HOCKEY
Boston Bruins forward David Backes was suspended three games for a hit to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Blake Coleman, the NHL announced Friday.
The suspensions means Backes will miss Tuesday’s Winter Classic against Chicago at Notre Dame Stadium.
The incident occurred early in the third period of New Jersey’s 5-2 win Thursday night, when Coleman was clearing a rebound from the New Jersey zone. Backes delivered a shoulder to his head and knocked him to the ice. The Bruins forward was given a minor penalty.
The league said it considered Backes a repeat offender.
• Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites ripped captain Jamie Benn and fellow high-priced forward Tyler Seguin in a profanity-laced interview Friday, telling The Athletic their play has been “terrible” and saying owner Tom Gaglardi was frustrated as well.
Lites requested the interview, saying he believed Seguin and Benn deserved more public criticism with the team underachieving.
• Tomas Tatar scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers 5-3 at Sunrise, Florida.
• Mathew Barzal had two goals and an assist to help the New York Islanders rally for a win at home over the Ottawa Senators.
• John Tavares scored two goals, Garret Sparks had 27 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the host Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2.
ECHL: Alex Kile and Michael McNicholas scored in a shootout, and the Maine Mariners (16-11-0-1) rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit for a 3-2 win over the Worcester Railers (13-13-3-1) in Portland, Maine’s fourth straight win.
Greg Chase started the comeback midway through the second and Michael NcNicholas scored the tying goal with 6 minutes left in the third.
SKIING
WORLD CUP: Petra Vlhova of Slovakia won her first giant slalom Friday after first-run leader Mikaela Shiffrin dropped to fifth.
Vlhova was fourth after the opening run at Semmering, Austria, trailing Shiffrin by 0.06 seconds, but posted the second-fastest time in the final leg.
Shiffrin missed out on an outright-record 15th World Cup victory in the calendar year, but can still set the record if she wins a slalom on the same course Saturday, the last women’s race in 2018.
n Competing on home snow, Dominik Paris and Christof Innerhofer of Italy finished 1-2 in the demanding men’s downhill course at Stelvio.
Slovenian skier Klemen Kosi was airlifted by helicopter to a local hospital after crashing.
SOCCER
MLS: With their NFL franchise in better shape, Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam are tackling soccer.
The Haslams have agreed to take over the Columbus Crew, guaranteeing the team will not relocate.
Since October, the Haslams have been working with a group headed by former team doctor Peter Edwards to keep the Crew in Ohio while exploring the possibility of buying the team. On Friday, the sides announced an agreement, ending speculation about the team’s uncertain future.
– Staff/news service report
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