The idea seemed simple enough Sunday.
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Canucks 4, Blackhawks 3: Hanging in, hanging on to subdue phenom Connor Bedard
It took the sluggish Vancouver Canucks a period to find their legs after giving up the first 10 shots. However, they eventually found their game to rally and then hang on for a 4-3 victory over the cellar-dwelling, injury plagued and inexperienced Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.
On a day when North Vancouver rookie phenom Connor Bedard displayed ample skill, shooting and smarts to establish himself as the Calder Trophy favourite — two assists, five shots, seven attempts — it was a second-period explosion by the Canucks that proved pivotal and critical.
“It just came down to will and effort,” said Boeser, who struck for his 23rd goal of the season in the second-period barrage to move back into a tie for the NHL scoring lead. “We didn’t like our effort in the first period and we had a good response.
“We knew it was going to be hard to close it out. They made a push and we hung in there well. I’m just proud of the way we responded. We found a way and that’s all that matters.”
“In the first period, we were obviously sleepy and the second was a big response,” said Tocchet. “Getting three points out of these two games on a back-to-back, I’m happy about that, but we’ve got to clean up our game. Our third line dragged us into the fight.”
Here’s what we learned as Elias Pettersson, Dakota Joshua, Boeser and Ilya Mikheyev scored for the Canucks, while Nick Foligno had a pair of the Blackhawks:
Third line shines, Boeser’s shot fine
Tocchet tweaked his lineup Sunday.
He promoted the smart and shifty Pius Suter to align with Mikheyev and Pettersson, while Sam Lafferty was dropped to the fourth line with Nils Aman and Andrei Kuzmenko.
It was Garland who did the work on Joshua’s goal to draw the Canucks even at 2-2. He got on top of a bouncing puck inside the Blackhawks blue-line and then spun with a slap-pass that a positioned Joshua was able to deflect with a deft touch.
“On a back-to-back, you try to find your legs and it was good to be tied 1-1 after the first period — especially when you don’t feel at your best,” said Garland. “We got rolling. Our line just sticks to the system and we trust it and it’s going to work.
“We’re a good defensive line that can chip in from time to time. We just hung on and had a lot of chances. A couple of more could have gone in.”
Boeser took a Miller feed on the next shift and raced down the left side before ripping a wrist shot past goalie Petr Mrazek on the far glove side. Mikheyev then got in the slot to set a screen and pivoted to deflect a Tyler Myers point shot.
Boeser also had a rebound chance at the side of the net in the third period, but his effort went just high. He then had another chance and finished with four shots and six attempts.
Bedard’s skill, shot, smarts legit
They came to see the future because too much of the present is hard to watch.
At the United Center, where faithful followers find it hard to hype the Blackhawks, they’re embracing everything that will eventually be possible with Bedard, who has 26 points (12-14) through 30 games.
His early quick read and pass nearly set up Tyler Johnson for a goal on Thatcher Demko’s doorstep. He then found a piece of the post, and with his high hand position and rapid release, also put one off Demko’s mask. He was also able to nearly pick the high short side through a tiny opening.
Bedard then showed another dimension of his multi-faceted game by setting up Foligno in opening minute of the second period. Instead of just letting a shot fly, Bedard purposely put a shot off Demko’s pads and Foligno was there to deposit the rebound for a tap-in and 2-1 lead.
Foligno also opened scoring on a bad sequence.
Filip Hronek was stripped of the puck by Foligno behind the net and then got position on Quinn Hughes to redirect a Joey Anderson feed.
Power play finally finds range
The beat-up Blackhawks are using four rookie defencemen. That’s a huge problem.
And so was nearly losing a veteran blueliner in the first period Sunday when Connor Murphy took a J.T. Miller power play howitzer off his knee and had to be helped to the locker room but returned for the second period.
That only made it tougher to defend a Canucks power play that has so much potential, but was sputtering with a 3-for-27 funk in nine games — including going 0-for-5 on Saturday in a 2-1 shootout loss in Minnesota — before finally striking.
The Canucks went without a shot on their first man-advantage Sunday in the opening period and then had a 5-on-3 advantage for 51 seconds. They couldn’t finish, even though they had two players at the net, before Pettersson took a cross-ice Miller feed and went glove.
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TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
MacKenzie Weegar wasn’t bitter or upset as he watched friends live out their dreams.
The Calgary Flames defenceman just hopes to experience the same feeling one day. He also knows the road leading to that moment, if it does arrive, will likely be long and winding — much like his own path.
