TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jake Guentzel scored twice to reach the 40-goal mark, NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied to beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-4 on Sunday.

Conor Geekie, Ryan McDonagh and Emil Lilleberg also scored for Tampa Bay, and Jonas Johansson made with 21 saves. Gage Goncalves, Nick Paul, Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel each had two assists.

Jiri Kulich, Conor Clifton, Sam Lafferty and Alex Tuch scored for Buffalo. James Reimer stopped 24 shots.

Guentzel put Tampa Bay in front with 3:25 left in the first period. Buffalo took the lead with two goals in the final 30 seconds of the period as Kulich and Clifton scored 15 seconds apart.

But the Lightning scored four times in the second period to pull away. McDonagh tied it at 3:02. Kucherov scored his first of the night at 6:34. Geekie made it 4-2 with 5:39 left, and Lilleberg’s added his first career goal wth 3:15 to go for a 5-2 lead.

The teams traded goals in the third period.

Takeaways

Sabres: Buffalo is winless in three games (0-2-1) since a five-game winning streak. … Coach Lindy Ruff remains stuck on 899 career wins and needs one more to join Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Paul Maurice and Barry Trotz as the only coaches with 900.

Lightning: Tampa Bay RW Oliver Bjorkstrand is out week-to-week with an undisclosed lower-body injury suffered on Friday against Detroit. … Kucherov leads the league with 119 points.

Key moment

Kucherov collected a pass off the wall from Victor Hedman and touched the puck around Alex Tuch at the red line to open up space. Kucherov gained the zone with speed and put a shot off the crossbar that hit Reimer and landed in the crease where he poked it in for the go-ahead goal in the second period.

Key stat

Lilleberg scored his first career NHL goal, becoming the sixth Norwegian-born player to score in the NHL.

Up next

Both teams play Tuesday night. Buffalo hosts Toronto, and Tampa Bay hosts Florida.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

 Rory McIlroy turned another major collapse into his grandest moment of all, hitting a wedge into 3 feet for birdie in a sudden-death playoff Sunday to finally win the Masters and take his place in golf history as the sixth player to claim the career Grand Slam.

What could have been a coronation for McIlroy along the back nine at Augusta National turned into a heart-racing, lead-changing, jaw-dropping finish at golf’s greatest theater that ended with McIlroy on his knees sobbing with joy and disbelief.

It ended with more heartache for Justin Rose, who lost to Sergio Garcia in a playoff in 2017 and forced this one with a clutch 20-foot birdie on the 18th hole for a 6-under 66. He wound up joining Ben Hogan as the only players to lose twice in playoffs at Augusta National.

“My dreams have been made today,” McIlroy said, the Masters green jacket looking like a perfect fit as he spoke at the trophy presentation. 

Moments later, speaking to 4-year-old daughter Poppy, he told her: “Never give up on your dreams. Never, ever give up on your dreams.”

This was shaping up as another horror show for McIlroy, who in 2011 lost a four-shot lead on the final day with a 43 on the back nine, a highlight reel that now can start collecting dust.

“I didn’t make it easy today,” McIlroy said.

He lost a two-shot lead in two holes at the start. He lost a four-shot lead on the back nine in a matter of three holes with shocking misses, one of them a wedge into the tributary of Rae’s Creek on the par-5 13th.

And right when it looked as though he would blow another major, McIlroy delivered two majestic shots when nothing less would do, two birdies that sent him to the 18th hole with a one-shot lead. 

That still wasn’t enough. He hit a wedge into the bunker and wound up missing a 5-foot par putt for a 1-over 73 and the first Masters playoff in eight years.

Faced with more failure, McIlroy responded with another booming drive, and this wedge bounced onto the slope of the top shelf with enough spin to trickle down toward the hole, closer and closer, until it stopped 3 feet away.

And when Rose missed from 15 feet, McIlroy finally sealed it. 

McIlroy went 11 long years without any major, knowing the Masters green jacket was all that kept him from joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen as the only winners of golf’s four professional majors.

“This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” he said in Butler Cabin. “I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that … there was a lot of pent-up emotion that just came out on that 18th green.”

He raised both arms and let the putter fall behind him, and before long he was on his knees, then his forehead on the 18th green as his chest heaved with emotion.

“Rose was left with a runner-up finish for the second straight time in a major, with not many regrets, especially making the 20-foot putt on the 18th.

