MONTREAL — Claude Julien was asked about Charlie Lindgren’s performance in Montreal’s 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday and his response was that it was a team effort in losing.
The coach played his role, too. And we’re not talking about his decision to start Lindgren over Carey Price, who had stopped 72 of 73 shots in two wins prior to the game against a Blackhawks team that had scraped out an overtime win in Ottawa the night before while the Canadiens were resting and waiting for them in Montreal.
If the Canadiens started this one completely out of sorts, allowing Zack Smith (he of two goals in 40 games) to score two goals in the first nine minutes — and one in comedic fashion thanks to a miscommunication between Lindgren and Tomas Tatar — it was at least in part because Julien didn’t have them as well-prepared as they should have been.
But perhaps the most confounding thing to happen in this one came after Max Domi took a reckless, careless, selfish (or as Julien later referred to it, useless) roughing penalty on Matthew Highmore at the 10:52 mark of the second period. And no, it wasn’t Julien’s decision to park Domi at the end of Montreal’s bench after Alex DeBrincat scored 35 seconds into the ensuing power play.
The real head-scratcher was the coach’s decision to keep Domi on the bench when Smith went off for high-sticking with 4:36 remaining in the middle period.
Julien was asked after the game about how he decided to toe the line between the message he wanted to send to his player and having to rely on an offensive type while trailing in the game.
“I did what I had to do,” the coach responded. “You take a useless penalty like that, there’s consequences.”
When we asked if he was tempted to motivate Domi by telling him he had cost the team a goal and that it was time for him to go out there and get it back with the power play opportunity, Julien said the following:
“Those questions (about) whatever you guys feel like…I did what I had to do, simple as that. I don’t have to explain it more than I did. It’s not the first time he’s taken a bad penalty. There’s consequences, and sometimes those messages (date back a lot further) than the situation right there. And it doesn’t matter who we put on (for the power play) instead of Max. Max is not the guy that’s going to score goals all the time here, so a power play is a five-man unit. It’s as simple as that.”
And this team is made up of 20 players and five coaches and everyone should wear the blame for a performance Julien classified as the team’s worst in 10 games.
We needn’t remind you the Canadiens had lost eight of 10 prior to Wednesday’s debacle.
For as bad as Montreal had started against Chicago, Phillip Danault scored 54 seconds into the second period to get the Canadiens back to 2-1. And even though Domi’s penalty was so ill-timed, and unquestionably worth more time away from the ice than the 35 seconds he spent in the box, he’s the second-highest scoring player on the team and he has to be out there to give you a chance at turning a 3-1 deficit into 3-2 heading to the third period.
Maybe the game plays out differently thereafter, instead of how it actually did — with the Canadiens allowing a goal to Drake Caggiula and getting out-shot 11-6 in the final frame.
“We weren’t there at all. It’s as simple as that,” Julien said. “They’re a team that has good sticks, which was clearly pointed out before the game, but we weren’t there at all. Not at all. We lost our battles for loose pucks, we made bad decisions, and we didn’t deserve a win at all.”
That’s all true.
And Domi, who had apologized for taking a bad penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct on top of it for a double-minor in the third period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils back on Nov. 16, should have known better.
The 25-year-old, who blamed himself on that night, added, “I can’t do that, and it won’t happen again.”
But Domi is a feisty player, a player who always plays on the edge, and there was never a doubt he’d slip up again — even if he had only taken 10 minors this season before roughing up Highmore.
“During the play I certainly wasn’t trying to take a penalty,” he said about Wednesday’s situation. “But I watched the replay and it’s a penalty. So that’s how it goes. Unfortunately, they scored on that. You can’t do that — especially in the situation we’re in right now. It is what it is. Coach’s decision, and obviously I can’t afford to do that.”
There was consistency in Julien’s decision.
In Montreal’s 16th game of the season, he held Canadiens leading scorer Tomas Tatar out for most of the second period and all but four shifts in the third of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 7. This was after Tatar had taken minor penalties nine and 10 of the young season — both of them lazy stick infractions.
The thing is, the Canadiens are in a much more desperate situation now than they were then. They needed to turn their two-game win streak into three on Wednesday.
Even Larry David understands that, bad penalties aside, goal scorers need to be on the ice in crunch time.
Considering how they played against Chicago, it might not have mattered who came out on that failed power play while Domi was stapled to the bench.
But Domi has 11 points on the man-advantage this season, nearly twice what Nick Cousins, Jordan Weal and Artturi Lehkonen (six points) have combined for in that department, and he was highly motivated to make up for his error.
“Of course,” Domi said. “I think we’re all sitting there (wanting to do that)…”
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But Julien made his decision and held firm to it. He could have gone all the way with it by sitting Domi out for the rest of the game, but with only 20 minutes left for the Canadiens to come back he decided to play him — making the decision to leave him off that power play late in the second even more curious.
We have been outspoken about the job he’s done under the circumstances he’s had to deal with this season. We believe he’s done as well as anyone could with the roster he’s had and the injuries the Canadiens have been hit with.
But Julien’s decision on Wednesday played a role in Montreal’s loss to Chicago, and he should share some of the blame for the outcome.
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.
