In the NHL, Boston won its fifth in a row, 3-2 over Chicago to pass idle Toronto and Ottawa into second place in the Atlantic Division. Boston began the day in the wild card position, four points ahead of Tampa Bay for the final playoff spot in the East….It was Pittsburgh over Carolina 3-2…..Fredericton’s Jake Allen made 35 saves as St. Louis downed Nashville 4-1……Braden Holtby made 35 saves as Washington held off Columbus 3-2 and the New York Rangers edged Philadelphia 4-3…..In other play, it was Minnesota 5 Colorado 2…..Tampa Bay 6 Dallas 3…..San Jose 3 Vancouver 1….Anaheim 4 Calgary 3…..Arizona 2 Los Angeles 1 to eliminate the Kings from the playoffs and the Islanders over Buffalo 4-2.
The regular season got underway in Major League Baseball with the Yankees losing to Tampa Bay 7-3…The defending champion Chicago Cubs lost to St. Louis 4-3 with the winning run by the Cardinals in the bottom of the 9th……Arizona rallied for a 6-5 win over San Francisco……Madison Bumgarner of the Giants became the first pitcher ever to hit two home runs on opening day.
The Saint John Riptide kicked off a five-game, 13 day road trip through Ontario with 117-106 win over the Niagara River Lions. Gabe Freeman led the Riptide with 28 points. He also pulled down 7 rebounds.
March Madness comes to an end tonight as North Carolina takes on Gonzaga for the N-C-A-A men’s basketball championship.
In the NBA, the Toronto Raptors won their 9th straight at home, 113-105 over Philadelphia. In other play, it was Boston 110 New York 94….Golden State 139 Washington 115…..Cleveland 135 Indiana 130 (2OT) with LeBron James scoring 41 points including a big three pointer in the last minute……Los Angeles Lakers 108 Miami 103….San Antonio 109 Utah 103…..Chicago 117 New Orleans 110….Charlotte 113 Oklahoma City 101….Dallas 109 Milwaukee 105…..Brooklyn 91 Atlanta 82…..Denver 116 Miaqmi 113 and Houston 123 Phoenix 116.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada captured their third ice dance title at the world figure skating championships in Helsinki, Finland.
