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Canadiens vs. Flyers Game 6 recap: The End – Habs Eyes on the Prize

Published

4 years ago

August 22, 2020

In a lot of ways, Game 5 on Wednesday night was a defining game for the Montreal Canadiens. They faced a challenge of their own making when Jesperi Kotkaniemi was ejected, they faced adversity when they fell behind on the scoreboard, and they were dealt a blow when their heart-and-soul player, Brendan Gallagher, had his jaw broken by Matt Niskanen. They pulled out a strong 5-3 win to keep their surprising playoff run alive, and they would need another defining experience in Game 6 to keep that drive going.

Obviously the team was without Brendan Gallagher for the remainder of the series, and it’s not an easy task to step up and fill his skates. That Herculean effort fell onto the shoulders of Artturi Lehkonen who has had a strong post-season, even if the point totals haven’t been there. Joel Armia slid into Lehkonen’s spot on the second line next to Nick Suzuki, and Alex Belzile slotted into the fourth line with Jake Evans and Charles Hudon.

Twenty-eight seconds in and the adversity found a new form as the Philadelphia Flyers found the back of the net first. Ivan Provorov worked off the wall and flung a low shot toward Carey Price. Shea Weber, who was standing in front of the net, had the puck deflect off him and into the net.

Montreal was not content to let the Flyers’ trap game come into effect, as the next shift saw the Habs swarming all over Carter Hart until his net came off its moorings, forcing a stoppage in the offensive zone.

Ben Chiarot and Weber continued a rough start, as Jakub Voracek broke in past them and Chiarot was caught hooking the Flyers forward, sending Philly to an early power play. While the Flyers didn’t cash in on the man advantage, just after it expired a shot from Kevin Hayes hit off of Lehkonen, then the inside of Price’s pad for a two-goal Philadelphia lead.

Montreal had a chance on a power play after Philippe Myers was called for holding Phillip Danault behind the net. The Canadiens’ power play clicked early, and the emergence of Suzuki continued as he potted his third of the playoffs. A shot from Joel Armia was left hanging in front of the net, and Suzuki got enough of it on a follow-up swing to get it by Hart, putting Montreal back into the game.

Another penalty brought the Habs’ momentum to a screeching halt as Jeff Petry caught Nate Thompson up high with his stick, but on the following penalty kill Armia nearly scored short-handed to tie the game, but couldn’t poke the puck by Hart. While Montreal killed the first penalty, Weber was the guilty party of a cross checking call, and started another penalty kill for Montreal. This time it was Price who was the Habs’ best penalty-killer, making a number of huge saves to keep the Flyers from converting again. A late push almost resulted in another goal, but the intermission horn went, sending Montreal into the break trailing by a goal.

After a big hit on Suzuki early in the second, it looked like tempers might have boiled over, but cooler heads prevailed. A Claude Giroux stick-slash put Montreal back on the man advantage, and again they looked dangerous, including a tip play that went just wide of the net as the power play expired.

Then with Chiarot caught deep and desperately trying to get back following a turnover, the Flyers restored their two-goal lead — for a few moments anyway.

Soon after the goal, Hart lazily played the puck for his teammate, and that allowed Jonathan Drouin to grab it. Drouin then slipped Travis Sanheim’s coverage and threaded a pass right across the crease that Suzuki put home for his second of the night, and fourth of the playoffs.

Montreal’s pressure game went back to work, as the rolling lines kept the Flyers’ offence quiet, and even buried in their own end with the fourth line working away. One little slip up by Max Domi created a breakaway for Scott Laughton that forced the Habs winger to take a penalty, and an elbow to the mouth for good measure. The Flyers’ power play didn’t generate much, and allowed a dominant even-strength Habs team back into play still trailing by a goal.

The Canadiens almost found that tying goa. With Ivan Provorov having to change due to losing his helmet, there was a brief man advantage for Montreal. Jeff Petry pulled the puck away from a defender, and slipped a pass to a streaking Paul Byron, who couldn’t get the shot off on a sprawling Hart. The teams went into the intermission with the Flyers holding on for dear life against a ferocious Montreal onslaught.

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While the opening 40 minutes had plenty of back-and-forth action, the third period started far more tentatively, with neither side over-extending themselves and risking another goal against. The Flyers were more than happy to set up their defensive posture, and Montreal looked a bit exhausted, having difficulty getting more than a chance in their possessions.

Tomas Tatar nearly found the tying goal twice on the same shift, his first chance was blocked by Robert Hagg, and his second caught the knob of Hart’s stick and went out of play. Xavier Ouellet followed that up by firing up a handful of chances in close, but it was again Hart making the difference between the pipes.

There wasn’t another miracle to finish out this game, as the 24th-seed-that-could finally ran out of steam in the final moments. With Price out of his net, they pushed hard for another tying goal, but a late chance by Suzuki was met by the pads of Hart and it was all over.

Montreal put a huge scare into the Flyers, but in the end luck eventually runs out. The Canadiens were given no shot for two straight rounds, and proved a lot of people wrong.

The Canadiens’ motto is “To you from failing hands, we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.” Consider that torch extended to the sky, and shining plenty of light on the future ahead.

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Ravens win fifth straight game by beating Bucs 41-31

Published

10 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Struggling Whitecaps, Timbers set to meet in MLS wild-card matchup

Published

10 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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No rugby, field hockey, badminton, triathlon or cricket at leaner 2026 Commonwealth Games

Published

10 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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