14 Established 1961 Sports Wednesday, March 28, 2018 Expansion Knights clinch Stanley Cup playoff berth Kings blank Flames, tie Ducks for 3rd in Pacific

LAS VEGAS: Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves to Kadri collected goals for the Maple Leafs. pick up his 403rd career victory and tie Grant Fuhr for 11th place on the all-time wins list as the expansion KINGS 3, FLAMES 0 Vegas Golden Knights clinched a Stanley Cup playoff Dion Phaneuf, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter scored berth with a 4-1 decision over the visiting Colorado power-play goals, and Jonathan Quick stopped 23 Avalanche on Monday in Las Vegas. William Karlsson shots for his fifth shutout of the season as Los Angeles and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and two topped visiting Calgary. The Kings moved into a tie assists, Shea Theodore with Anaheim for third finished with a goal and place in the Pacific an assist, and Alex Tuch Division with 91 points. also scored a goal for The result also moves Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles a point Vegas. The Golden Third team since ahead of the Colorado Knights’ Gerard Gallant Avalanche and two earned his 200th career 1968-69 to make points in front of the St. coaching victory. The Louis Blues in the wild- Golden Knights became the playoffs card chase. the third expansion Phaneuf and Kopitar team since 1968-69 to each finished the night make the Stanley Cup with a goal and an assist. playoffs. The Hartford Dustin Brown added Whalers and Edmonton Oilers both accomplished the secondary helpers on the final two goals. feat in 1979-80 after moving over from the World Hockey Association. Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves SHARKS 4, for Colorado, and Erik Johnson scored his ninth goal BLACKHAWKS 3 (SO) of the season. Kevin Labanc scored the decisive goal in a shootout, and San Jose won at Chicago for its eighth CANADIENS 4, RED WINGS 2 victory in a row. Logan Couture also scored during the MONTREAL: Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens tips in the puck past goaltender Jared Brendan Gallagher netted a pair of goals 5:05 apart shootout round for San Jose, which has not lost a game Coreau #31 of the Detroit Red Wings during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on Monday in Montreal, in the second period, and Montreal defeated visiting in more than two weeks. Marcus Sorensen, Evander Quebec, Canada. — AFP Detroit in a battle of teams eliminated from the playoff Kane and Tomas Hertl scored in regulation for the race. Alex Galchenyuk had a goal and an assist, and Sharks. Alex DeBrincat, Connor Murphy and Patrick Paul Byron also scored for Montreal. Canadiens goalie Sharp each tallied goals for the Blackhawks. Sharp also goal and an assist as Washington scored four first- playoff hopes in the Eastern Conference. Bobby Ryan Carey Price made 26 saves. Detroit got one goal and scored during the shootout. period goals and defeated host New York for a fourth scored for Ottawa. one assist from Gustav Nyquist, and Tyler Bertuzzi consecutive win. Washington also got one goal apiece added a goal. Jared Coreau stopped 27 shots. COYOTES 4, LIGHTNING 1 from Matt Niskanen and T.J. Oshie. Nicklas PANTHERS 3, ISLANDERS 0 Trevor Murphy scored his first career NHL goal, Backstrom had two assists, giving him six in the past Keith Yandle, Nick Bjugstad and Evgenii Dadonov SABRES 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2 and visiting Arizona pulled away for a win at Tampa two games. Rangers center Lias Andersson scored a scored goals, and James Reimer tied a career high by Jack Eichel scored the tiebreaking goal with 10:23 Bay. Jakob Chychrun, Brendan Perlini and Clayton goal in his first NHL game, and Mats Zuccarello also recording his fourth shutout of the season for Florida, remaining in the third period as Buffalo ended Keller also scored for the Coyotes, who snapped a collected a goal. which moved closer to a wild-card spot and eliminated Toronto’s team-record 13-game home winning streak. two-game skid. Arizona goaltender Antti Raanta host New York from playoff contention. The Panthers Eichel also scored Buffalo’s first goal and recorded his allowed a Nikita Kucherov goal late in the third period HURRICANES 4, SENATORS 1 won for the seventh time in 10 games (7-3-0) to close fifth multi-goal game of the season and 15th career. It to spoil a chance for his third shutout of the season. Warren Foegele notched a goal in his first NHL within one point of the idle New Jersey Devils for the was his first two goals since returning March 17 from a Raanta made 19 saves. Tampa Bay goaltender Louis game to start the scoring as Carolina defeated visiting second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Florida 15-game absence caused by an ankle injury, and he Domingue stopped 31 of 34 shots but drew the loss Ottawa. The Hurricanes’ Valentin Zykov and Brock has a game in hand on New Jersey. Reimer stopped all matched his career high by scoring his 23rd and 24th against his former team. McGinn scored in a 98-second span of the second 32 shots he faced. The Islanders lost their third straight goals. Casey Nelson also scored while Zemgus period. Sebastian Aho added an empty-net goal and and fell for the ninth time in 11 games (2-6-3). New Girgensons recorded two assists as Buffalo snapped a CAPITALS 4, RANGERS 2 Derek Ryan provided two assists for the Hurricanes, York will miss the playoffs for the third time in the past four-game losing streak. Patrick Marleau and Nazem Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had a who have won three games in a row to keep alive slim four seasons. — Reuters

