TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014 SPORTS Islanders dump Stars

DALLAS: John Tavares scored with 1:24 to is tied in points with Washington for sec- go and Brock Nelson added an empty-net- ond place in the Metropolitan Division - ter, leading the streaking New York one ahead of Philadelphia. Islanders to a 4-2 victory over the slumping The Rangers have won seven straight Dallas Stars on Sunday. against the Flyers at home, outscoring Kyle Okposo had two goals in New them 28-8. Ray Emery rebounded after the York’s fourth consecutive victory. The rough first period and finished with 31 Islanders (18-22-7) also have won seven saves for the Flyers. Lundqvist lost his straight road games. shutout bid when Mark Streit scored a The Islanders rallied past the Stars after power-play goal 6:49 into the third. trailing 2-0 after one period for the second time in a week. This time, New York scored BLACKHAWKS 5, OILERS 3 three goals in the final 4:16. Dallas (20-18-7) Marian Hossa had a power-play goal has lost six in a row for the first time since and an assist as Chicago beat Edmonton to March 2011. Ray Whitney and Sergei end a three-game losing streak. Gonchar scored first-period goals for the Ben Smith, Andrew Shaw, Jonathan Stars against goalie Kevin Poulin, who fin- Toews and Brent Seabrook also scored for ished with 29 saves. Dallas goaltender Dan Chicago, which had 15 goals against Ellis stopped 27 shots. Edmonton in a three-game sweep of the season series. SABRES 2, CAPITALS 1 Ales Hemsky and Taylor Hall scored for Cody Hodgson decided a lackluster Edmonton. The Oilers’ Boyd Gordon was game with the only goal in the shootout as credited with a fluke short-handed goal in Buffalo avoided matching the longest road the second period when Chicago’s Patrick losing streak in club history. Kane inadvertently bounced a pass off the MELBOURNE: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic plays a shot during his men’s singles match against Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko on day one of the 2014 Hodgson, returning after missing eight boards and into an empty net during a Australian Open tennis tournament. —AFP games with a hand injury, beat Philipp delayed penalty call. Grubauer in a skills contest that mirrored the rest of the game - not many quality MINNESOTA 4, NASHVILLE 0 Rusty Djokovic, slick Serena chances, hardly any pucks in the net. Tennessee, Dany Heatley had a goal and Tyler Ennis scored in the first period, and an assist and Darcy Kuemper made 23 Ryan Miller made 28 saves for the Sabres, saves for his first career shutout as whose 11-game road skid was the second- Minnesota beat Nashville. through to second round longest in club history, behind a 12-game Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also streak in the 2011-12 season. scored for Minnesota, which has won five MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic showed some Jason Chimera also scored in the open- of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, early season rustiness but Serena Williams ing period, and Grubauer made 30 saves nine in the second, and nine in the third. roared into the second round like a well-oiled for the Capitals, who have lost five of seven. The rookie’s best save came with 2:17 left in machine as the tournament favorites took centre the third period when he denied former stage on the first evening of the Australian Open MAPLE LEAFS 3, DEVILS 2 Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside yesterday. James van Riemsdyk scored in the of the crease on the right side. The Williams, looking for her sixth title, closed the shootout to lift the Toronto over New Predators have lost three in a row and six of evening on Rod Laver Arena with a 6-2 6-1 dem- Jersey. Bozak and van Riemsdyk scored in their last seven. olition of local hope Ashleigh Barty after four- regulation for Toronto, which had lost four times champion Djokovic had overcome Lukas straight since winning the Winter Classic on ANAHEIM 1, DETROIT 0 Lacko 6-3 7-6(2) 6-1. Jan. 1. Jonas Hiller made 22 saves in his 14th Earlier, there were shocks aplenty in the Toronto goalie Jonathan Bernier consecutive victory as the steamrolling women’s draw with the biggest coming when stopped 36 of the 38 shots he faced Anaheim Ducks beat Detroit for their 17th sixth seed Petra Kvitova fell victim to Thai world through overtime. He then denied Jaromir victory in 18 games. number 88 Luksika Kumkhum in front of a rap- Jagr, Ryane Clowe and Reid Boucher in the Andrew Cogliano scored in the second turous crowd on Margaret Court Arena. shootout to get his 14th