“It’s the kind of putt you dream about as a kid, and to have it and hole it, it was a special feeling,” Rose said. “And unfortunately, the playoff, they always end so quickly. If you’re not the guy to hit the great shot or hole the great putt, it’s over.

“But not really anything I could have done more today.”

So ended one of the wildest Sundays at a major that is known for them. McIlroy set a Masters record as the first champion to make four double bogeys — two in the first round that put him seven shots behind, two in the final round that turned this into a thriller.

U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who beat McIlroy at Pinehurst No. 2 last June, had the lead after two holes when McIlroy opened with a double bogey. He crashed out with a pair of three-putts and two shots into the water on the back nine, closing with a 75.

Ludvig Aberg, a runner-up in his Masters debut a year ago, suddenly had a share of the lead when McIlroy fell apart on the middle of the back nine. He missed a birdie putt from the fringe to take the lead, then finished bogey-triple bogey.

Rose had every reason to believe he threw away his chances on Saturday with a 75 that put him seven shots behind, and then two bogeys on the front nine. Even as he steadied himself, he was four shots back and running out of time. 

He did his part in a 10-birdie round and that dynamic birdie putt to cap it off.

McIlroy helped in a big way.

Nothing was more shocking than the 13th. McIlroy played it safe, leaving himself a big target and a lob wedge. He missed his mark by some 20 yards, the ball disappearing into the tributary of Rae’s Creek and leading to double bogey.

Rose was on the par-3 16th and hit his tee shot to 4 feet for birdie, and suddenly they were tied. Then, McIlroy hit a weak drive to the right and was blocked by pines. He didn’t reach the green, didn’t make the par putt and no longer had the lead.

But he was resilient as ever — he’s been like that his entire career. Seemingly in trouble left of the 15th fairway, McIlroy hit 7-iron around the trees and onto the green to 6 feet.

He missed the eagle putt — the birdie still helped him regain a share of the lead. Two holes later, facing a semi-blind shot, he drilled 8-iron and chased after it, urging it to “Go! Go! Go! Go!” And it did, barely clearing the bunker and rolling out to 2 feet for birdie and a one-shot lead.

Turns out that wasn’t enough, either. He was 5 feet away from victory and badly missed the putt, leaving him more work to do — another chance to fail.

Not this time. The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland never wavered in what he came to Augusta National to do. He leaves with a green jacket.

McIlroy and Rose finished at 11-under 277, two shots ahead of former Masters champion Patrick Reed (69). Scottie Scheffler, trying to win the Masters for the third time in four years, never got anything going this week and still shot 69 to finish fourth.

McIlroy, with his third win this year, now has 40 titles worldwide. This was his 11th try at getting the career Grand Slam — the longest any of the previous players went was three attempts to get the fourth leg.

Next up is the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, where McIlroy has already won four times. Wouldn’t that be grand?

Marc Badain said a Las Vegas venue will be built.

Major League Baseball will be played in Las Vegas in 2028 and beyond according to the President of Major League Baseball’s Athletics franchise. Marc Badain has said so and he is ready to shut up the naysayers who think Athletics owner John Fisher cannot come up with his financial commitment for a stadium that before tariffs on such items like steel were announced was going to cost $1.75 billion. Fisher needs to come up with more than a billion dollars to pay for construction costs. Nevada is giving Fisher $380 million in seed money for the construction. That is in the bank but none of that cash becomes available until Fisher spends $100 million on the planned ballpark.  “Locally, everybody knows this project’s going to happen,” Badain said. “Nationally, there are a lot of skeptics. There will always be a lot of skeptics. There’s a lot of people that make a living out of questioning the success of sports venues and what they actually do for a community. You’re never going to eradicate that negativity. It’s just out there.” Badain has been on the job since March but he did help get the National Football League’s Raiders’ venue built in Las Vegas.

The saga of the Las Vegas stadium has been ongoing since April 2023 when Fisher decided to leave Oakland and a stadium proposal on the Oakland waterfront behind. The ballpark’s estimated cost has gone up and figures to rise. The original plan was for Las Vegas tourists to stop by and see a game and not count on local fans as much as other franchise owners do in their home markets. Right now, there is a tourism slump in Las Vegas and in Nevada and that cannot be helpful to Fisher. Badain claims the ballpark groundbreaking ceremony will take place in June. It’s just a matter of time.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com