Sports

McDavid the unanimous No. 1 in TSN’s Top 50 players ranking

Published

2 years ago

October 6, 2022

The Crosby-McDavid TSN Top 50 Dynasty has reached 13 years.

Connor McDavid is No. 1 in the TSN pre-season player rankings for a sixth straight season after a seven-year reign by Sidney Crosby.

And it wasn’t close, even though Toronto centre Auston Matthews and Stanley Cup-winning Colorado defenceman Cale Makar had sensational 2021-22 seasons.

No. 2-ranked Matthews was the NHL’s uncontested premier regular season performer, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. Matthews received four times as many first-place votes in Hart voting as defending MVP McDavid.

No. 3-ranked Makar, meanwhile, won the Norris Trophy and was the unanimous choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy, becoming just the third defenceman in league history to win both honours in the same season. The other two? Eight-time Norris winner Bobby Orr and seven-time Norris winner Nicklas Lidstrom.

Still, McDavid received all 20 first-place votes, earning unanimous status as TSN’s projected No. 1 player for the 2022-23 season.

It is the second straight season McDavid has been the all-in choice for No. 1.

Connor McDavid	20	0	0
Auston Matthews	0	12	6
Cale Makar	0	6	10

Connor McDavid collected all 20 first-place votes becoming a unanimous choice as No. 1 in TSN annual polling for the second straight year. Matthews and Makar were definitive choices at No. 2 and 3, combining for 18 of 20 second-place votes and 16 of 20 third-place ballots.

To be clear, McDavid’s bona fides are impeccable. The Edmonton superstar won the regular season and playoff scoring titles – setting career highs in goals for each – becoming the first player to do since Evgeni Malkin in 2009.

As usual an extraordinary number of his goals and assists shouldn’t have been counted as much as hung in a museum to preserve for future generations to appreciate.

McDavid remains hockey’s most spectacular player, even in the face of a challenge from Makar, and is justifiably regarded as the most highly evolved player in hockey history.

He won the playoff scoring title with 33 points – among them 10 goals and 17 primary assists – despite Edmonton losing in the third round.

Oiler running mate and fellow centre Leon Draisaitl finished one point behind McDavid in the postseason scoring race – collecting an NHL-record 17 points in five second-round games versus Calgary – and finished No. 4 in the TSN poll.

The Great Nate, Nathan MacKinnon, is No. 5. The Colorado centre ranks third all-time in playoff points per game, standing in the shadows of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

The TSN Top 10 is filled out, in order, by a trio of Tampa Bay Lightning, No. 6 defenceman Victor Hedman, No. 7 goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and No. 8 right winger Nikita Kucherov, plus No. 9 Florida centre Aleksander Barkov and No. 10 Minnesota left winger Kirill Kaprizov.

1. Connor McDavid, Edm	C	1	1	80	44	79	123
2. Auston Matthews, Tor	C	3	2	73	60	46	106
3. Cale Makar, Col	RD	12	3	77	28	58	86
4. Leon Draisaitl, Edm	C	5	4	80	55	55	110
5. Nathan MacKinnon, Col	C	2	5	65	32	56	88
6. Victor Hedman, TB	LD	7	6	82	20	65	85
7. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB	G	6	7	63	2.67	.916	5
8. Nikita Kucherov, TB	RW	4	8	47	25	44	69
9. Aleksander Barkov, Fla	C	10	9	67	39	49	88
10. Kirill Kaprizov, Min	LW	26	10	81	47	61	108
11. Sidney Crosby, Pit	C	9	11	69	31	53	84
12. Mitchell Marner, Tor	RW	16	12	72	35	62	97
13. Roman Josi, Nsh	LD	31	13	80	23	73	96
14. Jonathan Huberdeau, Cgy	LW	18	14	80	30	85	115
15. Igor Shesterkin, NYR	G		15	53	2.07	.935	6
16. Artemi Panarin, NYR	LW	8	16	75	22	74	96
17. Johnny Gaudreau, CBJ	LW		17	82	40	75	115
18. Adam Fox, NYR	RD	23	18	78	11	63	74
19. Matthew Tkachuk, Fla	LW/RW		19	82	42	62	104
20. Alex Ovechkin, Wsh	LW	17	20	77	50	40	90
21. Mikko Rantanen, Col	RW	19	21	65	32	56	88
22. Patrick Kane, Chi	RW	14	22	78	26	66	92
23. Steven Stamkos, TB	C		23	81	42	64	106
24. Brad Marchand, Bos	LW	11	24	70	32	48	80
25. David Pastrnak, Bos	RW	15	25	72	40	37	77
26. Brayden Point, TB	C	13	26	66	28	30	58
27. Sebastian Aho, Car	C	22	27	79	37	44	81
28. J.T. Miller, Van	C		28	80	32	67	99
29. Kyle Connor, Wpg	LW	34	29	79	47	46	93
30. Charlie McAvoy, Bos	RD	39	30	78	10	46	56
31. Filip Forsberg, Nsh	LW		31	69	42	42	84
32. Mika Zibanejad, NYR	C	27	32	81	29	52	81
33. Patrice Bergeron, Bos	C	25	33	73	25	40	65
34. Jacob Markstrom, Cgy	G		34	63	2.22	.922	9
35. Jack Eichel, VGK	C	35	35	34	14	11	21
36. Elias Lindholm, Cgy	C		36	82	42	40	82
37. Nazem Kadri, Cgy	C		37	71	28	59	87
38. Aaron Ekblad, Fla	RD		38	61	15	42	57
39. Gabriel Landeskog, Col	LW	44	39	51	30	29	59
40. Juuse Saros, Nsh	G		40	67	2.64	.918	4
41. Jake Guentzel, Pit	LW	45	41	76	40	44	84
42. Jaccob Slavin, Car	LD		42	79	4	38	42
43. John Carlson, Wsh	RD	41	43	78	17	54	71
44. Jason Robertson, Dal	LW		44	74	41	38	79
45. Moritz Seider, Det	RD		45	82	23	34	57
46. Quinn Hughes, Van	LD	38	46	76	8	60	68
47. Alex DeBrincat, Ott	LW		47	82	41	37	78
48. Chris Kreider, NYR	LW		48	81	52	25	77
49. Jack Hughes, NJ	C		49	49	26	30	56
50. Kris Letang, Pit	RD		50	78	10	58	68

Source link

Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

___

This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

___

AP sports:

Source link

Sports

Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

Source link

Sports

Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

Source link