Sports

A happy reunion for Canadiens' Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin – Montreal Gazette

Published

4 years ago

August 15, 2020

TORONTO — “Reunited and it feels so good.”

Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin are probably too young to know the hit song “Reunited” by the R&B vocal duo Peaches & Herb that sold more than 2 million copies and was ranked the No. 5 song for 1979 by Billboard. But it would have been a good song for them to listen to on the bus ride back to the NHL’s Royal York Hotel bubble after Friday afternoon’s 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 of their playoff series, which is now tied 1-1.

Game 3 is Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena (8 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio).

Associate coach Kirk Muller — taking over the head-coaching duties from the ailing Claude Julien — decided to reunite Domi and Drouin on a line with Jesperi Kotkaniemi as their centre for Game 2. The result: two goals by Kotkaniemi, three assists from Domi and one assist for Drouin.

As Peaches & Herb sang: “Me minus you is such a lonely ride … The breakup we had has made me lonesome and sad.”

Domi and Drouin had success early last season when they were linemates, but Julien eventually split them up and never put them back together. It was hard to understand why, especially as Drouin struggled down the stretch last season with only one goal in his last 25 games.

It’s understandable how Drouin can frustrate a coach — not to mention Canadiens fans — with the way he plays, but there’s no doubt he has offensive skills and maybe if Julien had tried putting him back with Domi last season it might have lit a spark. A few more goals from Drouin down the stretch and maybe the Canadiens would have made the playoffs instead of coming up two points short.

Julien is a very good coach, but he can be stubborn and he definitely was when it came to Domi and Drouin, who didn’t play together during the regular season this year. Julien finally put them back together with Kotkaniemi midway through the third period of a 2-1 loss to the Flyers in Game 1 of this series and Muller decided to start Game 2 with that trio still together.

“Obviously, it’s no secret Jo and I are very close off the ice, spend a lot of time away from the rink together and we love playing together,” Domi said after the game. “So it was a lot of fun to get out there with him tonight.”

Muller was asked after the game if it was his decision alone to put the two buddies together, moving Domi up from the fourth line where he had been buried since the start of the postseason.

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Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

17 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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Sports

Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

17 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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