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Saturday, December 31, 2016

{allcanada} Rogers beats Bouchard in first round at Brisbane International

BRISBANE, Australia — American Shelby Rogers defeated 2012 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 on a steamy opening day of play at the Brisbane International on Sunday.

Temperatures reached in excess of 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) for most of the afternoon.

After a heat-enforced 10-minute break leading into the deciding set, Rogers dominated the Westmount, Que., native to give American women a second victory Sunday in the first round.

Christina McHale also advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Italy's Sara Errani.

Defending champion and No. 1-ranked Angelique Kerber, who won the Australian Open and U.S. Open last year, and French Open winner Garbine Muguruza, highlight the women's draw in Brisbane.

Defending champion Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and Rafael Nadal are featured in the men's draw.

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{allcanada} Horvat gets deciding goal in SO to lead Canucks past Oilers

 

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Bo Horvat got the only goal in the shootout and added two assists, helping the Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Saturday night for their third straight win.

Alexandre Burrows and Sven Baertschi scored in regulation for the Canucks.

Drake Caggiula and Connor McDavid had goals for Edmonton.

Jacob Markstrom made 42 saves for Vancouver, and Cam Talbot stopped 30 shots for the Oilers.

Edmonton caught a break with eight minutes remaining in the opening period when the Canucks had a goal waved off. Markus Granlund picked the top corner past Talbot on a long shot, but a challenge by Edmonton determined that Brandon Sutter had interfered in the crease on the play.

Vancouver took the lead six minutes into the second period when Horvat picked off a careless pass by Eric Gryba and the puck ended up on the stick of Burrows, who scored his seventh of the season. The play was once again reviewed for interference but survived the challenge.

The Oilers tied the game at 12:31 of the second, just after a power play expired, when Caggiula's shot from the slot hit Markstrom before trickling in.

Vancouver regained the lead five minutes into the third when Baertschi was able to cash in on his own rebound to score his eighth and make it 2-1.

Edmonton tied it again with 1:33 remaining when McDavid scored on the power play to tie Evgeni Malkin for the NHL scoring lead and send the game into extra time.

NOTES: It was the second of five meetings between the two teams, with the Oilers winning the first game 2-0 at home on Oct. 28. Edmonton has not traditionally fared well in games played on New Year's Eve, coming into the game with a record of just 2-14-1. The last time they won one was a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Edmonton on Dec. 31, 1985. Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera missed his second game in a row due to an illness.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Return home to host Colorado on Monday night

Oilers: Will hope to snap the Columbus Blue Jackets' 15-game winning streak on Tuesday in Columbus to start a four-game road swing.

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{allcanada} Frolik, Flames beat Coyotes 4-2

 

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) ?? Michael Frolik had a goal and an assist in Calgary's four-goal first period, and the Flames beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 on Saturday night.

Mikael Backlund, Dennis Wideman and Lance Bouma also scored as Calgary (20-17-2) improved to 4-0 against Arizona this season. Frolik stopped a 20-game drought with his first goal since Nov. 16 against the Coyotes, and rookie Matthew Tkachuk extended his point streak to six games with an assist.

Brendan Perlini and Martin Hanzal scored for Arizona (11-21-5), which has lost seven straight. Louie Domingue, subbing for regular starter Mike Smith, made 20 saves.

Flames goaltender Brian Elliott had 27 stops. He has won his last four starts after going over seven weeks without a win.

Frolik scored his seventh of the season at 6:08 of the first. Tkachuk's power-play shot bounced into the slot and Frolik slid it past Domingue.

Wideman made it 2-0 at 12:09 on a shot from the point that went through two sets of legs before beating Domingue, who looked as if he didn't see it.

The Flames struck again 29 seconds later when Bouma's centering attempt banked in off the leg of Arizona defenseman Alex Goligoski.

Frolik then helped set up Backlund's team-leading 11th goal at 15:42. Backlund has scored in four straight games with six goals over that span.

Calgary went 2 for 4 on the power play. The Flames' power play was tops in the NHL in December, scoring 17 times on 49 chances.

