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Cup Qualifiers Buzz: Pacioretty remains away from Golden Knights – NHL.com

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Welcome to the Stanley Cup Qualifiers Buzz. The 24 teams who will be competing for the Stanley Cup are in their respective hub cities (Toronto for the 12 Eastern Conference teams, Edmonton for the 12 Western Conference teams). Exhibition games started Tuesday and the Stanley Cup Qualifiers begin Saturday.

Here’s a look around the League at the latest from the Qualifiers:

 
Vegas Golden Knights

Max Pacioretty remains away from the Golden Knights and will not play in their exhibition game against the Arizona Coyotes at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; NHLN, NHL.TV, FS-A Plus).

The forward did not travel with Vegas to Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city, after being ruled unfit to play during training camp.

“Not playing tonight,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “Not here yet, but improving quickly. That’s about all I have.” 

As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

Pacioretty led the Golden Knights with 32 goals and 66 points in 71 games but was week to week when the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. He hasn’t practiced since July 20.

The Golden Knights will play the Dallas Stars in their first game of the round-robin portion of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers on Monday (6:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, NHL.TV, SN1, ATTSN-RM, FS-SW). They also play the St. Louis Blues (Aug. 6) and the Colorado Avalanche (Aug. 8). The round-robin portion will determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the West.

 
Washington Capitals

John Carlson did not practice with the Capitals on Thursday, one day after leaving an exhibition game against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

“We’ll continue to treat him and make a decision as we go along here,” Capitals coach Todd Reirden said of the defenseman. “We’ll obviously have a day off tomorrow. So expect to have him back [Saturday].” 

Carlson left the game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wednesday with 10 minutes remaining after he became tangled with Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter before falling into the end boards. 

The Capitals will play in the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN360, TVAS, SUN, NBCSWA). They also will play the Philadelphia Flyers (Aug. 6) and the Boston Bruins (Aug. 9) in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city, to determine seeding for the playoffs. — Wes Crosby

 
Florida Panthers

Aaron Ekblad will be in the lineup for the Florida Panthers against the New York Islanders in Game 1 of their best-of-5 qualifier series at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV, TVAS, SN1, MSG+).

The defenseman practiced Thursday in Toronto one day after missing a 5-0 exhibition loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I feel great,” Ekblad said. “I feel ready to go. Really excited to play here in the playoffs against the Islanders. It’s really exciting. It’s something we’ve been dreaming about for a long time and we’re finally here. We want to seize this opportunity.”

Ekblad scored 41 points (five goals, 36 assists) in 67 games before the season was paused. His defenese partner, MacKenzie Weegar, also practiced Thursday after not playing against the Lightning.

“[Weegar] was fine today,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. “He practiced, did a good job, looked good. We liked his practice as well. It was a good day for him.” — Alain Poupart

Boston Bruins

David Pastrnak was in the lineup for an exhibition game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Thursday.

Pastrnak practiced Wednesday, his third straight day on the ice since the Bruins arrived in Toronto on Monday. He hadn’t taken part in a full-team practice during training camp, which opened in Massachusetts on July 13. He skated with a small group of teammates July 15.

The Bruins begin the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers in Toronto against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, and also play the Tampa Bay Lightning (Aug. 5) and Washington Capitals (Aug. 9) to determine seeding for the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

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David Lipsky shoots 65 to take 1st-round lead at Silverado in FedEx Cup Fall opener

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NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.

Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.

After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.

“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”

Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.

“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”

Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.

Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.

Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.

Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.

Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.

Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.

Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.

Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.

Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.

Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.

That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.

“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”

Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.

Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.

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AP golf:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic advances to quarterfinals at Guadalajara Open

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.

The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.

The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.

Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.

However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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France investigating disappearances of 2 Congolese Paralympic athletes

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PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.

Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.

Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.

The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.

The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.

Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.

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AP Paralympics:

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