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Edmonton Elks embarrassed by Lions in crowded BC Place Stadium – Edmonton Sun

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VANCOUVER — It turns out the Butler did it. Again and again and again. And one more time for good measure.

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If the Edmonton Elks’ season-opener was a game of Clue, it was James Butler in the end zone with the pigskin and on a spree as the B.C. Lions put on a spectacle in front of the largest crowd BC Place Stadium has held for a Canadian Football League game since Chris Jones’s first stint as head coach of the Green and Gold seven years ago.

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Catching, running and pushing piles, Butler swept the Lions to a 59-15 victory in front of 34,082 fans who were treated to a OneRepublic concern prior to kickoff, on the way to the Lions running back racking up 108 rushing yards, 33 more on six catches and the first four touchdowns of the game to put Edmonton away before they could even get going.

“You watched the game, it wasn’t a good performance in any phase,” said Elks head coach Chris Jones, whose squad gave up 469 yards of offence to the Lions, compared to 316 by his offence, led by quarterback Nick Arbuckle, who passed 20 of 29 for 254 yards and three interceptions.

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Nathan Rourke, on the other hand, put on a passing clinic completing 26 of 29 for 282 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing seven times for 78 yards and two more scores.

“Certainly tonight is not indicative of what we will be,” Jones said. “We’re going to work hard, we’ll correct the errors, we’ll coach them up better and we’ll come out and we’ll play better football.”

After the Lions got things started with a nine-play, 68-yard drive that saw running back James Butler score on a 10-yard reception to go ahead 7-0 on the game’s opening drive, Edmonton responded with a 35-yard field goal off the foot of Sergio Castillo before the defence forced a two-and-out.

But the Lions got the ball right back with an interception by defensive halfback T.J. Lee on a pass intended for Elks receiver Jalin Marshall, leading to Butler’s second trip to the end zone. This one on a handoff he cut back for 36 yards to go ahead 14-3 with 3:03 left in the first quarter.

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Castillo hit from 37 yards out, but the Lions once again answered Edmonton’s field goals with Butler touchdowns, this time on a 21-yard rush to cap a 73-yard, four-play drive to go ahead 21-6.

On a night when the Elks didn’t record a single QB pressure, let alone a sack, Lions defensive end Sione Teuhema earned his first of three on the night, leaving Castillo punting in the shadow of his own goalposts.

But all that meant was B.C. had less real estate to cover to continue scoring at will. And, who else? Butler, who tied the Lions club record with his fourth touchdown. The last time that happened was against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2004, complements of current Elks assistant general manager Geroy Simon.

This one was a six-yard reception by Butler, as Rourke improved to 14-for-15 for 150 first-half yards to put the Lions ahead 28-6.

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That was when the Elks pulled a switcheroo at quarterback, bringing in first-round draft pick Tre Ford, out of Waterloo.

But that did nothing to stop the Lions from taking one more trip to the end zone in the final minute, with Rourke setting up a two-yard plunge on a QB keeper with his own 33-yard scramble down to the doorstep.

Ford did, however, have a hand in Lee’s second interception of the half, which the eight-year Lions veteran returned 48 yards to the end zone, only to have it called back by contact. Of course, that just delayed the inevitable, as the Lions made it four consecutive drives with a touchdown on a six-yard catch by Keon Hatcher to take a 42-6 lead into halftime.

Arbuckle returned for the third quarter looking like new, completing six consecutive pass attempts to march the Elks 68 yards downfield before third-stringer Kai Locksley finished the drive with a one-yard plunge to cut B.C.’s lead to 30 points, following a missed two-point convert.

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A 30-yard field goal cut B.C.’s lead to 42-15, before the Lions put the ball back in the end zone, with Rourke turning a third-and-one effort into a 17-yard jaunt to the end zone to make it 49-15 heading into the final frame.

“Result-wise, that’s about as bad as you can get,” Arbuckle said. “But I think a lot of the mistakes, a lot of the things that we did are very correctable. All things we can do better and improve on.

“We had spurts here and there in the first half and the second half where we rolled really well moving the football. I think we have a lot of veteran guys and good leaders and understand this is one game in an 18-game season. And we have a lot of opportunities ahead of us to correct things and get better and make sure that this game doesn’t define us. But at the same time, we’re going to have to look at ourselves in the mirror.”

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With three minutes to go, B.C. added a field goal on their first scoring drive of the night that wasn’t a major, as long-time former Elks kicker Sean Whyte was good from 13 yards out.

But the Lions defence gave them another chance to get it right, as Loucheiz Purifoy intercepted an Arbuckle offering, returning it 40 yards to the red zone.

That’s where backup Michael O’Conner punched in a one-yard keeper after taking over behind centre for Rourke to close out a wild night on the scoreboard.

“It’s disappointing all around, we played absolutely terrible,” Elks defensive end Jake Ceresna said. “I mean, credit to B.C., they’re a great football team. They came out, they out-executed us all game.

“We’ve just got to all look in the mirror and figure out how to play better. We’ve got to turn this around and we’ve got to turn it around fast.”

IN AND OUT

Elks outside linebacker Wesley Appolon, a drafted rookie out of Tuskagee, left the field in a cart after injuring his knee on the opening play and did not return. LB Jordan Reaves suffered a broken finger in the first quarter.

Next up: The Elks return to Edmonton to hold their home-opener Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium against the Saskatchewan Roughriders (7:30 p.m.)

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list – CBC.ca

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.” 

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

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That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout. 

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign. 

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League. 

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. 

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford. 

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said. 

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday. 

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13. 

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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Senators score 5 in 1st, cruise past Sabres – NHL.com

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“I thought that we were ready to go,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “We got some pucks at the net, we got people at the net. Took advantage of our opportunities and, I think, built a nice lead. And then I thought, in the third period, we continued again. Our goaltending was good. Made some key saves. But I thought we shut them down in the third period good.”

Shane Pinto had a goal and three assists, and Brady Tkachuk, Boris Katchouk, Jakob Chychrun and Drake Batherson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (31-36-4), who have won three in a row. Korpisalo made 34 saves.

“If you want to win, you need balance,” Pinto said. “And we had that tonight and it’s going to be big for the back-to-back tomorrow (against the Chicago Blackhawks) to have that same thing. So, going to need all the guys on board.”

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JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton scored for the Sabres (34-34-5), who have lost four of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on nine shots before he was replaced by Devon Levi, who made 31 saves in relief.

“We wanted, I guess, to play as individuals,” Clifton said. “I’m disappointed we let ‘Upie’ down, he’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s kept us in so many games, and just to not show up and play that careless style, give them freebies all over the place. … Yeah, obviously, the first 20 really dictated the rest of the game.”

Artem Zub gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period. He stuffed in a loose puck on the goal line after Katchouk’s shot was redirected by Mark Kastelic between Luukkonen’s pads.

Katchouk made it 2-0 at 4:56, tipping Parker Kelly’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle past Luukkonen.

“It’s keeping the consistency with good effort, right habits,” Katchouk said. “The small things matter so much in this game. And obviously, it worked out tonight with the tip. But kudos to my linemates. ‘Kels’ and ‘Kassy,’ they worked hard to get the puck as well. Those two battle hard every night as well. We feed off each other, and it’s good to play with them.”

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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