NEU » ew two TD passes in the fourth qu

Last season, the Calgary Flames were dead last in even-strength save percentage at .911. No matter how many good, young players a team has, its almost impossible to overcome inconsistent goaltending.Ultimately, it cost 2015 Jack Adams winner Bob Hartley his job and led to a revamp in goal by GM Brad Treliving which should push the Flames back into playoff contention.After deciding the price for Ben Bishop was too high, the Flames have turned to Brian Elliott to turn that save percentage around. It was a wise choice.The Blues were No. 4 overall in team save percentage last season, and Elliott led the league with a .930 save percentage.Its exciting. We get Elliott but also [Chad] Johnson, center Sean Monahan?said. Two solid goalies. I think deep down we have a good team. We didnt show it last year -- sometimes the NHL is tough. Those kind of years cant happen. Im looking forward to a fresh start.Elliott will miss playing in a Ken Hitchcock system but is the kind of competitor who will look at his opportunity in Calgary as a chance to prove hes more than a system goalie and that St. Louis made the wrong choice in going with Jake Allen.Hes somebody who wants to be that guy to take a team, Monahan said. I think hes excited about it.Best new facesAlong with trading for Elliott, the Flames did well to get Chad Johnson signed to a very reasonable one-year deal worth $1.7 million. Johnson had a .920 save percentage last year in 45 games with the?Buffalo Sabres and has an above-average .917 save percentage in 101 career games with the New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and Sabres. Elliott is used to sharing time in St. Louis, and the 31-year-old has only eclipsed the 50-start plateau once in his NHL career. Johnson solidifies the position for the Flames.The addition of Troy Brouwer gives the Flames more size on the wing and a veteran presence in the dressing room. Players on the Blues raved about how Brouwer immediately fit in last season in St. Louis and was entrenched as a team leader by the time the playoffs rolled around. He also scored huge goals during the Blues run to the Western Conference finals, finishing with eight postseason goals.Its exciting. Hes a big body, he can skate well, Monahan said. When you have people who are good people in the dressing room, that makes your team better. He works hard, goes to the dirty areas.Biggest unknownsTreliving took a bit of a risk when he chose Glen Gulutzan as Hartleys replacement behind the bench. Until last season, Hartley maximized results with the roster he was given, somehow advancing the Flames to the second round of the playoffs in 2015. But the Flames were also consistently near the bottom of the NHL in possession, and thats a tough way to consistently win.A system change in Calgary should help fix that problem, and the Flames certainly have the horses both on defense and at forward to play a puck-possession game, if thats where Gulutzan is headed. But, unlike Hartley, he doesnt have a lot of head-coaching experience or a track record of winning. Treliving is a smart guy and didnt make this hire lightly, but until Gulutzan proves himself consistently as an NHL head coach, there will be questions as to whether or not he was the right hire.Sure thingsFor the sake of this preview, were going to assume Johnny Gaudreau gets signed. These things have a way of working themselves out. And one thing Flames fans had to love was the performance Gaudreau turned in during the World Cup. If there was any doubt before, that Gaudreau could play his game against the best competition in the world, he ended it.Hes Calgarys version of Patrick Kane, and on a World Cup team that featured generational stars like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, Gaudreau proved he belonged, using his speed consistently to spring odd-man rushes. He also showed a willingness to go into traffic around the net to score goals.He scored a career-high 30 goals last season, and if he gets signed and plays a full season, he should top that number this year.PredictionPropelled by improved goaltending, the Flames will return to the playoffs by securing a wild-card spot. If, however, the Gaudreau holdout works itself into the regular season, all bets are off.Sergio Romo Twins Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Lewis Thorpe Jersey . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. https://www.cheaptwins.com/72t-rod-carew-jersey-twins.html . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. Eddie Rosario Jersey .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Kyle Gibson Twins Jersey . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves.MINNEAPOLIS -- Sam Bradford had a Minnesota debut almost as dazzling as the new $1.1 billion building itself, completing 22 of 30 passes for 286 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers to lead the Vikings to a 17-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.The defense did the rest, sacking Aaron Rodgers five times and producing two turnovers in the fourth quarter that quashed the comeback and sent the crowd of 66,813 into a deafening frenzy in celebration of first regular-season game at U.S. Bank Stadium.Adrian Peterson limped off in the third quarter with a right knee injury, and only 19 yards on 12 carries, but the Vikings (2-0) proved they still have a lot of options. Stefon Diggs caught nine passes for 182 yards a touchdown. They held the Packers (1-1) to 65 total yards in the first half, withstanding an early touchdown pass by Rodgers to Jordy Nelson on a drive aided by two penalties by cornerback Terence Newman.Trae Waynes, who had two penalties himself, intercepted Rodgers pass in Vikings territory in the closing minutes to seal the victory. The previous drive was killed when Brian Robison knocked the ball out of the hands of Rodgers, who ran for 29 yards and a touchdown. He began to find a groove throwing the ball late, but Bradford was the better quarterback on this night.PATRIOTS 31, DOLPHINS 24FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Jimmy Garoppolo had three, first-half touchdown passes before leaving in the second quarter with a right shoulder injury.It was the Patriots eighth straight home victory over Miami (0-2). It came at a price as New England (2-0) was dealt another blow at quarterback with Tom Brady already out his four-game Deflategate suspension.Garoppolos injury came in a flash. On third down with less than five minutes left in the first half, he was chased out of the pocket and got off a completion to Malcolm Mitchell. Garoppolo was driven into the ground on his shoulder by Miami linebacker Kiko Alonso.Garoppolo initially got up, before going down to one knee and being attended to by the training staff. He ended his day 18 of 27 for 234 yards and the three scores.He was replaced by rookie Jacoby Brissett, who led New England to a touchdown on its first possession of the second half. Brissett was 6 of 9 for 92 yards. LeGarrette Blount rushed 29 times for 123 yards and a touchdown. Martellus Bennett also had five catches 114 and a touchdown.Miami rallied in the second half but couldnt catch up.STEELERS 24, BENGALS 16PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns to offset a pair of interceptions.DeAngelo Williams churned out 94 yards on a career-high 32 carries and added a 4-yard touchdown grab. Tight ends Jesse James and Xavier Grimble also caught scoring passes from Roethlisberger as the Steelers (2-0) kept Cincinnati in check at rainy Heinz Field.Andy Dalton passed for 366 yards and a touchdown, but needed 31 completions to reach that total, working almost exclusively on dump offs to running backs and tight ends while Pittsburgh clamped down on star wide receiver A.J. Green, who had just two receptions for 38 yards.The rematch of the Steelers ugly 18-16 win in the wild-card round in January was downright tame. The teams combined for just 10 penalties and only one personal foul.RAMS 9, SEAHAWKS 3LOS ANGELES -- Greg Zuerlein kicked three field goals, the longest a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter, and the Rams marked the return of pro football to Los Angeles for the first time in nearly 22 years with a win.Plenty of penalties slowed down the game for the announced crowd of 91,046 on a searing day at the Memorial Coliseum, where the Rams commemorated the long-awaited occasion by wearing blue-and-gold throwback uniforms.The Rams (1-1) are still without a touchdown after losing 28-0 at San Francisco in their s opener. With field goals accounting for all the offense, it was hardly the high-scoring show Los Angeles sports fans are known to crave.Seattle (1-1) racked up 10 penalties for 114 yards; the Rams had nine penalties for 78 yards.BRONCOS 34, COLTS 20DENVER -- Von Miller gave the Denver fans a reminder of his Super Bowl 50 MVP performance, sweeping in for the sack-strip of Andrew Luck that sealed the win.With the Broncos clinging to a six-point lead with 1:51 remaining, Miller burst past right tackle Joe Reitz and swiped the ball from Lucks grasp. Fellow linebacker Shane Ray scooped up the ball and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.Miller added a sack on the last play as the Broncos (2-0) sent the banged-up Colts limping to their third consecutive 0-2 start.They did it by rattling Luck, who started 5 for 18 before he engineered a couple of second-half touchdown drives. Luck completed just 21 of 40 passes for 197 yards and was sacked five times.FALCONS 35, RAIDERS 28OAKLAND, Calif. -- Justin Hardy caught a deflected 8-yard touchdown pass to break a tie midway through the fourth quarter.Matt Ryan threw three TD passes, but got lucky on the go-ahead one in the fourth quarter. His third-down throw to Tevin Coleman was broken up, but the ball bounced high in the air and Hardy caught it in the end zone to put Atlanta (1-1) up 28-21.The Raiders (1-1) appeared to tie on the next drive when Amari Cooper caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr. But officials ruled Cooper went out of bounds voluntarily before making the catch, although the Raiders contended he was pushed by Desmond Trufant.Oakland coach Jack Del Rio then went on fourth-and-2, but Jalen Richard was stopped on a 1-yard gain.BUCCANEERS 40, CARDINALS 7GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Carson Palmer threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns and Arizona (1-1) intercepted Jameis Winston four times.Marcus Cooper, acquired off waivers from Kansas City on Sept. 2, had two interceptions, returning the second 60 yards for a score.dddddddddddd Winston also fumbled the ball away once.Winston, who had four touchdown passes against Atlanta in the opener and was NFC player of the week, threw 51 passes, the most in his two NFL seasons, completing 27 for 243 yards for the Bucs (1-1).Palmer completed 