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BRISTOL, Tenn. — Ty Majeski scored his first career Truck Series win on Thursday night and the victory at Bristol Motor Speedway locked Majeski into the championship finale.

Majeski, in his 40th career start in the trucks, became the first driver to earn a spot in the championship-deciding final four. He had a clean jump on Zane Smith on a restart to with 12 laps remaining to cruise to the victory in a Toyota for ThorSport Racing.

The 28-year-old from Wisconsin ran only four Truck Series races last season as he desperately tried to continue his NASCAR career. It led to a full season ride with ThorSport for this year and now a shot at the series championship.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this,” Majeski said. “We came guns blazing for this race, took our best truck. This is so cool. My career has been so up and down and there’s been a lot of people to help me get to this point.”

Bristol marked the opening race of the round of eight in the Truck Series playoffs.

Smith finished second after starting at the back of the field.

“A good salvage of the night,” Smith said.

Parker Kligerman finished third and was followed by Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton and Derek Kraus.

The Truck Series races next on Oct. 1 at Talladega Superspeedway.

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Collapse in Carolina: Isles blow lead, lose Game 2

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Collapse in Carolina: Isles blow lead, lose Game 2

The Carolina Hurricanes shocked the New York Islanders on Monday night, scoring the game-tying and winning goals just nine seconds apart in the third period, giving them a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference Round 1 series.

“This one’s long from over, but right now, this one hurts the gut,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said after the 5-3 loss in Raleigh, North Carolina.

With his team’s net empty, Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho deflected an Andrei Svechnikov pass to tie the game with 2:15 left in the third period, erasing a 3-0 lead the Islanders had built in the first 23:54 of the game.

“When you’re down three, it’s a once in a lifetime-type of game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I’m just proud of the way they kept playing.”

Jordan Martinook gave Carolina the lead just nine seconds later, stealing the puck from defenseman Noah Dobson on the forecheck and tucking it behind Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov, who was looking in the opposite direction in anticipation of Dobson having moved the puck.

“The momentum of us tying the game and the energy that it sends … I don’t really know how to describe it,” Martinook said. “You have this juice that hits you.”

The Hurricanes set a new NHL record for the fastest game-tying and winning goals scored in the third period of a playoff game. It was the seventh time in NHL history that a team had tied and won the game in the final three minutes of a playoff game. Carolina was already on that list, having tied and beaten the New Jersey Devils in a conference quarterfinal game in 2009.

Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis had the goals before Aho’s, while Jake Guentzel added an empty netter to seal the win.

“We had a good start. We took a 3-0 lead,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “For some reason, we started losing those 1-on-1 battles. That was the biggest difference from the first half of the game to the second half.”

Carolina dominated possession against the Islanders, with a 110-to-28 advantage in shot attempts. That was never more evident than in the third period, when the Islanders were outshot 17-1.

“We have to be better there. We can’t just get a lead and try to hold on,” Dobson said. “They’re too good of a team for that. This stings right now. We’ve got to learn from it.”

Game 3 of the series is Thursday night at UBS Arena on Long Island.

“It’s a tough loss, no doubt about it. We had a chance to win that game,” Roy said. “But we’ve got to regroup, play well in our building and win game number three.”

The Hurricanes might be short-handed when the series shifts to New York. After the win, Brind’Amour addressed the lower-body injury that defenseman Brett Pesce suffered in the second period, saying it’s “not looking good,” and that the veteran was scheduled for further evaluation Tuesday.

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‘No second guesses’: Bruins start Ullmark, drop G2

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'No second guesses': Bruins start Ullmark, drop G2

BOSTON — On the heels of a 3-2 loss, coach Jim Montgomery stood behind his choice to start Linus Ullmark over Jeremy Swayman in Game 2 of the Boston Bruins‘ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

Ullmark, who finished with 30 stops, got the call in net even after Swayman was dominant making 35 saves for Boston in a 5-1 victory over the Leafs in Saturday’s Game 1.

