TORONTO — It was a home game, but not like the ones these guys — or any of us — are used to.
Not when you’re in a city that isn’t home and certainly not when your fans aren’t there to cheer you on.
How strange it must be to experience the adrenaline of the Stanley Cup playoffs, to have it coursing through your veins for hours after you scored the big goal to give your team its biggest win of the year, and to not be able to go home to your wife and kids and revel in it with them before it must be washed away.
Think about what it’s like if you’re Jeff Petry. If you just became the first Montreal Canadiens player in 31 years to score two game-winning goals in a playoff year. Pretend you just went into a raucous PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and helped silence it by scoring the overtime winner in Game 1 to steal away home-ice advantage from the Penguins. Picture, after suffering a tough loss in Game 2, coming home to the Bell Centre for the game you’ll eventually play hero in again.
This wasn’t what Petry dreamed of when he was telling his grade-school friends he’d be an NHL hockey player and, perhaps, a Stanley Cup champion someday.
But, it is what it is.
Nothing about this situation is normal. Not for any of us. COVID-19 has deleted normal from our lives and there may never be an undo option. Down is up, right is left, and nothing makes sense — especially not a 24th-placed team in a 24-team tournament for the Cup pushing a dynasty to the brink of elimination in an abbreviated series.
But we’re rolling with it.
So is Phillip Danault.
The Canadiens centreman expressed grave concerns about being away from his family for a long portion of time, with his wife at home taking care of their 18-month-old son.
“With everything we’re living, it’s part of the game, I guess,” Danault said Thursday, the morning after helping the Canadiens take a 2-1 series lead over the Penguins. “We’re all in the same boat, all the players. Definitely hurts, though.
“It’s fun to celebrate with your teammates, too. It’s a little different the setup — it’s like a team thing. We’re all together after the game and everything. But it definitely hurts. My wife and kid are at home, and she’s taking care of the kid, so it’s nice from her. It is hard, but it’s part of the game and we’re here right now and we’re enjoying every single minute of my playoff appearance and it’s fun so far.”
Julien’s post-game routine
If you think it’s hard for the players — and even some reporters — to settle down after a playoff game, imagine what it’s like for a coach.
Canadiens coach Claude Julien’s been doing it at this level since 2002, and he said Thursday that winding down is still a challenge.
“I don’t know that much has changed, to be honest with you,” Julien said. “Do I have trouble sleeping after a game? Absolutely. Just because you’re wound up. Win or lose, it doesn’t matter. You’re thinking — you’re like players. You got excited about the game and you’re emotionally attached to it, so that’s always what happens after games.
“But the one thing that I have done and will continue to do is, the minute the game’s over, turn the page and start to think about the next one because that’s the one that’s most important. Whether you won or lost, there’s not much you can do about it. You just want to keep yourself ahead of the game.”
Don’t be surprised if Julien comes back to original lines
With all the buzz around the changes the coach made in Game 2 — he moved Danault to a checking line with Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen, elevated Nick Suzuki to play with Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar and moved Jesperi Kotkaniemi between Joel Armia and Jonathan Drouin — he has a well-established pattern of going back to his original plan and adjusting from there.
There’s no certainty that’s what Julien will do, but it’s an educated guess. That he’s kept Tatar, Danault and Gallagher together for most of two years tells you how he feels about mixing things around. And just because a few adjustments worked in-game, it doesn’t mean he’s beholden to them.
If it is Julien’s plan to return to the base and adjust from that in-game, he’s got a tried and tested model of success given how Game 3 went.
If you’re looking for Montreal’s unsung hero through the first three games of this series, he wears no. 77.
Could anyone have expected Brett Kulak to play this way — not only after his up-and-down season, but also after he had COVID-19 and missed 10 days of the team’s 13-day training camp in Phase 3?
“He’s been great,” said Canadiens captain Shea Weber after Game 3. “Given that situation, obviously he was sick and his inability to come and skate with us and work out with us… He was doing stuff on his own, but that’s not quite the same. To be in it, to stay in it mentally, it’s kudos to him. He’s done an excellent job for us so far. He was solid for us this year and he’s continued to be solid for us in this series”
With all the talk centred on the jobs Weber, Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot are doing, there’s been little about Kulak.
But he’s averaging over 19 minutes per game, he’s setting up chances on the rush, if he has an assist in this series it’s because he’s doing a good job of getting his shot through traffic and he’s been remarkably steady in his own end — both in defending and in moving the puck or skating it out.
“I think Brett’s been great for us,” Chiarot said Thursday. “He’s a big guy, who skates really well and moves the puck. And when he’s doing all those things and he’s confident, he’s really effective for us. He’s been doing that quite a bit for us lately. He looks great for us.”
Enter Jarry?
What a decision Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has to make as far as his goaltending’s concerned.
Can anyone envision him going with Matt Murray for Game 4?
Not that Murray has been bad, he simply hasn’t been good enough. And now Sullivan must turn to Tristan Jarry, who’s been sitting on the bench for four-and-a-half months — and all three games of this series — in an elimination game.
Also, Jarry has never played in the Stanley Cup playoffs before, which isn’t necessarily good or bad. It’s just that Sullivan now has to turn to an unknown for the biggest game of the year.
The comfort in making that call is that Jarry played like a Vezina Trophy candidate for much of this past season, and that he posted a .921 save percentage over his 33 appearances.
But this is a dicey situation and no one knows how he’ll react to it.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
