Tyler Myers’ released a perfectly placed shot — rehearsed, he said, during practice — perpendicular to the goal line it crossed 8:41 into Thursday’s Game 7, rattling the Vezina Trophy finalis and silencing the Bridgestone Arena crowd early. Paul Stastny’s equally fluky goal two minutes later then chased Rinne from the game and precipitated the rest of a 5-1 Jets win that sent them to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history....

San Jose lost four key players — defenseman Erik Karlsson, forwards Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi, and captain Joe Pavelski — to apparent injury during Sunday’s 5-0 loss to St. Louis in Game 5 on Sunday, leaving the Sharks bench looking bare. The sight also offered little optimism for the Sharks entering Tuesday’s decisive Game 6 at St. Louis, with the Blues in position to close out the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where the Bruins await their opponent after sweeping the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals....

The 2014 Vezina Trophy winner made 39 saves, including 11 against the power play, to anchor Boston’s 3-0 win over Columbus to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2013. Rask finished the series with a .945 save percentage over six games and finished all but one game with over 30 saves. He joins Gerry Cheevers and Tim Thomas as the only goaltenders in Bruins history with two shutouts in series-finishing games....

Several players — e.g., James Neal and Bobby Ryan — are expected to find NHL jobs for the season. Other guys are bubble depth signings to push youngsters to up their games in camps. They could still get a deal if they up their game too, as the PTO allows players to practice and play in exhibition matches. NHL 2021-22: Top 10 defensemen | Top 10 goalies | Top 10 forwards | Top 25 under 25...

Coming off a disappointing second-round playoff elimination, the Sharks face some crucial offseason decisions. They have $60.4 million invested in 20 players for 2018-19. With the salary cap projected to reach $80 million, general manager Doug Wilson must decide how best to invest those additional cap dollars. His biggest decisions will involve pending free-agent forwards Joe Thornton and Evander Kane. Thornton, 38, is the long-time face of the Sharks’ franchise....

But that hasn't prevented the hockey team from being a hot commodity in the ticket resale market. Even when they aren't at their best, champs are still champs. MORE: CHICAGO BUSINESS JOURNAL Vivid Seats, a Chicago-based sports ticket reseller, has crunched the numbers for the upcoming, newly introduced National Hockey League Stadium Series. And of the four games that will be part of the series to be played in huge outdoors stadiums, the Blackhawks' match-up with the Pittsburgh Penguins at Chicago's Soldier Field (capacity 61,500) on March 1 is by far the hottest ticket of the lot....

The Jets suspended Byfuglien, 34, in September to protect salary cap flexibility after a preseason leave of absence raised questions about whether he will continue playing in the NHL at all. Byfuglien never reported to the team for training camp or the regular season, and he is listed as “suspended without pay” by CapFriendly for this reason — allowing Byfuglien’s $7.6 million contract to not count against the team’s salary cap....

That includes a timeline of tweets that praised President Donald Trump and criticized then-San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick alongside Beyonce, Jay-Z and the movie “Black Panther.” Bosa also liked several posts from an Instagram that featured racist and homophobic language. Bosa, asked this week what the biggest lesson he learned from that time was, had this to say (via The Palm Beach Post): “Definitely to get off Twitter and just think before I say certain things because they could rub people the wrong way and that’s not what I want to try and do....

The 27th seed will meet Norway’s fifth seed Casper Ruud for a spot in the final after outlasting a fighting Kyrgios in a magnificent match that spanned three hours and 41 minutes. Khachanov came to play right from the beginning of the match and maintained his composure throughout as Kyrgios went through patches of dominance and disinterest. The Australian looked close to retiring because of a knee injury in the first set and eventually lost the opener before fighting back to win the second set....

Coach Gus Malzahn announced Friday that the senior quarterback will not start the Tigers’ Aug. 30 opener vs. Arkansas because of a violation of team rules. He will enter the game at some point, Malzahn added. MORE: Media Days absence first test for Malzahn | SN’s preseason Top 25 “Nick is still our starting quarterback,” Malzahn said after team’s first preseason practice, per AL.com . Jeremy Johnson will fill in for Marshall....

