Stars ride Bishop to 3-2 series lead
Ben Bishop looked the part of a Vezina Trophy finalist, except for one play.
Jason Spezza scored and Bishop made 38 saves as the Stars beat the Blues 2-1 on Friday night in St. Louis to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
Esa Lindell also scored for the Stars, who can advance with a win in Game 6 at home on Sunday.
While Bishop turned away a number of Blues chances throughout, his miscue with the puck led to the Blues’ lone goal.
“It was a little satisfying the fact that I made that error and was able to still close it out,” Bishop said. “That’s probably the only satisfying thing. Other than that it’s a good win and there’s one more which is the hardest one to win. We’ll try to get some rest here and get ready for the next game.”
Bishop made a couple of saves during a Blues power play in the second and stopped quality chances from Brayden Schenn and Robert Thomas in the first.
But Bishop’s giveaway at 8:26 of the third put the puck right on Schwartz’s stick, setting him up for a one-timer that pulled the Blues within one.
Bishop redeemed himself late in the third, stretching to get his pad on a point-blank chance for Oskar Sundqvist.
“Ben Bishop was the best player tonight,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. “The Blues were better (than us), but Bishop was the difference.”
Van Riemsdyk done: Hurricanes defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs after having shoulder surgery. Colleges: The NCAA launched an investigation into the Arizona men’s basketball program, the university confirmed to the Arizona Daily Star. Former Wildcats assistant Emanuel “Book” Richardson pleaded guilty in January to accepting $20,000 in bribes to steer Arizona players to aspiring sports manager Christian Dawkins and certain financial advisers once they turned pro. During the ongoing federal criminal trial in New York, Dawkins testified that he had a “pretty good” relationship with Arizona coach Sean Miller and didn’t need to bribe Richardson to get Wildcats players as clients. Miller has adamantly denied paying players to attend Arizona. ... Duke signed football coach David Cutcliffe to a two-year extension through 2022. Financial terms weren’t announced. Cutcliffe, 64, a two-time ACC coach of the year, is 67-72 in 11 seasons at Duke and has guided the Blue Devils to six bowl games in the last seven seasons.
Golf: Sei Young Kim of South Korea shot a thirdround 4-under 68 to take a three-stroke lead at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in Daly City, Calif. Kim reached 10-under 206. Charley Hull of England was second after a 70. ... Benjamin Hebert of France shot a third-round 8-under 64 to grab a three-stroke lead over Mikko Korhonen of Finland (65) and Jorge Campillo of Spain (68) at the China Open in Shenzhen.
Soccer: Divock Origi scored on a header off a free kick in the 86th minute to lift Liverpool to a 3-2 victory over host Newcastle. Liverpool took a two-point lead over defending English Premier League champ Manchester City, which has a match in hand and can clinch the title with wins in each of its final two matches. Mohamed Salah scored his league-leading 22nd goal, but left Liverp o o l ’s v i c t o r y o n a stretcher after knocking his head against the ground following a collision.
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— News services