahead of the New York Islanders for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Mitch Marner and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto and Frederik Andersen made 36 saves.
Victor Rask and Teuvo Teravainen scored for Carolina, which has lost 11 of 15 games. Ward made 23 saves but could not steer aside Rielly’s shot, which bounced off his left leg pad and angled into the back corner of the net.
SABRES 5, BLUE JACKETS 3: Evander Kane scored a power-play goal with 2:29 remaining as Buffalo rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat Columbus.
Sam Reinhart, Matt Moulson and Jake McCabe scored to tie it and Jack Eichel added an empty-netter for Buffalo. Robin Lehner stopped all 24 shots he faced after taking over for Anders Nilsson to start the second period. Nilsson was yanked after giving up three goals on 12 shots.
Nick Foligno, Oliver Bjorkstrand and David Savard scored for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 26 shots.
LIGHTNING 3, PANTHERS 2: Ondrej Palat scored with 2:23 left to give Tampa Bay a victory over Florida.
Palat redirected Andrej Sustr’s shot to complete Tampa Bay’s comeback from a two-goal deficit.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves and Nikita Kucherov and Yanni Gourde also scored for the Lightning.
Jaromir Jagr and Mark Pysyk scored for Florida while James Reimer stopped 31 shots.
COYOTES 5, DEVILS 4: Tobias Reider and Anthony DeAngelo each had a goal and an assist as Arizona handed New Jersey its 10th consecutive loss.
The Coyotes led 4-0 early in the second period but needed the goal from the rookie DeAngelo with 6:29 to play for what proved to be the winning margin.
DeAngelo’s goal, a patient shot through traffic from the slot, put Arizona up 5-3 before John Moore’s backhanded upper shelf shot past goalie Mike Smith cut it to 5-4 with 4:58 remaining.
Smith preserved the victory by blocking Taylor Hall’s penalty shot with 2:38 to play.
Devils goalie Cory Schneider was lifted after allowing four goals on 10 shots in the first 24:13 of the game.
Radim Vrbata, Brendan Perlini, and Jakob Chychrun also scored for Arizona.
Kyle Palmieri scored twice and Beau Bennett added goals for New Jersey.
BLUES 4, ISLANDERS 3: Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice to lead St. Louis over New York.
Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund also scored as the Blues won their fourth straight game. Carter Hutton stopped 21 of 24 shots.
New York’s Thomas Greiss stopped 14 of 18 shots in the first two periods before being pulled in favor of Jean-Francois Berube to start the third with the Islanders trailing 4-1.
Brock Nelson, Anthony Beauvillier and Nick Leddy scored for the Islanders.
Flames shutout Jets; Senators defeat Avalanche
Flames shutout Jets; Senators defeat Avalanche
Mitchell Starc shows class as Kolkata Knight Riders notch IPL win in Mumbai
Chasing a below-par 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 145 off 18.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium.
Suryakumar Yadav raised hopes with a 35-ball 56 but his dismissal in the 16th over tilted the scales in favour of Kolkata.
This was Kolkata's first win at the Wankhede ground in 12 years and seventh from 10 games this season.
Mumbai slumped to ninth position in the 10-team competition after their eighth loss in 11 games.
Kolkata are placed second and well poised to make it to the play-offs.
"Obviously we couldn't form partnerships and kept losing wickets," said Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya.
"There are a lot of questions that will take time to answer. But for now, not much to say."
Mumbai were off to a shaky start, with Starc flattening the leg-stump of Ishan Kishan (13) and Varun Chakravarthy sending back Naman Dhir (11).
The home team got another big jolt when Rohit Sharma, who came in as an impact sub, miscued a shot to be caught off Sunil Narine for 11.
Pandya's poor run of form continued as he was out for one, much to the disappointment of the strong home crowd.
Yadav hit his third half-century of the season and Tim David chipped in with 24 but Kolkata did well to rein in the five-time champions.
