WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Jets were left shaking their heads when Sunday’s comeback was spoiled by a stunning, late collapse.
A similar script played out two nights later — only with a different final chapter.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored once and added three assists as Winnipeg rebounded from an early 3-1 deficit Tuesday with four straight goals, including three early in the third period, to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 6-4.
The Jets trailed 2-1 heading into the final 20 minutes some 48 hours earlier against the same opponent before surging ahead, but ultimately walked away with nothing after the Oilers tied things with four minutes left in regulation to set up Leon Draisaitl’s demoralizing winner with 0.7 seconds remaining on the clock.
Winnipeg found itself in an a near-identical situation down 3-2 through 40 minutes Tuesday. This time, however, the Jets scored three times in a span of three minutes 27 seconds to secure a lead they wouldn’t squander.
“It’s the highs and lows of professional sport,” said Winnipeg forward Adam Lowry, who scored the winner to go along with two assists. “Sometimes it seems like you have an emotional letdown the next game.
“The first period wasn’t our best, but we regrouped. We’ve got a lot of belief in our room and the firepower we have.”
Andrew Copp added two goals, including one into an empty net, and two assists, while Paul Stastny, with a goal and an assist, and Mathieu Perreault provided the rest of the offence for Winnipeg (5-2-0). Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves.
“Our mentality of just staying in the battle,” Ehlers said when asked how his team shook off a tough loss and a rough opening 20 minutes. “And knowing that we’re better than that.”
Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with a goal and an assist each, Draisaitl and Adam Larsson replied for Edmonton (3-5-0), which has yet to win consecutive games in the all-Canadian North Division. Mikko Koskinen made 27 saves, while Darnell Nurse added three assists.
“Same type of story as the other night,” McDavid said. “We did a good job most of the 40 minutes, and then in the third period we kind of just let it get away.
“Able to battle back the other night. Not tonight. It’s frustrating.”
The Jets tied it 3-3 at 3:19 of the third when Stastny weaved into the offensive zone and slid a pass for Ehlers to bury his fifth of the season — and a career-high fifth in as many games.
“I feel really good, which to me is the most important thing,” said Ehlers, who finds himself among the NHL leaders with 11 points. “My legs have been great. I want to be able to continue feeling great.”
Stastny then gave Winnipeg its first lead at 5:26 when he fished a loose puck out of a crowd in front and flicked his second beyond Koskinen.
The Jets continued the onslaught just 1:20 later when Lowry redirected his fourth off a pass from Derek Forbort to make it 5-3.
McDavid got one back for the visitors thanks to his fifth with 1:50 left on the clock and Koskinen on the bench for an extra attacker, but Copp iced it into an empty net with under a minute to go.
The line of Ehlers, Stastny and Copp combined for 10 points Tuesday in Winnipeg’s sixth game in nine nights.
“We’re reading off each other so well,” said Copp, “We’ve gone to the net hard, we’ve put the puck in the net on our opportunities, and have been able to change some games for us.”
Edmonton and Winnipeg will go head-to-head seven more times this season, with the next meetings scheduled for Feb 15 and 17 in Alberta’s capital.
Playing the finale of a four-game road trip through Toronto and Winnipeg, the Oilers opened the scoring on a power play at 1:48 of the first when Draisaitl snapped his fourth of the campaign — and fourth in as many games — off the rush.
Winnipeg responded on a man advantage of its own at 5:14 when Copp banged home his third after Koskinen made a couple of good stops.
Edmonton nudged back in front 2-1 at 9:13 when Patrick Russell found Larsson at the point, and he beat Hellebuyck on a shot the Jets goalie will want back.
The Oilers, who came in with the NHL’s 25th-ranked power play after finishing first in 2019-20, connected on their second straight man advantage to go up by two just 2:03 later when Nugent-Hopkins took a pass from McDavid and wired his fourth upstairs.
But the Jets countered once again three seconds after an Edmonton penalty expired when Perreault snapped his first past Koskinen, who has played every minute of his team’s season with fellow netminder Mike Smith out injured, off a Lowry feed at 14:37 as the Oilers took a 3-2 advantage to the locker room.
Mark Scheifele hit the post for Winnipeg early in the second on a 2-on-1 chance as the teams played with a lot more tempo following that penalty-filled first.
Edmonton’s Zack Kassian had three great opportunities to put his team back up by two, including a breakaway moments before the intermission, while James Neal had another, but the Oilers were unable to find the range.
Without pointing fingers, McDavid said misses like that can give a tired opponent energy.
“I’ve been on the other side of that,” he said. “When there’s chances missed, it’s almost like there’s a goal scored for you.
“It’s momentum they can build off.”
The Jets certainly did that in the third.
Notes: Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice was behind the bench for the 1,607th regular-season game of his NHL career, tying him with Al Arbour for fourth on the all-time list. … Edmonton hosts the Maple Leafs for two games beginning Thursday after the teams split a pair of contests last week in Toronto. … Winnipeg now has three days off before resuming its seven-game homestand Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
