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Saturday, November 30, 2019

{allcanada} QMJHL: Fortier scores four times, Drakkar beat Olympiques

 

BAIE-COMEAU, Que. — Gabriel Fortier scored four times — including once on a penalty shot — as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar beat the Gatineau Olympiques 7-4 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

Enrico Di Cesare, Brendan St-Louis and Gabriel Proulx also scored for the Drakkar (12-12-5) while Raivis Kristians Ansons tacked on four assists.

Charles-Antoine Roy, Alexandre Hogue, Matthew Grouchy and Kieran Craig found the back of the net for the Olympiques (7-17-3), who are on a six-game slide.

Dakota Lund-Cornish made 28 saves for Baie-Comeau as Remi Poirier turned away 30-of-36 shots for Gatineau.

The Drakkar went 2 for 3 on the power play while the Olympiques were 2 for 4 with the man advantage.

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SAGUENEENS 7 HUSKIES 3

CHICOUTIMI, Que. — Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Theo Rochette both struck twice as the Sagueneens toppled Rouyn-Noranda for their fourth win in a row.

Artemi Kniazev had a goal and two helpers and Ethan Crossman and Tristan Pelletier also scored for Chicoutimi (20-5-2). Alexis Shank made 26 saves for the win.

Thomas Belzile, Louis-Filip Cote and Tyler Hinam scored for the Huskies (14-11-3). Kevyn Brassard gave up five goals on 16 shots in 20:32 of action for the loss.

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VOLTIGEURS 2 TIGRES 1

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. — Anthony Morrone kicked out 20 shots as the Voltigeurs beat Victoriaville for their third straight victory.

Isiah Campbell and Xavier Simoneau supplied the offence for Drummondville (17-11-0).

Alexander Peresunko scored for the Tigres (9-15-5). Tristan Cote-Cazenave turned away 21 shots in defeat.

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CATARACTES 4 SEA DOGS 3

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Gabriel Denis scored twice as Shawinigan erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Sea Dogs for its fifth win in a row.

Charles Beaudoin and Vasily Ponomarev also scored while Antoine Coulombe made 24 saves for the Cataractes (15-11-0).

Saint John (11-16-1) got goals from James White, Brady Burns and William Villeneuve. Zachary Bouthillier stopped 32 shots in defeat.

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MOOSEHEADS 3 ARMADA 0

HALIFAX — Alexis Gravel stopped all 32 shots his way as the Mooseheads blanked Blainville-Boisbriand.

Gavin Hart, Maxim Trepanier and Raphael Lavoie supplied the offence for Halifax (13-11-3).

Emile Samson kicked out 43-of-46 shots for the Armada (13-12-2).

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FOREURS 6 TITAN 4

BATHURST, N.B. — Peyton Hoyt scored twice and Alexandre Doucet had three assists as Val-d'Or downed Acadie-Bathurst to snap a three-game slide.

Justin Robidas, Jeremy Michel, Marshall Lessard and Emil Lessard-Aydin rounded out the offence for the Foreurs (13-12-3). Jonathan Lemieux made 29 saves for the win.

Evan MacKinnon, Remy Anglehart, Anderson MacDonald and Harijs Brants scored for the Titan (3-17-6), losers of four in a row. Tristan Berube stopped 24-of-29 shots in defeat.

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PHOENIX 3 REMPARTS 0

SHERBROOKE, Que. — Thomas Sigouin made 36 saves, including 14 in the third period, as the Phoenix shut out Quebec.

Patrick Guay, Nathael Roy and Julien Anctil scored for league-leading Sherbrooke (21-4-2).

Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo stopped 26-of-29 shots for the Remparts (12-15-1).

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Posted by Cidinha at 10:40 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Kings cool Jets’ November roll with 2-1 win

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Joakim Ryan and Nikolai Prokhorkin each scored and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 Saturday night.

Jack Campbell made 33 saves for the Kings, who have won six of their past eight home games.

Jack Roslovic scored but the Jets were unable to pick up an 11th win in their record-setting November. Winnipeg went 10-3-1, the most wins this month in franchise history. Laurent Brossoit made 32 saves.

Ryan put the Kings up 1-0 at 7:34 of the first period. It was Ryan's first goal with the Kings after signing with them as a free agent in July, going 65 NHL games between goals since scoring against Minnesota on Feb. 25, 2018 when he was playing for San Jose.

