HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Carl Edwards became the early favorite to win NASCARs championship with a strong showing in the final practice before Sundays title-deciding finale.Edwards was the fastest championship contender in the category that is the best indicator for race readiness. On pure speed, his Toyota was second fastest overall in Saturdays practice. Edwards was fifth on the chart for best 10 consecutive lap averages, and thats typically the clue as to who has a strong car.I couldnt have asked for a better practice than that, Edwards said. We didnt have any problems.Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and teammate Kyle Busch will race Sunday for the Chase championship. The highest finisher at Homestead-Miami Speedway wins the title.Edwards last raced for a championship in 2011, when he lost the title on a tie-breaker to Tony Stewart. Now a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, hes in the championship finale for the first time in the three years of this elimination format. One of the most structured and regimented drivers in the series, hes handling the stress of a hectic championship week like a pro.Hes been loose and funny, despite total chaos. His motorhome broke down on the way to Miami, the loaner was a dud, and when he finally got some accommodations, he had none of his personal belongings. Edwards had to make an emergency trip to a Macys to buy clothes to wear to a Miami Beach dinner party.Yet hes managed to focus on Sunday and give thought to what might transpire.Anything can happen in this race. You kind of visualize it being straight forward, but theres a lot of fast cars that arent one of us four guys racing for a championship, so I think its going to be a really good battle, he said.Indeed, those outside the championship four are a pretty stout group of potential winners. Martin Truex Jr., the strongest driver in the first round of the Chase before he was eliminated in the second round, was fastest on speed.Kevin Harvick had the best 10 consecutive lap average. He was eliminated from the finale last week and isnt racing for the title for the first time in three seasons.Also in the mix is Stewart, who is retiring Sunday from NASCAR competition. He has a decent car for his last Cup race in a Chevrolet, a brand he has long represented but will take his Stewart-Haas Racing organization to Ford next year.Johnson, seeking a record-tying seventh championship, was ninth in the final practice. He hit a hose that fell off another car, dismissing it as just a little scratch.Driving much better, great speed, short run speed, long run speed, he said. We made some good improvements there at the end of that.Busch was 13th and Logano, trying to become the first Ford driver to win a title since 2004, was 21st and didnt sound thrilled with his car.Were OK. 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Heat Jerseys China . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Fake Heat Jerseys . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Greg McKegg scored 11 seconds into the third period to help the Florida Panthers beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 in a split-squad game on Tuesday night.Dryden Hunt, Jonathan Ang, and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for the Panthers in Sunrise, Florida.James Neals power-play goal at 9:35 of the third accounted for Nashvilles scoring.James Reimer and Sam Brittain split time in goal for Florida. Reimer, who signed with Florida as a free agent, stopped all 12 shots he faced. Brittain allowed only Neals goal on the 25 shots he saw.While Marek Mazanec turned away 15 of 16 shots for Nashville, his replacement, Jonas Gunnarsson allowed three goals on seven shots in 16:53.In the second game, also at the BB&T Center, Juuse Saros made 13 saves in the first two periods to lead the Predators to a 2-1 win over the Panthers.Mark Visentin added five third-period saves for Nashville.Miikka Salomaki and Pontus Alberg scored in the first period for Nashville, while Paul Thompsons second-period goal accounted for Floridas scoring.Roberto Luongo allowed both Nashville goals on 14 shots to take the loss.RED WINGS TOP PENGUINSIn Detroit, Evgeny Svechnikovs power-play goal with 5:19 left in the second helped the Red Wings to a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.Mitch Callahan scored twice, and Riley Sheahan added a goal for the Red Wings.Garrett Wilson scored second- and third-period goals for Pittsburgh.Jimmy Howard and Jared Coreau split time in net for Detroit. Howard allowed one goal on 15 shots, and Coreau stopped 17 of 18 shots.Pittsburghs Marc-Andre Fleury allowed three goals on 19 shots in two periods, before being replaced by Casey Desmith, who made four saves in 18:10.COLORADOS LIEUWEN, SMITH BEAT WILDIn St. Paul, Minnesota, Nathan Lieuwen and Jeremy