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.
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
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
