Sports

Golden Knights lament effort level after failing to sweep Western Final

Published

1 year ago

May 27, 2023

DALLAS — The Vegas Golden Knights lost to a desperate team that had its best players show up to make sure the season didn’t end in front of a hometown crowd.

Sometimes it can be as simple as that. Sometimes that’s all it takes to lose.

“There’s always things we’ll look at, our breakout executions and support, getting to our areas, but they’re a good team too,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They have good players. Their top players finished plays for them. When that happens, good things happen for your team.”

It did for the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday.

Jason Robertson scored two game-tying goals in regulation, one on the power play and one at 5-on-5, and the Stars got a power-play goal from Joe Pavelski 3:18 into overtime to secure a 3-2 win at American Airlines Center

The Golden Knights lead the best-of-7 series, 3-1. Game 5 is at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS).

“I thought they were way better today,” Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “We’re trying to play the right way, but their desperation was a little higher than ours. At this time of the year, it’s not about X’s and O’s, it’s about who wants it more and I thought they wanted it more than us tonight.”

That shouldn’t be surprising. The Golden Knights were up 3-0 in the series; The Stars had their season on the line. If they weren’t desperate and pushing and throwing everything they had at the Golden Knights, it would have been both shocking and disappointing from their side.

Vegas expected it even with Dallas missing forwards Jamie Benn (suspended two games) and Evgenii Dadonov (upper body).

It’s not that the Golden Knights handled it poorly, but they could have handled the Stars’ desperation better than they did.

“Our effort level, I think it was not good enough,” Marchessault said. “Closing a series, it’s probably the hardest game of the series, right. So, it’s just not good enough for our group.”

Vegas mostly lamented the first two periods because even though it was 2-2, it was clear the Stars were the better team on the ice through 40 minutes.

They had a 30-23 advantage in shots on goal and 53-37 edge in total shot attempts. They won 56.7 percent of the face-offs (21 of 38), including 72.2 percent in the first period (13 of 18).

“I thought our breakout was not good enough,” Marchessault said.

Cassidy agreed.

“That’s on us,” he said. “We weren’t fast early on. I don’t think we managed pucks well below the goal line. Now by the time you get it out you’re tired. You’re changing and you’re not in your structure when they’re coming through there.”

It afforded Dallas more space in the middle of the ice than it had in the first three games. It was able to generate some chances off the rush.

“They were better than us,” Cassidy said. “They won more puck battles. If you look at the face-offs, they were heavily tilted toward them. That’s your first competing act on the shift is the face-off. We weren’t there, but we got there in the third period. I thought that was the one period we outplayed them and both goalies were good, made some saves.”

The Golden Knights put 14 shots on Stars goalie Jake Oettinger in the third period. He stopped them all.

Vegas goalie Adin Hill stopped all eight he faced in the third, including a sublime left pad save on Fredrik Olofsson with 1:58 remaining.

Hill was on all night. He made 39 saves.

“He was excellent,” Cassidy said. “Can’t fault him on any of the goals.”

Robertson scored on the power play at 15:42 of the first period, when he batted the puck out of Hill’s glove and then whacked it into the net like a baseball player.

He scored again at 17:21 of the second period, when a shot off the end boards came to him on the right side and he backhanded it into the net.

Pavelski’s goal was a one-timer after Hill lost his stick.

“I thought ‘Hillsy’ made unbelievable saves all along the game and it’s not fair,” Marchessault said. “He’s been so good for us, it’s not fair to let him down like that in that situation. We learn from it. Tomorrow is a new day. We wake up and get ready for Game 5.”

That comes Saturday, when the Golden Knights will be on their home ice and, if they handle their first loss in six games the right way, they’ll have some desperation too to end this series and punch their ticket into the Stanley Cup Final.

The Florida Panthers are waiting.

“We’ve got to want it more,” Marchessault said.

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Sports

Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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