In brief: Lightning strike quickly, beat Bruins
NHL: Sean Bergenheim began a stretch of three Tampa Bay goals in 1 minute, 25 seconds in the first period and the Lightning beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night in Boston.
Bergenheim, who scored just 14 goals in the regular season, got his NHL-high eighth of the playoffs at 11:15. Brett Clark connected at 11:34 and Teddy Purcell wrapped up the onslaught, both with unassisted goals.
The two goals in 19 seconds and three in 1:25 are club records.
Tyler Seguin, the No. 2 overall draft pick last year, scored for Boston with 4:01 left in the first period in his playoff debut.
Tampa Bay scored twice in the last 7 minutes – Marc-Andre Bergeron on a power play and Simon Gagne into an empty net – before Chris Kelly made it 5-2.
Watney, McDowell lead Players tourney
Golf: Nick Watney and Graeme McDowell were atop the leaderboard after a short day of work at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The winner of golf’s richest prize will have to work overtime.
After storms that delayed the third round by 4 1/2 hours and softened the TPC Sawgrass course, Watney and McDowell came out firing in the twilight to reach 11-under par through only five holes when play was suspended by darkness.
David Toms, the 36-hole leader who had to wait until dinner time to tee off, only made it through five holes. He made all pars, and probably was happy to stop. Toms had birdie putts inside 12 feet on every hole – two of them inside 7 feet – and missed them all to stay at 10 under. Steve Stricker also was at 10 under after two birdies.
Only 40 players managed to finish the third round.
The third round is to resume this morning, and threesomes then will be sent out in the afternoon.
Edwards tops field in Nationwide race
Auto racing: Carl Edwards held on to win the Nationwide Series at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del., after a wreck-filled final lap that knocked out several contenders.
Edwards’ battle with Joey Logano off the final restart of the race turned dangerous in a hurry. Logano got loose as he tried to scoot around Edwards and slammed into the wall, triggering a pile up that eliminated Clint Bowyer from contention. Bowyer’s car slid sideways down the concrete track. Debris hit one of Bowyer’s crew.
The accident shook up the final results. Kyle Busch was second and Reed Sorenson third.
The race was delayed and later interrupted by rain.
• Johnson wins pole: Jimmie Johnson has won the pole at Dover (Del.) International Speedway after rain wiped out qualifying.
Johnson will start first in today’s Sprint Cup race because he posted the fast average practice speeds.
AJ Allmendinger will start second. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is third, Kasey Kahne fourth and Logano fifth.
Manchester City wins FA Cup after 35 years
Manchester City ended its 35-year trophy drought, winning the FA Cup on Yaya Toure’s second-half goal in a 1-0 victory over Stoke in Wembley, England.
Toure struck an unstoppable shot in the 74th minute after Mario Balotelli’s deflected effort fell into his path. The Ivory Coast midfielder was immediately mobbed by his teammates.
The victory gave City its first trophy since the 1976 League Cup and its fifth FA Cup win, 42 years after the last.
• Wambach sparks U.S. women: Abby Wambach scored and assisted on Amy Rodriguez’s goal in the first half to lead the United States to a 2-0 win against Japan in an exhibition in Columbus, Ohio.
Wambach’s 118th career goal came in the 29th minute off a header from 8 yards after a 40-yard free kick by Ali Krieger. Eight minutes later, Wambach took a pass on the right flank from Heather O’Reilly and found Rodriguez at the near post for a left-footed redirect.
Nadal faces Djokovic in Italian Open final
Miscellany: No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Novak Djokovic will resume their rivalry in the Italian Open final in Rome.
Nadal, who has won this tournament five of the last six years, overcame a tough first set against Richard Gasquet before rolling to a 7-5, 6-1 semifinal victory. Djokovic was pushed to the limit in extending his unbeaten streak to 38 matches, defeating fourth-ranked Andy Murray 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2).
• Gatto wins eighth stage: Oscar Gatto fought off a late charge from race favorite Alberto Contador to win the eighth stage of the Giro d’Italia in Tropea, Italy, and Pieter Weening kept the overall lead.
Gatto and Contador finished the 134.5-mile stage that began in Sapri in 4 hours, 59 minutes, 45 seconds.
Weening finished in the pack to keep the pink jersey for the fourth consecutive day.
• Bull beats Ochocinco: NFL receiver Chad Ochocinco backed up his promise to ride a 1,500-pound bull on the Professional Bull Riders circuit in Duluth, Ga., earning $10,000 for making it out of the chute atop Deja Blu.
The ride lasted 1.5 seconds before Ochocinco was bucked off with no apparent injury.
Ochocinco, who wore a helmet but no additional protective gear or protective clothing, fell 6.5 seconds short of the time needed to win a new Ford truck and to earn the right to rename the bull after Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.