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Canadiens vs. Flyers Round 1 Game 6: Preview, start time, how to watch – Habs Eyes on the Prize

Published

4 years ago

August 21, 2020

Harry Miller

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: Game 6

Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the US: NBCSN
Streaming: Sportsnet Now

Already missing their head coach for much of the series with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Montreal Canadiens were presented with more adversity fairly early on Wednesday night, losing Jesperi Kotkaniemi just over a minute into the second period after a boarding major resulted in a game misconduct.

The loss of what has arguably been the team’s best forward this post-season made the Habs’ attempt to avoid elimination that much more difficult, especially when the Flyers used that five-minute advantage to get out to a 2-1 lead, but Montreal used the ejection as motivation to get the game tied, and eventually grab the final lead on a great bit of work between Jonathan Drouin, and Nick Suzuki.

In the minutes after the winning goal, Matt Niskanen decided to take out his frustrations on Brendan Gallagher, cross-checking him in the face as Gallagher attempted to cycle the puck. As he does, Gallagher played through the pain he was experiencing, which was later revealed to be from a broken jaw, and was on the ice for a lengthy shift as the Habs closed the game out to stay alive in the playoffs.

The Philadelphia team that questioned the Canadiens putting out top offensive players in a Game 2 blowout decided that they needed to make a statement after an empty-net goal. Sean Couturier made sure to get in the path of Artturi Lehkonen as the Canadiens winger was going to celebrate the big win with teammates, knocking him to the ice, drawing a big crowd, and earning himself a penalty. Despite Muller sending out his C unit on the last-minute power play, the remaining seconds found the Flyers trying to goad the depth players into altercations.

After a busy day of news, the dust settled with a few things determined for Game 6. Kotkaniemi won’t face any more discipline for his hit on Travis Sanheim, while Niskanen will sit out tonight’s contest after getting suspended for a single game. Gallagher ends up the worst off, needing surgery to repair his jaw after the cross-check, and out for at least the duration of this series. It adds a bit more for the Habs to overcome, but so far this post-season they’ve been up to that challenge.

Tale of the Tape

Canadiens	Statistic	Flyers
Canadiens	Statistic	Flyers
2-3	Series record	3-2
52.6%	Corsi-for pct.	45.5%
2.33	Goals per game	2.38
1.78	Goals against per game	1.75
12.9%	PP%	11.4%
82.9%	PK%	82.8%

The heart-and-soul winger will certainly be missed, and the Habs’ odds of pulling out another victory drop without him available, but the Canadiens will have their full centre depth back for Game 6, and that’s proving to be a difficult thing for the Flyers to handle at five-on-five — at least when the Canadiens have a lead to work with and Philadelphia can’t just descend into shutdown mode.

Ironically, it’s been in the games that Montreal has been able to dictate the matchups that they’ve struggled to make any impression in this series, and that will be the state of things once more this evening. With last change in Games 3 and 4, the Canadiens didn’t find a single goal. They’ve averaged 3.67 in the three games when they had to make those personnel decisions first.

Now with five games to see what the Flyers have to counter with, Montreal will have a better handle on what to expect and how to take advantage. One of the keys has been to incorporate the defencemen into the neutral-zone transition, sending four players against a trap designed to stop three.

On Wednesday night, the defencemen were doing an effective job of getting the puck out of their zone with control, bypassing the first layer of the Flyers’ defence and giving the forwards less work to do to go on the attack.

Vigneault may try to be more aggressive on his forecheck to counter that, but now that even Shea Weber is composed and precise in his puck-moving, joining his partner Ben Chiarot whose transition game has gone unheralded, that plan could quickly backfire on the home side. The pairing of Jeff Petry and Brett Kulak has been the best for Montreal, with impressive underlying stats and the top ice times to go with it. And the third duo of Victor Mete and Xavier Ouellet has quietly been effective in this series as well — or at least it was quiet before Ouellet’s heads-up play to set up the opening goal while killing a penalty on Wednesday night.

The Canadiens have a more reliable group of defencemen (especially with Niskanen taking himself out of the lineup), a deeper pool of centres, and the better goaltender. With Joel Armia getting back into the offence, there’s an argument to be made that they can match what the Flyers have to offer on the wings as well.

It was clear that Montreal’s roster wasn’t as outmatched as some — included many of us — expected heading into the post-season, and now we’re seeing that when all five skaters play as a unit on the ice, there are few weaknesses that can be exploited. If the team can play that same style today, there’s a real possibility the Habs will get the series to Game 7.

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

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, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

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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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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