win. period for the NHL-leading Ducks, who There were upsets for two Italian seeds as Adam Henrique and Clowe had New improved to 19-0-2 at home this season well, Sara Errani beaten 6-3 6-2 by German Julia Jersey’s goals. Cory Schneider, who narrow- despite playing without injured scoring Goerges and her doubles partner Roberta Vinci ly missed out on making the US Olympic leader Ryan Getzlaf. going down 6-4 6-3 to China’s Zheng Jie. team as the third goalie, made 23 saves. Hiller was outstanding in the second Serena’s sister Venus Williams also bid an ear- game of back-to-back starts, earning his ly farewell to the tournament when she blew a RANGERS 4, FLYERS 1 third shutout of the year and the 19th of his 3-0 lead in the deciding set to lose 2-6 6-4 6-4 to Daniel Carcillo, Rick Nash and Derick career. The Swiss Olympic team selection Russian Ekaterina Makarova. Brassard scored less than 10 minutes into hasn’t lost since Dec. 3, matching four other Djokovic’s new co-coach Boris Becker will the game, and Henrik Lundqvist made 37 goalies for the second-longest winning have raised an eyebrow with the 30 unforced saves as New York routed Philadelphia. streak in a single season in NHL history. errors the second seed served up as he opened MELBOURNE: Serena Williams of the US serves during her women’s singles match against Chris Kreider netted his team-leading Petr Mrazek stopped 22 shots for the his quest for a fourth straight title in Melbourne. Australia’s Ashleigh Barty on Day One of the 2014 Australian Open tennis tournament. —AFP 12th goal in the second period to help the Red Wings in a rematch of last season’s The Serbian always looked like cantering to Rangers win their third straight and fourth first-round matchup in the Western victory in three sets, however, and 23 minutes “As long as I’m able to stay relaxed, I’ll be okay.” earlier raced into the second round with three in five (4-0-1). New York, 8-2-1 in its last 11, Conference playoffs. —AP after taking a tight second stanza by dominating Thai Luksika was far from relaxed as she set victories, eager to make the most of relative- the tiebreak, he was firing down his 10th ace for looked to close out her victory over Kvitova but ly mild conditions at Melbourne Park. the win. was soon bowing to all corners of the stadium Ferrer sprinted to a 5-0 lead in the first set “I know that I didn’t play my best, especially having sealed the biggest win of her career 6-2 before being drawn into a scrap with Colombian in the second set,” said Djokovic, who has now 1-6 6-4. “I was really excited to be here, feeling Alejandro Gonzalez but still ground out a 6-3 6-4 won his last 22 matches at Melbourne Park and good,” said former Wimbledon champion 6-4 victory. 25 contests in a row in all tournaments since his Kvitova. “I think that probably I wanted (it) too “The most important thing is to win. Today loss to Rafa Nadal in the US Open final. much, and then everything just fell down.” maybe I didn’t play my best tennis, but I won,” “I was a little bit too passive in some stages of Fourth seeded Chinese Li Na never came any- said Ferrer, the least favoured third seed at the match and was trying to find the proper set- hwere near being upset as she dispatched Melbourne Park for several years. ting and proper balance and footing in the teenager Ana Konjuh 6-2 6-0 to set up a meeting Swiss Wawrinka, Djokovic’s potential quarter- court.” With temperatures forecast to soar well with another 16-year-old, Swiss Belinda Bencic. final opponent, had the easiest passage when above 40 degrees Celsius from Tuesday onwards, Bencic beat 43-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm Kazakh Andrey Golubev retired while trailing 6-4 there was good reason for the players to keep 6-4 4-6 6-3 in a battle of generations - the 27- 4-1. German Tommy Haas, seeded 12th, also their time on court to a minimum and rest up for year age gap between the two the widest at a retired with a shoulder injury while losing to challenges to come. grand slam since a 47-year-old Martina Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in his first round Even in the cool of the evening, Serena Navratilova was beaten by 19-year-old Gisela match. Berdych and Gasquet both went through Williams showed no signs of wanting to hang Dulko at Wimbledon in 2004. in less than two hours, however, the seventh around and 17-year-old Barty looked like a lamb Local hopes in the women’s draw rest largely seeded Czech beating Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6- heading for the slaughter. with Sam Stosur and the 2011 US Open champi- 3 6-4 6-3 and ninth seed Gasquet downing