Dustin Brown got his fourth point in the past four games with an assist.

The Kings took a 2-0 lead at 12:12 on Prokhorkin's third goal. Prokhorkin, who had been a healthy scratch for the previous two games, was just outside the crease to put in the rebound of a shot by Trevor Lewis.

Kings defenseman Paul LaDue had the secondary assist in his season debut.

Roslovic got the Jets within 2-1 at 4:18 of the third period on a sharp-angle shot into an open net off a pass from Tucker Poolman.

NOTES: Jets D Dmitry Kulikov did not play after sustaining an upper-body injury against Anaheim on Friday. ... The Jets placed D Nathan Beaulieu on injured reserve. Beaulieu has missed three games because of an upper-body injury he sustained against Columbus on Nov. 23.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host Dallas on Tuesday night.

Kings: At Anaheim on Monday night.

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Posted by Cidinha at 10:26 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Pearson has 4-point game, Canucks beat Oilers 5-2

 

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- Tanner Pearson recorded the first four-point game of his career, leading the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.

Pearson had two goals and two assists, and Tyler Graovac, Loui Eriksson and Josh Leivo also scored for the Canucks. Bo Horvat also chipped in with three assists to help Vancouver snap its three-game losing streak.

Connor McDavid and Zack Kassian scored for Edmonton, which dropped its second straight.

Edmonton slipped to 16-9-3, and holds the Pacific Division lead. The Canucks are five points back at 13-10-4.

The Canucks' power play has been hot on their six-game trip and it propelled Vancouver to an early 1-0 lead.

Jacob Markstrom (8-6-3) made 27 saves in the victory, while Mike Smith (7-7-1) turned aside 33 of 38 shots for Edmonton.

Graovac, who was called up by the Canucks on Nov. 13, scored past Smith 3:31 into the opening period.

Pearson extended Vancouver's lead to 2-0 with his sixth of the season, and his second short-handed goal in five games. After a flurry of chances by the Oilers, Pearson took the puck down the right wing and tried to center a pass to J.T. Miller, but the puck went in off Smith's pad.

McDavid rallied Edmonton 42 seconds later, but the opening frame was dominated by Vancouver, which outshot the Oilers 17-7.

Kassian scored his ninth of the season at the 5:05 mark of the second period, tying the game at 2-2.

Kassian's goal sparked Edmonton and the winger nearly scored again but Markstrom stood his ground, denying Kassian from jamming in a loose puck in the crease twice midway through the second period.

Vancouver struck twice in a span of 4:17 as Pearson scored his second of the game and Eriksson added his first goal of the season on a backhand feed from Horvat, giving Vancouver a 4-2 lead.

The Oilers have had some big third-period comebacks this season, but Vancouver made sure to quash any notion of another rally. Leivo scored his third goal on a wraparound just 1:21 into the third period to give the Canucks a commanding 5-2 lead.

Despite being down by three goals early in the third, the Oilers showed a flurry of desperation. However, Markstrom came up big with a pad save from point-blank range off of McDavid in the Oilers' best scoring chance of the period.

NOTES: After being injured in the season opener, Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson played his first home game since Oct. 2 versus the Los Angeles Kings. Larsson made his return to the lineup on Nov. 21 at Los Angeles.

Graovac's first period goal was his second goal as a member of the Canucks since being recalled on Nov. 13. The 26-year-old has eight career NHL goals in 64 games with Minnesota, Washington and Vancouver, and he's scored three against the Oilers.

Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler sustained an upper-body injury and didn't play the third period versus Edmonton.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Host Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.

Oilers: At Vancouver on Sunday.

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{allcanada} Lindholm scores twice, Flames beat Senators 3-1

 

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Make it two wins in as many games for Calgary Flames interim head coach Geoff Ward.

Elias Lindholm scored the deciding goal late in the third period and added an empty-netter, leading the Flames to a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Ward was also a winner on Wednesday night, when Calgary beat Buffalo 3-2 in overtime.

Calgary head coach Bill Peters resigned on Friday amid allegations of racial slurs and physical abuse of players in previous jobs. Peters' resignation came after a lengthy process that included investigations by the Flames and the NHL.

''The group's been real resilient this week. They've found ways to pull together and it's evident on the bench tonight,'' said Ward, who has never previously been an NHL head coach.

