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Gaudreau scores OT winner as Flames edge Canucks in dramatic fashion – Sportsnet.ca

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VANCOUVER — Johnny Gaudreau wasn’t overly concerned as the officials gathered at the penalty box Monday night, conferring over whether or not the Calgary Flames forward had, in fact, scored the overtime winner.

The 27-year-old winger had put a puck past Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko just 23 seconds into overtime after the Flames blew a 3-2 lead in the final minute of regulation.

Then the men in stripes came together and decided that Toronto needed to review whether Gaudreau’s goal had been offside.

It wasn’t.

“I looked at the replay, it looked pretty good. We were talking about it on the bench,” Guadreau said after Calgary’s 4-3 overtime win was confirmed.

“Sometimes it goes either way and it went our way tonight.”

Canucks winger Brock Boeser forced extra time in dramatic fashion, sniping a shot past Jacob Markstrom with 30.2 seconds left on the clock.

It was a short-handed tally as defenceman Quinn Hughes sat in the box. Vancouver pulled Demko in a desperate bid to salvage the game.

“It just shows that we have no quit. Even when we’re down a guy and pull the goalie and get one and get that extra point. It’s good for our team,” said Boeser, who also had an assist on Monday.

“Obviously we make a few mistakes and if we don’t make those, I think we win the hockey game, so I think overall we still played a good game but some small details we’ve got to fix.”

Monday’s matchup was the third in a four-game series between the two sides. Saturday saw the Canucks take a 3-1 victory over the Flames.

It was a loss that didn’t showcase Calgary’s true identity, Gaudreau said.

“We’re very capable of playing a solid 60-minute game. Obviously, on Saturday, that wasn’t the team we know we are,” he said. “We had a real good practice yesterday and I thought we played a real strong second and third period (tonight.)”

Monday’s showing was closer to the game the Flames want to play, said coach Geoff Ward.

“I thought we were much, much better tonight,” he said. “Definitely a step in the right direction.”

The Canucks (7-11-1) held a two-goal lead near the end of the first period Monday but saw the game start to slip away on a series of costly mistakes.

Milan Lucic sparked the Flames’ comeback with 24 seconds to go in the opening frame, ripping a shot past Demko from high in the slot to make it 2-1.

Elias Lindholm added a breakaway goal off a blue-line turnover and Dillon Dube capitalized on another mistake midway through the second frame.

Vancouver defenceman Nate Schmidt put the puck on Dube’s tape instead of clearing it from behind the net and the Flames forward tucked a shot in behind Demko’s skate before the netminder could even register the misstep.

Dube said his line has been wreaking havoc on opponents by forechecking hard.

“I think for us right now, when we play that game, there’s skill on that line, but if we play hard, create turnovers, then we get the puck,” he said. “It’s simple for us, we’re direct.”

Rasmus Andersson had a pair of assists for the Flames (8-6-1), just one of the burgeoning defenceman who Ward said put in solid performances on Monday.

“There’s an awful lot of young guys here,” the coach said. “I thought they did a good job back there for us tonight. These are the types of games you learn from.”

Markstrom stopped 30-of-33 shots, while Demko had 23 saves for the Canucks.

Tanner Pearson and Bo Horvat also scored for Vancouver.

The ultimate difference Monday was that Calgary capitalized on its chances, Pearson said.

“It’s what these games are gonna come down to, especially when the long haul starts,” he said. “It could be a real battle, especially when we play these teams over and over. It becomes kind of playoffs so there’s not much room.”

NOTES: Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers had two assists… Calgary’s Connor Mackey registered an assist on Lucic’s goal, marking the first point of the 24-year-old defenceman’s NHL career… Mikael Backlund did not play after for the Flames suffering a lower-body injury on Saturday.

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Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

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The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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AP sports:

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Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

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NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

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TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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