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Kane’s natural hat trick leads Oilers to comeback win

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10 months ago

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Evander Kane celebrates a goal at the Oilers bench. Photo by Codie McLachlan /Getty Images

Kraken 3, Oilers 4 (OT)

If the Edmonton Oilers were writing a script for the first 50+ minutes at Rogers Place on Wednesday, surely the working title would have been “How Not to Win a Hockey Game”. The Oilers made a steady stream of mistakes both with and without the puck and beat a steady path to the penalty box in the process. As the clock wound down into the single digits, the visiting Seattle Kraken held a 3-1 lead that felt like (and easily could have been) 5- or 6-1. Thankfully the combination of Stu Skinner, a splendid penalty kill unit, and some old-fashioned puck luck around the Edmonton net kept the score within range.

Then Evander Kane went to work. Out of the blue he scored on a deflection and the Oilers were back in it at 3-2. Then after a couple of near misses at both ends, Kane struck a second time with his goalie on the bench to tie it up in the final minute of regulation. And wouldn’t you know, 3 minutes into overtime, it was Kane again playing the hero, completing the natural hat trick on a splendid three-way passing play with Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard to send the sellout crowd home happy.

The stunning comeback was Edmonton’s third win in a row and another important step in climbing out of the 2-9-1 hole in which they started the season. At 5-9-1 they still have a long ways to go, but at least there appears to be a way forward.

Seattle held a 36-31 edge on the shot clock and a 21-14 advantage in high danger shots, while our own analysis at the Cult of Hockey had the visitors leading 12-11 in Grade A shots and 8-5 in the subset of 5-alarm chances (running count). The Oilers had just 38% of the expected goals but, crucially, 57% of the actual goals, a pleasant change after seeing too many games from the early season go the other way. This is what the figure filberts call “regression to the mean” and we’ve finally started to see some of it.

Player grades

Cult of Hockey player grades

#2 Evan Bouchard, 6. He had a wretched first 40 minutes, starting on his first shift with a horrible turnover to Oliver Bjorkstrand for a clear 5-alarm chance. That was the first of several turnovers behind his own blueline. Earned an unlikely assist on Edmonton’s first goal when he blocked a shot that bounced straight to Draisaitl and then on to McDavid on the counterattack. Lost a strength battle to 153-pound Kailer Yamamoto in the corner on the second Seattle goal, then allowed a pass on the 3-1. Drilled Draisaitl with a point shot. But bounced back hard thereafter. Set up Kane’s first goal with a good move up the side boards and a bullet pass that the big winger tipped home. Delivered another splendid point shot that RNH tipped just wide. Made a fine play on the overtime winner with a fake shot that froze a defender before slipping a pass to Hyman in the corner. In the end he “outscored his mistakes” with a boxcar line of 0-3-3, +2. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +3/-5; Special Teams 0.

#5 Cody Ceci, 6. Active on the attack, and even jumped in on a first-period breakaway that he couldn’t bury. His biggest moment might have been an emergency defensive play that chipped the puck away from what appeared a certain goal. GAS: ES +2/-2; ST 0.

 

#10 Derek Ryan, 5. Played a quiet 11 minutes where his greatest contribution by far was 3½ clean minutes on the penalty kill, most of any Edmonton forward.  He and the Oilers dodged a mighty bullet when he took an uncharacteristic penalty on that unit 200 feet from his own net early in the third, only to have it cancelled when Bjorkstrand retaliated. A long 3-on-5 at that point might well have been decisive. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.

#14 Mattias Ekholm, 5. Very active game but not a particularly steady one. 4 shots, 3 blocks, 2 takeaways, 1 giveaway, 1 hit and 1 assist in 22:37 of action. Was among those beaten on both the second and third Kraken goals, failing to suppress the goal scorer in each case, and was especially lost at sea on the latter of those. Earned credit for a crucial won battle to maintain zone possession on the 3-2. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST 0.

#18 Zach Hyman, 6. Fairly quiet game with 2 shots, 2 blocks and 2 minutes for “low-sticking” on a ducking Yanni Gourde. Had a bad turnover that led to a 2-on-1, but Ceci snuffed out the danger. Came up big in OT with a strong shift that culminated with a splendid cross-seam pass to Kane for the GWG. GAS: ES +2/-0; ST 0.

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#21 Adam Erne, 2. Played just 7:18 on a fourth line that struggled to move the puck north, and when it did, went offside on the zone entry. Brought some physical play with a couple of hits, but crossed the line and took a seriously bad penalty with just 9 minutes left when he elbowed Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the chops, and was lucky to get away with just a minor. Expect Department of Player Safety to come calling tomorrow. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.

#25 Darnell Nurse, 6. Oilers ice-time leader in both all-situations (25:46) and on the penalty kill (4:03). Jumped into the rush for a great chance that was thwarted by a fine defensive play by Justin Schultz of all people. But did his best work defensively with 5 shot blocks, 3 hits, and some splendid penalty killing. Made a game saving stop of Jaden Schwartz’s attempt at the empty net, then delivered a fine 2-way shift in overtime. GAS: ES +3/-2; ST +0/-1.

#27 Brett Kulak, 4. Played just 12 minutes on a night the third pairing had its problems, getting badly outshot in the process. Among those beaten on the first Seattle goal. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.

#29 Leon Draisaitl, 8. Strong performance included a pair of primary assists, sending McDavid in alone for the 1-0, and making a superb one-touch pass to Kane on the doorstep on the 3-3. Played 23 minutes and led the team in both shot attempts (9) and shots on goal (5). Just 12/28=43% on the faceoff dot, though he won the key one in the seconds before the Oil connected for the tying goal. GAS: +3/-1; ST +1/-0.