The 37-year-old Real Salt Lake keeper, who already has the league’s all-time win mark, picked up the MLS career save record Wednesday night by making his 1,476th stop. All eyes on Sambueza as Toluca faces Chivas Rimando stopped a tough angle shot from New York City FC attacker Thomas McNamara to move into sole possession of first place all time. Rimando, who was making his first appearance since April 23 after suffering a leg injury, entered the contest tied with retired keeper Kevin Hartman....

Williams fell to the field after a non-contact injury, hyperextending his knee. He had to be helped off the field before he walked into the Crimson Tide’s locker room. Williams did not return to the game, but it wasn’t for lack of trying, as Alabama coach Nick Saban revealed during his postgame news conference. “He actually wanted to play in the second half,” Saban said of Williams. “And the medical staff wouldn’t let him, which I think was smart because he has a future as a football player....

Tanya Brown took to Instagram to criticize Rock after he turned her sister’s high-profile murder into a comedy routine. Rock told an audience in Phoenix, Arizona, that he would not return to host next year’s Oscars after being slapped by Will Smith at the ceremony in March, comparing it to a moment in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. He said that hosting the Oscars again would be like asking Brown Simpson “to go back to the restaurant” where she left a pair of glasses the night she was stabbed to death in 1994....

And despite a week of backlash, the preseason All-American selection stands by his message. “I did it to create the conversation of paying student-athletes. I don’t need money personally,’’ Hayes told ESPN.com. “I’m not necessarily the embodiment of broke. I definitely have the things I need in college, and my family can help me out. But I can’t generalize that and speak for everyone. So I want to be a voice for those who aren’t in the fortunate position I’m in....

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said Wednesday that the country’s national grid experienced a breakdown, The Guardian Nigeria reported. The company confirmed the outage through a statement by its General Manager of Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah. “The TCN hereby states that at about 11.01 a.m today, May 12, 2021, there was a total system collapse of the grid, as a result of voltage collapse at some parts of the grid,” Mbah said in the statement, according to the media outlet....

‘Wenger’s character hindering Arsenal’ The teenage winger has ten goals and six assists in 22 appearances for Belgian side KAS Eupen this season, and admits he’s attracted by the prospect of playing in both the Premier League and Champions League. And he revealead he has been inspired by Genk midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, with his compatriot reportedly close to joining Premier League champions Leicester City next month. “I believe I have the level to one day play in the Champions League”, Onyekuru told Het Niewusblad....

The Super Eagles faced England at Wembley at the weekend, losing 2-1, despite a spirited effort. And they step up their planning for the tournament against more European opposition, as they prepare to take on Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in Russia. The Czechs, meanwhile, finished third in qualifying Group C, behind Germany and Northern Ireland. TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch In the United Kingdom (UK) the game will not be aired live....

A massive 16-team men’s college basketball tournament honoring Nike co-founder and 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Phil Knight will take place in 2017 in advance of his 80th birthday, it was announced. PK80 will be played in Portland, Ore., from Nov. 23-26 at the Rose Quarter’s Moda Center and Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The list of schools participating is indeed impressive: Arkansas, Butler, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Portland, Portland State, Stanford and Texas....

The announcement follows Nike’s new campaign video titled “What will they say about you?” The one-minute ad, celebrating the achievements and challenges of Middle Eastern female athletes, features Parkour Trainer Amal Mourad, Jordanian boxer Arifa Bseiso, Tunisian fencer Ines Boubakri, singer Balqees Fathi, and Emirati figure skater Zahra Lari. MORE: Nike denies obstructing USADA doping investigation From HypeBeast.com: “To continue its efforts in diversity and inclusion, Nike has added the “Pro Hijab” to its product selection that caters to female Muslim athletes....

When the four teams take the field on New Year’s Eve, they will all be donning a set of new Nike uniforms. PATH TO THE PLAYOFF: Clemson | Alabama | Michigan State | Oklahoma The uniforms look pretty normal, almost like nothing has been changed at all, right? Allow Nike to explain.