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Thursday, March 31, 2016

{allcanada} OHL: Otters sweep Spirit to advance to second round

 

SAGINAW, Mich. - Dylan Strome scored twice, including the eventual power-play winner, as the Erie Otters beat the Saginaw Spirit 6-4 on Thursday to complete their four-game sweep of their Ontario Hockey League first-round playoff series.

Taylor Raddysh, Travis Dermott, Kyle Maksimovich and Patrick Fellows gave Erie a 4-0 lead 37 seconds into the second period. Jake Lawr made 22 saves for the win.

Connor Brown had a pair of goals for Saginaw, while Kirill Maksimov and Mitchell Stephens also scored. Evan Cormier started in net for the Spirit, stopping 19-of-22 shots in the first period. Cameron Zanussi turned aside 16 of 18 shots in relief.

Both teams went 1 for 4 on the power play.

---

COLTS 6 STEELHEADS 5 (OT)

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Justin Scott had four goals, including the overtime winner, to lead Barrie past the Steelheads to tie their series 2-2.

Andrew Mangiapane and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Colts.

Alexander Nylander and Daniel Muzito-Bagenda had two goals apiece for Mississauga and Michael McLeod also chipped in.

---

GENERALS 4 FRONTENACS 3 (OT)

OSHAWA, Ont. — Eric Henderson scored 3:02 into overtime as the Generals staved off elimination in their first-round playoff series with a victory over Kingston.

Anthony Cirelli, Lukas Lofquist and Henderson each had two points with a goal and an assist for Oshawa, which came into the game down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series. Jalen Smereck rounded out the attack.

Jared Steege had a goal and an assist for the Frontenacs. Michael Dal Colle and Juho Lammikko also scored.

---

BATTALION 2 PETES 0

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — Jake Smith stopped all 29 shots he faced as North Bay blanked the Petes to even their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

Riley Bruce and Jacob Ball found the back of the net for the Battalion.

Peterborough goaltender Matthew Mancina made 32 saves in defeat.

---

GREYHOUNDS 3 STING 2 (2 OT)

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Gabe Guertler scored 7:24 into the second overtime period as the Greyhounds edged Sarnia to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series.

Colton White and Blake Speers, with a goal and an assist, supplied the offence for Sault Ste. Marie in regulation.

Matt Mistele scored and assisted on Pavel Zacha's goal for the Sting.

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{allcanada} WHL: Wheat Kings even series with shutout over Oil Kings

 

EDMONTON - John Quenneville scored two goals and set up another and Jordan Papirny turned aside all 15 shots he faced as the Brandon Wheat Kings blanked the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-0 to even their first-round Western Hockey League playoff series at two games apiece.

Reid Duke and Kale Clague each had a goal and an assist for the Wheat Kings and Jayce Hawryluk rounded out the attack.

Edmonton goaltender Payton Lee stopped 31 shots in the losing effort.

Brandon was 2 for 8 on the power play while the Oil Kings failed to take advantage of five opportunities with the man advantage.

Game 5 goes Sunday in Edmonton.

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{allcanada} Hansen helps Canucks snap 9-game skid with 4-2 win vs Sharks

 

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Jannik Hansen scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:03 remaining and the Vancouver Canucks snapped a nine-game losing streak by beating the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Thursday night.

Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat scored in the first period and the Canucks rebounded after blowing another late lead to avoid matching the longest losing streak in franchise history. Markus Granlund added an empty-net goal and Ryan Miller made 32 saves to help Vancouver earn its second win in San Jose in March.

Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks, who lost for the 22nd time at home this season and will now likely have to open the playoffs on the road. San Jose is five points behind Los Angeles and four back of Anaheim in the Pacific Division with the Kings having one game in hand and the Ducks two.

Martin Jones made 22 saves.

The Canucks appeared on their way to losing their 13th game this season when leading after two when Couture tied the game midway through the third. He took a pass from Brent Burns at the side of the net and beat Miller for his fourth goal in two games this week against Vancouver.

