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Edmonton Oilers punch their ticket to Round 2 with 4-3 win over L.A. – Edmonton Journal

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The Oilers sealed the fate of the L.A. Kings for a third consecutive season, with a 4-3 win in the deciding Game 5. That compares with triumphs over Los Angeles in 7 and 6 games previously.

Edmonton’s special teams frankly overwhelmed the Kings in this series, including 3 goals on Wednesday that were either on or seconds after a man advantage.

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On this night, Leon Draisaitl took the game by the horns and dominated with a strong 200-foot game and 2 goals.

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But the Oilers defence also shone, allowing just 5 and 6 shots in the final 2 periods, respectively and did not allow a power play goal all series.

So, the Oilers advance…and await the winner of Vancouver and Nashville.

Here is the tale of the tape…

Edmonton Oilers Player Grades

STUART SKINNER. 6. Flat-out bad fortune on the 1-1, which was an innocuous dump-in that kicked wildly off a stanchion. Skinner had rightly vacated his crease to play the puck, only to watch helplessly as it deflected right into the slot where a waiting L.A. King swatted it home. That is no one’s fault. Victimized on a bad line change and poor defensive recognition which led to a Kings 2-on-1 on the (at the time) 2-1 go-ahead goal. A deflection with the net empty made it 4-3. A moderate grade for Skinner, as his mates were miserly…allowing just 21 shots. But a series-clinching victory will taste no less sweet. And not being “thrown” by that wild deflection goal showed excellent maturity.

CONNOR McDAVID. 7. Easily got the better of a heavy collision with Mikey Anderson part-way through the 1st. Fed Draisaitl for a 1-timer on the PP, perhaps a sign of things to come. An excellent 2nd Period back-track helped draw a PP which resulted in the 2-2. McDavid assisted on that marker with a pass out to Draisaitl whose shot drove Rittich’s glove over the goal line. Fed Leon again at the bottom of the circle for the 3-2. Laser wrist shot in the 3rd stopped by the goalie’s toe. Attempted one off the bar from a bad angle late.

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ADAM HENRIQUE. 5. Flatted Doughty with a 3rd Period hit. A couple hits in 14 minutes of work. Smart, solid defensive play. Not much doing with the puck.

ZACH HYMAN. 6. A tricky tip off an Ekholm shot in the 1st. His wall work pushed the puck loose to McDavid, whose pass in front to Holloway earned yet another man advantage. Tapped home a deflection off Nugent-Hopkins for the 4-2. +2. Lost the shot-shares battle by a mile, but that matters not with the series won.

DARNELL NURSE. 7. A shot directed at the net created a chance midway through the 1st. Fronted his man on the 2-1 which was fine but unable to block the headman pass. Important blocked shot in the 2nd. Hard shot late in the 2nd off a nice McLeod pass. Unlucky to have a seeing-eye point shot go in for the 4-3. High Dangers 4-2 5v5 and co-led the club in CF (15-15, 50%).

CODY CECI. 7. Lowered the book on Grundstrom mid ice. Late to his man on the 2-1. Excellent stick net side in the dying seconds of the game. High Dangers 4-2 5v5. Continues to out-perform his doubters.

LEON DRAISAITL. 9. An absolute beast. Terrific backcheck erased a dangerous looking Moore sortie. Great back-had pass to Nugent-Hopkins who drew a slashing call. Could not push the 1-timer past Riitich on the 2nd Period PP. But he fired it so hard on the next Power Play it drive the goaltender’s glove past the goal line. Make it 2-2 at that point. Drew one of the most obvious holding penalties you will ever see. Then, Leon scored the 3-2 on the subsequent PP with a 1-timer from the bottom of the circle. A strong back-check in the 3rd. He and Ryan made a terrific play in their own zone late, and then bulled his way up the wall…forcing a King to pull him down. The fist-pump that followed said it all. That play, in essence, sealed the deal. Led the team with 6 shots. Was terrific in every aspect of the game. Has 17 goals in 18 playoffs games over L.A. over the last 3 post-seasons. That is dominance. Named the 1st Star.

