Quick’s imposing post-season presence only appears to be growing, and the San Jose Sharks are running out of time to figure him out.

Quick made 24 saves in his seventh career playoff shutout, and the Kings moved to the brink of their second straight trip to the Western Conference finals with a 3-0 victory in Game 5 on Thursday night.

Anze Kopitar and Slava Voynov scored, and Jeff Carter added an empty-net goal as the defending Stanley Cup champions won their 13th consecutive home game in dominant fashion, claiming a 3-2 series lead.

Quick won his 27th post-season game, taking sole possession of the franchise record from Kelly Hrudey. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner shut out the Sharks for the second time in the series, yet Quick scoffed at any suggestion he’s responsible for the Kings’ abrupt reversal of this series’ momentum after the Sharks appeared to take control in San Jose.

"We came out with a purpose," said Quick, who has stopped 313 of 330 shots in the post-season. "We knew what was on the line tonight, and I’m lucky to play with guys who care so much about winning. Top to bottom, I thought everybody played well, but it’s just three wins. We know that doesn’t mean anything."

Game 6 is Sunday night at the Shark Tank.

Quick has three shutouts in this post-season alone, adding to his club record of seven playoff shutouts, yet nobody thought this latest zero was his best number of the post-season. The Sharks lamented their lacklustre effort, particularly from the star players whose dominance had allowed San Jose to even the series with two straight wins and three straight games of largely superior play.

"They tested us for the first four games, and I like the way we responded," Kings defenceman Matt Greene said.

Antti Niemi stopped 26 shots for the Sharks, who have played more than 96 minutes without a goal since they appeared to be taking control of the series midway through Game 4.

"We’ve got to score. It’s the playoffs," Sharks forward Logan Couture said. "We had enough chances to win tonight, but we have to start bearing down and scoring some goals. We weren’t there at the start. I don’t even think we were good at any point in this game tonight. Our power play was brutal."

The home team has won every game in the series, and the Kings remained unbeaten at Staples Center since March 23. Los Angeles, 25-4-1 at home this season, has won seven straight home playoff games dating to last season’s Stanley Cup clincher against New Jersey.

After getting soundly outplayed to start each of the past three games, the Kings met the Sharks’ tempo and urgency from the beginning in Game 5. The Kings sharpened their physical game, outmuscling and outhitting the Sharks from the opening faceoff.

Kopitar finally collected a reward late in the second period, tapping in a loose puck after a sustained stretch of pressure on Niemi. Voynov then scored 3 seconds after a penalty expired early in the third, firing home his fourth goal in nine games.

Quick finished up from there, stopping Pavelski a few seconds before Carter wrapped it up with an empty-netter.

"We were going at them pretty hard, and got sustained pressure for long periods of time," said Kopitar, who got just his second goal of the post-season. "There’s nothing new to say about (Quick). He gives us a chance every night. He makes every save he should, and a few he shouldn’t, every time."

San Jose substantially outplayed the Kings in the first period of the past three games, and Los Angeles cited a strong start as its key priority for Game 5. The Kings got it, albeit in a scoreless first period, outshooting the Sharks 9-6 while playing a punishing physical game that slowed down Joe Thornton and hampered San Jose’s relentless speed.

"The power play looked like it was a little bit nervous for some reason," Thornton said. "I don’t know why. It looks like we just didn’t have some poise on the power play. If our power play is going good, you can see guys get some confidence. When it doesn’t, you see guys kind of get down, and that’s what happened tonight."

The Sharks played roughly 17 minutes without a shot into the second period, but the Kings couldn’t cash in several scoring chances in front of Niemi, including golden opportunities for Mike Richards and Justin Williams.

San Jose got several chances of its own, notably with a 2-on-1 break for Patrick Marleau and Couture, but Quick kept everything out of his net.

Niemi made a spectacular save on Carter’s wraparound chance late in the second period, but that play led to a long stretch of uninterrupted pressure and the go-ahead goal. Kopitar’s tap-in included assists for Williams and Kyle Clifford, who replaced Dustin Brown on the Kopitar-Williams line for Game 5.

The Kings hope a goal will jump-start Kopitar, who didn’t score a goal in the Kings’ final 16 regular-season games. The Slovenian centre was the post-season’s co-scoring leader last summer with 20 points in 20 games.

