LOCAL SPORTS
University Sport: X-Men Basketball are playing in the AUS semifinals in Halifax at 3. If they win, they go to the championship Sunday at 4.
Maritime Junior: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers are in Edmundston at 7:30 tonight.
NS Junior: It was a high scoring affair – seven goals between the teams in the first period alone – as the Antigonish Bulldogs defeated the Strait Pirates 7-3 in Port Hawkesbury. Today, the Pictou County Scotians visit Eskasoni at 7:30.
U15: The Novas host the new Scotland Storm at 5 at the Antigonish Arena and the Wearwell Bombers host the Valley Wildcats at 11:30 at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.
U16AAA: The Cabot Highlanders thumped the Cape Breton Jets 8-2 at the Al MacInnis Sports Centre in Port Hood. The teams play again in Membertou Sunday afternoon.
High School Hockey: The Dr. JH Gillis regional Royals are visiting the CEC Cougars at 6 in the third game of their playoff series.
Rural League: Playoffs begin at the Arena with the St. Croix Angels taking on the County Outlaws at 7. Then the Pleasantdale Panthers face the Heatherton Warriors at 8:30.
Canada Games: In Men’s Hockey, Team NS finished in 7th place after edging out New Brunswick 5-4. Several members of the Northern Subway Selects will be on the ice for Team Nova Scotia when the women begin play on Monday.
NATIONAL SPORTS
If Kerri Einarson hopes to win her fourth consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts title, the skip from Gimli, Manitoba will have to do it the hard way, again. Einarson will play Christina Black’s Nova Scotia team in the Page 3 versus 4 game today in Kamloops, B-C, and the loser is eliminated. The winner will face the loser of the Jennifer Jones of Manitoba and Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario Page 1 versus 2 game in Sunday afternoon’s semifinal, with a chance to go to the final later that day.
The Colorado Avalanche buried the Winnipeg Jets with a four-goal first period then rolled to an easy 5-1 road win. Nathan MacKinnon, J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen each had a goal and assist for the Avs, who are 5-0-and-1 in their last 6 N-H-L games. Mason Appleton scored for the Jets, who have lost 4 of their last 5.
Phillip Danault , Arthur Kaliyev and Gabriel Vilardi scored in the second period, and the Los Angeles Kings ended a two-game skid by edging the visiting New York Islanders 3-2. Jonathan Quick made 16 saves for his 370th victory, moving into 19th place on the N-H-L’s career wins list. Quick also surpassed Tom Barrasso for third place on the victories list by a U.S.-born goaltender.
Jeff Skinner scored twice and Craig Anderson made 53 saves against his former team to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers. The 41-year-old Anderson spent three seasons with the Panthers. He helped Buffalo get to 64 points and pull into a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with Detroit and Florida. The Sabres have not been to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2011 – the longest drought in the N-H-L.
Zach LaVine scored 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting and the Chicago Bulls drubbed the Brooklyn Nets 131-87 on Friday night to snap a six-game N-B-A skid. Chicago held Brooklyn to a season low in points; its previous worst was 92 in a loss to Boston in December. Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond each had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls.
Giannis Antetokounmpo left late in the first quarter with a right knee issue to spoil his rapid return from a sprained wrist, but the Milwaukee Bucks still trounced the Miami Heat 128-99 on Friday for their 13th consecutive N-B-A victory. Antetokounmpo was in the starting lineup just four days after heading to New York to have his right wrist examined.
Friday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Toronto 2 Minnesota 1 (OT)
Montreal 5 Philadelphia 2
Carolina 4 Ottawa 0
Colorado 5 Winnipeg 1
Buffalo 3 Florida 1
Los Angeles 3 N.Y. Islanders 2
NBA
Sacramento 176 L.A. Clippers 175 (2 OT)
New York 115 Washington 109
Atlanta 136 Cleveland 119
Milwaukee 128 Miami 99
Chicago 131 Brooklyn 87
Charlotte 121 Minnesota 113
Golden State 116 Houston 101
Phoenix 124 Oklahoma City 115
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NHL
Edmonton at Columbus, 12:30 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Washington, 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 3:30 p.m.
Boston at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Anaheim at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Calgary at Colorado, 10 p.m.
Dallas at Vegas, 10 p.m.
Chicago at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
NBA
Toronto at Detroit, 12 p.m.
Indiana at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Miami at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Denver at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Boston at Philadelphia, 8:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Utah, 9 p.m.
Major League Soccer
New York City FC at Nashville, 4:30 p.m.
San Jose at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
New England at Charlotte FC, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
CF Montreal at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
New York at Orlando City, 7:30 p.m.
Columbus at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Saint Louis City SC at Austin FC, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at LA Galaxy, 9:30 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m.