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Canucks game recap, Feb 6, 2024: 3-2 win vs Carolina Hurricanes – Vancouver Is Awesome

Published

9 months ago

February 7, 2024

Elias Lindholm, welcome to the Vancouver Canucks.

A week after he was traded from the Calgary Flames, Lindholm made his debut for the Canucks on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. It couldn’t have gone much better.

The story on Tuesday could have been how Andrei Kuzmenko, who went to the Flames as part of the deal to get Lindholm, scored on his very first shot on goal with his new team. There could have been all sorts of fretting that Kuzmenko would find his game again in Calgary and that the Canucks made a big mistake trading him away — not that a single game would be enough time to judge any trade.

But Lindholm immediately changed the narrative when he also scored on his first shot on goal, albeit a tip rather than an actual shot.

It’s probably the first time two players traded for each other scored their first goals with their new teams on their first shots for their new teams in their first period with their new teams. That’s pretty wild.

Then Lindholm scored another goal, again with a tip on the power play, scoring as many goals on tips in one game as Kuzmenko has scored all season.

For Lindholm, however, it wasn’t just the two goals that made his Canucks debut such a success. Instead, it was how he immediately had the trust of the coaching staff and contributed in every facet of the game.

Lindholm played over 21 minutes against the Hurricanes, leading all Canucks forwards in ice time. He was on the first power play unit, yes, but he was also first over the boards on the penalty kill with Teddy Blueger.

Defending a one-goal lead, Lindholm played 2:36 of the final five minutes, including the final shift of the game.

“Putting the goals aside…just at the end, that blocked shot, knowing when to be aggressive and when not to be,” said head coach Rick Tocchet. “When you go through the tape tomorrow, you see hockey IQ plays. [Lindholm] was great tonight for us.”

Most importantly, Lindholm played in a match-up role with Elias Pettersson and Ilya Mikheyev against the Hurricanes’ top line and shut them down. That’s not something that line could have done with Kuzmenko on the wing.

“He’s a massive add,” said Quinn Hughes. “He’s not going to have two goals every game but just, in the end taking faceoffs, competing, his defensive game, his O-zone game, creating — he’s an excellent, excellent player and he’s going to have a lot of success here.”

I saw the start of that success when I watched this game.

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The game didn’t start that great for Lindholm, who had multiple scoring chances where he couldn’t even direct the puck on net. Three times he was set up for chances on the top of the crease and couldn’t get a shot on goal and he whiffed on a rebound chance off a Mikheyev shot. Of course, the upside is that he was in the right spot for all of those almost chances, which speaks well to the process of how he was playing, even if he wasn’t getting the results. “Trust the process,” as the Philadelphia 76ers said.
The power play got off to a terrible start too. Jordan Martinook chased down a puck in the Canucks’ zone while penalty killing and Sam Lafferty gave him a bump in the corner, then absent-mindedly left Martinook all alone. Martinook took advantage of the lack of supervision and ate all the candy in the house, then also went to the net, took a pass from Teuvo Teravainen, and snuck a backhand past Thatcher Demko to open the scoring.
Nikita Zadorov absolutely clobbered Jalen Chatfield with an open-ice hit with five minutes to go in the first period. That’s some future-ex-Canuck on current-ex-Canuck violence.

The funniest moment of the first period was when J.T. Miller tried to call a puck-over-glass penalty on the Hurricanes, loudly declaring, “That’s a penalty!” before correcting himself and saying, “No it’s not,” a moment later, much to the amusement of John Shorthouse. Can’t blame a guy for trying.

