The Hurricanes are now a ‘Bunch of Stanley Cup Favorites’

Flyhalf Richie Mo’unga dashed 75 meters for an intercept try and tallied 18 points as New Zealand defended a 35-year winning streak at Eden Park on Saturday, beating fast-finishing Australia 33-25 in the first test of the annual Bledisloe Cup rugby series. The All Blacks haven’t been beaten by the Wallabies at the Auckland stadium since 1986, when “Crocodile Dundee” was among the top-grossing films and before any player on either team was born. New Zealand also has held the Bledisloe Cup — played annually between Australia and New Zealand — since 2003 and their win Saturday places them in a strong position to continue that winning streak.

Helene St. James: The Wings will take a run at John Tavares if he does not resign with the New York Islanders, but bear in mind that while teams can try to resign their own players a year out from unrestricted free agency, other teams cannot pursue Tavares until he becomes a UFA in summer of 2018. As for cap space, right now they are a little under $6 million if the cap ceiling stays the same for next season, but there is so much still to be determined. The Wings will try to move one of their goaltenders – Jimmy Howard ($5.3 million salary cap hit) and Petr Mrazek ($4 million), which would open up space. On the other hand, Tomas Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou (restricted) are among those requiring