A seventh-round pick by the Florida Panthers at the 2013 NHL draft, Weegar climbed the ranks to become an important piece of a roster that captured the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top regular-season club in 2021-22.
Two months later following a second-round playoff exit, he was traded to the Flames along with Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk. And less than two years after that, the Panthers were hoisting the Stanley Cup.
“Happy for the city and for the team,” Weegar said of Florida’s June victory over the Edmonton Oilers. “There was no bad taste in my mouth.”
His sole focus, he insists, is squarely on eventually getting the Flames to the same spot. The landscape, however, has changed drastically since Weegar committed to Calgary on an eight-year, US$50-million contract extension in October 2022.
Weegar has watched a list that includes goaltender Jacob Markstrom, defencemen Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov and forwards Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane shipped out of town since the start of last season — largely for picks, prospects and young players as part of a rebuild.
Despite that exodus, he remains committed to the Calgary project steered by general manager Craig Conroy.
“It’s easy to get out of all whack when you see guys trying to leave or wanting new contracts,” the 30-year-old from Ottawa said at last week’s NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas. “I just focus on where I am and where I want to be, and that’s Calgary.
“I believe in this team. The city has taken me in right away. I feel like I owe it to them to stick around and grind through these years and get a Stanley Cup.”
The hard-nosed blueliner certainly knows what it is to grind.
After winning the Memorial Cup alongside Nathan MacKinnon with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2013, Weegar toiled in the ECHL and American Hockey League for three seasons before making his NHL debut late in the 2016-17 campaign with the Panthers.
He would spend the next five years in South Florida as one of the players tasked with shifting an organizational culture that had experienced little success over the previous two decades.
“There’s always going to be a piece of my heart and loyalty to that team,” Weegar said. “But now I’m in a different situation … I compete against all 32 teams, not just Florida. There’s always a chip on my shoulder every single year.”
Weegar set career highs with 20 goals — eight was the most he had ever previously registered — and 52 points in 2023-24 as part of a breakout offensive performance.
“I think my buddies cared a lot more than I did,” he said with a smile. “All I hear is, ‘fantasy, fantasy, fantasy.'”
Weegar was actually more proud of his 200 blocked shots and 194 hits as he looks to help set a new Flames’ standard alongside Huberdeau, captain Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman and Rasmus Andersson for a franchise expected to have its new arena in time for the 2027-28 season.
“You have to build that culture and that belief in the locker room,” said Weegar, who pointed to 22-year-old centre Connor Zary as a player set to pop. “Those young guys are going to have to come into their own and be consistent every night … they’re the next generation.”
Weegar, however, isn’t punting on 2024-25. He pointed to the NHL’s parity and the fact a couple of teams surprise every season.
It’s the same approach that took him from the ECHL a decade ago to hockey’s premier pre-season event inside a swanky hotel on Sin City’s famed strip, where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the game’s best.
“From the outside — media and even friends and family — the expectations are probably a bit lower,” Weegar said of Calgary’s outlook. “But there’s no reason to think that we can’t make playoffs and we can’t be a good team (with) that underdog mentality.
“You never know.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept 17, 2024.
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The Northern Super League has fleshed out its front office with four appointments.
Jose Maria Celestino da Costa was named vice-president and head of soccer operations while Marianne Brooks was appointed vice-president of partnerships, Kelly Shouldice as vice-president of brand and content and Joyce Sou as vice-president of finance and business operations.
The new six-team women’s pro league is set to kick off in April.
“Their unique expertise and leadership are crucial as we lay the foundation for not just a successful league in Canada, but one that stands among the top sports leagues in the world,” NSL president Christina Litz said in a statement. “By investing in top-tier talent and infrastructure, the Northern Super League is committed to creating a league that will elevate the game and set new standards for women’s professional soccer globally.”
Da Costa will oversee all on-field matters, including officiating. His resume includes stints with Estoril Praia, a men’s first-division team in Portugal, and the Portuguese Soccer Federation, where he helped develop the Portuguese women’s league.
Brooks spent a decade with Canucks Sports & Entertainment, working in “partnership sales and retention efforts” for the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Warriors, and Rogers Arena. Most recently, she served as senior director of account management at StellarAlgo, a software company that helps pro sports teams connect with their fans
Shouldice has worked for Corus Entertainment, the Canadian Football League, and most recently as vice-president of Content and Communications at True North Sports & Entertainment, where she managed original content as well as business and hockey communications.
Sou, who was involved in the league’s initial launch, will oversee financial planning, analysis and the league’s expansion strategy in her new role.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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