#37 Warren Foegele, 4. Rare off-night for the worker bee forward, whose line was significantly outshot and outscored 0-2. Was in the neighbourhood but unable to contain the goal scorer on the 3-1. 0 shot attempts or hits. Did chip in 2:10 on the PK. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0.

#57 James Hamblin, 3. Centred an ineffective fourth line that was outshot 1-6 and outscored 0-1 during his 6:44. 0 shot attempts or hits. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.

#62 Raphael Lavoie, 3. Had a tough time with the puck inside his own blueline, with one malfuction at the junction setting the stage for a great Seattle chance that somehow failed when a snakebitten Brandon Tanev missed the wide open net. Just 1 shot attempt, a deflection that sailed over the crossbar, in a team-low 5:52. Oilers were outshot 0-7 during that time and outscored 0-1. Brought a little physicality with 3 hits. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.

#71 Ryan McLeod, 5. On the wrong side of his man on the 1-1. Didn’t get a lot done at even-strength, but did help out on the PK with 3¼ minutes of solid play. 6/12=50% on the dot in 15 minutes of action.

#73 Vincent Desharnais, 4. His pairing with Kulak spent most of its time in the Edmonton end with poor shot shares. While Desharnais wasn’t burned on any Grade A Shots, he came within an inch of the all-time blooper reel when his attempt to kill time during a delayed penalty very nearly resulted in an own-goal. Thankfully, it wound up on the “good” side of the goal post. No official hits but he delivered plenty of grease in defending the net front. Saved his night with some standout penalty killing in nearly 4 minutes of action. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.

#74 Stu Skinner, 7. A third consecutive solid game from the young stopper, who appears to be seizing the #1 role in November for the second season in a row. Made a stellar save off Bjorkstrand just a minute in. Gave up all 3 goals in a tough middle frame that saw numerous breakdowns, 2 that took favourable bounces off of shin pads and the third by a man left all alone in front with time to make a move. A couple of greasy rebounds along the way. Did his part on the penalty kill. His full-stretch glove grab of Eeli Tolvanen’s labelled wrister with 2 minutes left in regulation was a game saver. 36 shots, 33 saves, .917 save percentage.

#89 Sam Gagner, 3. A difficult game for the vet, whose only numbers on the Event Summary were 2 giveaways. Among those beaten on the 2-1 goal. Spoiled a promising rush by mistiming the zone entry and causing an offside. Did have one fine moment with a splendid pass to Kane in the blue paint in the dying seconds of the first period, otherwise had a tough slog in 13½ minutes. GAS: ES +1/-1, ST 0. 

#91 Evander Kane, 9. Smoked Vince Dunn with a big hit in the early going. He was up and down for 40 minutes, but rose to the occasion in a major way down the stretch. Scored the game’s final 3 goals in a span of just 9½ minutes to snatch victory from the proverbial jaws of defeat. Netted all of them by going to the net front with his stick on the ice. Tipped home Bouchard’s hard pass with 6 minutes left to give Oilers life. Dragged them all the way back by controlling, then burying Draisaitl’s areial pass into the blue paint with just 45 ticks on the clock. Then put the game away with a fabulous shift in overtime, winning first the faceoff and then 2 subsequent puck battles to keep the heat on, finally getting open for Hyman’s pass and ripping it upstairs for the natural hat trick that essentially stole 2 standings points for the Oil. His sixth hat trick in just 126 games as an Oiler including playoffs. GAS: +4/-1.

#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 6. Played a solid 2-way game whose lone downbeat was yet another minor penalty, his eighth of the young season. But lots of good, including a drawn penalty the other way. Excellent on the penalty kill. Assisted on the tying goal after first providing winger support on the all-important faceoff win. Was 4/5=80% on the dot himself, 6 shots attempts, 3 on net, though his best chance went right through the crease. Played 19½ minutes in all situations, flipping between centre and the wing throughout the game. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST 0.

#97 Connor McDavid, 7. Scored a nifty breakaway goal from a Draisaitl feed to open the scoring. Fired 4 shots on net, landed a couple of hits. His hands aren’t all there just yet, but his 8/11=73% on the faceoff dot are a very encouraging sign after recent struggles in that discipline. Was flying on jet fuel during his lone overtime shift. GAS: ES +5/-1; ST 0.

 

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Armstrong scores, surging Vancouver Whitecaps beat slumping San Jose Earthquakes 2-0

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1 day ago

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September 15, 2024

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VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.

“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.

“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”

With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.

Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.

Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.

“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”

Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.

Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.

Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.

He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.

“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.

“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”

Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.

Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.

Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.

Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.

The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.

San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.

Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.

First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.

“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.

“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”

NOTES

Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

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Liverpool ‘not good enough’ says Arne Slot after shock loss against Nottingham Forest

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2 days ago

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September 14, 2024

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MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.

A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.

“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.

“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”

Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.

But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.

Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.

United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.

Unstoppable Haaland

Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.

The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.

Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.

“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.

Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.

Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.

He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.

He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.

Rashford snaps run

Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.

Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.

Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.

Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.

“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.

De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.

It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.

Villa comeback

After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.

Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.

Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.

Late drama

Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.

Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.

But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.

Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.

West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.

Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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Cavaliers and free agent forward Isaac Okoro agree to 3-year, $38 million deal, AP source says

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September 14, 2024

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.

ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.

The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.

The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.

Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.

His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.

Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.

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