It was a path Rasmus Andersson clearly wasn’t keen on going down.
With his team reeling from its third loss in a row, the Calgary Flames defenceman was asked if the latest setback had prompted a players-only meeting.
“Yes,” said Andersson, unwilling to expand.
Pressed on whether it was full of frustration or rational discussion, he stayed the course.
“Players know about it – that’s the most important part. We’d like to keep it in the room.”
Understandable.
Details colouring their discussion weren’t needed to make it clear the Flames find themselves in a frustratingly uncomfortable position these days. After opening the season with a 2-0-1 record, the team has stumbled following its five-day break with three outings in which the team’s play varied significantly from period to period.
The scariest thing may just be that the team has felt good about much of its play, but it hasn’t been enough. Thus, a closed-door confab six games in.
“I think it’s really encouraging,” said coach Geoff Ward of the meeting.
“I think that says something (about) our leadership group. There are a set of standards our guys aspire to live up to. There’s a level of work we expect and when guys feel it hasn’t been there for a full 60 minutes they feel it’s something that has to be talked about.”
Perhaps more troubling than their 4-2 setback Thursday night in Montreal were post-game suggestions by Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan questioning the team’s emotional engagement as things unravelled.
You can bet that was discussed.
What the Flames could really use right now is a double or triple dose of the Ottawa Senators. Alas, the free spot on Canada’s Bingo card won’t be in play for another month.
Instead, what lies ahead, as the team tries to cobble together some semblance of confidence, is a Saturday night matchup in Montreal against the league’s hottest and second-highest scoring team.
Two cheapies by the Flames in the final 78 seconds made Thursday’s score flattering for the visitors, who let David Rittich down by “taking their foot off the pedal” following two power-play goals by Montreal in the first.
“Every team goes through adversity at some point in a season, and for us it’s right now — we’ve got to come together as a group,” said Milan Lucic, who scored his second goal in as many games Thursday.
“Obviously we know we’re not happy with the way things are starting to go, but we’ve just got to stay the course, and add some compete, and we’re in these hockey games — it’s just about moving on,” added Sam Bennett.
Ward has implemented a 12-hour rule that encourages players, coaches and staffers to park a previous game the next morning. To do that, Ward aimed to make practice a little lighter Friday, ending with a shootout that often prompts plenty of laughs.
“We talked about it yesterday and we went out today and tried to have some fun with each other,” said Andersson, whose club took solace in holding the Habs to 21 shots. “You obviously leave the rink with a little better feeling now.”
The goal is to leave town with that same feeling, putting a collective bounce in their step before facing the surging Jets in Winnipeg for three straight.
What’s puzzling about the Flames struggles of late is that Johnny Gaudreau is on a six-game scoring streak and several of his star-studded teammates aren’t far behind in points.
Andersson has made a seamless transition to the first pairing and has done well to anchor one of the league’s best power plays.
Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin have yet to allow a five-on-five goal and their star goaltender is playing as advertised.
Yet, the losses mount as bad bounces and untimely miscues conspire against them.
“I think it’s important to keep things in perspective,” said Ward, as a Calgary fan base starts panicking early in a truncated season.
“We are doing a lot of things well. We haven’t had much puck luck some nights defensively – I think we’ve kicked in six goals ourselves. The one thing adversity will do for you is make you stronger if you don’t let it break you. Right now we’re getting a little bit of it and we have to react to it the right way. When that game gets to 2-0 we have to find a way to regroup and make it a 2-1 game. These are the things that are going to help us be battle-tested.”
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Victor Hedman as the team captain on Wednesday as training camp opened, making the big defenseman the successor to Steven Stamkos.
Hedman, who is going into his 16th season with Tampa Bay, was considered the obvious choice to get the “C” after the Lightning did not re-sign Stamkos and their longtime captain left to join Nashville.
“Victor is a cornerstone player that is extremely well respected by his teammates, coaches and peers across the NHL,” general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Over the past 15 seasons, he has been a world-class representative for our organization both on and off the ice. Victor embodies what it means to be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and is more than ready for this exciting opportunity. We are looking forward to watching him flourish in his new role as we continue to work towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
The 33-year-old from Sweden was a key contributor in the Lightning hoisting the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21, including playoff MVP honors on the first of those championship runs. Hedman also took home the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2018 and finished in the top three in voting five other seasons.
Ryan McDonagh, who was reacquired early in the offseason in a trade with the Predators, and MVP finalist Nikita Kucherov will serve as alternate captains with the Lightning moving on to the post-Stamkos era.
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
