The beauty of hockey — it can sprinkle stardust on an ugly game and turn it into something wondrous and magical as well as any Disney studio.
If you like your underdogs, your David vs. Goliath or your Rocky vs. Apollo Creed, then Monday’s game at Scotiabank Arena was for you.
No team seemed less equipped to rebound from a 5-1 second-period deficit than the North Division’s last-place Ottawa Senators and few teams seemed less vulnerable than the first place Toronto Maple Leafs.
And yet, here we are. Thanks to the greatest comeback in Senators franchise history, they own their first two-game win streak of the season. From 1992-2021, an Ottawa team had trailed by at least four goals in a regular season game 240 times and this was the first instance the Senators emerged with a win.
“It’s hockey, anything can happen,” said overtime hero Evgenii Dadonov, who tied the game late in the third. “We didn’t stop playing.”
No, they left that to the Leafs.
A shorthanded goal by Nick Paul late in the second period gave the Senators hope.
“That was huge going into the intermission,” said winger Drake Batherson, who scored Ottawa’s first goal of the night. “The older guys told us through the second intermission to keep going. Anything can happen. And we showed it there by tying it up.”
After that same penalty kill featuring the Paul goal, defenceman Artem Zub emerged from the penalty box and scored his first NHL goal on a breakaway. A gorgeous deke from a player brought over from the KHL for his defensive play. Now, the magic was surely in the air.
Joy can be fleeting in a condensed, pandemic hockey schedule, however. The Senators beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Saturday in the dying seconds of a Hockey Day in Canada game, then the smiles were wiped off their faces while getting routed for the better part of 40 minutes of a 5-1 game against the Leafs. Play was as lopsided as in any Ottawa game this season, but as head coach D.J. Smith would say afterwards, his team was due for a break after losing some heartbreakers earlier in the schedule.
Now, the question is can they build momentum from a miracle? Or was it a mirage?
What do the Senators do for an encore?
Before this dramatic turn of events in Winnipeg and Toronto, things looked dire. Starting goaltender Matt Murray was injured and backup Marcus Hogberg was essentially put on notice that he had to turn in a solid game against Winnipeg or the club would find other options.
Hogberg was brilliant in the 2-1 victory against the Jets, and while he yielded five in the early Leafs onslaught, he didn’t give up a sixth. Several stops in the third period and overtime were spectacular, including outlasting Mitch Marner on what could have been the goal of the year if he’d pulled it off. On the night, Hogberg stopped 33 of 38 Toronto shots.
Dorion making moves
On the face of it, a team that had a 2-12-1 record as recently as Saturday morning, would seem likely to be in a state of inertia. It would be easy to get paralyzed into numbness, and just ride out the string, hoping that the months pass quickly so the Senators could turn a page. Play the kids, draft well, move onto next year.
Instead, general manager Pierre Dorion is trying to manage his way out of this latest crisis. Goaltenders have been moving in and around the roster and taxi squad like chess pieces wielded by Beth Harmon. And on the weekend, Dorion moved out two pending unrestricted free agents, forwards Alex Galchenyuk and Cedric Paquette, in exchange for a third pending UFA, former Senators winger Ryan Dzingel.
Don’t look now, but the Senators are 2-0 since making the trade! (Never mind that Dzingel is in COVID-19 quarantine and won’t play until March 1).
As it did in the off-season, Murray’s phone is buzzing.
For starters, Dorion and Smith had to deal with the loss of their No. 1 goalie. Most frustrating about the injury, Murray had only just begun to find the form that Dorion was hoping for when he traded for Murray back in October and signed him to a four-year deal. Murray got hurt in a collision with his own defenceman, Nikita Zaitsev, in Winnipeg last Thursday.
That left the job to backup Hogberg, a frightening proposition considering Hogberg couldn’t seem to find his angles or his net in his seven previous season appearances. But in his eighth game, Hogberg delivered the most inspiring Ottawa performance of the season, stopping 30 of 31 shots (a save percentage of .968) while his teammates got him a last-second goal, a redirect by Brady Tkachuk, to stun the hometown Jets.
