EDMONTON — It was the type of highlight-reel move Dillon Dube has seen play out at Rogers Place many times before.
The man performing it is usually Connor McDavid, the fastest skater alive.
Yet, there was Dube, in just his fifth NHL playoff game, gaining speed through the neutral zone with a sudden urge to try going wide around Dallas defenceman Andrej Sekera.
It worked, suddenly springing the 22-year-old Flames winger to cut towards the net and in alone on Anton Khudobin, who he deftly danced around before depositing it into an empty net.
It came seven minutes after he’d opened the scoring with a world-class one-timer, allowing the lad from nearby Cochrane, Alta., to host a second-consecutive breakout party.
One game after his first NHL playoff goal eliminated the Winnipeg Jets, his two-spot was instrumental in a 3-2 series-opening win over the Stars that also required plenty of his defensive moxie to solidify the result.
“I came through with some speed and, at that point, I just wanted to challenge him,” said Dube of the nifty net-finder. “If worst came to worst, we’d just kind of battle it into the corner. Luckily enough, I got a step on him and was able to take it to the net.”
And take it to the Stars, who saw Dube open the night with a monster hit, before closing it as one of many defensive stalwarts on a team impressively dedicated to the defensive cause.
“He’s got great speed, but what I liked about him was there was no fear in him cutting to the net,” said coach Geoff Ward of the goal that put Calgary up 2-0 late in the opening period.
“He just cut right in there as soon as he saw his seam and he’s been dialled in for us this whole playoffs and (Tuesday) he had a couple of real big moments for us. He actually could have had a hat trick in the first period, he had that breakaway that he missed. He does an awful lot of things with his speed but we really liked the fact he’s got some sandpaper with his skill level. He’s not afraid to go to the hard areas to make plays.”
It’s sizeable praise for the five-foot-11, 185-pounder who started the first 13 games of the season in the minors with instructions to work more on his play along the wall.
Now he’s dominating them, with a little help from co-stars Milan Lucic and Sam Bennett, who made up the Flames’ best line for the second game in a row.
It’s a development few could have predicted, especially after Dube missed the first four days of training camp 2.0 and was believed by some to be behind the eight ball.
Not so.
“He showed up in training camp in great shape — it was almost as if his game was at another level when he came to camp, and he’s just carried that into games,” said Ward, adding that speed isn’t the only thing he’s been building of late.
“I think every game he plays, he’s gaining more and more confidence, so that allows him to play freely and get to his skill. So, now we’re seeing him make some really, really key plays. Maybe for some people that haven’t watched us a lot, he stands out as a surprise, but to his teammates and coaches, we’ve seen this building for a while now and he’s an important part of our lineup.”
By virtue of his captaincy and success for Canada at the world juniors, many believed Dube could be a difference-maker for the Flames in due time.
This is ahead of schedule, coming against the Dallas team that gave Calgary the second-round pick they used to draft Dube 56th overall in 2016, in exchange for pending UFA Kris Russell.
Dube’s goals were erased midway through the afternoon when the Stars were the beneficiaries of two fortuitous bounces within nine seconds that tied the affair.
It was a Rasmus Andersson roof job of the tip off Sekera’s stick that broke the deadlock with four minutes left in the second period, setting the stage for the Flames to try holding onto the type of playoff lead that was their ultimate undoing a year earlier against Colorado.
“Just playing simple — when there’s no play there, we get pucks in and get pucks out, and be on the forecheck,” explained TJ Brodie of their newfound second-half success, based largely around a defence-first mantra.
“That’s the biggest difference — last year we tried to make plays when they weren’t there and got into the rush game, and when you get into that, you never know what is going to happen. It feels good. You can feel the chemistry in the room and the trust between the guys knowing guys are going to do their job and make the right play. And if they don’t, there’s going to be guys to back him up. It definitely feels different than the previous years.”
Untested following relatively meaningless round-robin play, the Stars were physically dominated and on their heels early, prompting Corey Perry to try shifting momentum by picking a fight with his fellow London Knights alum, Matthew Tkachuk.
To no one’s surprise.
Tkachuk got the better of the 35-year-old veteran, pushing him to the ice, drawing rousing stick taps and love from the bench.
The momentum continued, making it three straight wins for a Flames team that seemed to flip a switch in the second period of Game 3 against Winnipeg, playing with a confidence and completeness not exhibited by the bunch all season.
“Especially in the first period, I thought we did a good job of establishing our physicality, similar to what we did last series against Winnipeg,” said Noah Hanifin.
“It’s a strong asset for our team and it’s important to get to that each game.”
Although he let in the first soft goal of these playoffs, Cam Talbot bounced back well, stopping 24 shots, including a game-saver off the stick of Joe Pavelski with nine second left in the game, while the Flames killed off a last-minute penalty to Mark Giordano for flipping the puck over the glass.
“I think the biggest thing for us is I think we gained some confidence tonight,” said Ward, whose team plays the first four games of the series in five and a half days.
