NHL
St. Louis finally relocates: From Tampa Bay to New York
NEW YORK – Martin St. Louis told Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman more than once he wanted to play for another team.
The reigning NHL scoring leader got his wish – hours before the league’s trade deadline – in one of 20 trades that involved 38 players Wednesday.
Tampa Bay dealt its unhappy captain to the New York Rangers for their rugged captain, Ryan Callahan.
Here’s a look at five other trade-deadline observations as teams made moves – or chose not to – in an attempt to get in a better position for the playoffs in the hopes of hoisting the Stanley Cup in three months.
The Sabres, who traded Ryan Miller to St. Louis on Friday, acquired goalie Jaroslav Halak as part of that deal, then dealt him four days later to the Washington Capitals.
To make room for for former Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, the Panthers traded goalie Tim Thomas to Dallas on Wednesday.
The Montreal Canadiens acquired high-scoring forward Thomas Vanek from the New York Islanders for a prospect, second-round pick and conditional fifth-round selection.
The banged-up Detroit Red Wings brought David Legwand back to play next to his hometown of Grosse Pointe, Mich., as they cling to hopes of playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 23rd consecutive time.
Matt Moulson will play for his third team when he suits up for Minnesota. He started his fifth season with the Islanders and was traded Oct. 27 to Buffalo with draft picks for Vanek. The forward was dealt Wednesday along with center Cody McCormick to the Wild for a pair of second-round picks and fourth-line forward Torrey Mitchell.
Olympics
Russia ice hockey coach resigns after Olympic failure
MOSCOW – Russia ice hockey coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov is leaving his job after the home team’s disappointing quarterfinals exit at the Sochi Olympics.
The International Ice Hockey Federation said Russia is looking for a new coach before the world championship in May in Belarus.
Russia lost 3-1 to Finland to miss out on an Olympic medal which was among the nation’s top priorities at the Sochi Games.
Soccer
USA has no defense against Ukraine in a 2-0 defeat
LARNACA, Cyprus – On a night that gave a small contingent of Ukrainian fans an opportunity to wave their flags and unite amid a political crisis back home, their national soccer team eased past the United States 2-0 on Wednesday in an exhibition game shifted from Kharkiv to a Mediterranean island nation 600 miles to the south.
Andriy Yarmolenko scored in the 12th minute and Marco Devic in the 68th as Ukraine exposed the shaky American central defense of Anthony Brooks and Oguchi Onyewu.
Japan rallies for a 1-all tie against USA at Algarve Cup
PARCHAL, Portugal – Aya Miyama scored on a 35-yard free kick in the 83rd minute, giving Japan a 1-1 tie against the defending champion United States on Wednesday in their opener at the Algarve Cup.
Sydney Leroux scored in the 59th minute for the U.S., which extended its unbeaten streak to 43 games (36-0-7) since a March 2012 loss to Japan at the Algarve Cup.
The U.S., which had a 20-8 advantage in shots, will play Sweden and former American head coach Pia Sundhage on Friday and will close the first round against Denmark on Monday.
Sweden beat Denmark 2-0 and leads Group B; the U.S. must beat Sweden for a chance at the finals.
In Group A, Germany beat Iceland 5-0, and China beat Norway 1-0.
In Group C, whose teams cannot reach the final, Portugal beat Austria 3-2, and North Korea won 2-1 against Russia.
The Americans said Wednesday they will play an exhibition game against China on April 10 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
Associated Press
