OTTAWA — There was no denying the sense of relief from the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night.
Players jumped to their feet as Ilya Kovalchuk scored the overtime winner to give Montreal a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Most importantly, the win put an end to the Canadiens eight-game losing streak.
“That was a big goal for us,” admitted Carey Price who made 41 saves. “Obviously things haven’t been rosy around here, but it was a nice breath that was breathed into this team.”
Kovalchuk signed a one-year, two-way contract on Jan. 3 with the Canadiens and was happy to play a part in the win.
“It’s good to get a first goal as a (Canadien), especially in OT,” said Kovalchuk. “I think the win is way more important to snap that eight-game losing streak and we need to build from there.”
Scoring game winners will make anyone popular, but Canadiens coach Claude Julien says Kovalchuk has fit right in since joining the team.
“He’s come in and been the ultimate pro,” said Julien. “(Saturday) he made a couple of nice passes where we had some great scoring chances and he scores the winning goal. He’s respectful of his shift lengths, he’s respectful of how we want to play. So, I think the guys look at a guy who’s been around for a long time buying in and he’s an easy guy to like.”
Coming into the game neither team had won since Dec. 23.
Montreal (19-20-7) is now 1-7-1 in its last nine, while the Senators are 0-4-3 through their last seven.
Nick Suzuki scored in regulation for the Canadiens (19-20-7).
Price was instrumental for the Montreal on Saturday night and is hopeful that this can be the thing that kickstarts a winning streak.
“Winning solves all problems it seems,” said Price with a laugh.
Like his players, Julien was more than a little relieved to see the losing streak come to an end.
“The first win after that many losses is never an easy one,” Julien said. “We’ll take it and hopefully we’ll build from that.”
The Senators (16-22-7) were coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Red Wings in Detroit the night before. Marcus Hogberg, who got his second start in as many nights, kept Ottawa in the game making 23 saves.
While the losses continue to pile up for the Senators, players feel there’s a lot of good things being done and shouldn’t be overlooked.
“We’re going in the right direction, that’s one thing I know,” said Jean-Gabriel Pageau. “Everyone is on the same page and is playing the same way and that’s a good thing. When you lose by one goal it means you’re in every game.”
Trailing 1-0, the Senators were finally able to beat Price at 13:32 of the third period on a broken play. Anthony Duclair came into the slot and was unable to get a shot off, before a loose puck was inadvertently redirected into the net by Montreal’s Matthew Peca, who made his return to the lineup after missing the last 14 games. Drake Batherson, who was the last Senator to touch the puck, was credited with the goal.
“That’s probably the luckiest goal I’ve ever scored,” said Batherson, who played his fourth game since being recalled on Jan. 4.
Batherson wasn’t as fortunate in overtime as he was caught staring down a two-on-one when Kovalchuk scored.
“That’s probably the first time since being a pro playing a two-on-one defensively,” said Batherson. “I didn’t really know what to do, but obviously it was a nice shot and hopefully I don’t get a two-on-one on me again.”
The Canadiens had a great opportunity to regain the lead minutes later, but Nate Thompson missed a wide-open net.
Both goalies were at their finest in the second making a number of big stops.
Hogberg made a great save on Artturi Lehkonen midway through the period, while Price made a big save on Chris Tierney as he broke in alone with Ottawa shorthanded. The Senators were swarming in the final minute of the period, but could not find a way to beat Price.
Shots were 8-8 in the opening period, but the Canadiens had the better chances and were finally able to beat Hogberg as Suzuki, with his ninth, opened the scoring on the power play midway through the opening period.
Notes: Ottawa’s Mark Borowiecki missed his second straight game due to the flu. The Canadiens were without Brendan Gallagher as he was dealing with headaches following Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Edmonton. Prior to Thursday’s loss, Gallagher had missed four straight games due to a concussion. Ben Chiarot missed his second straight game due to a lower body injury.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2020.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
