MIKE SMITH

The Colorado Avalanche got a key player back with the return of Nazem Kadri for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period, backup Pavel Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

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Joe Thornton’s career may be over.

The New York Rangers will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

The Los Angeles Kings rebounded from back-to-back blowout losses to even their first-round playoff series with a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4.

The last three runnings of the Kentucky Derby have been anything but normal.

Evander Kane picked up his first hat trick in a Stanley Cup playoff game, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman each had two goals, and the Edmonton Oilers dominated the Los Angeles Kings for the second straight game, posting a 8-2 victory in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

So much for the notion that goals are hard to come by in the playoffs.

Zandon and filly Nest are the morning-line favorites for the 148th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

The Kentucky Derby leads off the first Triple Crown season in decades without the chance of Bob Baffert officially winning one or more of the three races.

Edmonton captain and reigning league MVP Connor McDavid has been placed on on NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.

Corniche won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 1 3/4 length at Del Mar, stamping the colt as the early favorite for next year’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, where his trainer, Bob Baffert, has been banned.

Essential Quality wore down pacesetter Hot Rod Charlie in the stretch and crossed the finish line first in the Belmont Stakes.

Rombauer sprung an upset to win the Preakness Stakes at odds of 11-1.

The conversation this week should be about how Medina Spirit ran a sensational race at the Kentucky Derby, raving about how the horse’s rags-to-riches story is just the type of feel-good tale that the world needs in some brutally difficult times.

Midnight Bourbon and Concert Tour are the biggest challengers in the Preakness to Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – UCLA has made more trips to the Final Four than any program but North Carolina. AdThey were clinging to a 50-49 lead when Michigan called a timeout with 19 seconds to go, intending to set up the game's final shot. The buzzer sounded and UCLA began to celebrate, only for the officials to put a half-second back on the clock. They were 3 of 11 beyond the arc, shot 39% overall and couldn't make one at the end. UCLA won a regional semifinal in 2006 and the Bulldogs returned the favor in the 2015 regional semifinals.

The evening's most telling stat was points in the paint: Michigan 50, Florida State 28. Other lowlights for the Seminoles:— 14 turnovers, including 10 in the first half that led to 16 Michigan points. Adding to the trouble, Walker, the team's leading scorer this season, rolled his ankle at the 14-minute mark of the second half. FSU went on a mini-tear when Osborne and Polite made back-to-back 3s to trim Michigan's lead to five early in the second half. Driving the lane and making the extra pass underneath, the Wolverines made 11 of their first 13 shots in the second half.

Michigan guard Eli Brooks celebrates after making a 3-point basket during the second half of a second-round game against LSU in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium Monday, March 22, 2021, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)Michigan's second-round game against LSU was intense from the start. One player for the Wolverines seemed calm and steady — guard Eli Brooks. In fact, Brooks' coach — Fab Five standout Juwan Howard — played a big role in setting that trend. Oregon's three senior starters — Chris Duarte, LJ Figueroa and Eugene Omoruyi — combined for 61 points in a second-round win over Iowa.

2 Michigan wrapped up the Big Ten title with a 69-50 victory over rival Michigan State on Thursday night. The Wolverines won it again in 2014. Aaron Henry scored 14 points for Michigan State (14-11, 8-11), which will finish with a losing conference record for the first time since 1993. Michigan State went 0 for 9 from 3-point range, its first game without a 3 since Nov. 15, 2013 against Columbia, according to Sportradar. MOTIVATIONAL VIDEOFormer Michigan State star Draymond Green made an appearance in a pregame video the Wolverines watched.

(AP Photo/Peter Morgan, FileARCADIA, Calif. – Stewards at Santa Anita have dismissed complaints filed by the California Horse Racing Board involving the post-race drug tests of Triple Crown winner Justify and another horse in 2018, both of whom were trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Stewards John Herbuveaux, Ron Church and Kim Sawyer issued their ruling on the combined cases late Wednesday after hearing evidence and testimony via video on Oct. 29. The CHRB had sought the disqualifications of Justify from his victory in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby and Hoppertunity from his win in the Tokyo City Cup the following day. Baffert has said that neither horse was administered scopolamine, which is sometimes used to treat mild colic and spasms. The racing board had filed the complaint against Justify as part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by Mick Ruis, the owner-trainer of Santa Anita Derby runner-up Bolt d'Oro.

