Cole Caufield returned from a stint in Laval and Mattias Norlinder played 17:39 in his NHL debut.
The Montreal Canadiens were thoroughly dismantled by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-0 shutout loss at the Bell Centre on Thursday. The Pens outshot the Canadiens 43-24 in the uneven contest, and chased starter Cayden Primeau after two periods. Teddy Blueger led the way offensively with two goals and an assist.
Primeau was collateral damage in a dispiriting performance by the floundering Canadiens. With the loss, the Habs fell to 4-13-2 on the season. Coach Dominique Ducharme hoped an infusion of youth, in the form of Cole Caufield and Mattias Norlinder, would bring renewed energy to the lineup. A day prior, the team lost Adam Brooks on waivers to the Vegas Golden Knights, and Alex Belzile was sent down to Laval to make room for Caufield.
Sidney Crosby opened scoring at 3:36 in the first. Off a neutral zone turnover, the Pens captain completed a slick passing play with linemates Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel to put his team on the board.
Moments after a penalty to Joel Armia expired, John Marino fired a point shot so hard off the back boards, the puck ricocheted into the slot and right on Danton Heinen’s stick, who beat a surprised Primeau for a 2-0 lead.
With under a minute left in the first, the Penguins found themselves on a slowly developing 4-on-2 in the Montreal zone. Guentzel shot the puck while leaning on his back foot, but defenceman Kristopher Letang served as the unlikely screen and the puck found itself in the back of the net. The period ended 3-0.
The Penguins added two in the second period. Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry both lost their positioning in the defensive zone, giving up a 2-on-0 to Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese. Blueger scored his first of two to make it 4-0. Chiarot was -4 and Petry was -3 on the night.
Less than three minutes later, the Penguins continued to pile on when Brock McGinn alone in front redirected a Michael Matheson point shot for the fifth Penguin goal of the night.
Primeau was replaced by Samuel Montembeault to start the third. It was an uneventful period, but with 10 seconds remaining, Blueger slipped by the Montreal defence with both teams halfway to the benches and scored on the ensuing breakaway to add insult to injury.
The Habs season hit a new low Thursday night. I’ll yield my time and allow the Liveblog commenters to say what’s on their minds:
“I’m booing at my tv screen” -Ryan Katz
“Well, I don’t know how much more the Montreal faithful can stomach. But logic tells me it’s time for a full blown rebuild. Dismiss Bergevin, the entire coaching staff and Timmins. Bring in a new GM, not an intern. Then start getting rid of all the dead wood Bergevin accumulated over the past 9 years. There’s not a lot of keepers here, but you do have to keep a few younger and veteran players. In reality, this should have happened 5 years ago, but Bergevin was always just lucky enough with his mediocre trades. To always make like next year will be the year. I’ll give Bergevin this, he’s a genius at pulling the wool over Molson’s and lot of Montreal fans eyes. This is sickening to watch, a team with the richest history, sink so low. Bravo Molson, bravo.” -Mark Real Smith
“Change GM, begin the liquidation as a lame duck can’t be allowed to do this. Specifically trade Price and Petry at deadline for anything, there’s 16 million. If they win a few here and there then keep coach. But getting blown out, losing 8 in a row, have zero effort or organization on ice can’t last and coach will be gone too.” -Kyle Davidson
“Molson needs to fire Bergevin tonight. Your office will be cleaned out for you. 10 years and this is the result. Ya I know we made it to the finals last year. Rick Green said it earlier They aren’t playing in the Canadian division this year.” -Derek Stevens
“If this season keeps up, the wife will probably make me keep the bag she insists I have to wear watching games on at bedtime.” -Chris James
“Just coming back from a horticultural society meeting, was hoping for some good news when i logged on… two reasons to look forward to an early spring: flowers blooming and we will all be out of our misery as the season ends for the Habs!” -Haari Meech
“4-13-2 equates to a 43 point season. “To you from failing hands we throw the torch” Bergevin and Molson have dropped and buried that torch.” -Mike Sampson
“If I go to hell when I die, I’ll have to watch Habs 2021- 2022 season reruns.” -Chris James
“A 2 on nothing break resulting from extremely blown coverage results in a 4-0 lead. I think Primeau is looking forward to returning to the AHL where Laval doesn’t hang the goalie completely out to dry.” -Michael Way
“A comment made on one of the Toronto sports radio shows today was how soft the Habs are this year and other teams are exposing that weakness. Couldn’t argue with them.” -Bob Taylor
“At this point I’m just thankful that my dad has passed away. This team would have killed him.” -Marc Taillefer
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
Coming up
Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.
The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.
The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.
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AP sports:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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