Dillon Dube also scored for Calgary (13-12-4). The Flames improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau had his team-leading 14th goal for Ottawa (11-15-1), which lost its fourth straight. The Senators have scored just four goals in that span.

David Rittich made 26 saves and improved to 12-7-4. He was making his sixth consecutive start and league-high 23rd start for the season.

Marcus Hogberg had 24 saves for Ottawa in his first start of the season and the fifth of his career.

''I think he played real solid the whole way,'' said Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot. ''He made some big saves, that (Johnny Gaudreau) breakaway there, and plenty more during the game. We were lucky to have him. He was ready for it, ready for the challenge, and he played real well.''

The Senators' third round pick in 2013, Hogberg is up from Belleville of the American Hockey League while Craig Anderson (lower body) is sidelined. Anderson is not expected to be out long, but Hogberg got some game action with Anders Nilsson having played Friday night in Ottawa's 7-2 loss in Minnesota.

Lindholm's 13th goal of the season came less than a minute after Pageau had tied it.

Sean Monahan backhanded the puck high in the air and over defenseman Ron Hainsey, who put his arm up, but couldn't reach it. As it landed behind him, Lindholm was there and quickly fired the puck over the shoulder of Hogberg.

''He made a great play at the net to get that puck up from where he was,'' Ward said. ''We've talked about it a lot. When there's not ice in front of you, get the puck behind and skate onto it.''

Pageau ruined Rittich's bid for a shutout at 14:49 when he burst down the right side and fired a puck over the Czech goaltender's shoulder.

Forced to pull the goalie while on a penalty kill, Lindholm rounded out the scoring with his 14th goal of the season.

The Flames opened the scoring late in the first period. Artem Anisimov won a defensive zone face-off against Milan Lucic, but in pulling it back on his backhand, the puck glanced off the skate of Anthony Duclair and went right to Dube, who kicked the puck from his skate to his stick and sent a backhand past Hogberg.

NOTES: Monahan played in career game No. 500. ... Calgary D Travis Hamonic (lower body) and RW Austin Czarnik (lower body) are back practicing and both are expected back soon. They've missed six and 17 games, respectively.

UP NEXT

Senators: At Vancouver on Tuesday.

Flames: Host Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

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Posted by Cidinha at 10:23 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Tavares scores in OT, leads Maple Leafs past Sabres 2-1

 

TORONTO (AP) -- Frederik Andersen was put to the test, and the goaltender did enough to get the Toronto Maple Leafs the victory.

John Tavares scored at 1:45 of overtime and picked up his 400th NHL assist, and Anderson made 29 saves as the Maple Leafs beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Saturday night.

''He gave us a chance to win, especially in the third period, where we had to defend'' Tavares said. ''He made some big saves, even at the end of the second (period), too. That's why he's one of the best goalies in the league.''

Tavares' 10th goal of the season helped Toronto improve to 4-1-0 in its last five games. William Nylander also scored for the Maple Leafs (13-11-4), who split the home-and-home set with Buffalo.

Andersen started in goal in the back half of a home-and-home series, breaking the trend from recently fired head coach Mike Babcock of starting Andersen in the first game of the sequence.

''It was a little different because we didn't have a skate yesterday because of the early game,'' Andersen said of the change. ''I was able to skate a little this morning and obviously, we had more of a relaxed morning.''

Rasmus Ristolainen scored for Buffalo (12-10-5). Carter Hutton made 41 saves in defeat and fell to 0-5-3 in his last eight games.

The game marked the home-coaching debut for Sheldon Keefe. The former NHLer from Brampton was named head coach of the Maple Leafs on Nov. 20 after the team dismissed Babcock.

''We had some good moments, but (our effort level) was not where we want it to be or where we wanted it to be,'' Keefe said of his team's play. ''We have to give some credit to Buffalo, they really did a good job in both games against us and made it a little harder on us.''

The Maple Leafs outshot the Sabres 11-8 in the opening period. The best scoring chance for either team in the period came when Sabres forward Sam Reinhart's shot from the circle hit the post at 7:31.

The Maple Leafs opened the scoring in the second period.

Nylander went to the net after receiving a pass from Auston Matthews. He deked Hutton and shot the puck over his shoulder and into the net for the power-play goal at 5:30. Tavares picked up his milestone assist on the goal.

