WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored on a laser of a shot off a faceoff, Logan Thompson made some spectacular saves among his 28 and the Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in Game 5 of their first-round series Wednesday night to advance in the NHL playoffs.
It’s the Capitals’ first series win since capturing the Stanley Cup in 2018, and they clinched at home for the first time since 2015. They face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round with a spot in the Eastern Conference final at stake.
Ovechkin led the way with his power-play goal 11 minutes in, setting off chants of “Ovi! Ovi!” from the juiced up crowd. Pierre-Luc Dubois delivered a perfect pass to Jakob Chychrun, who beat Jakub Dobes just over two minutes later. Tom Wilson provided a valuable insurance goal late in the second period.
Fans expressed their appreciation for Thompson with chants of “LT! LT!” when he turned aside Kaiden Guhle on a three-on-one rush and with under two minutes left when he flashed his glove to rob Nick Suzuki with Dobes pulled for an extra attacker. Brandon Duhaime sealed it with an empty-netter with 25.6 seconds left.
PANTHERS 6, LIGHTNING 3
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Eetu Luostarinen had a goal and three assists to lead Florida to a victory against Tampa Bay and advance Florida to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart also scored for Florida. Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 26 saves as the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers defeated their in-state rival in five games in the first round for the second consecutive season.
Panthers will play the winner of the series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, which Toronto currently leads 3-2.
JETS 5, BLUES 3
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists and Winnipeg beat St. Louis to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
The teams play Game 6 on Friday in St. Louis, where the Blues won the two previous games while extending their home record to 14 consecutive victories.
The Jets were without star centre Mark Scheifele after the first period after he was crushed into the boards by Brayden Schenn early in the opening period.
Vladislav Namestnikov, who replaced Scheifele on the top line, had a goal and an assist. Nino Niederreiter also had a goal and assist. Dylan DeMelo and Adam Lowry had goals while Mason Appleton had three assists.
Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves for Winnipeg, which had top-line winger Gabriel Vilardi back in action after missing 15 games with an upper-body injury.
Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) and Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher (11) look for the puck in the second period of Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed the pioneering hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit to reclaim ownership of their master recordings from Universal Music Group.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote on Thursday sided with the recording giant, arguing that the Grammy-winning group never owned the copyrights to their sound recordings and didn't transfer them to anyone else.
“Plaintiffs can only terminate copyright transfers that they executed,” the judge wrote. “None of the contracts identified by Plaintiffs indicate that they ever owned the Master Tapes.”
UMG argued that the recordings were “works made for hire,” which would not allow for the reclaiming of rights. Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit said their agreements with the label made it clear that they were not.
“Even with the court’s complete rejection of their claims, we remain open and willing to find a resolution to the matter and turn the page so we can focus our efforts on working together to amplify Salt-N-Pepa’s legacy for generations to come,” UMG said in a statement.
Representatives for Salt-N-Pepa said in a statement that they disagreed with the judge's decision and “fully intend to pursue our rights on appeal,” adding: “We remain committed to vindicating and reclaiming our rights as creators under the Copyright Act."
The Queens, New York, duo of Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton became Salt-N-Pepa in 1985. They were later joined by DJ Spinderella, who was not part of the early agreements under dispute and is not involved in the lawsuit.
Salt-N-Pepa signed with Next Plateau Records and released their debut album "Hot, Cool & Vicious" in 1986. Next Plateau was an independent label at the time, and it’s now under the banner of Universal’s Republic label. Some of the group's hits include 1993’s “Shoop” and 1987’s “Push It”
In 1995 they became the first female rap group to win a Grammy, and in 2021, they received a Grammy lifetime achievement award. In November, they followed Missy Elliott as the second female hip-hop act in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, handed the Influence Award.
At the podium during the induction ceremony, James noted the group's legal fight: "This is the Influence Award. We have to keep using our influence until the industry honors creativity the way the audience does — with love, respect and fairness.”
In their lawsuit, Salt-N-Pepa claimed that the 1976 Copyright Act gives artists the right to reclaim ownership of master recordings and terminate past agreements after 35 years.
But the judge sided with UMG's argument that there is no evidence that James and Denton granted the label copyright that they can now reclaim.
FILE - Sandra Denton, from left; DJ Spinderella and Cheryl James of Salt-N-Pepa arrive at the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Nov. 8, 2025, at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Missy Elliott, from left, and Sandra Denton with Cheryl James, right of Salt-N-Pepa, react during the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Nov. 8, 2025, at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
