12-17-2019, 06:09 AM
CALGARY -- Martin Jones made a habit of winning big games at the Scotiabank Saddledome during his Western Hockey League career. Four years after guiding the Calgary Hitmen to a WHL championship and a berth in the 2010 Memorial Cup, Jones made a triumphant return to the Saddledome with the Los Angeles Kings. "I was excited to play here for sure," said Jones, who made 24 saves to backstop the Kings to a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday. "I had four great years here. It was a good road win. It wasnt pretty." Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist for the Kings (38-22-6), who have reeled off eight straight wins. "Definitely we didnt want to make it as interesting as it was, but yeah I guess it was pretty big," said Kopitar of his third-period goal that put the Kings up 3-0 and eventually stood up as the game winner. "It wasnt the prettiest win tonight, but at the end of the day we got the two points." Kopitar commended Jones for his play in between the pipes for the Kings. "He put on a really nice show tonight," Kopitar said. "Hes been stellar for us. Every time hes been in the net, hes been really good for us." Justin Williams and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Kings. Mike Cammalleri and Brian McGrattan scored for the Flames (25-33-7), who lost for just the second time in their past nine games at the Saddledome. Coincidentally, it was the Kings who last beat the Flames at home on Feb. 27. "The way we played the last seven-eight minutes of the game, if we had played the whole game like that, the outcome might have been different," said McGrattan, who has goals in back-to-back contests after going 29 games without scoring. "We hung around the whole game. We came on at the end. We didnt give up." Playing in his fourth straight game, rookie Calgary goalie Joni Ortio made 20 saves in a losing cause. With the win, Jones improved his record in his rookie season with the Kings to 10-4. "Its a totally different animal being here and at this level and in this dressing room, on this side of the ice," said Jones, who played his entire WHL career with the Hitmen. "I just wanted to make sure I stayed focused. I was excited to be here but wanted to make sure I was focused on the task at hand here." Never drafted by an NHL team, Jones was invited to L.A.s training camp in 2008 and subsequently signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Kings. With Jonathan Quick out of L.A.s lineup due to a groin injury earlier this season, Jones was called up by the Kings and promptly won his first eight NHL starts, three of them shutout victories. He lost his next four decisions before making 25 saves in L.A.s 6-4 road win over the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 26. Quick played the next five games in net for the Kings, all wins, before L.A. coach Darryl Sutter decided to give Jones the start against the Flames. "He was really solid," Sutter said. "To be quite honest, when we came back from the Olympics we started in Colorado and he won that game also. We were down 4-2 and he hung on and he won that game also. He did a good job in there tonight." The Kings scored on their first shot on goal at 4:05 of the first when Williams redirected a pass from Anze Kopitar past Ortio. Williams drove hard to the net and attempted to get his stick on the pass from Kopitar, but the puck instead bounced off his shin and into the net behind Ortio. "Theyre a bigger, more physical team than us and I thought they imposed their rhythm right from the start," said Calgary coach Bob Hartley. "They got that early goal and that kind of put us on our heels." The Kings then went up by a pair at the 10-minute mark of the first when Lewis tipped Slava Voynovs point shot into the top corner behind Ortio, who lost his stick on the play when his own defenceman Kris Russell accidentally knocked it out of his hands. The Flames had a great chance to pull within one in the dying moments of the first, but Jones made a shoulder save to stop a shot fired his way by former Hitmen teammate T.J. Galiardi before sticking out his left pad to stop a backhand attempt by McGrattan. Jones also had to be sharp early in the second period as he stood his ground to turn aside back-to-back shots of the stick of Calgary forward Paul Byron. Early in the third period, Jones made a shoulder save to stop Calgary forward Mikael Backlund from scoring on a partial breakaway with the Kings on a power play. Kopitar added an insurance marker for the Kings at 7:01 of the third when he tipped Drew Doughtys point shot past Ortio. A short time later, Jones lunged forward to stop a point blank shot by Cammalleri to keep the Flames off the scoresheet. With Mike Richards serving a delay of game penalty, Cammalleri finally scored at 15:29 of the third to break Joness shutout bid. Cammalleris shot appeared to deflect off Voynov before trickling through Joness legs. McGrattan made things interesting by scoring with 2:22 remaining in regulation when he spun around and fired a slapshot from the slot past Jones. Notes: Injury woes for the Flames continued as a pair of rookies were forced to leave the game. Markus Granlund played just 12 seconds early in the first period before taking a hit from L.A. forward Jarret Stoll, forcing him to leave the game with an upper-body injury. Defenceman Tyler Wotherspoon also sustained an upper-body injury in the third period and didnt return. a The Kings played without forward Jordan Nolan, who was assessed a one-game suspension for sucker punching Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu on Sunday. Tanner Pearson drew into the lineup in place of Nolan. a After being acquired by the Kings from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the NHL trade deadline last Wednesday, forward Marian Gaborik is still looking for his first point with the Kings. Gaborik played on a line with Kopitar and Williams. a The Kings improved their record when leading after two periods this season to a perfect 21-0. Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys . Left back Armero opened the scoring in the fifth minute when his deflected shot rolled past Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis. Striker Teofilo Gutierrez poked in Colombias second goal from a deflected corner in the 58th and James Rodriguez capped it off with a low shot in stoppage time after a slick backheel flick from Juan Cuadrado. Kelan Martin Jersey .ca. Mr. Fraser, I think everyone would like to hear your opinion on what sort of suspension Zac Rinaldo should get. His comment after the game of I changed the whole game, man. https://www.cheaptimberwolves.com/190j-c...olves.html . -- One shot came out of bottom of a cactus, the other from the base of a desert bush with rocks scattered around it. Derrick Williams Jersey . Kyle Shanahan was hired as offensive co-ordinator Monday after spending the previous four years in the same role with the Washington Redskins. Joe Smith Jersey .40 metres at the Drake Relays. Drouin, from Corunna, Ont., bested his own record of 2.38 metres set in Aug. OAKLAND, Calif. -- With one sterling half, Peyton Manning accomplished all he needed to in the regular-season finale by seizing another prestigious record and home-field advantage in the playoffs. He knows his next time out probably wont be so easy. Manning set the NFL single-season record for yards passing and threw four first-half touchdown passes to clinch the top seed in the AFC playoffs for the Broncos with a 34-14 victory over Oakland on Sunday. "This was a good game today," Manning said. "We needed this win. We needed to improve on some things. The coaches challenged us in a couple of areas and I think we responded to those challenges." The Broncos (13-3) were nearly perfect in building a 31-0 halftime lead before coach John Fox gave Manning and some other regulars the second half off to rest for the first playoff game two weeks from now in Denver. Manning threw touchdown passes to Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno in the first quarter and added two to Demaryius Thomas in the second quarter. He broke Drew Brees record of 5,476 yards set in 2011 with a 5-yard pass to Thomas with 13 seconds left in the half to make it 31-0. That ended Mannings day having completed 25 of 28 passes for 266 yards. He finished the season with 5,477 yards and 55 touchdown passes. "The first half was about as good in all three phases as weve been all year," coach John Fox said. "It allowed us to get some guys out of the game and rest them and still take care of business on the field." The Raiders (4-12) ended their 11th straight non-winning season with six consecutive losses and big questions about the future of second-year coach Dennis Allen. Oakland has won eight games in Allens two seasons but after showing signs of progress early this season, regressed down the stretch to put his job in jeopardy. Allen said he expects to meet in the next few days with general manager Reggie McKenzie and owner Mark Davis to discuss the future of the organization. "Thats a decision thats made over my head," Allen said. "I fully expect to be back. I fully believe that I deserve the opportunity to come back here and get a chance to go through the reconstruction phase. I want to be part of the rebuilding phase." The Raiders, who allowed the second most ppoints in franchise history, were completely exposed by Manning.dddddddddddd He frequently targeted fill-in cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, who started for the injured Mike Jenkins. The Broncos forced a punt on the opening possession and then easily drove down the field. Manning completed eight of nine passes for 70 yards on the 12-play drive, capping it with a 3-yard pass to Decker. A bad snap by Stefen Wisniewski on the first play of the next drive set up a 7-yard TD pass to Moreno and the rout was on. Oakland held Manning to a field goal early in the second quarter before he beat them deep with a 63-yard pass to Thomas to make it 24-0 and then methodically led a late drive down field that was capped with the short throw to Thomas that broke Brees record and earned Manning some rest in the second half. "I feel like its a record every other week," Thomas said. "Its great to be a part of, to get it. We just have to sit back and talk about it but our main goal is to win the Super Bowl. Its a good accomplishment for our offence. The main thing now is being able to win." Brock Osweiler played the entire second half in his most extensive action of his two-year career. He completed 9 for 13 passes for 85 yards but only led Denver to one field goal The decision to go back to Terrelle Pryor at starting quarterback after six games with Matt McGloin failed to provide the spark Allen had been seeking. Pryor looked rusty in his return to the lineup, missing receivers and having little room to run on read-option plays and scrambles. Pryor completed 21 of 38 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns after the game was out of reach. Pryor also ran for 49 yards to give him 576 yards rushing for the season, breaking Rich Gannons franchise mark of 529 for quarterbacks set in 2000. "I would say Im inconsistent," Pryor said. "Period. I got to get better." The Raiders couldnt even capitalize on their one good chance as Sebastian Janikowski missed his ninth field goal of the season after blocked punt by Jamize Olawale gave Oakland the ball at the Denver 24. NOTES: Broncos S Duke Ihenacho left the game with a concussion. ... The Raiders had about 45 members of the 1983 team that won the Super Bowl on hand for a halftime ceremony. ' ' '