Kings take Game 7 in OT to reach Stanley Cup final

When it comes to Game 7, Los Angeles truly is the king of the road.

Alec Martinez scored at 5:47 of overtime, and the Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 on Sunday night to advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the second time in three years.

"We've battled back so many times this year and so many times in these playoffs, we said, 'Why not again today?"' said Justin Williams, who had a goal and an assist. "It was a total team effort, every single guy here giving everything they've got."

Martinez's shot went off Blackhawks defenceman Nick Leddy and fluttered over goalie Corey Crawford, stunning the sellout crowd at the United Center and leading to a wild on-ice celebration for Los Angeles. Leddy and Crawford were hunched over as the Kings gathered in a big huddle along the boards.

"I didn't really see it go in," Martinez said. "I know it went off a couple bodies. I just tried to get it through and fortunately it went in."

The Kings will now face the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup final. Game 1 begins in Los Angeles on Wednesday, with Hockey Night in Canada coverage on CBC-TV and CBCSports.ca at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Kings have now passed three straight seven-game tests en route to the final series. Los Angeles improved to 7-0 in elimination games with its third Game 7 win on the road this post-season.

Los Angeles can win the championship for the second time in three seasons, while New York is looking for their first Cup win since the 1994 championship season.

The Kings and Rangers have met just twice in the playoffs, and not since 1981.

Chicago was looking to become the first team in 16 years to win consecutive Stanley Cups.

Patrick Sharp scored twice for the Blackhawks, who blew a 2-0 lead. Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist, and Patrick Kane had two more assists.

"I've lost some tough games but nothing like tonight," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Kings became the first team to play 21 games through the first three rounds of the playoffs and make it to the NHL finals. The 2002 Avalanche and 1993 Maple Leafs also played the maximum amount of games through three series, but they lost in Game 7 of the conference championships.

Toffoli comes up big

Los Angeles is the only team to play all three of those Game 7s on the road.

"You need everybody when you get to Game 7. You're not into the individual part of it," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "There's always guys that score big goals, make big plays. But you need everybody in your lineup."

Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who once held a 3-1 lead in the series, only to have the Blackhawks come back to force Game 7. Jeff Carter scored his ninth playoff goal in the first, and Marian Gaborik had the tying goal midway through the third period.

The Kings also got 37 saves from Jonathan Quick in another resilient performance for Sutter's team. Los Angeles trailed San Jose 3-0 in its first-round series and was down 3-2 to top-seeded Anaheim in the second round before rallying each time.

"It's just a great group to be part of," Quick said. "I feel very fortunate to be with the guys. Obviously our journey's not done yet and we've got a lot of work here coming up. New York's an awesome team. They beat great teams, so they're battle-tested as well so we've got a lot to get ready for."

Gaborik, Williams and Mike Richards each improved to 7-0 in Game 7s. Sutter moved to 7-3 in such games, breaking a tie with Blackhawks adviser Scotty Bowman and Pat Burns for the NHL record for most coaching wins in Game 7s.

Sharp sent a big power-play drive past Quick to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 lead at 18:25 of the second. But Gaborik responded with his NHL-best 12th playoff goal at 7:17 of the third, setting the stage for a frantic finish to regulation.

Quick turned away prime opportunities for Sharp and Bryan Bickell before he made a terrific save on Andrew Shaw in the final seconds. Dustin Brown had a great rush to the net for Los Angeles that he nearly completed for a breathtaking score.

Williams ties Game 7 mark

Jonathan Toews also scored for the Blackhawks, and Crawford finished with 27 saves.

"This was a tough way to go down. This one's going to sting for a while," Toews said.

The finale of the epic series between the last two Stanley Cup winners attracted a frenzied crowd of 22,315 that included Hall of Fame basketball player Charles Barkley and Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall. And they were treated to another heart-stopping classic full of big shots and great saves by each side.

Just like in Game 5, a 5-4 double-overtime victory for Chicago, the Blackhawks got off to a fast start, only to have the Kings come storming back. Kane picked up an assist on each of the first two goals, finding Saad with a slick pass from behind the net, and then getting to the right place at the right time for a lucky power-play carom that went right to Toews for an easy tap-in at 8:36 of the first.

The comeback Kings, who seem to play their best the closer they get to the brink of elimination, then went to work. Carter batted a rebound out of the air and past Crawford at 16:31, and Williams scored his seventh of the playoff 51 seconds later, tying it at 2.