18 of 31 passes with no interceptions before sitting out most of the fourth quarter. All three of Palmers scoring passes came in the first half,- to Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and Jaron Brown.CHARGERS 38, JAGUARS 14SAN DIEGO -- Philip Rivers matched his career-high with four touchdown passes, including two to Travis Benjamin and Melvin Gordon ran for one score and had his first 100-yard game.The Chargers (1-1) bounced back from their stunning loss at Kansas City, when they blew a 21-point third-quarter lead and fell 33-27 in overtime.The Jaguars started 0-2 for the fourth time in five seasons. They crossed midfield only six times and committed three turnovers.Casey Hayward led the Chargers defense with two interceptions of Blake Bortles.Gordon, a second-year pro, scored on a 3-yard run on the games opening drive, his first TD at Qualcomm Stadium. Gordon went in standing up, and then right guard D.J. Fluker lifted him off the ground in celebration. He finished with 102 yards on 24 carries.COWBOYS 27, REDSKINS 23LANDOVER, Md. -- Alfred Morris scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard run with under five minutes left, leading the Cowboys over his former team.Washingtons Kirk Cousins threw an end-zone interception that set up a long Dallas drive to the winning score.With rookie quarterback Dak Prescott looking poised throughout and scrambling for a 6-yard TD run in the second half, Dallas (1-1) won for only the second time in its past 16 games without the injured Tony Romo -- and both of those victories came at Washington (0-2).Prescott finished 22 for 30 for 292 yards.GIANTS 13, SAINTS 10EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz on a third-down 34-yard pass to set up Josh Browns winning 23-yard field goal as time expired. The Giants got off to their first 2-0 start since 2009, while New Orleans lost its second straight.Browns third field goal capped an 11-play, 70-yard drive that featured two key third-down passes by Manning and a pass interference call on a throw to Odell Beckham Jr.The game was also redemption for the Giants defense. After allowing Drew Brees to throw for 511 yards and an NFL-tying seven touchdowns, New York limited him to one touchdown, 263 yards passing and 288 yards in total team offense.RAVENS 25, BRONCOS 20CLEVELAND -- Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes to Mike Wallace and the Ravens rallied from a 20-point first-quarter deficit.Justin Tucker kicked three field goals and the Ravens (2-0) withstood Clevelands final drive to improve to 15-2 against the Browns under coach John Harbaugh.C.J. Mosley intercepted Browns quarterback Josh McCown at the goal line with 13 seconds left to seal the win.Baltimore was a point from trailing by three touchdowns in the opening quarter before blocking an extra point and returning it for two points and igniting the comeback.McCown stayed in despite an injured left shoulder for the Browns (0-2), who were hurt by a missed field goal and three costly penalties in the fourth quarter.PANTHERS 46, 49ERS 27CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cam Newton threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns, and the Panthers overcame four turnovers.Newton threw two TD passes to Kelvin Benjamin and one each to Greg Olsen and Devin Funchess to pass Jake Delhomme for most TD passes in franchise history with 122.Newton showed no ill effects from the four helmet-to-helmet hits he took in Carolinas season-opening loss to Denver. He took one shot to the head from linebacker Eli Harold late in the game after a pitchout on an option play, but quickly got to his feet.Newtons first pass was tipped and intercepted by Antoine Bethea, leading to a 49ers field goal. But the 2015 league MVP locked in after that, completing 24 of 40 passes while running for 37 yards on six carries.Olsen gave the Panthers the lead for good in the second quarter when he hauled in a career-long 78-yard touchdown pass after the 49ers bit hard on play-action. That left the Pro Bowl tight end wide open on a seam route. Olsen finished with five catches for 122 yards.TITANS 16, LIONS 15DETROIT -- Marcus Mariota converted a fourth down with a perfectly lofted 9-yard pass TD pass to Andre Johnson with 1:13 left.Mariota dropped the pass over linebacker Tahir Whitehead to Johnson just before safety Rafael Bush could get to the veteran receiver.Tennessee went 93 yards on 13 plays over nearly 6 minutes on the game-winning drive.The Titans (1-1) ended a five-game losing streak, dating to last December, when Mariota threw two TD passes in the fourth quarter after trailing 15-3.The Lions (1-1) had an opportunity to drive for a second straight winning field goal, but Matthew Stafford threw an interception to Perrish Cox at midfield in the final minute.TEXANS 19, CHIEFS 12HOUSTON -- DeAndre Hopkins had 113 yards receiving and a touchdown and Nick Novak kicked four field goals. Novak connected from 32, 24, 31 and 43 yards for the Texans (2-0).Cairo Santos made three field goals in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 19-12, but Houston recovered the onside kick with less than a minute left.The Texans showed that they are a much different team than the one embarrassed in a 30-0 wild-card playoff loss to the Chiefs (1-1) in January.Houstons defense set a franchise record by recovering three fumbles in the first half.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '