TORONTO (AP) — Phil Kessel scored twice to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers on Monday night to open an important home-and-home series between the Eastern Conference rivals.

Toronto (22-13-4) remained fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, moving four points ahead of idle Ottawa with its fifth win in six games.

Derek Stepan pulled New York into a 3-3 tie at 9:00 of the third period, but Kessel put Toronto back ahead 39 seconds later.

The Rangers (19-16-4) remain tied with the idle New York Islanders for seventh in the Eastern Conference with 42 points.

James van Riemsdyk and Ryan O’Byrne also scored for Toronto.

Rick Nash had the other two goals for New York.

BRUINS 6, HURRICANES 2

BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand scored two goals, Tuukka Rask stopped 40 shots, and Boston scored a season-high in goals while winning for the fourth time in five games.

Rich Peverley, Andrew Ference, Jordan Caron and Nathan Horton each added a goal, and defenseman Dennis Seidenberg established a career-high with three assists for Boston, which moved a point behind Montreal in the Northeast Division.

Patrick Dwyer and Drayson Bowman scored for the Hurricanes, who lost for the 12th time in 13 games, 11 of them coming in regulation.

Carolina has allowed four or more goals in 10 of its last 14.

DUCKS 2, OILERS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Radek Dvorak scored two goals, Jonas Hiller made 27 saves after missing four games because of an illness, and Anaheim moved closer to the second Pacific Division title in franchise history and first since its 2006-07 Stanley Cup championship season.

The Ducks lead Pittsburgh by one point for the NHL’s second-best overall record and trail Chicago by three with eight games remaining. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim’s captain and leading scorer, missed his third straight game because of a leg injury.

Defenseman Nick Schultz ended a 58-game goal drought and Devan Dubnyk stopped 36 shots for the Oilers, who have lost three straight after a season-best five-game winning streak.

CANUCKS 2, COYOTES 0

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Ryan Kesler scored in his return to the lineup after a 20-game absence, Cory Schneider made 19 saves, and Vancouver moved four points up on idle Minnesota in the Northwest Division standings.

Kesler returned from a foot fracture he sustained in his first game back after shoulder and wrist surgeries last summer.

Schneider picked up his fifth shutout of the season, tying Phoenix’s Mike Smith and Nashville’s Pekka Rinne for first in the NHL.

Schneider and the Canucks had to kill off a penalty with just over a minute left in regulation when Kesler took a tripping penalty in the offensive zone. But Keith Yandle missed a pass from Antoine Vermette and the puck went the distance for a short-handed empty-net goal credited to defenseman Dan Hamhuis.

FLAMES 3, AVALANCHE 1

DENVER (AP) — Mike Cammalleri broke a second-period tie and Joey MacDonald stopped 39 shots, helping Calgary snap a 13-game road winless streak.

Roman Cervenka also scored and Alex Tanguay added a short-handed goal to wrap up the win for the Flames in a game that featured the bottom two teams in the NHL. Before Monday, Calgary’s last victory away from home was Feb. 17 at Dallas.

Brad Malone scored his first NHL goal for the last-place Avalanche, who have dropped five straight games.

By TOM WITHERS

AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) — The giant American flag was spectacular. The red, white and blue balloons drifted skyward right on cue. The ceremonial first pitches were touching.

Everything about Cleveland’s home opener seemed perfect.

Until it started.

Travis Hafner returned as a member of the Yankees and hit a three-run homer in the first inning and starter Ubaldo Jimenez struggled from the outset as New York beat Cleveland 11-6 on Monday, spoiling Terry Francona’s first home game as Indians manager.

Robinson Cano homered twice for the Yankees, who handed Cleveland its fifth straight home-opening loss.

This wasn’t the way the Indians wanted to start their home schedule, not after months of buildup following ownership’s unexpected $120 million spending spree in free agency. Still, it was only one game.

“I was so proud to go out there today, man,” said Indians first baseman Nick Swisher, who signed a four-year, $56 million contract in December. “I mean that place was rockin’ and rollin’, you know, obviously, you wish you could have pulled out a ‘W’ in a game like that, but just the excitement that was there, just that feeling, that aura in the stadium, that was fun to be a part of.”

Hafner hit his tone-setting, three-run homer in the first off Jimenez (0-1) and drove in four runs in his Cleveland homecoming.

In a ballpark he knows better than any, Hafner turned pregame cheers to boos with one swing.

“If you’re playing for the Yankees and do well, you’re going to get booed,” he said.

Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) shook off a shaky, 34-pitch first and showed no signs of being bothered by a bruised right middle finger as the Yankees finally won a home opener after losing their own and Detroit’s last week.