But shortly after that, Burns couldn't handle a pass from Joe Thornton in the offensive zone. The puck deflected off the boards right to Hansen, who skated in on a 2-on-1 and beat Jones for his 20th goal of the season.

The Canucks took advantage of a pair of giveaways from Joonas Donskoi to score twice in the first period. After the first in the neutral zone, Jannik Hansen fired a shot on net that Jones kicked out right to Daniel Sedin for the goal into the open net just 1:09 into the game.

Then with the Sharks controlling play, Donskoi lost the puck in the offensive zone and gave it right to Horvat, who skated in and beat Jones on a breakaway to make it 2-0.

The Sharks got one goal back in the second on the power play when Marleau one-timed a pass in the slot from Thornton to make it 2-1.

Game notes
The Canucks lost 10 straight games from Oct. 23-Nov. 11, 1997. ... Thornton's assist on Mareleau's goal gave him 1,335 career points, tied with Mike Gartner for 30th place on the career list. ... Canucks F Jake Virtanen served the first game of his two-game suspension for a blindside check on Sharks D Roman Polak on Tuesday. ... Vancouver F Sven Baertschi did not return after the first period with a lower-body injury.

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{allcanada} Carter, Quick help Kings beat Flames to reclaim Pacific lead

 

LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Carter scored twice, Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in his fifth shutout of the season and the Los Angeles Kings reclaimed the Pacific Division lead with a 3-0 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

The Kings moved one point ahead of the idle Anaheim Ducks with their 46th win this season, tying the franchise record most recently set in their Stanley Cup-winning 2013-14 campaign.

Quick earned his 42nd career shutout, extending his own NHL record for American-born goalies. He also earned his 39th win of the season to match the franchise single-season record, which he set in 2009-10.

Joni Ortio stopped 26 shots for the Flames, who have allowed 134 goals on the road, tied with Ottawa for worst in the league.

Andy Andreoff also scored for the Kings, and Anze Kopitar had two assists.

The Kings pounced after Josh Jooris clipped Quick for goaltender interference 35 seconds into the second period. Drew Doughty fired a low slap shot from inside the blue line and Carter tipped it, sending the puck rising over Ortio's right shoulder to take the lead 11 seconds into the power play.

Doughty picked up his 316th career point, passing Steve Duchesne to move into second place in career scoring among Kings defensemen.

Carter scored his 22nd goal of the season later in the second, benefiting from the alertness of Brayden McNabb and Milan Lucic. Catching the Flames in a change, McNabb threaded a pass through the neutral zone to Lucic, who spun through two defenders and left a pass for Carter at the foot of the crease for an easy score.

Mikael Backlund appeared to have given the Flames some life when he scored on a wrist shot late in the second, but the goal was immediately waved off for goalie interference by Lance Bouma. Flames coach Bob Hartley unsuccessfully challenged the call.

The Flames endured another deflating sequence when Sam Bennett hit the inside of the post in the third, only for the Kings to break down the ice and score. Carter threw the puck in front and it went in off Andreoff and Joe Colborne.

With five games to go, the Kings are in position to claim the franchise's second-ever division title. However, a recent 1-4-0 stretch by Los Angeles and the continued post-Christmas surge of the Ducks has put another banner in doubt.

Game notes
The Kings host the fifth and final Freeway Faceoff this season between the Southern California rivals next Thursday. ... Quick blanked the Flames for the third time in his career. ... Calgary has only collected 27 points on the road this season, the lowest total in the league.

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{allcanada} Henderson opens with 73 at first major of year

 

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - Canadian Brooke Henderson had by far the most fans following her around for the first round of the ANA Inspiration on Thursday.

The 18-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., is getting used to the support.

"It's super cool," Henderson said. "Every round it seems there are more fans and not only just from Canada. Though there is a huge Canadian crowd out here this week."

Henderson opened with a 1-over 73 and is six strokes behind leaders Azahara Munoz and Ai Miyazato. The former hockey goalie from Smiths Falls, Ontario, is making her second start at Mission Hills after tying for 26th in the major championship as an amateur in 2014.

