New Zealand up 4-0 on Britannia in America's Cup and needs 3 more wins to retain title

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Emirates Team New Zealand is halfway to retaining the America’s Cup after going up 4-0 on INEOS Britannia in the finals on Monday.

The cup will go to the first yacht to reach seven wins.

New Zealand's Taihoro made it four from four off the Barcelona beachfront after beating Britannia by 23 seconds. The yachts exchanged leads in the first leg then the Kiwis made steady gains and were more than 350 meters in front when they crossed the finish line.

“It’s nice just to keep marching forward,” low-key New Zealand skipper Peter Burling said.

Burling's curbing of any enthusiasm likely comes from his team's scalding at the 2013 America's Cup, where it was up 8-1 but collapsed and lost 9-8 to Oracle Team USA in San Francisco bay.

The team led by Grant Dalton rebounded from that with cup victories in 2017 and 2021 and are on course to become the first syndicate to triumph three times on the trot.

And, ominously for Britannia, Burling said his team still has room to improve.

“(There's) a long way to go. I don’t think any team knows it better than us,” Burling said. “We obviously have a lot of things to work on as well. It feels like we haven’t really sailed to our potential yet.”

The British admitted to frustration as their quest to win the America's Cup for the first time in the race's 173-year history fades.

“There is a lot of frustration on the team. Where we are right now is not where we want to be,” Britannia trimmer Bleddyn Mon said. “But there is a lot of drive on the team, and everyone here knew it was going to be a real battle against the Kiwis."

The challenger will have Tuesday to plot a fightback before sailing resumes on Wednesday with match races five and six.

“It is a good opportunity to take a day on shore and try to figure out how we can find some gains,” Britannia skipper Ben Ainslie said. “They are clearly going really well. We have our moments, but still there are moments where we are losing a click and I think that is the difference."

Britannia impressed in the challenger series when it made huge gains in speed and beat four rivals from Italy, United States, Switzerland and France. It counts on the design and engineering prowess of its partnership with the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

But the Kiwis, with their in-house design team, have a clear edge.

Burling’s crew have executed flawlessly while also sailing aggressively. After nailing Britannia with a pre-start penalty when the two 75-foot foiling boats almost crashed on Sunday, the Taihoro and Britannia made several close crosses in race four.

Ainslie’s boat started well enough by pinning Taihoro to the port boundary, but once the latter got away and found more wind on the other side of the race track it was able to cruise away.

New Zealand may be leveraging one of its advantages. While Britannia had to make a boat that could sail from late summer until now, the Kiwis were able to concentrate all their efforts on getting a boat ready just for one week in the cooler weather of mid-October.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Ineos Britannia crew warms up for the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 3 race 4 in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Emirates Team New Zealand prepares for the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 3 race 4 in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Emirates Team New Zealand crew warms up for the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 3 race 4 in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Ineos Britannia and Emirates Team New Zealand warm-up for the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 3 race 4 in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Emirates Team New Zealand crew races duringthe Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 3 race 4 in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Ineos Britannia and Emirates Team New Zealand race during the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup Day 3 race 4 in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored his fourth goal of the season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 in their hurricane-delayed home opener on Tuesday night.

Kucherov had a hat trick the last time the Lightning took the ice, and he was the one to open the scoring against the Canucks off a feed from Darren Raddysh 3:55 into the game.

The Lightning were scheduled to open the home season Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, but the game was postponed due to the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel each had a goal and an assist in the win, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves in net.

Conor Garland scored Vancouver's only goal on a power play in the third period. Arturs Silovs stopped 24 shots for the Canucks.

Canucks: Vancouver is 0-1-2 after winning 50 games last season. The offense has eight goals, including five in the first period, through three games.

Lightning: After spending most of last week in Raleigh, North Carolina, due to Hurricane Milton, some players and staff, including coach Jon Cooper, are staying in hotels due to ongoing power outages. The off-ice situation has not affected their performance in games.

After Tampa Bay failed to make it 3-0 during a late second-period power play, Vasilevskiy made strong saves on Tyler Myers and Brock Boeser. Garland also put a shot off the post during that stretch.

Kucherov had a point on all of the Lightning's first five goals to start the season. Only Connor McDavid (nine, 2018-19), Adam Oates (seven, 1986-87), Andre Boudrias (six, 1973-74), Bill Cowley (six, 1938-39) and Aurele Joliat (six, 1929-30) have longer streaks.

The Lightning remain at home Thursday night to face the Golden Knights. Vancouver plays Florida on the road on Thursday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59) works around Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) and goaltender Arturs Silovs (31) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Canucks with right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) and center Jake Guentzel (59) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers (57) ties up the puck in front of Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Nicholas Paul (20) and left wing Brandon Hagel (38) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) takes down Vancouver Canucks left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Conor Sheary (73) hooks Vancouver Canucks left wing Nils Hoglander (21) for a penalty during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs (31) stops a shot by Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) as center Jake Guentzel (59) and defenseman Carson Soucy (7) look for a rebound during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs (31) stops a shot by Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. Vancouver Canucks' Carson Soucy (7) keeps Tampa Bay Lightning's Jake Guentzel from a rebound. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (40) moves the puck around Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman carries a "Tampa Strong" flag in honor of the victims of Hurricane Milton before an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)