Elliott was especially sharp in the second when Arizona outshot Calgary 16-6.

After Perlini neatly steered in Shane Doan's centering pass at 15:40 of the second, the Coyotes had another prime scoring chance when Micheal Ferland's giveaway at the blue line sprung Tobias Rieder on a breakaway, but Elliott stuck out his skate to deny him on a deke.

Hanzal's goal at 11:53 of the third got Arizona within two, but it couldn't make up the deficit.

NOTES: Tkachuk's point streak ties the New York Rangers' Brady Skjei for longest by a rookie this season. ... Tkachuk also had six penalty minutes, giving him 70 on the season.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Visit Vancouver on Wednesday night.

Flames: Host Colorado on Wednesday night.

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{allcanada} OHL: Makinen scores SO winner as Greyhounds edge Storm

 

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Otto Makinen scored the lone goal in the shootout to lift the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to a 3-2 victory over the Guelph Storm on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.

Zachary Senyshyn and Liam Hawel scored in regulation for Sault Ste. Marie (27-8-2), which has picked up points in seven straight games (6-0-1).

Barret Kirwin and Nate Schnarr replied for the Storm (14-18-4).

Greyhounds goaltender Joseph Raaymakers made 27 saves, including on a penalty shot from Guelph's Nic Sicoly 12 seconds into overtime.

Anthony Popovich turned aside 36 shots in a losing effort.

---

SPITFIRES 4 FIREBIRDS 2

WINDSOR, Ont. — Jeremiah Addison scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period, then added another less than six minutes later, to lead the Spitfires over Flint.

Luke Boka and Aaron Luchuk also scored for Windsor (23-7-5).

Ryan Moore had both goals for the Firebirds (17-17-2), including one on a power play that gave Flint a short-lived 2-1 lead.

---

STEELHEADS 3 BATTALION 1

NORTH BAY, Ont. — Owen Tippett's power-play goal early in the second period stood as the winner as Mississauga topped the Battalion.

Tippett added a second goal, into an empty net, late in the third and Spencer Watson also scored for the Steelheads (13-16-7).

Brett McKenzie supplied the offence for North Bay (15-18-3), which has lost seven straight.

---

FRONTENACS 4 ICEDOGS 1

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Cody Caron's goal one minute into the second period stood as the winner as Kingston downed the IceDogs.

Ted Nichol, Sam Harding and Jason Robertson, into an empty net, also scored for the Frontenacs (16-13-6).

Johnny Corneil had the lone goal for Niagara (11-18-7).

---

BULLDOGS 2 OTTERS 1 (SO)

ERIE, Pa. — Will Bitten scored the deciding goal in the shootout to lift Hamilton over the Otters.

Matthew Strome scored in regulation for the Bulldogs (16-14-5).

Darren Raddysh opened the scoring for Erie (24-7-3).

---

WOLVES 3 COLTS 1

BARRIE, Ont. — Dmitry Sokolov scored twice, including the go-ahead goal on a power play in the second period, to lift Sudbury past the Colts.

Ryan Valentini also scored for the Wolves (16-18-3) and added an assist for a two-point game.

Giordano Finoro had the lone goal for Barrie (10-20-4).

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{allcanada} Max Domi wants father-son line after seeing dad score

 

Tie Domi's goal in the 2017 Rogers NHL Centennial Classic Alumni Game had his son Max thinking one thing: Comeback.

The Arizona Coyotes forward to tipped his cap to his dad, who scored for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third period of their game against the Detroit Red Wings at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto on Saturday.

@max_domi : Never going to hear the end of that one. Nice shot though pops.

Tie, who's third on the NHL's all-time list with 3,515 penalty minutes, looked more like a sniper when he snapped a wrist shot past Detroit goalie Manny Legace to tie the Alumni Game at 3 with 12:02 left in regulation. He even nailed the celebration.

The whole scene got Max thinking about a father-son line.

@max_domi : Anyone else feeling a comeback for 28? Line mates? https://www.instagram.com/p/BOseWaRAQ6L/

Max holds the Domi-family record for goals in an NHL season (18 in 2015-16) and trails his dad by 81 goals and 177 points despite playing 913 fewer games. Tie, 47, hasn't played in the NHL since last dressing for the Maple Leafs in 2005-06. A young man can dream.

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{allcanada} John Tavares, Ryan Strome lead Islanders past Jets, 6-2

 

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) A lot of New York Islanders got into the act - at the Winnipeg Jets' expense.

John Tavares and Ryan Strome each had a goal and an assist to help the Islanders beat the Jets 6-2 on Saturday night. Nikolay Kulemin, Shane Prince, Anders Lee and Andrew Ladd also scored, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson each had two assists, and Thomas Greiss made 32 saves.

''You can't always rely on one or two guys. Everybody's got to chip in,'' Greiss said. ''It was a great example today and made the game easy for us.''

The Islanders have won four of their last five to get to .500 at 15-15-6.

Shawn Matthias scored a short-handed goal and Nikolaj Ehlers had a power-play tally for Winnipeg.

''It's pretty self-explanatory,'' Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. ''It wasn't good enough and the score was indicative of that.''

Connor Hellebuyck allowed four goals on 15 shots and was replaced by Michael Hutchinson with 5:47 left in the second period. Hutchinson made seven stops in relief.

''That effort level tonight out there wasn't acceptable and definitely (is) something that needs to be addressed,'' Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele said. ''At the end of the day, that's what it is, it's hard work. Battling through adversity. Battling through all the stuff that goes on in a game.

''Not every shift is going to go as planned, but for us, we need to battle through it, every bump and bruise, every miscue during the game and support each other that way.''

New York rebounded from a 6-4 loss to Minnesota on Thursday night.

''We've been slowly chipping away and doing some better things,'' Tavares said. ''We've still kind of let some things get away from us . . . We've got to, obviously, really make up some ground. Obviously, you can't do it in one day or one week, so one game at a time.''

The Islanders had a 2-0 lead after the first period and were ahead 4-0 late in the second.

Kulemin scored unassisted after his shot's rebound popped back to him at 6:54 of the first period.

Josh Bailey stripped the puck from a Jets defender and sent a short pass up to Tavares at the front of the net for the team captain's high shot and 11th goal of the season at 12:25.

The Islanders went up 3-0 at 2:26 after Strome skated behind Winnipeg's net with the puck and sent it out to Prince for his fifth of the season.

The Jets had the game's first power play a few minutes later with Tavares in the penalty box for holding, but they couldn't get a shot on goal.

Ten seconds after another Winnipeg power play expired - with one shot on goal - Strome fired the puck through Helleybuyck's pads to make it 4-0 at 14:13. Helleybuyck was replaced by Hutchinson to cheers from the crowd.

With Dustin Byfuglien in the box for roughing, defenseman Jacob Trouba passed the puck from behind the net to Matthias, who beat Greiss over the glove with 30 seconds left in the second. Winnipeg has been outscored 52-25 in the second period this season.

Lee scored his 14th of the season with a redirection while he had only one hand on his stick at 8:38 of the third. Less than two minutes later, Ladd slapped in his eighth.

Ehlers' 10th of the season came at 16:55 with Tavares off for hooking.

UP NEXT

Islanders: At Colorado on Friday night.

Jets: Open three-game trip Tuesday night against Tampa Bay.

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{allcanada} Jan. 1: Penguins win inaugural Winter Classic

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Jan. 1

2008: The NHL rings in the New Year by staging the inaugural Winter Classic with the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in a shootout before 71,217 fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.

The big crowd for the first NHL outdoor game in the United States is still getting settled when Colby Armstrong scores 21 seconds after the opening faceoff. Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell ties the game 1:25 into the second.

Neither team scores through the remainder of regulation time and the five-minute overtime during a game played in a snow globe-like setting. Falling snow gives the game an almost surreal atmosphere.

Sidney Crosby scores the deciding goal in the third round of the shootout to give the Penguins the victory. Ty Conklin makes 36 saves through regulation and two more in the tiebreaker.

