After Monday’s loss to Vegas Dave Tippett was very blunt about his team’s performance, or lack there of.
“Our execution is so poor in a lot of different situations,” said Tippett. “Some of it is just guys being on their own page, thinking they can vary from the game plan. This is as disconnected as we have been for a long time.”
Yesterday was their first practice in weeks due to two stretches of three games in four nights and travel back to Edmonton for one game in between. It allowed Tippett time to hammer home the details the Oilers need to fix, if they want to stop relying solely on Mikko Koskinen to win them games.
1. Tippett and the Oilers players aren’t happy with how they are playing, but picking up five points during the past four games allows the teaching moments to be more upbeat. Everyone playing, or watching, the past four games knows the Oilers need to be much better in front of their goalies if they expect to win consistently. However, wins trump playing well and losing. Edmonton needs wins, not moral victories. Playing well and losing is a much worse alternative than winning ugly. Of course they need to tighten things up, and they will. When is the question. Can one practice clean up the all their messes?
2. I asked Tippett about cleaning up their play and how he will use video and practice time in unison. “You need all of the above,” said Tippett. “When your team doesn’t get a lot of practice time there is video almost every day, but you need to get on the ice. Sometimes it is just the ability to go on the ice and do it. Be in the right position. Stop in the right spot. Get the puck in the right spot rather than just look at it on video. We tried to work on those things today.
“We are just too disconnected. Swinging all over the place, feeling like we want to get going and do something positive, but it ends up being just a mess out there. Hopefully we got rid of some messes and moving in the right direction.”
3. Being a former player, Tippett knows full well the challenges of removing bad habits. Ultimately it is up to the players to do it on the ice, but the coaches are there to try and help them see the errors so they can fix them.
“They flush themselves out,” said Tippett. “It is a combination of everything. The coaching staff is always tweaking and trying to fix things, whether it be individual play or team play, that is a daily occurrence. You go through different stages where your team is playing a little better, a little more connected, or a little sharper than other times. When you are sharp you want to try to keep it as sharp as you can for as long as you can. And when you are not sharp you want to try and get out of it as quick as you can.”
4. Tippett added there might be a positive to the recent struggles.
“Sometimes there are games, there are times when you almost have to bottom out a bit and hopefully start building it back. Those are the ebbs and flows of the season. I wish we could play 82 really sharp games, but it is not a reality. These last three or four we’ve had some that haven’t been very good. It has given us a lot of pause to say we have to improve. We want to build the right way going into the final stretch and hopefully into the playoffs.
5. The reality is once the playoffs start, how you were playing down the stretch doesn’t guarantee you success in the post-season. It is a completely different beast. You aren’t playing different teams every day. You play the same team every second day. You drill down into their tendencies and they do the same to you. Tampa Bay was 11-3 in their final 14 games last year and outscored their opponents 62-43. Then they got swept four straight by Columbus in the first round and were outscored 17-8. They scored three goals in the first period of game one, but then only five in the remaining 11 periods.
6. Being concerned about how the Oilers are playing today is valid, but trying to connect their play today to how they will perform in the playoffs is a waste of energy. Playoffs start four weeks from today. A lot will change in that time, and we don’t know how they, or any team, will react once the playoffs begin. That is what makes the postseason so entertaining. Edmonton has shown they can play well for long stretches, as well as having stretches of poor play. In December they looked brutal, and their recent play mirrors that. Except the play of their goaltender. And that is a big positive.
7. I love watching the human dynamics on display during sports. If Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl score five points or if they have a stretch where they average 2.5 points over four or five games, Oilersnation is thrilled. And rightfully so. It is exciting to watch. But when Koskinen stands on his head for four games and stops 142 of 147 shots there is more angst about the play of the team than excitement about how well he has played. I understand why, because in order for him to play that well, he needs to face a lot of shots, which means the skaters in front of him are getting manhandled. But don’t overlook how well Koskinen has played. He’s proven he can steal you games, and in the playoffs you need that.
8. I can’t recall a team who hasn’t had a their goalie win them a few games on the road to a Stanley Cup Championship, or even winning a round. It is vital, and this recent stretch proved Koskinen is capable of stealing games. As James Neal joked yesterday, “We are just getting him ready for the playoffs.” He quickly pointed out how the team needs to tighten up in front of him, but there was some truth to what Neal was saying. Your goalie will need to be great some nights in the playoffs, so Koskinen doing it in three consecutive starts will help his confidence. Can he do it in the playoffs? Only time will tell.
9. Of all the potential first round matchups I think Winnipeg would be the toughest opponent for the Oilers. Connor Hellebuyck is the leader for the Vezina trophy. They are battled tested due to all the injuries they’ve played through and they are very deep up front. This will be a real challenge tonight for the Oilers. Edmonton is trying to find their game, while the Jets have been excellent defensively the past 10 games, allowing only 19 goals.
10. The Jets special teams have been really good as well. Their PK is 91.3% (21 of 23) and their PP is 26.7% (seven of 26). The Oilers PP has been lights out over their past 10 games as well clicking along at 35% (7 of 20), but they have no PP goals in their last three games and have only had two powerplays. Much of that is due to them not having the puck very often in those games, and a blatant missed hand-on-puck call against Vegas, but the Oilers will need to clean up some of the messes Tippett spoke about if they want to compete against the surging Jets.
11. Here is the Oilers’ scoring last year compared to this season, though 70 games, as well as the Jets’ scoring.
12. Winnipeg is one of the few teams where their top-five goals scorers have more goals than the Oilers top-five. However, the Oilers’ depth has scored more and Edmonton’s forwards have 197 goals to the Jets 188.
The boys are in the mix and we’re looking ahead to April. Please, Hockey Gords, make it so. Competitive games in February! Exclusively at NationGear.ca.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
