Blues top Blackhawks, tie best start
NHL: Alexander Steen’s slap shot with 21.1 seconds remaining beat Chicago goalie Corey Crawford and gave the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Wednesday night in St. Louis.
Steen broke down the left side as part of a 3-on-1 rush. He kept the puck and let go a drive from just inside the circle that trickled through Crawford.
The Blues (3-0) matched their best start to a season, also done in the 1969-70 and 1993-94 campaigns. Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves in his third straight win. Vladimir Tarasenko and David Backes also scored for St. Louis.
Patrick Kane scored for the third straight game for the Blackhawks, and Jonathan Toews had the other Chicago goal. Crawford made 31 saves.
• Flames edge Canadiens: Rookie forward Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist, and Joey MacDonald made 33 saves in the Calgary Flames’ 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Calgary, Alberta.
Sven Baertschi and Curtis Glencross also scored for Calgary (2-0-2). The last time the Flames earned at least one point in their first four games was in 2009 when they had a 4-0 start.
• Kings win in OT: Jeff Carter scored 28 seconds into overtime and the Los Angeles Kings held off the visiting Ottawa Senators 4-3 after blowing all of a 3-0 first-period lead.
Bobby Ryan and Milan Michalek scored third-period goals for Ottawa to send the game to OT.
Djokovic wins at Shanghai Masters
Tennis: Novak Djokovic survived a scare when he landed awkwardly on his right foot but recovered for a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Spain’s Marcel Granollers in the Shanghai Masters.
Roger Federer had fewer problems in his second-round match, rebounding from an early break to defeat Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-3.
• Murray out: Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has pulled out of next month’s season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London as he recovers from back surgery.
The third-ranked Murray said in a statement on the ATP website that “I’m really disappointed not to be playing this year. I love playing in front of my home crowd.”
• Stosur reaches quarters: Samantha Stosur beat Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2 at the Japan Open in Osaka and became the highest remaining seed after Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki withdrew hurt.
No. 2-seeded Lisicki hurt her left hip, and pulled out from her scheduled second-round match with Polana Hercog, who advanced to a quarterfinal with wild card Kurumi Nara.
Women’s NCAA regional sites chosen
Miscellany: Notre Dame, Stanford, Louisville and Nebraska will host the NCAA tournament women’s basketball regionals this season.
The women’s basketball committee decided over the summer to allow schools to host the regionals for the first time in nearly a decade, with the thought it could increase attendance.
• U.S. wants changes: The United States wants further changes to the World Cup bidding process before trying to bring soccer’s showpiece event to the country again.
FIFA executive committee member Sunil Gulati, who is also president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, still has deep concerns about the process that led to Qatar beating the U.S. and others to the 2022 Cup.
• Italian gymnast apologizes: Italian gymnast Carlotta Ferlito apologized for making a racist comment aimed at an American rival.
Vanessa Ferrari and teammate Ferlito finished fourth and fifth on the balance beam Sunday at the world championships in Belgium, just behind bronze medalist Simone Biles.
Afterward, Ferlito said with a big laugh, “I told Vane that next time we’ll have our skin black also so we can win, too.”
• Allmendinger will race finale: AJ Allmendinger will race in the IndyCar season finale for Penske Racing.
Allmendinger will drive the No. 2 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Izod in the Oct. 19 race at Fontana, Calif.
• Recusal of judge sought: Prosecutors in the murder case against former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez want the judge to recuse herself, because they said she and the lead prosecutor have a public history of antagonism and she has shown bias.
Bristol County Assistant District Attorney William McCauley wants Judge Susan Garsh to remove herself from the case, he said during a hearing in Fall River (Mass.) Superior Court.
McCauley did not detail his reasons in court, but a new filing cited a “well-known and publicly documented history of antagonism” between him and Garsh, stemming from a 2010 murder trial he argued before her.