Sports

In the Habs' Room: Bounces just aren't going our way, Shea Weber says – Montreal Gazette

Published

5 years ago

January 10, 2020

For the second time this season, the Canadiens have lost eight games in a row. They are now nine points out of a playoff position.

When you’re the best player in hockey, you tend to get the benefit of the doubt.

And that was the case early in the third period of the Canadiens game against the Edmonton Oilers Thursday. Connor McDavid, who is the best player in the game, had a step on Phillip Danault and the Canadiens player tried to slow him with his stick.

As McDavid struggled to keep his balance, the referee raised his arm to signal a hooking penalty on Danault. Thirty-nine seconds later, McDavid set up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a power-play goal to tie the game 2-2 and the Oilers went on to win 4-2.

“I didn’t think it was a penalty,” said Danault, who suggested there might have been some embellishment on the part of McDavid.

It was the eighth consecutive loss for the Canadiens, matching a similar losing streak earlier this season. But Danault insisted this latest streak is different.

“I thought we learned a lot of stuff from the last one,” Danault said. “This time it’s different because we’re playing well, but we’re not getting results. We play with the lead and we can’t keep it. Early in the year, the third period was our best, but not now.”

The Canadiens have played just well enough to keep the games close. All eight of the losses have basically been one-goal games with the loss Thursday and the New Year’s Eve game in Carolina finishing with a two-goal margin after Montreal gave up empty-net goals.

Canadiens forward Nate Thompson hits the inside of the post past Oilers goalie Mike Smith (41) during the second period Thursday night at the Bell Centre.

Eric Bolte /

USA TODAY Sports

There was a lot of talk about confidence — the Canadiens are lacking in that department — and bounces. Captain Shea Weber said it seemed the puck was bouncing at one end and not at the other. A case in point was late in the second period when Brendan Gallagher sprung Nate Thompson on a breakaway. Thompson had goaltender Mike Smith out of position, but his shot hit a post.

“It hits the inside of the post and goes across,” Thompson said. “I think I can still probably bear down and put it in. I don’t know … we’re still up 2-1 going into the third period. I don’t know … there’s a lot of should-have, would-have, could-haves I guess you could say.”

Claude Julien was asked about the challenge of maintaining morale during this slump.

“We’re professionals (who are) paid to do a job and, whether it’s the coaching staff, whether it’s the players, it doesn’t matter who it is, we got to come back to work every day and get back on our horse and do the job that we’re paid to do,” Julien said.

“We haven’t thrown the towel in as individuals or as a team,” said Julien. “We show up every game and compete but, you know, a mistake here or there ends up in our net. An opportunity here or there that we should have buried doesn’t go in. So those are the challenges that we have and somehow we got to overcome those things and you got to try and turn those things into your favour and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

That might be the right thing to say, but any talk of righting the ship and making a push for the playoffs isn’t rooted in reality. There’s nothing in the Canadiens’ recent results that suggests post-season action in a possibility. The Canadiens have fallen 11 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, who hold the third spot in the Atlantic Division. And they are nine points behind the Philadelphia Flyers, who are in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and hold a game in hand on Montreal.

And then there are the four other teams that currently are occupying the spots between Montreal and Philadelphia.

phickey@postmedia.com

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

Published

6 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

Published

6 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

Published

6 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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