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Connor scores twice, Ehlers nets winner as Jets edge Canadiens – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

March 18, 2021

WINNIPEG — Nikolaj Ehlers knows he had a lot of help in securing an overtime win for the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

Just under a minute into overtime, Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made a giant save on Montreal Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry.

Winnipeg came away with the puck and Ehlers streaked down the ice, firing a shot from the top of the hash marks through the legs of Habs netminder Carey Price to seal a 4-3 OT victory for the Jets.

“I already said thank you to (Hellebuyck). He saved me a little there,” said Ehlers, who also had an assist in regulation.

“But that’s 3-on-3 right there. You get a big chance one way and it either ends up in the net or it’s going the other way for a big chance. Luckily, it went the right way for us tonight.”

Winnipeg (18-9-2) struck early on Wednesday with Blake Wheeler burying the first shot of the game 50 seconds into the first period.

The early goal gave the Jets the jump they needed, Ehlers said.

“You wish you could start every single game like that,” he said. “A start like that just shows that our leader, our captain, was ready to go. That got us going right off the start and I think that we kept that going throughout the game.”

Kyle Connor added a pair of goals and Pierre-Luc Dubois contributed three assists for the Jets, who were coming off a 4-2 loss to the Canadiens on Monday.

Winnipeg has yet to lose two games in a row in regulation this season.

The stat is a testament to the character in the Jets locker room, Connor said.

““You get a little bitter, you get a little sour taste if we lose a game and you know the next night that we’re coming out hard,” he said.

Winnipeg had a 3-1 advantage heading into the final frame Wednesday. Brendan Gallagher cut the lead in half 5:58 into the third and Tyler Toffoli forced overtime with 85 seconds left on the clock.

Jets coach Paul Maurice said his team has traditionally been strong in third this season, but didn’t move the puck well in the closing period on Wednesday.

“We’ll take the two points. We found a way to win,” he said. “You don’t like to give up the two goals the way we did. But you find that desperation in all these games.”

Toffoli’s late goal came after Montreal pulled Price in favour of an extra attacker.

Toffoli snuck behind the Jets net, accepted a pass from Corey Perry and slammed it in behind Hellebuyck before anyone in a Winnipeg jersey registered his presence.

Phillip Danault added a goal and an assist for Montreal (13-8-8) and Price stopped 26-of-30 shots.

Teams aren’t always going to play their best, but the Canadiens need to find ways to claw out wins, Gallagher said.

“The games where you’re struggling a little bit, we’ve just got to play smarter,” said the right-winger who also notched an assist on Wednesday. “We probably just made some mistakes and if we just simplified our game, gave ourselves some time to get into it, maybe we don’t have to come back from two goals.”

The Canadiens have not won in overtime or a shootout this season.

Coach Dominque Ducharme said his squad looked poised to change that on Wednesday before Ehlers put away the game-winning goal.

“We were just on the verge to build something even stronger there with the change and fresh guys and attacking guys that are tired. I thought we attacked at the right time,” he said.

Despite the final results, Ducharme said pushing for overtime shows that his group is in every game they play.

“Obviously we want to win every game. And we want to take those situations,” he said.

“You want to take those chances and get the extra point, for sure. And I think our guys realize where we panic at times and where we get impatient and where we open the door to the other team instead of keeping control.”

The Jets open a seven-game road trip Thursday in Edmonton. The Canadiens are heading back to Montreal where they’ll host the Canucks on Friday.

NOTES: Both teams were 0 for 2 on the power play. ? Wednesday marked the final outing in a six-game road trip for the Canadiens. ? Montreal centre Nick Suzuki played his 100th NHL game.

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Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

19 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

19 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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