adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Sports

Former Canucks McLean, Adams still upset over ’94 Stanley Cup loss – Sportsnet.ca

Published

 on


For the 1994 Vancouver Canucks, that seven-game Stanley Cup loss still stings.

A series against the New York Rangers that started as a David and Goliath contest quickly turned into one of the greatest stories in hockey history, and a remarkable love affair between that team and the Canucks faithful.

But the members of that Vancouver squad, who overcame myriad adversities and stretched the 112-point Rangers all the way to a decisive Game 7, still haven’t made their peace with how it ended.

300x250x1

“We live it every day, people talk about it all the time. It’s always nice to talk about it, but at the end of the day we didn’t reach our ultimate goal,” former Canucks goalie Kirk McLean said Saturday during After Hours on Hockey Night in Canada. “It was a great experience, but we lost.”

Instrumental in Vancouver’s campaign that year, McLean had 52 saves in Game 1 of the Final at Madison Square Garden, helping his team to an overtime win and kickstarting a significant movement toward a seven-game series.

He was among the former players on that ’94 team to be honoured ahead of the Canucks’ win over the Rangers at Rogers Arena on Saturday, which turned into a loud reminder of how much appreciation the fans have nurtured, and still hold to this day, for the Final run despite the disappointing result.

“It’s always a wonderful feeling,” McLean said. “For some reason, (fans) gravitate toward the ’94 team. We had, obviously, (Stanley Cup Final appearances in) ’82 and 2011, but it never gets old.”

The Canucks beat all the odds that year. As a seventh seed in the west, they found themselves down 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs against the Calgary Flames, then came back to win the last three games in overtime. With that effort, the bond between fans and club carried over to Toronto and later to New York.

“It’s disappointing to have lost, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world,” former Canucks forward Greg Adams said during After Hours. “I didn’t come that close to winning a Stanley Cup ever again in my 17-year career. So, it was very special.

“The whole playoffs, the thing I remember the most was the fans … It was just an amazing feeling, and this city was so electric.”

Adams was the overtime-goal scorer for the Canucks in that Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, but he still acknowledges his netminder as the main responsible in securing that win.

“It was a tremendous confidence-builder for us, winning that first game,” he said. “And we all knew Kirk stole the game for us, he basically won the game for us. I was fortunate to be able to be in the position to score that goal, but, without Kirk… you know.

“We did have confidence that we could win, but we also knew that we were outplayed and if it wasn’t for him there’s no way they were winning that game.”

Current Rangers president and former goalie John Davidson was there for all seven games, back then as a broadcaster in New York. He recalls just how close the Canucks came to winning it all.

“This series could have, frankly, been four straight,” Davidson said during After Hours, “but (McLean) started it, and when they started winning games, the Canucks’ edge is they wore down the Rangers’ defence … I have also watched Game 7 over again. That was really close, that could have gone either way.”

After winning Game 1 of the Final, the Canucks fell behind 3-1 and, much like in the first round against Calgary, rallied back to force a Game 7. A hectic, gritty and sometimes desperate 60 minutes of hockey culminated in a tight 3-2 Rangers win, thus ending Vancouver’s Cinderella tale.

And though the love affair with the city still lives on, the players of that 1994 team have never truly come to terms with how the story ended.

“It’s nice that people remember where they were, and what they were doing, and name their kids after us, or whatever it may be,” said McLean. “But at the end of the day we wanted to win a championship and we came up short.”

Adams gets the same feeling whenever he thinks about the series.

“The losing part is something that hurts, and watching that hurts,” he said. “Watching videos of those games, Game 7, and still coming up a goal short, we keep hoping that something is going to change but it never does.”

The present-day Canucks secured a seventh-straight win against the Rangers on Saturday. Led by young names like Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat, they currently sit third in the Pacific and have a legitimate chance to contend for multiple Stanley Cup Final trips in the coming years, perhaps even build a new love affair, perhaps win the team its first Cup.

McLean guarantees that’s all the old-school guys can hope for.

“We want to move on and we want the team to win now.”

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

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

Published

 on


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.

300x250x1

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.”

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

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

Published

 on


“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.”

300x250x1

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.”

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

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

Published

 on


* public_profileBlurb *

* public_displayName *

300x250x1

* public_name *
* public_gender *
* public_birthdate *
* public_emailAddress *
* public_address *
* public_phoneNumber *

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending