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Canucks erase three-goal deficit, stun Blue Jackets for fifth-straight win – Sportsnet.ca

Published

3 years ago

December 15, 2021

VANCOUVER — Bo Horvat scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks gritted out a 4-3 comeback win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Horvat buried his second of the game on a power play with 58.8 seconds left on the clock. Elias Pettersson and Vasily Podkolzin also scored for the Canucks (13-15-2) while Quinn Hughes collected three assists.

Eric Robinson had two goals for the Blue Jackets (14-12-1), who also got a goal from Max Domi and two assists from Alexandre Texier.

Vancouver’s Jaroslav Halak stopped 21-of-24 shots in his first start since Nov. 28 and Elvis Merzlikins made 35 saves for Columbus.

The victory extends the Canucks’ win streak to five games, all under head coach Bruce Boudreau, who took over on Dec. 5.

Vancouver went down to two defenceman midway through the first period after Tucker Poolman was pulled from the game and place in the NHL’s COVI-19 protocol.

He was the fourth Canucks player to enter protocol Tuesday, following fellow defencemen Luke Schenn and Brad Hunt, and winger Juho Lahmmikko.

Vancouver recalled Phillip Di Giuseppe from the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks Tuesday to help bolster the depleted roster. To make room for the transaction, defenceman Travis Hamonic was placed on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

The Canucks came into the third period down 3-1 but refused to relent, outshooting the Blue Jackets 13-7 across the frame.

They got a prime opportunity with just 72 seconds left on the game clock when Blue Jackets defenceman Andrew Peeke was called for holding.

Vancouver called a timeout to scheme, then Horvat deflected a shot in past Merzlikins to give the home team a 4-3 lead with just 58.8 seconds to go.

The Canucks were 1 for 2 with the man advantage Tuesday and the Blue Jackets were scoreless on their lone power play.

Podkolzin buried the equalizer 9:35 into the third. The Russian rookie collected the puck from Hughes and fired a quick wrist shot in past the Columbus netminder.

Rogers Arena erupted in chants of “Bruce, there it is!” in tribute to the team’s head coach, Bruce Boudreau.

Vancouver nearly drew even earlier in the period when Pettersson sent Tyler Motte a slick pass, springing him for a breakaway. Merzlikins stuck out his right pad to stop the ensuing shot.

Pettersson narrowed the deficit to a single goal 4:07 into the third, picking up the rebound on a Garland’s shot and jamming a wrist shot in from the side of the net. It was the Swedish centre’s sixth goal of the season.

Tempers flared midway through the second after Columbus defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov cross-checked Conor Garland behind the net. Garland was quick to drop his gloves as the whistle blew, but no real blows were exchanged before the pair were separated by officials.

Garland was called for roughing and Gavrikov headed to the box for cross-checking, leaving each side with four men apiece.

Vancouver took advantage of the open ice, with Horvat getting the puck at the top of the circle, quickly assessing his options, then riffling a shot over Merzlikins for his eighth goal of the year.

The Canucks struggled mightily through the first period, getting solidly outchanced and repeatedly turning over pucks.

Robinson put away his second goal of the game 16:18 into the game. He beat Horvat and Tanner Pearson in a foot race through the neutral zone, got to the puck first and blasted a shot from inside the face-off circle, beating Halak glove side to give Columbus a 3-0 lead.

Domi put the visitors up earlier in the frame. Halak stopped a long bomb by Gabriel Carlsson but couldn’t control the rebound and Domi tapped it in from the side of the net.

The Blue Jackets opened the scoring 4:20 into the first period off a two-on-one rush. Vancouver defenceman Noah Juulsen dropped to the ice in an attempt to stop a pass from Texier to Robinson, but his manoeuvre came too early. Texier dished the puck to Robinson at the top of the crease and the left-winger popped it in past Halak for his fourth goal of the season.

The Canucks will face the Sharks in San Jose on Thursday. The Blue Jackets will take on the Oilers in Edmonton the same night.

NOTES: Canucks defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned to the lineup after missing three games with an undisclosed injury. ? Juulsen played his first game for his hometown Canucks. Vancouver acquired the 24-year-old blue liner and Lahmmikko from the Florida Panthers in a trade for Olli Juolevi in October.

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Red Wings sign Raymond to 8-year, $64.6 million contract

Published

8 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.

Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.

The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.

Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.

Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.

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Cousins caps winning drive with TD pass to London as Falcons rally past Eagles 22-21

Published

8 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.

The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.

Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.

Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.

The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.

And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.

Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.

Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.

Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.

Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.

Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.

With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.

Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.

Questionable call

Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.

Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.

Running wild

Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.

Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.

Foles honored

Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”

Injuries

The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).

Up next

Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.

The Eagles play at New Orleans on Sunday.

___

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Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

20 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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