Boston Bruins blank Sidney-Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL: Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots and the Boston Bruins won their fifth game in a row, 2-0 over a Pittsburgh Penguins team missing Sidney Crosby and minus Evgeni Malkin for most of the game Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Crosby, the Penguins’ leading scorer, was a surprise late scratch after he participated in the pregame warmup. There was no word on why the center was out.

Malkin, the team’s second-leading scorer, got hurt on his first shift and did not play after the first period. There was no immediate report on the center’s injury.

Milan Lucic scored in the first period and Zdeno Chara added an empty-net goal.

Boston is 7-0-1 in its past eight games.

• Canadiens stop struggling Islanders: Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty scored 2:15 apart in the second period, and Carey Price stopped 35 shots as the Montreal Canadiens dealt the slumping New York Islanders a 3-1 loss in Uniondale, New York.

The Islanders have hit the skids at Nassau Coliseum, their soon-to-be former home once they relocate to Brooklyn next season. New York is 1-3-1 in its last five overall. At home, the Islanders have lost four straight in regulation, including three this week.

• Late third-period goals lift Wild: Nino Niederreiter and Kyle Brodziak scored just 17 seconds apart late in the third period, giving the Minnesota Wild a 3-1 win over the host St. Louis Blues.

Devan Dubnyk made 40 saves for the Wild, who had lost two of three following a stretch of five straight wins and eight of nine. They are even better on the road, having won seven in a row and are 11-1-2 in their past 14 games away from Minnesota.

• Blackhawks rout Sharks: Patrick Sharp scored his first two goals since January and Duncan Keith also broke a long scoring drought to help the Chicago Blackhawks beat the host San Jose Sharks 6-2.

Curry celebrates birthday with victory

NBA: Stephen Curry dazzled for 25 points and 11 assists playing on his 27th birthday, and the Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks 125-94 for their eighth straight home victory.

Klay Thompson added 27 points with six 3s, and the Splash Brothers combined for 29 points by halftime to highlight a 47-point second quarter that blew open the game.

• Grizzlies end funk with win over Bucks: Courtney Lee scored 17 points, Jeff Green and Zach Randolph added 15 apiece, and the host Memphis Grizzlies beat the Milwaukee Bucks 96-83.

Beno Udrih, starting in place of the injured Mike Conley, had 14 points as Memphis ended a two-game losing streak. Marc Gasol finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 19 points.

Murray, Sharpova, Djokovic advance

TENNIS: Andy Murray beat Vasek Pospisil 6-1, 6-3 to reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, with the hard-serving Canadian making it easier with 35 unforced errors.

Two-time champion Maria Sharapova needed six match points to put away Yanina Wickmeyer 6-1, 7-5 in her bid to become the first woman to win the tournament three times.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic dispatched Marcos Baghdatis 6-1, 6-3 in 59 minutes, improving his record against the Cypriat to 8-0.

Murray lost in the Australian Open final to Djokovic and has played just two other tournaments so far in addition to Davis Cup.

Zirkle takes Iditarod lead at Koyukuk

MISCELLANY: Aliy Zirkle took the lead the Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, after reaching the Koyukuk checkpoint and taking off again following a 4-minute break.

The 45-year-old bypassed Jeff King, who pulled into the village about two hours before her.

Zirkle is trying for her first win after finishing second the last three years. If she pulls in to the finish line at Nome first, she would be the first female Iditarod winner since 1990 when the late Susan Butcher finished first.

Zirkle hasn’t taken her 8-hour layover yet this race. King, who has won the Iditarod four times, has taken his.

• Eslick wins Daytona 200: Danny Eslick won the Daytona 200 for the second straight year with a last-lap pass of Josh Herrin in the final turn at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Eslick’s win in the 200-mile American SportBike Racing Association made him the 12th driver to win the race in consecutive years. The last was Mat Mladin in 2000-01.

• Gallopin wins penultimate Paris-Nice stage: Tony Gallopin took the overall lead in the Paris-Nice race after a solo victory on the penultimate stage.

Gallopin made his move about 30 kilometers from the finish to pull away from previous leader Michal Kwiatkowski in the last of six ascents on the 114.4-mile ride between Vence and Nice.

The French rider, who briefly wore the yellow jersey on the Tour de France last year after winning a stage, now leads Richie Porte of Australia by 36 seconds, with Kwiatkowski slipping to third overall 1 second further back.

• American Pharoah wins easily: American Pharoah, last year’s 2-year-old champion, made his return to the track appear easy, winning Oaklawn Park’s Rebel Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths despite a loose shoe on a sloppy track in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The victory gave trainer Bob Baffert his fifth Rebel victory in six years and moved the Zayat Stables colt to fifth in the Kentucky Derby point standings.