So is the fact Darryl Sutter has found a way to tap into the all-for-one and one-for-all attitude it will take for the Calgary Flames to continue chasing down a playoff spot.
On Monday night the team extended its winning streak to three under Sutter, employing a swarming defensive structure that put a stop to the traditional dominance Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have had over their southern rivals.
Sure, the duo hooked up for a goal that tied the game 3-3 early in the third.
But instead of wilting, as the team would have done earlier this year when surrendering a 3-1 lead, a gorgeous finish from Noah Hanifin one minute later was good enough for the Flames to continue rolling with a 4-3 win.
“It’s a great sign,” said Hanifin, who scored his third goal in five outings by collecting a great drop pass from Andrew Mangiapane and roofing it over Mike Smith’s blocker.
“Obviously we’ve dealt with some adversity and with Darryl coming in we’ve rebounded pretty well and put together a few big games. I think guys are starting to play their roles, compete, and work hard and play a full 60 minutes. We’ve got a deep team and I think we’re doing a good job utilizing everybody. We’ve still got some ways to climb a bit, but we’re going in the right direction.”
Now just five points behind the third-place Oilers with two games in hand, the Flames sit just two back of Montreal for the fourth spot.
On this night they got there with significant efforts from a long list of contributors, backing Sutter’s recent assertion that his team isn’t exactly star-studded compared to divisional rivals.
• Mangiapane, Elias Lindholm and Dillon Dube all had a goal and an assist, which included Lindholm’s second-period steal from McDavid that sent Dube in alone for the game-opening strike.
• Mikael Backlund did well to shut down the Oilers’ big guns, adding two assists in the process. Stick tap to all his teammates for a commitment to defence that held the Oilers to four first period shots.
• Brett Ritchie responded to a first period headshot from Jujhar Khaira on a prone Oliver Kylington by dropping the mitts with the Oilers mucker. The towering Ritchie quickly knocked Khaira out, prompting him to need help leaving the ice due to a potential concussion. Khaira will likely face some disciplinary action from the league for the hit.
• Kylington left the game to be checked out but returned with a dashing offensive foray that set up Lindholm’s goal, putting the Flames up 2-0 early in a five-goal second period.
• Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves, but none bigger than the blocker stop on Jesse Puljujarvi in the final minute of the game.
• Milan Lucic acquitted himself well on the shutdown line, adding some offence by stealing the puck from a wandering Smith late in the second period before feeding Mangiapane to put the Flames up 3-1.
Nine periods into the latest Sutter era the Flames have yet to trail, which is a significant development for a team known for its slow starts and wild inconsistencies.
They’ve held on tight to third-period leads, kept scoring chances to a minimum and on Monday stepped up — literally — when the momentum had a chance at reversing on them.
That’s when Hanifin joined the rush for his game-winner.
“It was a huge response,” said the 24-year-old defenceman who continues to find more opportunities to explore his offensive game. “When you’re playing a team like that, the game’s going to be really intense and it’s going to go back and forth a bit. It was a huge rebound for us.”
Lindholm’s reversal of fortune on McDavid to set up Dube’s goal was an equally impressive effort, which fits into Sutter’s increased demands on his centres to control play.
“I just tried to get back as soon as McDavid got the puck, and he’s a little bit faster than me,” chuckled Lindholm, who stripped a streaking McDavid of the puck and sent Dube in alone.
“It is a great track and he created all of it — to be able to turn that puck over was huge,” added Dube, who beat Smith between the legs. “They had a lot of speed going the other way and had numbers.”
Forever asking his players for more, Sutter reiterated the numbers in the big picture still aren’t what they need to be.
“We’re still behind the eight-ball and if this was our last game of the year we can say we won but we didn’t make the playoffs,” said Sutter, whose club hosts Edmonton again Wednesday.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
