Mighty Ducks avoid elimination, 6-3
Dustin Penner and Joffrey Lupul scored twice for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, who stayed alive in the Western Conference finals with a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night at Edmonton, Alberta.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere returned to the Anaheim goal for his first start since April 29 – a span of nine games – and made 20 saves as the Mighty Ducks extended the series and snapped the Oilers’ seven-game winning streak.
They will return home for Game 5 Saturday night. Anaheim still trails 3-1 in the best-of-7 series. Only two NHL teams have rallied from such a deficit to win.
Jones, Tocchet might sue
Wayne Gretzky’s wife and a Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach might sue New Jersey for $50 million each, contending their reputations were damaged after state officials leaked information from wiretaps in a case involving a multimillion-dollar sports betting ring.
In two separate notices – often a precursor to a lawsuit – the attorneys named the New Jersey Department of Law and the State Police for allegedly leaking information to the media about recorded conversations; the notices were both filed May 8 in Trenton, N.J.
Gretzky’s wife, Janet Jones, was linked to the ring allegedly run by Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet, a former NHL player and close friend of her husband, the Coyotes coach.
New Jersey authorities announced charges in February against Tocchet, a New Jersey state trooper and another New Jersey man for running a nationwide sports gambling operation. State police said wagers – primarily on professional football – exceeded $1.7 million during a five-week investigation period leading up to the Super Bowl.
Jones is believed to have placed large bets through Tocchet. She has not been charged with any crime but is expected to be subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury investigating gambling activity, attorneys said.
Off the ice
Ray Shero is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ new general manager, signing a five-year contract after the Nashville Predators assistant general manager broke off talks with the Boston Bruins. Shero replaces Hall of Fame executive Craig Patrick, whose contract was not renewed in April after 16-plus years on the job. … Sabres defenseman Henrik Tallinder has a broken left arm and will miss the rest of the playoffs.