It was a sweet return for Hafner, who spent 10 seasons with the Indians before the team decided not to exercise his $13 million club option for 2013. He signed a one-year, $2 million free agent contract in February with New York. His shot over the fence in center — his 100th career homer at Progressive Field — seemed to deflate Cleveland’s sellout crowd that had been counting down the days until Francona and the Indians came home.

So was that Hafner’s plan?

“Not a bad plan,” he said, smiling.

Cleveland’s loss could be compounded by an injury to Indians catcher Carlos Santana, who was forced to leave in the ninth inning after he bruised his thumb trying to catch a pitch from closer Chris Perez. The team said Santana was scheduled to undergo X-rays.

Mike Aviles hit a two-run homer in the eighth for the rebuilt Indians, who lost the opener of a 10-game homestand after going 3-3 on the road.

After Francona was hired in October, Cleveland owner Paul Dolan went out and signed Swisher, Michael Bourn and Brett Myers. The Indians, though, may not have enough starting pitching to contend and that was the case against the Yankees as Jimenez was tagged for seven runs in 4 1-3 innings.

Jimenez tied for the AL lead with 17 losses last season, and the Indians spent most of spring training working on his mechanics. He remains a project.

“I thought it was a struggle for him to get loose,” Francona said. “Today was one of those days where I thought he fought his mechanics a little bit. He was rushing it to the plate, wasn’t as good as he had been, so pitches were flat. There wasn’t as much deception, especially to the left-handers. It was kind of evident from the beginning that it was a struggle.”

The Indians beat two Cy Young winners — R.A. Dickey and David Price — on their season-opening road trip, but couldn’t keep pace with the Yankees as Hafner got things started and Cano kept it rolling.

“When Cano starts feeling good, he can hit anybody, anywhere,” Francona said. “That’s the last guy we want to get hot.”

The day started oddly for Francona, who said he got lost while making the two-block walk from his downtown apartment to Progressive Field. While he may have needed directions to find the ballpark, it was a special day for Francona, whose father, Tito, played for the Indians from 1959-64.

Before the game, the Franconas took part in a special Indians sons-and-fathers ceremonial first pitch that included the Swishers, Alomars, McAllisters and Brantleys. After catching his dad’s throw on one hop, Francona hugged his 79-year-old namesake, a touching moment on a day of pageantry.

After falling behind 3-0, the Indians responded with three runs in their first at-bat with sacrifice flies by Jason Kipnis, an RBI single by Michael Brantley and Mark Reynolds’ sacrifice fly.

While he was on base, Brantley said he felt Indians fans shake the ballpark.

“It was awesome,” he said. “In that first inning when Reynolds came up to the plate, I was at second base and it got me goose bumps, it really did. I was just excited, it’s a memory I’ll never forget.”

NOTES: Swisher said “it hurt” when asked how he felt when the Yankees chose not to re-sign him after four seasons. ... Swisher has hit safely in 17 straight games in Cleveland, dating back to 2008 when he was with the Chicago White Sox. ... Francona said Indians DH Jason Giambi will be added to the roster Tuesday. But with Andy Pettitte starting for New York, the 42-year-old Giambi probably won’t get his first at-bat until later in the week.

By R.B. FALLSTROM

AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Shin-Soo Choo is way off the hook.

The new Cincinnati center fielder made amends for two botched fly balls, drawing  a leadoff walk in a nine-run ninth inning and later delivering a three-run double as the Reds spoiled the St. Louis Cardinals’ home opener with a 13-4 victory on Monday.

“I almost died and my teammates gave me another life,” Choo said. “I really appreciate my teammates, coming over to me and saying everybody makes mistakes.

“I missed two fly balls and in my mind I had to do something to help the team.”

Mitchell Boggs (0-1), the stand-in closer for St. Louis, yielded six runs while getting only one out. Only a few thousand fans remained of the largest regular-season crowd of 47,375 for the bottom of the ninth in 8-year-old Busch Stadium history.

A day earlier, the Cardinals scored nine runs in the fourth inning against Giants ace Matt Cain.

“I think this is the worst outing of my career,” said Boggs, who has one save in two chances along with a bloated 14.54 ERA. “I guess without saying there’s a lot of season left and I expect to be a player with a lot of good ones.”

The defending NL Central champions Cardinals held a tribute for Stan Musial before the game. They’ve lost three straight home openers and six of the last seven.

Brandon Phillips blooped a go-ahead double in the ninth. He earlier hit his 150th career homer for the Reds, who have won six of seven since losing in extra innings to the Angels on opening day and totaled 11 or more hits the last four games.

