Ducks can't hold early lead in loss to Colorado
For nearly 16 tantalizing minutes, it looked like the Ducks could play — at least on this night — with the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.
They held an early 1-0 lead and early momentum.
The Avalanche equalized with defenseman Bowen Byram's goal at 15:43 and as time wound down in the first period, the Nathan MacKinnon Show took over. He made something out of nothing, scoring with 7.9 seconds remaining in the first, making it 2-1, and it completely changed the complexion of the game.
Colorado would go on to score two quick goals — in the first 3:46 of the second period — and it was straight downhill for the Ducks after that as the Avalanche won 5-1 on Monday night at Honda Center. The Ducks have lost five straight games since defeating Columbus on March 17.
Further compounding the bad news for the Ducks was that leading scorer Trevor Zegras did not play the third period because of a lower-body injury. There was no immediate word as to how serious was the injury. The Ducks were already playing without Troy Terry, who has been absent from the team because of personal reasons.
By the time Zegras exited,
Colorado's Valeri Nichushkin, right, celebrates after scoring against the Ducks during the second period on Monday.
THE SCORE AVALANCHE 5, DUCKS 1
Up next: Ducks at Kraken, Thursday, 7 p.m., ESPN+, Hulu
SUMMARY
Colorado Ducks
First Period:
1, Ducks, Grant 5 (Silfverberg), 12:08. 2, Colorado, Byram 9, 15:43. 3, Colorado, MacKinnon 32 (Rantanen, Makar), 19:52. Penalties: Rantanen, COL (Interference), 6:27.
4, Colorado, J.Johnson 1 (Nieto, Malgin), 2:05. 5, Colorado, Nichushkin 16 (MacKinnon, Makar), 3:46. Penalties: Silfverberg, ANA (Hooking), 14:08. O'Connor, COL (Interference), 17:23.
Second Period:
Third Period:
6, Colorado, Girard 6 (Rodrigues, Byram), 4:22 (pp). Penalties: Silfverberg, ANA (Holding), 4:06. J.Johnson, COL (Interference), 5:41. Jones, ANA (Cross Checking), 17:32.
Colorado 12-15-17: 44. Ducks 11-9-10: 30.
Shots on goal:
Power-play opportunities:
of 3. Ducks 0 of 3.
Colorado, Johansson 2-0-0 (30 shots-29 saves). Ducks, Gibson 14-29-8 (44-39).
13,158 (17,174). T: 2:25.
Goalies:
A: 2 1 2 0 1 — 5 0 — 1
Colorado 1 the game had mostly been decided. Ducks goalie John Gibson made 39 saves.
MacKinnon was the difference-maker.
The twopoint night brought him to 95 points in 62 games, as he is closing in on an important individual mark — 100 points. His career high is 99 points in the 2018-19 season.
In a season full of lessons for the Ducks, this was yet another one, seeing how a player of MacKinnon's caliber can singlehandedly impact a game with two inspired and energized shifts.
In addition to his late first-period goal, MacKinnon set up Valeri Nichushkin, making it 4-1 at 3:46 of the second.
It demonstrated once again that Colorado, not at its best, still manages to find a way. Colorado expanded its lead to 5-1 in the third-period on Samuel Girard's goal at 4:22, making it 12 consecutive games that the Avalanche have scored on the power play.
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MEN'S SINGLES
Round of 32
Daniil Medvedev (4), Russia, def. Alex Molcan, Slovakia, walkover.
Karen Khachanov (14), Russia, def. Jiri Lehecka, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (2), Greece, def. Cristian Garin, Chile, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Quentin Halys, France, def. Mackenzie McDonald, United States, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Francisco Cerundolo (25), Argentina, def. Felix Auger-Aliassime (5), Canada, 6-2, 7-5.
Adrian Mannarino, France, def. Hubert Hurkacz (8), Poland, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (0).
Christopher Eubanks, United States, def. Gregoire Barrere, France, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Lorenzo Sonego, Italy, def. Frances Tiafoe (12), United States, 6-3, 6-4.
WOMEN'S SINGLES
Round of 16
Line (O/U)
111/2 (OFF) 2 (233)
21/2 (219) 81/2 (2351/2) 9 (OFF) 9 (235)
Line
11/2 21/2
Line
-137/+114 -184/+152 -295/+235 -365/+285 -146/+122 -176/+146 Off/Off -300/+240 -122/+102 -188/+155
Underdog
at Wash. at Atlanta
Miami Orlando Charlotte New Orleans
Underdog
Wisconsin at Utah Valley
Underdog
Kings at Detroit Nashville Columbus Tampa Bay
Montreal Vancouver at Chicago
at Vegas at San Jose
Martina Trevisan (25), Italy, def. Jelena Ostapenko (24), Latvia, 6-3, 6-3.
Anastasia Potapova (27), Russia, def. Zheng Qinwen (23), China, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Jessica Pegula (3), United States, def. Magda Linette (20), Poland, 6-1, 7-5.
Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Marketa Vondrousova, Czech Republic, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Elena Rybakina (10), Kazakhstan, def. Elise Mertens, Belgium, 6-4, 6-3.
