LOCAL SPORTS
Maritime League: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers pulled off a 5-4 overtime win over the Bearcats in Truro, giving both teams 56 points with one game left in the Crushers’ regular season. If they defeat the Wildcats today, the Crushers clinch the final playoff spot in the EastLink South Division. Game time in Berwick is 5 pm.
NS Junior: It’s Game 4 of the Sid Rowe Division semi-final, with the Bulldogs leading the Pictou County Scotians 3-0. Game time in Trenton is 6 pm. If the series goes to a fifth game, it will be played tomorrow night at 7:30 in Antigonish.
U15: The Wearwell Bombers defeated the Bearcats 3-2 in Truro, while the Novas won 5-2 against the Dartmouth Whalers. In action this morning, the Bombers host the Gulls at 11 at the Wellness Centre, then the Novas play the Wolverines in Halifax beginning at Noon.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders upset the Valley Wildcats 4-3 in Port Hawkesbury. Playoffs begin next weekend, with the Highlanders facing off against the Basin Armada on Sunday at the Antigonish Arena.
U18: The CB West Islanders took Game 1 of their series against the Halifax Macs with a 2-1 victory. Rhyah Stewart made 39 saves for the win. Game 2 goes at 4:30 at the Halifax Forum.
Maritime Major Female League: The Northern Subway Selects clinched the provincial title with a 4-1 victory to take the series in four games against the Penguins. Next up for the team is the Atlantic Championship in Corner Brook, Newfoundland beginning April 4th.
Rural League: Pleasantdale doubled Heatherton 6-3 to even the finals at a win each.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Defending Brier champion Brad Gushue gained an express ticket to Sunday night’s championship game with a 7-3 playoff win over Brendan Bottcher of Alberta. Bottcher, the tournament’s top seed, dropped to Sunday’s semifinal to face Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen, who was a 6-5 winner over Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone. Gushue could become the first man to skip a team to six national titles.
Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander and Pius Suter each had a goal and assist as the Vancouver Canucks whipped the visiting Winnipeg Jets 5-0. Quinn Hughes contributed a pair of assists for the Western Conference-leading Canucks, who lost all-star netminder Thatcher Demko midway through the game with an undisclosed injury. J-T Miller and Phillip Di Giuseppe also scored for the Canucks.
Thomas Bordeleau scored two power-play goals as the San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting Ottawa Senators 2-1. The win snapped the Sharks’ nine-game losing skid. Tim Stutzle scored a power-play goal for the Senators, who lost their seventh straight. In Montreal, John Tavares’s goal at 13:14 of the third period snapped a 2-2 deadlock and lifted the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
The Portland Trail Blazers outscored the visiting Toronto Raptors 15-5 in overtime to record a 128-118 victory. Deandre Ayton led the Trail Blazers with 30 points and 19 rebounds. Dalano Banton chipped in with 25 points. Immanuel Quickley led the Raptors with 29 points, while Gary Trent Junior had 23 points.
Luka Doncic became the first N-B-A player to record six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles as the Dallas Mavericks pulled away in the second half and beat the Detroit Pistons 142-124. Doncic finished with 39 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, eclipsing Russell Westbrook’s mark of five straight 30-point triple-doubles. Cade Cunningham had 33 points for the Pistons, who have lost 10 of their past 12.
Alessandro Schopf connected for a goal in the 74th minute of a scoreless match and Ali Ahmed added one in the 86th minute as the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 in Major League Soccer action at PayPal Park. The win improves the Whitecaps record to a win and draw in two regular-season games. San Jose has lost three in a row to start the season.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Vancouver 5 Winnipeg 0
Toronto 3 Montreal 2
Florida 5 Calgary 1
Buffalo 3 Edmonton 2 (OT)
San Jose 2 Ottawa 1
Carolina 4 New Jersey 2
Nashville 2 Columbus 1
Boston 5 Pittsburgh 1
Washington 4 Chicago 1
Tampa Bay 7 Philadelphia 0
N.Y. Rangers 4 St. Louis 0
Vegas 5 Detroit 3
Dallas 4 Los Angeles 1
NBA
Portland 128 Toronto 118
Denver 142 Utah 121
L.A. Clippers 112 Chicago 102
Charlotte 110 Brooklyn 99
Dallas 142 Detroit 124
Boston 117 Phoenix 107
San Antonio 126 Golden State 113
MLS
Vancouver 2 San Jose 0
Toronto FC 1 Charlotte 0
Portland 2 New York City FC 1
Atlanta 4 New England 1
Columbus 2 Chicago 1
New York 2 FC Dallas 1
Minnesota 3 Orlando City 2
St Louis City 2 Austin FC 2
Colorado 2 Real Salt Lake 1
Sporting Kansas City 0 Los Angeles FC 0
Seattle at Philadelphia, ppd.
MLB Spring Training
Toronto 13 Philadelphia 5
Houston 9 Washington (ss) 4
Baltimore 10 Atlanta 3
Detroit 8 Pittsburgh 5
Minnesota 10 N.Y. Yankees 7
N.Y. Mets 9 St. Louis 3
L.A. Angels 5 Cleveland 4
Kansas City 6 Arizona (ss) 5
L.A. Dodgers 7 Texas 1
San Francisco 5 Oakland (ss) 1
Chicago Cubs 5 Colorado 0
Seattle 7 Milwaukee (ss) 5
San Diego 1 Chicago White Sox 1
Cincinnati 7 Arizona (ss) 5
Oakland (ss) 4 Milwaukee (ss) 2
Boston 4 Tampa Bay 0
Miami 4 Washington (ss) 1
Sunday’s Schedule (All times Eastern)
NHL
Edmonton at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Nashville at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m.
Calgary at Carolina, 5 p.m.
Arizona at Chicago, 6 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
PWHL
New York at Boston, 3:30 p.m.
Ottawa at Montreal, 4 p.m.
MLS
Cincinnati at New England, 2 p.m.
Orlando City at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
NBA
Milwaukee at L.A. Clippers, 3 p.m.
Houston at Sacramento, 6 p.m.
Indiana at Orlando, 6 p.m.
New Orleans at Atlanta, 6 p.m.
Washington at Miami, 6 p.m.
Brooklyn at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at New York, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.
MLB Spring Training
Baltimore (ss) vs Toronto (ss) at Sarasota, Fla., 1:05 p.m., 1st game
Boston vs Tampa Bay at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1:05 p.m.
Houston vs Miami (ss) at West Palm Beach, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Minnesota vs Washington at Fort Myers, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees vs Atlanta at Tampa, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia at Bradenton, Fla., 1:05 p.m.
Toronto (ss) vs Baltimore (ss) at Dunedin, Fla., 1:07 p.m., 2nd game
N.Y. Mets vs Detroit at Port St Lucie, Fla., 1:10 p.m.
Miami (ss) vs St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla., 1:10 p.m.
Cincinnati vs Cleveland at Goodyear, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
Oakland vs Kansas City at Mesa, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
San Francisco (ss) vs Chicago White Sox at Scottsdale, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
Texas vs Chicago Cubs at Surprise, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers vs Arizona at Phoenix, 4:05 p.m.
L.A. Angels vs San Diego at Tempe, Ariz., 4:10 p.m.
Seattle vs San Francisco (ss) at Peoria, Ariz., 4:10 p.m.
Colorado vs Milwaukee at Scottsdale, Ariz., 4:10 p.m.