There was a lot to like about the Canadiens’ 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche Monday night at the Bell Centre.
Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first goal in 10 games, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard scored his first goal this season, Cole Caufield scored his fifth goal in the last nine games and Joel Armia scored the winner at 15:50 of the third period — his seventh goal after starting the season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
Ross Colton, Cale Makar and Devon Toews scored for the Avalanche as their record fell to 28-13-3.
So, what did Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki like most about this game?
“Probably just our group effort,” he said after picking up two assists. “Got some goals from other lines. When we were out there against (Nathan) MacKinnon’s line, all five of us were doing a real good job. They got some chances, it’s going to happen, but just our five-man game was really good tonight against them. It definitely made a difference in the game.”
The Avalanche’s No. 1 line of MacKinnon between former Canadien Jonathan Drouin and Mikko Rantanen failed to score. MacKinnon had a team-high seven shots, but couldn’t beat Allen, who was 1-8-1 in his previous 10 starts while his teammates scored 18 goals combined during that span.
“Obviously, you want to win every game,” Allen said after making 32 saves as the Avalanche outshot the Canadiens 35-34. “I’m a realist in every sense of the word in my life. I understand that there’s going to be stretches like this and there’s going to be stretches where I feel like I can’t stop a beach ball but I can’t lose a game. I’ve had that in my career … I had that last year even. I feel fairly solid about my game … it’s just been tough to find a way to win. To be able to get it here tonight at home is a good feeling.”
“Of course, it gets frustrating if you don’t score for a while,” Slafkovsky said after banging in a rebound of a Suzuki shot on a power play to tie the score 1-1 at 7:17 of the first period. “But I’m just trying to smile every day and come with a smile to the rink and hopefully the next day is the day.”
“Just trying to position myself to be in a good spot for a rebound and retrieve pucks,” he said. “I feel like it’s getting better. Definitely not there yet, but getting better.”
Slafkovsky is also starting to shoot the puck more. He led the Canadiens with six shots, tying his career high.
After Makar put the Avalanche up 2-1 at 1:01 of the second period, Harvey-Pinard scored his first goal in the 16 games he has played this season, driving to the net with the puck and then banging his own rebound past goalie Alexandar Georgiev.
Caufield’s power-play goal at 1:52 of the third period gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead as he beat Georgiev with a wrist shot high to the glove side. Caufield has had a tendency to shoot high to the short side and he seemed to catch Georgiev by surprise going to the far side this time. It was Caufield’s 13th goal of the season, moving him one ahead of Suzuki for the team lead.
There are now only three players on the Canadiens with more goals than Armia: Caufield (13), Suzuki (12) and Sean Monahan (11). Armia has only played in 27 of the team’s 43 games.
Head coach Martin St. Louis said he has liked Armia’s attitude all season.
“He went down to Laval and he was a great leader down there and played extremely well and came back up and sat in a chair that was available for him,” St. Louis said. “He’s been part of our (penalty) kill … I think he’s been killing extremely well for us. I think he’s having fun. He’s smiling and he’s playing some really good hockey right now. A lot for Army is just that consistency and we’re getting that right now and I hope it keeps going.”
The Canadiens will be back in action Wednesday in New Jersey against the Devils (7 p.m., SN, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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