It was Williams' seventh career goal in a Game 7, tying Glenn Anderson for the NHL record. Williams added an assist on Martinez's winning score, breaking Doug Gilmour's record for most points in such games with 14.

"They find a way, L.A., they're never out of a hockey game, they're never out of a series," Quenneville said. "They're dangerous."

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Hockey Night Post-Game

Video

Stanley Cup playoff highlights, analysis and player reaction

CBC Sports Posted: May 25, 2014 1:15 AM ET Last Updated: May 25, 2014 1:15 AM ET

Click the video player above and watch highlights, expert analysis and player interviews on demand as Hockey Night In Canada recaps Game 7 of the Western Conference final between the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings. 

Watch Game 7 on demand in its entirety here.

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

Follow Rob Pizzo on Twitter @robpizzo.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Hockey Night in Canada: The Open

Video

Watch our opening musical montage to Game 7 between Chicago and Los Angeles

CBC Sports Posted: Jun 01, 2014 8:43 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 01, 2014 8:44 PM ET

Click the video player above and get revved up for the Stanley Cup playoffs with our opening musicial montage to Game 7 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings on Hockey Night.

Watch Hockey Tonight on demand in its entirety here.

Follow Hockey Night on Twitter @hockeynight.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Coach's Corner: One tough series

Video

Don and Ron show how Blackhawks and Kings are literally ram tough

CBC Sports Posted: Jun 01, 2014 9:59 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 01, 2014 9:59 PM ET

Click the video player above to watch Don Cherry and Ron MacLean in the Coach's Corner during the first intermission as they show how the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings are, um, built ram tough.

Watch previous episodes of Coach's Corner here. 

Follow Don Cherry on Twitter @CoachsCornerCBC.

Follow Ron MacLean on Twitter @RonMacLeanCBC.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Stanley Cup final on Hockey Night in Canada

The Stanley Cup final will feature the New York Rangers against the Los Angeles Kings, beginning June 4 on CBC. 

Hockey Night in Canada will broadcast the best-of-seven championship series, with Game 1 on Wednesday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7:30 p.m. ET).

The Rangers, who eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in six games in the Eastern Conference final, open at Los Angeles, winner of the Western Conference final in seven games over the Chicago Blackhawks.

All games live on CBC Television and streamed online at CBCSports.ca in addition to our hockey apps for iOS and Xbox:

GAME	TEAMS	DATE	TIME
1	Hockey Tonight	Wednesday, June 4	7:30 pm ET
	Rangers at Kings		8 pm ET
2	Hockey Tonight	Saturday, June 7	6:30 pm ET
	Rangers at Kings		7 pm ET
3	Hockey Tonight	Monday, June 9	7:30 pm ET
	Kings at Rangers		8 pm ET
4	Hockey Tonight	Wednesday, June 11	7:30 pm ET
	Kings at Rangers		8 pm ET
5*	Rangers at Kings	Friday, June 13	8 pm ET
6*	Kings at Rangers	Monday, June 16	8 pm ET
7*	Rangers at Kings	Wednesday, June 18	8 pm ET

( *if necessary )

Jim Hughson will handle play-by-play duties with analyst Craig Simpson from the booth, while colour commentator Glenn Healy will be rinkside.

Scott Oake will conduct interviews and host the Hockey Night Post-Game Show live at CBCSports.ca.  

Ron MacLean and the Studio 42 crew  - Elliotte Friedman, Kelly Hrudey, P.J. Stock - will be on the road throughout the Stanley Cup final, with Friedman manning the I-Desk.

And, of course, Don Cherry will be along to bring you Coach's Corner.

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Toronto FC sinks Crew in injury time

Toronto FC used to be known for its heartbreaking tendency to give up goals in the dying seconds.

Doneil Henry, the man who scored Toronto FC's last-gasp game winner Saturday, knows that probably better than anyone.

Jermain Defoe scored twice and Henry, who has seen plenty of heartbreak in his more than four seasons with TFC, headed in the third in injury time to lift Toronto to a 3-2 Major League Soccer victory over the Columbus Crew.

The difference this season?

"It's the guys that we have in this locker room, we have some really bold characters, some guys that really will die for the game," Henry said. "That's been the difference maker.

