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Game Notes Edmonton Oilers at Montreal Canadiens: Owning Carey Price – Oilers Nation

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The Oilers are 10-5-2 against bottom-10 teams in the NHL, which the Montreal Canadiens are after a seven-game winless streak has them plummeting down the standings to 25th place. They were winless in eight games earlier this season, and going 15 games without a win almost guarantees you won’t make the playoffs.

But despite their winless skid, I don’t think they are as bad as their record.

1. The injury bug is a contributing factor in their losses. They are in games, but ultimately lose by one goal. During this seven-game winless skid they have lost 4-3, 3-2, 3-2 (OT), 2-1, 3-1 (empty net goal), 6-5 and 5-4. They lost six games by a goal and the other by two goals with an empty net. They could get Brandan Gallagher back tonight

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2. The Habs loss on Tuesday to Detroit stung the most. It became worse because it was the third time this season Montreal has lost to the last-place Red Wings. The Wings have played 44 games. They are 3-0 against Montreal and outscored them 10-6. They are 8-30-3 against the rest of the league and were outscored 161-86. It’s amazing the Habs lost to them three times and that 27% of Detroit’s wins have come against Montreal.

3. Ilya Kovalchuk has three assists in two games with the Habs and Claude Julien is playing him a lot. He played 19:25 against Winnipeg on Monday and then 21:22 against Detroit on Tuesday. He played the most 5×5 minutes of any forward against the Wings. Good for Kovalchuk. If he keeps playing that well a team will likely come calling at the trade deadline. His league-minimum salary of $700,000 makes him easy to acquire, and maybe he has more in the tank than many of us, including myself, expected.

4. Carey Price is in the second year of an eight-year deal with a $10.5m AAV. He is 32. He will be 38 when the final year of his deal begins. He is 16-15-4 with a .302Sv% and a 3.01 GAA. Price was solid to start the season, but he’s struggled since. In his first 18 starts he was 10-5-3 with a .912Sv% and a 2.71 GAA. In 17 starts since November 23rd he is 6-10-1 with a .890Sv% and a 3.34 GAA.

5. Last season he started 66 games and had a strong .918Sv% and 2.49 GAA. But he hasn’t been close to that this season. If we consider .915Sv% to be very good (only nine goalies with 40+ starts had over .915Sv% last year), it is clear by Price’s play this year he has struggled. In his first 18 starts he had a .915Sv% or better in 11 starts. Over his last 17 starts he has only had four games with a  .915Sv% or higher.

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6. Despite the Oilers having the fewest wins in the NHL since 2009, they have owned Price. He is 3-8-1 in his career against Edmonton with a .859Sv% and 3.70 GAA. Some stats are inexplicable and this is one of them. His career Sv% is .917 with a 2.49 GAA, yet the Oilers have lit him up. He had a .960SV% in a win on March 12th, 2017, and a .906Sv% in a win on March 10th, 2009, but in his other ten starts he’s posted a .889Sv% or lower. Amazing. His best performance came against the playoff bound Oilers in 2017. Against those other teams, who floundered near the bottom of the standings, he struggled.

7. This quote from Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe after Monday’s game illustrated perfectly the biggest difference we’ve seen in the Oilers since New Year’s Eve: “From the drop of the puck it was clear they were here for a reason. They played at a higher level than we did today, and at a higher level than any of the opponents we’ve played in quite some time,” Keefe said.

He was bang on. That was the fourth consecutive really good start by the Oilers. They dominated the Rangers, jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Buffalo, and even though Boston scored on a deflection off of Kris Russell’s stick, the Oilers controlled the majority of the play in the first period in Boston and carried it through the second period. The dominated the Maple Leafs in the first period and scored twice in the first 1:45 of the second period.

8. The biggest issue during their December swoon was their inability to score first or have a strong first period. They were down 2-0 far too often, and then they tried to play catch up. I believe that was a factor in Leon Draisaitl’s ridiculous GF-GA at 5×5. He took some chances when they were down, and Dave Tippett understood why. “He wants to make a difference so he was trying to get us back in the game. At times it can lead to more mistakes, but it is a normal reaction. As a former player, I understand it. We talked about it. He is very aware of how he is playing, more aware than most players. He will be better,” Tippett said to me when I asked him about Draisaitl’s struggles prior to the Rangers game.

The snowball effect can impact even the best players. Draisaitl, like the rest of the team, has been much better since. They need to continue it tonight.

9. Here is the Oilers scoring last year compared to this season, as well as the Canadiens scoring, through 45 games.

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10. Edmonton has a big advantage among their top-five point producers, but mainly on the powerplay. Max Domi leads the Canadiens with 11 powerplay points. Tomas Tatar leads with seven goals. Brendan Gallagher has no powerplay goals in 85 PP minutes. The Canadiens’ PP is actually pretty good, 10th in the NHL at 21.2%. Edmonton is first at 29.2%. They have 40 goals, while the Habs have scored 26.

11. Connor McDavid leads the Oilers with 30 PP points, followed by 28 for Leon Draisaitl, 17 for James Neal, 15 for Oscar Klefbom and 14 for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Each player on the Oilers’ top unit has more points than any Canadiens player on the PP. And they have the 10th best PP. It shows just how good Edmonton’s first unit PP has been this season.

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Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

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November 8, 2024

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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

___

AP cricket:

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Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

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November 8, 2024

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

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November 8, 2024

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Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

—

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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