EDMONTON — The journey began a day late Thursday evening, for an Edmonton Oilers team that didn’t like losing its home opener the previous night — but was particularly sour about the way that 5-3 loss went down.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl put on a show through 40 minutes, giving Edmonton a 4-2 lead over the Vancouver Canucks. But when the teams emerged for the third period, the circus had gone home.
All that remained was the security folks, as the Oilers clamped on to their two points with a dull, but extremely effective, third period. The Oilers were far more concerned with the “2” than the “4,” a trait they’ve struggled to embrace over the years.
“That was talked about, that’s for sure,” head coach Dave Tippett said. “You’ve got to play a certain way and there were still a couple of instances in the third that will be discussed, when we turned pucks over, we had our D in there too tight.
“You know, you’ve got to have a mindset of how you’re going to win. It doesn’t matter if you win by two or win by eight, you’ve just got to win. And when you want to win by eight, sometimes you don’t win by two.”
It was two different brands of hockey: 40 minutes of the Connor McDavid Show, as he answered a scoreless opener with a hat trick and a four-point night, and 20 minutes of Vancouver seeking a crack in an opponent that has for so many years given them that breath of life.
This year’s team has identified that area as a place where they plan to grow, and if the measurement is from Game 1 to Game 2, then that growth was enormous.
“Defence is very important to us, we’ve preached that throughout camp,” said Leon Draisaitl, who had four assists. “Yesterday wasn’t the way we wanted to show up and play. Great response tonight.”
One night after Brock Boeser had flexed his muscles for the Canucks, it was the Oilers’ star players who took over this game. The line of McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian was too much for Vancouver at 5-on-5, and the Edmonton power play was merciless, scoring on two of their four opportunities.
If you’re looking to someone other than McDavid for why Edmonton beats Vancouver, then look to a perfect penalty kill that thwarted the Canucks on each of five chances.
“All four lines, all six D — right from the start we had the right mindset,” said Nugent-Hopkins. “We knew we needed to clean some things up after last night, and in a back-to-back, you don’t have too much time to think, and dwell on things. We responded really well.”
Look, when McDavid plays like this, you’d better win.
He was “Warp Speed Connor” on Thursday — dominating in a style that has added some power and guile. The 2-0 goal he scored with 0.7 seconds left in the opening period was equal parts skill, strength and power, as he busted through his check to pot a rebound that broke Vancouver’s back.
“It seemed like we had a little more juice than they did,” observed McDavid. “But that happens in a back-to-back, sometimes a team just doesn’t have it. I thought we did a good job as a group. The power play was good, the PK was good. 5-on-5 I thought we did a pretty good job as well.”
The growth of a team happy to shut ‘er down after 40 is a necessary element in this town.
“That’s the position we want to be in all season long, up in the third period and being able to hold those leads,” McDavid said. “I thought we did a good job. They had a couple of looks, they hemmed us in a little bit, but I liked the way we were able to find a fifth and were able to finish the game off.”
And so we’re off. Through two games, we’ve seen Mikko Koskinen with an excellent bounce-back night, the ageing Mike Smith already dinged up and young Jesse Puljujarvi — though pointless still — is clearly not the player he was when he last donned the blue-and-orange silks.
“This is his first two North American games he’s played in a long time,” cautioned Tippett. “He’s still finding his way out there but he’s relentless. He works. He’s heavy on the puck. He wants the puck all the time. I think he’s going to keep trending in the right direction.”
Puljujarvi’s game is simpler, and he uses his natural assets better than before. There is definitely something here.
“He’s committed to playing really hard and trying to do the things we want to do structurally,” Tippett said. “There’s lots and lots of upside there. It would be nice to see one of those go in the net for him but it’s good that he’s getting chances. Hopefully, it comes soon.”
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