Mickey Arthur was sacked, with Justin Axe looms for Langer considered a frontrunner as his replacement although Ricky Ponting will also be in the mix. Australia coach “We understand the strong interest Bangladesh eye everyone has in this situation and we are following due process to properly address Kirsten as and in all of the relevant issues involved,” Sunderland said in an email. crisis Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said team consultant Tuesday it had been “a shocking affront to Australia” and Cricket Australia must act DHAKA: Bangladesh cricket authorities said yester- “decisively and emphatically”. Former JOHANNESBURG: Australia coach Darren day they were in talks with former South African Australian coach John Buchanan, who led Lehmann and skipper Steve Smith faced batsman to hire him as a team consult- the team from 1999 to 2007, said Smith the axe yesterday with cricket chiefs hold- ant for an extended period. Bangladesh have been must resign as captain and urged cricket ing crisis talks in South Africa to deal with looking for a head coach for the national cricket team chiefs to be fully transparent in their inves- an escalating cheating scandal. since October, after former Sri Lankan opener tigation. “It is a very difficult time for mem- Cricket Australia (CA) boss James Chandika Hathurusingha stepped down. bers of Australian cricket; however, I Sutherland, under mounting pressure to But Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesper- believe there is a golden opportunity to come down hard on what Australian media son Jalal Yunus said they had offered Kirsten, 50, who reset the dial around player and staff has dubbed a “rotten” team culture, has was India’s coach when they won the 2011 World behaviours, actions and decision-making,” arrived in Johannesburg and is expected to Cup, a different role unlike that of a head coach. he told reporters. give a press conference later. Sutherland is “He is on our list but he will come only as a team holding talks with Cricket Australia’s head CAPE TOWN: Coach Darren Lehmann of the Australian Cricket Team arrives consultant. It’s not final, though. Hopefully we will be NATIONAL OUTCRY of integrity, Iain Roy, who is probing the at OR Tambo International Airport after the team was caught cheating in the able to strike a deal after the Indian Premier League,” There has been a national outcry over ball-tampering scandal during the third Sunfoil Test Series between Australia and South Africa yesterday. —AFP Yunus said. Kirsten, who played 101 Tests and 185 Smith’s admission that the “leadership Test match against South Africa on one-day internationals for South Africa before coach- group” within the team decided to cheat. Saturday. ing the Proteas and India, will be in charge of Royal That group of senior players usually Reports say they could ban both Smith ASHES ACCUSATION ‘Go out. Have a look, boys. They are using Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, which begins on includes fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and and vice-captain David Warner for 12 Bancroft used a strip of yellow sticky something.’ It’s impossible for the ball to April 7. “If he agrees, he will also work with the Mitchell Starc, but they are reportedly months and send them home in disgrace. tape he had covered with dirt granules to get altered like that on a cricket Under-19 and the A-team and give us advice about furious at being embroiled in the saga. Smith has already been suspended for one illegally scratch the rough side of the ball, where we knew there is a grass covering cricket structure,” Yunus said. The ramifications of the scandal have Test and docked his entire match fee by thereby facilitating more swing for on,” De Villiers told Australian radio station The BCB said it would appoint a separate head been far-reaching with the Marylebone the International Cricket Council for his bowlers. He was filmed not only rubbing RSN927. coach for the national team even if it reached an Cricket Club (MCC), the guardian of the role in a plot that saw teammate Cameron the ball with the dirtied tape but conceal- Smith insisted it was the first time his agreement with Kirsten. “He will not always be with laws of the game, calling for a “major shift Bancroft use a piece of grit-encrusted ing the evidence down the front of his team had cheated in this manner, but for- the team, he will deal with separate issues, work with in attitude” to preserve the game for future sticky tape to change the condition of the trousers. The ICC fined him 75 percent of mer England captain Michael Vaughan development squads like what Eddie Barlow did. He generations. Former South African captain ball. It means Smith will miss the fourth and his match fee and slapped him with three claimed he is “pretty sure” Australia were (Kirsten) will give advice but there will be a head Graeme Smith has hit out at the ICC’s han- final Test in Johannesburg starting Friday. demerit paints, but he escaped a suspen- ball-tampering during their 4-0 victory in coach.”