 

MORE MOMENTS

1961: Boston Bruins rookie Willie O'Ree, the first black player in League history, scores his first goal. He beats Charlie Hodge for what turns out to be the game-winner in the Bruins' 3-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Boston Garden. 

 

1973: Bobby Orr ties an NHL record for defensemen with six assists in Boston's 8-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Pacific Coliseum. Orr ties the record set by Babe Pratt in 1944 and matched by Pat Stapleton in 1969. Phil Esposito scores three goals and Johnny Bucyk becomes the first player to score 400 goals for the Bruins.

 

1997: The Ottawa Senators defeat the visiting Bruins 3-2 for their first win against Boston since entering the League in 1992. The Senators are 0-20-2 against Boston before the victory; the Bruins are the final remaining NHL team the Senators haven't defeated.

 

2014: A crowd of 105,491 fans, the largest ever to attend an NHL game, fills Michigan Stadium to see the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout to win the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. Tyler Bozak scores in the third period to put Toronto ahead 2-1, then gets the winning goal in the third round of the shootout.

 

2015: Troy Brouwer scores the tiebreaking goal with 12.9 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington. With Chicago's Jonathan Toews off for hooking, Brouwer beats Corey Crawford to break a 2-2 tie.

 

2016: Paul Byron scores two goals and the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins 5-1 in the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Montreal goaltender Mike Condon, a Boston-area native, makes 27 saves, allowing only a third-period goal to Matt Beleskey.

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{allcanada} Malkin's OT winner propels Pens past Canadiens

 

PITTSBURGH (AP) The Penguins closed out a memorable year with one last dramatic win.

Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal 1:54 into overtime and Pittsburgh rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday night for its fourth straight victory.

Montreal was whistled for too many men on the ice 1:10 into OT, and then Malkin scored his 16th of the season. Conor Sheary tied it with 55 seconds left in the third period by scoring his ninth goal of the season.

''I think we want to play with the lead a little bit more, but I think the resilience we have is showing,'' Sheary said.

Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel also scored for the Penguins, who won for the fifth time in six games as they defend their Stanley Cup championship. Pittsburgh won 12 of 15 games in December, finishing with 12 wins in a calendar month for the fourth time in team history and the second under coach Mike Sullivan.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 37 shots for Pittsburgh. He is 6-0-1 in his last seven games and tied former Penguin Tom Barrasso for 17th on the NHL's career wins list with 369.

Defenseman Kris Letang returned for Pittsburgh after missing seven games with a lower-body injury. The Penguins won four of seven games without Letang, who assisted on the tying and winning goals.

''He's such a difference-maker for our team and we use him in so many situations,'' Sullivan said. ''It's hard to ease him in because when he's on your bench, it's so tempting to put him over the boards. He means so much to this team.''

Alexander Radulov, Paul Byron and Brian Flynn scored for the Canadiens, who have one win in their last five games. Montreal, on a season-high seven-game road trip, has seven wins in 17 road games this season.

Carey Price made 37 saves for Montreal.

''I thought we played pretty well,'' Price said. ''But it's always tough to lose a game when you're up with a minute left. And to lose in overtime isn't too much fun.''

Malkin finished with a goal and an assist to move ahead of Sidney Crosby for the NHL scoring lead with 43 points. Malkin scored seven goals and had 21 points in December.

Crosby, who entered tied with Edmonton's Connor McDavid for the scoring lead, had his six-game point streak and season-high five-game point streak end. Crosby led all players in the 2016 calendar year with 53 goals and 100 points in 76 games.

The year almost ended with a loss for the defending Stanley Cup champs, who trailed throughout most of the third period. But Pittsburgh pressed down the stretch to score the equalizer.

''It was not a perfect game,'' Letang said. ''We got the result, but it was wide open. It's not the style we want to play, but at least we have the character to come back in games.''

Flynn gave Montreal a 3-2 lead 2:04 into the third period. His initial shot hit the post and kicked back out, hitting Penguins' D Chad Ruhwedel and Fleury before going into the net.

