Canucks 4, Predators 3 (OT): Brock Boeser the saviour, Elias Lindholm the hero - The Province | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Sports

Canucks 4, Predators 3 (OT): Brock Boeser the saviour, Elias Lindholm the hero – The Province

Published

 on


Boeser strikes twice with goalie pulled for first playoff hat trick, Lindholm scores overtime winner, Arturs Silovs holds the fort

Get the latest from Ben Kuzma straight to your inbox

Article content

It was looking like a failed shot at victory because of a lack of shots.

Advertisement 2

Article content

It was looking like a hard-luck outing for Arturs Silovs, who was left defenceless on an odd-man rush goal and saw deflections off a stick and a skate get by him during a strong 27-save performance.

Article content

However, just two shots in the first 15 minutes of the third period Sunday in Nashville looked like the difference. And just 17 overall as the Canucks approached a critical crunch time was going to be the story of a setback to the Predators in Music City.

The series was supposedly going back to Vancouver even at two wins apiece. And then it happened. And again in overtime.

With Silovs pulled for an extra attacker, Brock Boeser scored his second goal of the game at 17:11 to make it 3-2 and provide a sliver of hope.

And with Silovs pulled again, the Canucks winger got to his own rebound from the side of the net with just eight seconds remaining and scored from behind the goal-line to draw his club even.

Advertisement 3

Article content


NEXT GAME

Canucks vs. Predators

When/Where: Tuesday, 7 p.m., Rogers Arena
TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet650


His first career playoff hat-trick brought overtime. And just 1:01 into the extra session, Elias Lindholm was left alone in the slot. He took a sweet Conor Garland feed to secure a stunning 4-3 victory.

“We’ve had a few scenarios this season where we’ve gotten some 6-on-5 goals,” said Boeser. “We kind of know the looks that we want. Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t. Luckily, they went in tonight.”

And that allowed Lindholm to play hero.

“I got into the O-zone and Garland found me with a nice pass,” he said. “Scoring one like this, it’s always a nice feeling. We didn’t play our best game, but when we needed a stop Silovs was there.”

Article content

Advertisement 4

Article content

And so was Boeser when the needed two big goals.

“There have been times this year where we’ve shown a lot of character,”  added Boeser. “That’s prepared us for this moment. I think the message is you can’t give up until the final horn, and we didn’t give up there.

“We continued to battle back and we felt that momentum shift once we tied it up. We were feeling really good going into overtime.”

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs (31) and defenceman Carson Soucy (7) celebrate the team’s 4-3 overtime win against the Nashville Predators Photo by George Walker IV /AP

The Canucks have managed just 71 shots through four series games — which is a historic low in the opening round of the playoffs — yet they found a way Sunday. It was a testament to the belief system that has been there all season.

“That was a pretty special moment for our group,” said Canucks centre J.T. Miller. “Especially with them outplaying us for a heavy portion of the game. We’ve shown a lot of no-quit all year and to see Brock and the team get rewarded, we feel really good.

Advertisement 5

Article content

“We have strap them (skates) on a little tighter for the next one. We have elevate our game. We need to be a hell of a lot better than we were today.”

Sustainability and resilience were calling cards to get the Canucks to the playoffs. Now that mantra is being put to the ultimate test. Boeser responded with the sixth postseason hat-trick in Canucks history and just the third game-tying goal with less than 10 seconds left in the third.

“You’ve got to take the positives, but we’ve got some work to do obviously,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “We’re not moving our feet and losing some battles. We’ve got to get some guys in the fight.”

Here’s what else we learned as Mark Jankowski, Gustav Nyquist and Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators while J.T. Miller had the other goal for the Canucks:

Advertisement 6

Article content


Elias Lindholm of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates his game winning goal against the Nashville Predators during overtime of Game Four of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 28, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Brett Carlsen /Getty Images

Latvian laps up tough challenge

‘No Stranger To Danger.’

Silovs could have that slogan emblazoned on a t-shirt.

The lanky, fun-loving Latvian backstopped his native county to world championship bronze last May by beating the U.S. and Casey DeSmith in overtime. He was also named the event’s most valuable player.

On Sunday, he was summoned to the big stage in Nashville.

With DeSmith sustaining a minor ailment late in Game 3 after backstopping a 2-1 victory over the Predators to provide a 2-1 series lead, the drama in Music City shifted to the next big thing on the entertainment horizon.

Not sure if the 6-foot-4 Silovs can sing, but the 23-year-old made some sweet music in the crease and kept his club within striking range.

Advertisement 7

Article content

The recalled Nikita Tolopilo had the best seat in the house to watch Silovs. He was the back-up, while DeSmith served as designated EBUG (emergency back-up), which is a good injury sign.

A bad sign was the Canucks once again off their regular-season shot pace with just 20 shots.

So was Elias Pettersson still looking hesitant and reluctant to play to his normal strengths by passing on shots and putting pucks into skates. He had no shots and no attempts.


Vancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs (31) blocks a shot on goal against the Nashville Predators during the second period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by George Walker IV /AP

Silovs gave them a chance

He was good early and often.

The only shots that beat Silovs were a deft deflection of a point shot by Jankowski, a 2-on-1 break where Nikita Zadorov backed up in the slot and let his stopper deal with Nyquist, who picked short side.

And then a deflection off the skate of Forsberg 12 seconds into the third period. It was looking like that kind of day.

Advertisement 8

Article content

Silovs started with a one-timer save off Dante Fabbro and held his ground as Michael McCarron crashed his crease. In the second period, he stared down Kiefer Sherwood and stayed strong in another crease mosh-pit.

And with the Canucks trailing 2-1, he made a shorthanded save off Sherwood on a 2-on-1 break before getting a glove on a quick snap shot by Anthony Beauvillier.

“I knew it was going to be a big game and impact the series dramatically,” Silovs said of his first post-season start and win. “I was ready to do my best. It’s a huge relief. It was a character win and what this team has shown so many times.

“The guys did an amazing job and I just leaned on my technique.”

Silovs took a 3-0-1 record, 2.47 goals-against average and .881 save percentage this NHL season into the Sunday showdown. He went 3-2-0 last season with a 2.75 GAA and .908 percentage.

Advertisement 9

Article content

“Let the game come to you,” he told Postmedia earlier this season. “You don’t really have to be stressed out about it. Wait for the moment that you have worked for to see the puck and make the save.

“It’s a great opportunity to play at this level to show the world how you can play. Relax. Do your thing and use your instincts.”


Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks scrap in the final seconds of the second period of Game Four of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 28, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Brett Carlsen /Getty Images

Hughes really in playoff crosshairs

Star players get the star treatment in the post-season.

It’s not plaudits. It’s pain. And plenty of it.

At one point in the first period, Quinn Hughes was the meat in a big Predators checking sandwich. He was crunched hard and went to the bench doubled over in obvious discomfort. He missed his next shift before returning.

Hughes has absorbed more than a dozen hits in this series and it seems like a lot more.

Advertisement 10

Article content

Time and space are always at a premium in the post-season. However, the Predators are getting through the neutral zone in numbers to physically corner Hughes so he can’t spin out of trouble and trigger the transition.

It’s one of the key adjustments the Canucks had to make going into Game 4. Not just to escape their zone quickly and use those long-up feeds from Hughes, but to keep their captain healthy.

Hughes gutted it out and had no shots on four attempts Sunday in 24:09 of ice time.

“They (Predators) are running him,” said Tocchet. “That’s playoff hockey and we have to help him out. But if we’re skating quicker and winning battles, they’re not going to have chances to hit. That will help Huggy. Nashville sends three at you. You get into trouble when you hold on to pucks too long.”

Advertisement 11

Article content


Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) celebrates his game-tying hat trick goal with Conor Garland, right, late in the third period against the Predators. Photo by George Walker IV /AP

The Connection quickly connects

Players talk about a good looks, good plans and a good feel.

Miller and Boeser had all of that early to answer the coach’s call for more effectiveness at even strength.

On a set play in the offensive zone off a face-off, Miller won the draw back to Carson Soucy and then moved from left to right to his designated spot in the high slot. He knew where an untouched Boeser was situated at the far sideboards.

Miller then quickly whipped a cross-ice feed and Boeser unleashed a perfect wrister in one motion that packed velocity and accuracy to open scoring before three minutes elapsed.

You couldn’t have draw it up any better. It also marks the 13th this season the Canucks struck on they first shot, which leads the league. Boeser finished with eight shots and 12 attempts.

Advertisement 12

Article content

OVERTIME — DeSmith practised Saturday and Tocchet said he was prepared to go Sunday, but the club wanted to take the safe route. Tocchet admitted DeSmith is an option for Game 5, but there’s confidence with Silovs. “The prudent thing is to get Casey healthy.” The Canucks got a scare in the first period when a puck deflected off the blade of Tylers Myers’ stick and struck him in the visor. He fell to the ice but got back up and carried on.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

GET YOUR CANUCKS PLAYOFF POSTERS: We are proud to partner with the Vancouver Canucks to bring you this year’s edition of the longtime Province tradition, the Canucks Playoff Poster series. CLICK HERE to get a new player poster emailed to you every game day!

Recommended from Editorial

  1. Canucks vs Predators: Brock Boeser’s Game 4 hat trick one for the history books

  2. Canucks vs. Predators: ‘It wasn’t accidental.’ Rick Tocchet takes issue with fined hit on Casey DeSmith

Article content

Comments

Join the Conversation

This Week in Flyers

Adblock test (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Ravens win fifth straight game by beating Bucs 41-31

Published

 on

 

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:

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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

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

Published

 on

 

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.

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

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

Published

 on

 

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.

___

AP sports:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version