The Good Job Boys — Conor Garland, Dakota Joshua, and Teddy Blueger — were fantastic in this game and had several momentum-moving shifts where they pinned the Hurricanes into their own zone and created dangerous chances, with Garland putting their best chance off the underside of the crossbar. The trio didn’t put up any points on the actual scoreboard but they put up lots of points on the metaphorical scoreboard inside my heart and isn’t that what really matters?
The Canucks tied the game on the power play by keeping things simple. With the Hurricanes’ penalty kill pressuring their shooters on the walls and in the bumper, Lindholm was left alone in front and Hughes took advantage, sliding to the middle of the ice and flinging a shot intentionally wide. Lindholm, like e’rybody in the club, got tipsy and deftly deflected the puck inside the post.
“If I throw it to him in here,” said Hughes of his shot placement as he gestured toward the middle of his body, “it’s hard for him to tip. I’ve got to trust that he’s going to be able to tip that, so part of it is me trying to get it down there to him and the rest is him doing what he does.”
Lindholm did it again in the second period. Miller and Lindholm rotated net-front duties and the Hurricanes’ penalty kill again left him alone in front. He posted up in front of goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov as Hughes jumped down the boards. This time, Hughes sent a puck towards the far post and, as Kochetkov cheated to his left to take the shot in his crest, Lindholm tipped the puck back against the grain to make it 2-1.
“When they’re playing us high like they did today with Petey and Millsy and whatnot, we’re going to have to throw pucks down there and be able to create that way too,” said Hughes. “If you watch the Rangers, they can beat you with Panarin and Fox up top and Zibanejad, but they have a ton of success with Kreider tip-ins.”
The Canucks were all over the Hurricanes through the first half of the game, out-shooting the Hurricanes 15-to-7 and controlling puck possession 5-on-5, which isn’t easy to do against the Hurricanes, who are the strongest puck-possession team in the NHL. After the halfway mark, however, the Hurricanes out-shot the Canucks 17-to-4 — it’s just that the Canucks scored two goals on those four shots. PDO is still the Canucks’ best friend.
Ilya Mikheyev looked refreshed and renewed coming out of the All-Star break and it’s hard not to speculate that he’s still feeling the effects of the ACL tear that required surgery last year. Even though Mikheyev can clearly play, those types of injuries can take a long time to fully recover and the break to rest his knee appears to have done him a lot of good.
Zadorov probably got a very stern talking-to from Tocchet when he caused a too many men penalty at the end of the second period. He came on for Pius Suter at the same time that Nils Höglander also came on for Suter and, since Suter and Höglander are forwards and Zadorov is not, he’s probably the one that wasn’t supposed to go on. I did enjoy Zadorov’s innocent, “Who me?” gesture as the penalty was called, as if he wasn’t the third defenceman on the ice. Tocchet probably enjoyed it less.

The Hurricanes immediately tied the game on the power play. Sebastian Aho ripped the puck directly into the top corner of the net and it was the type of shot where you kind of just have to shrug your shoulders and say, “Yeah, elite players will do that sometimes.” Maybe Noah Juulsen should have positioned himself slightly better to take away the far side of the net and force Aho to shoot short side, but that’s nit-picking on a goalscorer’s goal.
The Canucks got a bounce to go their way on the game-winning goal in the third period, which sounds crazy, I know. This year’s Canucks getting a bounce? The PDO Kings of the Western Conference? Those Canucks? That doesn’t sound like them at all.
Tyler Myers picked off a clearance in the neutral zone and dumped the puck in as Miller and Suter tagged up, with Brock Boeser patiently waiting to enter the zone to prevent an offside. The puck took an odd deflection off a stanchion and ricocheted to the side of the net, where an alert Boeser jumped to it. He was checked as he shot, sending the puck sliding to the front of the net to Miller for an open net. It helped that Kotchetkov was more casual than Chewbacca piloting a stolen Imperial shuttle.
Thatcher Demko shut the door from there, stopping all nine shots he faced after Miller’s goal to finish with 22 saves on 24 shots. Demko was solid, but it’s worth noting that 24 shots is the third-fewest shots for the Hurricanes all season, tying the last time the Canucks played the Hurricanes back in December. The Canucks limiting the shot-happy Hurricanes like this is a very good sign.
The Canucks got some big shot blocks to close out the game too, which played a role in the limited shots. Joshua slid across to block a Brady Skjei one-timer off a faceoff play, then Lindholm got in the way of a Dmitry Orlov one-timer to close out the game in the final seconds. In total, the Canucks blocked twenty shots, with Lindholm leading the way with three blocks. The Canucks were blocking more than the average person trying to salvage their experience on Twitter these days.
I also enjoyed Elias Pettersson recognizing the game was in its final seconds and laying out his entire body to take away the passing lane. Pettersson knew that Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s sauce wasn’t strong enough to get the puck over his body. It was weak sauce.

The Canucks ought to be careful. They’re becoming entirely too likeable.

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Ravens win fifth straight game by beating Bucs 41-31

Published

11 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

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:

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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.

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

Published

11 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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

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11 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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