Rangers dominate in playoff opener
NEW YORK, April 12 (UPI) -- Henrik Lundqvist had 30 saves Thursday and took a shutout into the third period, lifting the New York Rangers to a 4-2 win over Ottawa in their playoff opener.
The Rangers finished on top of the Eastern Division and looked every bit the favorite by rolling to a 4-0 advantage.
Lundqvist finished the regular season with the third-most wins in the NHL (39), the fourth best goals-against average (1.97) and the fifth-best save percentage (.930).
He brought only a 15-20 career playoff record into the game, however, and was under pressure to perform at his regular-season level in order to help the Rangers advance.
Lundqvist was given plenty of support from goals by Ryan Callahan in the first period, Marian Gaborik and Brian Boyle in the second and Brad Richards 2:15 into the third.
Milan Michalek broke up Lundqvist's bid for a shutout with 9:55 to play and Erik Condra also scored for the Senators with 2:19 to go.
New York, seeking its first playoff series victory in four years, will host Game 2 on Saturday.
Craig Anderson gave up all four goals on 31 shots. This is the first post-season meeting between the Rangers and Senators.
Internal Notes
Chad Campbell shares lead at Heritage
HILTON HEAD, S.C., April 12 (UPI) -- Chad Campbell, seeking his first PGA Tour victory in five years, grabbed a share of the lead Thursday after one round of the RBC Heritage.
With the Harbour Town Golf Links playing more difficult than in past years, Campbell shot a 4-under-par 67 to tie Vaughn Taylor and Colt Knost for the top spot.
Jim Furyk, who won this event two years ago, shared fourth place at 68 with Charlie Wi, Harris English and Matt Every.
There were just 10 rounds in the 60s on Thursday and only 23 players broke par.
One of those breaking par was John Daly, the two-time major championship winner whose career has deteriorated in recent years due to off-course problems. This is only his second appearance on the PGA Tour in 2012 and he has just one Top 10 finish on the circuit since 2005.
Daly shot a 1-under 70 in a round that included three birdies.
World No. 1 Luke Donald, who suffered through a disappointing Masters last week, shot a 75 and found himself in danger of missing the 36-hole cut. Newly-crowned Masters champion Bubba Watson is not playing this week.
Campbell lost in a playoff at the Masters to Angel Cabrera in 2009 and since then has had only three Top 10 finishes. He has missed the cut in five of his nine previous starts this year.
Twins rally past Angels again
MINNEAPOLIS, April 12 (UPI) -- Justin Morneau had a home run in a four-run eighth inning Thursday that helped the Minnesota Twins hold on for a 10-9 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels had a five-run second inning but the Twins pulled together three-run rallies in the fifth and seventh innings and the four-run outburst that allowed Minnesota to withstand two Angels runs in the ninth.
There were 19 runs and 33 hits in the game. Denard Span finished with four hits and Joe Maurer, Josh Willingham and Danny Valencia each collected three hits for the Twins, who have now won two straight after opening the season 0-4.
Jeff Gray (2-0) retired the only batter he faced in the eighth inning for the win. He was the fifth Minnesota pitcher. Matt Capps picked up his second save despite allowing three hits and two runs.
Rich Thompson (0-1), the fifth Los Angeles pitcher, gave up four runs and five hits in 1 1/3 innings in the loss.
Mark Trumbo set off the five-run second with a home run and Maicer Izturis had a two-run single for the Angels. Trumbo scored a run in the fifth for a 6-0 lead before Minnesota started to turn things around.
Maurer hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the inning and Josh Willingham homered -- his fourth in his first season with Minnesota -- to open the seventh in which the Twins ended up tying the score 6-6.
The Angels went up 7-6 in the eighth before the Morneau-powered Twins' rally. Los Angeles scored twice and had a runner on second when the game ended.
Minnesota overcame a 5-3 deficit in the late innings on Wednesday to defeat the Angels 6-5.
Vitt to replace Payton as Saints coach
EW ORLEANS, April 12 (UPI) -- The New Orleans Saints announced Thursday Joe Vitt would assume head coaching duties for the team while Sean Payton serves his one-year suspension.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has forbidden Payton from coaching the team for the 2012 season due to his role in the plan put into place by the New Orleans defense to purposely injure opposing players. Payton will lose $8 million due to the suspension.
Vitt was also suspended for the first six games of the campaign, but that did not stop the Saints from choosing him as the team's interim coach. There was no indication who would take Vitt's place while he serves his suspension.
"Sean has been the driving force behind the tremendous success our team has enjoyed during the past six years. His leadership will be missed," said General Manager Mickey Loomis, who also will serve an eight-game suspension next season.
"But we need to set a course of action that gives us the best chance to win this season without our head coach and that is why I am announcing today that Joe Vitt will assume Sean's duties.
"We considered a number of great options to handle Payton's duties both internally and externally, but believe this will provide the most seamless transition for our players and our coaching staff, allowing our offensive and defensive staffs to remain intact with the fewest changes."