"Some holes, I played awesome and just didn't take advantage," Henderson said. "I had a lot of birdie putts that I missed. Then holes that I kind of messed up on, I kind of messed up big time. It was just one of those rounds. Hopefully, clean up a few things tonight and have a better day tomorrow."

She bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7, and rebounded with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 — with a boost from the fans.

"On 11, walking up to the green before I hit my third shot out of the bunker, they yelled, 'Go Canada!'" Henderson said. "I kind of felt a little better about myself and I was able to make two birdies in a row. So, I definitely think it helps."

She bogeyed 13 and parred the final five holes, chipping in on the par-5 18th after her drive struck a palm tree and went into the water.

"It was kind of an interesting par," Henderson said. "I think it's the best one I've ever made in my life. I was happy to see it go in — and the crowd seemed to enjoy it too."

Henderson won the Portland Classic last year to become the third-youngest champion in LPGA Tour history at 17 years, 11 months, 6 days. She was second in the Coates Golf Championship in Florida in early February and has had five straight top-10 finishes to jump to No. 7 in world.

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{allcanada} Ceci scores late in third to lift Senators over Wild 3-2

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Cody Ceci got a goal with 3:57 left that deflected off two Minnesota players to help the Ottawa Senators beat the Wild 3-2 on Thursday night.

Ceci's ninth goal of the season bounced off Erik Haula and goaltender Devan Dubnyk's skate. Erik Karlsson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored, Craig Anderson made 23 saves and Ottawa won its second straight game a night after being officially eliminated from the playoffs.

Zach Parise scored his team-high 25th goal for Minnesota, which had its season-high six-game winning streak snapped. Haula tied it early in the third, but the Wild fell to 2-21-5 this season when trailing after two periods. Dubnyk made 19 saves.

Minnesota leads idle Colorado by five points for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Pageau also had two assists for the Senators, and Karlsson added an assist to run his NHL defenseman-leading total to 78 points this season.

With playoff position on the line, Minnesota struggled to get much going against the pesky Senators. Haula scored to tie the franchise-record with a 10-game point streak.

The Wild nearly pulled ahead with less than 7 minutes left when Matt Dumba appeared to knock a loose puck into the net, but the whistle had blown after Anderson went down on his back to block a shot.

After a scoreless first, Karlsson made it 1-0 with his 15th of the season after Minnesota's Nino Niederreiter failed to corral a cross-ice pass. Karlsson assisted on Pageau's 18th goal to give him the most points in a season by a defenseman since he set a career high with 78 in 2011-12.

Game notes
Minnesota D Jared Spurgeon left the game early in the first period after blocking a shot from Senators F Bobby Ryan and didn't return. ... Parise has six goals in the past four games. ... Ottawa F Mark Stone was scratched with a chest injury after taking a big hit from Winnipeg's Dustin Byfuglien a night earlier. It was the first game Stone, who leads Senators forwards with 61 points, has missed this season due to injury. ... Scott Gomez returned to the lineup after being scratched for two games. ... Wild F Thomas Vanek was scratched with an upper-body injury. ... Chris Porter returned after being scratched for three games. ... F David Jones missed his second straight game with an illness. ... D Ben Harpur made his NHL debut for the Senators. Harpur was a fourth-round draft choice by the team in 2013.

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{allcanada} Weaver, Poje head home empty handed at figure skating worlds

 

BOSTON - Canadian ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje will go home from the world figure skating championships without a medal.

Skating to Max Richter's haunting "On the Nature of Daylight," the Waterloo, Ont., duo that was fourth after the short dance, scored 110.18 for a total of 182.01 points to move up to second with more competitors to come.

Weaver and Poje had been gunning for gold after winning world silver in 2014 and bronze last year. They arrived in Boston having won all but two competitions over the past two seasons.

Piper Gilles of Toronto and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., fifth after the short dance, scored 102.37 for a total of 173.07 points.

Earlier Thursday, Gabrielle Dalemen of Newmarket, Ont., finished a best-ever eighth in the women's singles short program.

The 18-year-old reeled off three triple jumps en route to scoring 67.38 points.