"And we all believe in our coach, we all will stick up and die for this coach, for Ryan Nelsen. So when you think of opportunities of winning games and trying to finally bring the playoffs to Toronto, you think of the guys in this change room."

Defoe, the former Tottenham Hotspurs star and biggest name in Toronto's much-celebrated off-season signing spree, scored on a penalty shot. He then added a second when Brazilian striker Gilberto headed the ball onto the Englishman, and he one-timed a beautiful strike past Crew 'keeper Steve Clark.

The 21-year-old Henry, however, was the star of the afternoon. The 6-foot-2 defender from Brampton, Ont., muscled his way in on a free kick from Daniel Lovitz with about a minute left to play to score with a glancing header.

It was his second goal in as many games — Henry scored in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Montreal — and another plus for the player who's rebounded from a couple of minuses.

"In your career, when you have your negative days, you can either let it eat you and be a timid person or you can stand up like a man and just embrace it and just try to better yourself and understand the game better," said Henry, who ripped off his shirt while his teammates mobbed him.

Henry had been making news more for the goals that cost his team — most recently in Toronto's 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City a week earlier, Henry's foul inside the box cost the team a Kansas City penalty shot.

Nelsen is proud of how Henry has played this week.

"He's got amazing athleticism, he's got lovely spring, he's a good timer of hitting the ball," Nelsen said. "It's just reward for being brave and trying to make an impact in the game and not letting the game go by and then look in the mirror at night and think 'God, I wish I'd made that run,' as we've all done.

"You've got to be brave, you've got to put yourself in the arena and he did. He went for it and he got his reward by helping us win this game."

'All about character' 

The goal boosted Toronto's record to 5-4-1 and sent the 22,591 fans at a sun-drenched BMO Field home happy.

Justin Meram and Augustin Viana scored for Columbus (4-5-4).

Meram put Columbus on the scoreboard in the 18th minute — several nice passes by the Crew found Meram alone just outside the top of the 18-yard-box, and he fired a shot past Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik.

Defoe, who said he felt fresh from sitting out Wednesday's game against Montreal, converted a penalty three minutes later to tie the game after he was pulled down in the box by Tyson Wahl.

"The last two games, we haven't been at our best, but we've gotten results," Defoe said. "Great character to come back and win the game.

"It's not an easy thing to do. It was all about character again."

Viana put the Crew ahead 2-1 in the 65th minute when he headed in a corner kick from the top of the six-yard-box, sneaking the ball just inside the right post.

The goals were the only decent shots on target all afternoon. The Crew were more accurate with their passing and held a slight edge in possession.

"Even though we didn't play that well, we stayed in the game, we kept trying ... sometimes, it was painful to watch," Nelsen said. "The boys kept going, they never backed out.

"Even the best teams in the world have really bad days in the office, but if you're still trying to do the good things ... a lot of the times you get rewarded."

'Knew it was going in'

Gilberto, the Brazilian striker and designated player that was also part of Toronto's off-season rebuild, started on the bench for the first time with the team. Nelsen said Gilberto wasn't feeling well on Thursday and Friday and gave Luke Moore the start in his place.

Gilberto replaced Jackson in the 65th minute, and had a shot on his first touch, but launched it well over the Columbus net. He would have fans cheering, though, with his ball to Defoe on the second goal.

"As soon as it came to [Gilberto], I knew he was going to head it on so I could just turn," Defoe said of the goal.

"As soon as I turned I thought, this is the chance, you've got to just hit it as quick as you can. It was one of them goals when, as soon as I made contact, I knew it was going in."

Toronto was awarded the Trillium Cup — the cup competition between these two teams — afterward. TFC had won the first game of the matchup 2-0 in April in Columbus.

Both teams were playing without their captains — Toronto's centre back Steven Caldwell was serving a suspension for his red card in TFC's 2-2 draw at Kansas City a week earlier, while Columbus was missing forward Frederico Higuain to a suspension.

Toronto has only beaten Columbus four times in the 21 meetings between the two teams. Seven of the games have resulted in ties. Toronto has only beaten the Crew twice at BMO Field in 10 matchups.

TFC travels to Montreal on Wednesday for the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship, which doesn't count toward MLS standings. They're back in Toronto next Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes.

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Blue Jays rough up Royals for Marcus Stroman

Marcus Stroman took care of the Kansas City Royals in the top of the first. The potent Toronto Blue Jays offence took care of the rest.

