To win in the playoffs, you have to be as tight as can be defensively.
Sports
Canucks 4, Flames 2: Another tight, defensive win for playoff-bound Vancouver
To win on Saturday night against the Calgary Flames, the Vancouver Canucks were just that.
Of course, against a limping squad like the Flames, the Canucks could have made life a little easier for themselves by scoring another goal or two earlier in the game, but the bottom line is they were pressed defensively and didn’t break.
They iced the game nicely on a late third period power play, finally picking the corner of Jacob Markström’s net.
Notably, Saturday’s win was the eighth time in nine games the Canucks have yielded just two goals or less.
This stretch of play has really pleased head coach Rick Tocchet and Saturday was no exception. It’s about his team hasn’t been compounding mistakes, he said.
The game wasn’t perfect, but they got the job done.
“You’re trying to play without the puck and you know, we’re getting some good efforts from some guys. Trying to find a consistency. It was a business-like workman-like game,” he said.
“The Petey line obviously was the line that drove us to the win tonight.”
Off the jump
It’s always impressive to score a goal in the game’s first minute.
It’s even more impressive to do so when it’s actually the second shift of the game.
That’s the nice little truth of Nils Höglander’s game-opening goal: he’d been on the ice for 11 seconds when he deftly finished off a lovely two-pass sequence from Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland.
And what a night it was for the Pettersson line. They scored two goals. They were +4 in high-danger chances in close.
They were humming on offence all night.
Nice head fake
Höglander’s second goal came with a hint of Pavel Bure as he made a head-fake on approach, then move left then right in dekeing out Markström.
“I just tried to do a move and get him down and put it up high,” Höglander said.
“Oh yeah,” Höglander grinned.
Pettersson said the move faked him out.
“He faked me out. I thought he was going to shoot. Then he did what he did. I was fired up,” he grinned.
“Garland made a heckuva play and I said that Hogs had more speed than me. … I just told Hogs to go himself.”
Oh yes, Miller heard the chant
J.T. Miller hammered home the game’s third goal on a late power play. Fans have really taken to shouting “J! T! Miller!” in time with Rogers Arena public address announcer Al Murdoch when Murdoch announces Miller’s name after a goal.
And such was their enthusiasm on this night, they started chanting Miller’s name on their own as the game wound to a conclusion.
It’s not the first time that’s happened, but usually Miller denies hearing the adulation.
“I heard it today,” he said, grinning. “But honestly, I don’t know why the hell they chanted my name? I was maybe the worst f**king player in the game.”
Sure he’d taken a penalty and struggled with some passes, but in the big moment, he scored a sensational goal and sealed the victory. He stood out in the right moment.
Ahead of the chance that would be a goal, Miller said he and his power play mates had a chance to quickly review the previous power play opportunity during the TV timeout that preceded the power play.
Indeed, the Flames suggested to reporters post-game that the set play Miller ran with Brock Boeser was perfectly designed to take advantage of their penalty kill set up.
Miller was pleased just he’d hit the net: He’d missed the net on the previous power play opportunity. He said Tocchet told him before the power play to just hit the net this time.
Tocchet laughed a little in his presser when he was told that Miller had said the coach gave him a simple directive.
“I just told him, especially with three, four minutes left, your flanker shots, if you miss a net, that’s usually [when] the PK takes off,” Tocchet explained. “Obviously he listened to me because that was a hell of a goal.”
Losing their way a little
The overall performance pleased Tocchet, but he did admit that the way things were going late in the second period weren’t ideal.
The game got a little loose, he felt, with players getting a little loosey-goosey in their roles.
“I want us to press but smart, I think we lost lost our F3 a few times,” he said, referring to the third forward on a forecheck, whose job is to patrol out near the blue line, ready to reinforce the forecheck or be a strong defender should the opposition suddenly try to break out.
SMASH
Somehow a puck rang off the crossbar before the game and had enough energy still in it to hit the scoreboard above centre ice, causing some damage to one of the panels.
Post-game, the Rogers Arena crew were able to quickly replace the damaged panel.
Impressively quick work.
He did get a shot off
Jonathan Huberdeau looked like he wanted a penalty shot off Vasily Podkolzin’s slashing penalty on him midway through the second period, but no dice.
He got a decent shot off and the standard for calling a penalty shot is supposed to be being denied a chance to score.
In similar fashion, Miller was fouled as he out battled Oliver Kylington for a loose puck that was sliding down the ice in the third. And while he was clear of Kylington when he collected the puck, it’s hard to say it was a true breakaway.
Playoff picture
By beating Calgary on Saturday, Canucks are now guaranteed to finish top four in the division, but that still isn’t quite enough to secure a full playoff spot: the St. Louis Blues — and technidcally the Minnesota Wild — remain in the frame.
And if the Blues did finish the season with more points than the fourth-placed team in the Pacific, they’d take over the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The truth is that St. Louis’ margin of error is very, very fine. They won on Saturday afternoon to keep themselves in the picture — beating Minnesota in overtime, more on that in a second — and could still get to 101 points should they win all 11 remaining games.
And what about the Minnesota Wild? By picking up a point today, they could still get to 99 points on the season. But if the Canucks win on Monday, the Wild’s chance of catching Vancouver is over. The Wild don’t play again till Thursday vs. Vegas, who they could still catch for the wild card, but they have to make up six points and overhaul the Blues along the way.
No Cole again
Ian Cole missed his second game in a row, presumably with the same minor ailment that kept him out of the lineup Thursday.
Whatever it is, it’s not bothering Cole much: he skated in practice on Friday and in Saturday’s morning skate and was in pretty good spirits on Friday after practice.
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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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