CALGARY — Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor knew precisely where he wanted to go with his shot, and that’s exactly where he put it.
Connor’s second goal of the night at 15:09 of the third period on Saturday was the game-winner as the Jets snapped a five-game winless skid with a 4-2 comeback victory over the Calgary Flames.
On the decisive goal Mark Scheifele gained the zone then dropped the puck for Blake Wheeler, who threaded a cross-ice pass over to Connor, who leaned into a slap shot, putting the puck into the top corner before Jacob Markstrom could get across.
“As a shooter, you know where the net is, you know where you’re going, that spatial awareness of where you’re going to shoot,” said Connor. “Something like that, you just try to get off quick. High glove was open.”
Connor’s 14 goals leads the team and ties him for fifth in the NHL with Connor McDavid.
Wheeler also assisted on Connor’s late first-period goal that got the comeback started, after the Flames had surged to an early 2-0 advantage.
“It’s easy to sulk and feel pretty crappy about the one last night,” Scheifele said about the club’s 7-1 loss in Minnesota. “We all put our big boy pants on and came to play tonight and it was a lot of gutsy efforts and a lot of blocked shots and a lot of taken hits, made hits, and that’s what it takes in the league.”
For Saturday’s game, Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice juggled his forward lines, reuniting the Wheeler-Connor-Scheifele trio. It worked.
“It was fun being back with the boys,” said Scheifele. “I’ve played a lot of games with those guys and we’ve had a lot of big games. We’ve had some fun together. It was nice to get on the scoresheet and get some big goals.”
Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp, into an empty net, also scored for Winnipeg (10-7-4). The Jets return home to host the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.
Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm scored for Calgary (12-4-5), which lost in regulation for the first time in eight games (5-1-2). Johnny Gaudreau had two assists to extend his point streak to six games (five goals, five assists). The Flames wrap up a three-game homestand on Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“We played a really good game, but we made a couple of mistakes and they ended up in our net. We didn’t finish enough opportunities,” said Calgary coach Darryl Sutter.
Pulled after surrendering four goals on 14 shots against the Wild, Connor Hellebuyck bounced back with a 34-save performance to improve to 7-5-4.
“So (Hellebuyck) says this morning, just remember last year we were struggling and came in here and put up a shutout. He’s got the list. He’s reminding me of that,” said Maurice. “He was outstanding in this game. I’m not saying we outplayed Calgary. They had a bunch of real good chances. We had some good chances. But our goalie was pretty damn good tonight.”
Markstrom had 24 stops to fall to 8-4-4.
The Jets had a great chance to take the lead with the score tied 2-2 and under five minutes remaining in the second period. Milan Lucic was assessed a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for a heavy hit along the end boards that temporarily shook up Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo.
But Calgary killed it off to keep the game tied into the third.
“In the third, we were pushing hard for the third one, but it just didn’t go our way tonight,” said Lindholm, who extended his point streak to seven games (two goals, seven assists). “Then they get one with four minutes left. I think all of us on the ice could have made a better read but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
It was just the second time Calgary lost in regulation when scoring first, which they’ve done an NHL-leading 17 times (12-2-3).
“The outcome sucks right now but at the end of the day, we just gotta find a way to get that one to overtime or try to get two before that, but we can’t lose that one in regulation. Those ones hurt so we’ll learn from it,” said Tkachuk.
NOTES: Calgary was a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and is now 26-for-27 over the last eight games. The Flames entered the night ranked third in the NHL on the PK… Winnipeg had been 0-3-0 on the back end of back-to-back games… The Flames led the Western Conference standings after 20 games for the first time since 1993-94.
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.
