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Tuesday, December 31, 2019

{allcanada} Kane scores twice, leads Blackhawks to 5-3 win over Flames

 

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Patrick Kane has been the NHL's most prolific goal scorer over the last 10 years, and he closed out the decade in style.

Kane had two goals and two assists, and the Chicago Blackhawks raced out to a four-goal lead and held on to beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Kane finished the decade as the NHL's top scorer with 802 points, just ahead of Sidney Crosby (788). Third was Alex Ovechkin (781).

''You've got to play on good teams, you've got to play with good players, you've obviously got to be healthy, got to be consistent,'' Kane said about the accomplishment. ''It's been a fun 10 years. Looking forward to seeing what the next decade brings.''

Kane set up goals by Olli Maatta at 4:14 and Alex Debrincat at 5:35 and then made it 3-0 at 12:44 of the first period when he cut across the slot and beat David Rittich with a wrist shot from 30 feet out.

Kane's 21st goal of the season was the 377th of his career, tying him with Denis Savard for fourth on the Blackhawks' all-time list. The top three are Bobby Hull (604), Stan Makita (541) and Steve Larmer (406).

''He had an unbelievable career in Chicago,'' Kane said about Savard. ''Obviously he was my first coach. He's been a great friend and mentor since the day I got here in Chicago. Unbelievable person. Obviously an unbelievable player.

''I'm sure that number would've been a lot higher had he spent his whole career in Chicago. Humbled and honored to be mentioned in the same sentence as Denis.''

Kane's second of the game was an empty-netter at 19:59 of the third.

Dylan Strome also scored for Chicago (18-17-6), which has won three straight and five of six.

Sam Bennett, Michael Frolik and Sean Monahan scored for Calgary (20-17-5). The Flames are winless in their last five at home. (0-4-1).

Robin Lehner was excellent in net for the Blackhawks, winning his sixth straight start to improve to 12-6-4. Among his 41 saves was a highlight-reel stop in the first period when he dove across to make a paddle stop off Johnny Gaudreau, who was set up for what looked like a sure goal by Derek Ryan. Five minutes into the second, Lehner thwarted Andrew Mangiapane on a breakaway.

Rittich and the Flames fell behind 3-0 for the second game in a row. On Sunday night, in a 5-2 loss at home to Vancouver, Calgary was down 3-0 less than 11 minutes into the game.

Rittich was pulled that night after three goals on seven shots. This time, after three goals on 11 shots, interim head coach Geoff Ward left him in and he was solid the rest of the way, finishing with 26 saves. His record falls to 17-10-5.

Chicago made it 4-0 at 9:41 of the second when Strome strolled in uncontested and scored from 25 feet out into the top corner.

The Flames got on the scoreboard with six seconds left in the second, Bennett knocking in his first goal since Nov. 2 on a feed from Derek Ryan.

Calgary then made it close in the late-going on Frolik's short-handed goal at 15:30, off a Duncan Keith turnover, and Monahan's goal on a Matthew Tkachuk rebound at 16:48.

But the Blackhawks withstood the late push over the final couple minutes with Rittich pulled for an extra skater.

The great frustration in the Flames' dressing room was how they fell behind big once again.

''We've got to come out with a real aggressive mindset. I think we were a little bit passive the first few shifts and they took advantage of that,'' said captain Mark Giordano. ''Down three, four goals in this league, although we made a good push, it's a tough mountain to climb.''

NOTES: Flames D TJ Brodie (illness) was unable to play, which opened up a spot for Michael Stone. ... Also returning to Calgary's line-up after being scratche last game was LW Zac Rinaldo and LW Sam Bennett. ... Chicago LW Alex Nylander was a healthy scratch for Chicago.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: At Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

Flames: Host New York Rangers on Thursday.

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Posted by Cidinha at 11:28 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Neal records hat trick in 4-point game, Oilers top Rangers

 

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- The Edmonton Oilers nearly allowed a dubious first in NHL history.

James Neal had three goals and an assist and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and three assists as the Oilers built a six-goal lead and held on to beat the New York Rangers 7-5 on Tuesday night.

No team in NHL history has ever come back to win from a 6-0 deficit.

''We got a little passive in the third,'' Nugent-Hopkins said. ''They have some high-end skill that will make you pay if you sit back too much, but at the end of the day we got the two points and we're happy with the win.''

Leon Draisaitl, Josh Archibald and Kailer Yamamoto also scored for the Oilers (21-17-4) who snapped a two-game losing skid and won for just the third time in 11 games.

It was also the first time the Oilers have won a game on New Years Eve since 1985, going 0-13-3 with a tie during that span.

''I was one year out of being a rookie in the league, that is a long time ago,'' Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said. ''I found that stat hard to believe when I heard it, but if that is the case I am glad we were able to break the streak.''

