VANCOUVER — As he hit another career high Thursday, J.T. Miller’s focus was firmly set on another goal — dragging the Vancouver Canucks into the playoffs.
The high-flying forward tallied five assists as the Canucks dismantled the struggling Arizona Coyotes 7-1 on Thursday.
The five-point night was a career high for Miller, who leads Vancouver in scoring with 91 points (29 goals, 62 assists) on the season.
“I try to feel like I’m never satisfied,” he said. “I’ve got an amazing opportunity since I’ve been here, I’ve got to play in every situation, which is something I’ve worked for my whole career.
“But that being said, it doesn’t really mean (much) to me if we don’t play in the playoffs. I really just want to play in the playoffs because when you score in the playoffs that’s when it means a lot.”
Thursday’s result extended Vancouver’s win streak to five straight games and preserved the team’s faint hopes of securing a playoff position. The Canucks (37-28-10) sit five points below the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, who hold the two Western Conference wild-card spots.
Ten different Canucks players got on the scoresheet Thursday, with rookie Vasily Podkolzin netting two goals and an assist, Alex Chiasson scoring twice, and Sheldon Dries, Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland all contributing a goal apiece. Quinn Hughes notched three helpers.
Andrew Ladd replied for the Coyotes (22-47-5), who lost their fifth straight.
Despite the final score, Arizona head coach Andre Tourigny said he liked the way his group played in the third period.
“I think we showed more pride in the third period,” he said. “For me, that’s our team. That’s the way we have to fight. We talked about it before the game and we got better on that, so that’s a positive.”
It was a relatively quiet night in net for Thatcher Demko, who made 21 saves for the win.
Arizona’s Karel Vejmelka stopped 16 of 22 shots before being replaced by Harri Sateri to start the third period. Sateri made four saves in relief.
It was the third game in a row that Vejmelka gave up six goals.
“NHL for me is full of slumps,” Tourigny said of the netminder. “You need to be able to react to a slump. If you cannot get out of a slump in the NHL, you’re in trouble. You will be a streaky player. NHL is not about that. It’s about being good every day. It’s about consistency.
Vancouver came into the third with a dominant lead and continued to run up the score with Chiasson netting his second tally of the night midway through the period.
Miller dished a slick pass to the veteran forward and he blasted a one-timer past Sateri stick side at the 8:26 mark for his 12th goal of the year.
“I’ve been getting a really good opportunity here to showcase what I can do,” Chiasson said. “Obviously it feels like I’m being able to find my spots on the ice, playing with good players. Hopefully keep this thing going forward, one game at a time.”
Chiasson has been “a pro all year” for the Canucks, said head coach Bruce Boudreau, even through a stretch of three or four games where he was a healthy scratch.
“He never once complained, he just came to work,” Boudreau said. “To see things start to go well for him, you can only be really happy for the guy. And we need it. Guys are getting injured left, right and centre and these guys are stepping up. That’s part of the reason we’re still hanging in this thing.”
Podkolzin buried his second goal of the night with 26.6 seconds left in the middle frame, blasting a one-timer from the faceoff circle to give the Canucks a 6-1 lead.
Garland put away the home side’s fifth of the night 15:39 into the period, finding space between Vejmelka and his post with a wrist shot from the hash marks.
Just 14 seconds earlier, Podkolzin found the back of the net for Vancouver’s third power-play goal of the game after Kyle Capobianco was called for tripping.
Podkolzin pulled the puck across the top of the crease and sent a backhand past Vejmelka while falling to the ice for his 12th goal of the campaign.
Arizona got on the board midway through the second when Kessel sent a shot soaring toward the Vancouver net from the top of the faceoff circle. Demko made the stop but the puck landed at his pads and Ladd shovelled it in over the goal line to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Pettersson added to the Canucks’ cushion 4:29 into the middle frame after the Coyotes were called for too many men.
The Swedish star blasted a one-timer from inside the faceoff circle for his 27th goal of the season.
Vancouver lost a key piece early in the second period when Bo Horvat took a shot from Anton Stralman off the inside of his right ankle. He went directly to the locker room and did not return to the game.
Boudreau said he thinks the Canucks captain will be OK and he’s hoping to have him in the lineup on Monday when Vancouver hosts the Dallas Stars.
Horvat came into the matchup riding a five-game point streak where he amassed five goals and three assists.
The Canucks closed out the first with a 2-0 lead.
Arizona’s J.J. Moser was called for tripping, giving Vancouver its second man advantage of the night.
With just seconds left in the power play, Brad Hunt launched a rocket from the top of the slot and Dries tipped it in for his first goal in a Canucks jersey.
Vancouver went 3-for-4 on the power play Thursday and Arizona was 1-for-2.
Chiasson opened the scoring 10:19 into the game, deflected in a puck from Miller.
The marker extended his point streak to five games, with four goals and four assists across the stretch.
NOTES: The Coyotes will take on the Flames in Calgary on Saturday … Garland is on a five-game point streak with two goals and five assists … The Canucks swept the three-game season series between the two sides.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