The lead stood until Sheary tied the game in the final minute for Pittsburgh. Fleury was pulled when Justin Schultz's shot hit Sheary in front and deflected behind Price. Schultz has seven goals and 19 points in his last 16 games.

''There was a lane to the side of the net and I think (Schultz) saw me,'' Sheary said. ''I wouldn't be surprised if he shot it at my chest to redirect it, but it was a great play by him to get it through.''

It was the goal that allowed Pittsburgh to win it in overtime and close 2016 with a win.

''The end result is always what matters,'' Sheary said. ''To climb two more points in the standings is huge at this point of the year.''

NOTES: Defenseman Olli Maatta returned for Pittsburgh after missing two games with an illness. ... Pittsburgh, with points in 11 straight home games, owns the league's best home record at 17-2-2. ... Canadiens D Shea Weber played in his 800th NHL game. Weber played 11 seasons in Nashville before he was traded to Montreal in the summer. ... Goaltender Matt Murray, who led Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup in the spring, is week-to-week with a lower-body injury suffered Wednesday against Carolina.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Continue their trip Tuesday at Nashville

Penguins: Begin their bye week and will not play again until Sunday, Jan. 8 against Tampa Bay at home.

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{allcanada} Murray ends landmark year with win over Raonic

 

(Reuters) - World number one Andy Murray ended 2016 with a 6-3 7-6(6) win over big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic to take third place at the year-ending exhibition tournament Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

The 29-year-old Scot succumbed to a surprise loss to Belgian David Goffin on Friday, having ended the official season with a 24-game string of wins.

Murray started the match quickly, breaking Raonic in his first two service games to take the first set. He survived a fight-back from Raonic in the second set, before wrapping up the match in the tie-break.

"It was good to finish the year with a win. It was a good match to work on returns as Milos has a strong serve," said Murray, who has just been knighted in the New Year Honours list.

"I still feel like Andy Murray -- that feels more normal. But I am happy with the knighthood, and it is a nice way to start the new year."

Murray ended 2016 at the top of the men's rankings for the first time having won titles including Wimbledon, where he beat Raonic in the final, and the Rio Olympics and ATP World Tour Finals.

He will be looking to defend his world number one ranking at the Australian Open starting in mid-January. Murray has been the runner-up in the men's singles competition in Australia five times but has yet to win it.

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{allcanada} CANUCKS (16-18-3) at OILERS (19-12-6)

 

CANUCKS (16-18-3) at OILERS (19-12-6)

10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, NHL.TV

 

Canucks team scope

The Vancouver Canucks are trying to win their third straight game, something they haven't done since winning their first four games of the season. They defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime Friday and Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Wednesday. They came back from a two-goal second-period deficit against the Ducks and center Henrik Sedin scored in overtime. "We didn't get off to a great start, but I thought we took over halfway through the first and we played even with them," Sedin told the Canucks website Friday. "It was a good comeback win for us, and to get two points here after L.A. too is huge for us." The Canucks did not have a morning skate Saturday. They are nine points behind the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division standings. The Canucks lost their first game against the Oilers this season 2-0 in Vancouver on Oct. 28. "They [Oilers] are a big team, they have lots of speed and they are hard to handle back-to-back," Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said Friday. "We're just focused on this one [Friday] and [Saturday] going in there we know what to expect. We know they're going to be good and we know we have to be ready. It's a big game for us." Canucks forward Daniel Sedin is one assist from 600 in the NHL. Jacob Markstrom is expected to start in goal after Ryan Miller made 24 saves in the win Friday.

