Toffoli’s OT goal leads Canadiens to series sweep of Jets
MONTREAL — Tyler Toffoli scored at 1:39 of overtime, lifting the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night and a four-game sweep of their second-round playoff series.
Toffoli took a crosscrease pass from Cole Caufield and beat Connor Hellebuyck with a one-timer for the winner and his fourth goal of the postseason.
Erik Gustafsson and Artturi Lehkonen scored in regulation for Montreal, which has won seven straight playoff games since trailing Toronto 3-1 in the opening round. Toffoli, who scored 28 times in the regular season, also had an assist.
Carey Price made 14
saves for the North Division’s No. 4 seed in front of another boisterous crowd of 2,500 fans at the Bell Centre.
The 16th and final team to qualify for the playoffs after winning just one of their final nine regular-season games in regulation, the Canadiens are the first club to make the semifinals of the Stanley Cup tournament this year.
Fowler comes up short in bid for US Open as qualifying ends
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Rickie Fowler came up just short — one roll of the ball — in his last shot at avoiding sitting out another major when he failed to get through U.S. Open qualifying on Tuesday.
Fowler had five holes to play Tuesday morning in the rain-delayed qualifier at Brookside and The Lakes, and he needed three birdies. From over the back of the 18th green, his chip was about a full turn short before peeling away to the right.
That left him one shot out of the 5-for-4 playoff for the remaining spots to the U.S. Open next week at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
Chez Reavie and Erik van Rooyen of South Africa led the way in Ohio, the largest of nine U.S. Open qualifiers across the country because of so many PGA Tour players in the field.
A pair of Walker Cup players from Texas, Cole Hammer and Pierceson Coody, were part of the five-way playoff. Hammer was the odd man out, making bogey on the second extra hole to be first alternate.
Arbitrator upholds Kadri’s 8-game suspension for illegal hit
NEW YORK — Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri saw his eight-game suspension for an illegal hit upheld by an arbitrator hours before Game 5 on Tuesday in a second-round series against Vegas.
Kadri has already served six games of a suspension he was given after an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk in Game 2 of their firstround series. Faulk sustained a concussion, according to the report, and didn’t play in the final two games as the Avalanche swept the Blues to advance.
Colorado was holding out hope that Kadri might be available for Game 5 in Denver. But the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association announced the decision by arbitrator Shyam Das.
The NHLPA originally appealed the suspension to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, arguing a four-game suspension was more appropriate. The commissioner upheld the ruling on May 31.
Refugee team of 29 athletes picked for Tokyo Olympics
GENEVA — The refugee team for the Tokyo Olympics will have 29 athletes competing in 12 sports, including a medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games who left Iran citing institutional sexism.
The team selected by the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday was drawn from 55 athletes who fled their home countries and got scholarships to train for the games in a new home country.
Kimia Alizadeh is among them five years after she became the first Iranian women to win an Olympic medal. She took bronze in taekwondo at age 18.
Alizadeh is based in Germany after she defected from Iran and criticized wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf.
Bruins coach Cassidy fined $25,000 for criticizing refs
BOSTON — The NHL fined Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy $25,000 on Tuesday for his criticism of the officials after Game 5 of Boston’s second-round playoff series against the New York Islanders.
The Islanders scored three power-play goals on four chances in a 5-4 victory on Monday night while being called for two penalties themselves. After the game, Cassidy commended the officials but said the teams were treated differently despite playing similar styles.
Titans’ Henry wins ASWA pro athlete of year honor again
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Derrick Henry continues to win awards in the state where he captured both the Heisman Trophy and a national championship.
For the second straight year, the former Alabama star and current Tennessee Titans running back is the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Professional Athlete of the Year. The group announced him as the winner on Tuesday.
Henry won his second straight rushing title and became just the eighth player in NFL history to total 2,000 yards in a single season.
Henry finished the 2020 regular season with 2,027 rushing yards, the fifth-most in a single season in NFL history and more than 23 teams managed to tally. He’s the first player to defend his rushing title since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006-07.
US defender Mark McKenzie targeted with online racial abuse
DENVER — United States defender Mark McKenzie was subjected to racial abuse on social media following his team’s 3-2 victory over Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League final.
“The amount of racial abuse and personal attacks on myself and family from ‘supporters’ and ‘non supporters’ just ain’t it,” McKenzie, who is Black, wrote on his Instagram Stories late Monday.
The posting included an example of the abuse.
The 22-year-old McKenzie, who plays for Genk in Belgium, had a giveaway Sunday night that led to Jesús Corona’s goal for Mexico after only 63 seconds and was whistled for a handball in the 119th minute. Ethan Horvath then saved the penalty to preserve the win.
McKenzie joined Genk from the MLS’ Philadelphia Union in January.
Sunday’s match in Denver was paused for about three minutes in second-half stoppage time because of discriminatory fan chants.