Murray practised with the team on Monday and could be back as early as Wednesday. Look for Murray and Hogberg to split the remaining games of the Toronto series, Wednesday and Thursday.
When goaltender Joey Daccord was recalled from AHL Belleville after just one start, a 5-1 loss in Laval on Friday, and moved from the taxi squad to the active roster to backup Hogberg in Toronto on Monday, he became the third different backup the Senators have used.
Filip Gustavsson, who was on the bench in Winnipeg on Saturday, was moved to the taxi squad. But with Murray better, Daccord is moving back to the taxi squad while Gustavsson is shifted to the Belleville roster.
Dzingel, two-time deadline transaction?
When Dorion flipped out Galchenyuk and Paquette to Carolina in exchange for Dzingel, there were those who wondered if he was simply rearranging deck chairs on a certain ship that need not be named.
In fact, the move does shake things up around the Senators room. Dorion is letting his group know that he is not going to stand idly by while they lose the bulk of their games, even if they have played much better since their turnaround game in Montreal on Feb. 4.
If the GM can improve the team week to week, even marginally, he will, while recognizing he can always flip out veteran players at the deadline to acquire draft picks or prospects. Clearly, the Hurricanes wanted Paquette and took on Galchenyuk just so Ottawa could dump the contract (one year at $1.05M). Galchenyuk was promptly put on waivers by Carolina before being traded to the Leafs. Fortunately for him, he remained in Ottawa at the time of the trade and so can move to Toronto without facing a cross-border quarantine.
Dzingel, 28, was a two-time 20-goal scorer while with the Senators in his first go-around (23 in 2017-18, 22 in 2018-19). He should have some familiarity and comfort with the organization that drafted him out of Ohio State in 2011 (seventh round, 204th overall), although there are only a handful of players left from the Ottawa team he knew two years ago.
Dzingel said he believes he will get more opportunity with Ottawa than he did in Carolina.
“It’s been a crazy few days and I’m just excited to be back,” Dzingel said on a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday. “I think anytime you get a second chance in anything in life it’s pretty special, so I’m looking at things with a different lens right now.
“Other than this 14-day quarantine, being stuck in the Brookstreet (Hotel in Kanata), I’m excited … to get this thing going in 12 or 13 days when I get out of jail here.”
Dzingel can practice with the Senators on Feb. 28. The team’s next game after that is March 1 vs. Calgary.
As we mentioned last week, the Senators are sure to be busy at the trade deadline, and even beforehand, with as many as nine pending UFAs on their roster. Now they are down to eight. Dzingel will get his chance to help his old team, but is also a deadline trade option.
Why did Dorion sign so many veteran castoffs in the off-season? As near as we can figure, he was auditioning players who should have been motivated to salvage their careers, to see which ones might work out, and either complement the youth corps or push them to be better.
Some have. Winger Austin Watson has come in and been a well-conditioned, gritty, useful bottom six forward.
Not so much for Galchenyuk, Paquette or centre Derek Stepan, who would like to be accommodated with a trade closer to his family in Arizona if possible.
Erik Gudbranson has played important minutes for Ottawa, and looked to be in a good pairing with Erik Brannstrom until Brannstrom got hurt.
Dadonov was no castoff, but a significant free agent signing at three years at a $5-million AAV. With his pair of goals on Monday, Dadonov has surged to lead team scoring with six goals and is looking effective with Colin White and Paul, arguably the Senators best line of late.
Now, the teams get to do it all over again. Those pesky Senators, with three of their four victories registered against their eastern rivals from Toronto (2) and Montreal (1) will be tested by the Maple Leafs in Wednesday’s rematch.
They might not want to risk a four-goal deficit this time, but then again, the Senators have trailed in all of their victories this season.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.
The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.
Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.
Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.
The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
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CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.
Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.
Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.
It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.
Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.
Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.
It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.
Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.
With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.
The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.
The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.
An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”
Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.
There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.
“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.
Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.
“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”
Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.
“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.
“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”
The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).
The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.
Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).
The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.
To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.
“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”
A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.
The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.
“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)
Wednesday, Providence Park
HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.
ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.
POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.
Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.
The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.
There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.
The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.
It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.
“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.
Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.
More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”
Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.
