SPORTS digest

Kane, Benn, Crosby are Hart finalists

NEW YORK

Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins are the finalists for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.

The finalists were announced Saturday. The winner will be announced June 22 during the 2016 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

Kane became the first U.S.-born player to lead the league in scoring. His 46 goals, 60 assists and 106 points are career highs.

Crosby rebounded from the worst start of his career to put up 76 points in his final 62 games and help get the Penguins into the playoffs. Pittsburgh’s captain, who finished with 36 goals and 49 assists, has been named MVP twice before, in 2013-14 and 2006-07.

Benn finished second to Kane in the scoring race with 89 points on 41 goals and 48 assists. He led the Stars to their first division title since 2006.

Wild hire Boudreau

ST. PAUL, Minn.

Bruce Boudreau has agreed to terms to coach the Minnesota Wild, giving the team the most sought-after candidate on the market.

Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher announced the move Saturday night, barely a week after the 61-year-old Boudreau was fired by the Anaheim Ducks. At 409-192-80, his winning percentage of .659 is the highest among active NHL coaches, and he was the fastest in history to 400 wins (663 games).

Interim coach John Torchetti, who took over the Wild in mid-February when Mike Yeo was fired and helped guide them into the playoffs, was considered for the job as well. Another former Anaheim coach, Randy Carlyle, was also on their radar.

But Boudreau’s background was too rich to pass up for the Wild, who had to stave off the pursuit of the Ottawa Senators.

Impact ties Crew on Oduro’s goal

COLUMBUS

Dominic Oduro scored in the 93rd minute and the Montreal Impact rallied to tie the Columbus Crew 4-4 on Saturday night.

Didier Drogba had a glancing header of Ambroise Oyongo’s long throw in and Oduro was left open at the far post for an easy finish.

Montreal (4-3-3) was down 4-1 early in the second half but Drogba pulled the Impact within 4-2 on a penalty kick in the 57th minute and Ignacio Piatti cut it to 4-3 a minute later when he finished Oduro’s back pass.

Kei Kamara opened the scoring in the 16th minute for Columbus (2-4-3) after heading home Justin Meram’s cross. Piatti tied it at 1-1 in the 26th minute on a curled shot, but Kamara gave the Crew a 2-1 lead in first-half stoppage time. Kamara ran past the Impact defense to win Michael Parkhurst’s long ball, pulling out goalkeeper Evan Bush, and Kamara touched the ball into the open net.

Federico Higuain made it 3-1 in the 48th by controlling a loose ball in the 6-yard box and easing a ball into the back of the net. Higuain scored his second goal in five minutes when he netted a penalty kick to put Columbus up 4-1.

Howard Garfinkel, 86

NEW YORK

Howard Garfinkel, the creator of one of basketball’s top summer camps and one of the sports true characters, has died. He was 86.

Garfinkel, known simply as “Garf,” died Saturday after being hospitalized with pneumonia, according to several close friends.

Garfinkel ran Five-Star Camp in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, from 1966 to 2008. It was a typical sports summer camp except the campers were some of the top high school players in the country and the counselors were college players and college coaches — when they were allowed to attend before NCAA rules ended it.

Among the camp attendees were Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Moses Malone and just about every player looking for outstanding competition in the offseason.

Garfinkel started “High School Basketball Illustrated,” a scouting service of New York-area players in 1965 and it became a recruiting tool for college coaches nationwide over the next 20 years.

Associated Press