VANCOUVER — The start was nice, the finish even more impressive.
The Vancouver Canucks, whose play was as inconsistent as their win-one-lose-one results the last three weeks, put together close to a full game Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, winning 4-3 at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks outshot the visitors 13-2 in the first 14 minutes and against a Carolina team that dominates shot metrics in the National Hockey League like the moon dominates tides, Vancouver yielded only four even-strength shots through two periods. Four!
Still, when Stefan Noesen tapped-in from a cross-bar rebound at 2:10 of the third period, the Canucks somehow found themselves tied 3-3.
But then Canuck Elias Pettersson capped his three-point night by beating Sebastian Aho and Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta on a wrap around just 79 seconds later, and Vancouver maintained one of its few perfections — improving to 15-0-0 when leading after two periods.
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“These days, no lead is really that safe,” Canucks checking centre Teddy Blueger said. “You know, teams are coming back from four goals down. So you’ve got to stay on it and be disciplined and diligent in your game, and I thought we did a pretty good job. It’s really satisfying.
“I think down the stretch, those kinds of situations are going to be really important: defending with a lead, playing five against six.”
Canuck J.T. Miller said: “We just want to be comfortable in that situation. I know that’s easier said than done. If we want to be where we’re at, we’re going to be in that situation a lot, you know, up one or two going into the third period. We don’t want to change our game and sit back. If you sit back, teams are going to eat you alive.”
The Hurricanes aren’t dining on anyone lately, having lost four straight games in what has been a perplexing start for the analytics darlings who are annually picked to contend for the Stanley Cup.
But even amid their mini-crisis, the Hurricanes are runaway NHL leaders in five-on-five shot share at 60.1 per cent (before Saturday). They also lead in shots on goal at 34.6 per game and shot-differential at plus-10 per game.
Yes, there are a lot of empty calories in there for a team that emphasizes shot volume.
But Carolina’s 24 shots on goalie Thatcher Demko matched its second-fewest this season. Ten of those shots came in the third period. And only 14 of them came at even-strength.
Five power plays, including two too-many-players penalties against the Canucks, got the Hurricanes into the game and brought them within a goal when Brady Skjei scored in the final minute of the second period after Vancouver defenceman Quinn Hughes jumped on early on a change.
The Canucks essentially disarmed the Hurricanes at even strength. It’s like they took fire away from the dragon and dared it to beat them by spitting sunflower seeds instead. The Hurricanes came close.
“We knew the kind of game we had to play,” Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers said. “I think it’s a sign that we’re maturing as a group. This is the way games are going to be later in the year, so we need to be ready and prepared for that type of fight. We knew they were going to come out hard in the third and they got the tying goal there early.
“But I love how our group stuck with it and Petey had a big goal for us to go back ahead. We just played a really solid game — one of our more consistent games. We’re starting to do the things again to allow us to be successful. We need to realize it’s a good formula and get more consistent with it.”
After skating in quicksand at the start of Thursday’s 2-0 win against the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks have built five straight periods of solid defending and puck management. They’ve also won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 15.
“We knew what kind of team they are and what kind of game it would be,” Pettersson said. “We talked about it and I think we executed mostly well tonight. It was a very grinding game but I’m happy with our team performance.”
He should be happy with his own. After scuffling along with the Canucks in the second half of November, Pettersson had a goal and two primary assists in 19:45 of ice time, and suddenly has seven points in the first four games of December.
“I mean, I’m always trying to be the best version or best player I can be every game,” Pettersson said. “Honestly, sometimes it’s not going the way you want. It’s just always trying to find (your way) back to the groove.”
It looks like he’s got his groove back. The Canucks are starting to rediscover theirs, too.
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.