Stroman, the 23-year-old Blue Jays first-round draft pick in 2012, was solid in his first major-league start and the Toronto offence scored early and often in a 12-2 victory Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

"It feels great," Stroman said. "Anytime you get that kind of run support, it's fun to pitch."

After retiring the Royals in order in the first inning, the final two on strikes, Stroman sat as the Blue Jays scored seven runs in the bottom of the inning. The first eight Toronto batters reached base, a new club record.

The Blue Jays stretched that lead to 11-1 after four innings in emphatically ending a two-game losing streak.

"It's hard," Stroman said of the wait between his first and second inning.

"But obviously, you're not going to turn down seven runs. However long it takes the offence to keep mashing, I'll sit there all day.

"This offence is so special. This lineup is like playing a video game."

Stroman, who earlier in May made five appearances out of the Blue Jays bullpen, improved his record to 2-0 and saw his earned-run average fall from 12.79 at the start of the day to 7.30.

Stroman gave up five hits, struck out six batters and didn't issue a walk over six innings before 31,652 fans. Recalled from triple-A Buffalo on Friday, the five-foot-nine right-hander threw 94 pitches, 63 of those for strikes.

"I thought he was terrific," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He got a bunch of strikeouts.

"He was attacking the zone, working fast, doing all those things we expected. That was his first start of the year and he showed us something.

"We're pretty impressed. It was a good, bounce-back win for us."

Juan Francisco had three hits and four runs batted in, Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., had two hits and three RBIs and Adam Lind added three hits and two RBIs as the American League East Division-leading Blue Jays pounded out 14 hits off four Kansas City pitchers.

The Blue Jays (33-24) had won a season-high nine straight games before the Royals (26-29) won the first two games of the series Thursday and Friday.

Toronto finished May with an AL-best 21-9 record.

"It's been a huge month," Gibbons said. "In 2008, we won 20 games and had the best record in baseball and I got fired three weeks later.

"I always enjoy a good month. But it means absolutely nothing in June."

The Blue Jays, who were 0-10 with men in scoring position and stranded 14 runners in a 6-1 loss on Friday, wasted few opportunities in the first inning against Kansas City right-hander Aaron Brooks. Brooks was making just his second MLB start and first since being recalled from triple-A Omaha.

The Blue Jays, who lead MLB in home runs, scored all their runs without a homer Saturday.

Toronto sent 12 men to the plate in the opening inning, the first eight of them reaching base. Each of the first five hitters scored and seven were in before Brooks (0-1) was given the rest of the afternoon off, getting just two outs and yielding five hits, three walks and two hit batters.

Jose Bautista doubled in the first run and Francisco's ground-rule double plated two more to make it 5-0. Other than those two extra-base hits, the Blue Jays scored via small ball — two RBI singles and a pair of bases-loaded walks — to turn the game into a laugher before all the fans had settled into their seats.

"It was good to let [Stroman] take a deep breath and just do what he does and throw all his pitches and let him relax a little bit," said Lind.

After Kansas City cut the Toronto lead to 7-1 in the second, Lawrie's second RBI of the day made it 8-1 in the bottom of the inning. Lind, Lawrie and Francisco drove in runs in the fourth to make it 11-1.

Todd Redmond gave up one run over three innings in relief of Stroman to earn his first save of the season.

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Kings seek unprecedented 3rd straight Game 7 win

No matter how this one plays out in the end, Joel Quenneville will at least appreciate the show the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles have put on the Western Conference final.

For pure theatre, it's hard to match this.

A wild series between the two most recent champions will come to a close with one final act Sunday, a seventh game in Chicago to decide who will advance to the Stanley Cup final.

"The quality of the hockey has been fun to watch and been fun to be a part of it at the same time," Quenneville, Chicago's head coach, said on Saturday.

The Blackhawks won a double-overtime thriller at home and took Game 6 on Friday night in Los Angeles to wipe out a 3-1 series deficit, sending it back to Chicago.

Now it's win-or-go home for both teams.

Whoever prevails will host the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals Wednesday night.

The Kings, who dropped the first three games against San Jose in the opening round and went the distance with Anaheim, hope to become the first team to win three Game 7s on the way to the Stanley Cup finals.

