Predators give their coach a milestone

NHL: The Nashville Predators moved ahead of the Detroit Red Wings in the race for home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs and gave their coach a milestone.

Gabriel Bourque and Francis Bouillon scored in the second period and Pekka Rinne made 31 saves to help Nashville beat host Detroit 4-1 on Friday night for Barry Trotz’s 500th victory with the team.

“Good for our franchise,” Trotz said. “Sort of like we’ve arrived.”

Nashville is a point ahead of Detroit with four games left in the regular season to be the fourth-seeded team with home ice in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Trotz is the fifth coach to win 500 games with one franchise.

• Canucks near conference top spot: Max Lapierre had a goal and two assists, Henrik Sedin added three assists and the Vancouver Canucks beat Dallas 5-2 at Vancouver, British Columbia. The Canucks won their fifth straight to move within a point of St. Louis for the Western Conference lead. Vancouver is two points behind the New York Rangers for the overall lead.

• Rangers close in on top seed: Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards scored early, defenseman Michael Del Zotto had two goals in the third period and the New York Rangers won their fourth in a row and moved closer to securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, beating the visiting Montreal Canadiens 4-1.

• Crosby has four points in win: Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 at Buffalo, N.Y. It was Crosby’s third four-point game in a season in which concussion troubles have limited him to 18 games. And it came after he was held without a point in his past two outings and a day after his nose was bloodied by a puck in a loss at the New York Islanders.

• Kings move into Pacific lead: Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist and the Los Angeles Kings took over the Pacific Division lead with a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Edmonton, Alberta.

Wade, Bosh lead way in Heat’s victory

NBA: Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scored 30 points each and the Miami Heat beat host Toronto 113-101, their seventh straight win over the Raptors.

• Nowitzki hits winner: Dirk Nowitzki banked in a jumper with 5.9 seconds left and scored a game-high 28 points to lead Dallas past Orlando 100-98 at Orlando, Fla.

• Wizards knock 76ers out of first: Cartier Martin tied a career high with 20 points in his second game under a 10-day contract, and host Washington built a big lead and held on to it for a change, breaking a five-game losing streak. The 97-76 loss knocked Philadelphia out of first place in the Atlantic Division, one game behind Boston.

• Garnett stars in return to Minneapolis: Former Timberwolf Kevin Garnett had 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in his return to Target Center and Boston defeated Minnesota 100-79 at Minneapolis.

• Clippers edge Blazers: Chris Paul made a driving layup with 5 seconds to go, lifting the Los Angeles Clippers over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 98-97 as they tied their season high with their fourth straight victory.

Tseng charges into Kraft Nabisco lead

Golf: Yani Tseng, the world’s top-ranked LPGA golfer, shot her second straight 68 for a total of 8-under 136 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, Calif., moving into a one-stroke lead over Haeji Kang after the second round of the season’s first major.

Lindsey Wright and Sun Young Yoo were third at 6 under. Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., was at 147 and made the cut.

• Davis, Oosthuizen share lead: Brian Davis and Louis Oosthuizen shared the lead at 11 under after two days of play in the rain-delayed Houston Open in Humble, Texas. The second round was suspended by darkness with 70 players still on the course.

Djokovic, Murray to play in final

Tennis: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic advanced to his first final since winning the Australian Open, beating Juan Monaco 6-0, 7-6 (5) at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. Djokovic’s opponent Sunday will be 2009 champion Andy Murray, who advanced with a walkover when Rafael Nadal withdrew hours before their semifinal because of a left knee injury that has bothered him in recent weeks.

Cook, Manusco super-G victors

Skiing: Dustin Cook of Canada crashed the party at U.S. championships and won the super-G at Winter Park, Colo., ending the reign of Tommy Ford. Cook finished in a time of 1 minute, 10.34 seconds to hold off Ford by 0.04 seconds. Ford has been dominant at nationals in recent seasons, capturing seven titles.

Earlier, Julia Mancuso flew through the sun-splashed course to conquer the soft snow and defend her super-G crown.

Savchenko, Szolkowy win pairs at worlds

Skating: Defending champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany won the world figure skating pairs title for the fourth time despite a soaring performance by Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia in Nice, France. The top U.S. finishers were Caydee Denney and John Coughlin in eighth.

Earlier, Patrick Chan of Canada overcame some wobbly footwork to capture the men’s short program.

Five UConn players on Olympic team

Miscellany: The U.S. women’s basketball Olympic team will have a familiar feel for coach Geno Auriemma with five former UConn players on it. Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Maya Moore and Tina Charles are on the team that will compete in London this summer.

Joining them is two-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings. Returning for a second straight Olympics are Candace Parker, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles.

Lindsay Whalen and Angel McCoughtry will be competing in the Olympics for the first time.

The Americans only announced 11 of the 12 team members, leaving one spot open. Baylor star Brittney Griner, who is competing at the Final Four this weekend in Denver, is considered a strong candidate.

The U.S. will be trying for its fifth straight gold medal.

• Phelps fast in winning: Michael Phelps posted the best in-season time of his career in the 400 individual medley at the Indianapolis Grand Prix swimming event. Phelps slashed more seconds off his season-best time, finishing in 4 minutes, 12.51 seconds and possibly opening the door to swim the event at the London Olympics.