WINNIPEG — Given the anticipation surrounding the monumental moment that was more than two weeks in the making, it was always going to be difficult for Pierre-Luc Dubois to live up to the hype as he suited up for the Winnipeg Jets for the first time.
But after shaking off the rust during the first period of his first game in nearly three weeks, Dubois got better as the game wore on and showcased the skill set that is sure to endear him to coaches, teammates and an entire fan base that is curious to get to know what the player acquired in the blockbuster deal for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic is made of.
One day after Roslovic supplied the game-winning goal in highlight-reel fashion for his hometown team and Laine found himself stapled to the bench for the final period and change of a 3-2 victory for the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Carolina Hurricanes, Dubois finally made his Jets’ debut.
Although he was held off the scoresheet in the Jets’ 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, Dubois did his part to make a positive first impression.
“You see it’s all there, right? The speed, the strength, the play-making ability, the reads. He’s going to be a great player for us,” said Jets forward Andrew Copp, who assisted on both of the goals from Nikolaj Ehlers. “Really looking forward to having him get comfortable. He’s fit in really well in the room so far. Obviously, he’s been sitting at home for two weeks, pretty much the worst possible thing to do to be ready to go.
“But he did a pretty good job. Definitely wasn’t out of place by any means out there. We’re looking forward to getting into a little bit of a rhythm here with some games every other day to see what he can bring, so we know what he is capable of.”
If you’re looking for smooth circumstances to jump into the lineup, you came to the wrong place.
Because of the quarantine rules, Dubois was off the ice entirely for two weeks, forced to try and stay in shape by working out in his living room with equipment dropped off after his arrival late on Jan. 23.
And because he was benched for the final two periods in his last game with the Blue Jackets on Jan. 21, Dubois had gone three weeks since completing a full contest.
That’s not an easy task at the best of times, let alone the pressurized environment created after Dubois was acquired for a pair of first-round picks, including one that carries the profile and popularity of Laine.
Limited to only five shifts and just over three minutes of ice time in the first period, Dubois eased into things and needed some time to find his way, which was to be expected under the circumstances.
But he found another gear in the second period and maintained a strong level of play in the third as he got into more of a rhythm.
“It’s the first game in 20-something days. The legs, the hands, the head, you’re trying to get everything back and I felt as the game went on, I was getting some things back,” said Dubois, who finished with 20 shifts for 13:10 of ice time. “But I can play a lot better than that. I’ve never been injured, so I’ve never missed a (long) period of time. Going from Game 4 to Game (12) was a big jump. Game 4 was still kind of pre-season. Game (12), you’re in the season.
“During seasons, there are always steps that you take. There’s a step mid-way through the season after a couple of games at Christmas, then the playoff race, then the playoffs. My goal is just to kind of skip that step of the pre-season games and get right to where we’re at right now.”
There were no shot attempts for Dubois in this game as he skated alongside Jets sniper Kyle Connor for the first time, but that didn’t mean the new centre wasn’t involved offensively.
Whether it was imposing his will by making a move to go wide or by driving hard to the net, Dubois started to stand out – in a good way.
“As the minutes kept going, I felt better and better,” said Dubois. “I felt like I was reading plays faster, I was reading positioning faster where in the first period or so, I thought it took me a little bit too long to read. So, I think (with) practice and video and games, slowly it’ll come back.”
Dubois was on the ice for one of the Flames’ even-strength goals, but that was the result of a bouncing puck and a failed box out in front of the net, neither of which had anything to do with his positioning or his responsibilities on the play.
The powerful stride of Dubois was clearly evident during those final 40 minutes of play and he made an impressive across-the-body pass to Connor at the offensive blue line that was simply mesmerizing.
“It’s been a long time since he’s played a game, but there were lots of good things. Strong movement to the net, physicality, some real nice hands,” said Maurice. “The exciting part is he’s going to just keep getting better and better because he’s a powerful man.
“It looks like there won’t be holes in his game. He defended well, battled hard, made smart plays, showed some real nice finesse picking a stick in the offensive zone to open up a chance. He’ll get more ice time as we get moving forward and he gets his sea legs.”
This was a mostly evenly-played affair, but the Flames were able to capitalize on a late high-sticking minor to Jets defenceman Nathan Beaulieu, with Elias Lindholm delivering the game-winning goal with 1:42 to go in regulation time.
Maurice wasn’t about to take the bait when asked about the penalty call in question.
It’s too early to start racking up fines or drawing the ire of the men in stripes.
“I’ve got no complaints. It wouldn’t matter if I did,” said Maurice, whose team dropped to 7-4-1 after playing the Flames for the fifth time this season. “It’s a disappointing way to end the game.”
Once Dubois gets an even better handle on the systems play and the tendencies of his linemates (Mason Appleton replaced Trevor Lewis at right wing during the second period), look out.
“It’s a fun system to be a part of,” said Dubois. “There are minor adjustments from what I’m used to, but the guys out there have been great and helping me with video and helping me on the bench and practices and stuff like that. You get more used to it as time goes on and scenarios go on more and more.”
It’s evident that Dubois is going to do everything in his power to try and make up for lost time in this compressed season.
Despite being only 22, he’s been around long enough to know that heaping additional expectations on himself to produce immediately is going to do more harm than good.
He’s focusing on embracing the opportunity presented by the trade that created headlines all across the hockey world, with Tuesday marking the beginning of this new chapter.
With a pair of games on tap against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and Saturday, you can bet Dubois’ comfort level is going to be on the rise by the time the Jets hit the road for a four-game trip next week.
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.
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.
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.
