Vancouver

It has been a good stretch for hockey in Vancouver. And it could get even sweeter in the next two weeks, as the Canucks play home-ice host for the Stanley Cup Finals that begin Wednesday. Just a little more than a year ago, Vancouver was the scene of the Winter Olympics. Team Canada won gold in hockey by beating the United States in overtime, thanks in large part to the backstopping of Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo. Just 16 months later, Luongo has a chance to help his NHL squad win its first championship.

Vancouver was selected yesterday as the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics, taking the games to Canada for the first time since 1988 when Calgary played host. Vancouver, located in British Columbia in western Canada, won by a mere three votes (56-53) over Pyeongchang, South Korea, in balloting by International Olympic Committee members. The election wasn't without controversy - several members didn't vote, which could have swung the result the other way. The IOC said it was unsure why. Awarding the 2010 Games to North America leaves Europe in a strong position for the 2012 Summer Olympics - at the expense of New York.

A rising star on Canada's junior water polo team has apologized for his role in the Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver. A sobbing Nathan Kotylak told a local TV station that what he did was "dumb" and he's prepared to face the consequences. He surrendered to police after social media sites posted pictures showing a youth stuffing a burning rag into the gas tank of a police car. The violence in Vancouver followed the Canucks' loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Water Polo Canada did not identify Kotylak but said it suspended a player facing allegations stemming from the riot.

Game 1: Canucks 1, Bruins 0 Game 2: Canucks 3, Bruins 2 (OT) Game 3: Bruins 8, Canucks 1. Vancouver leads series, 2-1 Wednesday: at Boston, 8 p.m. (Versus) Friday: at Vancouver, 8 p.m. (NBC) June 13: at Boston, 8 p.m. (NBC) June 15: at Vancouver, 8 p.m. (NBC) If necessary

ED BARKOWITZ   Washington vs. NY Rangers: Washington in 5 Boston vs. Montreal: Montreal in 6 Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay: Pittsburgh in 5 Vancouver vs. Chicago: Vancouver in 6 San Jose vs. Los Angeles: Los Angeles in 7 Detroit vs. Phoenix: Detroit in 7 Anaheim vs. Nashville: Nashville in 6 SAM DONNELLON   Washington vs. NY Rangers: Washington in 5 Boston vs. Montreal: Montreal in...

Who: Flyers (19-10-7) at Canucks (20-14-3) When: 10 o'clock Where: GM Place, Vancouver TV: Comcast SportsNet Radio: WIP (610-AM)  

About 4,000 fans showed up at the airport in Los Angeles early Wednesday to welcome the Western Conference champion Kings back from Arizona. Dustin Penner, the hero in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win in Game 5, was awestruck. "It was like driving down a hallway lined with human flesh," said Penner, who scored the overtime goal that sent the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals. Eighth-seeded Los Angeles needed only an NHL record-tying 14 playoff games to reach its first Stanley Cup Finals since 1993, outscoring opponents, 41-22, and culminating with a five-game win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

If they want to avoid elimination, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals must figure out a way to recover and regroup from a potentially devastating loss to the New York Rangers. The Rangers head into Wednesday's Game 6 with a three-games-to-two series lead, one victory from reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1997, when Wayne Gretzky was on the team. New York's Brad Richards tied Game 5 with 6.6 seconds left Monday, and Marc Staal won it 1 minute, 35 seconds into overtime.

VANCOUVER leading scorer Daniel Sedin returned to practice after missing nine games with a concussion. Sedin was on the ice Monday before his teammates began their scheduled workout and remained with them, although there was no indication he would be ready when the Canucks open the playoffs Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Sedin led Vancouver with 30 goals before being elbowed by Duncan Keith in a loss to Chicago on March 21. Keith was suspended five games for the hit. Vancouver closed the regular season by winning eight of nine games to finish with the league's best record with fourth-liners like Max Lapierre and Zack Kassian on the top line.

EVGENI MALKIN scored twice, James Neal had four assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched a playoff spot with a 5-1 victory over the visiting Nashville Predators on Thursday night. Chris Kunitz, Matt Cooke and Pascal Dupuis also scored to help Pittsburgh pull within a point of the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining. Marc-Andre Fluery made 29 saves for his NHL-leading 40th victory. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby was held without a goal for the 12th straight game and failed to score a point, but it hardly stopped the Penguins from winning their ninth straight home game to keep the heat on the Rangers and remain four points ahead of the Flyers in the Eastern Conference.

IT APPEARS the honeymoon is over. Union manager Peter Nowak took to Twitter yesterday urging anguished supporters to cease the barrage of insults and obscenities over what looks like a fire sale over the past 72 hours. Nowak posted on his Twitter account: "I understand why everyone is upset, but please have faith we're doing what's best for the club. Sometimes tough decisions need to be made. "I do ask that you please stop sending curses to my Twitter account. My daughters and family read them and it is crossing a line.

The Union had their second bombshell announcement in two days by trading star forward Sebastien Le Toux to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Tuesday for an undisclosed amount of allocation money. Le Toux has been the face of the franchise, scoring 25 goals and adding 20 assists in the team's first two seasons. He was also the Union's first all-star selection, in 2010. "While this decision wasn't easy, we are confident that the allocation money we receive will provide the flexibility for us to compile the best possible roster for 2012 and beyond," Union manager Peter Nowak said.

James Wisniewski made his long-awaited Columbus debut after serving an eight-game suspension, and rookie Ryan Johansen scored his first career goal and added an assist to give the Columbus Blue Jackets their first win of the season, beating the Detroit Red Wings , 4-1, on Tuesday. R.J. Umberger had a goal and an assist, rookie John Moore scored his first NHL goal and Derek MacKenzie had one into an empty net for Columbus, which entered as the only winless club at 0-7-1, the worst start in team history.

THE FLYERS are not sadomasochists. But they sure looked like gluttons for punishment last night. It started with James van Riemsdyk, just 2 1/2 minutes into the third period, when he was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that he said was a misunderstanding. One by one, Zac Rinaldo, Jaromir Jagr, Jake Voracek and Chris Pronger followed in a parade to the penalty box. As soon as one exited, another Flyer entered - while the dangerous Sedin twins danced around the Flyers' blue line, waiting to knot the game.

Toronto's Reimer blanks Montreal in opener James Reimer made 32 saves for his fourth NHL shutout, and Matthew Lombardi scored in his first game in almost a year to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 2-0 season-opening victory Thursday night over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Dion Phaneuf had the other goal for the Maple Leafs, who were bailed out on several occasions by Reimer. He made a nice early stop on a low shot from Max Pacioretty and turned aside P.K. Subban's one-timer.

After being selected the WNBA's most valuable player for the first time, Indiana's Tamika Catchings went out and contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds to go with Tangela Smith's 25 points in the Fever's 82-74 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry , second in the league in scoring during the regular season, was held to 11 points, playing just 17 minutes. Catchings, a 32-year-old forward who was MVP runner-up in 2009 and 2010, averaged 15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals this season.