home on Oct. 25, 2013. Anaheim is 7-0-1 in its last eight against the Senators. '

VAL DI FIEMME, Italy -- Canadian Alex Harvey finished fifth Saturday in the Tour de Ski and then pulled out of the seven-race event before the gruelling final stage. Adidas Deerupt Ale . Harvey decided he would not start Sundays nine-kilometre pursuit race because the punishing climb up Alpe de Cermis could have a negative effect on an artery in his leg. The motion of lifting the leg up the steep alpine ski hill can force his hip flexor to bulge, impeding blood flow and circulation. "For me it was pretty clear before the Tour started that I wasnt going to climb that hill," said Harvey, who also pulled out of the final stage last year. "Being in the lead and the top three for the Tour opened the door to thinking about it, but there is just so much to lose for me physically when the blood flow shuts down completely when Im working so hard. "We dont know exactly how long it takes to recover, and I just dont want to risk anything especially with the Olympics coming up." It was still a very successful Tour for Harvey, who opened the event last month with a victory and later added silver and bronze. Petter Northug revved up his preparations for next months Sochi Games by winning Saturday, cutting into the overall lead of fellow Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby. Northug fought through snow and rain for the win in 24 minutes 45.6 seconds over the 10-kilometre classical stage. Sundby crossed second, 9.7 seconds behind, and Chris Jespersen was third to complete a Norwegian sweep. The 25-year-old Harvey, from St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., was fifth in 25:21.1. "It was pretty messy weather today but overall my skis were good and I felt good the whole way," said Harvey. "I started aggressive and fought for the podium the whole way. I think I paced things well and attacked where I needed too which is key to an individual start." The final stage ends with a four-kilometre climb with pitches that come close to a 30 per cent grade. "With his leg condition, it takes at least one week for Alex to recover from something like that," said head coach Justin Wadsworth. "Alex knows he will not be able to fight for the top three tomorrow with his leg. So looking at what is really to gain, he made the smart decision not to race." Ivan Babikov of Canmore, Alta., was 27th and Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., was 52nd. Entering Sundays final stage, Sundby leads Northug by 48.5 seconds. Jespersen is 1:26.8 back in third place. Norwegians are also commanding the womens race, with two-time runner-up Therese Johaug winning a 5K classical stage Saturday to cut into the lead of countrywoman Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen. Johaug had a time of 13:58.4 to finish 14.9 seconds ahead of Jacobsen, with Anne Kyllonen of Finland third, 19.2 back. In the overall, Jacobsens lead over Johaug was sliced to 23.8 seconds, with Kyllonen 1:31.5 back. Northug won the 15K classical title at last years world championships in Val di Fiemme and also took gold in the 50K at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He has also finished on the podium four times in the Tour de Ski but has never won the competition. "I am getting stronger with each competition," Northug said. "This time I am not as tired going to the final stage." Sundby has never come close to winning the Tour de Ski. "I felt quite tired after yesterdays competition," said Sundby, who won Fridays stage. "I felt better in the second lap. I have to recover well today and get ready for the final climb. It will be pure pain." Johaug was runner-up in 2011 and 2013 and finished third in 2012, while Jacobsen has never reached the podium. "I feel I am in a very good shape and I can compete with almost everybody," Jacobsen said. "I do not think much about the overall result. Its already a great achievement for me to be in the leading position before the final stage. I am happy that there is a high chance that a Norwegian lady crosses the finish on Alpe Cermis in first place." Adidas NMD Kengät Miehet . Stiverne stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round Saturday night, claiming the WBC heavyweight title belt vacated by Vitali Klitschko. Adidas Eqt Kengät . -- Kurt Buschs Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, in some ways, was like his career wrapped into one afternoon. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-prophere-halvalla.html . Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball.Coming off a strong performance against the New Jersey Devils, the Ottawa Senators prepare to host the league leading Anaheim Ducks. Viewers in the Senators region can watch the action live on TSN5 at 7:30pm et/8:30 at. You can also listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1200 Ottawa. The Senators benefitted from a quality performance in net from Craig Anderson, who stopped 34 shots to record his third shutout of the season, 2-0 against the Devils on Wednesday. The victory closed a 2-0-1 trip and marked a much-needed reprieve for the Senators, who had trudged through a nine-game stretch that resulted in seven losses and the firing of head coach Paul MacLean. Anderson had lost nine of 11 starts since shutting out Minnesota on Nov. 6. Things werent going as badly as they looked, Anderson told Ottawas official site. I just had a couple bad bounces here and there. Hopefully, my luck changed for the good tonight. We can leave here with five out of six points on this road trip and feel good about what we accomplished, but we need to straighten up some things, get better in some areas ... I think we all know that and were all going to be better, and we know it. The Senators offense offers a balanced attack, yet still ranks towards the bottom of the NHL with 28.8 shots per game. Clarke MacArthur leads the team with nine goals as one of nine players with at least six this season. Defenseman Erik Karlsson, who has 21 points, may pose the strongest threat, but hes been held off the scoresheet in three of the last four games. The Ducks will try to win for the fourth time on their trip. Anaheim (22-7-5) bounced back from Tuesdays tough 6-22 loss at Toronto with a 2-1 victory in Montreal on Thursday, improving to 3-1 on the trip and to 5-1-1 this season in Canada. Adidas NMD XR1 Suomi. The Ducks have also won in Edmonton and at Winnipeg on the current swing. After giving up four goals on 20 shots before being yanked early in the third period against the Maple Leafs, Frederik Andersen had 23 saves versus the Canadiens. Good teams never want to lose two in a row, left wing Matt Beleskey told the teams official website. Thats a big goal of ours. We came out tonight, Freddy played great and we played a sound game all night. We got two good points. The Ducks have now won eight of their last nine overall, scoring at least four goals fives times in that span. When the offense has gone quiet, theyve gotten strong performances from Andersen, who has stopped 92 of 97 shots in Anaheims last four wins. Our resiliency has been great all year, said coach Bruce Boudreau. No team wins without good goaltending. When you get good goaltending, and we play the way we do, were usually successful. With the finale of the trip serving as the tail end of a back-to-back, Ilya Bryzgalov could get his first start since joining the Ducks on Dec. 9. He allowed two goals on seven shots in just over 14 minutes in relief of Andersen on Tuesday. Ryan Getzlaf has been red-hot for the Ducks, recording 16 points since Nov. 29. That top-level production has also been on display in his career against the Senators. He has four goals and six assists in seven matchups with Ottawa, which lost the most recent meeting 2-1 at home on Oct. 25, 2013. Anaheim is 7-0-1 in its last eight against the Senators. ' ' '