Flyers complete comeback, eliminate Bruins
BOSTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Simon Gagne scored with 7:08 to play Friday, completing a historic comeback that put Philadelphia in the conference finals with a 4-3 win over Boston.
The Flyers trailed in the Eastern Conference semifinals 3-0 and also trailed 3-0 in Friday's Game 7, but they rallied to stun the Bruins.
Philadelphia became just the third team in the history of the NHL to win a seven-game series after losing the first three contests. The Flyers will host the equally surprising Montreal Canadiens on Sunday in the first game of the conference finals. The Western Conference finals will also begin on Sunday with Chicago visiting San Jose.
Michael Ryder tallied for Boston 5:27 into the game and Milan Lucic produced two goals in the span of 5 minutes to bring the Bruins a 3-0 advantage.
James van Riemsdyk then gave Philadelphia hope with his first goal of the playoffs, coming with 2:48 left in the opening stanza. The Flyers dominated from that point, tying the contest on second-period goals from Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere.
With 8:50 left in the third, Boston was called for too many men on the ice and Philadelphia went on the power play.
That power play was about to expire when an attempt by Philadelphia's Mike Richards bounced off a skate in front of the goal and came right to Gagne, who from 10 feet away snapped a shot past goaltender Tuukka Rask.
Michael Leighton, called into action late in the series because of an injury to Brian Boucher, made 22 saves to get the victory.
The only other teams to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series were the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders.
This was the fourth Game 7 in this year's NHL playoffs and the visiting team has won all four.
Super Saver favorite for Preakness
BALTIMORE, May 14 (UPI) -- Super Saver will attempt to keep dreams of a Triple Crown champion alive Saturday in the 135th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
Five of the 12 entrants in the Preakness ran in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, led by Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
With Calvin Borel aboard, Super Saver hugged the rail on a sloppy track and dominated the field in Louisville. Super Saver will come into Saturday's race as the 5-2 morning-line favorite.
After a week of mostly rainy weather, conditions are expected to be ideal for the second leg of the Triple Crown. No horse has won all three races in the Triple Crown series since Affirmed pulled off the feat in 1978. There have been 11 Triple Crown winners overall.
Paddy O'Prado, the third-place finisher in Kentucky, will also be in the field Saturday, as will Looking At Lucky.
Lookin At Lucky went off as the favorite at Churchill Downs and finished sixth.
Ortiz keeps Red Sox hot against Tigers
DETROIT, May 14 (UPI) -- David Ortiz hit two homers and drove in four runs Friday, helping Boston continue its resurgence with a 7-2 victory over Detroit.
Ortiz came into the game batting just .213, but he contributed a three-run homer in the first inning and hit a solo shot in the fourth. Dustin Pedroia had a two-run blast in the opening inning to help stake the Red Sox to a quick 5-0 lead.
Boston began to overcome its slow start to the season by going 7-3 on a homestand that was completed earlier this week. That put the Red Sox above the .500 mark.
Clay Buchholz (4-3) allowed only three hits and a run over 6 2/3 innings to get the win.
Max Scherzer (1-4) surrendered both the home runs to Ortiz and was charged with six runs overall on six hits in five innings.
Detroit lost at home for just the fifth time in 17 games this season.
Almagro, Ferrer in Madrid semifinals
MADRID, May 14 (UPI) -- Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer each won Friday and earned semifinals berths in the Madrid Open where they'll face players they've never beaten.
Almagro took out Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-1 in 58 minutes. He lost just nine points over eight service games.
For that he next goes against second-seeded Rafael Nadal, against whom he's won one set in their previous five meetings. Nadal defeated 12th-seeded Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-3 in his quarterfinals match. Nadal lost eight points over eight service games.
Ferrer wrapped up Friday's play with a 7-5, 6-3 upset of third-seeded Andy Murray. Ferrer broke Murray four times, including the 12th game to win the first set and the eighth game of the second set, which allowed Ferrer to serve out for the match.
Ferrer will face world No. 1 Roger Federer in Saturday's semifinals. Federer is 9-0 lifetime against Ferrer, losing only two sets in those matches. Federer reached the semifinals with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Ernests Gulbis.
If history holds and Federer and Nadal win Saturday's semifinals, the Madrid Open will see a title match rematch. Federer snapped a five-match losing streak to Nadal in last year's finals.