''It was a little lucky and it deflected between his arm and in,'' Nylander said of his goal. ''It was nice to get one on the power play, that's for sure.''

The Sabres had several chances to score in the period. Andersen made a glove save on a shot by Connor Sheary at 11:50. The play was reviewed as part of Andersen's glove appeared to be over the line, but the review was inconclusive.

''That was amazing, it kind of saved me because that was my guy,'' Nylander said of Andersen's save on Sheary. ''It was a big save for him.''

Later in the period, Jeff Skinner had a chance from the slot while Andersen lost control of his stick, but Andersen made the save at 18:31. Victor Olofsson's shot from the circle hit the post at 19:09.

The Maple Leafs outshot the Sabres 16-11 in the second period.

Buffalo tied the score in the third period. Rasmus Ristolainen scored his second goal after he saw a clear path to the net while trying to find a player open. He cut across the net and beat Andersen on the blocker side at 6:58.

''I thought the guys put that away really well and really deserved more than a point here when I look at the third period,'' Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger said. ''So really proud of the effort of the guys just digging it really deep and extremely disappointed with the final result.''

Tavares scored the winning goal past Hutton from long range.

''My first shot, I think I surprised him,'' Tavares said of the final play of the game. ''Then when I got a little bit of separation again, I got a little bit of a screen and tested him again. I was at the end of my shift, so I wanted to be sure with it and I was able to get some good wood on it and time it right.''

NOTES: The Sabres went 0 for 2 on the power play. They now have just one goal with the man advantage in their last 37 opportunities.

UP NEXT

Sabres: Host New Jersey Devils on Monday.

Maple Leafs: At Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

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Posted by Cidinha at 10:22 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Norman Powell's career-high leads Toronto Raptors over Orlando Magic

 

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Toronto Raptors weren't getting shots to fall. So they concentrated on defence and waited for somebody to get hot.

Norman Powell delivered in the third quarter, scoring 19 of his career-best 33 points and the Raptors won their sixth straight game, beating the Orlando Magic 90-83 on Friday night.

"Sometimes a guy just finds a groove in the middle of the game when nobody else has any flow going," said Fred Van Fleet, who added 22 points for the Raptors. "So you want to ride that out as long as you can. Norm took over the offence by himself."

Powell was 7-for-9 shooting in the third quarter, including three 3-pointers. He said he was just reacting to the Raptors' seven-point halftime deficit, the result of 31% shooting that included 5 of 24 from 3-point range.

"You stay in the moment and let plays come to you, continue to shoot and live with the result," Powell said. "Everybody is being really tied into what we are doing (defensively), how we are changing defences, where we need to be, helping one another, talking, communicating, coming out of timeouts. When we see where an adjustment needs to be made, we were able to pick it up in the second half."

The Raptors won despite 4-for-22 shooting by Pascal Siakam, the NBA's ninth-leading scorer. Siakam finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Evan Fournier scored 19 points for Orlando, which has lost four of five. Markelle Fultz added 15 points. Aaron Gordon, who played 32 minutes for Orlando after missing three games with a right ankle contusion, had eight points and eight rebounds.

The Magic shot 35% for the game and had 24 turnovers.

"You're just not going to beat a team that good turning the ball over that much," Magic coach Steve Clifford said. "They help early, they're great with their hands, you take the extra dribble and it's gone. The majority of (the turnovers) were that."

The Magic led by 11 twice in the first half. Van Fleet hit a pair of 3-pointers that helped the Raptors cut Orlando's lead to 47-40 by halftime. But he second half was all Toronto, and especially Powell.

"We had a stretch of 12 consecutive stops in the third quarter," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "That's about as high as it gets. It was excellent. We didn't shoot the ball well, we didn't play well. I was happy when we got to the locker room only down seven."

Powell scored Toronto's first 10 points in the second half, eight as part of a 13-0 run that gave the Raptors a 60-53 lead late in the third quarter.

Powell's final 3-pointer gave Toronto an 83-72 lead, their largest of the game, with less than three minutes left.

TIP-INS

Raptors: G Kyle Lowry (fractured left thumb) and F Serge Ibaka (sprained right ankle) sat out their 10th straight games. ... Toronto opponents are shooting .408 after 18 games. Milwaukee's .433 opposing field-goal percentage led the NBA last season.

