Jarome Iginla scored all of Calgary's goals -- the first four-goal game of his career -- as the Flames downed the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 in NHL action on Sunday.
Iginla, the defending NHL scoring champion and subject of persistent trade rumors, notched his second hat trick of the season and third of his career as the slumping Flames ended a seven-game winless streak (0-4-2-1) with the win.
PHOTO: AP
Roman Turek made 32 saves for the Flames, who are last in the Western Conference and may be looking to trim payroll before the NHL's trade deadline next month.
Iginla signed a multi-year contract with the team in the off-season.
Ladislav Nagy had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, whose five-game unbeaten streak was snapped (4-0-1).
Teppo Numminen assisted on both Phoenix goals. Sean Burke, also a subject of trade rumors, made 29 saves after missing 19 games with a sprained knee.
Iginla became the fourth player in the NHL this season to score four goals in a game.
Predators 5 Maple Leafs 2
In Toronto, Vitali Yachmenev scored a pair of goals to give the Nashville Predators a 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs.
Tomas Vokoun made 21 saves in goal for Nashville to end Toronto's five-game winning streak.
The Maple Leafs have lost just twice in the past 12 games (10-2-0).
Scott Walker, Rem Murray and Adam Hall also scored for Nashville, which improved to 5-1 in its last six games.
Mark Eaton added a pair of assists. Alexander Mogilny and Gary Roberts scored for the Maple Leafs.
Thrashers 3 Oilers 3
In Edmonton, Dan Snyder's goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation gave the Atlanta Thrashers a 3-3 tie with the Oilers.
Yannick Tremblay and Daniel Tjarnqvist scored the other Thrashers goals for an Atlanta side that has just one win in its past seven games (1-4-2).
Mike Comrie, Steve Staios and Eric Brewer scored for the Oilers, who ended a five-game losing streak but are still winless in six games.
Wild 3 Blues 1
In Minneapolis, Wes Walz scored a pair of goals to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.
Filip Kuba scored the other Minnesota goal, while Antii Laaksonen added a pair of assists.
Pavol Demitra had the lone St. Louis goal as the Blues are now winless in three games.
Avalanche 4 Rangers 1
In Denver, Milan Hejduk scored a pair of goals, leading the Colorado Avalanche past the new York Rangers 4-1.
Hejduk increased his goal-scoring streak to seven games.
Patrick Roy made 37 saves while Derrick Morris and Alex Tanguay scored the other Colorado goals.
Peter Forsberg added three assists. Eric Lindros scored the lone goal for the Rangers.
Canucks 7 Blue Jackets 2
In Vancouver, Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi both had two goals and two assists to lead the Vancouver Canucks past the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-2. Vancouver is now unbeaten in 13 games (9-0-4), and has won four straight.
Brendan Morrison had a goal and three assists for the Canucks, while Trevor Letowski and Mats Lindgren scored the other goals.
Geoff Sanderson and Espen Knutsen scored for the Blue Jackets, who have lost five straight.
Mighty Ducks 4 Hurricanes 0
In Raleigh, Martin Gerber stopped 28 shots for his first career shutout as the Anaheim Mighty Dicks blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0.
Sandis Ozolinsh and Adam Oates both had a goal and an assist for the Mighty Ducks, who have won seven of their last 10 games.
Paul Kariya and Jason Krog scored the other Anaheim goals.
Islanders 4 Bruins 0
In Uniondale, Don Sweeney scored with 2:24 left in regulation as the Boston Bruins managed a 4-4 tie with the New York Islanders. Brian Rolston had a goal and three assists for the Bruins, while Glen Murray and Jozef Stumpel scored the other Boston goals as the Bruins ended a four-game winless streak.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS