In brief: Montreal ruins Winnipeg’s NHL return

NHL: The NHL returned to Winnipeg with a cold reminder of the challenge that lies ahead.

Carey Price stopped 30 shots and the Montreal Canadiens put a damper on a massive civic celebration with a 5-1 victory over the Jets on Sunday.

The return of big-league hockey to the city had fans celebrating in the streets hours before the puck was dropped and horns honking outside the MTS Centre throughout the afternoon. Virtually everyone was decked out in Jets gear – both new and old.

Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, Yannick Weber, Travis Moen and Max Pacioretty scored for the opportunistic Canadiens.

Nik Antropov replied for Winnipeg. The Atlanta Thrashers finished 12th in the Eastern Conference last season and all but four players from that team were in the Jets’ lineup Sunday.

• Hemsky scores in SO as Oilers beat Penguins: Ales Hemsky scored the shootout winner and the Edmonton Oilers started off the season with a 2-1 win over visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

Rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the tying goal with less than five minutes left in regulation for the Oilers.

Kris Letang scored for the Penguins, who were without Evgeni Malkin. The center left after the pregame skate with what appeared to be a lower body injury.

• Injured Betts returned to Flyers: The Montreal Canadiens returned Blair Betts to the Philadelphia Flyers after the center claimed off waivers last week failed a medical examination.

The Canadiens, who claimed Betts on Wednesday, used NHL bylaw 11.8 (a) to send the 31-year-old Betts back to Philadelphia. Commissioner Gary Bettman made the decision after reviewing submissions from both teams.

The bylaw states a player claimed on waivers may be returned if he’s deemed to be physically unfit.

Murray beats Nadal to win Japan Open

Tennis: Andy Murray rallied to beat Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the Japan Open final in Tokyo.

Murray, the Scottish star coming off a victory last week in Bangkok, broke his Spanish opponent in the fourth game of the second set, then won 11 of the next 12 games at Ariake Colosseum.

• Berdych, Radwanska win China Open titles: Tomas Berdych beat Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win the China Open in Beijing, and Agnieszka Radwanska topped Andrea Petkovic, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 to claim the women’s title.

The victory lifted Berdych past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to No. 7 in the world standings and gave the Czech valuable points toward the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals.

Vols QB Bray fractures thumb

College Football: Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray could miss about six weeks after breaking his right thumb against Georgia.

Bray injured the thumb on his throwing hand with less than 6 minutes to go in the 20-12 loss to the Bulldogs when it hit the helmet of a defender mid-throw. X-rays performed Sunday confirmed the fracture.

The 6-foot-6, 210-pound sophomore has completed 116 of 176 pass attempts this season for 1,579 yards, a Southeastern Conference-leading 14 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Mosop, Shobukhova win Chicago titles

Miscellany: In Chicago, Moses Mosop of Kenya set a course record and Russia’s Liliya Shobukhova claimed the women’s title to become the race’s first three-peat champion at the Chicago Marathon.

Both runners had no trouble pulling away from the pack on a warm morning to claim their $100,000 prizes. Mosop earned another $50,000 for breaking the late Sammy Wanjiru’s course record by four seconds, finishing in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 37 seconds.

But there also was another death just four years after a Michigan man with a heart condition died. Authorities say a 35-year-old North Carolina man collapsed about 500 yards from the finish line and was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital.

The race-time temperature was 64 degrees and reached the high 70s during the afternoon, the fourth time in five years the weather was unusually warm.

• U.S. women close out European hoops tour with win: In Sopron, Hungary, Swin Cash, of the Seattle Storm, and Cappie Pondexter scored 14 points each to help the United States finish off its European tour with a 73-63 victory over UE Sopron.

With the game tied at 41 at the half, the Americans outscored the host team 21-9 in the third quarter to take control. All seven U.S. players scored during the period.

• Japan leads early qualifying at worlds: In Tokyo, Japan topped the United States and Germany in the first day of men’s qualifying at the world gymnastics championships. But the Americans are clearly making up ground, and the unforgiving format of team finals can’t come fast enough.

Qualifying continues today with China, the Olympic champion and winner of the last four world titles, competing along with Russia, Britain, France and Korea. The top eight earn spots at next summer’s London Olympics.

• American Hardy killed in Romania: Authorities say American basketball player Chauncey Hardy, who played collegiately at Sacred Heart, has died after being attacked in a bar in Romania.

Romanian Basketball Federation chief Carmen Tocala told GSP radio that Hardy died, suffering two heart attacks following his beating Saturday night.