Earlier, Kolkata lost five quick wickets including that of the prolific Phil Salt (five) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (six) after being put in to bat.
Tottering at 57-5, Venkatesh Iyer (70) and impact sub Manish Pandey (42) steadied Kolkata with an 83-run stand and ensured a respectable total on the board.
Iyer, who hit a century at the same ground last season, hit three sixes and six fours in his fighting 52-ball knock.
"It's an extremely good feeling, because we haven't won at Wankhede for 12 years," said Kolkata's Varun Chakravarthy.
"This is a very special win because we were down and out in the first innings. The way Venkatesh and Manish pulled it back was great."
Jasprit Bumrah and Sri Lanka's Nuwan Thushara were the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets each and troubling the batsmen with their line and length on a lively wicket.
Saudi table tennis players ‘happy’ to compete against world’s best
- Fast-rising stars speak ahead of Saudi Smash 2024, the Kingdom’s first professional table tennis event
- Competition will feature a 64-player men’s and women’s singles main draw alongside a 24-pair main draw for men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s table tennis stars of the future, Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi and Ali Alkhadrawi, have voiced their appreciation after being given a platform to showcase their talent and compete against the best in the world.
The two spoke on Friday at a press conference ahead of Saudi Smash 2024, the Kingdom’s first professional table tennis event.
Hassan Hayyan, a board member of the Saudi Table Tennis Federation, and head of the competitions and referees committee, attended the conference along with Bu Shulaybi and Alkhadrawi.
Bu Shulaybi said: “It’s a great feeling that a major table tennis event is happening in Saudi Arabia. I have been to many tournaments around the world, but this one really has impressed me — the level of organization is unbelievable, and thanks must go to everyone who has worked hard to make it happen.
“With 20 of the greatest players in the world all involved, going head-to-head with them is an opportunity to compete with the best, learn from them, and ultimately improve.”
Alkhadrawi said: “It’s a dream for any Saudi player to play this tournament. We were very happy to be chosen for this opportunity and to compete against very high-level players.”
“We have received great support,” he said. “We’re very lucky to have the Saudi Table Tennis Federation supporting us.”
He had inspirational words of encouragement for the Kingdom’s emerging talent.
“My message to the next generation of professional Saudi players is that the possibilities are endless. So long as they are disciplined, dedicated, and listen to their coaches, the opportunity and potential are there to reach new heights and make it far in this sport.”
Hayyan said: “Hosting such a major international table tennis event is a testament to the unwavering support we’ve received from the Kingdom’s leadership.”
He said that Saudi Smash “represents the latest chapter in Saudi Arabia’s sports evolution, and we’re sure it will be remembered for many years to come.”
Following three days of qualifying matches from Wednesday to Friday, the main competitions get underway on Saturday, with eight days of world-class table tennis action in store for spectators.
The event consists of a 64-player men’s and women’s singles main draw alongside a 24-pair main draw for men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles.
A series of thrilling showdowns are locked in across each competition after Thursday’s draw, with some of Saudi Arabia’s fastest-rising table tennis stars in action.
World Endurance Championship camel race starts Saturday at AlUla
- Event has a prize pool of more than SR2 million
- 20 male and 15 female jockeys from the first stage will qualify for the final
ALULA: The Saudi Camel Federation and the Royal Commission of AlUla Governorate are co-organizing the first edition of the World Endurance Championship camel race on Saturday at AlUla Camel Track.
The event has a prize pool of more than SR2 million ($533,000), and the results for the men and women riders will be calculated separately, according to a media statement on Friday.
The championship event includes a 16 km race split into two stages of 8 km each, with a 30-minute break in between.
Twenty male and 15 female jockeys from the first stage qualify for the final. The results will be calculated according to the best timings in the two stages.
The winners in each of the categories will be awarded SR500,000 while the remainder of the prize pool will be distributed between 10 riders in the men’s category and 10 in the women’s category.
