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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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.
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AP cricket:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
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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