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Flames’ Tkachuk: ‘All the pressure should be on me’ amid current slide – Sportsnet.ca

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Matthew Tkachuk spent Saturday morning putting the spotlight where he likes it the most: on himself.

Frustrated with his team’s ongoing slide, the controversial Flames winger did well to set up Saturday night’s Battle of Alberta rematch with pointed criticism of himself.

“I’m putting all the pressure on myself to turn this thing around for us,” said Tkachuk, whose uninspiring play of late mirrors that of his team.

“It starts tonight and I’m prepared to do whatever I can. For me personally, I’ve got to get going. All the pressure should be on me to perform. It shouldn’t be on anyone else. I haven’t been at my best and it’s time to get going and help this team get some wins. I haven’t performed the way I’d like personally, so all the pressure should be on me to try to provide emotion from the drop of the puck tonight.”

Speaking on a Zoom call Saturday morning, Tkachuk gave the sort of speech generally reserved for captains or NBA stars. The goal was to try lighting a fire under himself and his team, while also trying to take some of the heat off his teammates.

Either way, it puts a heck of an onus on him to back up his words with actions as the nation watches.

And he won’t have Oilers adversary Zack Kassian in the lineup to help him with his cause.

“We’re going to make sure this is an emotional game for our team and it will be,” said Tkachuk, whose club dropped its second straight game Friday with a bland, 2-1 loss to the Oilers that included the Flames’ traditional 2-0 deficit.

“This is a huge, huge moment in our season, this game tonight. We have to be ready right now. I think we will be. A few people are telling me the game (Friday) kind of put them to sleep watching it. That’s not what should be happening in the Battle of Alberta on a Friday night, especially in Calgary. We’re going to be ready from the puck drop tonight.”

We’ve heard that before from a team that has allowed the first goal against in 11 of 17 outings.

The Flames coach and several players have acknowledged the need to start games on time, as well as to show a more consistent work ethic to spur this club along.

Tkachuk has long thrived on being the heartbeat of the Flames, capable of turning a game with a big hit, timely goal or, at the very least, some extracurriculars that make him the game’s premier pest.

None of that has been evident for weeks, though, as Tkachuk has been mired in a slump that has seen him scoreless in his last eight and pointless his last five.

Not the kind of run the team’s leading scorer from a year ago can go on.

“The main thing I can provide is a spark when things are, or aren’t, going right,” said Tkachuk, who has five goals and ten points in 17 games.

“For myself personally there’s been games where it’s definitely from the first puck drop I’m not creating or getting anything going offensively. I’ve been around it more recently. I’ve got to get to the net. When I have the puck and am making plays, that’s when I’m at my best.”

Despite playing alongside Elias Lindholm and Dillon Dube, he has indeed been a ghost of his former self of late.

No offence, but more curiously, no hijinks that tend to raise the temperature at times the Flames could use it.

“I’m still an overly confident player, almost to the point of being cocky, but confidence is a big part of me and I obviously still have that,” said Tkachuk, whose .500 club is clearly lacking any semblance of swagger.

“It’s time for us to get going. Enough is enough. We say this stuff every year. I feel like we were doing this last year. It’s time for us to take a step as a team, an organization and the way we’re playing now. There’s a lot pf pressure for us to succeed. Players should really thrive in this situation where our backs are against the wall. Realistically, it’s a make-or-break road trip for our team the way things are going and not a whole lot of games left. You get behind the eight ball it’s hard to make up ground with less than 40 games left.”

Coach Geoff Ward applauded Tkachuk’s bold statements, saying he needs all 20 of his players to take the same approach.

“I think he’s bang on with the comments that he made earlier – he needs to be more emotionally attached to it,” Ward said.

“I think it helps him motivate himself a bit and I think he’s trying to take pressure off people at the same time. He’s a leader on our team and he wants to be that guy and I think he’s owning up to that. At the end of the day, ultimately when you get into places where we are, just play hard yourself. Look after that part first and the other stuff follows it. We’re looking for guys to have a little bit more of a ‘F-U mentality’ in their game in terms of getting a little bit angry and playing a little harder.”

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Jays reliever Green and Canadian slugger O’Neill nominated for comeback player award

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NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.

Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.

The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.

Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.

The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.

O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.

After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Panthers’ Reinhart named NHL first star after posting nine points over four games

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NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.

Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.

New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.

Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.

Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s season ended by ruptured Achilles tendon, team said he’ll have surgery

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.

He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.

Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.

The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”

Watson was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals and carted off the field in tears.

It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.

The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.

He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.

As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.

Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.

The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.

“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”

Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.

“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.

“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”

The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.

Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.

With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.

The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.

But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.

Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.

Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.

Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.

Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.

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