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PENGUINS FLYING HIGH Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and two assists in Pittsburgh’s 5-2 win at Toronto Saturday. Newly-acquired RW Patric Hornqvist, skating on Crosby’s wing, had a goal, an assist, nine shots on goal and 11 shot attempts in 14:06 of ice time. Hornqvist, Crosby and checking winger Blake Comeau all had at least 70% of even-strength shot attempts when they were on the ice. Toronto’s fourth-liners, C Peter Holland Holland (4 shot attempts for, 18 against, 18.2%) and RW Richard Panik (4 for, 16 against, 20.0%) took a beating in the possession game, More: Penguins D Kris Letang had two assists…Maple Leafs G Jonathan Bernier surrendered five goals on 41 shots. Through two games, Bernier had stopped 64 of 73 shots (.877 SV%). LEAFS ON THE BOARD After getting thumped on home ice the night before, the Toronto Maple Leafs rebounded with a 6-3 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Playing his first game of the season, Maple Leafs D Cody Franson notched a goal and an assist, but his presence also made for a strange lineup decision as the Leafs made D Jake Gardiner a healthy scratch. Gardiner had the best possession numbers among Toronto defencemen through the first two games. It’s not the first time in his career that Gardiner has curiously been scratched, but he also led the Maple Leafs in ice time (23:04) the night before, making the decision all the more puzzling. The Maple Leafs also shuffled their forward lineup, adding Daniel Winnik to right wing on the second line with Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri and that line was the Leafs’ best in terms of possession. Rangers LW Rick Nash scored a goal, but left the game early because his wife was having a baby. Rookie RW Kevin Hayes, playing in his first game, moved up to finish the game with Martin St. Louis and Anthony Duclair in Nash’s absence. Maple Leafs G James Reimer left for concussion protocol after stopping 24 of 26 shots. Given Reimer’s history, that’s a concern, but his strong game before getting hurt was encouraging. More: Toronto’s top line was productive. Maple Leafs RW Phil Kessel (1 G, 2 A) C Tyler Bozak (1 G, 1 A) and LW James van Riemsdyk (1 G, 1 A) led the way offensively…Maple Leafs C Leo Komarov chipped in a couple of assists. CANUCKS WIN THRILLER The Vancouver Canucks rallied from three multi-goal deficits to win 5-4 in a shootout over the Edmonton Oilers Saturday. The Canucks were outshot 10-5 in the first period, then outshot Edmonton 38-19 the rest of the way. Vancouver’s first line was productive. LW Daniel Sedin had three assists with six shots on goal, while C Henrik Sedin and RW Radim Vrbata each had a goal and an assist. Oilers rookie C Leon Draisaitl played a team-low 9:24; RW Nail Yakupov played 9:50 – the only two Oilers under 12 minutes ice time. Oilers C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins dropped the gloves with Canucks D Dan Hamhuis. It was Nugent-Hopkins’ first fight as a pro and came in response to a big hit from Hamhuis. More: Canucks C Linden Vey scored his first NHL goal… Oilers D Brad Hunt scored his first NHL goal…Oilers C Mark Arcobello had a goal and an assist while LW David Perron and RW Teddy Purcell each had two assists… Canucks C Nick Bonino scored a goal and led the team with nine shot attempts (five shots on goal). CANADIENS RALLY Trailing 3-0 with 13 minutes left in the third period, the Montreal Canadiens stormed back to take a 4-3 shootout win in Philadelphia Saturday. Canadiens D Andrei Markov had a monster game, recording a goal and two assists, with a plus-3 rating. He played a team-high 27:46, paired with D P.K. Subban, and the duo finished with better than 71% of the even-strength shot share. Flyers RW Wayne Simmonds scored two goals and had 11 shot attempts (six shots on goal). Simmonds is averaging a 17:44 time on ice per game through the first three games, nearly a minute more than last season’s career-high 16:46. Philadelphia’s fourth line of LW Jason Akeson, C Pierre-Edouard Bellmare and RW Zac Rinaldo registered 20% or fewer of the even-strength shot attempts when they were on the ice. More: Canadiens C Tomas Plekanec had a goal and an assist…Flyers D Nick Schultz blocked seven