Jay Bruce had four hits and Chris Heisey doubled twice with an RBI.

Sam LeCure (1-0) pitched an inning for the win.

Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia matched his career best with 10 strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings and left with a 4-3 lead. Yadier Molina hit both of the fly balls dropped by Choo in the first and sixth, and added an RBI single.

Pinch-hitter Xavier Paul tied it in the Reds’ eighth with an RBI single off Trevor Rosenthal before the Reds took off in the ninth with six hits, five walks and an error. The Cardinals last surrendered nine runs in the ninth in a 12-9 loss at Colorado on July 6, 2010.

Prior to the game, Musial’s four children unveiled an oversized red No. 6, the Hall of Famer’s retired jersey number, on the wall in left-center. The decal matches memorial patches worn on the team’s uniform sleeves.

Reds players stood on the top dugout steps as the Cardinals paraded around the warning track in flat-bed trucks, and Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker hugged Cardinals Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.

Choo entered the season with 652 games of outfield experience but only 10 in center, and all 155 games with the Indians last year as the right fielder. Two runs scored in the first when Choo twice juggled Molina’s fly ball after backtracking, and Matt Holliday scored from first to put the Cardinals up 4-2 in the sixth when the ball popped out on Choo, perhaps fighting the sun.

It was the second two-error game of Choo’s career, the other coming on May 25, 2011 against the Red Sox. He’s the first Reds center fielder to commit two errors in a game since Deion Sanders on April 28, 1995, against the Padres.

“You get a little gun-shy out there, it happens,” Baker said. “It’s a new position, a new league, a new park. Those balls went 400 feet, it’s not like they were just fly balls.”

Reds starter Mat Latos allowed one earned run in six innings, shaving his ERA to 10.23 in five career starts at Busch to 10.23.

Garcia struck out four of the first six batters and retired eight in a row before issuing a four-pitch, two-out walk to Latos in the third. He entered with a 2.48 career ERA at Busch, the stadium’s best, and his other 10-strikeout game was at home Aug. 19 against the Pirates.

“It doesn’t really matter how we lose the game, stuff happens,” Garcia said. “You know what, they’ve got a good thing going on.”

NOTES: The Reds totaled two errors their first six games while their opponents had 12. ... Jason Isringhausen and Jim Edmonds, teammates on the Cardinals’ 2006 championship team, threw first pitches to injured closer Jason Motte and Adam Wainwright. ... Bruce has four consecutive multiple-hit games.

 

By PAUL NEWBERRY

AP National Writer

ATLANTA (AP) — Rick Pitino held court in a tunnel beneath the Georgia Dome, going on and on about the grittiest bunch of guys he’s ever coached.

One of them sat in the corner of the locker room, a net around his neck, grinning away.

The Louisville Cardinals vowed to finish the job for Kevin Ware.

Boy, did they ever.

With their injured teammate cheering them on from the bench, Louisville capped its run through the NCAA tournament, coming back again from a 12-point deficit to beat Michigan 82-76 in the championship game Monday night.

“These are my brothers,” said Ware, still getting around on crutches after a horrific injury in the regional final. “They got the job done. I’m so proud of them, so proud of them.”

Ware is just getting started on what could be a yearlong recovery from a broken right leg, but he’s already got something no one can take away — a championship.

They even lowered the goal so he could take a turn with the scissors, helping cut down the net that wound up around his neck.

“It meant the world to me,” Ware said. “I don’t really have any other words to describe how I feel right now.”

Pitino knows how it feels to win a championship, having guided Kentucky to a crown in 1996. Now, working right down the road from Lexington, he became the first coach to win titles at different schools.

“This team is one of the most together, toughest and hard-nosed teams,” he said. “Being down never bothers us. They just come back.”

It was quite a capper to perhaps the best week of Pitino’s life.

Earlier Monday, he was introduced as a member of the latest Hall of Fame class. On Saturday, his horse won the Santa Anita Derby to set up a run for the roses in the Kentucky Derby. And last week his son got the coaching job at Minnesota.

What’s next?

His first tattoo, apparently.

Pitino vowed to get inked up if his players won the championship. They intend to hold him to that promise.

“I have a couple of ideas,” said Luke Hancock, who became the first backup in tournament history to be designated as most outstanding player. “He doesn’t know what he’s getting into.”

“Our biggest motivation,” Peyton Siva added, “was to get coach a tattoo.”

Not a bad week for Louisville, either. The school has a chance to make it two national titles in 24 hours when the surprising women’s team faces Connecticut on Tuesday night in the championship game at New Orleans.

