The Boston Bruins were able to win the latest marathon hockey game in Toronto. Patrice Bergeron scored early in double-overtime to give the Bruins a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes in Game 1 of their opening-round series.
David Krejci put Boston ahead 3-2 59 seconds into the third period, but Carolina forced OT on Haydn Fleury's goal midway through the period. David Pastrnak assisted on the game-winner after netting a first-period goal. The game was postponed 15 hours to a rare late-morning start after Tuesday night's Blue Jackets-Lightning series opener in the same Toronto arena went to five overtimes.
In other first-round action:
The Islanders scored four unanswered goals to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 win over the Capitals in Game 1. Josh Bailey broke a 2-2 deadlock with a short-handed goal about seven minutes into the third period. The Islanders tied it on goals by Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee 1:54 apart bridging the second and third periods.
Carter Hart handled 27 shots and the Flyers opened their series by nipping the Canadiens' 2-1. Joel Farabee netted the go-ahead goal late in the second period, 16 seconds after Shea Weber scored on a power play. Ivan Provorov also scored against Carey Price, who had 29 saves.
Nazem Kadri, J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen scored in an 83-second span late in the third period to send the Avalanche past the Coyotes, 3-0. Philipp Grubauer needed to make just 14 saves for his second career playoff shutout, helping Colorado take the opener of the series. Darcy Kuemper turned back 37 shots for Arizona.
The defending champs are trailing their series after third-period goals by Troy Stecher, Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller gave the Canucks a 5-2 win over the Blues. Horvat furnished two goals and Jacob Markstrom made 29 saves, blanking St. Louis after Jaden Schwartz tied it 2-2 midway through the second period. Elias Petterson also scored for the Canucks, who are seeking their first opening-round series win since 2011.
MLB
Gary Sanchez and Clint Frazier launched back-to-back homers and Aaron Hicks delivered an RBI double that put the Yankees ahead to stay in a 6-3 downing of the Braves. Frazier had three hits and scored twice while starting in place of outfielder Aaron Judge, who was scratched due to tightness in his lower body.
Elsewhere around the majors:
Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith provided back-to-back RBI doubles in a four-run first inning and hit consecutive homers in a five-run sixth as the Mets whipped the Nationals, 11-6. The fourth, fifth and sixth batters in the Mets' lineup, Michael Conforto, Alonso and Smith, went 7-for-11 with eight RBIs, eight runs scored, three walks and a hit batsman in 15 plate appearances.
Magneuris Sierra poked a tiebreaking-two-run single in a three-run 10th that pushed the Marlins past the Blue Jays, 14-11 in Buffalo. Toronto lost despite smacking seven home runs, two by Travis Shaw.
Blake Snell pitched five shutout innings and the Rays backed him with a trio of 400-foot homers to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-5. Willy Adames, Brandon Lowe and Yoshi Tsutsugo all homered off Zack Godley, and Austin Meadows hit a solo shot in the ninth inning of Tampa Bay's fifth consecutive win.
The Orioles also earned a 5-4 win over the Phillies as Rio Ruiz, Chance Sisco and Anthony Santander all homered. Baltimore reliever Miguel Castro wiggled out a jam in the eighth thanks to a fantastic diving stop by Ruiz.
The Oakland Athletics avoided a sweep while winning for the 10th time in 12 games. Stephen Piscotty, Matt Olson and Robbie Grossman homered for the A's in an 8-4 victory over the Angels. Seven of the Athletics' nine hits were for extra bases after they were shut out on Tuesday. Ramón Laureano made three nifty catches in center field as he awaits a decision of his appeal of a six-game suspension for charging Houston coach Alex Cintron on Sunday.
Martín Maldonado belted a three-run home run to back a strong start by Zack Greinke in the Astros' 5-1 decision over the Giants. Greinke allowed one run and scattered seven hits over a season-high 6 1/3 innings for his first win of the year.
Justin Turner crushed a three-run homer in the eighth inning to give the Dodgers breathing room in a 6-0 shutout of the Padres. Tony Gonsolin fell one out short of qualifying for the victory, allowing two hits and striking out eight.
Byron Buxton homered twice, Miguel Sano added a solo shot and Kenta Maeda worked into the seventh inning for the Twins in a 12-2 pounding of the Brewers. Marwin Gonzalez and Jose Cruz Jr. each had two RBIs as part of Minnesota's 15-hit assault.
Kyle Hendricks pitched six strong innings Anthony Rizzo homered as the pair led the Cubs to a 7-2 win over the Indians. The Cubs are 12-3 in their first season under manager David Ross, matching the club's 15-game start since 1970.
Brad Keller tossed two-hit ball over six scoreless innings before the Royals completed a 5-4 win over the Reds. Salvador Perez supplied a solo homer and three RBIs while Kansas City was building a 5-0 lead.
Starling Marte homered and drove in four runs as the Diamondbacks battered the Rockies, 13-7. Rockets outfielder Charlie Blackmon began the game batting an astonishing .500 before going 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at 15 games, and sliding his average to .472.
The White Sox picked up a 7-5 win over the Tigers as Tim Anderson had four hits and finished a double shy of the cycle. Anderson and Eloy Jimenez opened the game with consecutive home runs, but Chicago blew a 3-1 lead before Luis Robert hit a bases-clearing double.
Todd Frazier scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch while the Rangers plated five in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Mariners, 7-4. Texas rallied after Austin Nola and Daniel Vogelbach homered in Seattle's four-run second.