The Kings scored again when Trevor Lewis won a faceoff against Thornton, who has dominated the circle in the series. Lewis, who scored the winning power-play goal late in Game 2, got the puck to Voynov for a long shot through traffic immediately after a power play ended, and the Siberian defenceman matched Carter for the team lead at the time with his fourth goal of the playoffs.

The power play resulted from a goalie interference penalty against TJ Galiardi, who drew the Kings’ ire Wednesday by claiming Quick embellishes contact with opponents to draw undeserved penalties.

"Well, he got his call tonight, so I’ve got to be better," Galiardi said. "I’ve just got to know that if there’s any contact at all, they’re going to call it. They made us pay right after the penalty expired, so that’s on me."

NOTES: After sitting out earlier in the post-season with an injured left ankle, Jason Demers got his first action of the post-season for San Jose, which sat LW Tim Kennedy to make room. Demers, normally a defenceman, usually played forward. The Sharks are playing without injured forwards Marty Havlat and Adam Burish. … Los Angeles dressed the same lineup as in Game 4, although coach Darryl Sutter shuffled his lines. … Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer watched the game from seats on the glass.

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Brandon Morrow nearly let the Baltimore Orioles back into what became a one-sided affair, but a tidy bit of relief work from Brett Cecil in the eighth and some add-on runs in the bottom of the frame ensured all ended well in a 12-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, their third win in four outings.

“We’ve been on a nice little roll, playing some pretty good baseball, we really have,” said manager John Gibbons. “Morrow fell behind but he kept us in there, late in the game, maybe a couple of long half-innings might have taken its toll on him … but then Cecil did what he’s been doing all year.

“He stopped it right there, which is very important.”

Things got tighter than they needed to be when Morrow, sailing through a solid if unspectacular night to that point, surrendered back-to-back home runs to Nick Markakis and Adam Jones that made it an 8-6 game.

Manager John Gibbons came to get Morrow before Jones had even finished circling the bases, and Cecil settled things down by retiring the next three batters. The Blue Jays proceeded to tack on four more runs in the bottom of the frame, helped along by a J.J. Hardy error and a controversial safe call on Anthony Gose’s slide home on a wild pitch, to put things away for good.

“You don’t want to make things too complicated,” Cecil said of his inning. “I want to get outs as quick as possible, and get my offence back in the dugout ready to hit.”

Encarnacion’s fifth career grand slam – and the first for the Blue Jays this year – opened up an 8-3 lead in the sixth inning and appeared to have settled things after the Orioles staked promising rookie Kevin Gausman to a 3-0 lead in his big-league debut.

“I was waiting for an AB like that with runners in scoring position that can make my day and make my team win the game,” said Encarnacion. “For me I always like to hit with runners on base, it’s different. When you hit with runners on base you have a different approach, different mindset at the plate.”

Gausman survived his first time through the order but was roughed up through his second and third, as J.P. Arencibia’s RBI double and Emilio Bonifacio’s sacrifice fly in the fourth made it a 3-2 game, and Arencibia’s two-run blast in the fifth pushed the Blue Jays ahead for good.

The Blue Jays were 4-for-8 hitting with runners in scoring position.

“Any time you have runners on base, people pitch differently,” said Arencibia. “It’s not easy. It’s not a comfortable feeling when guys are on base. Definitely when no one’s on, it’s a little bit different. You’re from the windup. There’s a lot of things that go into it.”

—

WHERE THINGS STAND: The Blue Jays (20-27) improved to 2-2 this season against the Orioles (25-22) before a Rogers Centre crowd of 21,466 with their seventh win in 10 outings. Baltimore had won two straight after a six-game losing streak.

Sean Nolin makes his big-league debut for the Blue Jays on Friday against Chris Tillman (3-2, 2.52).

—

MORROW’S LINE: Brandon Morrow pitched far better than his line of six runs over seven innings would suggest, holding the Orioles to three runs through six innings to give the offence a chance to break out.

In his last start Robinson Cano was the right-hander’s bane and this night it was Manny Machado, who doubled in three straight at-bats, including one that brought home two in the third. Chris Davis added a solo shot in the fourth but Morrow shut the door there once the Blue Jays started rallying off Kevin Gausman until an Alexi Casilla sacrifice fly in the seventh and the two homers in the eighth.

“I was rolling pretty good through there and kind of had my sights set on finishing the game,” said Morrow. “It’s frustrating for me to go out and give up the two home runs without getting an out there in the eighth. It’s a good win but it put a sour taste in my mouth.”