All federations are permitted to participate with 10 male and five female riders.
Riders whose countries are not members of the International Camel Racing Federation will be allowed to participate under the ICRF’s flag with a maximum of three participants and the option to borrow camels.
According to the ICRF, participating camels must be over 18 years old and registered by and type.
In September, the General Assembly of the ICRF, chaired by Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, approved the launch of the first edition of this championship.
Man City’s Foden wins football writers’ award
- Foden is the third City player in the past four years to win football’s oldest individual award
- The 23-year-old Foden received 42 percent of the votes, heading off competition from Arsenal’s Declan Rice and his teammate Rodri
LONDON: Manchester City’s Phil Foden was Friday named Footballer of the Year by the English Football Writers’ Association, with the club’s Khadija Shaw scooping the women’s award.
England attacking midfielder Foden joins a roll call of famous names including Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, George Best and Kenny Dalglish.
Foden is the third City player in the past four years to win football’s oldest individual award, following Ruben Dias in 2021 and Erling Haaland last year.
The 23-year-old Foden received 42 percent of the votes, heading off competition from Arsenal’s Declan Rice and his teammate Rodri, who came third in a ballot of the FWA’s near 900-strong membership.
Foden has scored 24 goals this season as Pep Guardiola’s City chase a Premier League and FA Cup double.
“Being named the Football Writers’ Association footballer of the year is a huge honor,” said Foden. “I’m very, very happy to receive this award but I could not have done it without the help of my teammates.”
Guardiola praised his player but said he could get even better.
“The impact in the final third is really good, the work ethic,” he said. “Every year, due to the amount of games he’s playing, the minutes he’s playing, he’s more mature and he understands the game but he has to continue. He’s still young.”
“Depends on him, simple as that,” Guardiola added. “I promise you, it depends on him. Mentality, want more, do it again, do it again, be better in this department, I will live 24 hours for my game and for my profession. It depends on him, like all the players.”
Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who has scored 21 goals in the Women’s Super League, pipped Chelsea’s Lauren James, with the two taking a combined 80 percent of the vote.
Jamaica international Shaw will miss City’s final two games of the Women’s Super League season with a foot injury but is almost certain to finish as the top-scorer in the WSL as Gareth Taylor’s side close in on the title.
“I am very proud and privileged to have received this award and to be recognized in this way is a special honor,” said Shaw, 27.
“I want to also thank all of my teammates. They provide me with the chances to score goals and I could not have won this award without them.”
Real Madrid’s Courtois to return after nine-month injury layoff
- Belgian international Courtois, 31, has missed the entire season with a knee ligament injury
- “Yes, Thibaut is fine. He will play tomorrow (Saturday) after a long period of absence,” said Ancelotti
MADRID: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will play his first match for the Spanish club after a nine-month injury layoff against Cadiz this weekend, coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Friday.
Belgian international Courtois, 31, has missed the entire season with a knee ligament injury and suffered a further setback in March which required another knee operation.
“Yes, Thibaut is fine. He will play tomorrow (Saturday) after a long period of absence,” said Ancelotti.
“He’s looking forward to playing. We’re delighted to see him return.”
La Liga leaders Real Madrid have their first chance to be crowned champions this weekend, although they need a helping hand from this season’s shock title challengers Girona.
Madrid host Cadiz on Saturday and if they win and Girona take any points off defending champions Barcelona immediately afterwards, Los Blancos will earn a record-extending 36th Spanish title.
Courtois has been back in team training for several weeks, and was part of the Madrid group to travel to Germany this week to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal first leg 2-2 draw.
Asked about a possible start for Courtois in the Champions League final if they reach it, Ancelotti replied: “The final we have in mind is Wednesday against Bayern, in which (Andriy) Lunin will play, and then we will see.”
In 2022, Courtois was the prime architect of Real’s Champions League triumph, proving himself to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
