Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Mikael Backlund scored in a fourth straight game and Joni Ortio made 27 saves as the Calgary Flames beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Thursday night. Sean Monahan assisted on a third-period goal and added an empty-netter with 1:25 left for the Flames, who have opened a five-game road swing with consecutive wins. Mikkel Boedker extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-high four games, but the Coyotes suffered their third straight loss and finished their homestand at 2-4-0. Mike Smith made 21 stops in defeat. David Jones jumped on a rebound in the slot and fired it past Smith to break a 1-1 tie at 4:51 of the third. Mark Giordano gathered a feed from Monahan and scored on a long snap shot with 4:02 remaining. We played a great (third) period. Im proud of the boys, said Calgary coach Bob Hartley. Backlund opened the scoring 63 seconds into the second period. He took a pass from Johnny Gaudreau and led a rush down the right wing. As he skated toward the top of the faceoff circle, he fired a wrister that deflected in off Arizona defenseman Keith Yandles skate. Boedker tied it at the 12:36 mark, collecting a loose puck in the Calgary zone and skating around with it for a few seconds before beating Ortio on a shot from the right circle. Game Notes The Flames have won all four matchups with the Coyotes this season ... Calgary forward Curtis Glencross left the game with a lower-body injury and didnt return. P.J. Hall Jersey . -- During a players meeting following the All-Star break, Jermaine ONeal promised his teammates to play the rest of the regular season like he would never play again -- because he very well might not. Tahir Whitehead Jersey . -- The Chiefs have signed seven players to reserve/future contracts, including running back Joe McKnight, a former fourth-round pick of the New York Jets. http://www.officialauthenticraidersstore...end-jersey.html. With the union re-formed, negotiations with owners will resume Friday on the remaining issues that would be in the collective bargaining agreement, according to a person familiar with the plans. Kolton Miller Jersey . The 49ers announced the deal Tuesday. San Francisco selected Lloyd in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. Custom Oakland Raiders Jerseys . One out away from finishing off an impressive shutout, they let a must-win game slip away.CLEVELAND - The NBA All-Star weekend is the unofficial halfway mark of the NBA season and to say Anthony Bennetts rookie campaign hasnt gone quite as expected so far would be an understatement. The 20-year-old rookie from Toronto, the first Canadian ever selected with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft when the Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed him in 2013, has had anything but a storybook beginning to his professional career. While the rest of the NBAs best and brightest spent their weekend in New Orleans for All-Star festivities, Bennett was just the second No. 1 pick to not be selected for the annual Rising Stars game, composed of the leagues best rookie and sophomore players since Washingtons Kwame Brown in 2001. Bennett is patient when asked about his struggles. After starting his professional career 0-for-15 from the floor, hes had to get used to talking about it. "Well, its not the way I planned it to go, I can say that," Bennett said. "Im pretty sure everything will turn around soon. Im working hard and Ive got my teammates with me. The coaching staff has been helping me a lot so Ive just got to keep my head up and go hard." While his start hasnt been ideal, Bennett has faced the music and remained calm amid pressures and criticisms coming from all angles. Speaking in the Cavaliers locker room before a recent game in Cleveland, Bennett was frank about his struggles this season, while also confident that the tide was turning. "Its overwhelming, but Im pretty level headed," Bennett said. "Ive got nice teammates who have been in the league a few years. They can tell me a lot of what theyve been through. Ive been humble, level headed and working every day." The advice from teammates and coaches is the same: keep working. A visit to the Cavaliers practice facility showed he is taking that advice to heart. Long after everyone else has left the floor, Bennett remained. Practising free throws under the watchful eye of an assistant coach, Bennett looked like any other NBA rookie. "Everybody has had their part," Bennett said of the Cavaliers organization. "Helping me with my game, shooting after practice, or pulling me aside and giving me pointers here and there. Everybody has been really helpful." Injuring his shoulder prior to the NBA Draft, Bennetts rookie season was derailed before it began. Missing the Las VVegas Summer League where rookies get their first taste of NBA life, while also being unable to train during the offseason, Bennett came into the Cavaliers training camp with extra weight to accompany the extra pressure that every first overall pick carries with him.dddddddddddd Playing sparingly at the beginning of the season, Bennett has worked hard to shed the extra pounds and get into game shape so hes ready to go when his name is called. Last Tuesday night, in a victory against the Sacramento Kings, Bennett posted his best performance to date, recording 19 points and 10 rebounds. He followed up the next night with a two-point, two-rebound performance. Bennetts roller-coaster experience serves as a reminder of the patience necessary when drafting young players each year. With half a season behind him, Bennett is starting to get a feel for what to expect each night he steps onto the floor as a pro. "In college it would be one game, someones a seven-footer, but the next game someone is six-foot-six," Bennett said. "Everyone is pretty much the same size now. Youve got to go hard every time." In addition to staying after practice for extra work, Bennett often returns for a second session. How does the first overall pick deal with the lows that have accompanied his season thus far? With a little help from his hometown friends. "My close friends from back home, theyve been with me from the start, before this [being in the NBA], so they see my ups, they see my downs. They know what Im going through." After a game where he hasnt performed well, or even gotten the chance to get off the bench, they are the ones who help keep Bennett focused on whats in front of him. "Every time I have a bad game or am feeling down, I hit them up and they tell me to keep staying with it," Bennett said. "Theyll come out here and after bad games theyll go with me straight to the gym. Thats something thats really helpful for me and Im thankful for it." As Bennett begins to show flashes of why the Cavaliers wanted him in the first place, he isnt allowing an unexpectedly difficult beginning make him lose sight of the fact that hes living his NBA dream. "Its a huge honour. Its a blessing, you know? I just cant let this opportunity slide for me. I have to work hard every day. This is my job. I have to work hard and be happy about it." 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