—

OLIVER SORE: Blue Jays reliever Darren Oliver has been dealing with soreness in his shoulder for the past 7-10 days and said the injury isn’t improving.

Aaron Loup on Wednesday and Brett Cecil on Thursday pitched in spots that usually would have gone to Oliver, but the shoulder is “sore enough to where I can’t go out there and play,” he said.

Asked if the discomfort has eased at all, he replied, “It’s kind of been the same, really,” and when asked it a DL stint might be needed, he said, “I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll talk about it at some point.”

Oliver last pitched Saturday in New York, allowing a homer and striking out two in an inning of work. Before that, he hadn’t been on the mound since May 11 at Boston, when he gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning of work.

“I’ve pitched through it a few times,” said Oliver. “Maybe I’m just getting old, who knows.”

—

McLOUTH ALL OUT: Nate McLouth made a tremendous catch in the sixth, chasing down Colby Rasmus’ fly ball down the left field line at full speed, snaring it, and then flying into the stands.

Once he ended up in the seats, several fans in the area made the safe signal but McLouth showed the ball and was credited with the out. Once the call was made, a fan threw a drink on the field near McLouth, prompting Orioles manager Buck Showalter to run all the way to the outfield to discuss the matter with crew chief Wally Bell.

“It’s unfortunate but the umpires and security guards did what they had to do,” said Showalter. “Unfortunately, it happens in ballparks now and again. It’s usually one person and security is able to do what they do. We have moved on.”

The post Encarnacion’s slam helps Jays pummel Orioles appeared first on Sportsnet.ca.

The London Knights advanced to Friday’s semifinal with a 6-1 win over the Blades in Thursday’s tiebreaker. A day earlier, the Blades needed only to win the third period of their final round robin game against Portland to receive the bye to the finals. Instead, now they’re the first team eliminated.

"That’s the way hockey goes," Blades captain Brenden Walker said. "It didn’t go our way and playoffs didn’t go our way and it’s not like we tried to lose any games. It’s just things didn’t work out."

The Knights rebounded from their embarrassing 9-2 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Tuesday with a much more inspired effort. Jake Patterson, who allowed five goals on 11 shots on Tuesday, stopped 32-of-33 shots but didn’t face too many prime scoring chances, which speaks to the Knights’ defensive play.

"The boys in front of me, the D played great," Patterson said. "I didn’t have to make too many big saves. I just had to control the rebounds and just play my game."

London will now play the Portland Winterhawks in Friday’s semifinal.

"It’s do or die and there’s no choice, we have to win," Patterson said.

The Blades actually started with some jump, but their fragile confidence eroded at the first sign of trouble. Bo Horvat received a breakaway pass while the Blades were on the power-play and was hauled down by Josh Nicholls. Horvat scored on the ensuing penalty shot, and it was all downhill from there for the hosts.

"That’s for sure deflating," Walker said. "That’s a big goal to give up and something that we shouldn’t have but that stuff happens."

This was the third-straight loss for a team playing in back-to-back nights. Teams playing consecutive nights have been outscored 20-5 on the second night.

Why the Knights won: The Knights responded well from their humiliating loss to Halifax with a strong effort. Horvat’s penalty shot goal just three minutes into the game restored their confidence and it was evident in their play from there on out.

It was only a matter of time until they scored a few more given the amount of chances they were getting. With a 3-0 lead after two periods, the Ontario Hockey League champs made sure the Blades wouldn’t be able to get back into the game with three goals in a span of one minute and six seconds early in the third.

"Comebacks with the opponents has been almost a regular thing with us in the playoffs so we knew we had to come out strong and those three goals right off the bat definitely helped us," Knights forward Seth Griffith said.

Why the Blades lost: The Blades lost their confidence the moment Horvat scored the game’s first goal three minutes in.

Saskatoon couldn’t generate chances offensively and were giving up the better opportunities with the man advantage. Nathan Burns scored a meaningless goal with the score already 6-0 midway through the third period, far too little and far too late.

"You can see that when we had that four-minute power-play (early in the second period) we just couldn’t generate anything and the momentum really changed in their favour at that time," Blades head coach Lorne Molleken said.

Player of the Game: Griffith was around the puck and one of London’s most dangerous forwards. He scored what would turn out to be the game-winner with a pinpoint accurate shot going top corner on his breakaway.

"On a good goalie, that’s what you have to do to score on him," he said.

