VANCOUVER – We were going to tell you about the bad luck in the first period, and then the bad plays in the second.
We were going to explain that even with what has been a magical mystery tour this season for the Vancouver Canucks, who have two regulation losses since Dec. 5 and are on a 9-0-2 run, there are nights when it’s not going to go your way.
But then, after being down three goals in the third period, it still went the Canucks’ way. So we’re telling you now about another Vancouver win, its 33rd in 49 games heading into the National Hockey League All-Star Break.
And to do that, we’re going to start with Brock Boeser, who scored a hat trick Saturday and then set up Elias Pettersson’s overtime winner in a 5-4 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Because Boeser embodies everything that used to be wrong with the Canucks that now seems inexorably right.
Nearly six years after serious back and wrist injuries halted his rookie season at 29 goals, the 26-year-old from Minnesota finally became the 30-goal scorer in the NHL he promised to be when his rebound tap-in at 6:28 of the third period tied the game 4-4, barely five minutes after the Canucks had trailed 4-1.
In the intervening years, Boeser visited hell and back, dealing with other injuries, the anguish of his father’s illnesses and death, his own guilt and anger, even what he admitted last spring became a resentment of the game that led to an unfulfilled trade request.
“I’m building towards what I can be out there,” Boeser told us in November. “I think I’m just starting to figure it out.”
Saturday he became a 30-goal scorer, although Boeser’s all-around game has raised his ceiling far beyond that simplistic threshold. Next week, after a few days off in Florida, he’ll be one of five Canuck players joining coach Rick Tocchet at the All-Star Game in Toronto.
“I don’t know if it’s hit me yet,” Boeser told reporters late Saturday. “I think more so just that we won that game; I think that’s really exciting for me right now — the fact that we came back from 4-1. We still had the mindset after the second period that, you know, if we get one on the power play, we can go from there and come back.”
Pettersson scored at 1:11 of the final period when Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlinkins stumbled and the Blue Jackets began to collapse. Boeser tipped in Quinn Hughes’ point shot at 3:24, before scoring about the easiest goal he has had this season at 6:28.
After getting nothing out of a first period when shots were 11-4 and scoring chances 13-3 for the Canucks, Vancouver surrendered four goals in the second, including a couple on giveaways by Pettersson and J.T. Miller. And yet, with the Canucks starting the third period on a power play, Boeser said everyone believed they could still win the game.
It helps that they had won 32 of them already, 30 of them in regulation time, and were 16-2-4 the previous eight weeks.
“I think we all felt that in the locker room,” Boeser said. “I think just having that mindset of going out there and really trying to get a goal on the power play, which we did, really kind of got the guys into it and gave us a little momentum there. Next thing you know, we draw another couple of penalties and make it count. I think it’s just big for our team that we have that belief.”
First-year Canuck defenceman Ian Cole, the two-time Stanley Cup winner who has been to the playoffs nine straight seasons with six different teams, said the feeling he has now in Vancouver is a familiar one.
“Being able to win games different ways,” he explained. “You find yourself, you know, in different situations in every game, right? Ideally, everything’s perfect all the time, but it’s never going to be, so you need to have a little bit — certainly resiliency — but you need to be able to kind of roll with the punches and kind of figure out the game as it transpires.
“Being able to. . . move forward and win the hockey game shows the level of resiliency that you need. And our level of confidence and maturity, being able to say (when it was 4-1), ‘It doesn’t really matter how we got here, we need to win the game, and this is what we have to do to win it,’ I think that mentality is very beneficial to play for a while into the spring and summer.”
On the winning goal, Boeser came off the bench and on to the puck, walked around leaden Blue Jacket Kent Johnson, then banked a goalmouth pass off Pettersson’s skate with 58.7 seconds remaining at three-on-three.
The second most important five-minute chunk for the Canucks began with 8:05 remaining in regulation time when referees Corey Syvret and Michael Markovic seemed to bend review-protocol guidelines to make the correct call on Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers: a major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing, albeit inadvertently, Sean Kuraly in the face.
It led to Canuck penalty killing’s finest moment. A shorthanded unit that for much of last season was on pace to be the worst in NHL history, allowed just two shots while killing the five-minute disadvantage to get to overtime.
“Better sticks,” penalty-killer Pius Suter explained of the shorthanded unit’s massive uptick the last two months. “Today in that five minutes, I think we kind of denied them the entries. They never really got set up much. It’s just kind of good sticks and being connected. When one guy goes, all other guys are ready to jump. It’s not just one guy working on his own. Just kind of keep your head down and keep playing. Make sure you don’t get overhyped, don’t overstay shifts or do anything crazy. Just kind of keep it simple, and I think that’s what we did.”
“I guess it shows character that we can come back and we just keep going,” Pettersson said. “We got the goal and we got some momentum, got another power play and we scored again. Everybody was just into it. The fans gave us good energy. It shows what we can do when everybody’s feeding off each other.”
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.”
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