 

Oilers team scope

The Oilers have won four of their past five games (4-0-1) and are playing at home on New Year's Eve for the fourth time. They are 2-14-1 on New Year's Eve and have not won since defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in Edmonton on Dec. 31, 1985. "This is huge, obviously," forward Leon Draisaitl said. "Divisional games are always big. We know they [Canucks] have been playing pretty good hockey lately, so we have to make sure we're ready. This is a big game for us." Draisaitl has seven goals and 15 points in his past 13 games. The Oilers are second in the Pacific Division; they have 44 points, the same as the Ducks, but have played one fewer game. They're also three points behind the first-place San Jose Sharks. "Our confidence is pretty high," Draisaitl said. "I think the last couple of games we've been playing really good and we've been getting together some wins and a lot of points over the last five or six games, which is huge." Defenseman Andrej Sekera will miss his second consecutive game because of an illness. Sekera participated in an optional morning skate Saturday but is not expected to play until the Oilers begin a four-game road trip at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. "He's lost a lot of weight and his energy level is low," coach Todd McLellan said. "We're hoping that he can build that back up in time to play in Columbus."

 

Canucks projected lineup

Daniel Sedin -- Henrik Sedin -- Jayson Megna

Loui Eriksson -- Brandon Sutter -- Markus Granlund

Sven Baertschi -- Bo Horvat -- Alexandre Burrows

Brendan Gaunce -- Michael Chaput -- Jack Skille

Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher

Luca Sbisa -- Christopher Tanev

Ben Hutton -- Nikita Tryamkin

Jacob Markstrom

Ryan Miller

Scratched: Andrey Pedan, Anton Rodin, Alex Biega

Injured: Derek Dorsett (back), Erik Gudbranson (wrist), Philip Larsen (upper body), Jannik Hansen (knee)

 

Oilers projected lineup

Milan Lucic -- Connor McDavid -- Jordan Eberle

Patrick Maroon -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl

Matt Hendricks -- Mark Letestu -- Zack Kassian

Benoit Pouliot -- Drake Caggiula -- Jesse Puljujarvi

Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson

Kris Russell -- Matthew Benning

Brandon Davidson -- Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

Jonas Gustavsson

Scratched: Taylor Beck, Jordan Oesterle,

Injured: Iiro Pakarinen (knee), Andrew Ference (hip), Darnell Nurse (foot), Mark Fayne (lower body), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Andrej Sekera (illness)

 

Status report

Miller is not expected to play, but he is one win away from 350 in the NHL. … The Oilers recalled defenseman Jordan Oesterle from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Friday for insurance because a flu bug is making its way through the locker room.

 

Who's hot

Eriksson has two goals and two assists in his past four games. Henrik Sedin has scored the game-winning goal in two straight games. … Maroon has three goals in his past four games. Draisaitl has one goal and five assists in his past five games.

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{allcanada} COYOTES (11-20-5) at FLAMES (19-17-2)

 

COYOTES (11-20-5) at FLAMES (19-17-2)

10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN360, SN1, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV

 

 

Coyotes team scope

Goaltender Louis Domingue will start for the first time since Dec. 5 with the Arizona Coyotes on a six-game losing streak. "Sometimes you've just got to change a few things up to get a different look," coach Dave Tippett said. Domingue is 4-9-1 with a 3.37 goals against average and .898 save percentage in 16 games. Mike Smith has started Arizona's past 12 games. "It feels good to be back in net and prove to myself, prove to my teammates I can do the job," Domingue said. The Coyotes will start a stretch of three straight road games at the Calgary Flames on Saturday after going 0-5-0 on their homestand. "If we don't reset at a team, as a group, and get going the right direction you're just going to get embarrassed like we have on the last homestand," Domingue said. "We have to bring the game we know we can." The Coyotes are 3-10-3 in the past 16 games, and 5-10-3 on the road this season. "You watch some of the parts of our game and there's some real positives and you get to other parts where we bring trouble on ourselves, whether it be a bad penalty or a bad turnover and we haven't been able to overcome that," Tippett said. "We continue to build some of the good that we're doing and try to take out some of the negative factors that have a big impact on the game."

