In brief: Tyler Johnson’s goal sends Tampa into playoffs
NHL: Tyler Johnson scored the go-ahead goal on a short-handed breakaway late in the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched a playoff berth with a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
Johnson, the former Spokane Chiefs standout and Central Valley High School graduate, scored his rookie-leading 23rd goal. He has 48 points.
The win, and losses by New Jersey and Washington, gave Tampa Bay its first postseason berth since 2011 and only its second in seven years. The Canadiens also qualified for the postseason by virtue of the losses by New Jersey and Washington.
Alex Killorn added an empty-netter with 45 seconds left in the third period.
• Miller posts shutout: Ryan Miller stopped 31 shots and T.J. Oshie and Kevin Shattenkirk scored in a shootout in the St. Louis Blues’ 1-0 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.
St. Louis has 109 points, one fewer than Boston for the top spot in the NHL.
• Ennis powers Sabres over Devils: Tyler Ennis scored twice in the third period and again in the shootout to lead the host Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Ville Leino had the winner in the ninth round of the shootout and Nathan Lieuwen made 33 saves for his first NHL win.
• Landeskog connects twice: Gabriel Landeskog scored twice, including a power-play goal at 4:27 of overtime to help the visiting Colorado Avalanche extend their winning streak to four with a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• Rookie leads Hurricanes: Rookie Elias Lindholm scored twice for the first multi-goal game of his career and the visiting Carolina Hurricanes denied the listless Pittsburgh Penguins a chance to wrap up the Metropolitan Division title with a 4-1 victory.
• Islanders stay hot: Josh Bailey had a goal and assist, and the host New York Islanders kept up its strong finish with a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers. The Islanders are 4-0-1 in their past five games.
• Maple Leafs end skid: The Toronto Maple Leafs snapped an eight-game losing streak by beating the visiting Calgary Flames 3-2 to remain in the playoff chase.
• Marleau hits key goal: Patrick Marleau scored his 32nd goal of the season with 7:29 left in the third period to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 5-4 win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers.
Cepelova upsets Serena Williams
Tennis: Top-ranked Serena Williams has been ousted from the Family Circle Cup, shocked in straight sets by Jana Cepelova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-4 at Charleston, S.C.
The 20-year old Cepelova is ranked No. 78 in the world.
Williams said after the match that she needs a few weeks off where she doesn’t think about tennis and can regroup.
Nets clinch playoffs behind Johnson’s 32
NBA: The Brooklyn Nets clinched a playoff berth by beating the visiting Houston Rockets for the first time in eight years, getting 32 points from Joe Johnson in a 105-96.
Shaun Livingston added 17 points for the Nets, who extended their home winning streak to 14 games, longest in their NBA history.
• Curry knocks down buzzer-beater: Stephen Curry made a tiebreaking jumper in the final second of overtime, lifting the visiting Golden State Warriors to a 122-120 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Curry finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Klay Thompson led Golden State with 27 points, and Jermaine O’Neal added 20.
Dallas had a three-point lead until Thompson made a 3-point shot with 1:01 remaining in regulation.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 33 points and 11 rebounds.
• Lillard, Aldridge lead Blazers: Damian Lillard scored 34 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the host Los Angeles Lakers 124-112.
The Blazers’ fourth straight victory, coupled with Houston’s loss at Brooklyn, moved Portland within 1 1/2 games of the Rockets for fourth place in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
Miscellany: Bastian Schweinsteiger scored in the 67th minute to offset a goal by Nemanja Vidic, then was ejected near the final whistle as defending champion Bayern Munich tied Manchester United 1-1 Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League soccer quarterfinal.
In the night’s other match, Neymar’s 71st-minute goal gave Barcelona a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid after the visitors went ahead on Diego’s stunning long-range shot.
• Judge denies dismissal request: A federal judge in Albany, N.Y., has denied a request by ESPN to dismiss a libel suit filed by the wife of former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine.
Laurie Fine accused the sports cable television network of libel and slander in its coverage of child-molesting allegations against her husband.