Chris Kreider, Ryan Strome, Marc Staal, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad scoredfor the Rangers (19-16-4) who saw a two-game winning streak come to an end.

Rangers head coach David Quinn said his team showed some tenacity by not giving up, but they should not have been in the situation in the first place.

''We showed some things we're going to need moving forward,'' he said. ''That being said, we can't lose sight of the fact we can't start a game like that and we have to build on that ending and carry that over.''

After allowing a goal 11 seconds into their loss to Calgary on Friday, the Oilers scored 11 seconds into their game against the Rangers on their first shot, as Zack Kassian made a backhand pass in front to Neal, who directed home his 17th of the season past New York goalie Alexandar Georgiev.

Edmonton took a two-goal lead on the power play nine minutes into the opening period as Neal tipped in a long shot by Oscar Klefbom for his second goal of the game.

The Oilers kept coming with yet another goal two minutes later as Nugent-Hopkins redirected in his eighth of the season off of an Ethan Bear shot, giving Edmonton three goals on six shots.

Edmonton went up 4-0 with another power-play goal with seven minutes left in the second frame as Nugent-Hopkins kicked the puck back to Draisaitl in traffic in front and he scored his 23rd.

The Rangers took a bench penalty out of frustration with the officiating and the Oilers scored another power-play goal just 12 seconds later. Connor McDavid dropped it back to Neal, who blasted in a shot for the hat trick.

Edmonton scored its third goal in less than three minutes as Archibald snapped home his third.

That chased an irate Georgiev from the net. Henrik Lundqvist replaced him.

The Rangers finally got one past Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen as Kreider sent a one-timer into the net with 25 seconds remaining in the second period.

New York got another one back five minutes into the third as Strome converted on a great pass from Adam Fox.

The Rangers then gave the Oilers a scare with two goals in 38 seconds as Staal scored his second of the season and Panarin notched his 22nd to go along with three assists.

The comeback continued with 3:45 left in the third period as Koskinen made a glove save on a Zibanejad shot, but that glove was deemed to be well over the goal line.

The Oilers managed to finally put the game away with an empty net goal by Yamamoto, who was playing his first game of the season.

UP NEXT

Rangers: At Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Oilers: At Buffalo Sabers on Thursday.

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Posted by Cidinha at 11:28 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Kyle Connor's hat trick lifts Jets over Avs 7-4

 

DENVER (AP) -- Kyle Connor put his team in a tough spot with an unfortunate penalty. The young forward redeemed himself soon after to lift the struggling Winnipeg Jets.

Connor had three goals for his second career hat trick and first in the regular season, and the Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Blake Wheeler scored twice and added an assist and Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers had empty-net goals for Winnipeg. Scheifele and Jack Roslovic had three assists each and Ehlers had two. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 39 shots.

The Jets had gone 2-5-1 in their last eight but ended 2019 on a high note with a third-period rally led by Connor. His double-minor for a cross check early in the third period led to Colorado's goal that made it 3-all, but he made up for it a few minutes later.

Just seven seconds into Winnipeg's only power play of the game, he tipped in a shot by Neal Pionk to put the Jets ahead for good.

''I've got to control my stick a little better, but I was just trying to make a play and I ended up with four minutes,'' Connor said. ''Watching them score, too, it's tough to sit there and watch that but we battled back and everybody, top to bottom, we got efforts from everybody, so it was a good one.''

He got his 20th of the season and his hat trick when he roofed a backhander at 16:31 of the third. He now has six goals in his last four games.

''He's dialed in. I mean, the kid's got world-class hands on him and just works extremely hard,'' Wheeler said.

Connor's only other hat trick against Nashville on March 23, 2019.

Wheeler, who played in his 900th career game, has 19 goals and 51 points in 36 career games against Colorado. Scheifele has 28 points in 26 games.

''That's a big number for sure,'' Jets coach Paul Maurice said of Wheeler's 900th game. ''The hard way. I've been here six full seasons, every day, every practice, every game I'm amazed at his ability to drive his body every single day. He plays a hard, grinding kind of game.''

Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri scored for the Avalanche. Colorado is 1-4-1 in its last six games despite outshooting the Jets 43-26 in addition to hitting the post on a couple of shots. Philipp Grubauer stopped 19 of 24 shots he faced.

''What was it, like two or three posts? So, chances were definitely there,'' said defenseman Erik Johnson, who had two assists. ''It's just going the wrong way for us right now and no one is happy about it, but there's ebbs and flows throughout the season. We're not trying to peak in January, we're trying to peak when it matters.''

MacKinnon now has 179 career goals, which is eighth in franchise history and fifth since the team became the Avalanche.

Wheeler's first of the game at 6:25 of the first made it 1-0 and MacKinnon scored at 9:43 of period.

