In brief: Rangers rout Canadiens in Game 1 of Eastern Conference finals

Hockey: Martin St. Louis and the New York Rangers had a reason to smile in the midst of a weekend of sadness.

St. Louis, who will attend his mother’s funeral with his teammates on Sunday, scored the opening goal of the NHL Eastern Conference finals to pace visiting New York’s suddenly high-powered offense in a 7-2 rout of the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

New York got goals from six other players, and Henrik Lundqvist quieted talk of a Montreal jinx in a 20-save effort. It was his first victory at the Bell Centre in more than two years.

“It was an emotional time for everyone, but the guys have been behind me and supported me,” said St. Louis, who received a long ovation from the crowd when he was named the game’s first star. “My teammates are behind me and supporting me, and their effort was unbelievable.

“We feel really close right now and we’re trying to keep feeding off that.”

The quick-footed Rangers, coming off a comeback, seven-game win over Pittsburgh, jumped on a Canadiens team that was flat and mentally absent after a nasty and emotional seven-game win over top-seeded Boston.

The boost the Canadiens got from their rousing pregame ceremonies in the first two series wasn’t there as the Rangers showed all the speed and intensity in the opening period, outshooting Montreal 12-6 and taking a 2-0 lead.

It was Montreal’s worst playoff defeat since losing 8-2 to Carolina in 2002.

• Oil Kings lose opener in Memorial Cup: Kerby Rychel and Tyler Bertuzzi each scored twice in the Guelph Storm’s 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Memorial Cup in London, Ontario.

Edmonton will face the London Knights today.

Arsenal wins FA Cup

Soccer: Aaron Ramsey ended Arsenal’s nine-year trophy drought, completing his team’s comeback in extra time in the FA Cup final to clinch a 3-2 victory over Hull in London.

Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny tied the score in the 71st minute to force the game into extra time, where Ramsey completed a slick move to score the goal that will ease the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger.

• Atletico wins Spanish league title: Atletico Madrid rallied for a thrilling 1-1 tie at Barcelona to secure its first Spanish league title in 18 years.

Atletico needed to avoid defeat to secure the title, and it weathered Barcelona’s pressure over a frantic finish to cap an improbable championship.

Atletico’s 10th title meant a club other than Barcelona or Real Madrid was Spanish champion for the first time since Valencia in 2004.

Oosthuizen shoots 64

Golf: Louis Oosthuizen birdied four of the last five holes for a 6-under 64 and a share of the third-round lead with Brendon Todd in the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas.

Oosthuizen had the low round of the day after recovering from bogeys on two of the first four holes.

Todd had a 68, making 12 consecutive pars before holing a 4-foot birdie at No. 18 to match Oosthuizen at 10-under 200.

Spokane’s Alex Prugh shot a 2-over 72 and is even par for the tournament.

• Salas takes lead at Kingsmill: Lizette Salas moved into position for her first LPGA Tour victory, playing 25 holes in 6-under par to take a three-stroke lead in the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The 24-year-old former Southern California player shot a 3-under 68 in the completion of the rain-delayed second round and birdied three of the last five holes in the afternoon for a season-best 65. She had a 13-under 200 total on Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.

• Perry in position for third Champions major: Kenny Perry shot a 3-under 69 at Shoal Creek to take a one-stroke lead over John Inman after the third round of the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Alabama.

Perry is seeking his third Champions Tour major title after winning the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year. Perry had a 7-under 209 total. He had four birdies and bogeyed No. 16.

Nadal in Italian final

Tennis: Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Novak Djokovic will renew their rivalry in the Italian Open final today in Rome.

Having been stretched to three sets in his opening three matches this week, Nadal finally put in a complete performance with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals.

Earlier, Djokovic took his time before figuring out Milos Raonic’s massive serve for a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory.

In women’s play, Sara Errani became the first home player to reach the Italian Open final in nearly 30 years, and she’ll face top-ranked Serena Williams for the trophy.

The 10th-seeded Errani fought back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set for a 6-3, 7-5 win over sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic.

Williams overcame a second-set lapse to beat 11th-seeded Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and gain a measure of revenge for a fourth-round loss to the Serb at this year’s Australian Open.

Wiggins holds lead

Cycling: Slovakia’s Peter Sagan won the seventh stage of the Tour of California in a field sprint in Pasadena and Britain’s Bradley Wiggins closed in on the overall title.

Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France winner who rides for Sky, finished in the main field to maintain his 30-second lead over Australia’s Rohan Dennis of Garmin-Sharp. American Lawson Craddock remained third overall, 1:48 back.

• Ulissi wins eighth stage of Giro: A final push from Diego Ulissi saw the Italian win a tough eighth stage in Montecopiolo, Italy, as the Giro d’Italia took to the mountains, while Cadel Evans ended Michael Matthews’ grip on the overall lead.

Ulissi made his move inside the final 300 meters, bursting out of the peloton to edge out Robert Kiserlovski.

Evans finished fifth to take the lead from fellow Australian Michael Matthews, who had led for six days.

ESPN signs Jackson

Miscellany: Former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson has agreed to a multiyear deal to rejoin ESPN’s lead NBA announcing team.

Jackson is scheduled to work the Eastern Conference finals and NBA Finals.

• Saints sign paralyzed former player to contract: New Orleans coach Sean Payton says the Saints are signing paralyzed former Tulane player Devon Walker to a free-agent contract.

Payton, who met with Walker at the Saints’ practice fields during rookie camp, says Walker has “been an inspiration” to his community, his university and to the Saints.

Walker was paralyzed from the neck down while making a tackle at Tulsa in 2012.