“I think we learned some things as a team that we can certainly apply through the series. So, for us, it was a good first game. (Andersson and Dube) both have a lot of confidence in their games right now. They’re playing pretty loosely out there. I don’t think the size of the stage intimidates them at all — they actually look forward to it. Because they are gaining confidence and experience on a game-by-game basis, they’re feeding off it and using it to motivate themselves in the right way.
“We’re seeing right now, they’re creating some awfully big moments for us in hockey games.”
MONTREAL – On a night when New York’s top line was missing in action, the bit players grabbed the spotlight and led the Rangers to a commanding 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
“That’s the kind of team we have,” said Filip Chytil, who led the Rangers with a pair of power-play goals Tuesday. “The guys on the top line had chances but when they don’t score we have three other lines to pick up the slack.”
The Rangers’ dominance was reflected in the amount of time they spent in the Canadiens zone and their 45-23 edge in shots.
“If you’ve watched us practice, you know that’s something we work on all the time,” said Chytil. “When we get the puck, we want to hold on to it.”
The Rangers grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Mika Zibanejad at the 56-second mark and Jonny Brodzinski at 2:05, but it was Montreal which pressed the play in the first minute.
“I thought we had a good start but they turned it around on us,” said Montreal coach Martin St. Louis.
Lane Hutson controlled the puck off the opening faceoff and had two early shots, both of which were blocked by New York’s Jacob Trouba.
“That was huge for us,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. “We know (Trouba) can generate offence but he can come up with those big defensive plays.”
Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault exited at 11:05 of the first period after giving up four goals on 10 shots. Zibanejad, Brodzinski, Chytil and Reilly Smith all scored on the Habs’ starter.
His replacement, Cayden Primeau, stopped 33 of 35 shots, giving up goals to Braden Schneider, Kaapo Kakko and Chytil.
Nick Suzuki scored both of the Montreal goals, his first strikes of the season
“It didn’t really feel like a 7-2 game until the end there when you look up at the scoreboard,” Suzuki said. “But we obviously keep digging ourselves these holes, and against a good team like that, our details early on have to be really sharp. And we were definitely a little sleepy coming out and they jumped on us.”
Hutson led the Canadiens in ice time with 24:10 but this wasn’t one of his better games. Smith scored on a breakaway after taking the puck off Hutson’s stick and the rookie was minus-4 for the night.
After Tuesday’s morning practice, the Canadiens announced forward Juraj Slafkovsky will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury. Defenceman Kaiden Guhle missed a second consecutive game with an upper-body injury but the team said it isn’t a long-term ailment.
The injury situation didn’t get any better after Trouba flattened Justin Barron at 7:11 of the third period. Barron didn’t return to the ice but there was no immediate word on his condition.
The Rangers welcomed back defenceman Ryan Lindgren, who made his season debut after missing five games with a jaw injury.
Before the game, 14 players from the Canadiens’ team that won four consecutive Stanley Cups between 1976 and 1979 were introduced at the Bell Centre. Among them were Hockey Hall of Fame members Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Bob Gainey and Ken Dryden.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
TOKYO – Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu have both moved on to the quarterfinals at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Fernandez advanced after downing Varvara Gracheva 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., fired three aces and converted 5-of-11 break points during the two-hour 15-minute match. Gracheva, of France, battled back in the second set, winning 72.2 per cent of her first-serve points, before Fernandez rallied in the third set.
Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., advanced after Beatriz Haddad Maia retired due to a back injury while trailing 3-0 in the first set. Haddad Maia, the No. 2 seed, appeared to be in pain from the second game onward and took a medical timeout before exiting the match.
In the quarterfinals, Fernandez takes on the winner of a matchup between the tournament’s top seed, Qinwen Zheng of China, and Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, while Andreescu faces either Katie Boulter or Kyoka Okamura.
In women’s doubles action, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Erin Routliffe were up 6-3, 1-2 on Japanese pair Nao Hibino and Miyu Kato when their match was suspended.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million, a record high price not just for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport, the auctioneer said Wednesday.
“We received bids from around the world, a testament to the significance of this iconic collectible and Ohtani’s impact on sports, and I’m thrilled for the winning bidder,” Ken Goldin, the founder and CEO of auctioneer Goldin Auctions said in a statement.
The auction opened on Sept. 27 with a starting bid of $500,000 and closed just after midnight on Wednesday. The auctioneer said it could not disclose any information about the winning bidder.
The auction has been overshadowed by the litigation over ownership of the ball. Christian Zacek walked out of Miami’s LoanDepot Park with the ball after gaining possession in the left-field stands. Max Matus and Joseph Davidov each claim in separate lawsuits that they grabbed the ball first.
All the parties involved in the litigation agreed that the auction should continue.
Matus’ lawsuit claims that the Florida resident — who was celebrating his 18th birthday — gained possession of the Ohtani ball before Zacek took it away. Davidov claims in his suit that he was able to “firmly and completely grab the ball in his left hand while it was on the ground, successfully obtaining possession of the 50/50 ball.”
Ohtani and the Dodgers are preparing for Game 1 of the World Series scheduled for Friday night.
