Sports
MATHESON: Nine takeaways from last night’s 5-1 Oilers win against Vegas
The walked the walk and talked the talk on the ice after their indifferent Game 1 loss, wasting Leon Draisaitl’s four goals, and got the last word in post-game too, when Evander Kane, asked about using Keegan Kolesar’s gut as a speed-bag as the Vegas player was down, came out swinging with a hands-over-your-ears-kids’ sound bite.
Hmmm! Two games in and we’re talking pounds of flesh.
Kane might hear from the NHL about his actions with referee Kelly Sutherland getting his notepad out. Maybe not Marquis of Queensberry rules, exactly, with Kane angry that teammates had been put in headlocks from behind, he said.
Bottom line: these Oilers are different Oilers. Tougher.
“We like to do the punishing,” said Kane.
In Game 2, we got a whuppin’.
So, here we are then. It’s all-even, as it should be, when Vegas finishes regular-season with 111 points, the Oilers 109. Golden Knights racked up 51 wins, Edmonton 50.
1. It’s Draisaitl’s puck
We know Wayne Gretzky’s office was behind the net where he had the puck on a string and bedevilled checkers as he found Jari Kurri or Paul Coffey but now it’s Leon Draisaitl’s puck and it’s like his signature is on the black rubber, not the commish Gary Bettman.
Who knew we would be talking about Cyclone Taylor and Newsy Lalonde today in relation to Draisaitl’s head-shaking, head-scratching scoring? With two more goals, Leon’s got nine in first five Oiler road games this spring, which ties him with Cyclone (real name Fred) in 1918 with the Vancouver Millionaires. Cyclone’s claim to fame was his speed, also that he didn’t drink or smoke or swear. How can he be a hockey player?
2. Draisaitl’s the muscle car
More on Draisaitl. What he’s doing is beyond ridiculous. He got eight PP goals in eight games, which ties him with Mario Lemieux, Brian Propp, Tim Kerr and John Druce (how did he get in there?). Most ever in a single playoff season is nine by Mike Bossy (1981 with the Islanders) and Cam Neely (1991 with Bruins). Bossy did it in 18 games, Neely in 19. Like more than twice as many games as Draisaitl, who is the muscle car to Connor McDavid’s race-car if we’re talking big wheels.
3. Power play bazookas
Vegas led the NHL in league play only taking an average of 2.8 minors a game with a totally disciplined game, yet they gave the Oilers six PPs Saturday, some not very smart, and it’s nine total over two games. Considering Vegas has the second worst PK in the playoffs (only LA is worse) at 52.4 percent (10 goals on 21 tries), they absolutely have to stay out of the box with the Oilers scoring five times in nine tries. The Jets had a water-pistol PP in round 1 so they got by but the Oilers bring the bazookas.
After Draisaitl banged in a rebound on an early PP, Zach Whitecloud took an unnecessary high-stick to Derek Ryan’s face, and, bang, bang, there’s an Evan Bouchard clapper through traffic, 2-zip.
Vegas wanted to cut out the cross-seam pass for the Draisaitl’s one-timer from his office in the right circle, and they did, but the Oilers changed things up by going to Bouchard for shots. First one rattles around to Draisaitl, second one is 91 mph, and into the net. The Oilers are 14-for-25 on the PP in the post-season.
4. Bouchard’s hammer shot
With apologies to Tyson Barrie, who has proven he has the right stuff to play with stars (Nate MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Draisaitl and McDavid), Bouchard gives them a different PP look. His shot is a hammer in the Oiler toolbox, for goals or rebounds, because it’s so hard. He’s got 12 PP points in eight games after 13 in 82, on the second unit until Barrie was traded for Mattias Ekholm.
5. Shorthanded scoring
More special teams. The Oilers had the most shorthanded goals (18) in regular-season and made Vegas pay with a shortie after the first two PPs. McDavid squeezed the puck past Shea Theodore before holding off Theodore to slide a one-handed shot through the legs of Brossoit. Looked cheeky, as it appeared he was going upstairs with a flip shot but Theodore had 97 tied up. If there was a cartoon bubble over Brossoit’s head, it would have been full of expletives.
6. Skinner’s cool
Which brings us to his counterpart Stu Skinner, who only packed one suit (light colour, no good for coffee spills) thinking the team was going to Los Angeles for Game 6 and flying home, not staying on the road. But it’s how he looks in his work clothes, anyway. This was more like the rookie-of-the-year finalist. The breakaway stop on Chandler Stephenson at 4-0 was a calm, cool stuff. If Ivan Barbashev hadn’t made like Joe Pavelski, batting that waist-high puck home, we’re talking Skinner’s first playoff shutout.
7. All the goals
Brossoit has given up nine goals in five periods, but really how many could you hang on the former Oiler back-up? One, two? That said, the Oilers have 27 goals in six games against Vegas including regular-season. So, they know they’re playing against a team hasn’t proven they can win a 2-1 game against Edmonton.
8. Shot blocking Kostin
So the Oilers have the game in the bag and Klim Kostin is still blocking shots, taking a ripper off his right skate boot by Nic Hague, the kind of shot that can break some bones, and then stopping a second with his shin-pad. Teammates don’t forget that, especially goalies, same with coaches, who might show that on video.
9. Kane, Carrier history
Interesting to see Kane and Wil Carrier jawing in the penalty box. Carrier, who stepped in to wrestle with Zach Hyman after a big open-ice belt by Brayden McNab (we’re not sure why he felt he had to do that for the 220-pound McNab, but we digress) used to be on the same Buffalo team with Kane half a dozen years ago.
Carrier likes to hit too (he plastered Warren Foegele into the end boards). Kane? The man got in Matthew Tkachuk’s grill in the Calgary series last spring, and he’s noticeable again in this second-round Vegas matchup.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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