"We're using all our lifelines so far and we plan on getting the job done yet again," Kings forward Justin Williams said.

If the Blackhawks win Sunday, it will be the second straight year they advanced after falling behind 3-1 in a series.

Last year, they dropped three of the first four against Detroit in the conference semifinals before taking Game 7 in overtime on a goal by Brent Seabrook after Niklas Hjalmarsson had one disallowed late in regulation. Chicago went on to take out the Kings in the conference final before beating Boston for its second Stanley Cup in four years.

The Blackhawks looked like they were just about out of it after dropping Game 4. Instead, they jumped back into it with two thrilling victories, pushing a thrilling series to the limit.

"You can feel it's high-level hockey that's played for sure," Hjalmarsson said. "They're a machine-like team.

"They bring the same effort to every single game, so we just have to try to match that. I really think this series deserves a Game 7 and I think the crowd deserves it, too, and I think it's going to be a great finish to a great finish to a great series."

It's coming down to one after Chicago pulled out two nail-biters.

There was that double-overtime victory in Game 5 at home with Michal Handzus scoring the winner, and Game 6 Friday was about as tense. The Blackhawks survived thanks to a late surge after the teams traded leads in the third period, with Patrick Kane setting up Duncan Keith for the tying goal and then firing in the winner from a patch of ice near the painted Stanley Cup logo with 3:45 left.

"We know that we can still beat this Chicago Blackhawks team," Kings defenceman Drew Doughty said. "But we also know it's not going to be easy either.

"They're going to have their best game in this Game 7, especially in their home rink."

It would help if they contained Kane.

He has come up big in the past two games with seven points after being held to just one in the first four games. He had two goals and an assist Friday and four assists in Game 5, compared to just one assist through the first four games.

He's been able to find at least some open ice, something he wasn't able to do earlier in the series, and the Blackhawks are feeding off that.

"We have to do the same things we did in the first four games, not the last two — check hard and deny him the puck, and when he has the puck, give him the least amount of time possible," defenceman Willie Mitchell said.

Now, this series between two powerhouses comes down to one final game, and both teams have come out on top in tough spots.

The Kings are 6-0 in elimination games this year. The Blackhawks have won nine of their past 11 elimination games.

"Competitive guys, they find a way," Quenneville said. "[Friday] night is a good example.

"Third period, it doesn't look good and they don't change their approach. We know we have some guys that can make plays and have some ability to score ... We're playing a real good team that has a lot of similar attributes as we do, but we have to give our guys [credit for] what they've done, what they've accomplished and how they handle these situations."

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Impact turn back red-hot Revolution

The Montreal Impact wasted no time cooling off the hottest team in Major League Soccer.

Montreal needed just three minutes to score the winner against a streaking New England club, shutting out the Revolution, 2-0 on Saturday night at Saputo Stadium.

New England (7-4-2) came to Montreal riding a five-game winning streak, their longest such run in nearly a decade. The team was unbeaten in its last seven contests atop the Eastern Conference standings.

But with fans still trickling in to their seats after the opening whistle, midfielder Andres Romero scored the Impact's quickest goal of the season in the third minute to give last-place Montreal (2-6-4) a surprise lead.

Romero took a long through ball from striker Marco Di Vaio and moved in all alone on goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. With Revolution defenders requesting an offside call on the play, Romero held onto the ball several seconds before beating the keeper for his career-high third goal of the season.

"We came out, we dominated, and we did exactly what we wanted to do," said Jack McInerney, who played up front with Di Vaio in a seldom seen two-striker formation.

Montreal followed the early goal with sustained pressure. Its emphasis on the long ball created several goal-scoring opportunities in the first half hour.

"We had a stronger start than they did," said defender Wandrille Lefevre. "That made a world of difference. We controlled the ball and it allowed us to ease into the game."

Many of the Impact's scoring chances fell to Di Vaio, who couldn't find the back of the net despite taking four shots on target in the first half.

Di Vaio came close in the 17th minute when his strike from outside the 18-yard box missed the net by inches. A minute later, Di Vaio's volley from close range was stopped by Shuttleworth.

In the 26th minute, the Italian striker moved in alone on goal, but tripped and fell.

The Impact took eight shots on target in the first half to New England's one.

"You have to credit the other team because they came flying," said Revolution coach Jay Heaps. "In this league, you can't give a team anything.

