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They’re not technically the playoffs, but they’re not the regular season either.
The eight best-of-five series will look and feel like the Stanley Cup playoffs (other than the lack of fans in attendance), but it will in fact be known as the “qualifying round.”
Call it whatever you want; for hockey fans, this is a godsend.
In what amounts to a 24-team Stanley Cup tournament, 16 teams will compete for a chance to play one of the top four teams in each conference. We don’t know exactly when or where it’ll take place yet, but we do know the matchups.
Western Conference
Edmonton Oilers (5) vs Chicago Blackhawks (12)
Are Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl enough to beat the Chicago Blackhawks? The oddsmakers certainly think so.
Perhaps that’s unfair to the rest of the Oilers, who played much better under new head coach Dave Tippett, but no other team in the league can boast two stars as dominating as Edmonton’s.
Prediction: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith won’t let Chicago get swept, but Edmonton’s star players are in their prime and will overpower them. Oilers in 4.
Nashville Predators (6) vs Arizona Coyotes (11)
Odds:
Arizona Coyotes +105
Nashville Predators -125
The Arizona Coyotes haven’t made the playoffs since 2012 and looked poised to qualify earlier this season. They traded for Taylor Hall but they didn’t exactly take off after the acquisition.
Nashville, conversely, has made the playoffs in five straight seasons. Are they a sleeping giant or a team that’s over the hill?
Prediction: The pause will help Arizona, a team that’s already used to playing in empty arenas. Coyotes in 5.
Vancouver Canucks (7) vs Minnesota Wild (10)
Odds:
Minnesota Wild +120
Vancouver Canucks -140
These two teams last met in the playoffs in 2003 when Minnesota overcame a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Canucks. Vancouver is favoured this time around, too, in a matchup of opposites.
The Canucks are led by young stars like Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Boeser. Conversely, many of the Wild’s star players, like Ryan Suter, Eric Staal, Zach Parise, and Mats Zuccarello, are in their 30s.
Prediction: Jacob Markstrom will outperform Alex Stalock in goal, and Vancouver’s young stars will excel while Minnesota struggles to shake off the rust. Canucks in 4.
Calgary Flames (8) vs Winnipeg Jets (9)
Odds:
Winnipeg Jets -110
Calgary Flames -110
Oddsmakers are split on a matchup between the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. These two teams played just once during the regular season, a 2-1 overtime win by Calgary at the Heritage Classic in Regina.
Both teams have dangerous forwards, but the Flames have the unquestioned advantage on defence, as Winnipeg’s blue line was decimated in the past 12 months. But the Jets have the clear advantage in goal, where Connor Hellebuyck posted one of the best save percentages in the NHL (.922).
Prediction: Hellebuyck will keep Winnipeg in every game, but David Rittich will step up to minimize the advantage. Flames in 5.
Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh Penguins (5) vs Montreal Canadiens (12)
Odds:
Montreal Canadiens +170
Pittsburgh Penguins -190
In the biggest mismatch on paper, instead of preparing for the NHL Draft, the Montreal are getting a shot at the Stanley Cup. They were 10 points back of a playoff spot when the season paused, while the Penguins are one of the best teams in the league, eyeing another Stanley Cup.
But in a short series, anything is possible, and the Habs have Carey Price. They’ve also got nothing to lose, and that might be a scary proposition for Sidney Crosby and company.
Prediction: This series will be competitive, but Pittsburgh’s quality will rise above the Canadiens. Penguins in 4.
Carolina Hurricanes (6) vs New York Rangers (11)
Odds:
New York Rangers +130
Carolina Hurricanes -150
After a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Final last year, the Carolina Hurricanes aren’t exactly a Cinderella team this time around. They’re favoured to beat the New York Rangers, who have one player that should scare them: Artemi Panarin.
Panarin finished tied for third in league scoring with 95 points, but Carolina is deep up front and on defence, and should come out on top.
Prediction: With last year’s experience under their belts, the Canes know how to win in the playoffs and they’re still a team on the rise. Hurricanes in 3.
New York Islanders (7) vs Florida Panthers (10)
Odds:
Florida Panthers -120
New York Islanders +100
The Florida Panthers are the only team the oddsmakers like that are below their opponent both in terms of overall points, and points percentage. New York Islanders fans surely will feel slighted by it, but maybe they shouldn’t.
The Islanders limped into the pause, losing seven straight games, and 11 of their last 13. The Panthers weren’t exactly rolling either though.
Prediction: The Panthers have the better team on paper, but the Islanders have Barry Trotz’ suffocating system. Islanders in 5.
Toronto Maple Leafs (8) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (9)
Odds:
Columbus Blue Jackets +140
Toronto Maple Leafs -160
They might still have to play the Boston Bruins on their journey to the team’s first Stanley Cup since 1967, but the Toronto Maple Leafs will get a bit of a break against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
But despite a talented lineup, the Leafs will need to be careful against Columbus, who swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs one year ago. The Blue Jackets don’t have star power like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, or John Tavares, but they do have a plucky group with excellent defence and good goaltending.
Look out.
Prediction: The Blue Jackets will indeed give Toronto a scare, but there won’t be an upset. Leafs in 5.
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.
