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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Habs blank Bruins 4-0 to force Game 7

Boston Bruins' David Krejci, left, is checked into the boards by Montreal Canadiens' Andrei Markov. Montreal won Game 6, 4-0. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

NHL: Carey Price made 26 saves for the shutout and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 4-0 on Monday night in Montreal to force a Game 7 in their series.

Thomas Vanek scored twice and Lars Eller and Max Pacioretty also scored for Montreal, which overwhelmed the Bruins to tie the Eastern Conference semifinal 3-3.

Game 7 is Wednesday night in Boston.

Anaheim holds off L.A. for 3-2 series lead: Devante Smith-Pelly scored two goals 1:23 apart in the second period, and the host Anaheim Ducks moved to the brink of the Western Conference finals with a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 5.

John Gibson made 39 saves in his second career playoff start as the Ducks took a 3-2 lead in the second-round series with their third straight victory.

Nick Bonino and Jakob Silfverberg also scored for the Ducks, who jumped to a three-goal lead in the second period and hung on behind their 20-year-old rookie goalie, earning the first home victory by either team in the series.

Marian Gaborik scored two goals for the Kings, who will face their fifth elimination game of the postseason.

Russia defeats U.S. at worlds: Viktor Tikhonov scored twice and Alex Ovechkin added a goal and two assists as Russia routed the United States 6-1 for its third straight victory at the world championships in Minsk, Belarus.

Justin Abdelkader scored for the U.S. to make it 3-1.In the day’s other big matchup, Canada downed the Czech Republic 4-3.

James scores 49 in Heat win over Nets

NBA: LeBron James tied his playoff career high with 49 points, Chris Bosh made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 57 seconds left, and the Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-96 in New York for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

James carried the Heat nearly the entire way until Bosh hit the shot that put Miami ahead for good. Ray Allen followed with four free throws and James finished it off with one more, putting the Heat in position to wrap it up at home Wednesday in Game 5.

Portland survives against San Antonio: Damian Lillard scored 25 points and the Portland Trail Blazers staved off elimination in the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-92 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Portland.

Nicolas Batum had 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to cut San Antonio’s advantage in the series to 3-1.

Portland held Tony Parker to 14 points after he had scored 29 points or more in three of his last four playoff games.

Coach Gregg Popovich sat Parker and Tim Duncan after Portland built a 20-point lead in the final quarter.

Cavaliers fire Brown again: The Cleveland Cavaliers have fired coach Mike Brown for the second time.

Owner Dan Gilbert announced the decision. Gilbert also said interim general manager David Griffin is being retained as full-time GM. Griffin took over in February, when Gilbert fired Chris Grant.

The Cavs went 33-49 this season under Brown, who was first dismissed by Gilbert following the 2010 season.

Soccer: Defenders John Brooks, Timmy Chandler and DeAndre Yedlin were among the players selected Monday by U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann on his 30-man preliminary roster.

Midfielder Julian Green, who made his national team debut last month, and forwards Terrence Boyd and Chris Wondolowski also are among the players who will try to earn spots during the Americans’ pre-World Cup training camp, which opens Wednesday at Stanford, California.

Klinsmann must submit a 23-man U.S. roster to FIFA by June 2.

Wiggins takes lead at Tour of California

Cycling: Bradley Wiggins of Britain, the 2012 Tour de France winner and Olympic time trial gold medalist, powered to a 44-second victory in the Stage 2 individual time trial in Folsom, California, and moved into the race lead at the Tour of California.

Wiggins (Team SKY), the 98th rider in the field of 128, completed the flat 12.5-mile course in 23 minutes and 18 seconds at an average speed of 32 mph.

Andretti team posts two best times at Indy

Auto Racing: Teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti posted the two fastest laps in Indianapolis 500 practice.

Hunter-Reay’s best lap was 225.025 mph and he is the only driver to top 225 on the first two days of Indy practice. Andretti was next at 224.037. His father, Michael, owns the team.

Youngstown St. tabs Tressel as president

Miscellany: Former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel has signed on to be the ninth president of Youngstown State University, where he started his college coaching career.

Tressel will earn $300,000 the first two years, with the third-year salary undetermined. The contract begins July 1.