Magic: C Nikola Vucevic missed a fourth straight game with a sprained right ankle. ...The Magic unveiled new grey and orange City Edition uniforms. ... For the 27th straight year, the Magic served Thanksgiving Breakfast at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida on Thursday. Coach Steve Clifford sponsored the meal, while CEO Alex Martins led a contingent of Magic staff in serving breakfast to more than 700 men, women and children.

FAMILIAR FOES

Including the five games in their first-round playoff loss, the Magic have played eight of their last 23 games against the Raptors. Toronto has won the last seven. The teams meet again in the regular-season finale in Orlando on April 15.

UP NEXT

Raptors: Host the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.

Magic: Host the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.

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Posted by Cidinha at 12:44 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Hamilton Tiger-Cats Offensive Coordinator Tommy Condell declines CFL head coach interviews

 

Hamilton Tiger-Cats offensive coordinator Tommy Condell has informed the Ottawa Redblacks, Edmonton Eskimos and BC Lions that he is not interested in interviewing for their head coach positions, according to TSN's Farhan Lalji.

Being told that #TiCats OC Tommy Condell has informed #RedBlacks #Eskimos & #BCLions that he is not interested in interviewing for their head coach positions. wants to remain in Hamilton. I believe he would have been a longshot for any of those teams. CFLonTSN @CFL

— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) November 30, 2019

According to Lalji, Condell would like to stay in Hamilton and he would have been a longshot to grab the position for any of those teams had he been successful after the interview process.

The Tiger-Cats finished the 2019 regular season with the best record in the CFL (15-3) but fell to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the Grey Cup last week.

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{allcanada} Ward focused on bringing stability to Flames as coach after controversy

 

CALGARY -- Geoff Ward was named interim coach of the Calgary Flames on Friday.

He replaces Bill Peters, who resigned earlier Friday -- three days after the NHL and Flames announced they were investigating a claim that Peters directed a racial slur at a player while coaching in the American Hockey League during the 2009-10 season.

"You want the guys to be able to come to the rink and just feeling good about being at the rink and feeling good about preparing to play hockey," said Ward, who was an associate coach with the Flames and guided them to a 3-2 overtime win at the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday with Peters absent. "If we can keep it as normal as possible, then as time goes on, everything looks after itself. For us, tomorrow is about coming to the rink preparing to play a hockey game, trying to make it as simple and as seamless as possible for the players.

"I can say I've never been in this circumstance taking over a team, but the reasoning doesn't matter. What's important is what you do once the moment happens and you need to step in. You need to make sure the team is prepared. In that regard, it's the same. But in the other regard, it's different."

Ward joined the Flames last season after spending three seasons with the New Jersey Devils as an assistant. He also was an assistant with the Boston Bruins from 2007-14, helping the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Ward has experience as a head coach in the Ontario Hockey League, ECHL, American Hockey League and Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany.

"Geoff's an experienced guy," general manager Brad Treliving said. "He's been around. Part of what we're going through right now is some turbulence. I think stability is important.

"But Geoff is a solid man, solid coach, knows the players, good relationship with the players. ... When this thing happened, I felt Geoff was the right man."

The Flames will host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN360, CITY, SNW, TVAS, NHL.TV).

"Ward is kind of seamless," forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "For him, he's worked with the forwards and power play. He's overseeing everything now. It's not as crazy of an adjustment. It is nice being on the bench knowing he's back there and not someone completely new right now because he's used to us and we're used to him.

"He's good to be around. He's got that positive energy, and he's positive on the bench."

Calgary (12-12-4), which finished first in the Western Conference last season, was tied with the Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division entering Friday.

"We want to keep it simple," Ward said. "We're not going to implement huge changes. Our players, they know how to play the game. Right now, I think it's more important that collectively as a group we're coming together and we're mentally ready to play. As things go along, we can slowly, when we have practice time, implement any changes we deem we have to make or want to make. Right now, we want to keep it the same for the players as much as we possibly can because we have a lot of games coming up. The games are where we need to be good.

"We talked again about how important it is in the dressing room that that's our place and as a team and as a family we get to grow in there, so let's insulate ourselves from the noise on the outside and let's just focus on what we need to, and that's getting ready to play Ottawa."

