A Sports Filled Weekend

The NHL playoffs saw their first overtime game on Sunday night. The New York Islanders won at home, 4-3 over the Florida Panthers, to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series. Thomas Hickey scored at 12:31 of OT for the Isles.

In another playoff oddity, the Detroit Red Wings shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Sunday. Goalie Petr Mrazek made his first appearance in the series and stopped 16 shots; it was his third career playoff shutout, and all have come against the Lightning. The Lightning lead this series 2-1.

NBA

The Cleveland Cavaliers began their march toward an expected appearance in the NBA Finals with a 106-101 win over the Detroit Pistons. … The Miami Heat pounded the Charlotte Hornets 123-91 on Sunday. The lopsided matchup of the weekend, however, was the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Saturday victory by 108-70 over the Dallas Mavericks. … Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s ankle injury could keep him out of Monday night’s game against the Houston Rockets.

MLB

After opening the season 0-9, the Atlanta Braves have won three straight – all against the Miami Marlins and all on the road. The Braves swept the series with a 6-5 triumph in 10 innings on Sunday. The Marlins are now 0-5 at home.

Elsewhere
Pole-sitter Carl Edwards won the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He led for 276 of the 500 laps and finished .766 seconds ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Edwards is now one point behind Kevin Harvick in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings. … Branden Grace shot a 5-under par 66 to catch Luke Donald and earn his first PGA Tour victory, winning the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, South Carolina. … In men’s college lacrosse, No. 4 Brown upset No. 2 Yale 14-12 and No. 16 Duke earned a spot in the ACC tournament by beating Virginia 14-8. … Longshot Creator came from 12th (last) in the field to win the $1 Million Arkansas Derby on Saturday, earning a place in the May 7 Kentucky Derby.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman