OTTAWA -- Milan Michalek hasnt scored much for the Ottawa Senators this season, but his first game-winning goal of the year couldnt have come at a better time.
Jonathan Ericsson Jersey . Michalek scored his second goal of the game and 10th of the season with 23 second left as Ottawa
defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Thursday. "We believe theres still lots of
goals left in Milan, but its taken a long time to get them out this year,"
Senators coach Paul MacLean said. "With his work ethic and his play without the
puck and his abilities on the penalty kill, theres never been a question about
his contributions to the team. "We knew if he would just stay with it good
things would happen for him." The Sabres had fought back to tie the game with
two third-period goals, but Senators captain Jason Spezza found Michalek, who
beat Jhonas Enroth over the shoulder for the winner. "Its all about winning and
were not doing that right now," said Sabres defenceman Henrik Tallinder, who
said the puck hit the referee and went right to Spezza on the winning goal.
"Nothing you can do about it. We didnt go the right way that maybe we should
have, but it hit the ref and bounces are going to happen but they just werent in
our favour." Erik Karlsson also scored for the Senators (26-21-11) while
Craig Anderson made 30 saves. Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford scored for the
Sabres (15-34-8), who lost for the fourth straight time. Enroth made 33 saves.
Following two periods that saw the Senators build a 1-0 lead, things opened up
in the third period with four goals off several good scoring opportunities. It
started with Michalek doubling the Senators lead to 2-0 just 10 seconds into the
period on a perfect pass from Spezza which allowed Michalek to redirect the puck
in. The goal was the fastest in team history from the start of a period breaking
the old record of 12 seconds set by Spezza back in 2009. "At least Im still
involved in (the record) I guess. I would have shot it if I knew that," Spezza
joked after the game, quickly getting serious when the Sabres comeback was
brought up. "A two goal lead is a tricky lead. We give up the one goal to make
it 2-1 and then really anything can happen with a bounce here or a bounce there.
Hopefully we learn from it." Ottawa got into penalty trouble but was fortunate
when Ennis hit the post on one power-play opportunity. The Sabres also had a
five-on three advantage for 17 seconds but were unable to get a shot on goal
during that brief stretch. Ennis broke Andersons shutout bid at 10:25 of the
third when the puck came to him in front off a failed wrap-around attempt by
Stafford. The puck rolled off Staffords stick right to Ennis who had an empty
net to shoot at. Stafford then tied the game at 15:46 when he grabbed a rebound
and went around Anderson who was down and out on the play. "There were no
excuses not to battle as hard as we could going into that third period and we
did a really good job," Ennis said. "Its super disappointing to lose that one."
Only seven goals, including one in a shootout, have been scored in the previous
three matchups between the Sabres and Senators. Karlsson put the Senators on the
board first with his shot from along the boards eluded Enroth just 3:12 into the
second period. Neither team had many quality scoring chances despite seven power
plays between them through the first two periods. But one scoring chance the
Sabres did have though came late in the second when Stafford drove the Senators
net from just above the goal line but he was unable to tip the puck through
Anderson. The Senators stymied the Sabres on all seven of their power-play
opportunities. "Weve been winning faceoffs and doing a much better job up the
ice and on the initial entry into our zone weve contested it and been hard to
play against," MacLean said. The Senators were 0-3 with the man advantage.
NOTES: Forwards Linus Omark and Marcus Foligno along with defenceman Tyler Myers
were scratches for the Sabres Thursday. Scratches for the Senators were
defencemen Chris Phillips and Joe Corvo plus forward Matt Kassian. ... Senators
forward Bobby Ryan has gone four consecutive games without a point, his longest
such streak this season. ... The Senators are 10-0-3 in games this season when
captain Jason Spezza has at least two points. ... Matt DAgostini played his
300th NHL game Thursday night and his 25th with the Sabres. ... While the
Senators have a game in Boston Saturday, the game Thursday was the last for the
Sabres until after the Olympic break. The team will be off until Feb. 25 except
for Ryan Miller (USA), Jonas Enroth (Sweden), Henrik Tallinder (Sweden) and
Zemgus Girgensons (Latvia) who will all represent their countries at the Sochi
Olympics. ... Sabres coach Ted Nolan will also be the head coach of Team Latvia.
Henrik Zetterberg Red Wings Jersey . - Doug Kalitta led Top Fuel qualifying Friday in the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove
Raceway with a 3.
Kris Draper Red Wings Jersey . -- The top-seeded Alberta Pandas set up of an all-Canada West final against arch rival
UBC at the CIS womens volleyball championship after a 3-0 win over the
No.CALGARY - The Calgary Flames did not make the playoffs for a fifth straight
year. The difference between this spring and the previous four is the Flames did
not underachieve this time around. When since-deposed general manager Jay
Feaster brought himself to say the word "rebuild" last summer, it confirmed
following the departure of Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff and Jay Bouwmeester
that the Flames were going to be a lunchbucket squad until new stars emerged or
were acquired. Calgary (35-40-7) finished 27th in the 30-team league this past
season and second-last in the Western Conference above only Edmonton. The 77
points was the teams lowest total since 2002-03. The Flames went 19-14-1 after
brawling with the Canucks in Vancouver on Jan. 18, but they were already in
next-year territory after winning just nine games through November and December.
