Canucks hold off ’Hawks for 2-0 series lead

NHL: Daniel Sedin scored his second goal midway through the third period and added an assist to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Jannik Hansen opened the scoring on a nice pass from Sedin, and Alexander Edler scored with 13.1 seconds left in the second period. Roberto Luongo made 22 saves for the Canucks, who travel to Chicago for Game 3 Sunday with a chance to take a stranglehold on the best-of-7 series.

Ben Smith had two goals, Viktor Stalberg also scored and Corey Crawford made 23 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks.

• Ducks top Predators to even series: Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists, Ray Emery made 31 saves in his first playoff start in nearly four years, and the Anaheim Ducks evened their first-round playoff series with a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators in Game 2 in Anaheim, Calif.

Bobby Ryan scored two goals, while Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne scored power-play goals in the opening minutes as the Ducks reclaimed their offensive swagger after nearly getting shut out in the series opener.

Captain Shea Weber had a goal and an assist for the Predators, who couldn’t quite make up a three-goal deficit in the third period.

• Capitals beat Rangers take 2-0 series lead: Jason Chimera and Jason Arnott scored in a 1:57 span in the second period, Michal Neuvirth made 22 saves and the host Washington Capitals beat the New York Rangers 2-0 to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Chimera scored 2:11 into the second period off a feed from Marcus Johansson, and Arnott added to the lead at the 4:08 mark with a power-play goal from the left circle.

The 23-year-old Neuvirth has stopped 46 of 47 shots in the series for the Capitals.

• Lightning bounce back to even series with Penguins: Martin St. Louis had a goal and assist to help the Tampa Bay Lightning even their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series with a 5-1 victory over the host Pittsburgh Penguins.

Defenseman Eric Brewer scored and added two assists. Vincent Lecavalier, Nate Thompson and Mattias Ohlund, into an empty net, also scored for the Lightning, who bounced back two nights after a 3-0 loss in the series opener.

Simon Gagne added three assists for a Tampa Bay team that rediscovered its high-powered offense with a three-goal first period.

Negiotiators wrap up Day 2 of mediation

NFL: Negotiators for the NFL and its locked-out players wrapped up a second day of court-ordered talks with no signs of significant progress.

The two sides left the federal courthouse in Minneapolis after about four hours of talks, following nine hours of meetings on Thursday. They will meet again Tuesday.

Stern: Union to get new bargaining offer

NBA: Commissioner David Stern said the league plans to submit to the players’ union a revised proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement within the next couple of weeks.

Stern also said Sacramento Kings owners Gavin and Joe Maloof have been granted an extension until May 2 to file paperwork requesting a move to Anaheim.

The league’s labor situation and the Kings’ future were the key items on the owners’ agenda during two days of meetings in New York.

• League sees increases in viewers: The NBA says its three national TV partners all had their most viewers this season, topped by a 42 percent increase for TNT.

ABC was up 38 percent and ESPN had a 28 percent jump, the league said.

Federer falls, Nadal moves on in Monaco

Miscellany: Roger Federer lost to Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 6-4 in swirling wind in the Monte Carlo Masters tennis quarterfinals in Monaco, his earliest tournament exit since Wimbledon last year.

With dust and clay blowing off the court, Federer was ousted from his first clay-court tournament of the season.

Rafael Nadal, the six-time defending champion, beat Ivan Ljubicic 6-1, 6-3 for his 35th straight win at the tournament.

Nadal will next face third-seeded Andy Murray, who downed Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil 6-2, 6-1.

• Rookie Steele among 7-way tie at Texas Open: PGA Tour rookie Brendan Steele double-bogeyed the par-4 15th to lose a two-stroke lead at the Texas Open golf tournament in San Antonio, finishing at 3 under through 36 holes.

Geoff Ogilvy (72), Rich Beem (70), Kevin Sutherland (70), Charley Hoffman (73), Brandt Snedeker (72), and Kevin Chappell (73) also hold a share of the lead.

Alex Prugh (Ferris, UW) shot a 73 for a two-round total of 151, missing the cut by three strokes.

• Cochran takes lead at Champions Tour event: Russ Cochran shot a 7-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Champions Tour’s Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am golf event in Lutz, Fla. John Cook and Jay Don Blake shot 66s and were a stroke ahead of Kenny Perry.

• Stanford’s late surge captures NCAA crown: At Columbus, Ohio, Alex Buscaglia tied for first in the night’s last event (vault) to lead Stanford to its fifth NCAA men’s gymnastics title and the school’s 100th national championship in all sports.

The Cardinal totaled 363.450 points to hold off top-ranked Oklahoma, which had 361.600. Illinois was third with 360.150.