Sports

‘Ageless’ Pavelski saves Stars in Game 4 of West Final

Published

1 year ago

May 27, 2023

DALLAS — Time doesn’t seem to be catching up with Joe Pavelski.

At 38 years, 318 days, the forward became the oldest player to score an overtime goal in an elimination game to keep the Dallas Stars alive with a 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Thursday.

Pavelski won it on a power play at 3:18 with a one-timer from the left face-off circle for his ninth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The record had been held by Chris Kunitz (37 years, 241 days), who did it with the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators in Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.

“You’re just living in the moment and trying to create what you can. They’re very exciting games you play in and great opportunities to still be playing,” Pavelski said.

Video: VGK@DAL, Gm4: Pavelski one-times PPG in overtime

Dallas was awarded a power play in the extra period when Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb was penalized for high-sticking forward Ty Dellandrea at 2:28. Pavelski cashed in and delivered the Stars their first win in five overtime games this postseason, including the first two of the conference final.

It was Pavelski’s 73rd career playoff goal, most among active players and tied for 13th on the NHL’s all-time list with Dino Ciccarelli.

“He’s ageless, you know? What do you say about him?” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “I’ve seen that movie over and over again. [It] never gets old, but he lives for those moments, and he wants to be in those situations. Always has and delivers almost every time.”

Dallas trails 3-1 in the best-of-7 series and will try to avoid elimination again in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS).

“We haven’t had the greatest success in overtime,” Pavelski said. “It was still a moment where we wanted to attack, we had an opportunity and we wanted to go. There was a little bit of pressure there for us. Think once the penalty happens, you know it’s a great opportunity to create more off it, get some looks. Probably wasn’t the cleanest [power play] to start early, but we retrieved a puck or two and found a little space. It was nice to see that one go in, for sure.

“They’ve won a couple of overtime games on us. It’s been a pretty tight series, so we just need to keep staying with kind of that mindset. There was a lot of sacrifice from guys, big blocks along the way and key saves and fundamentals out there tonight. We have to go out and do it again.”

Much like DeBoer, Stars goalie Jake Oettinger wasn’t surprised to see Pavelski deliver another clutch moment.

“Who else?” Oettinger said.

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Sports

Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

21 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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