Sports

Canucks rally for comeback win over Predators in Game 1 – Vancouver Is Awesome

Published

5 months ago

April 22, 2024

Stanley Cup Playoff hockey returned to Vancouver on Sunday night and was welcomed by twirling towels and a roaring crowd.

The crowd only grew louder when the Canucks came out with a heavy, physical first period, throwing a total of 20 hits, led by Dakota Joshua’s four hits. The loudest cheers of all came when Thatcher Demko made a brilliant right pad save, sliding to his right in a full split to rob former Canuck Anthony Beauvillier.

But the starch was taken out of the Canucks and the crowd when Jason Zucker opened the scoring 16:15 into the first period. Left open at the right boards off a faceoff, Zucker sent a shot through traffic that beat Thatcher Demko on the short side.

As much as the Canucks looked dangerous, they only had four shots in the first, as they too often looked for the perfect play instead of putting the puck on net. Ultimately, it was an ideal period for the Predators.

The Canucks responded the way they needed to in the second period, getting a crucial goal from their big trade acquisition, Elias Lindholm. A smooth breakout from Nikita Zadorov and Dakota Joshua sent Lindholm flying down the left wing and he unleashed a wristshot that fooled Predators goaltender Juuse Saros, sneaking just under his blocker.

The Predators once again broke the tie, this time on the power play. Some crisp passing gave Ryan O’Reilly an open shot from the left faceoff circle and he sniped past Demko. Luke Evangelista, looking for the tip, made contact with Demko’s glove as reached for the puck and Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet took a long look but ultimately chose not to challenge. The puck was arguably past Demko already when the contact was made.

That sent the Canucks into the second intermission down by a goal. There was a nervous energy in the building, as fans wondered if the Canucks’ return to the postseason would go sideways so soon.

That nervous energy erupted into deafening cheers in the third period when the Canucks scored two quick goals to take the lead.

It started with the team’s leader, captain Quinn Hughes, because how could it start with anyone else? Nothing materialized from a promising rush by Brock Boeser but he knew just who to feed the puck. With J.T. Miller providing the screen, Hughes slung the puck from the point and got a tip from Pius Suter to send the puck past Saros to tie the game.

12 seconds later, the third line came up with the go-ahead goal. Lindholm crashed in on the forecheck to free up the puck and Conor Garland sent that loose puck in front to Dakota Joshua. The big man, who had been playing a hard game all night, showed his soft hands, corralling the puck and dragging it in towards his body before suddenly pushing the shot back against the grain to beat Saros.

From there, the Canucks did what they’ve done all season: they closed out the game.

The Canucks pressured the puck aggressively up ice to prevent the Predators from gaining the offensive zone. Whenever they did, Demko was there to make the save. Then, to ice the game, Joshua hit the Predators’ empty net from his own zone.

By the end of the game, there was no more nervous energy. Just pure playoff joy.

BOXSCORE

Want a more in-depth recap of the game? Read the I Watched This Game feature. Don’t forget to follow @passittobulis on X/Twitter to stay updated on the Canucks throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Canada to face three-time champion Germany in Davis Cup quarterfinals

Published

18 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON – Canada will meet three-time champion Germany in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain this November.

Canada secured a berth in the quarterfinals — also called The Final 8 Knockout Stage — with a 2-1 win over Britain last weekend in Manchester, England.

World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal anchored a five-player squad that included Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.

The eight-team draw for the quarterfinals was completed Thursday at International Tennis Federation headquarters.

Defending champion Italy will play Argentina, the United States will meet Australia and Spain will take on the Netherlands. Schedule specifics have yet to be released but the Final 8 will be played Nov. 19-24.

Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz were unbeaten in doubles play last week to help Germany reach the quarterfinals. The country’s top singles player — second-ranked Alex Zverev — did not play.

The Canadians defeated Germany in the quarterfinals en route to their lone Davis Cup title in 2022. Germany won titles in 1988, ’89 and ’93.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Canadian men climb two places to No. 38 in latest FIFA world rankings

Published

20 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Canada, fuelled by a 2-1 win over the U.S. and scoreless draw with Mexico, has jumped two places to No. 38 in the FIFA men’s world rankings released Thursday.

Of the top six CONCACAF teams, Canada was the only one to move up. Mexico was unchanged at No. 17 while the U.S. and Panama each fell two rungs to No. 18 and 37, respectively

Costa Rica slipped one spot to No. 50 and Jamaica two places to No. 61.

It marks Canada’s highest ranking under coach Jesse Marsch, who was hired in mid-May when the Canadians were ranked 50th. Since then, the team has climbed to No. 49, 48, 40 and now 38.

Canada has been as high as No. 33 in the men’s ranking, achieved in February 2022 under John Herdman with Canada, named the “Most Improved Side” in 2021 by FIFA, turning heads with an unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

The new rankings encompass 184 internationals involving teams from all six confederations including 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Oceania and South America.

The top 10 was unchanged with Argentina ahead of France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia and Italy. But the gap at the top is closing with Argentina losing 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy.

Teams 10 through 15 were also unchanged. But there was movement after that in the form of Japan (, up two), Iran (No. 19, up one) and Denmark (No. 20, up one). Egypt (No. 31), Ivory Coast (No. 33), Tunisia (No. 36) and Algeria (No. 41) all jumped five places while Greece (No. 48) climbed six spots.

The biggest movers were Brunei Darussalam (No. 183) and Samoa (No. 185), who vaulted seven spots on the back of two wins apiece.

Qatar suffered the biggest drop, tumbling 10 places to No. 44.

San Marino remains at the bottom of the rankings in 210th place despite recording its first victory in more than 20 years, San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 on Sept. 5, ending a 140-game winless run since a 1-0 decision over the same opponent in April 2004.

Liechtenstein fell four places to No. 203.

Canada’s next match is an Oct. 15 friendly against Panama at Toronto’s BMO Field. The next men’s ranking will be released Oct. 24.

—

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024

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Brian White scores second-half goal, earns Whitecaps 1-1 draw with Dynamo

Published

10 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Anne Joseph

HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.

Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.

Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.

Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.

Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.

Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.

Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.

The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.

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AP MLS:

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