SUNDAY SPORTS
Leon Draisaitl and Mark Letestu scored in the shootout as the Edmonton Oilers won their second game in a row, defeating the Calgary Flames 2-1. Patrick Maroon scored in regulation time for the Oilers, who have won four of their last six games. Edmonton honoured Canadian women’s team standout Hayley Wickenheiser before the game. Wickenheiser announced her retirement on Friday.
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Nazem Kadri scored twice and Curtis McElhinney made 35 saves in his Toronto debut as the Maple Leafs downed the Senators 4-2 in Ottawa. Tyler Bozak and Connor Brown also scored for the Leafs. Toronto moved into a tie with the Senators for third in the Atlantic Division at the halfway point of the season.
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Alexei Emelin, Max Pacioretty and Paul Byron scored in a 62-second span of the third period to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-4 victory over the New York Rangers. Alex Galchenyuk, back from a knee injury suffered December 4th, and Brian Flynn also scored for Montreal.
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Brock McGinn had a goal and three assists and linemates Jordan Staal and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and two helpers as the Carolina Hurricanes pulled away late to beat the New York Islanders 7-4. It’s the fourth straight victory for New York. The Hurricanes overcame a 3-1 deficit with three straight goals in the second period.
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Jaromir Jagr scored early in the third period, helping the Florida Panthers edge the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3. Shawn Thornton, Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Florida. Former Maple Leaf James Reimer made 30 saves.
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The Atlanta Falcons have advanced to the NFC championship game for just the fourth time in franchise history. Matt Ryan threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns to lead Atlanta to a 36-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional playoff game. The Falcons will face either Dallas or Green Bay in the NFC championship game next Sunday.
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The New England Patriots are headed back to a familiar spot: the AFC championship game.
Dion Lewis had a 13-yard touchdown reception , a 98-yard kickoff return for a score, and a late 1-yard touchdown to help the Patriots hold off the Houston Texans 34-16 on Saturday night and advance to an NFL-record sixth straight conference title game.
New England will host the winner of Sunday night’s Pittsburgh-Kansas City matchup next Sunday for the right to play in the Super Bowl in Houston on Feb. 5.
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Devin Booker scored a career-high 39 points for the second straight game in Mexico City and the Phoenix Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs 108-105. Eric Bledsoe added 17 points and 10 assists. The Suns overcame an 11-point deficit to snap a two-game losing streak. They were coming off a loss to Dallas in their Mexican opener Thursday night.
(CP)
