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Flames have plenty to think about after disappointing loss to Senators – Sportsnet.ca

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OTTAWA – A Tim Hortons’ promotion in the midst of a matinee affair at Canadian Tire Centre asked a father and his young son to match answers.

A no-win proposition for pops, as he was tested on his son’s favourite snack, superpower and Sens player.

After the duo missed the mark on two of three, the sad-faced youngster appeared unwilling to high-five dear old dad as the Jumbotron returned to action.

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It mirrored the type of disappointment that was palpable later on in the Calgary Flames dressing room as Calgary somehow missed the free spot on their bingo card.

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Facing a rebuilding Senators club that had yet to win in 2020, the Flames had a chance to go into the week-long break winning seven of eight to secure top spot in the Pacific.

A fluky own-goal off Travis Hamonic’s stick credited to Brady Tkachuk seven minutes in was symbolic of how the bounces would go on this night.

Despite out-shooting the hosts 42-21, the Flames limped into the holiday with a 5-2 loss that underscored the team’s offensive woes this season.

Wrapping up a three-game eastern Canadian road trip that saw them lose to two of the league’s most vulnerable clubs, the Flames will have plenty of time to think about the tough road ahead.

“It’s absolutely dried up,” said Matthew Tkachuk of the offence on the road swing.

“We only had three goals in three games and two of them came in the last five minutes of a 4-0 game. I don’t really have an answer for ya there, otherwise we all would have changed it. I have no idea.

“We felt great about ourselves after the Toronto (2-1 shootout win), as we should have. If we get this one tonight we go into the break feeling really good about ourselves and try to gather some momentum for the last 32 games. But this didn’t allow us to feel that way tonight.”

The only feel-good moment Flames fans experienced came on the opening draw when Brady and Matthew lined up on the wing, marking their fourth NHL tête-a-tête.

With 40 friends and family members looking on from a pair of suites, the official immediately waved out Elias Lindholm and Artem Anisimov, summoning the brothers to do the honours.

“We got that out of the way last year and this year…we weren’t going to do it,” said Matthew, who lost bragging rights to his baby brother for the first time in four outings.

“Wes (McCauley) was great – he said, ‘if I’m reffing, you guys have got to do the opening draw – your mom will love it.’ He snapped that back on me pretty good and seemed to destroy the rest of our team tonight too.”

Matthew gave his younger brother a light cross-check to the back after the draw, for funsies.

Brady finished the evening with a goal and an assist in a game that saw the Flames down 1-0 after the first period in which they outshot Ottawa 15-3.

“It was kind of a crazy bounce, but we’ll take that,” said Brady of his goal, which saw his centring pass to Anthony Duclair bounce off Hamonic’s stick and over surprise starter David Rittich.

“It’s always nice scoring in front of a bunch of people.”

The Flames, who continue to languish near the bottom of the tables in terms of league scoring, continued to put plenty of shots and pressure on Sens goalie Marcus Hogberg in the second before Chris Tierney and Connor Brown made it 3-0. The shots at that point were 25-10 for the frustrated visitors.

“That’s the season – some games you deserve to be down and you’re up and you win ’em,” said Mark Giordano.

“And a night like tonight, I thought especially after the first, we deserved better. This trip, we were really having trouble scoring goals, obviously. I guess the only positive coming out of it is it’s nice to see Janks get his first of the year and hopefully that will get him going.”

Indeed, with the hosts up 4-0 late, Mark Jankowski converted a nifty backhand for his first of the season.

Noah Hanifin added another in the final two minutes, which did nothing to change the demeanour of a Flames bunch that missed a great opportunity to bolster their momentum.

“It’s a long (break) so you’re going to have lots of time to think about how we’re going to have to come back these last 32 games,” said Matthew.

“Last year we didn’t necessarily come back after this break and play our best hockey, and that kind of showed in the playoffs. We have to come back ready to go for this home stretch because there’s no room for error right now with where we are and where we want to be.”

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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Shane Pinto has a goal, three assists as the Senators roll over the Sabres – Sportsnet.ca

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Here’s what we know about the allegations against Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara

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LOS ANGELES –

Only a week has passed since the Los Angeles Dodgers abruptly fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and constant companion of their new $700 million slugger, Shohei Ohtani.

But the biggest story of baseball’s spring is still murky — and shocking — as the regular season begins in earnest Thursday.

The scandal encompasses gambling, alleged theft, extensive deceit and the breakup of an enduring partnership between the majors’ biggest star and his right-hand man. Investigations are underway by the IRS and Major League Baseball, and Ohtani publicly laid out a version of events Monday that placed the responsibility entirely on Mizuhara.

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Here are the basics as Ohtani and the Dodgers prepare for their home opener against St. Louis on Thursday:

Why was Ippei Mizuhara fired by the Dodgers?

Ohtani claims his close friend repeatedly took money from his accounts to fund his illegal sports gambling habit. Ohtani also says he was completely unaware of the “massive theft,” as his lawyers termed it, until Mizuhara confessed to him and the Dodgers last week in South Korea, where the team opened its regular season against the San Diego Padres.

Mizuhara has given more than one version of his path to this trouble, which was catalyzed by the IRS’ investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara has consistently said he has a gambling addiction, and he abused his close friendship with the Dodgers superstar to feed it.

Did Shohei Ohtani ever bet on sports?

That’s the biggest question to be answered in Major League Baseball’s investigation, and the two-time AL MVP emphatically says he has never gambled on sports or asked anybody to bet on sports for him.

Further, Ohtani said Monday he has never knowingly paid a bookie to cover somebody else’s bets. Mizuhara also said Ohtani does not bet, and Bowyer’s attorney said the same.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. If that were true, Ohtani could face trouble even if he didn’t make the bets himself — but ESPN said Mizuhara dramatically changed his story the following day, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering — even legally — on baseball. They also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

What’s next for Ohtani?

Ohtani has played in every Dodgers game since the story broke, and he is expected to be their designated hitter in most regular-season games this season while baseball’s investigation continues.

Ohtani says his legal team has alerted authorities to the theft by Mizuhara, although his team has repeatedly declined to say which authorities have been told, according to ESPN.

Ohtani’s new interpreter is Will Ireton, a longtime Dodgers employee and fluent Japanese speaker who has filled several jobs with the team in everything from game preparation and analytics to recruiting free-agent pitches. But Ireton won’t be Ohtani’s constant companion, and manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday he’s optimistic that Ohtani will become closer to his teammates without the “buffer” provided for years by Mizuhara.

What don’t we know?

MLB’s investigation of Ohtani’s role in the events could last weeks or months, and it’s unlikely to be publicized until it’s complete. No one outside of Ohtani’s inner circle knows what it will find or how serious any repercussions could be, and nobody outside the circle is making informed speculation about the process.

One major question looms: How did Mizuhara have enough access to Ohtani’s bank accounts to get the alleged millions without Ohtani knowing? Is the slugger overly trusting, or is he wildly negligent in managing his vast fortune, which includes years of lavish endorsement deals in addition to his baseball salaries? Why didn’t the team around him, including his agent, do more to prevent the possibility of the theft he claims?

Finally, where is Mizuhara? Anybody who knows isn’t saying. He was fired in South Korea and apparently didn’t travel home with the Dodgers. Japanese media have visited his home in Southern California to look for him. Although he was born in Japan, Mizuhara’s life is in the U.S. — but his life will never be the same.

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