Connor tipped his own rebound over Grubauer midway through the second and MacKinnon's one-timer at 13:47 made it 2-2. Winnipeg took a 3-2 lead into the intermission when Scheifele beat Grubauer with a slap shot.

The Avalanche again tied it when Landeskog scored his 10th of the season on a power play at 7:15 of the third.

NOTES: Sam Girard had two assists for Colorado. ... The Jets are 5-3 on New Year's Eve since relocating to Winnipeg in 2011. The Avalanche are 4-3-2 in Dec. 31 home games since moving to Colorado in 1995. ... Avalanche D Cale Makar is the team's Last Men In candidate to be part of the Central Division team in the All-Star Game. Voting starts Wednesday and goes through Jan. 10.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

Avalanche: Host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

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Posted by Cidinha at 11:27 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Haula helps Hurricanes earn 3-1 win over Montreal

 

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Erik Haula had a goal and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

Sebastian Aho also scored and Teuvo Teravainen had two assists for the Hurricanes (24-14-2), who won their second straight game after a three-game losing streak. Ryan Dzingel scored into an empty net.

Max Domi scored for the seventh straight game for the Canadiens (18-16-6), who dropped their third straight and closed out a seven-game trip with a record of 3-4.

Charlie Lindgren made 33 saves in his first start of the season for Montreal

Petr Mrazek stopped 28 of 29 shots for the Hurricanes, including a save on a breakaway by Phillip Danault when the score was tied 1-1 in the first period.

Ryan Poehling appeared to tie the score at 2-2 for Montreal with 8:08 remaining in the third period, but a replay review after a challenge by the Hurricanes concluded that Danault interfered with Mrazek on the play.

Haula opened the season with eight goals in his first 14 games before missing 19 of the next 21 due to injury. In five games since returning Dec. 21, he has three goals and six points, none bigger than his second-period score Tuesday.

Carolina entered the game with the seventh-most points in the Eastern Conference and looking to build on Saturday's win over Washington. The meeting with Montreal was the second game in a seven-game homestand that presents a critical opportunity to gain points in the standings near the midway point of the season.

With the score tied 1-1, Haula parked in front of the net and converted a feed from Brett Pesce after Teravainen started a rush with a clever pass to Pesce. That was the only goal of the second period.

Aho opened the scoring for the Hurricanes on a power play just 1:55 into the game when he batted the rebound of a Haula shot into the net. A replay review confirmed that the puck was below Aho's shoulder when he hit it, so the goal was allowed to stand.

Domi evened the score at 1-1 later in the first when he poked the puck away from Teravainen in the Carolina zone and capitalized on the turnover by send a wrist shot from the slot high into the net on Mrazek's glove side.

NOTES: Aho has scored 20 of his 23 goals since Nov. 1, more than any other NHL player during that span. ... Domi extended his point streak to eight games with his 12th goal of the season in the first period. He has seven goals and two assists in his last eight games. ... Teravainen has at least one assist in seven of his last eight games and has 33 assists this season.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Begin a three-game homestand on Thursday against Tampa Bay.

Hurricanes: Face Washington on Friday in the third game of a seven-game homestand.

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Posted by Cidinha at 8:05 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Matthews, Nylander lead Maple Leafs to 4-1 win over Wild

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Auston Matthews and William Nylander each had a goal and an assist and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 Tuesday night.

Alexander Kerfoot also scored and John Tavares added an empty-net goal for Toronto, which improved to 7-0-1 in its last eight games. Toronto has won 13 of 18 games since Sheldon Keefe took over as coach.

Frederik Andersen, named a first-time all-star Monday, stopped 26 shots.

Ryan Suter had a goal and Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves for Minnesota. The Wild, 10-4-3 at home, lost the first two games of a stretch in which they play 16 of 19 games at Xcel Energy Center.

Moments after a ''Let's Go Wild!'' chant began to offset a loud ''Go Leafs Go!'' from fans supporting the visitors, Matthews completed a perfect tic-tac-toe passing play with Nylander and Mitchell Marner to make it 3-0 on the power-play midway through the second period.

Matthews has eight goals and six assists in his last seven games. His 27 goals are second in the league; Boston's David Pastrnak has 29.

Suter scored on the power play to get the Wild within 3-1 later in the second period. Andersen was screened by Mikko Koivu, who returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury.

Minnesota went 1 for 3 on the power play and is 4 for 37 in its last 14 games.

Kerfoot scored off a pass from Tavares less than 6 minutes into the game for a 1-0 lead. Toronto made it 2-0 with 30.2 seconds left in the opening period when Matthews jammed at the puck at the right post before it trickled out to Nylander, who swept it in from inside the blue paint.

Nylander has goals in four straight games and six in his past seven. He also has five assists in that seven-game span.