In MLB news:
The Red Sox have placed outfielder Andrew Benintendi on the 10-day injured list with a right rib cage strain and recalled right-hander Ryan Weber from their alternate training site. Benintendi is batting just .103 this year after getting two hits in Tuesday's game.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly says his players sidelined by a coronavirus outbreak are all asymptomatic. Mattingly says those players are feeling great and feel like they are ready to go, adding that some have applied for reinstatement. The Marlins placed 17 players on the injured list last week following an outbreak in Philadelphia that forced seven games to be postponed. The infected players returned to Miami to be quarantined, and will likely need rehab workouts before rejoining the team. Players on the COVID-19 injury list must be cleared by the MLB joint committee before returning.
Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly had his suspension for throwing pitches near the heads of Houston hitters reduced to five games on appeal. Kelly was originally penalized eight games by Major League Baseball on July 29.
NBA
Stanley Johnson scored the tiebreaking basket in the lane with 4.9 seconds remaining in the Raptors' 125-121 triumph over the 76ers. Kyle Lowry and Chris Boucher each scored 19 points as Toronto improved to 6-1 in the restart.
Also around the NBA:
The Indiana Pacers beat Houston for the first time in their last six attempts despite an outstanding performance by Rockets guard James Harden. Myles Turner had 18 points and reserve Edmond Sumner added a season-high 17 as the Pacers held off the Rockets, 108-104. Justin Holliday chipped in 18 points for the Pacers, including two free throws with six seconds left after Houston erased most of a 14-point deficit over the final 5:05. Harden scored 11 points while the Rockets reeled off a 14-2 run to get within 106-104. He poured in 45 points and tied his career high with 17 rebounds.
The Clippers wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the West as Paul George scored 27 points, and Kawhi Leonard had 26 in their 124-111 victory over the Nuggets. The Clippers took control with 13 straight points midway through the third quarter and never allowed the Nuggets to fully recover.
Mike Muscala nailed a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds and the Thunder overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Heat 116-115. Darius Bazley contributed 21 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 18 for Oklahoma City, which outscored the Heat 34-15 in the final period.
In NBA news:
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been suspended for Milwaukee's final game of the regular season. The NBA's reigning MVP was punished for headbutting Washington's Moe Wagner. It's unknown if Antetokounmpo would have played in Thursday's game against Memphis anyway, given that the Bucks have already secured the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA playoffs. Antetokounmpo will be eligible for Game 1 of the Bucks' first-round series against Orlando.
NBA players could be joined by some family members or close friends inside the season-restart bubble by the end of the month. And that raises the possibility of having a real, albeit small, cheering section for some playoff games. The opportunity to bring guests into the bubble at Walt Disney World will be only for teams advancing to the second round of the playoffs. The league still hasn't had a confirmed coronavirus case among players inside the bubble. The league released updated numbers showing that none of the 342 players who were tested daily since the league last released results on Aug. 5 has had a confirmed positive.
Pacers coach Nate McMillan has agreed to a one-year contract extension. McMillan says the deal would add one year to his current agreement, which was set to expire after next season. McMillan has led the Pacers to the playoffs in all four of his seasons since taking the job in 2016.
GOLF
The Masters will be on mute this year. The club has decided there will be no spectators at Augusta National when the rescheduled tournament is played in November. That means all three majors in this year of COVID-19 will not have fans. Golf is coming off its first major without fans last week at the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open, moved from June to Sept. 17-20 because of the pandemic, previously announced it won't have spectators at Winged Foot. The British Open announced in April it would be canceled this year.
NFL
The Washington Football Team will at least begin the NFL season playing without fans in its stadium. The team says it plans to play home games at an empty FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, "out of an abundance of caution due to the rapidly changing dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic." Owner Dan Snyder said the decision followed discussions with federal, state and local officials. The plan can be reevaluated if conditions improve throughout the course of the season.
In other NFL news:
Eagles coach Doug Pederson has returned to the team after missing less than two weeks because of the coronavirus. Pederson said he stayed engaged with the team virtually and watched practices on video while quarantining at home. The 52-year-old Pederson has led the Eagles to three straight playoff appearances and the franchise's first Super Bowl victory following the 2017 season.
The Bills have signed coach Sean McDermott to a multiyear contract extension. A person with direct knowledge told the Associated Press the contract is a four-year extension that runs through the 2025 season. McDermott is the first Bills coach to receive a contract extension since Dick Jauron in 2008 — though Jauron was fired the following year.
A report by the State Department's internal watchdog confirms news reports that U.S. ambassador to Britain and Jets owner Woody Johnson has been accused of making "insensitive" and "inappropriate" remarks to embassy staff. The State Department Office of the Inspector General in a report Wednesday called for further internal investigation of the allegations. The report says State Department officials contend that no further investigation is necessary because Johnson understands the responsibilities of his diplomatic job. Johnson has been an ambassador since 2017 and is a friend and campaign contributor to President Donald Trump.
COLLEGE SPORTS
The Big 12 Conference is moving ahead with plans to play college football and other fall sports. They will join the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences in taking the field amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Big 12 board of directors approved a plan to begin fall sports after Sept. 1 after the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced they would not play this fall. The Big 12 football schedule allows each team to play one non-conference game before league play begins Sept. 26.
In other college sports news:
The Big East has joined the growing list of conferences not playing sports in the fall. The conference announced that men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, volleyball and field hockey won't be contested. Georgetown is the defending national champions in men's soccer.
The Big South Conference has decided to delay its fall sports seasons with hopes of playing in the spring. But it will allow football-playing members to schedule up to four non-conference games in the fall at their own discretion.
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