 

Flames team scope

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton will return to the lineup for Calgary after missing a 3-1 loss against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and practice Friday because of the flu. "I just tried to get better as soon as I can," Hamilton said. "I feel good." Hamilton leads Calgary's defense in scoring with six goals, 15 assists and 21 points. "Getting Dougie back in just to help us on the back end, especially on the offensive side and on the power play, and he gives us a big body that can move the puck," said coach Glen Gulutzan, whose team is 9-4-0 in its past 13 games. "He's a real important guy to our group and it's good to have him back." The Flames had an optional morning skate. Goaltender Brian Elliott will try for his fourth consecutive win after losing seven in a row. He is starting for the third time in the past four games after Chad Johnson started nine of the previous 10. "His game is building," Gulutzan said of Elliott. "We talk about how hard he works in practice and how professional he is. Now he's got his game going. For a while there he didn't play for a period of time. He's got some games in, he's got some minutes in, he's got some good practices in."

 

Coyotes projected lineup

Tobias Rieder -- Martin Hanzal -- Anthony Duclair

Jamie McGinn -- Jordan Martinook -- Radim Vrbata

Brendan Perlini -- Peter Holland -- Shane Doan

Lawson Crouse -- Christian Dvorak -- Josh Jooris

Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Connor Murphy

Alex Goligoski -- Anthony DeAngelo

Jakob Chychrun -- Michael Stone

Louis Domingue

Mike Smith

Scratched: Luke Schenn

Injured: Max Domi (upper body), Brad Richardson (broken leg), Ryan White (lower body)

 

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Micheal Ferland

Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik

Kris Versteeg -- Sam Bennett -- Alex Chiasson

Lance Bouma -- Matt Stajan -- Garnet Hathaway

Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton

TJ Brodie -- Dennis Wideman

Jyrki Jokipakka -- Deryk Engelland

Chad Johnson

Brian Elliott

Scratched: Tyler Wotherspoon, Freddie Hamilton

Injured: Ladislav Smid (neck), Troy Brouwer (finger)


Status report

White did not travel to Calgary and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to Tippett. The Coyotes assigned defenseman Kevin Connauton to Tucson of the American Hockey League on Friday for a conditioning stint.

 

Who's hot

Vrbata and Rieder each have a goal and an assist in their past two games. Duclair has goals in back-to-back games ….Backlund has four goals and seven points during a three-game point streak. Tkachuk has five assists and six points in a five-game point streak. Gaudreau has four goals and 14 points in 11 games since returning from a fractured finger.

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{allcanada} Kudo, Whitecaps mutually agree to terminate contract

 

VANCOUVER — Striker Masato Kudo and the Vancouver Whitecaps mutually agreed to a contract termination on Friday.

The 26-year-old Kudo joined the Whitecaps last December from Japan's Kashiwa Reysol and appeared in 19 matches in all competitions, scoring three goals and one assist. The Tokyo native was Kashiwa Reysol's all-time leading scorer with 91 goals in 247 appearances.

"Masato is one of the best professionals I have ever worked with and we are thankful for the contributions he made during his time in Vancouver," Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson said in a statement. "This move will provide Masato an opportunity to explore additional first team options. We wish him all the best."

Kudo suffered a gruesome head injury in May in a game against the Chicago Fire that resulted in surgery for a fractured jaw. The forward was hit by Chicago goalkeeper Matt Lampson as both players were going for the ball early on in the match.

Kudo took a shoulder to the face before his head slammed on the turf. Blood could be seen dripping from his mouth as players from both teams immediately waved to Vancouver's medical staff for help. Kudo was initially diagnosed with a concussion.

He missed two months due to the injury.

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{allcanada} Marchand stands against homophobic slur

 

BOSTON — Bruins winger Brad Marchand is standing up to a Twitter user who attacked him with a homophobic slur.

Marchand says the slur happened two days ago and he thought it important to go public and reply directly to the person who wrote it. The player says this struck home because he has a "few friends that are in same-sex relationships."

In speaking to the media about this before Saturday's home game against the Buffalo Sabres, Marchand said: "Nowadays it's not right to go after people that way, so I figured I'd get it out there."

Marchand says the person who used the slur also directed it at a teammate.

The Boston forward says he replied to the Twitter user, writing: "This derogatory statement is offensive to so many people around the world."

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