MONTREAL, June 9 (Reuters) – World champion Sebastian Vettel
was perfectly placed to become the first repeat winner of the
Formula One season after putting his Red Bull on pole position
at the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday for the second year in a
row.

The German’s 32nd career pole, a tally that lifted him level
with Britain’s Nigel Mansell in the record books and one adrift
of F1 greats Alain Prost and Jim Clark, also denied McLaren
their 150th.

MONTREAL, June 9 (Reuters) – Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was
perfectly placed to become the first repeat winner of the
Formula One season after taking pole position at the Canadian
Grand Prix for the second year running on Saturday.

The double world champion’s 32nd career pole, a tally that
lifts him level with Britain’s Nigel Mansell in the record books
and one adrift of F1 greats Alain Prost and Jim Clark, also
denied McLaren their 150th.

MONTREAL (Reuters) – McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton returned to the scene of his first Formula One victory on Friday and put down an immediate marker with the quickest laps in Canadian Grand Prix practice.

The 2008 world champion, a winner in Montreal in 2007 and 2010 but strangely without a triumph in this most unpredictable of seasons, was fastest in both sessions at an overcast Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

MONTREAL, June 8 (Reuters) – McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton
returned to the scene of his first Formula One victory on Friday
and put down an immediate marker with the quickest laps in
Canadian Grand Prix practice.

The 2008 world champion, a winner in Montreal in 2007 and
2010 but strangely without a triumph in this most unpredictable
of seasons, was fastest in both sessions at an overcast Circuit
Gilles Villeneuve.

MONTREAL, June 8 (Reuters) – The threat of rain and student
protests hung over the Canadian Grand Prix as Montreal’s biggest
annual tourist event got off to a gloomy start on Friday.

As the Formula One cars made their first appearance under
dark clouds at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, there were fears
protesters could spoil a weekend party that pours millions of
dollars into the local economy.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils remained deadlocked at 0-0 after the second period in Game Four of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday.

The Kings started the second period on the powerplay but it was the Devils who generated the early scoring chance, forcing Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick to do the splits to deny Ilya Kovalchuk from a goalmouth scramble.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The New Jersey Devils have inserted Petr Sykora into the lineup for Wednesday’s Game Four of the Stanley Cup final in a bid to spark their sputtering offence with the team facing elimination.

Trailing the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, Devils coach Peter DeBoer also said defenseman Henrik Tallinder will get his first action since January as the Devils try to avoid a sweep.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Staring into the abyss with the prospect of a humbling four-game sweep from the Stanley Cup finals, the New Jersey Devils put on a brave face and said all the right things on Tuesday as they prepared to face the Los Angeles Kings.

But the smiles seemed forced and the words weary as the rattled Devils trotted out a few well-worn, backs-against-the-wall cliches, mustering up as much defiance as they could before their do-or-die Game Four on Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Of all the impressive numbers the Los Angeles Kings have put up in their bid for a first Stanley Cup, they have been fixated on only one – 16.

That is the number of wins it will take for the Kings to capture the Cup that has eluded the franchise for 45 years.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Alec Martinez and Anze Kopitar scored a goal each to break open a scoreless deadlock and give the Los Angeles Kings a 2-0 lead over the New Jersey Devils after the second period of Game Three in the Stanley Cup finals on Monday.

The mid-game burst leaves the Kings one period away from taking a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven finals with Game Four on Wednesday set for a return to the Staples Center.