Ovechkin leads Capitals past Rangers
NHL playoffs: Alex Ovechkin’s power-play goal with 7:27 remaining snapped a tie and gave the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Rangers that squared the Eastern Conference semifinal series 1-1 on Monday night in New York.
Just under 6 minutes after Ryan Callahan got the Rangers even with a power-play goal, Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead for good after they squandered a 2-0 lead.
Mike Knuble and Jason Chimera scored first-period goals for the Capitals, who will host the next two games of the series. Washington is trying to repeat its first-round feat when it lost the series opener but rallied to beat Boston in seven games. The Capitals have earned four of their five wins in this postseason on the road.
Brad Richards had a goal and assist, and defenseman Michael Del Zotto had two assists for the top-seeded Rangers, who got forward Brian Boyle back from a three-game injury absence but couldn’t turn it into a commanding lead in the series.
• Kings rout Blues: Anze Kopitar scored twice in a four-goal, first-period blitz as the Los Angeles Kings embarrassed the Blues from the opening faceoff, whipping host St. Louis 5-2 for their fifth straight road win this postseason.
Stoudemire loses cool after loss to Heat
NBA playoffs: Carmelo Anthony looked as if he was ready to take on LeBron James and the Miami Heat Big Three all by himself Monday night. He may have to for the rest of this playoff series.
Amar’e Stoudemire was so frustrated after the Knicks’ 104-94 Game 2 loss at Miami, that he punched a fire extinguisher that was inside a glass case and suffered a laceration to his left hand. Stoudemire received stitches and left AmericanAirlines Arena with his hand heavily taped and his arm in a sling. He didn’t speak to reporters.
The Knicks, who are down 0-2 in the best-of-7 series to the Heat, had no updates other than Stoudemire will be evaluated today. But Tyson Chandler said Stoudemire won’t play in Game 3 on Thursday at the Garden.
“We just know right now that he has a laceration and he’s probably going to be out,” Chandler said.
• Thunder hold off Mavericks: Russell Westbrook scored 29 points, Kevin Durant added 26 in an off-shooting performance and the Thunder clawed out a 102-99 victory over defending champion Dallas at Oklahoma City, to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Durant hit two free throws with 50.4 seconds left to give Oklahoma City a 98-97 lead, and James Harden hit four more foul shots to close it out for the Thunder.
• Pacers even series with Magic: David West had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Orlando Magic 93-78 at Indianapolis, and even the Eastern Conference first-round series at one game apiece.
Danny Granger and George Hill each added 18 points and Paul George had 17 points and eight rebounds for Indiana.
• Lakers’ Hill charged with assault: Los Angeles Lakers forward Jordan Hill faces a felony assault charge after his girlfriend accused him of choking and shoving her in Houston earlier this year.
Hill is charged with assaulting 28-year-old Darlene Luna on Feb. 29 at his apartment while the New York Knicks’ former first-round draft pick was playing for the Houston Rockets.
• Lin continuing to practice with Knicks: Jeremy Lin took part in another practice with the New York Knicks, and the team says it hopes to know more later this week about when the guard might be able to return to the lineup.
Lin participated in the team’s gameday shootaround before its playoff matchup with the Heat, the fourth straight day that Lin did some on-court work coming off knee surgery.
• Owner of new home for Nets also eyeing hockey team: The developer and owner of Brooklyn’s new Barclays Center believes his state-of-the-art facility can hold hockey for more than just a passing game or two.
Bruce Ratner, who will welcome the NBA’s Nets to Brooklyn next season, is hopeful of potential NHL prospects in the building as well, perhaps even the New York Islanders, who are looking for a new home.
The Nets have changed their colors to black and white as part of their relocation to Brooklyn. The NBA team took another step in its transition from New Jersey to New York by unveiling a new logo.
Former Houston QB Keenum to Texans
NFL: Overlooked again, Case Keenum will start his NFL career close to where he proved his skeptics wrong in college.
The record-setting Houston quarterback said he will sign as an undrafted free agent with the Texans, the team he was hoping would give him his shot.
Houston was the only school that offered him a scholarship after a stellar career at Wylie High School in Abilene. Keenum rewarded Houston’s faith by becoming the Football Bowl Subdivision’s career leader in yards passing (19,217) and touchdown passes (155).
• Simms among invites to Jets rookie camp: Former Tennessee quarterback Matt Simms, the youngest son of former Giants star Phil Simms, is among 23 players invited by the New York Jets for a tryout at their rookie minicamp this weekend.
Manchester City tops Manchester United
Soccer: Vincent Kompany’s header gave Manchester City a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Manchester, England, to overtake its rival on top of the Premier League with two games remaining.
Kompany connected with David Silva’s corner kick for the only goal in first-half stoppage time at the Etihad Stadium. City held on for a potentially title-deciding victory as it now leads United on goal difference.
After leading the Premier League for most of the season, City trailed United by eight points on April 8. But two more wins should be enough to claim a first league title since 1968.
Collins won’t take Illinois State job
College Basketball: Duke assistant Chris Collins says he’s not pursuing the vacant men’s coaching position at Illinois State.
Collins says he has “a great love and strong emotional ties to” Illinois State. His father, Doug, played for the Redbirds before beginning his NBA head coaching career.
Illinois State is looking to replace Tim Jankovich, who left last week to join Larry Brown’s staff at SMU.