Edmonton Oilers know the formula well because it’s the same one teams used against them during the humbling Decade of Darkness.
You take most of the night off against an inferior bottom dweller, teasing them a glimmer of false hope, then show up just long enough to bury them in the third period and walk away with two points like the result was never in doubt.
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And so it was Monday afternoon in Arizona, where the Oilers went through the motions for 40 minutes, falling behind 3-2 to a team that hasn’t won a game in a month, before getting serious with a four-goal third period and a 6-3 decision.
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“We came out ready to play in the third period,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who had a feeling that might happen. “You can tell you’re playing a young, fragile team on a losing streak and feeling very tight.
“We took advantage of it and our level of urgency was a little higher in the third period and it paid off.”
The Oilers were sleepy and disinterested for most of the game, but when they got down to business it was over in a hurry.
They took the Coyotes out behind the barn and gave them the Old Yeller Special, with Evander Kane scoring at 4:28, Zach Hyman at 4:54 and Kane again at 6:31 to turn Arizona’s vision of an upset into their 10th-straight defeat.
“When things aren’t going our way or we don’t have our best game going it’s about staying composed and not panicking,” said Kane, who has six goals in his last six games.
“It’s knowing that if we hang around long enough and get our game in order we can pull it out and this was a good example of that this afternoon.”
Warren Foegele added an empty netter as Edmonton, once riding a 16-game winning streak, wins two in row for the first time since returning from the bye week seven games ago (4-3-0).
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“We talked about that, how we didn’t have back-to-back wins for about three weeks,” said Knoblauch. “One of those weeks was All Star break, but getting back-to-back wins feels good and we want to build on that.”
You could see this one coming from across the street. After taking down the powerhouse Dallas Stars in a spirited battle last game, there was no way the Oilers were going to stumble against a team on a nine-game losing streak, playing its second of back-to-back games with a guy in net who was making his very first NHL start.
That would be like breaking par at Pebble Beach and then shooting 101 at the pitch and putt behind Crazy Kenny’s Reptile Farm.
Still, the Oilers played down to the level of the hapless Coyotes for 40 minutes (below the level of the hapless Coyotes, actually, since they were trailing 3-2 and only had 14 shots on net at the second intermission).
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But when it mattered, they played like it did.
“We were a little slow in the second period, spent a little too much time win our own end,” said Kane. “In order to win this game we knew we had to come out and play in their end. We did a great job of getting on top of them a little quicker.”
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Knoblauch moved Ryan McLeod to the second line with Kane and Leon Draisaitl for the third period and it paid off — the trio scored twice and McLeod finished a team-high plus three.
“I don’t want to get in the habit of changing things up but we got outplayed in the second period, they carried the play,” said Knoblauch. “We just needed a little something to change things up.”
LEAKING GOALS
After that great run of 14-straight games without allowing more than two goals against, the Oilers have now allowed three or more goal in seven straight games for 26 in total.
The penalty kill continues to wade through the quicksand, too. It allowed its 10th goal against on the last 19 power plays over the last six games. One of their biggest strengths a few weeks ago is now their most glaring weakness.
BROWN SITTING DOWN
After going 44 games without a goal this season and falling from first line right wing with Connor McDavid to single-digit even strength minutes on Edmonton’s fourth line, Connor Brown sat out Monday’s game as a healthy scratch.
The Brown experiment has been an abject failure so far, one that will also haunt the team next season when the $3.25 million in bonus money he earned for playing 10 games this year kicks in.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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MONTREAL – Canadian National Railway Co. told employees this week it plans to relocate its operations in Jasper to near Hinton, Alta., about 100 kilometres away.
In a memo sent to employees in the fire-ravaged town, the company said it’s aiming to increase efficiency by minimizing train stops between Edmonton and Blue River, B.C., which sits across the Rockies.
CN plans to close its Jasper bunkhouse and build a crew change facility east of Hinton, with workers slated to clock in at the new site starting in September 2025, according to the document obtained by The Canadian Press.
“CN has made the decision to implement operational changes to improve network fluidity,” regional vice-president Nicole James said in the memo.
The union representing rail workers criticized the relocation, which affects about 200 employees, though no layoffs are expected.
“This is another devastating blow to the town of Jasper, after this year’s catastrophic wildfires. Rail is one of the largest industries in Jasper, after tourism, and CN’s move will cripple this community even further,” said Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
“And for the workers who’ve already lost so much — some even their homes — this is a truly cruel blow.”
Union spokesman Christopher Monette noted that most residents or their spouses must work in town to qualify to live there under Jasper National Park’s residency rules. The company has told the union it will apply for an exception for the workers, he said.
CN spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski says the railway is committed to supporting employees through the transition and keeping them updated.
“These types of changes take time to fully plan out and implement. That’s why one of our initial steps was to have this discussion with our employees as well as advising the town of Jasper,” she said in an email.
A wildfire ripped through Jasper in July, destroying a third of the mountain town and displacing many of its 4,800 residents.
The blaze also caused smoke damage to the CN bunkhouse, which the company says it has worked to restore since it was allowed to re-enter the community with contractors on Aug. 16.
Engineers and conductors have been reporting for work in Hinton, roughly an hour away, since the wildfire.
With roots as a fur trade outpost, Jasper launched as a railway town in the early 20th century after tracks built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway — CN’s predecessor — paved the way for the municipality.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR)
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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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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.
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