Associated Press
MONTREAL ó Andrei Kostitsyn scored twice and Carey Price got his second shutout to lead the top-seeded Montreal Canadiens to a 5-0 win over the eighth-seeded Boston Bruins on Monday in the deciding game of the first-round playoff series.
Boston fell short in its bid to overcome 2-0 and 3-1 series deficits for the first time in team history.
* PHILADELPHIA ó Held without a goal for four straight games, Alex Ovechkin scored twice in the third period to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
A decisive Game 7 will be played tonight in Washington.
COLLEGE HOOPS
CHARLOTTE ó Charlotte forward Lamont Mack is expected to be ready for the start of fall practice after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
Mack had the surgery Friday to repair torn cartilage. Athletic trainer Carlton Anderson said Monday that Mack will soon begin a 12-week rehabilitation program.
Mack averaged 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds for the 49ers last season in his first year after transferring from a junior college. He will be a senior next season.
* DES MOINES, Iowa ó Arizona State assistant Mark Phelps, who also worked on Herb Sendekís staff at N.C. State, was hired as Drakeís menís basketball coach.
Phelps, 42, spent more than a decade as an assistant to Sendek. Previously, Phelps was a high school coach in Virginia, compiling a .736 winning percentage over six years at two schools.
* SAN FRANCISCO ó Stanford assistant Doug Oliver became the first candidate to interview for the Cardinalís head coaching vacancy.
After former coach Trent Johnson was ejected in the first half of the Cardinalís overtime victory over Marquette in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Oliver stepped in and led the way.
* COLUMBUS, Ohio ó Ohio State freshman center Kosta Koufos will declare for the NBA draft but will not immediately sign with an agent, the school said.
* JACKSON, Miss. ó James Green was hired as the menís basketball coach at Jacksonville State, leaving Mississippi Valley State after leading the Delta Devils to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1996.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ó Tennessee junior quarterback Jonathan Crompton underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right, throwing elbow.
Tennessee athletic trainer Jason McVeigh said in a statement after the surgery that he expects Crompton to return to full activity with the team within three to five weeks.
BOSTON MARATHON
BOSTON ó Robert Cheruiyot won his fourth Boston Marathon, and Dire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova by two seconds in the closest finish in the history of the womenís race.
Cheruiyot ran away from the pack to finish in a blistering 2 hours, 7 minutes, 46 seconds. He missed the course record he set two years ago by 32 seconds.
With his third straight victory, Cheruiyot gave Kenya its 15th menís victory in 17 years.
Tune, an Ethiopian, finished in 2:25:25. The previous closest womenís finish came two years ago, when Rita Jeptoo beat Jelena Prokopcuka by 10 seconds.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong finished 488th in 2:50:58.
Michael Belgay, a 29-year-old participant from Kannapolis, finished with an official time of 3:10.03. He placed 2,447th.
NBA
MILWAUKEE ó The Milwaukee Bucks moved quickly to find their new coach, signing Scott Skiles to a four-year deal. He takes over for Larry Krystkowiak, who was fired last week.
* SAN ANTONIO ó San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili won the NBAís sixth man award.
Ginobili led the Spurs in scoring, averaging a career-high 19.5 points to go with 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Ginobili came off the bench in 51 of the 74 games he played this season.
Ginobili got 123 of 124 first-place votes for 615 points. Phoenix guard Leandro Barbosa came in second with 283 points, and the Dallasí Jason Terry was third with 44.
NFL
CINCINNATI ó Linebacker Odell Thurman was reinstated from an NFL suspension after sitting out the last two seasons.
Thurman, who was suspended because of violations of the NFLís substance abuse policy, had been cleared in January to resume working out with the Bengals pending word on his status.
* LAS VEGAS ó Adam iPacmanî Jones paid iextortionî money to a 29-year-old man arrested for a strip club shooting that left a club employee paralyzed, police said.
Arvin Kenti Edwards allegedly used go-betweens to reach Jones, who paid $15,000 in two installments after the shooting, according to a police report.
iHe paid $15,000 to his friends, who advised him that if he didnít pay the money then this guy would come after him,î said Robert Langford, Jonesí lawyer in Las Vegas.