Stars score OT win, advance to the Stanley Cup Finals
Denis Gurianov was the overtime hero, and the Dallas Stars summoned another comeback to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 Monday night in Edmonton. Alberta, and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years.
Dallas, which won the best-ofseven Western Conference finals in five games, overcame a 2-0 deficit in the last 11 minutes of regulation. The Stars will face either the Tampa Bay Lightning or New York Islanders for the championship. Tampa Bay leads the Eastern Conference finals 3-1.
With the Stars on the power play, Gurianov set up at the right faceoff dot and drilled a 110 mph one-timer that found the mark at 3:36 of overtime. Dallas has won all four of its playoff games that went beyond regulation this year.
Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin made 34 saves.
With his team down by a pair near the midway point of the third period, Dallas captain Jamie Benn put his team on the board at 9:54 and cued the comeback. During a scramble, Benn gained the puck in the low slot and snapped a high shot into the net for his third goal in as many games.
It was similar to the overtime-forcing, game-tying goal by rookie Joel Kiviranta with 3:47 remaining in regulation. John Klingberg’s point shot was stopped, but Kiviranta pounced on the rebound and buried the golden chance for the power-play marker.
The Golden Knights’ Chandler Stephenson opened the scoring in the first period. Stephenson was sprung on a breakaway by Shea Theodore and tucked a backhand through Khudobin’s legs at the 8:14 mark. It was the first time in eight games that Vegas scored a first-period goal. Then, Reilly Smith tallied 15 seconds into the third period to double the lead.
LIGHTNING LOOK TO KO ISLES IN GAME 5, BOOK FINALS BERTH >>
The task is straightforward for the New York Islanders: Win or go home. With the Tampa Bay Lightning leading 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals, the Islanders are in must-win territory when the teams clash tonight in Edmonton.
FLAMES ANNOUNCE GEOFF WARD AS HEAD COACH >>
The Calgary Flames have removed the “interim” tag from Geoff Ward’s job and made him the NHL club’s head coach. Ward was promoted from associate coach Nov. 29. Bill Peters resigned amid allegations of racism when he coached in the minor leagues.
A .500 team at that time, the Flames rallied from the controversy to go 25-15-3 under Ward. Calgary was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Dallas Stars.
Tennis
DJOKOVIC WORKING TO BE BETTER PERSON AFTER DEFAULT >>
Novak Djokovic learned “a big lesson” after being disqualified from the U.S. Open for unintentionally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. The incident just over a week ago marked a stunning end to Djokovic’s 29-match winning streak and his bid for an 18th Grand Slam title.
“I’m working mentally and emotionally as hard as I am working physically,” Djokovic said Monday at the Italian Open in Rome. “I’m trying to be the best version of myself on the court and off the court, and I understand that I have outbursts and this is kind of the personality and the player that I have always been.
“I’m going to take this in as profound as possible for me as a big lesson. I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve been comprehending. I’ve been talking to my team. It’s just one of these things that is just unfortunate and happens. You have to move on.”
Golf
JOHNSON TAKES PGA TOUR PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONORS >>
After three tournament wins and a FedExCup title, Dustin Johnson added more hardware to his trophy case when he was named PGA Tour Player of the Year for a second time.
Victories at the Northern Trust and Tour Championships earned the 36-year-old American a first FedExCup title and the $15 million payday that goes along with the trophy.
His other win came at the Travelers Championship.
The Player of Year is voted on by PGA Tour members who played in at least 10 events during the 201920 season.
Scottie Scheffler took PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors. The 24-year-old made 23 starts recorded six top-five finishes, including a fourth at the PGA Championship.
Soccer
EARTHQUAKES WORK SCORELESS DRAW AGAINST GALAXY >>
Former San Jose Earthquakes goalie David Bingham made two saves to help the LA Galaxy to a scoreless draw against the host San Jose Earthquakes late Sunday night.
San Jose (2-4-4) hasn’t won since returning from the MLS is Back tournament, losing three of five matches, including a 7-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Thursday night.
The Galaxy (4-3-3) stretched its unbeaten streak to six but had their four-match win streak snapped. Los Angeles has outscored opponents 11-4 during the stretch.
Andy Rios’ goal in the 89th minute for San Jose was called back due to offsides. Jackson Yueill had a clear shot in the 34th from inside the 18yard box, but Bingham deflected the ball away. Guram Kashia had the Earthquakes’ only other shot on target.
Daniel Vega made two saves for the Earthquakes.
PSG BACKS NEYMAR’S RACIAL ABUSE CLAIM >>
Paris Saint-Germain says it “strongly supports” Neymar’s claim to being racially abused by a Marseille player during their feisty match on Sunday.
PSG’s brief statement on Monday added it was looking forward to the LFP, the governing body of the top French leagues, investigating the facts behind a Ligue 1 match which featured 17 cards. Neymar was one of five players sent off after an injurytime brawl including punching and kicking at Parc des Princes.
Neymar told officials as he went off he was racially abused. He went on social media regretting only that he didn’t punch Gonzalez in the face.
Tour de France
ROGLIC, POGACAR BRACED FOR SLOVENIAN SHOWDOWN ON TOUR FINALE >>
There is only one big question left to be answered at the Tour de France: Which Slovenian will stand on the top of the podium on Sunday on the Champs-Elysees?
Baring a crash, or an unexpected event event like a positive COVID-19 test, the final week of racing should offer a showdown between the Jumbo-Visma team leader Primoz Roglic and his young challenger Tadej Pogacar, who rides for the UAE Emirates team.
The two rivals from Slovenia have proved their superiority on the big climbs that punctuated the route over the past two weeks. They are only separated by 40 seconds in the general classification ahead of the race’s six remaining stages, which will provide more action in high mountains and an individual time trial before the traditional procession into Paris.
Monday was a rest day as riders underwent more coronavirus tests that could rule some out of contention if they return a positive result for COVID-19.