American Gracie Gold is the leader going into Saturday's long program with 76.43 points. Anna Pogorilaya is second with 73.98, while her Russian teammate Evgenia Medvedeva was third with 73.76.

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{allcanada} Condon gets 1st shutout, Canadiens beat Lightning 3-0

 

TAMPA, Fla. -- Rookie Mike Condon made 26 saves for his first NHL shutout and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay started play tied with Florida for first place in the Atlantic Division at 93 points each. The Panthers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Thursday night.

David Desharnais, Torrey Mitchell and Phillip Danault scored.

Condon stopped Ondrej Palat's penalty shot with 11:08 left in the second. He also made a save on Nikita Kucherov's in-close backhander during a power play late in the period.

It was Condon's 52nd NHL game, all coming this season.

Alexei Emelin played in his 300th NHL game and had two assists.

Playing in his 400th NHL game, Desharnais got his first goal in 13 games off a rebound to put Montreal ahead 1-0 at 9:11 of the first.

Mitchell skated into the slot from the left wing and made it 2-0 when he lifted a shot over Ben Bishop 52 seconds into the second.

Bishop reached behind himself to glove Lars Eller's right-circle shot during a power play 6 minutes into the game. Bishop finished with 21 saves.

Game notes
After hosting New Jersey on Saturday night, the Lightning close out the regular season with road games against the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, the Devils and Montreal ... Montreal G Carey Price (lower-body injury) practiced with the team for first time since getting hurt on Nov. 25. ... Kucherov (two games, foot) and teammate Ryan Callahan (five games, lower body) both returned from injuries. ... Montreal D P.K. Subban (neck) sat out his 10th straight game. ... Montreal D Nathan Beaulieu left after one period with an upper-body injury.

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{allcanada} Cal O'Reilly, Larsson lead Sabres over Maple Leafs 4-1

 

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Cal O'Reilly and Johan Larsson each scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres extended their home dominance over the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 4-1 victory Thursday night.

Buffalo built a 3-0 lead and Larsson capped Buffalo's seventh straight home win over Toronto by scoring into an empty net in a meeting of two Atlantic Division rivals who have already been eliminated from playoff contention. The Sabres also improved to 17-1-1 in their past 19 home games against Toronto in a run that dates to Feb. 4, 2009.

Brooks Laich scored for Toronto and Tobias Lindberg set up the goal in his NHL debut. The Maple Leafs acquired Lindberg in a multiplayer deal that sent captain Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa last month.

Chad Johnson made 25 saves for Buffalo.

The loss left the Maple Leafs at the bottom of the NHL standings with five games remaining in their season.

Larsson opened the scoring 7:09 in before the Maple Leafs managed their first shot on net. Driving in on the right wing, Larsson used defenseman Morgan Rielly as a screen and snapped a shot that beat Garret Sparks high on the short side.

Buffalo struck again with a power-play goal with 19 seconds left in the period, when Jack Eichel patiently waited in the left circle and set up O'Reilly driving through the middle, where he wristed a shot inside the left post.

The Maple Leafs were outshot 9-0 before getting their first puck on net with 8:04 left in the first period.

O'Reilly capped the Sabres' surge 3:41 into the second period. He sped up the left wing and beat defensemen T.J. Brennan and Jake Gardiner to the puck that Buffalo's David Legwand cleared from his own zone. O'Reilly leaned into his shot at the left circle and blasted it past Sparks.

Lindberg made a no-look pass from the end boards to set up Laich in front for Toronto's goal 13:32 into the second period.

The Sabres had a goal disallowed with 2:43 left in the second period. Mark Pysyk scored on a shot from the left point, but referee Kendrick Nicholson waved it off by ruling there was incidental contact between Sparks and Sabres forward Hudson Fasching.

Replays showed that Fasching wasn't inside the crease and that it was Sparks who initiated the contact. The goal was still disallowed even after the Sabres used their challenge to have the play reviewed.

The Sabres were allowed to challenge the play even though the NHL announced on its website that the play was not reviewable.

