VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks’ so-called “lotto line” is starting to cash in.
The top trio of Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller — dubbed the lotto line for their jersey numbers 6, 40 and 9 — combined for three goals and five points Wednesday as the Canucks downed the Ottawa Senators 5-1.
Miller had two goals and an assist in the victory, but feels he and his linemates have more to give.
“I think we need to push ourselves,” he said. “I know it looks pretty for you guys because I got some points today but at the same time there’s not much difference in the game.”
The line did appear to find its latent chemistry on Wednesday, however.
Early in the second frame, Pettersson looked as if he were about to wind up for a big shot on a breakaway, then dropped a pass to defenceman Quinn Hughes instead. Hughes slipped the puck to Miller and the winger buried it from in tight.
It was Miller’s first goal of the year. Last season he led the Canucks in scoring with 72 points (27 goals, 45 assists) in 69 regular-season games.
The NHL’s COVID-19 protocols kept him out of the lineup for Vancouver’s first three outings this year.
Miller admitted that he initially struggled after returning to the lineup.
“Sure at the beginning, probably the first three games. My legs were seizing up like halfway through the games and it was hard. I definitely had couch legs,” he said.
“But last three or so I felt pretty good. Obviously, I would like to be better on a personal standpoint but my legs weren’t the issue. I was skating well, just wasn’t making the plays I wanted to with the puck in the hard areas.”
Miller also assisted on Pettersson’s goal Wednesday night, a blast from the point on a second-period power play.
The Swedish centre has been limited to two goals so far this year, and said he’s felt the crunch to perform.
“There’s always pressure and I’m the guy that puts the most pressure on me,” Pettersson said. “I always want to play good and I’ll be honest, my first couple of games haven’t been the way I want to play. Today was definitely a step in the right direction, but me and our line, definitely have a lot more to give.”
Tyler Motte also scored twice for Vancouver (4-5-0) on Wednesday, helping the Canucks string together back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Despite the final score, the Senators (1-5-1) tested Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko early and often on Wednesday, outshooting Vancouver 24-7 in the first period alone.
“We were playing fast, we were playing off the forecheck, we were driving the net,” said Sens coach D.J. Smith. “And in the second period, we fell into a rush game. We turned pucks over and we fed their game and when they had opportunities, they put it in the back of the net.”
Demko had 42 saves on the night, and Marcus Hogberg stopped 30-of-35 shots for the Senators.
The goaltender’s play wasn’t Ottawa’s issue on Wednesday, Smith said.
“The goals he gave up were blatant mistakes by us,” the coach said.
The entire Sens team needs to be better in front of its netminder, said centre Josh Norris, who scored Ottawa’s lone goal on power play in the first period Wednesday.
“We’ve let up 10-plus goals in two games. You’re not going to win games like that,” he said. “We’ve scored two goals in the last three games, too, so both those areas, obviously, are not good enough. And it has to improve.”
The Senators have now lost six games in a row. Ottawa has not had a victory since topping Toronto 5-3 to open the season back on Jan. 15.
“We’ve put together a period at a time, two periods at a time, but it seems like, for some reason, we just find one period to fall apart and mess everything up,” Norris said. “We’re young but that’s not an excuse. Just a lot of mistakes that are very preventable, I think.”
The extended losing skid has been difficult to weather, said Sens left-winger Brady Tkachuk.
“Losing sucks. I hate losing, everyone in the room hates losing,” he said. “So we’ve just got to bear down a little bit extra. We’re going to get out of this eventually. We’ve just got to stick together, which we have been, and stay positive. But the focus is on a win tomorrow.”
Ottawa won’t have to wait long for a chance to avenge Wednesday’s loss. The two sides will battle again on Thursday, closing out a three-game series.
NOTES: Ottawa defenceman Christian Woalanin left the game with a lower-body injury in the second period and did not return. … Earlier on Wednesday, the Sens dealt defenceman Christian Jaros to the San Jose Sharks for forward Jack Kopacka and a seventh-round pick in the 2022 entry draft.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
