CALGARY — Thanks to Elias Lindholm‘s last-minute dramatics on Monday, there are two new entries in the Calgary Flames record book.
Lindholm’s game-winner with 46 seconds remaining extended his goal streak to eight games and the Flames’ winning streak to 10 games as Calgary defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-1.
Twice before, the Flames have won 10 games in a row. The last time was in 2016-17 with the streak beginning five years ago as of Monday. The other time was in 1978-79 when the franchise was still in Atlanta.
“Ten in a row is nice,” said Lindholm. “We were struggling a little bit there before we started this streak. It’s nice to see it go in. It was a tough game, it was tight. Not a lot of chances, but we stuck with it
Lindholm joins two others for the record of most consecutive games with a goal, equalling marks set by Gary Roberts (1992-93) and Kent Nilsson (1983-84) — both coming before Lindholm was born.
“It’s just a good feeling. You have confidence and you feel like you have a chance on every shot,” said Lindholm.
On the go-ahead goal, Kyle Connor mishandled the puck inside the Winnipeg blue line allowing the Flames to keep the puck in. Johnny Gaudreau hung on patiently before circling and sending a shot towards the front of the net that Lindholm deflected by Connor Hellebuyck.
“Quick transition, I just brought it back up the ice,” Gaudreau said. “I saw (Oliver Kylington) going back door and I saw (Lindholm) in front so I just chucked it there and great tip by Lindy.”
There will also be a fresh entry in the NHL record book after Calgary completed a perfect seven-game homestand. Never in league history has a team swept a homestand of seven or more games.
“It’s a blast,” said Gaudreau, talking about the mood coming to the rink right now. “Obviously, we’re winning games, we’re playing well, we’re doing better at practice. It’s nice that we get to stay in Calgary. We’ve been in Calgary for a while now.”
For Lindholm, it’s also three consecutive game-winning goals.
“Goal scoring is one thing, lots of guys are scoring goals, but don’t score big goals or at playoff time, don’t get scoring chances,” said Flames coach Darryl Sutter. “He scores big goals which usually translates into the next part.”
Lindholm thought he had scored halfway through the second, breaking a 1-1 tie. However, the Jets challenged for offside and, upon video review, the goal was overturned.
Little did Lindholm know at the time that he was the player in violation, crossing the blue line just before the puck.
“I didn’t see the offside goal until between periods and then I realized that I went offside,” Lindholm said with a smile.
The 27-year-old Swede has been the hottest Flames player during the streak which coincides with his 10-game point streak (nine goals, seven assists).
Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli, into an empty net, also scored for Calgary (30-13-6), which opens up a four-point lead on Las Vegas atop the Pacific Division. The Flames, who also hold two games in hand, return to action Thursday in Vancouver.
Dominic Toninato scored for Winnipeg (22-20-8). The Jets were opening up a four-game road trip that continues in Dallas on Wednesday.
“I’m sure we can find some positives. I think at this point of the year it’s about wins,” said Winnipeg centre Pierre-Luc Dubois. “Calgary’s a good team. Nobody thought it was going to be an easy game, but it could’ve gone either way tonight. Unfortunately it went their way. It’s a playoff race right now. Can’t be losing too many games.”
The Jets are seven points back of the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
“It’s hard when you’re 40 seconds away from at least getting a point but it’s a hard fought game,” said Winnipeg defenceman Nate Schmidt. “It was a good hockey game. There were a lot of chances for both teams and both goalies played well.”
In net, Jacob Markstrom made 22 stops for Calgary to improve to 23-10-5.
Connor Hellebuyck had 28 saves for Winnipeg. His record falls to 17-18-7.
“I think as a group we’re disappointed,” said Jets coach Dave Lowry. “We made a mistake and it ended up in the back of the net. We played a real solid, committed team game and there should be disappointment.”
NOTES: Winnipeg C Andrew Copp (upper body) missed his third game. … Calgary tweaked its lines with Milan Lucic moving up to play with Monahan and Toffoli while Dillon Dube dropped down to the fourth line with Adam Ruzicka and Trevor Lewis. … Calgary’s penalty kill is No. 1 at home, only allowing four power-play goals on 54 chances at the Saddledome.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2022.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