Game notes
Before the game, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma announced LW Evander Kane would miss the final five games of the season after he hurt his left hand in a 3-2 loss at Detroit on Monday. ... Toronto recalled Lindberg, Brennan, RW Kasperi Kapanen and D Andrew Campbell from the AHL earlier in the day. Connor Carrick, Rinat Valiev, Connor Brown and Zach Hyman were loaned to the minors. ... The Maple Leafs' last win at Buffalo was a 4-3 overtime victory on Jan. 29, 2013. There were only three players dressed on Thursday who competed in that game: Buffalo's Marcus Foligno and Toronto's Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri.

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{allcanada} BLACKHAWKS (44-26-7) at JETS (31-39-7)

 

BLACKHAWKS (44-26-7) at JETS (31-39-7)

TV: 8 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, TSN3, NHL.TV

Season series: The Chicago Blackhawks have won three of four games against the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg goalie Michael Hutchinson made 45 saves in a 3-1 home win Oct. 29. Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist for Chicago in a 3-1 win at United Center on Dec. 6. Five days later, Corey Crawford had 25 saves in a 2-0 home win. Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, and Scott Darling had a 4-0 shutout at Winnipeg on March 18.

Blackhawks team scope: Defenseman Duncan Keith is suspended indefinitely for a match penalty from a 4-1 road loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. "We've got seven [defensemen] that are ready to play," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "We've been moving some guys in and out recently on the back end, and pairs have been changing in-game, particularly last game. So it will be a good chance for some guys to get more ice time and more quality." Darling will make his eighth consecutive start; Crawford (upper body) did not make the trip. Defenseman Brent Seabrook will play after missing one game because of illness. Center Artem Anisimov (lower body) is expected to play after missing two games. Hossa (illness) will not play; he has 499 NHL goals. A four-game road trip ends.

Jets team scope: Right wing Blake Wheeler has a six-game point streak (two goals, five assists), and center Mark Scheifele has a five-game streak (three goals, four assists). Winnipeg did not practice Thursday after coach Paul Maurice cited fatigue as an issue in a 2-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Maurice has not confirmed a starting goaltender. Hutchinson and Ondrej Pavelec have alternated the past four starts; Hutchinson played against Ottawa. Winnipeg is on its final homestand having won six of its past 22 home games (6-14-2).

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{allcanada} Medicine Hat Tigers told to sign long-term lease, or get out of new arena

 

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. - The Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers could soon be homeless.

The City of Medicine Hat served the team notice Thursday to vacate the new Canalta Centre by noon on April 7.

Mayor Ted Clugston says the main issue is the lack of a long-term lease with the team, which finished this season out of the playoffs.

Clugston says the city has a responsibility to the taxpayers that built the arena.

Officials with the junior hockey team could not be reached for comment.

Clugston said the majority of councillors support the decision.

The mayor said there were temporary agreements in place, but those expired March 24.

He says officials with SMG Management, the company contracted by the city to operate the Canalta Centre, and the city are ready to talk any time.

"We are ready to negotiate at any time with the Tigers so hopefully we see some sort of conclusion to this soon and before the next season," Clugston said.

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{allcanada} Canada's Daleman eighth after short program

 

BOSTON - Gabrielle Daleman's preparations for the world figure skating championships were far from perfect.

A nagging foot injury had her spending more time in physiotherapy than on the ice, and she was forced to withdraw from last month's Four Continents championships.

Thursday, Daleman bounced back to finish a best-ever eighth in the short program at the world championships, pumping her fists a couple of times with jubilation afterward.

"I've always had trouble with the short, so just to finally lay a clean short program, not only this year, but doing it that well and that confident was such a relief, I was so overwhelmed," she said of her celebration. "It wasn't just that I skated clean and I did my job, it was that I finally did it in front of basically a home crowd and all my hard work finally paid off."

The 18-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., reeled off three triple jumps en route to scoring 67.38 points.

American Gracie Gold is the leader going into Saturday's long program with 76.43 points. Anna Pogorilaya is second with 73.98, while her Russian teammate Evgenia Medvedeva was third with 73.76.

Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., fell on her double Axel and finished 17th.

Daleman has been dealing with plantar fasciitis since the Sochi Olympics, a chronic injury to the tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot. She also has arthritis and tendinitis in that same troublesome right foot, and it flared up shortly after the Canadian championships in January, her foot swelling to a balloon.

The next few weeks were more treatment than training.

"I was probably in physio six, seven days a week for about three hours doing exercises, heating, icing, everything I could," said Daleman. "I hate needles but I was doing acupuncture to get the swelling out."

She also used visualization to prepare.

"Not going to lie, probably spent a lot of money on YouTube. Dad might not be too happy with the phone bill from data," she said. "But I watched my programs from this past year. . . and that's what's really helped me, I think."

Canada hasn't won a world medal in women's singles since Joannie Rochette's silver in 2009.

Canadian ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje are in the hunt for a medal later Thursday. The world silver and bronze medallists are in fourth place going into the free dance.

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{allcanada} Kings have chance to move back into Pacific lead

 

FLAMES (32-39-6) at KINGS (45-26-5)

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-W, NHL.TV

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Kings can move back into first place in the Pacific Division with a win Thursday against the Calgary Flames at Staples Center.

The Kings have 95 points, one behind the Anaheim Ducks who defeated the Flames 8-3 on Wednesday.

The Kings are expecting a battle of emotions and wills from the Flames and are wary of offensive-minded young players.

"They're going to be playing hard to try and get a spot on the team next year," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "A lot of them are pretty highly-skilled offensive players, so they're going to be looking to score goals and make plays. They're guys that we haven't seen a lot, so we're not familiar with a lot of these guys and not sure what they bring to the table."

However, Kings coach Darryl Sutter is familiar with one of those young players, Calgary native Hunter Shinkaruk, as Sutter is a friend of Shinkaruk's father Roger, a dentist for the Calgary Hitmen. Shinkaruk scored his first NHL goal against the Ducks on Wednesday and has a point in each of his two NHL games.

Despite the new blood in the Flames' lineup, Sutter isn't expecting any different structure than what the Kings have already seen this season.

"They're a high-end offensive team," Sutter said. "Those three defensemen -- (Mark) Giordano, (Dougie) Hamilton and (TJ) Brodie -- they've contributed a lot to the offense. And then down the middle with (Sean) Monahan, (Sam) Bennett and (Mikael) Backlund, those are six dominant players right there."

The Kings are one win away from tying the franchise record for the most in a season. They have hit the 46-win mark four previous times, including their 2013-14 Stanley Cup season.

Calgary lost its 23rd consecutive regular season game at Honda Center on Wednesday to match an NHL record. The Flames, who did not hold a morning skate Thursday, are hoping a short memory helps them bounce back against Los Angeles.

"It's definitely frustrating, but at the same time you can't dwell on it," Brodie said. "You've got to put it in the past and move on."

Here are the projected lineups:

FLAMES
Derek Grant - Sean Monahan - Hunter Shinkaruk
Michael Ferland - Sam Bennett - Joe Colborne
Lance Bouma - Mikael Backlund - Emile Poirier
Brandon Bollig - Matt Stajan - Josh Jooris

TJ Brodie - Dougie Hamilton
Mark Giordano - Deryk Engelland
Brett Kulak - Jakub Nakladal

Joni Ortio
Jonas Hiller

Injured: Karri Ramo (ACL), Ladislav Smid (upper body), Jyrki Jokipakka (undisclosed), Johnny Gaudreau (upper body), Michael Frolik (lower body), Dennis Wideman (triceps)
Scratched: Niklas Backstrom

KINGS
Tanner Pearson - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown
Milan Lucic - Jeff Carter - Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King - Vincent Lecavalier - Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford - Nic Dowd - Andy Andreoff

Brayden McNabb - Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin - Alec Martinez
Rob Scuderi - Luke Schenn

Jonathan Quick
Jhonas Enroth

Injured: Matt Greene (shoulder), Marian Gaborik (knee), Jordan Nolan (undisclosed), Kris Versteeg (foot)
Scratched: Nick Shore

Status report: Quick did not take the ice but is still expected to start as Enroth stayed on the ice late with the inactive skaters. He is one win away from tying his career high and the Kings' franchise record of 39. … Gaudreau and Jokipakka were the only two players to take the ice for the Flames. Calgary coach Bob Hartley said they will be game-time decisions. … Ortio is expected to start for Calgary. He is 1-3-1 with a 2.01 goals-against average and .932 save percentage against Los Angeles.

