In brief: Alex Ovechkin nets 50th; Capitals drop Carolina
NHL: Alex Ovechkin smiled that gap-toothed grin of his while standing for a commemorative photo in the locker room, holding the puck he put in the net a couple of hours earlier for his NHL-leading 50th goal.
“A good picture,” the player known as Alex the Great proclaimed.
It’s a pose he is getting used to.
Ovechkin netted No. 50 in a season for the sixth time, tying a team record in the process with his 472nd career goal, and added an assist Tuesday night to help the Capitals push toward a playoff berth by beating Carolina 4-2 in Washington.
Only five other players reached the half-century mark at least six times: Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy had nine, and Mario Lemieux, Marcel Dionne and Guy Lafleur had six.
Quite a group.
“Every year is harder and harder, but it’s a huge (accomplishment) being with the names up there,” Ovechkin said. “It’s always nice. Every year, you don’t know what to expect from yourself and how you’re going to play.”
The three-time league MVP gave Washington a 2-0 lead at 11:12 of the first period, taking a pass from another Russian, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and sending a shot from just inside the left circle past goalie Cam Ward.
“It’s a lot of fun to have him as a teammate,” said Brooks Laich, who scored the tiebreaking goal after Carolina had made it 2-all.
• Bruins keep margin: Milan Lucic scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:09 left as Boston rallied to beat Florida 3-2, giving the Bruins two valuable points as they try to hang on to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Tuukka Rask kept the puck out during a final scramble at the buzzer with Florida on a power play and an extra skater for goalie Roberto Luongo.
Boston maintained a three-point lead over Ottawa, which beat Detroit, for the No. 8 seed.
• Blue Jackets’ streak at seven: Jack Johnson’s backhander 56 seconds into overtime lifted Columbus past New Jersey 3-2, the home win extending the Blue Jackets’ winning streak to seven while the Devils have lost six straight.
Nets back in eighth with win over Pacers
NBA: Brook Lopez had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Brooklyn reclaimed sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference by beating Indiana 111-106 for its season-high fourth straight victory.
The Nets moved back ahead of Boston and dealt a blow to the Pacers, who fell 1 1/2 games behind Brooklyn. They visit the Celtics tonight.
Joe Johnson added 21 points as Brooklyn won for the sixth time in seven games.
• Warriors edge Clippers: Stephen Curry scored 27 points, Klay Thompson had 25 and eight assists and Golden State won its 10th straight game, 110-106 over the Clippers in Los Angeles. Blake Griffin had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who had won seven straight.
• Spurs stay hot: Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points, Tony Parker added 16 in his 1,000th NBA game, and San Antonio added more steam to its playoff push with a 95-81 win at Miami. Tim Duncan had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who went 12-3 in March.
Djokovic, Murray win, Venus Williams loses
Tennis: Before the first set ended, Novak Djokovic had busted a racket in anger, drawn jeers from the crowd and received two code violations, which cost him a point penalty.
There were no further outbursts, and as Djokovic’s play improved, so did his mood. He rallied from a break down in the second set and beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-0 in the fourth round of the Miami Open.
With Rafael Nadal already eliminated and Roger Federer skipping the tournament, the No. 1-seeded Djokovic’s most likely opponent in the final would be No. 3 Andy Murray, who became the ninth active man to win 500 matches by beating Kevin Anderson 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Venus Williams’ recent resurgence stalled when she lost in the quarterfinals to No. 12-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 0-6, 6-1, 7-5. Williams, 34, was broken six times in the final two sets and double-faulted twice in the final game.
Stanford in NIT final, beats Old Dominion
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Chasson Randle had 24 points to become Stanford’s all-time leading scorer and carry the Cardinal to a 67-60 victory over Old Dominion in the NIT semifinals in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Stanford (23-13), which faces Miami in the championship, blew a 21-point first-half lead but rallied behind its senior star, who played through foul trouble to make a string of big second-half shots. Randle came in needing 11 points to break Todd Lichti’s record and has 2,350 for his career.
The Cardinal led 15-0 when Old Dominion (27-8) finally scored its first points nearly five minutes in and were up 25-4 midway through the first half. But the deficit was just six at halftime.
• McClellan leads Hurricanes: Sheldon McClellan scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, and short-handed Miami rallied to beat Temple 60-57.
Already without point guard Angel Rodriguez, the Hurricanes lost center Tonye Jekiri to injury early on and trailed by 11 late in the first half.
• Toreros hire Lamont Smith: Lamont Smith is returning to San Diego to be the Toreros head coach after play- ing for the school in the 1990s.
Smith, 39, who is replacing Bill Grier, is the fifth coach for the Toreros since they moved to Division I in 1979. He spent the past two seasons as the associate head coach at New Mexico after stops at Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, Arizona State and Washington.
U.S. beats Russia in women’s hockey
MISCELLANY: Jocelyne Lamoureux scored three goals and the United States beat Russia 9-2 in the women’s world hockey championship in Malmo, Sweden to finish 3-0 in Group A play.
In the semifinals Friday, the defending champion Americans will face the winner of the quarterfinal between Russia and Group A winner Sweden.
Canada also advanced to the semifinals, beating Finland 6-2 to finish group play at 2-1.
• Switzerland ties U.S. in soccer: Jozy Altidore was ejected in the 68th minute for a foul and mouthing off at the referee, and the United States gave up another late goal in a 1-1 tie against Switzerland in Zurich. Brek Shea scored on a free kick in the 45th minute. Switzerland tied it in the 80th. The Americans have one win in their last eight games and have been outscored 12-1 during the second half since the World Cup. In its last 13 matches, the U.S. has conceded 13 goals from the 80th minute on.