The Canucks got a massive effort from their goalie to seal a win at home, their fourth straight.
Normally a team that has to play two nights in a row is at a disadvantage on the second night.
Saturday night, the Los Angeles Kings put that theory to the test, pushing the host Vancouver Canucks to the limit. The home team came away 3-2 winners at Rogers Arena, but a large portion of the credit should go to their goaltender.
The Canucks definitely looked like a team that hadn’t had a game to shake off whatever rust you can accumulate over a three-day Christmas break. The Kings, on other hand, didn’t.
The visitors more than doubled the Canucks in even-strength shot attempts, firing the puck 79 times towards the home net, against just 35 the other way.
Fortunately for the home team, Jacob Markstrom didn’t look like he was feeling any rust, either. The Canucks, of course, won because they scored more goals than their opponents but they also left their netminder facing down Kings shooters far too often: he made 49 saves on the way to victory.
That’s the biggest save total in a home win by a Canucks goaltender ever; the second most by a Canucks goaltender in any situation.
You know the Canucks’ No. 1 netminder is in a groove when he’s making it look easy.
“He stood on his head again today,” Elias Pettersson, who scored the winning goal in the third period, said. “We made a lot of turnovers but that’s why you have a good goalie, he got us the win.
“We were sloppy with puck, we tried to make too many plays at the blue line.”
Markstrom has been on a roll lately: coming into Saturday he’d stopped 92.4 per cent of the shots against him over the previous eight games.
And coming into the game, his save percentage on the season was sitting at 91.7 per cent, solidly above the league average save percentage of 90.4.
“They played last night, we knew they were going to throw a lot of pucks on net and that coming off the break we could be a little rusty,” Markstrom said.
There were a good number of shots from in the slot, but the goalie saw everything in front of him well, no matter where they came from. Although the team had time off this week, the practice time they did get in was huge for him, he said.
“It’s always nice when you get to practise and just work, it makes the games a lot easier.”
The Canucks got goals from Jake Virtanen, Tyler Motte and Pettersson, while Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli scored for the visitors. Both Kings goals came off goal mouth scrambles where Markstrom had already done plenty to stem the tide.
“The puck was not our friend,” Canucks coach Travis Green admitted post game. “We just weren’t very good with the puck.”
“We’ve talked a lot in here about your best players scoring when you need them. We needed one tonight and they got it done.”
The Canucks have now won four straight games, keeping themselves firmly in the playoff chase.
Here’s what we learned…
Dec 28, 2019; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen (18) celebrates his goal against Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) (not pictured) with defenseman Tyler Myers (57) and defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) and forward Adam Gaudette (88) and forward Antoine Roussel (26) during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Anne-Marie Sorvin /
USA TODAY Sports
Take ’em
Virtanen made good on a terrible breakout pass by the Kings’ Austin Wagner. The Kings winger was looking to hit a teammate breaking out on the far side of his defensive zone but somehow missed Virtanen standing at the top of the slot.
Virtanen fired the puck right away but Kings goalie Jonathan Quick turned the wrist shot aside right back on to Virtanen’s stick, and he made no mistake with his second opportunity.
The Abbotsford kid now has 11 goals on the season, just four shy of his career high set last season.
His production has come almost entirely at even strength, which is a very good sign for his development. He’s become a solid contributor in this offence.
He’s making a case for himself getting a raise this summer, adding more pressure on to Canucks management in how they’re going to manage next year’s cap.
“I think we made eight to ten mistakes and three went in our net, which is unfortunate,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Certainly not all 51 shots were of Grade-A quality but there were plenty that were … I’m disappointed in the loss because I thought we’d worked hard to crawl back in. But we’ve closed the gap from the last time we played this team. They’ve owned us for six periods. Playing back to back after Christmas isn’t easy and I think we’ve certainly closed the gap on them.”
No trip?
Did Pettersson deke himself out on the breakaway he found himself on in the second period, or did Jonathan Quick know that a sweeping leg wouldn’t get whistled by the refs?
Pettersson didn’t think he was fouled.
“Quick poke-checked the puck, great play by him because otherwise I would have had the open net,” he said.
There was little doubt that Pettersson’s feet were yanked out from under him moments later, though, but that went uncalled despite there being two refs staring at the young Canucks star fighting for the puck.
Let the stars play.
Pettersson was philosophical about the non-call.
“I always try to focus on what I can control and do. The refs have a really tough job. You need to look at 10 guys out there, same time . But I’m not gonna say here, be mad at the them. They have a tough job.”
That said, Pettersson made no mistake on a third period chance, firing the puck from in close after a perfect pass by J.T. Miller.
The fans made sure Drew Doughty know how they feel.
Gerry Kahrmann /
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A boo like that
Kings defenceman Drew Doughty, who was upset his squad lost 8-2 in October to “a team like that” and then took exception to the fact it was taken as an insult in Vancouver, was booed every time he touched the puck Saturday.
A shrug like that
You had to feel for Loui Eriksson after his stick shattered as he was looking to hammer a loose puck set up on a T for him in the slot toward the Los Angeles goal.
He looked to the heavens, gave a shrug as if to say “what else must I do” and then discarded his broken twig.
Not so quick
There was a time when Jonathan Quick was seen as the standard for goaltenders.
That was a decade ago.
The truth is his style doesn’t work anymore.
He looks slow, like a junior goaltender rushed into NHL action too soon.
The rebound he spilled on the Virtanen goal was egregious. He spilled another rebound not long after right on his doorstep.
The Motte goal was a shot from the side boards, a shot an NHL goaltender has to stop.
Motte smiled about the fact he’s scored twice in two games and that both games have featured his parents in attendance. Coincidence?
“Not necessarily putting on a show for them but it’s nice to have them around,” he laughed.
“Unfortunately I think they ship out so they won’t see the next one, but hopefully we keep going.”
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.