On the eve of their big game, the women got together with hundreds of fans in a hotel lobby to cheer on the men.

“It’s a great time to be a Cardinal,” coach Jeff Walz said.

A great time, indeed. Hancock produced another huge game off the bench, scoring 22 points, and the Cardinals (35-5) lived up to their billing as the top overall seed in the men’s tournament.

They sure had to work for it, though.

Louisville trailed Wichita State by a dozen in the second half before rallying for a 72-68 victory. This time, they fell behind by 12 in the first half, then unleashed a stunning spurt led by Hancock that wiped out the entire deficit before the break.

“I had the 13 toughest guys I’ve ever coached,” Pitino said. “I’m just amazed they could accomplish everything we put out there.”

No one was tougher than Hancock, who matched his season high after a 20-point effort in the semifinal victory over Wichita State. This time, he came off the bench to hit four straight 3-pointers in the first half after Michigan got a boost from an even more unlikely player.

Freshman Spike Albrecht made four straight from beyond the arc, too, blowing by his career high before halftime with 17 points. Coming in, Albrecht was averaging 1.8 points a game and had not scored more than seven all season.

Albrecht didn’t do much in the second half, but Hancock finished what he started for Louisville. He made it 5-for-5 from long range when he hit his final 3 from the corner with 3:27 remaining to give the Cardinals their biggest lead, 76-66. Michigan wouldn’t go away, but Hancock wrapped it up by making two free throws with 29 seconds left.

While Pitino shrugged off any attempt to make this about him, there was no doubt the Cardinals wanted to win a title for Ware.

Watching again from his seat at the end of the Louisville bench, his battered right leg propped up on a chair, Ware smiled and slapped hands with his teammates as they celebrated in the closing seconds, the victory coming just 30 miles from where he played his high school ball.

Ware’s awful injury will forever be linked to this tournament. Against Duke, he landed awkwardly, snapped his leg and was left writhing on the floor with the bone sticking through the skin. On this night, he hobbled gingerly onto the court with the aid of crutches, basking in a sea of confetti and streamers.

This one belonged to him as much as anyone on the court.

Siva added 18 points for the Cardinals, who closed the season on a 16-game winning streak, and Chane Behanan chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds as Louisville slowly but surely closed out the Wolverines (31-8).

Michigan was in the title game for the first time since the Fab Five lost the second of two straight championship games in 1993. Players from that team, including Chris Webber, cheered on the latest group of young stars.

But, like the Fab Five, national player of the year Trey Burke and a squad with three freshman starters came up short in the last game of the season.

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to get this far,” said Burke, who led the Wolverines with 24 points. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to get past the second round. We fought. We fought up to this point, but Louisville was the better team today, and they’re deserving of the win.”

The first half, in particular, might have been the most entertaining 20 minutes of the entire men’s tournament.

Burke started out on fire for Michigan, hitting his first three shots and scoring seven points to match his output from the semifinal victory over Syracuse, when he made only 1-of-8 shots.

Albrecht took control when Burke picked up his second foul and had to go to the bench for the rest of the half. The kid whose nickname comes from his first pair of baseball spikes showed he’s a pretty good hoops player, knocking down one 3-pointer after another to send the Wolverines to a double-digit lead.

When Albrecht blew by Tim Henderson with a brilliant hesitation move, Michigan led 33-21 and Louisville was forced to call timeout. The freshman was mobbed on the Michigan bench, as if the Wolverines had already won the national title, with one teammate waving a towel in tribute.

Not so fast. Not against Louisville.

The Cardinals came back one more time.

“We needed a rally and we’ve been doing it for a couple of games straight, being down,” Hancock said. “We just had to wait and make our run.”

Burke, who played only six minutes in the first half because of the foul trouble, did his best to give Michigan its first championship since 1989. But he couldn’t do it alone. Albrecht was held scoreless after the break, and no one else posted more than 12 points for the Wolverines.

Still, it was quite a run for a fourth-seeded team that knocked off No. 1-seeded Kansas with the greatest comeback of the tournament, rallying from 14 points down in the second half to beat the Jayhawks in the round of 16.

But they came up against the ultimate comeback team in the final, a group that was intent on keeping the title in the bluegrass state after Kentucky won it all last season.

Louisville had already pulled off a stunning rally in the Big East championship game — down by 16 in the second half, they won by 17 — and another against Wichita State.

“I’ve had a lot of really good teams over the years, and some emotional locker rooms, and that was the most emotional we’ve ever had,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “We feel bad about it. There are some things we could have done better and get a win, but at the same time, Louisville is a terrific basketball team.”

No wonder Ware was grinning from ear to ear.