SUNDAY SPORTS
Mikael Backlund scored twice, including the winner, as the Calgary Flames edged the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in overtime on Saturday on Western Night in the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Backlund took the puck to the net and sent a pass to Sean Monahan, whose shot was stopped by Wild netminder Darcy Kuemper. The puck, however, bounced into the air and Backlund batted it down and past Kuemper at 2:25 of extra time.
It’s Calgary’s fifth straight victory and also completes a perfect 5-0-0 homestand. The last time the Flames swept a homestand of that length was in 1997 – Jarome Iginla’s rookie season.
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Phil Kessel had a hat trick to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs over Ottawa 6-3 Saturday night in the latest Battle of Ontario. The Leafs have won sixth straight at home.
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Nate Thompson scored his second goal of the game at 4:36 of overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over Montreal. Carey Price made 34 saves for the Canadiens.
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The Boston Bruins beat Edmonton for the 12th straight time, with David Krejci’s second-period power-play goal standing up in a 4-0 win over the Oilers. Chad Johnson made 22 saves for the Bruins. Ben Scrivens made 37 stops for Edmonton.
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Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning won his record fifth, NFL MVP award. Manning goes for a second Super Bowl title Sunday when the Broncos face the Seattle Seahawks (5:30 pm kickoff Sask time on Fox).
In other AP honours:
The Carolina Panthers grabbed two major awards with Ron Rivera winning The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year and linebacker Luke Kuechly (KEEK’-lee) voted top defensive player.
Rivera engineered the Panthers’ turnaround from a 7-9 record to 12-4, the NFC South title and a first-round playoff bye. Kuechly keyed a defence that allowed 241 points, less than every team except NFC champion Seattle.
Chicago cornerback Charles Tillman won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, and accepted the honour with tears in his eyes.
Green Bay running back Eddie Lacy and Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson were the top rookies for 2013.
San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers took the Comeback Player of the Year award at the NFL Honors show.
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Ray Guy is the first punter elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s joined in the Class of 2014 by linebacker Derrick Brooks, offensive tackle Walter Jones, receiver Andre Reed, defensive ends Michael Strahan and Claude Humphrey, and defensive back Aeneas Williams.
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Defending champion Rachael Homan is off to a winning start at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. She whipped Manitoba 8-3. Newfoundland and Alberta lead the standings at 2-0. Stefanie Lawton (1-0) of Saskatchewan downed Allison Flaxey’s Ontario rink (0-1) 8-6.
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Bubba Watson has a two-shot lead after three rounds of the PGA’s Phoenix Open. The former Masters champ shot a 3-under-68 to finish play 15-under par. He tops Kevin Stadler by two strokes and three players, Ryan Moore, Harris English and Hideki Matsuyama, by three. Weyburn’s Graham DeLaet is in 12th spot, six strokes off the lead.
(Canadian Press)
Canadian author Ted Barris has, in the past, written books on the Edmonton Oilers and Old Timers hockey. His important new book called 'The Great Escape: A Canadian Story' is one I recently finished and highly recommend. There was a movie made in the early 1960's and other books written about the amazing event involving digging underground escape tunnels in a prisoner of war camp, but this book sets out the key role played by the imprisoned Canadians serving in the Royal Air Force and imprisoned in Poland in WWII. Anyone reading the book will be astonished at the ingenuity… Read more »
Who would have thought this possible but the Calgary Flames are the hottest team in the NHL with 5 wins in a row. They are making it easier for Edmonton to get that #1 draft pick again.
The Flames became a team the minute they traded Iginla.