Hurricane Zeta passed through Wednesday with a tidal surge that caused the boat to become unmoored. In Atlanta and New Orleans, drivers dodged trees in roads and navigated intersections without traffic signals. John Bel Edwards said the state sustained “catastrophic” damage on Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish, where Zeta punched three breaches in the levee. Edwards ordered the Louisiana National Guard to fly in soldiers to assist with search and rescue efforts and urged continued caution. Zeta was the 27th named storm of a historically busy year with more than a month left in the Atlantic hurricane season.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)NEW ORLEANS – The Latest on Zeta (all times CDT):10:45 p.m.WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has declared an emergency exists in Mississippi and ordered federal assistance be expedited to aid state, local and tribal efforts to recover from Hurricane Zeta. — In Bay St. Louis in Mississippi, former mayor Les Fillingame said Hurricane Zeta was “very intense” when it blew through. ____10 p.m.MIAMI — Hurricane Zeta is weakening further but remains a still-dangerous storm as it barrels across Mississippi into the U.S. Southeast. — Louisiana's governor says Hurricane Zeta has caused extensive structural damage to businesses and homes in hard-hit areas of the state's southeast. School officials are calling off school because of the fear of rain, wind and power outages from Hurricane Zeta as it makes its way inland.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn stands with Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank before the first half of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. Quinn was hired by the Falcons in 2015 after a highly successful run as Seattle’s defensive coordinator, highlighted by two straight trips to the Super Bowl. After going 8-8 his first season, Quinn guided the Falcons to one of the greatest years in team history. The Falcons made the playoffs again the following year, losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, but never seemed to fully shake their Super Bowl debacle. Dimitroff kept his job when Smith was fired at the end of the 2014 season after two straight losing campaigns.

SYDNEY – A senior Australian government minister on Sunday warned foreign journalists working in the country they might come under the scrutiny of federal agencies if they provide a “slanted view” of Australian affairs. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton made the comments during a television interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp., referring to journalists reporting to “a particular community.”While he didn’t mention China, Dutton's comments come after the evacuation from China last week of Australian journalists Bill Birtles and Mike Smith, who sheltered in Australian diplomatic compounds after being questioned by police. Australian Cheng Lei, who works as a business anchor for CGTN, China’s English-language state broadcaster, earlier was taken into custody. “If people are here as journalists and they’re reporting fairly on the news, then that’s fine,” Dutton told ABC TV's Insiders program. “Australia’s actions in organizing the two journos to hide in the embassy completely exceeds the scope of consular protection and in fact is interference in a Chinese legal case,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

Kentucky Derby entry Tiz the Law runs during a workout at Churchill Downs, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. The Kentucky Derby still has horses Tiz the Law is the biggest favorite in 31 years but just about everything else makes the 146th edition unlike any other. Quietude cant hurt, said Barclay Tagg, trainer of 3-5 favorite Tiz the Law. Tiz the Law won the Travers by 5 1/2 lengths over the same distance at Saratoga a month ago. A win by Tiz the Law would make Tagg the oldest trainer to win a Derby at age 82.

What happened next set horse racing off on a year-long odyssey of chaos. From a historic DQ to doping, lawsuits to a global pandemic, and then a Triple Crown turned upside down. What happened next set horse racing off on a yearlong odyssey of chaos: from a historic DQ to doping, from lawsuits to a pandemic, and now a Triple Crown turned upside down. Instead of leading off on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby shifted to Labor Day weekend. Who would have ever thought youd run the Kentucky Derby with no fans? Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith said.

(AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)Jockeys riding in the rescheduled 146th Kentucky Derby have to arrive by Monday and then quarantine upon returning to their home tracks, just one of many changes forced by the coronavirus pandemic. Initially, Churchill Downs had proposed an arrival date of Aug. 24 nearly two weeks before the Derby on Sept. 5. Smith will bolster his trip to the Derby with a riding assignment the following weekend at Kentucky Downs near the Tennessee border. Smith will be joined by some other Derby jockeys. Their coronavirus tests from Churchill Downs will be honored at the southern Kentucky track.

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2020, file photo, Edmonton Oilers goalie Mike Smith warms up for the team's NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets in Edmonton, Alberta. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press on Sunday, July 5, that the NHL and NHL Players Association have agreed on protocols to resume the season. Daly said the sides are still negotiating a collective bargaining agreement extension. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP, File)The National Hockey League and NHL Players Association have reached a tentative agreement to return to play this season and extend their collective bargaining agreement. Training camps would open July 13 and games would resume Aug. 1 if approved by the leagues board of governors and players executive committee and full membership.

The climax to the 14-race showpiece is Saturday's $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, a one-and-a-quarter-mile dirt dash which often decides the best of a generation. If you've never been to Santa Anita and you sit in the grandstand and you have those beautiful mountains in the background, it's like a painting. Another highlight is the $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf over one-and-a-half miles on grass, which has become a successful hunting ground for the cream of European talent. Winning a Breeders' Cup race is the pinnacle, according to Smith, who became only the 13th jockey to clinch the Triple Crown when he rode Justify for Baffert in 2018. "The Stronach Group and Santa Anita safety measures put horse and rider safety above all else," it said in a statement last month.

(CNN) - Triple Crown winner Justify tested positive for drugs in California weeks before he won the Kentucky Derby last year, The New York Times reported. If the state's horse racing officials had followed the rules, the failed drug test would have disqualified the 3-year-old chestnut colt from the famous derby, the paper said in the explosive report Wednesday night. Justify won the Santa Anita Derby on April 7 last year, then failed the drug test after that race, according to the paper. Just over two weeks later, on May 5, Justify won the Kentucky Derby, the first of the three races that make up the Triple Crown. "In addition, I had no input into, or influence on, the decisions made by the California Horse Racing Board," Baffert said.