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RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 7. Shot-pass led to an early chance for Kane. Retrieved a puck in the D-zone and passed it over to Kane who transported it in on the sequence leading to the 1-0. Drew a slashing penalty just prior to the 1st Intermission. Good PK clear. Got good position in front and was rewarded as Bouchard’s point shot deflected off him and just sat there for Zach Hyman for the 4-2. Set up McDavid for a chance late. 2 Assists.

EVANDER KANE. 7. Early chance on a deflection of a Nugent-Hopkins shot-pass. Transported the puck up the ice, then after a give & go with Kulak Kane drove the net and was rewarded with the 1-0. 2 shots, 2 hits over the opening 20. Another hard wrister early in the 2nd. Smart zone clear in the 3rd. 3 hits, 4 shots. Very effective game.

MATTIAS EKHOLM. 6. A tough slog for the veteran. He bent but did not break. A good point shot tipped by Hyman in the 1st. Heavy hit on Arvidsson on the 3rd. High Dangers 2-3 5v5. But he was hard and physical and certainly won far more battles than he lost.

EVAN BOUCHARD. 8. Hard 1st Period point shot handcuffed Rittich. A PP shot nearly went in off Nugent-Hopkins in front. Drew three 2nd Period assists including a point shot off Nugent-Hopkins and in for the 4-2. An excellent stick net side to prevent a goal late. Had a terrific series. +2.

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RYAN McLEOD. 5. It was a bad line change on the 2-1 but McLeod was on the ice and lost his man in the confusion. Fed Nurse for a shot late in the 2nd. Pulled a puck out of danger near the crease in the dying seconds of Period 2. 57% on the dot.

DYLAN HOLLOWAY. 5. Smart defensive stick steered a Kings shot wide. Excellent battle level along the wall leading up to yet another Oilers PP. Clever steal & shot early in the 3rd. Effective.

COREY PERRY. 5. An important zone clear with his centerman stick-less in the 1st. 1st Period shot. Whistled for a 2nd Period trip where he also fell hard into the boards. He and Kane could not convert on a 3rd Period 2-on-1.

BRETT KULAK. 7. A give & go with Kane on the 1-0. Could not convert a terrific effort by Janmark in the 3rd. Kulak did not allow a single High Danger chance against 5v5. A calm collected performance.

VINCENT DESHARNAIS. 7. A heavy hit buried Moore along the end boards. Zero fault on the 1-1. A tremendous board battle won on a 2nd Period PK enabled Nugent-Hopkins to clear the zone. Like his partner, 0 HDSC’s against.

DEREK RYAN. 6. On the ice to seal the win and broke his stick deep in the Oilers zone. But he made a gutsy play along the wall to bump the puck loose, springing Leon Draisaitl toward the empty net. Big play. 67% on draws.

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WARREN FOEGELE. 4. Hard drive to the net later in the 1st.Good defensive stick in the 2nd. Correctly whistled for s 2nd Period trip but the LA player was also penalized for embellishing.

MATTIAS JANMARK. 6. Got down low for a shot block in the 1st. Fired a point-blank opportunity from the slot high. An excellent steal and rag on a shortened 2nd Period PK. Industrious effort created a chance for Kulak in the 3rd.

We do not grade the coaching staff at The Cult of Hockey. But it would see, disingenuous to not to credit the Oilers staff for the work prior to and during this series. There was precious little to pick at.

Find me on Threads @kleavins, on Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social, and X @KurtLeavins.

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Armstrong scores, surging Vancouver Whitecaps beat slumping San Jose Earthquakes 2-0

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VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.

“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.

“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”

With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.

Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.

Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.

“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”

Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.

Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.

Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.

He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.

“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.

“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”

Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.

Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.

Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.

Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.

The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.

San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.

Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.

First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.

“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.

“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”

NOTES

Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

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Liverpool ‘not good enough’ says Arne Slot after shock loss against Nottingham Forest

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MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.

A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.

“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.

“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”

Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.

But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.

Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.

United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.

Unstoppable Haaland

Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.

The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.

Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.

“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.

Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.

Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.

He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.

He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.

Rashford snaps run

Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.

Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.

Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.

Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.

“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.

De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.

It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.

Villa comeback

After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.

Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.

Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.

Late drama

Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.

Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.

But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.

Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.

West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.

Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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Cavaliers and free agent forward Isaac Okoro agree to 3-year, $38 million deal, AP source says

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.

ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.

The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.

The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.

Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.

His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.

Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.

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