LOS ANGELES (AP) ¡ªwas
more than happy to share the credit after getting his first career shutout.It
was a perfectly reasonable position from Rittich after seeing the hard work put
in on both ends of the ice by defenseman Travis Hamonic and the Flames.Rittich
stopped 21 shots and Hamonic scored to help the Flames to a 1-0 win over the Los
Angeles Kings on Saturday night.¡°I get a
shutout
http://www.officialknightsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-james -neal-jersey ,
but they didn¡¯t have too much because our team played pretty good,¡± said
Rittich, who has won three straight starts and five of his past six. ¡°I have to
say thank you to the locker room because they played really good.¡±The Flames
have won five of their past six games.Jack Campbell made 35 saves for the Kings,
who have been held to one goal or fewer in six of their first 16 games.The
Flames went in front 2:26 into the first period. Hamonic got his second goal,
with Garnet Hathaway setting a screen that kept Campbell from seeing the shot to
the far post. Austin Czarnik and Noah Hanifin had assists, with Hanifin picking
up his third in the past four games.¡°I mean, I don¡¯t score much, so it was nice.
A bonus,¡± Hamonic said. ¡°Glad to help the team out that way, but I thought
defensively our group collectively was really good.¡±Hamonic also played his part
to help smother the Kings¡¯ floundering offense. He used his body to break up a
pass by Ilya Kovalchuk during an odd-man rush in the second period, when the
Kings managed four shots on goal.Hamonic also disrupted a breakaway by Tanner
Pearson on the power play in the third period, coming up from behind to delay
Pearson from shooting and allowing Rittich to make the save when Pearson did put
the puck on goal.¡°I think he was the most noticeable guy either way on either
team,¡± Flames coach Bill Peters said of Hamonic. ¡°He just found a way to be
involved in the game.¡±The Kings struggled to create chances on a consistent
basis, continuing a recurring theme this season. Even when Jeff Carter won an
offensive-zone face-off with 44 seconds remaining and Campbell pulled for an
extra attacker, the Kings still could not beat Rittich.¡°We¡¯re getting some
shots, but not the shots we want,¡± Kings forward Alex Iafallo said. ¡°We need to
get that passion
back
Jonathan
Marchessault Jersey , that hunger to get to the soft areas and keep making
plays.¡±After beating the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Tuesday in coach Willie
Desjardins¡¯ debut with the team, the Kings have lost two straight and scored one
goal each in defeats against the Minnesota Wild and Flames.Desjardins said the
Kings would have to be more aggressive on offense, even if it meant getting away
from the sound defensive structure that has been the team¡¯s identity this
decade.¡°I think that¡¯s the way they have always won, so I think some of the top
guys think a little bit more defensively,¡± Desjardins said. ¡°The guys on the
other side, (Flames forward Johnny) Gaudreau, (Sean) Monahan, they are always
thinking offense. Saying that, I think we have to create some systems that are
going to get guys more involved. We got to force ourselves to get up ice and
play more aggressive and play more offensive.¡±NOTES: The Kings are 1-8-1 when
allowing the first goal this season. ¡ Kings C Michael Amadio returned to the
lineup after not playing since Oct. 25. Amadio was a healthy scratch for the
previous three games following a stint in the AHL. ¡ Flames F Elias Lindholm had
his point streak end after six games. He had three goals and six assists during
that span.UP NEXTFlames: Wrap up their three-game California road trip at San
Jose on Sunday.Kings: Conclude their seven-game homestand by hosting Toronto on
Tuesday. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ¡ª Nick Foligno scored twice, Sergei Bobrovsky
returned from a team suspension and stopped 22 shots and the Columbus Blue
Jackets held off a late surge and defeated the New York Rangers 7-5 Sunday
night.Cam Atkinson and Artemi Panarin each had a goal and an assist, Ryan Murray
had two assists and nine other players picked up points in the offensive
explosion for Columbus. But, two goals by the Rangers late in the third period
turned it into a closer game.The Blue Jackets have won four of the last five,
despite being terrible on the power play. They managed the wild victory over the
Rangers despite coming up empty on five power plays.Mats Zuccarello had two
goals, and Ryan Stome, Chris Kreider and Jimmy Vesey also scored for the
Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev, spelling starter Henrik Lungqvist on the second
night of a
back-to-back
Womens
Bobby Orr Jersey , had 33 saves. New York has lost six of its last seven
games.Anthony Duclair, Lukas Sedlak and David Savard also scored for the Blue
Jackets, and Bobrovsky ¡ª who had been benched for Thursday¡¯s game for violating
a team policy and didn¡¯t play in Saturday¡¯s overtime win over Washington ¡ª
wasn¡¯t terrific, but held off the Rangers after they pulled the goalie for a
sixth skater late in the game.ISLANDERS 5, LIGHTNING 1NEW YORK (AP) ¡ª Casey
Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck each had a goal and an assist, Thomas Greiss stopped
38 shots, and New York beat league-leading Tampa Bay.Brock Nelson, rookie Devon
Toews and Josh Bailey also scored as New York had three goals in the opening
five minutes and went on to get their 11th win in 14 games. Matt Martin had two
assists to give each player on the Islanders¡® fourth line two points.Ryan
McDonagh had a goal and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 23 saves for Tampa Bay,
which was 18-1-1 in its previous 20. The Lightning ¡ª the NHL leaders in wins
(35), points (72) and road wins (16) ¡ª lost in regulation for just the ninth
time this season, but second in the last five games.JETS 4, DUCKS 3, OTWINNIPEG,
Manitoba (AP) ¡ª Bryan Little scored at 4:49 of overtime as Winnipeg beat Anaheim
and extended the Ducks¡® losing streak to a franchise-record 11 games.Blake
Wheeler, Patrik Laine and Ben Chiarot also scored and Connor Hellebuyck made 28
saves to help the Jets improve to 5-2-0 in their last seven games. They have won
four straight at home.Brian Gibbons, Rickard Rakell and Andrew Cogliano scored
and John Gibson stopped 30 shots for the Ducks. They are 0-7-4 during the
skid.HURRICANES 6, PREDATORS
3RALEIGH
Marc-Andre
Fleury Jersey , N.C. (AP) ¡ª Sebastian Aho had three goals and an assist to
lead Carolina past Nashville.Justin Williams, Saku Maenalanen and Lucas Wallmark
also scored for Carolina, which won for the seventh time in eight games and
earned its fifth consecutive victory at home. Micheal Ferland had two
assists.Nashville, which had earned at least a point in seven straight games,
got two goals from Filip Forsberg and another from Colton Sissons. Goaltender
Pekka Rinne was chased in the second period.CANUCKS 5, PANTHERS 1VANCOUVER,
British Columbia (AP) ¡ª Loui Eriksson had a goal and two assists as Vancouver
dealt Florida its sixth straight loss.Ben Hutton, Markus Granlund, Brock Boeser
and Jay Beagle also scored for Vancouver. Jacob Markstrom stopped 23 shots.Frank
Vatrano scored for the Panthers. Roberto Luongo had 31 saves.FLAMES 7, COYOTES
1CALGARY, Alberta (AP) ¡ª Mark Giordano had two goals and an assist in his 800th
career game and Calgary routed Arizona.Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals, and
Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennett also scored for Calgary, which has
won five straight and improved to 8-1-1 in its last 10.Jordan Oesterle scored
for Arizona, which had its three-game winning streak halted.