Who's hot: Giordano has 10 points in the past nine games. Brodie has a goal in each of the past two games. Monahan has four points in the past two games. Hamilton has seven points in the past six games. … Lucic has four points in the past two games and eight points in 10 games against the Flames. Kopitar has 28 points in 39 games against the Flames. Toffoli has six points in the past four games.

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{allcanada} Koe leads experienced rink at world men's curling championship

 

Kevin Koe has experienced the highs and lows of competition at the world men's curling championship.

He won gold at his first appearance in 2010 but struggled in his return four years later. Koe enters the 2016 competition as a favourite to get back on the podium.

Koe and teammates Marc Kennedy, Brent Laing and Ben Hebert are coming off an impressive performance at the Tim Hortons Brier in Ottawa. They beat Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador in the final for the right to represent Canada in Basel, Switzerland.

"We have high expectations for ourselves as I'm sure every team that represents Canada in curling does," Koe said.

Sweden's Niklas Edin is back to defend the title he won last year in Halifax and 2015 silver medallist Thomas Ulsrud will skip the Norwegian side. Other potential contenders include Scotland's Tom Brewster, Finland's Aku Kauste, American John Shuster and Switzerland's Sven Michel.

Canada will open round-robin play Saturday against Finland at the 9,000-seat St. Jakobshalle. The top four teams will advance to the Page playoffs, with the medal games set for April 10.

Pat Simmons, who did not make the Brier playoffs this year, defeated Kauste in the bronze-medal game last year.

This year's 12-team field is rounded out by Denmark's Rasmus Stjerne, Germany's Alexander Baumann, Japan's Yusuke Morozumi, South Korea's Soo Hyuk Kim and Russia's Alexey Stukalskiy.

Koe's rink is loaded with experience. All four players have won world titles before with different teams.

Koe's 2010 victory in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy came with Blake MacDonald, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen. Simmons replaced MacDonald on the Koe team that settled for a fourth-place result in 2014 at Beijing.

Kennedy and Hebert won gold with John Morris on Kevin Martin's team in 2008 at Grand Forks, N.D. Laing, meanwhile, teamed with Craig Savill, Wayne Middaugh and skip Glenn Howard to win Canada's last gold in 2012 at Basel.

Canada hasn't gone four years without a world men's title since a seven-year drought from 1973-79.

Challenges with the food, hotel and smog in Beijing created distractions for Koe's rink at the 2014 playdowns. He also told his then-teammates before the event that he would be moving on with a new lineup at the end of that season.

"It's impossible to know how much it affected us," Koe said this week on a conference call. "We still went over and tried our best to win, made the playoffs, and things just didn't go our way. But it's hard to win world championships, especially with some kind of extra things hanging over you.

"That was tough but I don't look back on it and say that cost us at all, it was just a few shots here or there. It's obviously quite different going this time."

After mixed results in their first campaign together, Koe and his current team have blossomed this season.

"We've won a Slam, we've won the Canada Cup, we've won a bunch of other events and won a Brier that (had) arguably one of the tougher fields ever," Koe said. "So I think that just shows we've been in good form all year and I think we'd expect to keep playing (well).

"That being said, there's obviously a couple other teams there that have won this event before that'll be tough."

Kennedy said team confidence has been on a steady rise in recent months.

"We feel like we can win," he said in a recent interview. "We feel like we have now not only the potential, but we have the team dynamics and the chemistry and the leadership and the coaching.

"We worked really hard on making sure we had all aspects of the game covered and hoped that it worked out at big events. So far this year, it's worked."

Canada has won gold on 34 occasions since the men's world curling championship was first held in 1959. IOC president Thomas Bach will open the competition Saturday by delivering the ceremonial first stone.

Switzerland beat Japan last weekend to win the world women's playdowns in Swift Current, Sask. Canada's Chelsea Carey finished fourth.

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{allcanada} Wild after seventh straight win, redemption

 

SENATORS (35-33-9) at WILD (38-28-11)

TV: 8 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild will try to avenge one of their most frustrating losses of the season while also putting themselves in a better position to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they host the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

On March 15, the Senators scored with eight seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game before winning 3-2 on an Erik Karlsson goal at 4:29 of overtime at Canadian Tire Centre.

"You leave that point out there and you know it could be a big point. It still could be a big point," Wild forward Charlie Coyle said. "The only thing we can do now is try and grab two from them tonight and focus on that."

Minnesota is 6-1-0 since that loss and will carry a season-long six-game winning streak into the rematch. The Wild are five points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Minnesota has closed to within four points of the Nashville Predators for the first wild card.

"The season is winding down and we can't afford to let points go to waste, especially if they are right there in our grasp," Coyle said. "We've strung together a few wins now, we're feeling good. We don't want to have any letdowns."

The Wild will be without forward David Jones, who will miss his second consecutive game because of an illness. Coach John Torchetti reiterated it was nothing more, indicating he was simply really sick.

Ottawa did not skate and is on the second half of back-to-back games after a 2-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre on Wednesday.

Despite the win, the Senators were eliminated from postseason contention when the Philadelphia Flyers won 2-1 in a shootout against the Washington Capitals later Wednesday.

"We really just couldn't find that mojo this time of the year when we needed it," Karlsson said. "It's something we're going to have to discuss at the end of the year. But for now, we're going to focus on the last five games and try to get away with some sort of dignity."

Forward Mark Stone will not play after he left the game against the Jets following a hit by Dustin Byfuglien during the second period. Stone sustained an upper-body injury and went back to Ottawa. Coach Dave Cameron said Stone is cleared but was feeling sore.

Scott Gomez will play in place of Stone. Gomez has one assist and is a minus-3 in 11 games since joining the Senators on March 2.

The Senators also recalled defenseman Ben Harpur from Binghamton of the American Hockey League; he is expected to make his NHL debut in place of Michael Kostka who is banged up.

Goaltender Craig Anderson will start for Ottawa. Minnesota will counter with Devan Dubnyk.

Here are the projected lineups:

SENATORS
Zack Smith - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Bobby Ryan
Mike Hoffman - Mika Zibanejad - Alex Chiasson
Ryan Dzingel - Nick Paul - Chris Neil
Matt Puempel - Curtis Lazar - Scott Gomez

Fredrik Claesson - Erik Karlsson
Marc Methot - Cody Ceci
Ben Harpur - Chris Wideman

Craig Anderson
Andrew Hammond

Injured: Mark Borowiecki (knee), Michael Kostka (undisclosed), Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Dion Phaneuf (lower body), Chris Phillips (back), Mark Stone (upper body), Kyle Turris (ankle), Patrick Wiercioch (undisclosed)
Scratched: None

WILD
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Charlie Coyle
Jason Zucker - Mikael Granlund - Thomas Vanek
Nino Niederreiter - Erik Haula - Jason Pominville
Jordan Schroeder - Jarret Stoll - Justin Fontaine

Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Marco Scandella - Jonas Brodin
Mike Reilly - Matt Dumba

Devan Dubnyk
Darcy Kuemper

Injured: Ryan Carter (shoulder), David Jones (illness)
Scratched: Chris Porter, Nate Prosser

Status report: Harpur will wear jersey No. 67; he is the first player in Senators history to wear that number. … Vanek could be a game-time decision because of a minor upper-body injury sustained Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Who's hot: Karlsson had his three-game point streak ended Wednesday but leads the NHL with 62 assists and is fourth with 76 points. … Haula's nine-game point streak is the longest active in the League. He has four goals, six assists and is a plus-7 during that stretch.

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