—AFP dling of the scandal, saying it had “missed sion. Former South Africa captain Fanie de the Ashes, which finished earlier this year. an opportunity to really handle this prop- LEHMANN SILENCE Villiers has described how he tipped off “I look at the amount of tape some of erly and lead our game”. “They haven’t Lehmann has remained silent, but the TV camera crew that caught Bancroft the fielders have worn, particularly during done that. You have had two players, who Britain’s Daily Telegraph said he had in the act after he noticed the ball behaving the Ashes series at mid-on and mid-off. have admitted guilt for cheating. I think Harare official decided to quit. Lehmann took over the unusually for the conditions. You don’t have to name names, they know that’s huge.” coaching reins in 2013 when predecessor “We actually said to our cameramen: who they are,” he told BBC Sport. — AFP handed 20-year

Newlands as a television commentator, trying to under- ban for fixing Fanie de stand how the Australians were able to get reverse swing on a grassy field with a ball which was still relatively new. HARARE: A Harare official has been banned from all cricket De Villiers told Australian radio station RSN927 that he activities for 20 years for offering Zimbabwe captain Graeme Villiers undoes had tipped off the camera crew that caught Cameron Cremer $30,000 to fix a match last year, the International Bancroft rubbing the ball with a piece of yellow tape Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday. which the batsman then tried to conceal. Rajan Nayer, the treasurer and marketing director of Harare Australia again “We actually said to our cameramen: ‘Go out. Have a Metropolitan Cricket, accepted the charge of “directly solicit- look, boys. They are using something.’ It’s impossible for ing, inducing, enticing or encouraging Cremer” to fix an inter- CAPE TOWN: Twenty-four years ago Fanie de Villiers dis- the ball to get altered like that on a cricket wicket where national match, the ICC said without identifying the game. “I mantled an Australian cricket team with a sensational spell we knew there is a grass covering on. It’s not a Pakistani would like to place on record my thanks to Graeme Cremer, of . Now he has emerged as one of the key wicket where there are cracks every centimetre. “I said who has acted with the utmost professionalism throughout this figures in exposing the current Australian side as ball tam- earlier that if they could get reverse swing in the 26th, process,” Alex Marshall, general manager of the global govern- perers. In January 1994, an inexperienced South African 27th, 28th over, then they are doing something different ing body’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) said in a statement. from what everyone else does.” “Immediately after he received the approach from Nayer, he team, on their first tour of Australia after two decades of Fanie de Villiers (right) political isolation, faced almost certain defeat when According to De Villiers, it took the cameramen an hour reported it to the ICC and we were able to get an investigation Australia needed just 116 runs to win the second Test in and a half of searching before they caught Bancroft in the underway swiftly.” Cremer credited the ICC for educating act. Bancroft admitted he panicked when he saw close-up eras around that’s always the risk,” Bancroft said when he players on the perils of fixing. “I was appalled to be Sydney. admitted to using the tape to rub against the ball. It was Playing in just his second Test, De Villiers took six for images of himself on the big screen, leading him to try to approached by someone so closely connected to the game and conceal the tape in his underwear, an image shown around only a slight exaggeration. SuperSport television producer there was no doubt in my mind that I had to report it as soon as 43 and bowled South Africa to an improbable five-run vic- Alvin Naicker said that 30 cameras were at the ground, tory in a match in which they had been forced to follow on the cricketing world and reproduced on websites and I could,” the 31-year-old said. “We receive education around numerous newspapers. with seven instructed to follow the ball at all times, even this which you never expect to have to use, but it certainly and in which Shane Warne had taken 12 for when it was out of play. — AFP Australia. Twenty-four years later De Villiers was at “I was nervous about it because with hundreds of cam- helped when it came to knowing what to do.” — Reuters