RALEIGH, N.C. — Two out of three is not bad for the Edmonton Oilers, it’s actually quite impressive.
Josh Archibald scored the winner at 3:57 of overtime to give the Oilers a 4-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Sunday.
It was the Oilers’ second-consecutive win on their three-game road trip and moved them into first place in the Pacific Division standings. They are 3-1-0 without Connor McDavid in the lineup.
The Oilers were also missing James Neal, Zack Kassian, Kris Russell, Sam Gagner and Joakim Nygard against the Hurricanes.
Mike Smith made 27 saves in the win, his biggest came against Sebastian Aho on a breakaway moments prior to Archibald’s overtime winner. Leon Draisaitl had three points to push his league-leading total to 95 on the season.
“When Smitty makes saves like that you have to do something for him at the other end,” Archibald said. “He held us in it and Drai and I got a two-one-one and I saw that guy going straight to Drai, and 99 out of 100 times, he’s going to get that puck to you and I just had to be ready and was lucky enough to put it in.”
Martin Necas had fired a shot high and the puck rimmed down the boards, sending the Oilers back the other way to create the odd-man rush. It was Archibald’s second goal of the game having scored to put the Oilers up 3-2 in the second period.
Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) scores a first period goal against Carolina Hurricanes goaltender James Reimer (47) at PNC Arena. James Guillory / USA TODAY Sports
“You have to be happy, two games; this feels like a whirlwind, it feels like six periods in a game,” said Oilers head coach Dave Tippett. “I’m really happy for the guys, we competed hard, chipped a bunch of pucks around, founds a way to hang around the game and got the one we needed at the end.
“Some really good stuff and some stuff we have to continue to clean up, taking a couple penalties in the third in the offensive zone when you have a lead is not ideal, especially when you’re playing back-to-back, but I love the way our guys just kind of kept hanging around it, got the job done and got four points (two wins) and we’ll go home and rest up for a couple of days.”
The Oilers didn’t start well as Trevor van Riemsdyk scored 12 seconds in, sifting a shot through traffic and past Smith.
Draisaitl tied the game with his 34th goal, just as a high-sticking penalty to Andrei Svechnikov was expiring. Jujhar Khaira — getting some rare power-play time — tipped a loose puck in front over to Draisaitl, who fired it past Hurricanes goaltender James Reimer.
Aho restored the lead for Carolina five minutes into the second period, taking a breakaway pass from defenceman Jaccob Slavin and making a smooth backhand-to-forehand move to beat Smith.
James Reimer #47 of the Carolina Hurricanes stops a shot by Alex Chiasson #39 of the Edmonton Oilers during the second period of their game at PNC Arena on February 16, 2020 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Grant Halverson / Getty Images
Kailer Yamamoto tied the game 2-2 on the power play nine minutes later, getting a fortunate bounce as his shot from the slot hit the goal post then came back and bounced off Reimer’s pad and into the net.
Just 28 seconds later, Archibald put the Oilers up 3-2, taking an excellent feed from Tyler Benson and roofing a shot from in tight over Reimer.
“I think we were just trying to stay even-keel,” Archibald said. “I was out third game in three and-a-half days and I think we were just trying to play simple, trying to play solid. When we went down we battled back and we came out on top, which was good.”
The assist was Benson’s first NHL point, playing in his second game with the Oilers since being recalled from the AHL a second time and fourth NHL game overall.
Benson lost his footing on the forecheck against van Riemsdyk in the corner, giving the Hurricanes defenceman all the time in the world to move the puck out of the zone.
Instead, van Riemsdyk had his pass along the boards intercepted by Archibald and it fell to Benson, who picked himself up and was racing to get back in the play. Benson took the puck and found Archibald with a seam pass heading to the net.
“One thing I’ll remember is that I fell right before, a little toe-pick,” Benson said. “I just made a pass to Archie there and I was hoping he would put it in, it was a nice play by him. It was pretty cool to see that one go in.”
Aho tied the game with 5:02 left in the third taking a pass from Svechnikov in front and one-time a shot through Smith. The Oilers had taken two offensive-zone penalties prior to conceding the tying goal, killing them both off.
Khaira fell and tripped up Hurricanes defenceman Haydn Fleury, 200 feet away from the Oilers net and Colby Cave got his stick tied up in between the legs of Lucas Wallmark midway through the period. The Oilers killed off both penalties, but could not hold off the Hurricanes top line for the rest of the period.
Jujhar Khaira #16 of the Edmonton Oilers battles Haydn Fleury #4 of the Carolina Hurricanes for the puck during the third period at PNC Arena on February 16, 2020 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Grant Halverson / Getty Images
“When we killed those two penalties, I thought we were looking good, we were playing hard, I thought we were playing smart,” Archibald said. “Unfortunately, it was just a small breakdown and something we can fix for next game. We battled back and it was a good win in overtime.”
The Oilers will host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday and Minnesota Wild on Friday before heading out on a three-game road trip.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
