EDMONTON — Scoring early in every period was a recipe for success for the Calgary Flames on Friday.
Andrew Mangiapane had a goal and two assists as the Flames cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers — getting goals 11 seconds, 68 seconds and 57 seconds into each period.
“It sure helps. Any time you can score as quickly in periods as we did, it’s helpful. You get to play out in front as opposed to behind and I thought that was a big thing for us tonight,” said Flames interim head coach Geoff Ward. “I thought it was our most complete hockey game in a long time. I thought the guys did a good job playing the right way.”
Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund also scored for the Flames (20-15-5), who had lost four of their previous five games.
“We came to each period and we scored right away so it was huge for us,” said Calgary goalie David Rittich, who made 28 saves for the win in net. “The guys did a really good job and they didn’t get too much on me. It wasn’t that hard of a game, but I’m taking those two points and going home.”
Connor McDavid responded for the Oilers (20-17-4), who have lost eight of their last 10.
“We’ve kinda thrown our good start away, but we’ve given ourselves a chance in the second half here to chase down a playoff spot,” McDavid said, adding that the team is clearly in a bit f a funk at the moment.
“It’s a confidence issue. When things are going good and something bad happens, you bounce back right away. Now, it just seems when something bad happens we’re just waiting for another bad thing to happen again. We’ve got to snap out of that.”
It was a disastrous start for Edmonton. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was muscled off the puck behind the net and Lindholm sent it in front to Mangiapane, who was all alone to score his eighth of the season past Oilers starter Mikko Koskinen. The goal came on the first shot of the game, just 11 seconds into the first period.
Calgary added to its lead 12 minutes into the opening period as Mangiapane won a battle with defender Darnell Nurse and sent it across to Tkachuk for this 15th.
Nurse got some redemption a couple minutes later as his shot was tipped past Rittich by McDavid for his 22nd of the year.
The Flames made it 3-1 just 68 seconds into the middle frame as a soft wrist shot from Monahan trickled through Koskinen’s legs.
Calgary didn’t let up, with Lindholm sending a shot through a screen past Koskinen for his 16th of the season — prompting the Oilers to replace him in net with Mike Smith after the starter allowed four goals on 24 shots.
They got another early-period goal in the third as Backlund beat Smith on a short-handed breakaway just 57 seconds in to put Calgary up by four goals.
The Flames are back in action on Sunday when they host the Vancouver Canucks, while the Oilers are off until Tuesday, when they welcome the New York Rangers to town.
Notes: It was the first meeting of the season out of five scheduled contests between the provincial rivals, with games on Jan. 11, Jan. 29, Feb. 1 and Apr. 4 still to come in the second half of the schedule. The two teams split their series last year… A pre-game ceremonial faceoff featured 19-year-old rising soccer star and Edmonton native Alphonso Davies, a midfielder for FC Bayern Munich and member of the Canadian national men’s soccer team.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2019.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