Smith combined for 27 saves to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.Smith stopped 16 of 17 shots in the first two periods before being replaced by Lieuwen, who stopped all 11 shots he faced in the third.Mike Sislo, Rene Bourque, Mikhail Grigorenko and Ben Smith scored for the Avalanche.Devan Dubnyk allowed three goals on 29 shots, and Victor Bartley scored for Minnesota.COYOTES CLAW PAST DUCKSIn Anaheim, California, Adin Hill made 16 saves to lead the Arizona Coyotes to a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks.Hill replaced Justin Peters, who allowed a goal on 11 shots in 30:49.The Anaheim goaltending duo of Matt Hackett and Kevin Boyle each allowed a goal. Hackett made 16 saves in 30:49, while Boyle stopped 18 of 19 shots in 27:18.Henrik Samuelssons goal 8:50 into the third period was the game-winner. Chris Mueller and Antoine Laganiere traded goals in the second.NEW-LOOK RANGERS DOUBLE UP ISLANDERSIn New York, Chris Kreider, Mike Zibanejad and Brandon Pirri combined for seven points to lead the New York Rangers to a 5-2 win over a New York Islanders split-squad.Pirri had a goal and two assists, while Krieder and Zibanejad had a goal and an assist apiece.Dylan McIlrath and Dan Girardi added third-period goals for the Rangers. Girardis goal was a short-handed empty netter with 2:13 left.Magnus Hellberg made 12 saves in 29 1/2 minutes before giving way to Mackenzie Skapski, who had 17 stops.Jason Chimera and Nick Leddy scored for the Islanders.Jean-Francois Berube played the entire game in goal for the Islanders and finished with 26 saves.ddddddddddddFLYERS SOAR OVER ISLANDERSIn Philadelphia, Wayne Simmonds scored twice to lead the Flyers to a 4-0 win over an Islanders split-squad.Dale Weise and Andy Miele also scored for the Flyers, and Steve Mason made 23 saves.New Yorks Christopher Gibson allowed all four Philadelphia goals before being replaced by Eamon McAdam, who stopped five shots in 15:55.SABRES EDGE SENATORS IN OTIn Buffalo, New York, Jake McCabes goal 1:32 into overtime lifted the Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.McCabes goal accounted for the only lead for the Sabres. Nicholas Baptiste and Derek Grant also scored for Buffalo.Chris Neil and Derick Brassard scored for Ottawa. Robin Lehner made 37 saves.Andrew Hammond started for Ottawa and made 20 stops. He was replaced by Matthew OConnor, who allowed two goals on 11 shots.HURRICANES SLIP PAST LIGHTNINGIn Tampa, Florida, Cam Ward made 16 saves in the first two periods to help the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.Ward was replaced by Daniel Altshuller in the third, and he allowed both Lightning goals on 12 shots.Brody Sutter, Lucas Hallmark and Jeff Skinner scored for the Hurricanes.Brayden Point and Bokondji Imama had Tampa Bays goals.Adam Wilcox was charged with the loss, despite making 14 saves on 15 shots. Kristers Gudlevskis allowed two goals on 23 shots in the opening 30 minutes, 26 seconds.SHARKS LATE GOALS TAKE BITE OUT OF CANUCKSIn San Jose, California, Kevin Labancs goal 1:05 into overtime lifted the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2, come-from-behind win over the Vancouver Canucks.Tommy Wingels set the stage for Labancs winner by scoring the tying goal with 23 seconds left. Barclay Goodrow also scored for the Sharks.Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi scored for Vancouver.The San Jose goaltending tandem of Troy Grosenick and Mantas Armalis did not have to work especially hard during their game action. Grosenick made seven saves in the first two periods, and Armalis stopped six shots in the second, third and overtime.Vancouvers Michael Garteig took the loss after allowing three goals on 13 shots in the second, third and overtime periods. Richard Bachman started for the Canucks, and stopped all 20 shots he faced.MITCHELL SCORES TWICE, LIFTS CANADIENS OVER CAPSIn Montreal, Torrey Mitchell scored twice and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 in a penalty-filled game.New Hab Alexander Radulov, Paul Byron and Nathan Beaulieu also scored for Montreal. Beaulieu and Greg Pateryn each had three assists.Goalie Al Montoya, also making his first appearance with Montreal, made seven saves on eight shots. His replacement Zachary Fucale turned away eight shots in relief.Marcus Johansson and Zachary Sanford scored for Washington while Vitek Vanecek stopped 24 of 29 shots.KULAK SCORES TWICE, FLAMES BLANK JETSIn Winnipeg, Manitoba, Brett Kulak scored a pair of goals and added an assist, helping the Calgary Flames beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-0.Goalie Chad Johnson played the first two periods for the Flames, stopping 21 shots. David Rittich had his turn in net for the final period and made six saves.Eric Comrie played the full game in net for Winnipegs first exhibition game, stopping 24 of 27 shots. ' ' '