fel- Williams, who hit 31 winners, feasted on the on made a reasonable start yesterday, gaining low Frenchman David Guez 7-5 6-4 6-1. Spanish teenager’s second serve and even dominated at revenge for a semi-final defeat in Sydney last top seed Nadal gets his campaign underway on the net, suggested that she herself was the week with a 6-3 6-4 win over Czech Klara Tuesday along with two of the other “big four” of biggest obstacle to her title ambitions. Zakopalova. men’s tennis, Wimbledon champion Andy “I just don’t want to get in my way. I just have Men’s top 10 seeds David Ferrer, Tomas Murray and 17-times grand slam champion DENVER: Islanders celebrate their winning goal in this file photo. to stay out of my way and I’ll be fine,” she said. Berdych, Stan Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet Roger Federer.—Reuters NHL results/standings

Buffalo 2, Washington 1 (SO); NY Islanders 4, Dallas 2; Toronto 3, New Jersey 2 (SO); NY Rangers 4, Tina amazes in so many ways Philadelphia 1; Chicago 5, Edmonton 3; Minnesota 4, Nashville 0; Anaheim 1, Detroit 0. Western Conference Tampa Bay 27 14 4 132 109 58 LONDON: Tina Maze knows how to make an difficult, especially for me, I like the routine more before her 16th birthday, Pacific Division Montreal 26 15 5 117 107 57 impression on and off the snow. The record-break- than the changes.” Maze wrapped up last season Since then she has made Slovenia proud, with W L OTL GF GA PTS Detroit 20 16 10 118 127 50 ing Slovenian skier’s past exploits include flashing with a win in the giant slalom in Lenzerheide, former Prime Minister Janez Jansa last winter hail- Anaheim 35 8 5 161 119 75 Toronto 22 20 5 128 143 49 San Jose 28 12 6 148 116 62 her bra in a finish-area protest and singing her way Switzerland. In the opening slalom of the 2013/14 ing her as “an inspiration to all Slovenians and liv- Ottawa 20 18 8 131 146 48 Los Angeles 27 14 5 119 96 59 into her country’s hit parade with a catchy “My Way season at Soelden in Austria, she finished only ing proof that all obstacles can be overcome with Vancouver 24 13 9 123 114 57 Florida 17 21 7 105 139 41 is My Decision”. 18th. hard work”. In her early career, Maze watched Phoenix 21 14 9 133 136 51 Buffalo 13 26 5 77 121 31 More importantly, the woman who could be “I had too many things in mind, I couldn’t con- Croatia’s four times Olympic gold medallist Janica Calgary 15 24 6 101 144 36 Metropolitan Division competing for medals in all five Alpine events at centrate,” she said. “I wouldn’t say that the problem Kostelic dominate women’s ski racing in the early Edmonton 15 28 5 126 169 35 Pittsburgh 33 12 2 152 112 68 Sochi has commanded attention by winning races was the pressure. It was more the lack of energy for 2000s and hoped one day to do the same. Central Division Washington 22 16 7 136 135 51 and becoming the 2013 overall World Cup champi- what I needed.” Her wish came true in 2011 when she became Chicago 30 8 10 175 132 70 NY Rangers 24 20 3 118 124 51 St. Louis 31 8 5 161 99 67 Philadelphia 23 19 4 121 129 50 on in record style. The 30-year-old, who set up her Maze’s form has fluctuated, on the podium one giant slalom world champion and she added Colorado 28 12 5 132 115 61 New Jersey 19 18 10 108 117 48 own “Team to a Maze” training squad in 2008 after race and out of the top 10 the next. After the Val another gold in 2013 with the Super-G title. Minnesota 25 18 5 118 119 55 Carolina 19 17 9 111 128 47 falling out with the national setup, won the overall d’Isere downhill, she was 11th in a giant slalom in “Now my time has come and I hope this fairy Dallas 20 18 7 127 139 47 World Cup as the first skier of either sex to surpass the French resort and then 14th and 15th in a giant tale will last,” she declared after possibly the best Nashville 19 21 7 109 141 45 Columbus 21 20 4 126 129 46 Winnipeg 19 23 5 128 145 43 NY Islanders 18 22 7 130 152 43 2,000 points in a single season. and slalom in Lienz. “It’s a different feeling from last ever season by a woman skier, and one comparable Eastern Conference Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point Maze also notched up a record 24 podium year, which doesn’t mean that I’m not skiing fast, or to Jean-Claude Killy’s remarkable 1967 campaign Atlantic Division in the standings and are not included in the loss appearances in a single season, beating Austrian good,” said the Slovenian. during which the Frenchman won 12 of the 16 Boston 29 14 2 129 98 60 column (L). Hermann Maier’s mark of 22, and celebrated 11 vic- Spirited and determined, a requirement in a World Cup races he entered.