The Edmonton Oilers wrapped up their regular home season schedule on Tuesday with a 9-2 romp over an over-matched San Jose Sharks.
Along the way, Connor McDavid in his return from a minor injury skated into the National Hockey League record books with his 100th assist of the season.
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Here is the tale of the tape…
STUART SKINNER. 6. Stuart skinner barely broke a sweat in the 1st Period as the Oilers dominated San Jose at the other end. Allowed an uggggly one early in the 2nd. Bast to get those out of the way now before the playoffs arrive. Redeemed himself with a glove save that snatched away a breakaway bid from Givani Smith. Fine stop on a Graf one-timer early in the 3rd. The victim of a twisted-up scramble in front on the 9-2. Wins his 36th game of the season.
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CONNOR McDAVID. 8. Returned to the lineup after a three-game absence and scored 13 seconds into his first shift, receiving a nice pass from Nurse, and streaking up the left side before banking it in off a defender for the 1-0. Excellent back-check took away a net side opportunity from Granlund early in the 2nd. Started the play with a steal in his own zone but no assist on the 7-1. He did that on the 9-1. 97 burst into the San Jose zone on a 2-on-1 and sifted a pass across to Zach Hyman who buried his 54th and put his linemate into the NHL record books with 100th assist. Only Gretzky, Lemieux and Orr had done that previously. The Rogers Place subsequently showered their Captain with a thundering chant of “MVP, MVP, MVP.” His grade here is elevated one, full point in recognition of his accomplishment.
ADAM HENRIQUE. 8. A terrific performance while flanking Connor McDavid on the top line. Won the O-Zone faceoff on the 2-0 sequence, then beat two defenders to the net where he found the puck and deposited it behind the netminder for his 6th as an Oiler. Found Holloway in front for the 2-0. Rang another off the post. Lasered a pass across to a hard-charging Cody Ceci for the 7-1. Excellent defensively, although this trio had the puck…a lot! +4.
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ZACH HYMAN. 7. Zach Hyman was whistled for an unlucky high sticking call in the 1st. Secondary assist on the 7-1. Then, became a part of history as he shoveled home a perfect pass from Connor McDavid for the 9-1 goal (his 54th) as #97 hit the 100 Assist mark. +3.
DARNELL NURSE. 8. A 3-point night. A stretch pass up the middle to McDavid on the 1-0. Collected a 2nd assist on the Holloway goal after he found Henrique deep in the San Jose zone. Earned his 3rd assist on the 8-1. 3rd Period post. 3 shots, 3hits. Led the team in 5v5 CF at 28-9, 76%. High Dangers 4-2.
CODY CECI. 7. Charged in from the point and potted a perfectly timed Henrique feed for the 7-1. At that point, San Jose’s young goalie was mercifully pulled. High Dangers 55v 5-2.+4.
LEON DRAISAITL. 7. Nifty pass to a pinching Ekholm for a dangerous shot. Won a hard board Battle in his own zone and then dished up a ridiculous one-handed, back-hand pass to a hard-charging Foegele who beat the goaltender 5-hole for the 3-0. Secondary assist on the 5-1. Nice pass to Foegele who stung the post with a wicked wrist shot. 73% on draws. 5v5 CF 71%.
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RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 6. Deflection pass to Foegele on the 5-1. Busted his ass in 1 9-1 game to get back and erase a 2-on-1, but the puck continued to pin-ball round and ended up the 9-2.
WARREN FOEGELE. 7. Took a fantastic pass from Draisaitl, broke hard up the left-hand side and beat the Sharks goalie between the pads for the 3-0, his 18th. Corralled his 19th with a hard battle in front finishing with a rebound swatted home to make it 5-1. Rang the post hard mid-way through the 3rd. 8 shots. Led the forwards in 5v5 CF (23-8, 74%).
MATTIAS EKHOLM. 8. Ekholm hammered a slapper off the goalie’s shoulder after a nice feed from Draisaitl. He and Bouchard got crossed up a bit on the 4-1 play, but no one was more at fault than the goaltender. +4. 5v5 CF 28-11, 72%. In terms of 5v5 High Dangers, Mattias Ekholm was a commanding 12-0. Wow.
EVAN BOUCHARD. 8. Earned his 80th point of the season with a secondary assist on the 6-1. Only the great Paul Coffey has achieved that mark for a D-man in Oilers franchise history. Tapped in a dandy pass from Perry. +3. High Danger scoring chances 5v5? Evan Bouchard was 11-0.
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RYAN McLEOD. 7. A steal deep in the San Jose zone led to the 8-1. The pivot on a trio that had San Jose on its heels much of the night. McLeod, Holloway, and Perry have some kind of chemistry right now.
DYLAN HOLLOWAY. 8. His first 3-point game of his NHL career. Lowered the boom on Granlund in his own zone with a heavy hit in the 1st. Then, slapped home a slick pass from Henrique late in the 1st from the high slot for the 4-0. Could not quite bury a pass from Corey Perry early in the 2nd. Then, just a terrific feed across to Perry for the 6-1. Great play along the wall helped lead to Bouchard’s goal, the 8-1. 4 shots, 4 hits. Making it a very difficult decision to not play him in Game 1 of the post season.
COREY PERRY. 7. Part of a withering cycle then eventually resulted in the 4-0. A feed to Holloway for a chance early in the 2nd. Slammed home the 6-1 goal off a terrific feed from Holloway. Perfect, feathery-soft pass to Bouchard net side for the 8-1 marker. 3rd Period post. +3.
BRETT KULAK. 5. Fired the shot from the point which Henrique found for the 2-0.
VINCENT DESHARNAIS. 5. Caught up trying to make a play in a 9-1 game. San Jose turned that into a jail break and eventually the 9-1.
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SAM CARRICK. 5. 80% on faceoffs. This line got lots of ice with the score being so one-sided. Carrick played 15:21. 1 shot, 2 hits.
MATTIAS JANMARK. 5. Skated miles, solid defensively but his stats line was flat as the prairie horizon: 0-0-0, 0 shots, 0 hits, +/- of 0 in a 9-2 game.
CONNOR BROWN. 5. Did manage 3 shots on net and like Janmark, worked hard.
Edmonton’s record now sits at 49-25-6, 104 points. 3 back of Vancouver in the Pacific with 2 games left.
Find me on Threads @kleavins, on Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social, and X @KurtLeavins.
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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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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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