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Posted by Cidinha at 12:27 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Nov. 30: Bruins trade Thornton to Sharks

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Nov. 30

2005: In a trade that alters two franchises, the Boston Bruins send their captain, center Joe Thornton, to the San Jose Sharks for forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau, and defenseman Brad Stuart.

Thornton, the No. 1 pick in the 1997 NHL Draft, is off to a hot start with 33 points in Boston's first 24 games. But in the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he goes without a point in seven games playing with broken ribs, and the Bruins are upset by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. When the Bruins struggle at the start of the 2005-06 season after a number of players leave as free agents, general manager Mike O'Connell feels he needs to make a major move to overhaul his team.

Thornton makes himself right at home in San Jose, putting up 92 points in 58 games. He finishes the season with a combined 125 points, winning the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer and the Hart Trophy as MVP. He remains one of the NHL's most reliable playmakers for more than a decade.

None of the three players acquired by the Bruins make much of an impact, though the cap flexibility created by the trade later enables Boston to sign players such as defenseman Zdeno Chara.

 

MORE MOMENTS

1954: The Chicago Blackhawks tie the Montreal Canadiens 3-3 in a game played in Omaha, Nebraska. The Blackhawks play six home games during the 1953-54 season away from Chicago Stadium, in Omaha, St. Louis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

1968: Forward Val Fonteyne of the Pittsburgh Penguins extends his NHL-record penalty-free streak to 185 games when the Penguins defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at the Forum. Fonteyne's streak ends the next night when he's called for a minor penalty in the first period of Pittsburgh's game at the Oakland Seals.

 

1977: Phil Esposito moves into second place behind Gordie Howe on the NHL's all-time goals list with a hat trick in the visiting New York Rangers' 4-0 victory against the St. Louis Blues. The three goals give Esposito 605 in his career, one more than Bobby Hull.

 

1980: Peter Stastny becomes the first rookie in NHL history to have at last one point in each of his first 16 games. Stastny reaches the milestone with an assist in a 7-3 loss to the New York Islanders at Le Colisee.

 

1995: Grant Fuhr becomes the 11th goalie in NHL history to reach the 300-victory mark. The milestone win comes when the visiting Blues defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1. Fuhr finishes his NHL career with a record of 403-295 and 114 ties.

 

1996: Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins becomes the ninth player in NHL history to reach 1,400 points when he scores a goal and has three assists in a 6-2 victory against the visiting Boston Bruins. Ron Francis sets up two second-period goals to become the ninth player to reach 900 assists. Lemieux's milestone comes one year to the day that he scores four goals in a 9-6 win at Boston.

 

2005: Sergei Fedorov of the Columbus Blue Jackets becomes the first Russia born player to appear in 1,000 NHL games when he takes the ice for a 3-2 shootout win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Fedorov finishes his NHL career with 1,179 points in 1,248 games played.

 

2015: Henrik Lundqvist earns his 352nd NHL victory by making 33 saves in the Rangers' 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden. Lundqvist moves past Terry Sawchuk for the third-most wins by a goalie with one franchise in NHL history.

 

2017: Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks has three points (one goal, two assists) in a 5-3 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena to become the 87th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points. Point No. 1,000 comes on a second-period goal that's assisted by twin brother Henrik Sedin. Daniel reaches the milestone 315 days after Henrik. The Sedins become the only brothers in NHL history to each score 1,000 career points.

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Posted by Cidinha at 12:25 PM 0 comments

Friday, November 29, 2019

{allcanada} Andreescu and Davis Cup team anchor watershed Canadian season

Bianca-Andreescu-backhand

Bianca Andreescu delivered a Canadian sporting performance for the ages last summer. The Canadian Davis Cup team nearly provided another last weekend.

A remarkable 2019 season will be remembered as the year when everything changed on the Canadian tennis scene. Andreescu provided the showcase moment with her U.S. Open triumph in a remarkable campaign packed with memorable highlights from a number of players.

"The goal has always been to keep moving in the right direction," said retired tennis great Daniel Nestor. "I think it's hard to move more in the right direction than we did this year."

There was also Felix Auger-Aliassime's rapid ascension into the top 25 and Denis Shapovalov's first ATP Tour title last month in Stockholm. Doubles star Gabriela Dabrowski reached the WTA Finals and a resurgent Vasek Pospisil helped anchor a Davis Cup side that reached new heights even without injured mainstay Milos Raonic.