shots and played 23:37, getting territorially dominated by Montreal’s top line when it came to possession (18 attempts for, 34 against, 34.6%). Schultz had played more than 23:37 in a game twice in 117 games over the previous two seasons. FULL NELSON Islanders LW Brock Nelson put up two goals and two assists in Fridays 5-3 Islanders win. Nelson spent most of his night on a line with RW Ryan Strome, who had two assists, and C Mikhail Grabovski, who scored a goal and attempted seven shots in 11:21 of ice time. Nelson and Strome were both on the ice for better than 72% of the shot attempts at even strength. Islanders D Johnny Boychuk contributed a goal and two assists, played 23:11, including first-unit power play time (2:47). Boychuk played 31:26 of power play time in 119 games – under 16 seconds per game – over the past two seasons with the Bruins. More: Islanders C John Tavares had three assists in 17:55, in his first game back after suffering a knee injury at the Olympics…Hurricanes D Andrej Sekera had a couple of assists. BACK-TO-BACK ISLES WINS Islanders D Johnny Boychuk had two more assists, giving him five points in two games and played a team-leading 23:55 as the Islanders took their second straight game from Carolina, 4-3. Hurricanes LW Jiri Tlusty scored all three Carolina goals and registered a game-high five shots on goal. Tlusty’s first two goals came on the power play, but he had a relatively strong game at even-strength too, the only Carolina forward to finish on the plus side (13 shot attempts for, 12 against, 52.0%) of the even-strength shot share. Hurricanes C Eric Staal played 14:37 before leaving the game with an upper body injury. If it proves to be anything remotely long-term, the Hurricanes may have – as if that die wasn’t cast already – solidified their status in the Connor McDavid sweepstakes. With Staal hurt, rookie C Victor Rask (17:19) and veteran C Jay McClement (15:56) led the Hurricanes in ice time down the middle of the ice. Hurricanes D Justin Faulk had a rough night (6 shot attempts for, 20 against, 23.1%) spending much of his night facing the Islanders’ top two lines. More: Islanders LW Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist…Hurricanes RW recorded two assists…Islanders C John Tavares picked up a goal and an assist while RW Kyle Okposo had a pair of assists. CAPITAL GAIN Capitals G Braden Holtby had a 29-save shutout in a 4-0 Capitals win Saturday. Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals and attempted 10 shots, with seven on goal. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom didn’t start an even-strength shift in the offensive zone. New Capitals head coach Barry Trotz has said that he thinks Backstrom could be a Selke candidate. There wasn’t a lot of time during which the game qualified for close status, but when it was, Washington’s defence pairing of John Carlson (1 shot attempt for, 9 against, 10%) and Brooks Orpik (1 for, 10 against, 9.1%) had some trouble in possession terms. More: Bruins G Tuukka Rask allowed four goals on 21 shots…Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom, D John Carlson and rookie C Andre Burakovsky each had two assists. SENS SURPRISE LIGHTNING Senators G Robin Lehner stopped 38 of 40 shots in Ottawa’s 3-2 shootout win at Tampa Bay Saturday. Senators D Chris Phillips played 27:18, more than he played in any game last season, yet he came out on the wrong end of the matchup against Tampa’s top line led by C Steven Stamkos and RW Ryan Callahan. Ryan Callahan (22 shot attempts for, 6 against, 78.6%) had a dominant possession game. Lightning RW Brett Connolly, who scored the game-tying goal with 7:26 remaining in the third period, played 8:37, the lowest of any skater in the game. Senators rookie RW Curtis Lazar (7 for, 18 against, 28%) struggled in possession terms, despite not starting any even-strength shifts in the defensive zone. More: Lightning G Ben Bishop stopped 32 of 34 shots…Lightning D Radko Gudas had a game-high seven hits…Second-year Senators D Cody Ceci played a career-high 24:07. MISMATCH IN CHICAGO As expected, the Chicago Blackhawks controlled play, outshooting the Buffalo Sabres 47-23 on the way to a 6-2 win Saturday. The Blackhawks had 74 total shot attempts in the game, compared to 30 for the