—Reuters tories in all disciplines - downhill, Super-G, giant sport where downhillers reach speeds of more slalom, slalom and Super-combined. than 125 kph, Maze has always been her own per- One of only six women to have won in all five son. When, in 2012, the governing FIS confiscated Chan aims to outfox rivals in Sochi events, and only three ever to have done so in a her racing underwear following complaints from single season, Maze has 22 World Cup victories to Swiss rivals who suspected her of gaining an aero- OTTAWA: Three-time reigning men’s world letes) village the whole time. I’ll be more her name so far. dynamic advantage from plastic components, she champion Patrick Chan was fine-tuning his comfortable as opposed to being a deer in At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she won silver made her thoughts known in her own fashion. routines for the Sochi Winter Olympics the headlights like I was in Vancouver.” in super-G and giant slalom on the slopes in Maze unzipped her ski suit in the finish area at even as he won his seventh title at the At the 2010 Winter Olympics on home Whistler and later described on her website the Italian resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo to reveal a Canadian Figure Skating Championships. ice, a 19-year-old Chan finished fifth. After (www.tinamaze.com) what that had felt like. white sports bra with the words “Not your busi- “I’m learning from this, not just going landing a superb quad-triple jump combo “You lose words, you stare, you smile, tears are ness” written across the front. out and having a blast,” Chan said Sunday. in Friday’s short program, Chan attributed coming down, it is pure pleasure, you feel the top, The gesture put her image on magazine front “It’s also a lot of last minute tweaks because doubling two planned triple jumps to get- you are shaking,” she wrote. “I did something covers as well as the sports pages. An accom- my plan is to go to the Olympics and win.” ting too far head of himself, rather than extraordinary and ‘this is it’ is going through your plished pianist, Maze likes to entertain her fellow Chan was named to the Canadian focusing on the execution of each element mind.” The aim is to go one step better in Sochi but racers whenever she can on the five-month tour Olympic squad Sunday, a day after defend- as it came. this season has been an unexpected struggle, with that makes up the World Cup season from October ing his national title. He intends to become His finale went more smoothly with only changes to her close-knit team and technical prob- to March. Fluent in four languages, she sang in the first Canadian male figure skater to take one major error, turning one quad into a lems. A second place at the Val d’Isere downhill just English on her song that became a hit in Slovenia Olympic gold, an accomplishment that double. Chan described his Vivaldi Four before Christmas is her highest finish to date. with the official video racking up more than half a eluded his fellow world champions of years Seasons program as “good” but “a little bit This month, as part of an increasingly urgent million You Tube viewings since December 2012. past including Brian Orser, Kurt Browning shaky here and there.” His total score 277.42 attempt to turn things around, she hired former “I want to be a tale they tell over the years, to and Elvis Stojko. was well off his best. Swiss women’s team head coach Mauro Pini to inspire the world. So I’ve got to be stronger, I’ve got “It’s all about maintaining and staying The miscues, he said, enable him to replace Walter Ronconi after less than a year with to prove I’m a winner,” Maze sang. “My way is my healthy and keeping my head together for identify “the last missing pieces I need to the Italian. “I think it’s always good to change every decision, my power is my vision.” another couple of weeks until the slot in before Olympics.” few years, it’s never good if you work with the same Maze, who comes from the town of Crna na Olympics,” Chan said. Chan believes his greatest challenger in people for too long time,” she had told Reuters ear- Koroskem near the Austrian border, started skiing “I’m going to my second Olympics, tak- Sochi will be Japanese champion Yuzuru lier in the season. at the age of three. She made her World Cup debut ing the experience from Vancouver with Hanyu, who outskated him at the Grand “It’s time to say goodbye and go forward, and to on home snow in Maribor in January 1999 where me. It’s different. I’ll be staying at the (ath- Prix Final in December in Japan.—AFP make new challenges. I think changes are always she finished 32nd in a Super-G a few months Tina Maze