It was not discussed before the Calgary Flames took to the ice. It did not have to be.
With a first divisional championship in 13 years within their grasp, they left nothing to chance.
The Flames on Sunday scored three times in less than two minutes late in the first period on their way to clinching the top spots in the Western Conference and the Pacific Division with a 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
“Nothing was said,” Flames goalie Mike Smith said when asked about the mood in the locker room before the game. “It was pretty quiet as far as talking about that. There was a feeling that everyone knew what was at stake here and I think we did a good job of looking after what we needed to look after.”
Sean Monahan, Mark Jankowski, Dalton Prout, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik all scored for Calgary, who won for the eighth time in 11 games. The Flames will now have home-ice advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.
It is the first time the Flames have won their division since capturing the Northwest title in 2006.
“It’s huge,” said Monahan, in his fifth season with Calgary. “I’ve been here a long time now and it’s tough enough to make it to the playoffs, so I think to do what we did is pretty special and it’s something I’ll always remember. We’ve got a lot of work of ahead of us and as a group we know what we’re in for.”
“We know how to play, we know how hard it is and the commitment that it takes, and nobody wants to be that guy that drops the ball, and they’re holding each other accountable and on the bench it’s all positive, it’s real good,” Flames coach Bill Peters said.
Timo Meier and Logan Couture each had a goal and an assist, while Kevin Labanc also scored for the Sharks, who lost for the eighth time in nine games after winning six straight.
The Flames held San Jose to a season-low 15 shots. The Sharks’ previous low was 20 against Boston on Feb. 26. San Jose managed just nine shots through the first two periods and just three in the second.
The Sharks were coming off an emotional 4-3 overtime victory over Vegas on Saturday in which they clinched second place in the Pacific Division. They looked fatigued.
“We didn’t come out the right way,” Meier said. “We didn’t play the full 60 minutes. I know it’s back to back, but we need to be better in those situations, playing high-intensity games.”
Also on Sunday, it was:
‧ Coyotes 4, Wild 0
‧ Penguins 3, Hurricanes 1
‧ Rangers 3, Flyers 0
‧ Blue Jackets 4, Sabres 0
‧ Red Wings 6, Bruins 3
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was