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Goaltending not Edmonton's big issue, it's lack of hitting, desperation and hunger, NHL commentator argues – Edmonton Journal

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Game Day 37: Oilers vs Flames

Update: Today’s line-up as per Jack Michaels of the Oilers:

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Expected lineup vs CGY:

Perlini-McDavid-Yamamoto
Foegele-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi
Benson-McLeod-Turris
Shore-Ryan-Sceviour

Nurse-Bouchard
Keith-Ceci
Russell-Koekkoek

Koskinen

—Kassian not on ice

My take

1. That means Kassian and Tyson Barrie are likely out, with Mike Smith, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins already out. That’s a lot of core players out.

2. This in from former NHL grinder Alan May, now a commentator on the Washington Capitals, speaking to Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now in regards to the Oilers: “”I’m seeing a team that doesn’t play with any physicality. I look last night at the players who got the hits up top, Tyler Benson and I think Devin Shore. You need to have more beef out there. Right now they look smallish. They look like a team that is sweep checking, poke checking, only checking the puck. It’s like they’re playing now to lose and therefore they are losing.

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“I just think you’ve got to add some grit. … I’m not biased against small guys, but small guys to me have to the most noticeable, dominate players on the ice… I just think that those players have to be hungrier, faster, and I just don’t see enough right now out of the supporting cast.”

May had a kinder word for the Oilers goalie situation than you’ll hear in Edmonton, noting that when you don’t have a team playing hard in front of you, that puts immense pressure on the goalie. “If they let in one iffy goal, they’re done. That’s what is happening right now there. It doesn’t matter who is in net. If you got (ace Tampa goalie Andrei) Vasilevskiy, eventually he will lose his confidence.”

There are simply too many two-on-ones and high danger chances against Edmonton, May said.

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“The depth guys have to be more desperate. Right now they look small, they look fragile, they’re not physical, they’re not checking the puck well.”

My take

1. Hmmm. I think May has identified a major issue here but I don’t think he hit the nail on the head, especially with his comment on Edmonton’s goaltending. If Mike Smith this year was the Mike Smith of last year, Edmonton would be winning now.

2. It strikes me — and this is strictly from observation here, not from knowing anything about team dynamics — that Smith is the straw that stirs Edmonton’s drink. When he’s healthy and in the line-up, he dominates the game with his fiery mood, brilliant puckhandling and strong goaltending. The Oilers simply look like a different team when he’s playing, each guy growing a few inches and gaining ten pounds of muscle, each guy ready to hit harder, hustle harder and try to match Smith’s unmatchable intensity. Smith’s presence on the ice — at least if he can bring something close to his “A” game — helps immediately to solve the problem May references, the lack of physicality and forceful play. He can’t get back in the line-up soon enough, but it’s starting to look like his health really isn’t going to allow that this season. Hate to say it, but that’s how I size things.

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3. As for the lack of hard-hitting and intense forwards, especially some with some size, yes, that’s a hole on the team, one of a number of holes, especially with big, tough Zach Hyman out of the line-up right now. When it comes to Oilers forwards who play a hard game, he’s at the top of that list, with Leon Draisaitl, Jesse Puljujarvi and Warren Foegele having their moments, and Tyler Benson, Colton Sceviour and Kailer Yamamoto doing OK for smaller players. But Devin Shore, Brendan Perlini, and Zack Kassian need to bring more. Ryan McLeod needs to mix it up more. Kyle Turris has already played his way out of the line-up in large part through lack of physical play and defensive intensity, but Shore, Kassian, Perlini, Derek Ryan and McLeod have got to bring more fire. If not, they’re on their way out too.

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4. On defence, Duncan Keith has been playing better, but this is not a hard-hitting group. Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard aren’t hitters, nor is Slater Koekkoek. Darnell Nurse is, but hitting too much will wear him out. William Lagesson needed to play a more physical game, but failed to do so. Kris Russell brings grit but keeps getting hurt and in too many games isn’t the player he used to be. This group can move the puck OK, but it’s short on Big Bobby Clobbers.

5. The Oilers now rank seventh out of eight teams in the Pacific Division, ahead of only woeful Seattle. But due to Edmonton’s blistering start, the team is still at real .500, 18 wins and 18 losses in all situations. It hasn’t dipped into hopeless territory. It’s still got a chance to sort out this season and at least make the playoffs. It’s hard to imagine how that happens just now, but it’s almost impossible to fathom how a team that was the best in the NHL for the first 21 games has been the worst for the next 15. Who knows where this goes net?

Staples on politics

Why hasn’t impolitic Kaycee Madu been fired? A few important reasons

Kaycee Madu, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta, speaks in the Rotunda of the Alberta Legislature at a ceremony marking Black History Month in Alberta. jpg

At the Cult

McCURDY: Turris waived, Griffith recalled

McCURDY: Reported Brad Malone signing quashed by COVID

LEAVINS: Post mortem of a 6-0 beatdown on home ice

McCURDY: Slumping Oilers in deep vs. high-flying Panthers

STAPLES: Savvy media men Ferraro, Messier offer tips to Oilers stars

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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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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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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

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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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