Montreal has the most difficult strength of schedule in the NHL in the last quarter of the season, but they’re fine with it. The Canadiens took the top-ranked Hurricanes to overtime before falling 4-3 in a shootout.
Wilde Horses
It’s enjoyable to figure out the Canadiens these days. They have about a dozen players from the Montreal roster replaced by players from the Laval roster, yet these Rocket players are so hungry and energetic, they’re actually adding to the club many nights; instead of causing a talent vacuum.
On the first tally, it was Michael Pezzetta with a gorgeous pass to Alex Belzile who finished it for his third NHL goal. Chris Tierney got the other assist as the all-AHL trio scored on the mighty Hurricanes. Their goal celebration said everything about what energy and excitement means in comparison to talent. It’s the great leveller of the playing field.
Second period, they hooked up again. It was Tierney this time with the gorgeous pass to a streaking Pezzetta. He fought off his check to count from one foot out. Amazing outcomes for the fourth line on the team playing like they’re the top line.
Knowing that there are many prospects coming, and the ability of the Laval players to compete, it’s a serious question to ask how many of the aging underachieving NHL regulars are actually required in Montreal next season.
Perhaps it is time for the prospects waiting in the wings next season to get ice time, and if players like Roy, Beck, Kidney, and Mesar are injured, the Laval players can step in for them. Perhaps it is time to forget what veteran has a big contract for a lot of seasons, and award the jobs entirely on merit instead of money in.
It might be surprising who actually wins the work in 2023-24 on merit alone. Take the numbers off everyone’s jersey in September and decide it without dollar signs. That would be a revealing exercise.
Some veterans, it is expected, will be gone next season, like Jonathan Drouin. It is worth wondering though whether Drouin might be interested in a one year contract in Montreal where he can continue to find his better game as he has in the last half of the season.
Drouin has moved to the middle with all of the injuries. He is more implicated in the play at centre, and is a better version of himself. It’s hard to believe with all the negative copy written about him, but Drouin is actually third on the team in assists this season. He’s one of the best on the team.
Drouin pulled off a sublime assist as the Canadiens made it 2-0 against the Hurricanes. He pushed toward goal, then got to the crease, where he brought the goalie with him to the other side of the net, but he deftly left the puck behind.
That’s where Mike Hoffman showed up to tap it home with absolutely no one with knowledge of where the puck was, except him. Antti Raanta was tracking Drouin. The defender was tracking Drouin. Drouin was playing some chess on the way to the other side. Hoffman with an easy one.
Bizarre these days how much the Canadiens are competing with this roster. It is true they are not winning many, but they are also not getting ripped with a lineup that no one would blame them if they were losing badly.
It’s all guts until the end of the season for this group. Credit to them. Credit to the head coach.
Wilde Goats
Criticize this band of plucky overachievers? No, Sir. No, Ma’am.
Wilde Cards
It’s fascinating to see the predictions change for the amateur draft throughout the hockey year. Everyone always feels as if there is a set order to it in February, but by June it has changed significantly. It happens every single year.
Last season, the moves were so drastic that they even hit the top of the draft as Shane Wright lost his standing to Juraj Slafkovsky. In fact, Wright fell all the way to four taken by the Seattle Kraken while Slafkovsky rose from underdog to number one.
This season, surely, the top of the draft stays the same with Connor Bedard having one of the best junior seasons in history, and Adam Fantilli having one of the best college draft seasons in history. They are set at one and two, but after that, all bets are off.
The spot where the Canadiens are likely to draft is changing rapidly as March begins. It was thought that the Canadiens would choose Zach Benson at five overall, if they had the opportunity.
However, it has become apparent that the list is changing. Benson is falling out of the top 10 simply because he is a small player, even though he is putting up impressive point totals.
The head scout for the Canadiens, Nick Bobrov, favours bigger players, so if fans are expecting that Benson will be the Canadiens’ choice, they are going to be disappointed. However, it’s not just Bobrov dropping Benson down the list. It’s a growing sentiment.
It is vital to reiterate here that it is only March and the list will change many times until draft day. It will especially be altered according to who shines or does not shine at the U18 tournament in April. There can be a player who is excelling now but does not do well against his peers at the U18, and his expected spot could change massively.
Right now, there are players who are leaping up the charts considering how they are handling their season. One such player is David Reinbacher who was moved to number seven overall by The Athletic. Reinbacher is a right-handed defenceman who will be coveted by the Canadiens.
Montreal has a lot of volume on the blue line with about seven young players set to fight for jobs, but they are short on the right side a first pair defender. Reinbacher could be that blue liner. He is moving up many lists. Reinbacher with Mike Matheson allows Kaiden Guhle to be a top-four on his preferred left side. That would make the Canadiens a much stronger team.
Will Smith is another player that has been speculated at number five or six to put him right in Canadiens territory. On this player, it could be interesting how the discussions go within the organization. General Manager Kent Hughes has coached Smith at the Boston Junior Eagles, so he knows him well.
Montreal has two picks likely in the top 15, and so much can happen between now and June, but if Smith puts up a big number at the U18s, he would be a favourite in that spot. Watch closely to see who excels at the U18s.
There are many forwards who have amazing talent in this draft. The Canadiens are going to get an outstanding one. If you want to speculate who that might be, guess someone bigger over someone smaller. They are not going to take Andrew Cristall, for example, who is on many top-10 lists.
What is important is to remember that it is March. Reinbacher wasn’t even in the top-20 that long ago, but he was so strong at the World Juniors and has been so solid in the top men’s league in Switzerland that he has moved up the charts. That Swiss league is very competitive. That’s where Auston Matthews played his draft year and it worked out extremely well for the Maple Leafs.
Defencemen always move up the charts late. Jake Sanderson is a perfect example. He was barely known in November and he moved to top-five overall.
Looking historically at the draft, one of the most important factors is to be continuing an upward progression as the year continues. Be a Seth Jarvis or a Moritz Seider. Don’t be a Filip Zadina or Angelo Esposito. The trajectory is vital. Be a Reinbacher.
It’s a long process. It changes often and it changes rapidly. The best news for Canadiens fans is this draft year is incredibly strong, and the Canadiens have two opportunities in the top-15. They’ll get two top-end hockey players whoever they favour.
They may even win the lottery and get Connor Bedard. However it shakes down, the Canadiens are about to get a lot stronger with two elite players coming into the organization whoever they take and wherever they pick.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