Unsung hero: The score sheet won’t reflect it, but Andrey Makarov was exceptional in goal for the Blades. He had little chance to stop the first three goals, and it likely would have been much worse if not for some big stops he made through the first 40 minutes. By the time he allowed the first of three third period goals, the game was already well out of reach. He eventually got the mercy pull after the sixth goal.

"For sure tough to see him with a down face, but I told him to keep his chin up – he played a hell of a game for us," Walker said. "He’s got a great future ahead of him."

Game changer: The Knights carried the play throughout, but were stymied repeatedly by Makarov in the early going. The floodgates were opened once Griffith scored the team’s second goal on a pretty individual rush on the power-play.

Griffith recognized a breakdown defensively from the Blades and stepped around forward Collin Valcourt at the blue line to get the chance.

"I just tried to take advantage of it and lucky enough it went through his stick and I got a good break out of it," Griffith said.

Quote of the day: Knights head coach Dale Hunter has been asked about his goaltending throughout the tournament. Among the most repeated questions is which goalie he plans on starting before each game. London Free Press reporter Morris Dallacosta couldn’t help take the bait in a funny moment at the end of the conference.

"Dale, who you going to start in net," he said, before pausing. "Nevermind."

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Watch all three parts below:

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

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When Howard wasn’t using his glove or pads to deny Toews, Detroit’s skaters were rattling him and his teammates with a physical presence that is clearly making them uncomfortable.

"They are getting frustrated," Howard said. "Our guys are doing a great job in front of the net."

Chicago’s Corey Crawford did a solid job in his net, but he couldn’t kick his right leg out quick enough to stop Jakub Kindl’s shot on a power play midway through the second period and he was on the bench in favour of an extra skater when Daniel Cleary sealed the victory in the final minute.

After losing Game 1, seventh-seeded Detroit has surged into control by handing the Blackhawks their first three-game losing streak of the year.

Game 5 is Saturday night in Chicago.

"The pressure is on them," Detroit defenceman Jonathan Ericsson said.

Yes, it is.

And, no one in the Windy City will want to extend the series more than Toews.

"We’ve got to find a way to force a Game 6," he said.

The Blackhawks desperately need their captain to score and lead after he extended his goal drought in a composure-crumbling performance.

Toews was called for three penalties in the second — two for high-sticking — and could’ve gone to the box a fourth time in the period for slashing Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg while an official stood between them.

"Emotions run high in some of these games, and my stick got a little loose there," he said. "I was playing hard. Sometimes that happens."

The Red Wings took advantage of the second power play Toews gave them when Kindl sent a low shot to the near corner from the top of the left circle.

"We’d like to keep him in the box," Ericsson said. "He’s not as good for them in the box."

Chicago had killed its first 30 penalties of the playoffs and matched the 2001 St. Louis Blues’ feat of playing eight post-season games without giving up a power-play goal, the longest such streak since 1988.

The Blackhawks had a power play with 4:45 left in the game when Kindl was called for hooking, but they couldn’t tie the game.

Crawford made 25 saves and allowed one goal, after giving up seven goals in the previous two games.

Howard was just a little bit better, earning his first shutout of this post-season and the second of his career in the playoffs. He has helped the Red Wings win five of their last six games since trailing Anaheim 3-2 in the first round.

"He has kind of been in a groove for a while now," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "And, we need that to be successful."

Kindl scored his first goal of his first post-season, keeping up a trend that has helped the rapidly improving Red Wings pull within a win of their first trip to the Western Conference finals since 2009 when they got past Chicago and went on to lose Game 7 in a Stanley Cup finals rematch against Pittsburgh.

Detroit’s young players — six playing in their first playoff season — have been contributing to help out stars Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

Red Wings rookie Brendan Smith scored the winner in Game 2 at Chicago to even the series. First-year player Damien Brunner and Gustav Nyquist, who was pointless in his first four post-season games last year, had goals in overtimes against the second-seeded Ducks.

Chicago’s 25-year-old centre, Toews, should seemingly be in the prime of his career, but he is in a slump against a team that appears to be getting to him physical and mentally. Toews was called for three penalties in the first 11 minutes of a period for the first time in his career, according to STATS.

He has gone 10 post-season games without a goal — dating to last year’s playoffs — in what is the longest scoring skid for a former Conn Smythe winner since Claude Lemieux went 20 games without a goal from 2000 through 2009, according to STATS.

Toews, who has three goals in his last 30 playoff games, broke a tie for his second longest streak without a goal in the post-season and trails his 14-game skid that spanned 2010 and 2011.

