Welcome back to another season of the NHL’s Best and Worst. We’ve got everything you need to see from an awesome start to the 2023-24 campaign.
Goal of the week
There were some really pretty goals this week, but none were quite the all-encompassing team effort of this one by Winnipeg Jets forward Mason Appleton. As newly minted Jets captainAdam Lowry loses his stick, the 30-year-old gets crafty with his skates before blueliner Josh Morrisey picks up an unconventional secondary assist off the bench by handing Lowry a twig from over the boards. From there, Lowry and Appleton get to work, with the gritty pair cashing in shorthanded as part of a 6-4 Jets win over the Florida Panthers.
Save of the week
Juuse Saros has been one of the NHL’s best netminders over the past several seasons, and while this one might not be one of his prettiest saves, it’s certainly one of his most unconventional stops. After losing the net entirely, the Finnish goalie makes a clutch pad save while about two feet outside of his crease. Whatever gets the job done.
Auston Matthews is on a heater to start his eighth NHL campaign. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Dish of the week
Elias Pettersson’s future with the Vancouver Canucks may be in doubt at the moment as rumors around his contract swirl, but in the meantime, Canucks fans should enjoy their superstar while they can. Check out this nifty feed the Swedish pivot makes to Connor Garland against the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Canucks’ 8-1 shellacking of the Edmonton Oilers.
Hands of the week
Cole Caufield is back from shoulder surgery and looking like a franchise player to start what Canadiens fans hope will be his first fully healthy NHL season. With a pair of goals in two games — one in each match — the Wisconsin native is back to his snipeshow ways, including this nifty finish that tickled the twine against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
Opening week extravaganza
There may not be a bigger story in hockey than the debut of Connor Bedard, who has come out of the gate hot with three points in his first three games, including a goal. His debut against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins was of particular interest, as the past and future of the NHL squared off in a fantastic opening night showdown. The North Vancouver native gave fans quite an amuse-bouche.
Can’t sign that
Speaking of Bedard, this Canadiens fan got the thrill of a lifetime meeting the young superstar ahead of his Hockey Night in Canada debut in Montreal. When asked if he would sign a Caufield jersey, however, Bedard decided he’d take a political approach to the situation. Perhaps if this other Habs fan had made the request, the answer might’ve been a little bit different.
Ok, we promise this entire week isn’t just going to be Bedard clips, but when the camera is following you with as much scrutiny as it’s following the former Regina Pat, you’re bound to be at the center of everything. You’re also bound to be the focus of attention for every other top team as they look to get under your skin, which includes the league’s preeminent pest himself, Brad Marchand, who just about took the rookie back to the Bruins bench and claimed him as a souvenir. Consider this one a right of passage for the 18-year-old.
Quote of the week
Patrik Laine has always quietly been one of the funniest players in the league, dating back to his iconic draft lottery FaceTime interview. As such, when the Columbus Blue Jackets goal scorer was asked about his standing among the league’s elite triggermen, there was no filter on this hilarious quip.
Asked Laine about measuring up against the NHL’s top Cs like McDavid, MacKinnon, Matthews, Crosby etc.
“I’m not going to start kissing everybody’s ass or pumping everybody’s tires. I know I can compete with those guys and that’s why I want to do this in the first place.”#CBJ
Ovechkin may be entering his age-38 season, but he sure isn’t playing like one of the elder statesmen of the game. Chasing down Wayne Gretzky’s unthinkable 894 tallies, The Great Eight hasn’t lost the other part of his game that makes him such a generational talent — his bone-crushing physicality. Erik Karlsson got a not-so-gentle reminder of that on Friday night, as the Penguins’ newest toy got demolished by a clean, fantastic open-ice hit that evoked shades of Ovechkin at the 2010 Olympics against Jaromir Jagr.
Classic Vegas
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrated their 2023 Stanley Cup championship by raising a banner to the rafters of T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday and did so in very Vegas style. Complete with all the glitz, glamor, and even an oversized slot machine, it was certainly a night to remember in Sin City, capped off with a commanding 4-1 win over their expansion cousin Seattle Kraken to start their title defense.
Sabres front office making moves
The Buffalo Sabres front office, led by GM Kevyn Adams, has been plenty busy this offseason, locking in lots of its core for the foreseeable future and being anointed “Next Up” by most NHL fans. The vibes are good in Buffalo, and it seems like the big moves aren’t just happening at the rink for the Sabres, as their general manager made a hilarious cameo with his daughter in this dance number to Olivia Rodrigo’s Get Him Back.
Wholesome moment of the week
Lost in a lot of the Bedard hype, third-overall draft pick Adam Fantilli also made his debut this week for the Blue Jackets, picking up an assist in their 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Prior to that game, the Blue Jackets released this tear-jerker video welcoming the University of Michigan product to the show. We’d recommend having some Kleenex nearby.
Tonight, 2023 #CBJ 1st round pick Adam Fantilli makes his NHL debut in the union blue.
The Minnesota Wild’s commercial game remains undefeated, as this time around it’s goaltender Filip Gustavssondriving the Gus Bus ahead of the team’s first day of school. It seems like Gustavsson could probably use some more time in the classroom after Matthews gave him a lesson he’s unlikely to forget, as the Maple Leafs put seven past the Swedish netminder.
Quick tribute
Jonathan Quick was a Blue Jacket for all of about 15 minutes last season, but that didn’t stop them from honoring a franchise legend who now boasts three more Stanley Cup rings than the Jackets’ organization. Truly a franchise hero.
We want Pinto
The Ottawa Senators are finding themselves in quite the bind to start the 2023-24 NHL season. They’re playing shorthanded given their tight cap constraints, and are having trouble integrating their big offseason addition in Vladimir Tarasenko. Even after a win against the hapless Flyers, Senators fans made their displeasure with Pierre Dorion’s salary cap mismanagement loud and clear at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.
Christmas gift
Jakob Pelletier won’t be playing for the Calgary Flames for the foreseeable future after undergoing shoulder surgery last week, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his finger on the pulse of his squad from the pressbox. With this hilarious note to his mom, it’s pretty clear Matt Coronato, who scored his first NHL goal Saturday night, has a big fan in his fellow Flames rookie.
Trending Up: Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0-0, W2
There is going to be a very clear theme to this year’s edition of the Maple Leafs: Many, many goals, both for Toronto and its opponents. With 13 goals through just two games, the Maple Leafs are filling the net with ease. They’ve also allowed nine goals over that span, which is tied for the highest mark in their division. Nevertheless, with their stars absolutely dancing — including William Nylander and his expiring contract — Toronto is must-see TV, even more so than usual.
Trending Down: Buffalo Sabres 0-0-2, L2
Despite their GM’s excellent dance moves, the Sabres have not lived up to their early billing, dropping their first two games of the season to the interstate rival New York Rangers and New York Islanders. Goaltender Devon Levi, despite high expectations, has not looked particularly comfortable behind a porous defense. It’s earlier than early as far as the season goes, but this can’t possibly be how the Sabres hoped to kick off their campaign.
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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.
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.
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.
