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JONES: Edmonton Oilers get 48-hour stay of execution with Game 6 victory over Kings – Edmonton Sun

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2022

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 12: Evander Kane #91 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates his empty net goal behind referee Frederick L’Ecuyer #17 during the third period in a 4-2 Oilers win in Game Six of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on May 12, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Harry How /Getty Images

The Edmonton Oilers knew what the storyline would be. They knew the way they’d be branded going forward if they didn’t win Game 6:Three straight seasons in the playoffs. Three consecutive years eliminated in the First Round.

Celebrate their Game 6 win all you want. That’ll still be the storyline. It will still be how they’ll be branded if they don’t win Game 7.That’s the reality.

What happened Thursday in L.A. was wonderful. But there is no trophy for winning Game 6. All the win amounts to is getting a 48-hour stay of execution.

The gallows will now be relocated 3,317 kilometres north. The electric chair will be plugged in at Rogers Place in Edmonton instead of the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Yes, the Oilers have given owner Daryl Katz another $3 million gate. Yes, they’ve given Edmonton’s fans the fourth occasion this season to create the most exceptional environment existing anywhere in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But just because the Oilers dug down deep and found the will to win Game 6 doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to use the scene their fans create for all it’s worth to actually win a series. They haven’t really used it yet.

This is a team that scored the first goal of the game to win three series games and didn’t show up for the first period of the other three.

This is a team that won Game 2 by a score of 6-0 and won Game 3 by a count of 8-2 and came out as if they figured the series had been won and allowed a team with 11 players that had never performed in a Stanley Cup playoff series before to outshoot them by a combined count of 36-15 in the first period of the next two games.

How can the Oilers claim home ice advantage? They’ve lost two of three in Rogers Place. And for the record, you should know that Los Angeles is 7-4 in Game 7 and have won four straight while the Oilers are 6-4 and haven’t won a Game 7 since 1990.

Yes, the win was a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card for Darnell Nurse who allowed himself to take a head butt penalty in Game 5 and get suspended for Game 6.

Yes, it allowed coach Jay Woodcroft to get a do-over for his decision to pair a never-played together before combination of Brett Kulak and Duncan Keith for the ill-fated first shift of the overtime loss in Game 5.

Yes, it gave future Hall of Famer Keith an additional chance to prove, after he’d played so poorly, that he could give the Oilers what general manager Ken Holland believed he could bring to this group in the playoffs like he did in playing so well in Game 6.

And, yes, it extended the opportunity to prove to a couple of other players that their careers could continue here next year that probably wouldn’t have been the case if the Oilers hadn’t given themselves the opportunity to play in Game 7 and win the series.

Got all that?

OK then.

Now think about what it might mean if the Oilers returned home and duplicated that performance and won Game 7.

Now imagine what it would mean for Edmonton as a city that played host to 81 Stanley Cup playoff games in the Hub City bubble and won only one game and then was eliminated in a four-game sweep in empty arenas in Edmonton and Winnipeg.

Nobody said ‘Gee, I hope the Oilers gas the next two games so we can play a Game 7’ after the Oilers won 6-0 and 8-2.

The Oilers should have been home resting up the Dynamic Duo. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid should have watched this spectacular bounce-back year of first round Stanley Cup playoff games instead of getting battered and bruised attempting superhuman feats. Instead, they’re involved in a trio of Game 7s Saturday on Hockey Night In Canada.

It doesn’t take away from what this could mean for the fans of Edmonton who suffered through the Decade of Darkness with 11 years out of the playoffs should the Oilers repeat the feat.

Imagine what it might mean in terms of the future and keeping this team together if they do?

Connor McDavid scored a wrap-around goal on his first shift and drove the bus. He now has an NHL-leading 12 playoff points in six games. He’s been awesome all over the ice.

And Leon Draisaitl has five goals and eight points and has been an absolute warrior while now clearly playing hurt.

What if Evander Kane can have another game Saturday like the two-goal game he had in Game 6? It resulted in a special scene of the controversial serial offender the Oilers gambled on at mid-season. Kane held up seven fingers after he scored the empty-netter to put it away and had to explain it represented Game 7. You could tell he hadn’t even thought of seven goals. He’s been building a relationship he’s never had before.

All of that could be super-significant if the Oilers can do it again.

But if they don’t win, sorry. It won’t mean much.

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Canada’s Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Routliffe pick up second win at WTA Finals

Published

1 day ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.

The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.

The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.

Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.

The final is scheduled for Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.

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Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.

The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.

Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.

TAKEAWAYS

Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.

Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.

KEY MOMENT

New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.

KEY RETURN?

Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.

OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN

The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.

The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

UP NEXT

Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Mahomes throws 3 TD passes, unbeaten Chiefs beat Buccaneers 30-24 in OT

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.

Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.

Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.

Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.

It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.

The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.

Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.

Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.

The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”

Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.

The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.

Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.

UP NEXT

Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Chiefs: Host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

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