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Brandon Manning Jersey Womens , Alberta (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk’s playmaking skills were on full display for the Flames. And, the New York Rangers suffered the consequences.Tkachuk scored two goals — his 31st and 32nd of the season — and had a career-high five points to lead Calgary to a 5-1 victory Friday night.“Obviously when I have the puck on my stick and guys are going to the net, I want to make plays,” said Tkachuk, who was also a plus-five. “I don’t think of myself as a shooter or a passer, I’m just somebody trying to read the play and make the best play possible.”Johnny Gaudreau, Garnet Hathaway and Michael Frolik also scored for Calgary, which moved one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks for the Pacific Division lead with 11 games to go.Tkachuk had 10 points (six goals, four assists) on the Flames’ 3-0-0 homestand. The hot streak comes after an extended cold stretch during which he had just six points in the previous 18 games.“He makes subtle, little smart plays, plays off the wall, plays where he protects it and uses his body to protect the puck, he’s smart,” Flames coach Bill Peters said. “Just a real smart and instinctive player, but a lot of it is just the way he goes about the game. He’s a student of the game and he looks to get better each and every time he goes on the ice.”Neal Pionk scored for the New York, which is winless in its last six on the road.They were moving the puck around smart,” Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. “They had some guys that were making some really nice plays and we just didn’t have an answer for it. It’s hard in those situations to not let it snowball. I thought we got down and couldn’t get anything going after that.”Tied at 1 after 20 minutes, Tkachuk gave the Flames the lead for good 2:56 into the second when he deflected Mark Giordano’s point shot past Alexandar Georgiev.Just over a minute later, Tkachuk earned his 100th career assist, setting up Hathaway in front to make it 3-1.It was all the offensive support needed by David Rittich
Cam Ward Jersey Womens , who turned aside 24 shots to improve to 25-7-5.Georgiev made 27 saves to fall to 10-12-3.Gaudreau opened the scoring 10 minutes into the first period on a beautiful pass by Tkachuk. Looking more like a football quarterback, Tkachuk lobbed a 95-foot pass from deep in his own end that landed on the stick of Gaudreau, springing him on a breakaway. Coming off a three-goal, six-point night on Tuesday, Gaudreau remained hot, making a nice move before slipping the puck through Georgiev’s pads for his team-leading 34th goal.“I saw Johnny flying and I saw the (defense) and they weren’t looking at me, so if I threw it up in the air, it’s not like he can turn around, catch it and come back,” Tkachuk said. So I just thought, it’s better that (I) rip it hard and see if it goes past him. It was such a fortunate bounce, it just landed and stopped. Johnny went in and made an unbelievable move.”The Rangers tied it 70 seconds later when Ryan Strome found Pionk coming late and the defenseman wired a slap shot inside the post.The Flames put the game away in the third period. Tkachuk’s third primary assist, as he set up Frolik in front, made it 4-1 at 5:12. He rounded out the scoring by converting Mikael Backlund’s pass at 9:49.“We’ve been a team that has played hard, but big deal,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “You should play hard in the National Hockey League. You’re a professional athlete. You shouldn’t get patted on the back because you played hard. It should be expected. We didn’t play hard tonight. We certainly didn’t play smart tonight.”NOTES: Calgary’s Sean Monahan (undisclosed) did not play the last two periods. … Tkachuk has 73 points this season, joining Gaudreau, Monahan and Elias Lindholm in the 70-point club. The last time Calgary had four 70-point scorers was 2006-07 (Jarome Iginla 94, Alex Tanguay 81, Daymond Langkow 77
Matt Hunwick Jersey Womens , Kristian Huselius 77).UP NEXTRangers: wrap up their four-game road trip in Minnesota on Saturday night.Flames: at Winnipeg on Saturday night. The best players in the NHL descend upon San Jose, California, for the 2019 NHL All-Star Game Saturday night.In addition to participating in the All-Star Game, a majority of the players selected for the exhibition will partake in Friday's All-Star Skills contest, which includes contests like hardest shot and fastest skater.A year ago in Tampa, Florida, the Pacific Division won its second All-Star Game title in the third year of the three-on-three tournament format.Entering Saturday's All-Star Game, the Metropolitan Division is the only other team to come out on top in the new format. Format and RulesSimilar to the past three years, the 2019 NHL All-Star Game is a three-on-three tournament with each of the four divisions represented by a team.Every one of the 31 NHL teams must be represented on the All-Star Game rosters, which is why you won't see a plethora of players from multiple teams in each squad.Since the new format was instituted,the Atlantic and Metropolitan have faced off against each other in a semifinal, while the Pacific and Central squared off in the other semifinal pitting Western Conference divisions against one another.Both of the semifinal games last 20 minutes with the winner of each game advancing to the championship.The title clash at the All-Star Game is also a 20-minute affair, and in each of the last two seasons, seven goals have been netted in the final. Full Weekend ScheduleNHL Skills Competition (Friday, 9 p.m. ET, NBCSN)NHL All-Star Game (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN) Can Pacific Win 3rd Title In New Format?The Pacific Division is in good position to win its third All-Star Game title because of the wide array of offensive players it contains on its roster.Edmonton's Connor McDavid, Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau and San Jose's Joe Pavelski all rank in the top 10 in goals in the NHL, while Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers is 16th.Paul Sancya/Associated PressThe Pacific roster looks even scarier when you glance at the league assist chart
Jeff Skinner Jersey Womens , as San Jose's Brent Burns, Gaudreau and McDavid all sit in the top 10.Burns, who is listed as a defender but can play further up the ice on occasion, leads all defensemen in assists and points.As if that wasn't impressive enough, Vancouver's Elias Pettersson, who is one of three Pacific players making their first All-Star Game appearances, is tied for second in game-winning goals alongside McDavid and three others.In between the pipes, Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury leads the NHL in wins with 27, while Anaheim's Gibson is first in saves with Fleury directly behind him in second.Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesIn addition to all of those statistical leaders, the Pacific roster carries plenty of experience in defense with Los Angeles' Drew Doughty and San Jose's Eric Karlsson, while Arizona's Clayton Keller rounds out a talented collection of forwards.Burns, Doughty and Gaudreau won the All-Star Game in 2016 and 2018, Gibson and Pavelski were on the winning squad in 2016, and both Fleury and McDavid were victors in 2018.While the other divisions boast impressive rosters as well, the Pacific squad has a perfect complement of experience, goalscoring prowess and goaltending that could frustrate any opponent that stands in its way.And if that wasn't enough to predict the Pacific to win Saturday, it is playing on home ice inside the SAP Center in San Jose.Follow Joe on Twitter, JTansey90Statistics obtained from NHL.com