Sabres. Sabres C Cody Hodgson and RW Brian Gionta were buried (4 shot attempts for, 25 against, 13.8%) in the possession game, spending much of the game going up against Chicago’s top line of LW Patrick Sharp, C Jonathan Toews and RW Marian Hossa. Chicago’s second line of RW Patrick Kane (1 G, 1 A), LW Brandon Saad (3 A) and C Andrew Shaw (1 G, 1 A) was very effective. Blackhawks LW Daniel Carcillo scored a goal and had five shots on goal in 9:55 of ice time. It was Carcillo’s most shots on goal in a game since November 6, 2009. More: Sabres D Andrej Meszaros was minus-4 with 20% (six for, 18 against) of the shot attempts at even strength… Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews had two assists…Blackhawks rookie D Trevor van Riemsdyk (18 shot attempts for, 2 against, 90%) led the way in the possession game for Chicago, followed by Kane and D Niklas Hjalmarsson, both at 82.1%. GETZLAF THE DIFFERENCE FOR DUCKS Ducks C Ryan Getzlaf scored a pair of goals, including the winner with 24 seconds left in the third period in a 3-2 win at Detroit Saturday. Getlaf had 10 shot attempts and seven shots on goal for the game. The Ducks’ first line of LW Patrick Maroon, C Ryan Getzlaf and RW Corey Perry did not start an even-strength shift in the offensive zone. They score and do the heavy lifting for Anaheim. More: Ducks LW Devante Smith-Pelly recorded a game-high six hits…Ducks G Frederik Andersen stopped 27 of 29 shots. HOT START FOR DEVILS New Jersey scored four goals on 11 shots in the first period on the way to a 5-1 Devils win at Florida Saturday. Devils rookie D Damon Severson, who pulled ahead of Adam Larsson on the depth chart, scored his first NHL goal and added an assist, while finishing with good possession stats (14 shot attempts for, 6 against, 70%). Roberto Luongo allowed five goals on 14 shots at which point he was pulled for Al Montoya, who stopped all 10 shots he faced. More: Devils D Eric Gelinas had a pair of assists…Devils RW Jaromir Jagr played just 12:56, his lowest total for a game since March, 2012…Panthers RW Shawn Thornton had five shot attempts (4 shots on goal) in 7:39 TOI. BLUE JACKETS OVER BLUESHIRTS Blue Jackets RW Cam Atkinson scored a pair of goals in a 5-2 Blue Jackets win over the New York Rangers Saturday. Rangers rookie RW Anthony Duclair assisted on both Rangers goals and had the best possession stats (14 shot attempts for, 7 against, 66.7%) in the game for New York. Blue Jackets rookie RW Marko Dano scored his first NHL goal, and added an assist, to go with stellar possession (9 attempts for, 1 against, 90%) stats. More: Rangers LW Mats Zuccarello was minus-4, despite mediocre possession stats (10 shot attempts for, 12 against, 45.2%)…Blue Jackets D David Savard played a team-high 24:43…Blue Jackets C Ryan Johansen had a couple of assists and LW Nick Foligno had a goal and an assist, both playing primarily with Atkinson. Blue Jackets LW Scott Hartnell added two assists. BLUES BURY FLAMES St. Louis jumped to an early lead, dominated play through the first 40 minutes, then cruised to a 4-1 win over Calgary Saturday. Calgary’s fourth line of LW Brandon Bollig, C Matt Stajan and RW Brian McGrattan was overwhelmed. All three had fewer than 18% of even-strength shot attempts when they were on the ice. They were okay (4 shot attempts for, 6 against) against the Blues’ fourth line of LW Chris Porter, C Maxim Lapierre and RW Ryan Reaves, but got destroyed when caught out against RW Vladimir Tarasenko (0 for, 8 against) or C Paul Stastny (0 for, 7 against) . At the other end of the spectrum, the Flames’ defensive pair of Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie continues to excel; both had over 69% possession against St. Louis. More: A little reason to worry about Johnny Hockey? Gaudreau didn’t have a shot attempt in 12:22 TOI, now has no points and one shot on goal in three games…Blues D Kevin Shattenkirk and C Paul Stastny each had three assists. WELL-EARNED WIN The Nashville Predators outshot the Dallas Stars 33-18 on the way to a 4-1 win Saturday. Predators C Paul Gaustad had a goal and an assist, with a plus-3 rating, in 10:57 TOI. LW Eric Nystrom had a goal and two assists to go with his plus-3 rating. Predators defence pair of Ryan Ellis (24 shot attempts for, 5 against) and