“No second guesses,” Montgomery said. “He was terrific. Made multiple big-time saves.”

Montgomery had flat-out refused to name a starter leading up to Monday’s game while being peppered with questions about whether he’d keep the Bruins’ established rotation alive. Boston had strictly alternated between Swayman and Ullmark since February; Monday was the 28th straight game they’d employed the same tactic.

It just wasn’t something Montgomery was willing to comment on publicly, and the guessing game continued right until warmups of Game 2.

“I don’t know why we would divulge information,” Montgomery said earlier Monday. “If you’re preparing for a game, there are parts of a goaltender that are part of your pre-scout. So that’s an advantage for us, right? If [they] don’t know who’s starting.”

In the end, it was hard for Montgomery to go wrong. Ullmark is the NHL’s reigning Vezina Trophy winner, and both he and Swayman had strong stats in the regular season. Swayman was 25-10-8 with a .916 SV% and 2.53 GAA, while Ullmark was 22-10-7 with 2.57 GAA.

Swayman had been an obvious choice to tap in Game 1 given his 3-0-0 record against Toronto in the regular season. Ullmark was equally excellent in Game 2 and gave Boston every chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead over Toronto in the series.

The Bruins were in control early, taking a 2-1 over the Leafs after the first period with goals from Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak. Boston would go down a defenseman in the second when Andrew Peeke exited, leaving the Bruins with a five-man rotation on the back end. Montgomery had no update on Peeke following the loss.

Toronto then tied the game with a power play goal from John Tavares in the middle frame to make it 2-2 heading into the third. The Leafs turned up the pressure there while Boston looked increasingly flat-footed, and Ullmark had to execute two exceptional glove saves — one in particular against Nick Robertson — to keep the score knotted.

It took Auston Matthews, the NHL’s Rocket Richard Trophy winner with 69 goals in the regular season, slipping behind Bruins’ defenseman Charlie McAvoy to finally beat Ullmark with a breakaway strike to give the Leafs a 3-2 advantage late in the third. It was the first time Toronto had led Boston in their past five meetings.

“There’s a reason he scored 69,” Ullmark said of Matthews’ winner. “[I’ll] try to get him next time.”

When that next opportunity comes for Ullmark, only Montgomery knows for sure. The series turns now to Toronto with Game 3 set for Wednesday. Montgomery’s focus isn’t immediately on who will be in the crease, but on improving how the Bruins play in front of whoever earns the next start.

“We’re not playing fast enough,” Montgomery said. “We’re slow in transition, which is not allowing us to possess pucks and not allowing us to get in on the forecheck well enough. I didn’t think our urgency was where it needed to be to prevail tonight.”

Maple Leafs forward William Nylander missed Game 2 with an undisclosed injury and has yet to appear in the series. While Toronto hasn’t revealed what Nylander is dealing with, it’s reported to have flared up for the winger sometime after the regular-season finale last Wednesday.

With the series tied 1-1, Game 3 is Wednesday in Toronto.

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Brewers’ Junis sent to hospital after he’s hit in BP

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Brewers' Junis sent to hospital after he's hit in BP

PITTSBURGH — Jakob Junis of the Milwaukee Brewers was taken away in an ambulance after being hit in the neck by a line drive during batting practice at PNC Park on Monday.

The right-hander was standing in the outfield when he was struck by the hard-hit ball off the bat of Pirates infielder Alika Williams. Junis remained down for about 20 minutes while being treated by medical teams. The team said he was conscious, alert and responsive and sent to a hospital for further evaluation.

Junis, 31, went on the 15-day injured list on April 6 because of a shoulder impingement. He has made one start this season, allowing one run and three hits in four innings against the Minnesota Twins on April 2.

Since debuting in the majors with Kansas City on April 12, 2017, Junis is 38-45 with a 4.63 ERA in eight seasons with the Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee.

Earlier Monday, the Brewers placed left-handed starter Wade Miley on the 15-day IL with left elbow inflammation. He joined left-hander DL Hall, who went on the IL because of a left knee sprain on Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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