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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Former Spokane Chief Tyler Johnson leads Lightning past Senators 4-2

Brett Connolly avoids a shot as Ottawa’s Robin Lehner looks on. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

NHL: Former Spokane Chief Tyler Johnson had two goals and Nikita Kucherov had two assists to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Lightning took a 3-2 lead into the third period and increased that to 4-2 at the 7:58 mark on Johnson’s second goal of the game, just three seconds after Chris Phillips emerged from the penalty box to put an end to the Lightning power play.

Johnson took a pass from Kucherov that everyone else thought was going to be a shot, and left Johnson with a wide-open net to shoot at.

“If it hadn’t had hit my stick, I don’t think I would have got it,” Johnson said of the pass. “It’s fun playing with him and it’s amazing the things he can do and he gave me two easy goals, for sure.”

The Senators finished the game short-handed as their captain Erik Karlsson took a double minor in the closing minutes for hooking and then unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Lightning also got goals from Victor Hedman, who also had an assist, and Steven Stamkos. Ben Bishop made 20 saves and improved to 6-0-2 against his former team.

Capitals defeat Panthers: Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist and host Washington earned a 4-3 win over Florida.

Brooks Laich and Karl Alzner added second-period goals for Washington, which has won 10 straight home games against the Panthers.

Robert Luongo, who was involved in a scary first-period collision with Ovechkin, stopped 18 of 21 shots in the first two periods before giving way to Al Montoya.

Russia, Canada reach final: Alexander Sharov scored twice and Russia beat Sweden 4-1 in Toronto to advance to tonight’s title game against Canada in the World Junior Hockey Championship at Montreal.

Ziat Paigin and Maxim Mamin also scored for Russia and New York Rangers draft pick Igor Shestyorkin made 26 saves. Carolina pick Lucas Wallmark scored for Sweden.

In the other semifinal, Portland Winterhawks star Nic Petan scored three goals and Canada beat Slovakia 5-1.

Blackhawks edge Stars: Patrick Sharp scored 1:17 into overtime to give Chicago a 5-4 win over visiting Dallas.

Chicago’s Brad Richards fooled Kari Lehtonen with an improbable sharp-angle shot with 3:57 left in the third period to tie it at 4 and set up overtime.

Brandon Saad, Patick Kane and Bryan Bickell scored for the Blackhawks, who came back from four one-goal deficits to win.

• Ducks oust Predators: Defenseman Francois Beauchemin scored the tying goal with 2:17 left in the third period and Ryan Kesler got the deciding goal in the shootout, giving Anaheim a 4-3 victory over Nashville in Anaheim, California.

Matt Beleskey and Corey Perry also had goals in regulation for the league-leading Ducks, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.

Streaking Mavericks beat skidding Cavs

NBA: Monta Ellis scored 20 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 15 and visiting Dallas won its fifth straight game, a 109-90 victory over Cleveland, which again played without LeBron James.

James, who is out with knee and back soreness, missed his fourth game in a row and fifth of the season.

Nowitzki has 27,397 career points and is 12 shy of tying Moses Malone for seventh place all-time. Dallas had five players in double figures.

Kyrie Irving left in the third quarter with lower back tightness and didn’t return. Cleveland said that Irving didn’t make the trip to Philadelphia for tonight’s game and will receive treatment.

Guard trio carries Suns: Eric Bledsoe scored 20 points, fellow guards Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas added 18 apiece and host Phoenix handed the Toronto Raptors their second straight blowout loss, 125-109.

Seven Suns hit double figures in the team’s highest-scoring non-overtime game this season.

Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 and Kyle Lowry 19 for the Raptors.

Heat outlast Nets: Chris Bosh scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade scored 10 of his 25 points in the final minutes and Miami held off visiting Brooklyn 88-84 to snap a four-game losing streak.

Hassan Whiteside had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks off the bench for Miami, which won for only the seventh time in 19 home games.

Jones, No. 5 Louisville win in ACC debut

Men’s Basketball: Chris Jones scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and No. 5 Louisville won in its ACC debut, pulling away to beat Wake Forest 85-76 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Jones added 10 assists and Montrezl Harrell had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Cardinals. They let a 13-point lead slip away before Jones took over late, scoring 14 points in the final eight minutes and leading the decisive 16-3 run.

Jones put Louisville ahead to stay with a contested jumper that started decisive run.

• Mason paces Jayhawks to win: Frank Mason had 18 points and seven assists, Wayne Selden added 16 points and No. 13 Kansas pulled away late to beat UNLV 76-61 in Lawrence, Kansas.

Kansas led just 63-57 with less than six minutes to go, but Mason assisted on a pair of baskets as the Jayhawks scored nine straight points to help put the game away.

Dixon breaks record, Iowa tops Rutgers

Women’s Basketball: Melissa Dixon scored 21 points, hitting six 3-pointers to give her the school’s career’ record, leading No. 20 Iowa to a 79-72 win over 16th-ranked Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Rutgers was within 54-52 with 12 minutes left but went cold and an 11-2 run put the Hawkeyes up 11 with 6:45 left. Dixon now has 263 3-pointers, two more than Lindsey Meder.

Aggies survive at buzzer: Achiri Ade’s putback as time expired gave No. 5 Texas A&M a 52-50 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

With the game tied, Texas A&M called a timeout with 24 seconds remaining. Jordan Jones’ jumper in the closing seconds missed, but Ade corralled the miss and scored for the win. Courtney Williams led the Aggies with 18 points and Ade had 10.

Royals bring in veteran Madson

Baseball: The Royals have signed veteran right-hander Ryan Madson to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training.

The 34-year-old Madson hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2011, when he was 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA and 29 saves for the Phillies. He signed a one-year deal with Cincinnati for the following season, but he was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery in spring training.

Former executive Peters dies: The Cleveland Indians say former general manager and president Hank Peters has died from complications from a recent stroke. He was 90.

Peters, who also led the Baltimore Orioles to two World Series appearances, passed away Sunday morning in Boca Raton, Florida.

Peters was instrumental in the rebirth of Cleveland’s organization. He served as the Indians president/GM from 1987-91.