Mattias Ekholm (24 for, 6 against) were both on for 80% or more of the even-strength shot attempts. Stars D Alex Goligoski was minus-4, yet was on for 14 shot attempts for, 15 against at even strength. Stars C Tyler Seguin and LW Jamie Benn were each minus-3, but combined for 11 shot attempts and had favourable (60%+) possession stats. More: Predators D Shea Weber recorded a goal, an assist and 9 shot attempts (4 shots on goal)…Stars RW Valeri Nichushkin had the team’s best possession stats (17 shot attempts for, 7 against, 70.8%) despite not attempting a shot in his 14:32 of (all even-strength) ice time. WILD BLANK AVS, AGAIN It was closer than the opener, but the Minnesota Wild still earned a 3-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche Saturday. Wild G Darcy Kuemper stopped all 30 shots and has two shutouts in two games against Colorado, making 46 saves. Wild LW Zach Parise scored an empty-net goal, but also registered 10 shots on goal. In two games, Parise had launched 19 shots on goal. With Avalanche D Erik Johnson ejected for elbowing Wild C Erik Haula, Nick Holden led the Avalanche with 24:57 time on ice. More: Wild D Jared Spurgeon had one shot on goal and 13 attempts, getting nine shots blocked...Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon led his team with nine shot attempts. HOWLING FOR YOU Coyotes scored the overtime winner in Arizona’s 3-2 overtime win against Los Angeles Saturday. Ekman-Larsson recorded nine shot attempts in the game, with eight shots on goal. Kings D Alec Martinez led the team with nine shot attempts and five shots on goal. Coyotes C Antoine Vermette had a goal and an assist while D Keith Yandle had three assists, playing a team-leading 29:56. More: Coyotes G Devan Dubnyk stopped 24 of 26 shots for the win; Kings G Jonathan Quick stopped 37 of 40 shots. SHARKS HAVE BITE Sharks G Alex Stalock made 30 saves in San Jose’s 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets Saturday. Sharks LW Patrick Marleau recorded a goal and an assist in 21:17, most among Sharks forwards, while C Joe Thornton had an assist, playing 16:58. Sharks rookie D Mirco Mueller played 20:53, second among Sharks D behind Brent Burns (25:26). More: Jets RW Dustin Byfuglien led the team with six shot attempts, five on net, in 13:28, but served 16 minutes in penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct issued midway through the third period. THAT 70s LINE STRIKES AGAIN The Los Angeles Kings, led by LW Tanner Pearson, C Jeff Carter and RW Tyler Toffoli, took a relatively easy 4-1 decision against the Winnipeg Jets Sunday. All three members of That 70s Line had a goal and an assist in the win. Kings G Martin Jones stopped 29 of 30 shots. Jets G Michael Hutchinson stopped just 10 of 13 shots before getting pulled from the game. Is it too soon to start wondering when Peter Budaj will get his chance with the Jets? More: Jets RW Blake Wheeler had his second fight in a week, this time objecting to a Robyn Regehr hit on Jets C Mark Scheifele...Jets RW Michael Frolik had an assist and led the team with nine shot attempts (seven on goal)…Kings RW Justin Williams was one of three Kings with 70% possession (D Drew Doughty and LW Marian Gaborik the others), though Williams started only one even-strength shift in the offensive zone. Scott Cullen can be reached via e-mail at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca. Sammy Sosa Jersey . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. John Lackey Jersey . "I love the game, its the best job you can have," he explained Tuesday as the players left Joe Louis Arena for the summer. 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According to Tony Barrett of The Times, the Liverpool captain is set to announce that he will leave the club at the end of the 2014-15 season.PITTSBURGH -- The National League MVP doesnt play favourites when it comes to hot streaks. Neither do the Pittsburgh Pirates, who rode Andrew McCutchen to another win Wednesday. McCutchen homered and reached base four times and the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 at rainy PNC Park on Wednesday night. McCutchen is batting .462 during a seven-game hitting streak and has 12 extra-base hits during 10 June games. "I dont compare (career-best