Chicago coach Joel Quenneville insisted Toews, who he put on a line with Patrick Kane, is doing a lot of things well.

"We don’t measure just his contribution offensively," Quenneville said.

NOTES: Detroit D Danny DeKeyser, who broke his right thumb in the first round and was ruled out for the playoffs, said he is holding out hope that he can come back if his teammates can advance. … Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, Chicago has lost in the first round twice and is a loss away from a second-round exit. …… Chicago hadn’t given up a power-play goal since April 22.

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And if there’s anything Daniel Alfredsson has built during 17 seasons of pro hockey at its highest level, it is a reputation as a competitor that is beyond repute. You need only have heard members of the Pittsburgh Penguins come to his defence on Thursday to get a sense of that.

Alfredsson created a stir following Ottawa’s 7-3 loss in Game 4 when he said it was “probably not” feasible for the Senators to erase a 3-1 series deficit to Pittsburgh because of the Penguins depth and their red-hot power play.

I was standing beside the Senators captain in the dressing room when those words came out of his mouth on Wednesday night and can tell you it was simply an honest answer to an honest question.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Alfredsson also spoke passionately about how he expected the team to rise to the occasion when facing elimination, although that part of his message received considerably less attention.

Back here at Consol Energy Center, where Game 5 of the second-round series will be played Friday night, the Penguins were clearly aware of Alfredsson’s comments. But they weren’t left with any sense that he or his team was prepared to surrender.

“I think he’s a smart guy,” Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke said. “He’s a great leader for their team and organization and I’m sure that he has the right intention and motives behind his comments.”

Added winger James Neal: “I heard that definitely wasn’t all of the quote. I don’t think by any means are they going to give up or roll over.”

Were it not for Alfredsson this series would probably already be over. Remember that it was his unlikely short-handed goal with 28.6 seconds to play in Game 3 that sent that contest beyond regulation and allowed Colin Greening to score the double overtime winner.

In fact, as you look back over the 40-year-old Swede’s outstanding career, there is not even a trace of doubt about his commitment, dedication or character.

Alfredsson has appeared in every series the modern-day Senators have ever played. More often than not, he has led the team in playoff scoring — something he is doing yet again in what might be his last hurrah in the NHL.

He has even shown that he has the right touch in handling a mini-firestorm like the one that erupted following his honest assessment of this series. Alfredsson certainly didn’t retreat from his position when he spoke to reporters again on Thursday.

“I haven’t listened or heard all the comments, but it sounds like (people are saying) I had given up,” he said in Ottawa. “If you ask anyone and they looked at our series, I don’t think there’s too many people that would pick us right now. That’s what I meant.”

It would seem that there was nothing more that needed to be said behind closed doors, either.

Senators coach Paul MacLean came out in support of his captain — “I think Daniel, I’ve got no issue with that,” MacLean said — and it might even end up being turned into a rallying cry for the rest of the players on the roster.

“I think the guys in this room know enough about me, and I believe in these guys,” Alfredsson said. “What I said and how it’s looked at, I’m not going to change anything in what I said. It’s pretty obvious to me we’re in very tough, but all we can do is focus on (Friday’s) game and give ourselves a chance to come back here for Game 6.”

One thing the team is fighting for is the chance to guarantee that Alfredsson will be around a little longer.

Just like during last year’s first-round series against the New York Rangers, the captain’s future is hanging over Ottawa’s performance now. He won’t decide whether to retire or return until later this summer, but the team and the city clearly don’t seem ready to let him go just yet.

“His head and hands and heart are still there,” teammate Jason Spezza said earlier this week. “That’s the stuff that really drives you. He can play probably as long as he wants just because of the way he thinks the game and how patient he is.”

Defenceman Marc Methot was a newcomer to Ottawa this season and already refers Alfredsson as “the best captain I think I’ve ever had.”

“You see how competitive and passionate he is about the game still,” Methot said. “It’s unbelievable at his age with the amount of hockey he has under his belt that he can maintain that. I think that’s why all the guys respect him so much.”

It’s also why he said what he did following a loss in Game 4 where the Senators had a chance to even the series with Pittsburgh.

There was plenty of reason to be frustrated — starting with an ineffective penalty kill, the sight of goalie Craig Anderson being pulled for a second time in this series and a general inability to disrupt the attack of a team many have picked to win the Stanley Cup.

That is not a winning formula by any measure.

