Sports

Coyotes, gaining confidence, face off against struggling Kings

Published

3 years ago

November 21, 2021

After a dismal start to the season — losing their first 11 games to kick off the campaign and with just one victory in 15 outings — the Arizona Coyotes finally have some good news.

As the Coyotes travel to face the suddenly struggling Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, it’s one night after claiming their third victory of the season, and second in three outings, with a 2-1 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings that was decided after a third-period comeback.

The positive momentum is noticeable for the Coyotes, who still remain last in the league standings.

“We’re starting to figure some things out,” said forward Clayton Keller, who scored the overtime winner over the Red Wings. “We’re sharper in the defensive zone. It’s a great group in that locker room, a great coaching staff, they all want us to succeed.”

Added coach Andre Tourigny: “We’re playing much better and have more confidence. We still have to battle really hard every day, and we do. We have a group that doesn’t mind the work. It’s more fun when you get the results.”

One key has been the play of goaltender Scott Wedgewood. Since he was claimed off waivers from the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 4, Wedgewood has posted a 3-1-1 record with 9.40 save percentage and 2.04 goals-against average.

“I’m just happy to be a part of it,” Wedgewood said. “The group’s got some confidence right now, we’re getting some points, which is huge for this team. I’m enjoying it. It’s been feeling like home the last two weeks.”

The Kings return to action after dropping a 5-4 clash with the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. They have lost three straight since their seven-game winning streak.

The high-scoring defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes is not at all what the Kings want in their games.

“I think our team is built to win maybe more of a 3-2 type, tight-checking game,” forward Blake Lizotte said. “It was a little too loose for us, racehorse hockey, trading chances back and forth and that’s not typically our identity. Moving forward, we need to get back to our identity and play a little bit more tight-checking.”

A greater commitment to defensive play and better coverage will be front and center against the Coyotes.

“We’ll look at the chances that we created and those would obviously be positive, and then what can we clean up,” coach Todd McLellan said. “There’s some careless pinches, lack of cover, we got beat with speed a little bit and a lot of that was backend reads more than the forwards. We’ll talk with the defensemen a little bit and try to fix things there. It will also be to cleanse and move on.”

Losing a game is one thing, but losing a game in which a team scores four times makes it more disappointing.

“There’s situations that we can play better defensively. I’m happy that we had the offense we had, and there could have been more,” McLellan said. “Again, with the two-on-ones and not even getting a shot on goal … there could have been more. That’s the positive, the offense is there. Line combinations, whether they worked or not, maybe we found something. The negative is we got away from who we are and what we do well.”

–Field Level Media

Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

20 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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Sports

Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

20 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Sports

Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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