stretches)," McCutchen said. "Im not big on that. Im just seeing the ball hitting the ball. Im in a spurt where Im feeling really good right now." So are the Pirates, who have taken two of the first three games of the series with their NL Central rivals. Pittsburghs Brandon Cumpton (2-2) pitched five effective innings, and the offence pounded Cubs starter Jason Hammel (6-4) for 11 hits in five innings, snapping his streaks of 14 1-3 innings without allowing a run and 52 innings without allowing a homer when McCutchen hit his 10th in the first. McCutchen also had a single and walked twice. "Hes hot," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "When he gets his pitch, hes not missing." Luis Valbuena likewise continued his recent strong hitting with three hits for last-place Chicago, which has lost three of four after a season-best five-game winning streak. The games first pitch was delayed 1 hour, 38 minutes because of a severe thunderstorm that began sweeping through downtown Pittsburgh about an hour before the scheduled start time. Rain fell again during the sixth inning. McCutchens fly ball landed more than a row into the left-field seats -- but it almost became an extra-long out when leftfielder Chris Coghlan leaped into the stands. He landed in the seats and said he had a read on the ball but that a fan outmanoeuvred him for it. "Best non-catch effort Ive ever seen," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "I would have went there and shook his hand myself if he caught that ball," McCutchen said. The Pirates Gregory Polanco went 1 for 5 with an RBI groundout a day after his much-hyped major league debut Tuesday. Making his sixth start of the season and fourth since being given a regular rotation spot, Cumpton allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts. On his final pitch, he struck out Nate Schierholtz swinging with the bases loaded. "Its something I need to work on, getting through the fifth and sixth innings," Cumpton said.dddddddddddd "It was a good experience, a real confidence booster for me." Justin Wilson, Tony Watson, Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli followed with a hitless inning each. Grilli earned his 10th save of the season during what was his 400th career appearance. Hammel had won two previous starts against the Pirates this season and entered Wednesday with the second-best WHIP in the majors (0.88). He allowed 14 baserunners Wednesday. "It was rough," Hammel said with a laugh. "A lot of hits given up. Up in the zone. Obviously could have been better strikes thrown, but I battled through. It could have been a lot worse - 11 hits through five innings? Its amazing they only put up four." Hammel was spared a worse line by some poor baserunning by Pittsburgh, which hit into two peculiar double plays and had another runner thrown out at third during the seventh inning after Hammel was out of the game. The Pirates Starling Marte had two hits - including an RBI single in the fifth inning - but also was thrown out on the basepaths for the third time in two games when he was picked off third following a Travis Snider pop-up behind home plate in the fifth. The Cubs briefly tied the game at 2 in the second when John Bakers single drove in Valbuena and Nate Schierholtz scored on a groundout. Notes: Before the game, the Pirates places LHP Francisco Liriano on the disabled list because of a strained left oblique that caused him to leave his start Tuesday in the fourth inning. . The Cubs on Wednesday announced they signed their first-round draft pick, Indiana University catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber, the No. 4 overall selection, will report to the organizations short-season Class A affiliate in Boise, Idaho. . Pirates 2B Josh Harrison was removed from the game for a pinch hitter during the third inning because of discomfort in his left ankle. . A fireworks display - from the nearby annual Pittsburgh arts festival - rumbled PNC Park for several minutes during the fourth inning. . Pittsburghs Thursday scheduled starter, RHP Edionson Volquez, is 5-0 in his career against the Cubs. Chicagos probable starter, RHP Jeff Samardzija, has a 1.90 ERA in 71 career innings against the Pirates, including seven shutout innings on opening day at PNC Park. ' ' '