However, the sun came up again in Ottawa on Thursday morning and the Sens tried to seize on the opportunity they still have before them.

“The good thing is we’re still in the playoffs, it’s not over,” Alfredsson said. “So we’re going to go in there and give them everything we have.”

Nothing less should be expected of a group that has carved out an identity as a pesky, never-say-die squad.

In Pittsburgh, where the Penguins have failed in their last six attempts to clinch a playoff series on home ice, nothing was being taken for granted. They were more focused on Alfredsson’s assertion that the Sens would be hungry than anything else he had to say after Game 4.

“I did hear the comments and the words but there’s more to what he said and there’s more to what he said (about) his team,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “I’m expecting them to be at their very best and I’m expecting them to be a desperate type of team coming in here.

“The storyline is going to change for this series after Game 5 too.”

Win or lose, the one storyline that will remain constant is the one about Alfredsson. The guy is a competitor and he arguably means more to the Senators than any other NHL player does to his team.

Now that’s really saying something.

The post Johnston on NHL: Alfie’s comment becomes rallying cry appeared first on Sportsnet.ca.

Highlighted by an atrocious outing by the Detroit Red Wings’ newly stinkin’ rich goaltender, Jimmy Howard, here are the wild — and wildly soft — goals scored in the Western Conference games.

• The puck gets caught in a wandering Jimmy Howard’s skates and he obliviously puts it in his own net, giving The Calgary Flames’ Steve Begin one of two easy goals on the night. Begin had previously caught Howard misplaying the puck behind his goal and scored a gimme into a vacant cage:

Wow, saw Jimmy Howard’s last 2 GA last night. Did he go on a binge & spend ALL that contract money yesterday afternoon? Ugly performance.

— Greg Brady (@bradyfan590) April 18, 2013

• Johan Franzen beats Miikka Kiprusoff on an innocent-looking backhanded dump-in from centre ice:

Fluky & ugly goals going in all over the place in CGY/DET 3rd. A Franzen dump in bounces past Kiprusoff & DET down 3-2 w/under 2 to play

— Matt Brown (@mbrownSN590) April 18, 2013

• And a personal favourite. From close range, Anaheim’s David Steckel bats the puck off a defender’s stick and it flies skyward. No one knows where it is. It lofts over Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, lands in the crease and trickles over the line:

#AnaheimDucksGoooaaalll David Steckel’s shot goes about 10 feet in the air and drops BEHIND Bobrovsky and into the net! 2-1 #NHLDucks.

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) April 18, 2013

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On April 17, Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons wrote that “insiders” had informed him that Colangelo had been looking to let Casey go, but he had been denied the right to do so.

Later in the day, Simmons wrote that Colangelo sent him a text which read, “Your speculation about me trying to fire DC this year is absolutely false. Your ‘insiders’ are not accurate.”

The future of the Raptors remains up in the air as we enter the off-season.

Casey has one year remaining on his current contract while the Raptors have yet to announce a decision on whether they will pick up the option year on Colangelo’s contract.

Tom Anselmi, president and chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, told Simmons that the board will soon decide on Colangelo’s future and that either he or Colangelo’s successor will then have final say on Casey.

The dominoes are not expected to fall with the Raptors at any point soon as no board meetings are currently scheduled.

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The 37-year-old Scot spearheaded Britain’s surge to the forefront of world track cycling, winning his first Olympic gold in Athens in 2004 and capturing three more in Beijing in 2008 and another two at his home games in London last year.

“I know I have done everything I can and it would be a mistake to go on,” Hoy said. “I have had my time in the sun. It’s time for other athletes to have their share.”

His haul of six golds is one more than British rowing great Steve Redgrave, who won five from 1984-2000. Hoy also won a silver medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

Hoy, who won 11 world titles, decided against extending his career to the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Glasgow in his native Scotland.

“Maybe it’s greedy but it would have been the ideal swansong,” Hoy said at a news conference at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

Hoy’s last race at the top level was his gold-medal ride in the keirin at the London Olympics when he held off Maximilian Levy of Germany in the home straight.

Hoy received a knighthood in 2008 and is known as Sir Chris.

“The impact that Sir Chris Hoy has had on our sport since he won his first gold medal in Athens in 2004 is unparalleled,” British Cycling president Brian Cookson said. “It goes without saying that not only is Chris an absolutely phenomenal athlete, but he is also an exceptional individual. The fact that he’s acquired six gold medals and is Britain’s most successful ever Olympian is testament to this.”

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