Eugenie Bouchard and Raonic helped put Canadian tennis on the map earlier in the decade. A youthful core — Andreescu and Auger-Aliassime are only 19 and Shapovalov is just 20 — bodes well for the future.

"I think it's gloves off," said Tennis Canada president and CEO Michael Downey. "How high these kids go, I don't know. But we have not seen the best of them."

Sportsnet broadcaster and former national team coach Robert Bettauer is also bullish on their potential.

"It is not unrealistic to expect that Canada will win more singles Grand Slam titles, can win the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup for that matter in due course, and will have a Canadian singles player ranked No. 1 in the world," he said in a recent interview. "That is our new future. That's what we can realistically look forward to."

Andreescu was a little-known player at the start of the year when she was ranked No. 152 in the world. Now, 'Bianca' is a household name in this country.

She won the BNP Paribas Open last March and took the Rogers Cup title five months later in Toronto. Andreescu reached a different stratosphere in September by beating the legendary Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final.

Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., earned over US$6.5 million on the season and is ranked fifth in the world.

Her coach, Sylvain Bruneau, said her performance at the season-opening ASB Classic in Auckland set the tone for the year. Andreescu beat former world No. 1s Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams before falling to Julia Georges in the final.

"I was like, 'OK she's ready now,"' Bruneau said. "I mean, not eventually, but now. She's now at the point where she's able to really come up big and take those big names down and make a name for herself and do something good.

"I knew it was going to happen and I guess Auckland was the moment where I thought, 'OK maybe we don't need to wait. Maybe it's now."'

Andreescu, who finished the season with a 48-7 singles record, became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title.

"What Bianca did is one of the greatest moments in Canadian sports history," Nestor said. "It's truly amazing what's going on."

Nestor, a former world No. 1 in doubles, had a front-row seat last week as a doubles coach for the Canadian Davis Cup team. Holding the No. 14 ranking spot at the start of the 18-team Finals, Canada was not expected to contend.

Instead they won Group F after upsetting Italy and the United States. Canada beat Australia and Russia in the playoff rounds before finally falling to Rafael Nadal's Spanish side.

The top-ranked Nadal provided high praise for the finalists afterward.

"They're going to be one of the teams that's going to be almost unbeatable in the next couple of years," he said. "They have a very strong team in more ways and on all surfaces."

Pospisil, from Vancouver, missed the first half of the season after undergoing back surgery. A former top-25 singles player, he won two lower-level Challenger events this fall before being thrust into both singles and doubles play in Madrid.

"He was simply magnificent at the Davis Cup," said Bettauer, the CEO of the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence. "He gave Canada virtually every key tie, the first point, over tough, tough players."

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., closes the season at a career-high No. 15. Auger-Aliassime, from Montreal, is No. 21 and Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., is No. 31.

Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., who replaced Raonic on the Davis Cup Finals roster, also made big strides this season by rising to No. 107, a jump of 90 ranking positions since early January. Dabrowski, from Ottawa, closed the season at No. 8 in the women's doubles rankings.

In addition, Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez is proving to be one of the sport's top prospects. The 17-year-old from Laval, Que., is the Canadian No. 2 and ranked No. 211 in the world.

She reached the final of the junior Australian Open and won the junior French Open before changing her focus to pro events. Fernandez won the singles title at the Gatineau Challenger in July and took the doubles title with Vancouver's Rebecca Marino.

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Posted by Cidinha at 7:14 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Habs recall D Olofsson, place Byron on IR

 

The Montreal Canadiens announced Friday that the team has recalled defenceman Gustav Olofsson from the AHL's Laval Rocket.

In 20 games with the Rocket this season, Olofsson has seven assists. He was acquired by the Habs in October 2018 from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Will Bitten. He played just two games for Laval last season before undergoing shoulder surgery.

Olofsson, 24, has appeared in 56 career NHL games, recording 11 assists.

The Habs also announced that forward Paul Byron was placed on injured reserve. Byron underwent knee surgery on Nov. 19, and his recovery period is expected to be four weeks.

In 19 games this season, Byron has one goal and four points.

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Posted by Cidinha at 7:13 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} One minute with William Nylander

Posted by Cidinha at 7:10 PM 0 comments
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