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TORONTO — Auston Matthews had his second straight hat trick to push his NHL-leading goals total to 48 and added two assists for a career-high five points in the Toronto Maple Leafs9-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.

Amid consistent “M-V-P!” chants raining down from the rafters, Matthews broke a tie for the Toronto record for hat tricks in a season with six, passing Reg Noble (1917-18), Babe Dye (1924-25) and Darryl Sittler (1980-81).

Matthews also had his team-record 73rd multigoal game, two more than Sittler. The American has 13 career hat tricks.

“It’s always nice to have the support,” Matthews said. “Like I’ve said, playing here is a big honor and to be able to have the support from the fans and the organization and all that comes with being a Maple Leaf, it’s something that none of us take for granted.”

William Nylander added a goal and two assists to reach 500 career points, Bobby McMann had two goals and an assist, Nick Robertson finished with a goal and an assist and Jake McCabe and Tyler Bertuzzi also scored.

Martin Jones made 19 saves to help Toronto improve to 29-16-8. Timothy Liljegren had three assists and Mitch Marner, Max Domi and Matthew Knies each had two.

Toronto became the 15th team in NHL history to have hat tricks in three straight games after McMann had the first of his career Tuesday night against St. Louis and Matthews followed that with three goals of his own Thursday night against Philadelphia. Matthews is the 10th player with six hat tricks in a season.

“You know teams are talking about him. I’m sure Anaheim had a plan,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said of Matthews. “One of the greatest things about Auston is he continues to find ways to get to spots and get his stick available and to be able to score and help us take charge.”

Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist for Anaheim, and Frank Vatrano also scored. Lukas Dostal allowed four goals on 18 shots in the first period before being replaced by John Gibson.

On pace to become the first NHLer to reach 70 goals in a season since 1992-93, Matthews opened the scoring at 3:41.

“It’s not often over 82 games that you get a game like this where you sort of put it in cruise control for the second half and you’re letting the clock wind down,” Keefe said. “It was nice to be able to have one of these tonight.”

Toronto went up 2-0 when McMann snapped his sixth on a power play at 6:06 before McCabe fired his fifth past Dostal, who stopped 55 of the 57 shots he faced Jan. 3 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs in California.

Jones didn’t have much to do at the other end until Vatrano beat him for his 24th on a man advantage 59 seconds later.

The Maple Leafs restored their three-goal lead on another power play when Nylander buried his 28th — and 500th regular-season point — with 2:23 left in the period.

Gibson replaced Dostal following the intermission, and Matthews scored his second of the night 50 seconds into the second on another man advantage. Bertuzzi snapped a 19-game goal drought with his seventh to push Toronto to 4-for-4 on the power play at 2:51.

Matthews, who scored in OT against Dostal last month, completed the hat trick at 5:39.

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly served the third contest of a five-game suspension for cross-checking Ottawa’s Ridly Greig for firing a slap shot into an empty net. Captain John Tavares sat out with what Keefe described as a minor injury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Canes’ Andersen, 35, secures deal before Round 2

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Canes' Andersen, 35, secures deal before Round 2

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have signed goaltender Frederik Andersen to a one-year contract for next season, worth $2.75 million for the 35-year-old veteran.

General manager Eric Tulsky announced the deal Saturday, a little over 48 hours before his team starts the second round of the playoffs against the Washington Capitals.

Andersen could earn up to $750,000 in incentives for games played and his participation in a potential run to the Eastern Conference finals next season. He would get $250,000 for playing 35 or more games, another $250,000 for getting to 40 and $250,000 if the Hurricanes reach the East finals and he plays in at least half of the playoff games.

“Frederik has played extremely well for us and ranks in the top 10 all-time for winning percentage by an NHL goalie,” Tulsky said. “We’re excited that he will be staying with the team for next season.”

Andersen and the Hurricanes, the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division, advanced past the New Jersey Devils in Round 1 last week. They will meet the Capitals, who won the division crown, for the right to make the NHL’s final four.

Extending Andersen could give the team a goaltending tandem with Pyotr Kochetkov for less than $6 million combined.

Anderson, a Denmark native who previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs, has become coach Rod Brind’Amour’s most trusted option in net. He is expected to return to the starting role for Game 1 of the Capitals series after getting injured in the first round against New Jersey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Sovereignty outduels Journalism to capture Derby

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Sovereignty outduels Journalism to capture Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sovereignty outdueled 3-1 favorite Journalism down the stretch to win the 151st Kentucky Derby in the slop on Saturday.

Trainer Bill Mott won his first Derby in 2019, also run on a sloppy track, when Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security crossed the finish line first and was disqualified after a 22-minute delay.

This time, he knew right away.

Sovereignty won by 1½ lengths and snapped an 0-for-13 Derby skid for owner Godolphin, the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

It was quite a weekend for the sheikh. His filly, Good Cheer, won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and earlier Saturday, Ruling Court won the 2,000 Guineas in Britain.

Sovereignty covered 1¼ miles in 2:02.31 and paid $17.96 to win at 7-1 odds.

Journalism found trouble in the first turn and jockey Umberto Rispoli moved him to the outside. He and Sovereignty hooked up at the eighth pole before Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado pulled away.

Baeza was third, Final Gambit was fourth and Owen Almighty finished fifth.

Rain made for a soggy day, with the Churchill Downs dirt strip listed as sloppy and horse racing fans protecting their fancy hats and clothing with clear plastic ponchos.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Zilisch to miss Xfinity race in Texas after wreck

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Zilisch to miss Xfinity race in Texas after wreck

FORT WORTH, Texas — Connor Zilisch, the 18-year-old driver already with two NASCAR Xfinity Series race wins, will miss Saturday’s race at Texas because of lower back injuries sustained in a last-lap wreck at Talladega.

Trackhouse Racing said Wednesday that its development driver will return as soon as possible to the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The team didn’t provide any additional details about Zilisch’s injuries.

Cup Series regular Kyle Larson will drive the No. 88 in Texas. After that, the Xfinity Series has a two-week break before racing again May 24 at Charlotte.

Zilisch, sixth in points through the first 11 races, was driving for the win at Talladega Superspeedway when contact on the backstretch sent his car spinning, and head-on into inside wall.

Zilisch won in his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen last Sept. 14. He added another win this year at Austin, the same weekend that he made his Cup Series debut. He has six top-10 finishes in his 15 Xfinity races.

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