The Edmonton Oilers overcame a pair of disallowed goals and two broken sticks the Calgary Flames converted into goals to win 5-3 and even their playoff series at one victory apiece Friday.
Zach Hyman scored the winning goal shorthanded in the third period.
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid’s goal and assist Friday made him the fastest active player to reach 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in a single post-season, and fastest among any player since Mario Lemieux in 1992.
“He’s willing to pay a price to win. He’s driven to win,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said. “He has an effect on everybody in our organization with that desire to take his game to the next level.
“The way his guy is playing right now, it’s special. He’s driving our team forward.”
Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Duncan Keith each had a goal and two assists and Evan Bouchard also scored for Edmonton.
After he was pulled early Calgary’s 9-6 win in Game 1, Oilers goaltender Mike Smith made 37 saves and assisted on Draisaitl’s insurance goal.
WATCH | Smith assists on Draisaitl’s goal:
Oilers goalie Mike Smith records assist on Leon Draisaitl’s breakaway goal
14 hours ago
Duration 1:02
Goalie Mike Smith gets the primary assist on Leon Draisailt’s goal to seal Edmonton’s 5-3 victory over Calgary in Game 2.
“Losses are no fun and wins are lots of fun,” McDavid said. “I thought we battled harder.
“Winning some 50-50 pucks. We didn’t win many in Game 1. I thought we did a good job of that. I thought we defended better. Still gave up some chances. Smitty played well.”
Michael Stone, Brett Ritchie and Tyler Toffoli scored for Calgary, which led 3-1 early in the second period.
Johnny Gaudreau had two assists. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 35 shots in the loss.
The best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal heads to Edmonton’s Rogers Place for Sunday’s Game 3 and Tuesday’s Game 4. The Oilers went 18-4-2 at Rogers Place over their final 24 games of the regular season.
Calgary (50-21-11) topped the Pacific Division ahead of runner-up Edmonton (49-27-6) in the regular season. The Alberta rivals are squaring off in the playoffs for a sixth time, but the first since 1991.
One of the NHL’s top teams five-on-five, the Flames were shorthanded for almost 11 minutes Friday. Edmonton scored its first power-play goal of the series midway through the second period to send the game into the third deadlocked 3-3.
“We missed a lot of opportunities,” Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said. “Markstrom was really, really good for us. Individual skill was what stood out tonight, and situations that they scored on. That’s hard to handle, but some of that is also not [playing] five-on-five.
“There was a four-on-four goal, a five-on-four goal, a five-on-four goal for us, shorthanded goal for them. If you’re not playing five-on-five, that’s definitely to their team’s advantage.”
Calgary’s offensive-zone turnover with a man-advantage turned into a shorthanded chance for Hyman in the third period.
WATCH | Hyman scores short-handed marker:
Zach Hyman’s shorty lifts Oilers over Flames in Game 2
15 hours ago
Duration 1:04
Zach Hyman’s short-handed goal in the third period is the game winner as Edmonton beats Calgary 5-3 to tie their second round series at 1-1.
After breaking his stick on Calgary’s first goal and having one of his own disallowed in the second, Hyman went upstairs on Markstrom at 10:14 for the game-winner.
“You’ve just got to keep working,” Hyman said. “It’s the playoffs. Doesn’t matter. All that matters is you get the win, right?”
Smith head-manned the puck to Draisaitl, who is playing through a lower-body injury, to score the insurance goal on another breakaway at 12:36.
Broken Oiler sticks contributed to a Flames goals in the first and second periods. Defenceman Darnell Nurse was hampered without his deep in Edmonton’s zone in the second.
Gaudreau threaded a pass to the crease for Elias Lindholm to flip to Toffoli, whose power-play goal at 2:04 gave Calgary a 3-1 lead.
Draisaitl’s goal at 2:31 of the second was waived off. Flames head coach Darryl Sutter successfully challenged goaltender interference by McDavid.
But McDavid scored a four-on-four goal seconds later to draw Edmonton within one.
He rolled off Calgary defenceman Nikita Zadorov into open ice, took a pass from Keith and stickhandled the puck by Markstrom’s outstretched pad at 3:05.
Bouchard pulled the Oilers even at 15:03 during Stone’s double minor for high-sticking.
After setting the record for the fastest two goals to start a playoff game in the series opener with a pair within 51 seconds, Calgary struck early again, 63 seconds after puck drop.
Edmonton, and Smith, recovered their composure faster than in Game 1, however.
Hyman celebrated a goal with just over four minutes left in the opening period, but officials waived it off. The whistle blew before the puck crossed the goal-line in a crease scramble.
Keith halved a two-goal deficit at 13:45. McDavid circling out from behind the net held off Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson with one arm and held the puck on his stick with the other.
McDavid shovelled a one-handed pass to Keith, who beat Markstrom far side.
The hosts led 2-0 at 6:02 when Smith bobbled an Erik Gudbranson shot. Ritchie pounced on the loose puck in the crease and put a backhand by the Oilers’ goalie.
Hyman broke his stick and wasn’t able to retrieve another from the bench before Stone’s slapshot from the point beat Smith bottom corner glove side at 1:03.
The Flames were minus top shutdown defenceman Chris Tanev for a third straight game. He was injured in Game 6 of Calgary’s first-round series against Dallas. Tanev skated in practice this week, but hasn’t dressed for games.
Calgary went 1-for-5 with a man advantage in the game, while the Oilers were 1-for-6.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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