Tavares doubles up to lead Isles
J.T. BROWN is the first NHL player to protest during the national anthem.
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward raised his right fist while the anthem played before the team’s first road game of the season against the Panthers.
The 27-year-old Brown, one of approximately 30 black players in the NHL, remained standing throughout the anthem Saturday night.
Brown, the son of former NFL running back Ted Brown, used the same JOHN TAVARES scored twice to lead the New York Islanders to a 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in their home opener Saturday night.
Casey Cizikas had two goals and an assist, and Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier also scored for the Islanders, who won a night after losing 5-0 at Columbus. Jaroslav Halak stopped 26 shots. Evander Kane scored twice and Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who are still seeking their first win under new coach Phil Housley. Robin protest before a preseason game against the Panthers last month.
He told the Tampa Bay Times earlier this week that he doesn’t think protesting during the national anthem is disrespectful.
“Some will tell you that’s disrespecting the military, well I wanted to hear it from someone who is serving, not some person on Twitter,” Brown said. “Some thought (kneeling) was disrespecting, but most felt that we have a right to Lehner gave up four goals on 16 shots and was pulled early in the second. Chad Johnson finished with 15 saves.
The Islanders were 0 for 3 on the power play and Buffalo was 0 for 4, but each team scored two short-handed goals in a wild second period.
New York scored three times — including twice short-handed — in a 1:47 span that gave them a 4-0 lead seven minutes into the period.
DEVILS 4, AVALANCHE 0: The New Jersey Devils’ youth movement has a lot more going for it than No. 1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier.
The Devils are three deep in the rookie department. Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher and Swedish import Jesper Bratt stole a lot of the spotlight from Hischier in a 4-1 seasonopening victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
Butcher set up three powerplay goals and Bratt had a goal and an assist as the Devils created some excitement after posting the worst record in the Eastern Conference last season. do it, regardless of whether they agree with you or not, or would stand next to you.”
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the anthem in the NFL preseason a year ago to make a statement about social inequality and police treatment of blacks in the United States. Since then, the protest has spread to other sports.
—Staff & Wire reports
“The vibe the arena gave off is what I’ll remember most,” Butcher said after becoming the first Devil to collect three assists in his initial game with the franchise. “It was an unbelievable crowd. And to play my first game with Nico and Jesper, it’s like we were all in this together. It was a great feeling”
Adam Henrique, Jimmy Hayes and John Moore also scored as the Devils fielded a lineup with eight new players. Kyle Palmieri added two assists before leaving with a leg injury. —AP
It set up a showdown game in Lisbon on Tuesday that Portugal must win while the Swiss need only a draw to top the group and avoid the playoffs next month.
“If you win nine out of nine and you can still have fear of not qualifying, it’s anyway a bit complicated,” Switzerland captain Stephan Lichtsteiner said.
l Kendall Waston scored in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, giving Costa Rica a 1-1 tie against visiting Honduras at San Jose and clinching the Ticos’ second straight World Cup berth and fifth overall.
The dramatic late goal means the United States likely needs at most a draw at Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday night to qualify for its eighth straight World Cup berth.
l France and Sweden will fight for automatic World Cup qualification next week and the Netherlands needs a miracle just to make it to the European playoffs.
A lone goal from Blaise Matuidi was enough for France to labor past Bulgaria 1-0 in Group A on Saturday, and to secure at least a top-two finish in the race to Russia for the former world champion.
MIGHTIEST MOUSE
Demetrious Johnson successfully defended his flyweight title for a UFC record-breaking 11th time, stopping Ray Borg by armor submission at 3:15 of the fifth round. The card was the first major sporting event in Las Vegas since the mass shooting that killed 58 people this week.
The 31-year-old Johnson (27-2-1) broke the defense record he shared with longtime middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
STATUE OF MANN
The Indianapolis Colts have unveiled a statue of Peyton Manning on a plaza outside Lucas Oil Stadium in a ceremony attended by hundreds of fans and featuring remarks from Hall of Famers coach Tony Dungy and executive Bill Polian, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
The five-time NFL MVP concluded the event Saturday by proclaiming “I will always be a Colt” and throwing autographed footballs into the crowd.
l Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford has been listed as questionable to play in the upcoming game at Chicago.