NOTES: Toronto D Justin Holl signed a three-year contract extension with an average value of $2 million per season. The Minnesota native has established career highs with 10 assists and 11 points in 39 games this season. . Minnesota has scored 41 second-period goals in its last 28 games, tops in the league since Nov. 2. . The Wild is 1-12-1 when trailing after two periods.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: At Winnipeg Jets on Thursday

Wild: Host Winnipeg Jets on Saturday

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{allcanada} World juniors: Canada beats Czechs 7-2, plays Slovakia in QF

 

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic (AP) -- Canada routed host Czech Republic 7-2 Tuesday to complete the preliminary round at the world junior hockey championship and clinch top spot in its group.

Joe Veleno, Nolan Foote, captain Barrett Hayton, Connor McMichael, Liam Foudy, Dylan Cozens and Jared McIsaac all scored as Canada topped Group B with nine points.

Canada faces Slovakia, which finished fourth in Group A, in the quarterfinals.

Hayton and Cozens added three assists each, and goaltender Joel Hofer made 17 saves.

Vojtech Strondala and Libor Zabransky reduced Canada's lead to 4-2 midway through the middle period, netting their goals 14 seconds apart, but Foudy answered for Canada just 10 seconds later to stretch the advantage to 5-2.

The United States placed second in Group B - a point behind Canada - and next plays Finland, the third team in Group A. It's a rematch of last year's final which Finland won 3-2.

The Finns were upset 5-2 by Switzerland on Tuesday. Fabian Berri scored two goals for the Swiss, while Gaetan Jobin, Simon Knak and Valentin Nussbaumer also contributed a goal each and goaltender Stephane Charlin stopped 36 shots.

Anttoni Honka and Joonas Oden scored for Finland.

All four quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday.

Earlier Tuesday, Russia secured a quarterfinal spot with a 6-1 victory over Germany to finish third in Group B with six points.

Kirill Marchenko scored twice and added three assists and Pavel Dorofeyev had two goals for the Russians, who play Switzerland in the last eight.

Sweden won Group A by beating Slovakia 6-2. Alexander Holtz scored two for the Swedes, who play the Czechs in the quarters.

Germany, last in Group B, will play the best-of-three relegation series against Kazakhstan, the bottom team in Group A.

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Posted by Cidinha at 5:05 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-sign QB Jeremiah Masoli

 

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-signed quarterback Jeremiah Masoli on Tuesday.

According to TSN's Matthew Scianitti, the two sides agreed to a one-year deal, with the Tiger-Cats getting to see how Masoli recovers and the quarterback getting a look at his role with Dane Evans also in the fold. He adds that head coach Orlondo Steinauer will have decision power over the team's starting quarterback if both Masoli and Evans are healthy.

"It's exciting to have Jeremiah back for the 2020 season. His high character, remarkable work ethic and competitiveness make him a natural fit for our organization," Steinauer said. "He was likely to have multiple options come the start of free agency and we are pleased he has decided to remain in Hamilton."

Masoli suffered a season-ending knee injury six games into the 2019 season, leaving Evans to take over as the team's starter. Evans, who led the team to the Grey Cup, is under contract for another two seasons.

In six games for the Ticats this season, the 31-year-old Masoli finished with 1,576 yards, nine touchdowns, and seven interceptions on 125-175 passing.

The seven-year CFL veteran was an East Division All-Star in 2018 after throwing for 5,209 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions.

Evans started the last 12 games of the regular season, finishing with 3,754 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions on 298-413 passing.

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{allcanada} Mighty Ducks Memories | The Knuckle Puck

 
The Knuckle Puck. Is it fact or fiction? Goalie's worst nightmare or a skater's favourite trick (or both)? That and more as players recall the signature move from The Mighty Ducks!

Video: https://youtu.be/OY9KvKm8M3c

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{allcanada} Pageau fined for actions in Senators game against Penguins

 

NEW YORK -- Ottawa Senators forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been fined $2,500 for roughing Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin during NHL Game No. 612 in Pittsburgh on Monday, Dec. 30, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 19:40 of the third period. Pageau was assessed a minor penalty for roughing.

The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

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Posted by Cidinha at 12:27 PM 0 comments

{allcanada} Leafs sign defenceman Justin Holl to three-year extension

 

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenceman Justin Holl to a three-year extension, the team announced Tuesday.

Per the club's press release, Holl's new deal is worth $6 million and carries a $2-million cap hit through 2022-23.

This season has seen Holl, 27, thrive in his role as a regular on the Maple Leafs' blue line. He has registered career-highs across the board in games played (38), assists (10) and points (11) in 2019-20. In 51 career NHL games over parts of three seasons with Toronto, Holl has three goals and 14 points with a plus-11 rating. The Minnesota native has been with the Maple Leafs' organization since 2015, starting with an AHL contract with the Marlies and then signing an NHL deal a year later and working his way up the franchise's depth chart.

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Posted by Cidinha at 12:24 PM 0 comments
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