The idea seemed simple enough Sunday.
Sports
Canucks 4, Blackhawks 3: Hanging in, hanging on to subdue phenom Connor Bedard
It took the sluggish Vancouver Canucks a period to find their legs after giving up the first 10 shots. However, they eventually found their game to rally and then hang on for a 4-3 victory over the cellar-dwelling, injury plagued and inexperienced Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.
On a day when North Vancouver rookie phenom Connor Bedard displayed ample skill, shooting and smarts to establish himself as the Calder Trophy favourite — two assists, five shots, seven attempts — it was a second-period explosion by the Canucks that proved pivotal and critical.
“It just came down to will and effort,” said Boeser, who struck for his 23rd goal of the season in the second-period barrage to move back into a tie for the NHL scoring lead. “We didn’t like our effort in the first period and we had a good response.
“We knew it was going to be hard to close it out. They made a push and we hung in there well. I’m just proud of the way we responded. We found a way and that’s all that matters.”
“In the first period, we were obviously sleepy and the second was a big response,” said Tocchet. “Getting three points out of these two games on a back-to-back, I’m happy about that, but we’ve got to clean up our game. Our third line dragged us into the fight.”
Here’s what we learned as Elias Pettersson, Dakota Joshua, Boeser and Ilya Mikheyev scored for the Canucks, while Nick Foligno had a pair of the Blackhawks:
Third line shines, Boeser’s shot fine
Tocchet tweaked his lineup Sunday.
He promoted the smart and shifty Pius Suter to align with Mikheyev and Pettersson, while Sam Lafferty was dropped to the fourth line with Nils Aman and Andrei Kuzmenko.
It was Garland who did the work on Joshua’s goal to draw the Canucks even at 2-2. He got on top of a bouncing puck inside the Blackhawks blue-line and then spun with a slap-pass that a positioned Joshua was able to deflect with a deft touch.
“On a back-to-back, you try to find your legs and it was good to be tied 1-1 after the first period — especially when you don’t feel at your best,” said Garland. “We got rolling. Our line just sticks to the system and we trust it and it’s going to work.
“We’re a good defensive line that can chip in from time to time. We just hung on and had a lot of chances. A couple of more could have gone in.”
Boeser took a Miller feed on the next shift and raced down the left side before ripping a wrist shot past goalie Petr Mrazek on the far glove side. Mikheyev then got in the slot to set a screen and pivoted to deflect a Tyler Myers point shot.
Boeser also had a rebound chance at the side of the net in the third period, but his effort went just high. He then had another chance and finished with four shots and six attempts.
Bedard’s skill, shot, smarts legit
They came to see the future because too much of the present is hard to watch.
At the United Center, where faithful followers find it hard to hype the Blackhawks, they’re embracing everything that will eventually be possible with Bedard, who has 26 points (12-14) through 30 games.
His early quick read and pass nearly set up Tyler Johnson for a goal on Thatcher Demko’s doorstep. He then found a piece of the post, and with his high hand position and rapid release, also put one off Demko’s mask. He was also able to nearly pick the high short side through a tiny opening.
Bedard then showed another dimension of his multi-faceted game by setting up Foligno in opening minute of the second period. Instead of just letting a shot fly, Bedard purposely put a shot off Demko’s pads and Foligno was there to deposit the rebound for a tap-in and 2-1 lead.
Foligno also opened scoring on a bad sequence.
Filip Hronek was stripped of the puck by Foligno behind the net and then got position on Quinn Hughes to redirect a Joey Anderson feed.
Power play finally finds range
The beat-up Blackhawks are using four rookie defencemen. That’s a huge problem.
And so was nearly losing a veteran blueliner in the first period Sunday when Connor Murphy took a J.T. Miller power play howitzer off his knee and had to be helped to the locker room but returned for the second period.
That only made it tougher to defend a Canucks power play that has so much potential, but was sputtering with a 3-for-27 funk in nine games — including going 0-for-5 on Saturday in a 2-1 shootout loss in Minnesota — before finally striking.
The Canucks went without a shot on their first man-advantage Sunday in the opening period and then had a 5-on-3 advantage for 51 seconds. They couldn’t finish, even though they had two players at the net, before Pettersson took a cross-ice Miller feed and went glove.
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DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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