LOCAL SPORTS
The Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League Final begins tonight. The Capstone Colts from Cole Harbour emerged as Fred Fox Division Champions, winning a hard fought seven game series with the Liverpool Privateers, clinching the title Wednesday night. The Colts now face the Antigonish Junior B Bulldogs in the League final – game one is tonight at the Antigonish Arena at 7:30. Game Two is Sunday afternoon at 3 in Shearwater.
The Antigonish U15 AA Bulldogs are in Cape Breton taking part in the league championship. They face off with the TASA Ducks at Noon, then take on the South Shore Lumberjacks at 6 pm. Both games are at the Dominion Arena.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Thatcher Demko stopped all 33 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season as the Vancouver Canucks blanked the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0. It was the first time since former head coach Bruce Boudreau’s debut in early December 2021 that the Canucks have held an opponent off the scoresheet. Andrei Kuzmenko, Vitali Kravtsov and J-T Miller all scored for Vancouver.
David Pastrnak scored his 57th goal of the season in overtime to give the history-chasing Boston Bruins a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins are one off the N-H-L season record set by Detroit in 1995-96 and matched by Tampa Bay in 2018-19.
Joel Armia scored his second career hat trick and the Montreal Canadiens grabbed a 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals. And Alex Lyon set a franchise record for saves in a regulation game as the Florida Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators 7-2 for their fifth consecutive victory. Florida remains tied with the New York Islanders for the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but holds the tiebreaker with more wins.
Kevin Gausman pitched six scoreless innings and the Toronto Blue Jays earned a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. Gausman gave up just four hits to the struggling Royals, striking out seven and walking two. Vladimir Guerrero Junior and Cavan Biggio hit home runs for Toronto.
Canada’s Brad Gushue qualified for the playoffs at the world men’s curling championship after splitting his games at Ottawa’s T-D Place. Gushue beat Germany in the morning and dropped a 6-3 decision to Scotland in the evening. Switzerland is in first place ahead of Sweden, with Scotland and Norway tied for third.
Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro had 24 points apiece and the Miami Heat kept alive their hopes of avoiding the NBA’s play-in tournament with a 129-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Miami would have to win both of their remaining games and have Brooklyn lose both home games this weekend to move into the No. 6 spot and avoid the play-in round.
Thursday’s scoreboard
Women’s World Hockey Championship
Germany 6 Sweden 2
Czechia 2 Japan 1 (OT)
Hungary 4 France 2
NHL
New Jersey 8 Columbus 1
Pittsburgh 4 Minnesota 1
Boston 2 Toronto 1 (OT)
Montreal 6 Washington 2
Buffalo 7 Detroit 6 (SO)
Florida 7 Ottawa 2
N.Y. Islanders 6 Tampa Bay 1
St. Louis 3 N.Y. Rangers 2 (OT)
Nashville 3 Carolina 0
Dallas 4 Philadelphia 1
Vancouver 3 Chicago 0
Vegas 5 Los Angeles 2
Colorado 6 San Jose 2
Seattle 4 Arizona 2
MLB
Interleague
San Francisco 16 Chicago White Sox 6
American League
Boston 6 Detroit 3
Toronto 6 Kansas City 3
N.Y. Yankees at Baltimore, ppd.
Houston at Minnesota, ppd.
National League
Colorado 1 Washington 0
Atlanta 7 San Diego 6
L.A. Dodgers 5 Arizona 2
Miami at N.Y. Mets, ppd.
Cincinnati at Philadelphia, ppd.
NBA
Cleveland 118 Orlando 94
Miami 129 Philadelphia 101
San Antonio 129 Portland 127
Oklahoma City 114 Utah 98
Phoenix 119 Denver 115
Friday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
Women’s World Hockey Championship
Switzerland vs. United States, 11 a.m.
Finland vs. Germany, 3 p.m.
Canada vs. Czechia, 7 p.m.
MLB
American League
Texas (Eovaldi 1-0) at Chicago Cubs (Stroman 1-0), 2:20 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (TBD) at Baltimore (Kremer 0-0), 3:05 p.m.
Houston (Urquidy 0-0) at Minnesota (Gray 1-0), 4:10 p.m.
Seattle (Gilbert 0-1) at Cleveland (Civale 1-0), 4:10 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Giolito 0-0) at Pittsburgh (Hill 0-1), 4:12 p.m.
Kansas City (Keller 0-1) at San Francisco (Cobb 0-0), 4:35 p.m.
Oakland (Waldichuk 0-1) at Tampa Bay (Eflin 1-0), 6:40 p.m.
Toronto (Bassitt 0-1) at L.A. Angels (Sandoval 1-0), 9:38 p.m.
National League
Miami (TBD) at N.Y. Mets (Megill 1-0), 1:10 p.m.
Texas (Eovaldi 1-0) at Chicago Cubs (Stroman 1-0), 2:20 p.m.
Cincinnati (Greene 0-0) at Philadelphia (Wheeler 0-1), 3:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Giolito 0-0) at Pittsburgh (Hill 0-1), 4:12 p.m.
Kansas City (Keller 0-1) at San Francisco (Cobb 0-0), 4:35 p.m.
San Diego (Martinez 0-1) at Atlanta (TBD), 7:20 p.m.
St. Louis (Flaherty 1-0) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 0-0), 8:10 p.m.
Washington (Gore 1-0) at Colorado (Urena 0-1), 8:40 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 1-0) at Arizona (Bumgarner 0-1), 9:40 p.m.
NBA
Detroit at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Houston at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Miami at Washington, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Memphis at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
New York at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Golden State at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Phoenix at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.