Masahiro Tanaka knew the English words to answer a question about the last time he'd been this anxious before a big game. ''Japan Series,'' Tanaka said, referring to last season's championship in which he saved the clinching seventh game. Nerves were an issue for Tanaka in the early innings of his major league debut for the New York Yankees, but the right-hander soon settled into his new surroundings. Tanaka pitched seven innings, Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 on Friday night.

The Nashville Predators took advantage of their breaks and preserved their slim playoff chances. Mike Fisher had two goals and an assist, Colin Wilson also scored twice and the Predators beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 Friday night. Patric Hornqvist also scored and had two assists and Matt Cullen added two assists as Nashville snapped a six-game losing streak to the Ducks. We have to fight to the end.'' Nashville, 10th in the Western Conference, trails eighth-place Phoenix by seven points with five games to play.

The Montreal Canadiens couldn't help but feel a sense of payback. The Canadiens had been seeking to get even with the Senators since last spring when Ottawa eliminated them in the opening round of the playoffs. Montreal got a small measure of that Friday night as they defeated the Senators 7-4, making Ottawa's chance at returning to the postseason more difficult. The Senators remained seven points out of the final wild-card berth in the East with just five games remaining.

The Houston Rockets are heading to the playoffs for the second straight year and believe wins like the one they picked up Friday night will help them when they get there. James Harden scored 39 points and the Rockets ended a three-game skid and clinched a playoff berth with a 111-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder ''It was a great win for us ... just to give ourselves confidence, especially going into the playoffs,'' Harden said. It shows the resilience we have.'' Kevin Durant scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 40th straight game with at least 25 points, the longest streak since Michael Jordan also did it 40 consecutive times in 1986-87. We lost.'' The normally mild-mannered Durant, who leads the NBA with 32.1 points a game, talked a little trash afterward when asked if he was frustrated by the physical defense Houston's Chandler Parsons and Francisco Garcia played on him.

The CJ2K era is over in Tennessee, just the latest step by the Titans in their franchise makeover. The Titans told Chris Johnson they are releasing him Friday after six seasons to avoid paying $8 million the running back is due in 2014, along with the final three seasons left on the $53.5 million contract he signed in September 2011. His release comes before the Titans start their offseason program Monday with new coach Ken Whisenhunt. General manager Ruston Webster said the Titans thank Johnson for his contributions, setting so many franchise records and being durable over his six seasons with Tennessee.