"We gave quite a bit to Montreal and they took it. Montreal did an excellent job of taking advantage of our slow start and they were ready."

Frank Klopas' men doubled their lead in the 31st minute after an impressive individual effort by newcomer Issey Nakajima-Farran, who made his Saputo Stadium debut after being acquired from Toronto FC two weeks ago.

The left-winger cut into the middle of the pitch and fired a powerful strike at Shuttleworth, who bobbled the ball. McInerney pounced on the rebound from the edge of the six-yard box for his fifth goal against New England in 10 career appearances.

Although he wasn't credited with an assist on the goal, Nakajima-Farran was instrumental on the play for the Impact.

"It just clicks," said Nakajima-Farran, who played at the club level in Denmark, Australia, and Cyprus before making the move to Major League Soccer. "Everybody is playing simple, and the ball is zipping around. I feel conformable, and the guys know my movement too. It's been a very easy transition."

Coming into this one with just one win on the season, seven points from 11 games, and a league-worst goal differential, the Impact's stingy defending settled a hot team that had scored 12 goals in its last three games.

The Revolution couldn't generate much offence on Saturday despite controlling the ball for long stretches.

Rookie forward Patrick Mullins, who entered the game with a goal in four consecutive contests, an MLS record for a rookie, was limited to just one shot on target. And 19-year-old Diego Fagundez, who scored four times on New England's winning streak, did not challenge goalie Troy Perkins once.

"It wasn't our best stuff," said Heaps, whose Revs still top the Eastern Conference despite the loss. "It was one of those nights where every pass was a little bit off. It didn't have the same zip to it. To break a team down, you have to have things go your way a little bit. You have to credit a team when they do a good job."

At the other end of the table, the win keeps Montreal at the bottom of the standings, but the team is now only six points out of a playoff spot.

"The first couple of games of the season didn't show the kind of talent we have on this team, and what we can do," said McInerney. "If we want to get back into the picture, we need to be consistent."

The Impact now turn their attention to a mid-week battle versus Toronto FC on Wednesday for the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship final. The winner advances to the CONCACAF Champions League.

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Eugenie Bouchard makes quick work of Kerber

Eugenie Bouchard raced into the French Open quarter-finals by beating eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-1, 6-2 in 52 minutes on Sunday.

The 18th-seeded Canadian wasted no time, opening up a 5-0 lead in just 16 minutes. The Montreal native, who reached the Australian Open semifinals this year, next plays either No. 14-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain or the unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic. They were playing later Sunday.

"I just felt good out there, I executed my game plan really well, so I'm happy with that," said Bouchard. "There are always things to improve, and I'm just going to focus on that tomorrow and try to do even better my next match."

Kerber, a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros two years ago, made a string of unforced errors and Bouchard broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set when Kerber returned long from the back of the court.

Trailing 5-2, Kerber played with the strings of her racket as she hunched forward on her chair, her head bowed. Bouchard, by contrast, sat upright, taking a few deep breaths to compose herself before serving out the match. She clinched victory on her first match point when Kerber — a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist — made another unforced error, this time as her wild forehand sailed out.

"I'm confident and I really believe in my skills. I believe I can play with the best girls out there," Bouchard said. "She's top 10, so I respect her. She can play some really good tennis. I was really mentally prepared for anything, for a battle."

With the top three women's seeded players out, Maria Sharapova remains the favourite to win the tournament for the second time. The seventh-seeded Russian later played Samantha Stosur.

Bouchard`s dominant victory over Kerber stretched her winning streak to nine straight matches — the longest of her career. And it lifted her career record against top 10 opponents to 5-10.

Her victims this season have also included No.10 Sara Errani at Indian Wells in March and No.8 Jelen Jankovic last April in Charleston.

Men's eighth seed Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., was attempting to join Bouchard in the last eight as he faced Spain's Marcel Granollers. Raonic is the first Canadian man to play in the fourth round at Roland Garros.

In men's fourth-round action later Sunday, second-seeded Novak Djokovic was playing No. 13-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; fourth-seeded Roger Federer took on Ernests Gulbis; and sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych faced No. 10-seeded John Isner.

There were two third-round matches remaining, with seventh-seeded Andy Murray and No. 28 Philipp Kohlschreiber deep into a fifth set, and No. 12-seeded Richard Gasquet up against Fernando Verdasco.

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