Petra Kvitova (15), Czech Republic, def. Varvara Gracheva, Russia, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
Ekaterina Alexandrova (18), Russia, def. Bianca Andreescu, Canada, 7-6 (0), 0-2, ret.
Aryna Sabalenka (2), Belarus, def. Barbora Krejcikova (16), Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2.
FINAL FOUR
At NRG Stadium
Houston
National Semifinals
Saturday's games
San Diego St. vs. FAU, 3:09 p.m. UConn vs. Miami, 5:49 p.m.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday's game
San Diego St.-FAU winner vs. UConnMiami winner, 6:20 p.m.
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Today's games
At Orleans Arena
Las Vegas
North Texas vs. Wisconsin, 4 p.m. UAB vs. Utah Valley St., 6:30 p.m.
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Thursday's game
North Texas-Wisconsin winner vs. UABUtah Valley St. winner, 6:40 p.m.
WOMEN'S NCAA TOURNAMENT
SEATTLE 4
Regional Championship
Sunday's result
Iowa 97, Louisville 83
GREENVILLE 2
Regional Championship
Sunday's result
LSU 54, Miami 42
GREENVILLE 1
Regional Championship
Monday's result
South Carolina 86, Maryland 75
SEATTLE 3
Regional Championship
Monday's result
Virginia Tech 84, Ohio St. 74
FINAL FOUR
At American Airlines Center
Dallas
National Semifinals
Friday's games
LSU vs. Virginia Tech, 4 p.m. South Carolina vs. Iowa, 6 p.m.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday's game
Semifinal winners, noon
WOMEN'S NIT
QUARTERFINALS
At Stroh Center
Bowling Green, Ohio Sunday's results Washington 63, Oregon 59 Kansas 78, Arkansas 64 Columbia 77, Harvard 71
Monday's result
Bowling Green 69, Florida 52
SEMIFINALS
Wednesday's games
Washington vs. Kansas, TBA Columbia vs. Bowling Green, TBA
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday's game
Semifinal winners, 2:30 p.m.
SPRING TRAINING
Monday's results
Angels 5, Dodgers 4
Atlanta 6, Boston 1
Minnesota 8, Pittsburgh 4
N.Y. Yankees 8, Tampa Bay 4
St. Louis 8, Baltimore 2
Philadelphia 5, Toronto 2
San Diego 4, Seattle 2
Chicago White Sox 6, Chicago Cubs 6 Colorado 12, Milwaukee 8
Kansas City 4, Texas 4
Arizona 7, Cleveland 6
Oakland vs. San Francisco, late
Today's games
Toronto vs. Philadelphia at Clearwater, Florida, 9:05 a.m.
N.Y. Yankees vs. Washington at Palm Beach, Florida, 9:05 a.m.
Atlanta vs. Boston at Fort Myers, Florida, 10:05 a.m.
Minnesota vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Florida, 10:05 a.m.
Kansas City vs. Texas at Arlington, Texas, 11:05 a.m.
Milwaukee vs. Colorado at Scottsdale, Arizona, noon
Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Arizona, 12:05 p.m.
Cleveland vs. Arizona at Phoenix, Arizona, 12:40 p.m.
Dodgers vs. Angels at Anaheim, California, 6:07 p.m.
BASEBALL
MLB
American League
BALTIMORE ORIOLES:
Optioned RHP Grayson Rodriguez to Norfolk (IL). Reassigned RHPs Eduard Bazardo and Reed Garrett, INFs Josh Lester, Ryan O'Hearn and Jordan Westburg and C Maverick Handley to minor league camp. Released INF/OF Franchy Cordero and OF Nomar Mazara.
National League
CHICAGO CUBS:
Acquired RHP Carlos Guzman from Detroit in exchange for INF Zach McKinstry.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES:
Optioned INF Mark Mathias to Indianapolis (IL). Reassigned RHP Tyler Chatwood and INFs Drew Maggi and Chris Owings to minor league camp.
FOOTBALL
NFL
ATLANTA FALCONS:
Gaziano.
BUFFALO BILLS:
Khalid Kareem.
Bryan Edwards.
Pryor.
HOCKEY
NHL
ARIZONA COYOTES:
Signed DE Joe
Signed S Taylor Rapp to a one-year contract.
CINCINNATI BENGALS:
Re-signed WR Trent Taylor to a one-year contract. Signed CB Sidney Jones to a one-year contract.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS:
DETROIT RED WINGS:
FLORIDA PANTHERS:
Re-signed DE
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS:
Signed DLs Michael Dogbe and Henry Mondeaux. RAMS: Re-signed DL Marquise Copeland to a one-year contract.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS:
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS:
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS:
Signed WR
Signed OL Matt
Recalled F Bokondji Imama from Tucson (AHL). Returned D Michael Kesselring to Tucson.
BUFFALO SABRES: Recalled LW Lukas Rousek from Rochester (AHL).
Recalled C Austin Czarnik, D Simon Edvinsson and RW Matt Luff from Grand Rapids (AHL).
Signed C Zac
Dalpe to a two-year, two-way contract extension.
Signed D Emil Andrae to a three-year, entry-level contract.