Coach Dominique Ducharme’s return behind the bench fails to spark the Canadiens as Montreal on verge of being swept.
The Montreal Canadiens lost the first Stanley Cup final game in Bell Centre history 6-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 on Friday night, and are now a Game 4 loss away from being swept by the defending champions. The Lightning scored two goals in the opening four minutes of both the first and second periods in coach Dominique Ducharme’s return to the bench.
The Canadiens wanted to take advantage of last change on home ice by putting defensive centre Phillip Danault against Tampa scorer Brayden Point, but Point was in front of the net screening Carey Price on the opening goal 1:52 in the first. Tampa got the matchup they wanted after an icing, with Jan Rutta scoring from the point on a seeing eye shot.
With Eric Staal in the box after flipping the puck over the glass, Victor Hedman was left alone at the point with the Habs penalty killers looking for the cross-ice pass. Hedman’s deliberate slapshot squeezed past Price, putting the Lightning up 2-0 only 3:27 into the contest. Ducharme, coaching for the first time in these finals after a positive COVID test during the Vegas series, called a timeout to calm his group.
The timeout worked, as the Canadiens settled down afterward. Cole Caufield nearly had one, carrying the puck through the middle and ripping one off the post.
Just past the midway point of the first, Danault scored his first of the post-season. He and Brendan Gallagher escaped their zone together and went down the ice. Danault waited for Gallagher to skate in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy and fired through the screen off the post and in to make it 2-1 Tampa Bay. Danault was the first Quebec-born player to score for the Habs in a final since Stéphan Lebeau in 1993. The period ended with the Habs down a goal, but they outshot the opposition 17-12 and recovered after digging themselves an early hole.
The second period proved just as disastrous early on as the first. At 1:40 in the period, Erik Cernak caught the Canadiens on a line change, sending a stretch pass to Ondrej Palat for a 2-on-0. Palat passed to Kucherov, who flipped the backhand over Price to restore Tampa’s two-goal lead.
Less than two minutes later, Tampa Bay extended its lead to 4-1. Mathieu Joseph raced down the left side and made the first attempt. Price made the save, but Tyler Johnson was able to swoop in and backhand the rebound for the quick-strike goal.
With under two minutes left in the second period, the Canadiens made it 4-2. Nick Suzuki carried the puck by himself from the blue line down the right side and caught Vasilevskiy flat footed with a snapshot to give the Habs some life heading into the third.
Unlike the previous two periods, the Canadiens held the Lightning off the scoresheet in the opening minutes of the third. But the Habs also couldn’t generate momentum through the neutral zone as the Bolts clogged the ice. Hard for the Habs to maintain composure with their season on the ropes.
Late in third, the Habs needed to take chances on offence, but an Erik Gustafsson pass up the middle to Johnson was likely not what they had in mind. Johnson entered the zone alone and made the first shot on Price, which the goalie had trouble with, then Johnson potted his own rebound to make it 5-2.
Under a minute later, with Price on the bench for an extra skater, Corey Perry patiently waited out the defenceman by carrying the puck out front from behind the net. His wide angle shot was enough to beat Vasilevskiy high and once again put the Habs within striking distance at 5-3 with just over four minutes remaining.
With Price still pulled, Blake Coleman scored in the empty net to give the Lightning a 6-3 lead, which is how the game ended. The Canadiens and Lightning meet again for Game 4 on Monday at the Bell Centre, with the Habs hoping to keep their season alive with a win. The Tampa Bay Lightning are formidable, and have a second straight Cup victory in their sights. The Montreal Canadiens have battled adversity all season, and now they’ll face their tallest mountain on Monday. The Liveblog commenters didn’t give me much to work with afterwards, but there were some nuggets of wisdom early in the night.
3. “Feels like ‘95” -Justin Miller
2. “I’m old, so the Habs have won 17 Cups during my lifetime. However, I can’t remember ever being so anxious and hopeful for another Cup as I am this year. Go Habs Go!” -Bob Taylor
1. “It was a great run. Tampa is playing their best. They have too much to deal with. This team gave so much to get here. Defense is better, attack is much better. Vasilevskiy is playing better than Price. He is probably a better goalie at this stage in their careers. Tampa is the current champion and their luck made it so they could have an even better team this season. I’m super proud of our boys and will watch right up until the last minute. We simply don’t have what it takes. I love that they don’t quit.” -Joseph Barrie {“_id”:””,”type”:”raw_html”,”shortcode_tag”:”related_links”,”shortcode”:”[related_links /]”,”content”:”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
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AP cricket:
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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