The slow start opened the door to audition for the future. A dozen players made
their NHL debut with the Flames this season. Calgary has a top-five pick in the
NHL draft in June for the first time since 1973 when they were the Atlanta
Flames. The Flames have a 10.7 per cent chance of winning the first overall pick
in Tuesdays draft lottery. But in contrast with Oilers to the north — where
people tossed jerseys on the ice in disgust — the Flames had more goodwill and
patience from their fanbase. Calgary compensated for its lack of talent with
tenacity. The Flames were involved in 49 one-goal games this season and went
25-24 in them. "The conclusion of a season that does not include playoff is a
failure and we acknowledge that failure, but it was not a lost or wasted season
in any sense of the word," said hockey operations president Brian Burke, who is
also interim general manager until he hires a new one. "I think there were a lot
of positive developments in this season that Im proud of. I think we gave (the
fans) a product they enjoyed watching." Bob Hartley squeezed effort out of his
group in his first full season behind the bench. The head coach has one year
remaining on a three-year contract and Burke says Hartley will coach the team in
2014-15. "Once we get a general manager in place, Ill encourage that person to
address that situation," Burke said. "Its not the end of the world when a coach
works in the last year of his contract, but its not ideal. That will be up to
the next GM." Hartley said prior to Calgarys home game "our report card still
says we failed" but the coach said Monday that it was a "great day." "We decided
late last year that we would get a new face to this organization. We would go
with younger players," Hartley said. "From the inside — I dont know about the
outside because Im not on the outside — from the inside, I saw commitment, I saw
progress. Those guys gave us everything that they had." Unlike the previous four
seasons when an expensive, veteran squad with stars on its roster fell short of
the post-season, there was less disappointment and more optimism as the Flames
packed their bags this time. With 22 goals, forward Sean Monahan became the
first Flames rookie to score more than 21 since Iginla in 1996-97. The
19-year-old from Brampton, Ont., confirmed hell play for Canada in the world
championships in Minsk, Belarus, next month. "Down the stretch, these last 20
games, carrying the puck, I felt more confident with the puck," Monahan said.
"Thats somethiing I want to be able to do next year, be confident with the puck,
make plays and I guess produce a little bit more.
Dylan Larkin Jersey. " Monahan and veterans Matt Stajan and Chris Butler raved about Mark Giordanos leadership skills in his
first season as captain. The 30-year-old was also a key contributor on the ice
with 47 points and a plus-12 rating. Giordano played himself into consideration
for Canadas Olympic team. He declined the chance to participate in the world
championships, saying a hand injury needed time to heal. When he was healthy,
Karri Ramo played himself to No. 1 on Calgarys goaltending depth chart with a
17-15-4 record. The Finn has one year remaining on a two-year contract. "The
players like him because he battles," Burke said. "I think Karri Ramo has
established that he deserves to come back here as the No. 1 goaltender." Hobey
Baker winner Johnny Gaudreau, who led the NCAA in scoring, signed a contract on
the weekend and scored in his first NHL game Sunday in Vancouver. The players
believe theyve built a foundation upon which to build for next season. All eyes
turn to Burke, who he chooses as his new GM and assistant GM and how they in
turn handle the draft and Calgarys cap space in free agency. "The GM search,
were going to approach teams that missed the playoffs," Burke said. "If they
have candidates were going to approach them today, some of them. "If we have to
wait until after the draft to fill that position, we will." Burke took over as
interim GM when he fired Feaster in December. Burke was brought on board in
September as hockey ops president to accelerate Calgarys rebuild. His goal is to
make the Flames bigger, stronger and meaner. He acquired a second- and
third-round draft pick at the March 3 trade deadline, but added no players to
the team. "I think truculence is part of this game," Burke said. "Everyone likes
to make fun of that word because the first time I used it, a lot of people said
its kind of a new word in hockey, but its not. "I think tough teams win. You
look at the St. Louis Blues. Theyve been a dominant team all year. Their average
weight is 208 pounds. In the West (conference) especially, if youre not a
hostile team with size, youre not going to have success. We need to get bigger."
Mike Cammalleri, Calgarys leading scorer and most expensive player counting $6
million against the salary cap, will be an unrestricted free agent July 1 unless
he re-signs with the Flames. "I dont have anything to report," the 30-year-old
said. "Just had some exit meetings and talked to Brian. He said wed talk again.
Today wasnt the day to talk about that sort of thing. Today was a day to address
the season. I am far from having ruled Calgary out as far as my future." Butler,
27, will also be a UFA for the first time in his career. "Its a unique
opportunity, being unrestricted and having control of your destiny and being
able to choose potentially where you want to go," Butler said. "Its an
opportunity not everybody gets and it is something you earn and you work for.
"Its something Ill think about, but its still a few months away and its kind of
hard to think about right now having just played last night and wearing that
jersey for the last three years." Forwards Paul Byron, Joen Colborne,
Lance Bouma and T.J. Galiardi are among Calgarys restricted free agents this
summer.
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