Since the Calgary Flames arrived back in the city, it had been a sore subject.
When brought up or questioned for the umpteenth time, it was immediately dismissed because, don’t you already know? The answers are obvious.
The Flames on the road? Dominant.
The Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome? Not so dominant.
Yes. They know. They get it already.
That’s what made Wednesday’s 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets — their first of a five-game homestand — so much better.
“I think there has been such an emphasis being talked about how we can’t play at home,” interim head coach Geoff Ward said when asked of the impact of picking up a dub-ya in their own building. “How we suck at home. How terrible we are at home. That’s all we’ve been hearing around home for a while now … ”
And from the onset, it looked like history was going to repeat itself.
Instead, Matthew Tkachuk struck with 1:43 remaining in the third period with an extra attacker on the ice to knot the score 2-2 when he tipped Mark Giordano’s shot. That added to the late surge by the Flames which had been ignited by Elias Lindholm’s 29th goal of the season.
Then, against the limping Blue Jackets, the unexplainable happened.
Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan worked the puck during overtime, tuckering out their opponents and netminder Joonas Korpisalo just enough for TJ Brodie to capitalize on a loose puck and score the winner.
“Yeah, well, it’s big,” Tkachuk said. “We haven’t been too good at home, so it’s important for us to get that first win and to come back after a tough road trip where we got some wins. It’s important for us to come and take care of business at home, which we haven’t done as-of-late, but hopefully we can turn it around.
“This is a big month with a lot of home games.”
Eleven of their remaining 15 games are at home, in fact.
So, forgive us for starting to write the same story when the Blue Jackets scored on the first shot they sent towards Flames starter Cam Talbot, a blooper that slipped through his right pad and Devin Shore’s first goal with his new squad.
A few minutes later, a pass by Mikael Backlund at centre ice was intercepted by Pierre-Luc Dubois and sent the puck back into Calgary’s zone. That created a two-on-oh situation between Nick Foligno and Gustav Nyquist. Talbot played the passer and couldn’t get across the net fast enough to stop Nyquist.
Elias Lindholm misses a wide open net in the second period.
Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
All of a sudden, the Blue Jackets had a two-goal lead with 11:20 elapsed in the game. That meant there was 48:40 left to mount a comeback.
It didn’t look possible until Lindholm flipped the script and the momentum turned completely. Then, Talbot left his net with 2:25 remaining and, seconds later, the Flames found themselves with an offensive zone face-off with an extra attacker. Shortly after that, the Flames made a game out of it when Tkachuk scored.
Interesting, because until that point they showed signs of the same old, same old.
Their numbers were fascinating up until then as they’d trailed in takeaways, hits, and blocked shots and were leading in giveaways. Hardly the direct style of game Ward had preached about earlier in the week during their first practice back after a successful five-game road trip that saw them claim seven of a possible 10 points.
Mikael Backlund levels Vladislav Gavrikov in the third period.
Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
But, instead, they improved to 15-12-4 at the Saddledome — a place where they have only recorded two wins in eight chances since the NHL all-star break. Their last victory was on Feb. 17 an eventual 6-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks which saw them down 3-1 going into the third period.
“They were really composed,” Ward continued. “They weren’t frustrated, they weren’t down. They were working for their next shift. And that’s what’s needed at this time of the year. We’ve really got to have a present focus. If you’re worried about what happened the last couple shifts, you’re probably not where you need to be. If you are looking ahead too far, you’re probably not where you need to be.
“I thought the guys did a good job of staying focused on the bench and finding solutions for each other and staying with the process.”
One home game down, only 10 more to go.
With the victory, the Flames improved to 35-26-7 overall with 77 points, sitting firmly planted third in the Pacific Division behind the Edmonton Oilers and ahead of the Vancouver Canucks.
Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stretches out to make a save in the third period.
Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
“We’re desperate right now,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano. “We know where we are in the standings … The effort was there all night. I think sometimes it doesn’t look as good from up top, because the other team is doing a pretty good job out there too.
“I thought they were really good with their details, their sticks, turning pucks over in the neutral zone.”
Tkachuk, by the way, had absorbed a shot from Zach Werenski on the inside of his right knee during the first period. It looked problematic as Tkachuk hobbled to the boards and down the tunnel briefly. But he missed very little game action and played the remainder of the game, albeit skating gingerly at times.
“We’re finding different ways to win,” Tkachuk said. “We’re playing with a lead or we’re coming from behind and played some good hockey on that road trip. Our confidence, it’s not sky-high, it never should be, I mean, you should be confident but you can’t be just expecting to play any type of game and win.
“You have to go in there and expect that if you play your game you’re going to win, I think we’re confident and if we play the way we want to play that we’re going to come out with victories more often than not.”
The Pacific Division standings after Wednesday’s games:
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
