The matching haircuts, the identically manicured goatees, the sometimes uncanny synchronicity — it was all well and good. But beyond all that, Henrik and Daniel Sedin were simply one of the most dominant duos to ever take the ice in the NHL. That they were brothers was just an added wrinkle to their historic offensive reign over the West.
But, to be fair, the Sedins’ time in Vancouver was never short on intriguing wrinkles. The fact that the brothers wound up on the same NHL club initially seemed a miracle enough. That their intuitive chemistry translated so seamlessly to the big leagues was yet another bonus for the Vancouver Canucks faithful. But as the famed twins’ careers wore on, our understanding of just how unique they were got lost.
We became so accustomed to the Sedins’ greatness that their wholly inimitable presence in the game became commonplace. They were, of course, no strangers to reminding us that it was anything but — of showing us instances of their intuitive chemistry that went beyond even our most generous expectations of two players who’d spent their entire lives alongside each other:
But the synchronized magic of their game was the least of the oddities. There was also the historic context of their career-best campaigns — the fact that Henrik and Daniel each had exactly one 100-point season on their resumé, one after another in 2010 and 2011, and that, incredibly, those campaigns netted each twin a scoring title, in back-to-back years.
By far the most uncanny moment during the twins’ NHL tenure came in their final game in Vancouver, though, a wild evening for Nos. 22 and 33 as they closed out their careers as Canucks at home.
First came a goal 33 seconds into the middle frame from Daniel (his 22nd goal of the year, of course), assisted by Henrik. Then, with the game fittingly tied 3-3 at the end of regulation, an overtime winner from Daniel, assisted by Henrik, at 2:33 of the extra frame — or 22:33 of the third period, if you really want to stretch the numeric fate thin.
More? How about this: It was Alex Edler, No. 23, who got the other helper on both of Daniel’s goals that night, the latter of those tallies ranking as Daniel’s 23rd of the year. With a 7:07 p.m. start time and 9:37 p.m. end time, the game lasted exactly 2:30. Vancouver won exactly 33faceoffs in that tilt, while their opponent, Arizona, won exactly 22. The Canucks earned an edge in power-play opportunities that evening, 3-2 — and their success rate on the power play that game after Daniel’s overtime winner was, of course, 33.33 per cent.
Given how all those power plays shook out, and the time elapsed before that overtime tally was scored, when all was said and done the game’s total even-strength minutes played sat at 56:22, while the total minutes played sat at 62:33.
With the Canucks set to retire those fated digits to the rafters Wednesday night, let’s take a look back at some other noteworthy numbers that tell the story of the Sedins’ 17 years in the big leagues:
1: As mentioned above, one of the wildest accomplishments of the twins’ careers was their back-to-back run atop the league’s scoring race. In earning those consecutive distinctions, they became the one and only pair of siblings to both win the Art Ross Trophy.
2: Beyond the brother bond, Henrik and Daniel also simply had an unprecedented run as teammates. By the time they’d hung up the dream, the pair had played the second-most games together of any pair of teammates in NHL history, with only the ageless Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio besting them.
3: While the offensive totals amassed tell one side of the story of the Sedins’ impact in Vancouver, their trophy case speaks to another. In 2018, Henrik and Daniel were named co-winners of the league’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded to a player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities both on and off the ice and has made a significant humanitarian contribution in his community.” In earning his first King Clancy that year, Daniel became the third Canuck to ever win the trophy, following his brother Henrik and Trevor Linden. Henrik, in turn, became the only player to win multiple King Clancy trophies during his career, while the brothers also became the first co-winners of the award.
4: A world in which the Sedins didn’t suit up together would be a world we would want no part of. In both getting the nod in the first round in ’99, they became one of four pairs of brothers to both earn first-round selections from the same franchise. The others: Dave and Mark Hunter in Montreal, Duane and Brent Sutter for the Islanders, and more recently, Callan and Nolan Foote in Tampa Bay.
5: Impressive by sibling standards, the Sedins are no less impressive among the pantheon of the great Swedes who’ve graced the NHL with their talent. Both Henrik and Daniel rank among the top five Swedish scorers in NHL history, coming in at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Daniel’s 393 goals rank him fifth among all-time Swedish NHLers in that category, while Henrik’s 830 assists rank him second all-time among Swedish playmakers in the big leagues.
16: Given all they’ve done together, it’s almost difficult to view either Henrik or Daniel in isolation, but given how different their skill-sets and impacts on games were, there’s plenty of individual accolades for the brothers. One of Daniel’s great distinctions: being among the most clutch scorers in history. He ranks tied for fourth all-time in career overtime winners with 16 to his name, only Alex Ovechkin (23), Jaromir Jagr (19), and Ilya Kovalchuk (17) sitting above him. Tied with Daniel at 16? Sidney Crosby and Patrik Elias. Henrik’s career was, of course, just as dominant if viewed on its own — from the time the centreman debuted in 2000-01 to right now in 2020, only four players amassed more points than him: Joe Thornton, Ovechkin, Crosby and Jarome Iginla.
90: In 2010-11, the brothers went on a tear to post a combined 198 points, with 104 of those claiming the Art Ross Trophy for Daniel. In doing so, the duo became only the second pair of brothers to ever top the 90-point plateau in the same season — the others being Peter and Anton Stastny in 1982-83.
743: Over the course of their time in Canucks colours, Henrik and Daniel combined on 743 goals for Vancouver. That sum ranks as the second-most ever amassed by two teammates together. Only Wayne Gretzky and Jarri Kurri combined on more tallies, connecting on 764 during their time together. Overall, at least one of the Sedin brothers factored in on 1,363 of 3,799 total Canucks goals scored during their tenure, good for 36 per cent of the club’s total offensive output.
1,000: You can weave a whole web of intriguing numbers based only around the fact that both Henrik and Daniel managed to surpass 1,000 points during their NHL careers. In doing so, they became the only siblings in league history to each reach that plateau. They’re also the only Canucks to ever do so, and only the fourth and fifth Swedes to ever do so. Their combined 2,107 points makes them the fourth-highest-scoring sibling duo of all time, behind the six Sutter brothers (who posted a combined 2,936), the Gretzky brothers (who very much equally contributed to their 2,861), and the Stastnys (who posted 2,169). In terms of sibling duos, the Sedins are topped only by the Gretzky(s).
1,300: Finishing with the most games in a Canucks sweater, Henrik and Daniel each surpassed the 1,300-game mark before all was said and done in their career — in doing so, they joined a select group of all-timers who logged 1,300 games with one NHL club. The only others in that loyalty club: Nicklas Lidstrom, Alex Delvecchio, Shane Doan, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Stan Mikita.
6,752: In October 2018, the Canucks begrudgingly began the post-Sedin era in Vancouver. The moment was made more poignant by the fact that, over the course of the twins’ entire 17-year career, there wasn’t a single Canucks game that didn’t feature at least one of them in the lineup. The exact time in between games featuring zero Sedins: 6,752 days and 1,465 total games.
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.
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.
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.
