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NHL playoffs results daily: Lightning’s superstars tie series with Rangers 2-2 – The Athletic

Published

2 years ago

June 8, 2022

Game 4: Lightning 4, Rangers 1 | Series tied 2-2

Who was the guy? There’s not a lot left to say about Nikita Kucherov. That’s true for a couple of reasons. One, we’ve watched him work his magic for two consecutive postseasons. It’s tough not to form relationships — good or ill — with players who make that sort of imprint. Role players on back-to-back Cup champions are remembered; stars can manage even more. Two, The Athletic’s Joe Smith has chronicled Kucherov’s career as well (and as extensively) as anyone. If you want testaments to Kucherov’s greatness, you can find them all over the site. One was published Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday night, Kucherov did it again. The headline play was his first even-strength goal of the playoffs, a second-period breakaway that he put past Igor Shesterkin. It wasn’t pure beauty; it’s also a testament to Kucherov’s skill that he can get away with fanning one like this — or it’s a testament to Kucherov’s skill that we can’t say, with any degree of certitude, that he didn’t do it deliberately. He’s that crafty. Crucial, crucial goal.

Kucherov on the breakaway ????

Tampa has a 2-0 lead in the second period #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/kENatrzZsC

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 8, 2022

We’ll take a quick break from the Kucherov lovefest to single out a couple of other elements here: a brutal turnover by Barclay Goodrow, a nice exit pass by Jan Rutta and a beautiful tape-to-tape pass from Ondrej Palat. It takes a village to raise an insurance goal.

And it takes players as consistently remarkable as Kucherov to raise two consecutive Stanley Cup banners. The Lightning are six wins away from a three-peat, and Kucherov has goals in three straight to give himself a third consecutive 20-point playoff run. He might not have been the Lightning’s best player in Game 4. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t The Guy.

What was the key? The fact that Kucherov wasn’t Tampa Bay’s best player. There are some big names mixed into our little write-up. We’ll focus on the Palat-Steven Stamkos-Kucherov line; the Lightning out-attempted New York 10-2 with that group on the ice and controlled better than 98 percent of all expected goals.

Key stat: After going down 2-0 to the Rangers in Game 3, the Lightning scored six consecutive goals and bullied their way into a tied series.

Moment it was over: Late goal from Rangers winger Artemi Panarin aside, you could pencil in a Game 6 after this from Stamkos.

Ondrej Palat grinds out of the corner and throws a shot on net that produces a rebound for Steven Stamkos to slam into the yawning cage, 3-0 Lightning!#GoBolts 3 – 0 #NoQuitInNY
(Game 4 of ECF, NYR Leads Series 2-1) pic.twitter.com/GBnZSjbwR4

— NHL Highlights #StanleyCup | HockeyDaily365 (@HockeyDaily365) June 8, 2022

That came shortly after an off-kilter Tampa Bay power play. For the Rangers, it felt like a potential momentum grab. Instead, Stamkos turned it into an early dagger. By the end of the game, Tampa Bay’s goal total for the series was at 11. Six have been scored by Stamkos or Kucherov.

Moment of the game: A third-period pad save by Andrei Vasilevskiy. It might not have come at the most crucial time — Tampa Bay was up 3-0 with 6:45 remaining — but it was the best signal of the game that he is, in fact, back. Ominous stuff for the Rangers. Vasilevskiy finished with 33 saves on 34 shots and an all-situations goals saved above expected of 1.31.

And honestly, just look at this one. That’s a redirected shot by Jacob Trouba that should give you secondhand groin discomfort.

I tear every leg muscle in my body just by watching Andrei Vasilevskiy make a cool save pic.twitter.com/njtWzoSRgP

— Andrew Weiss (@WeissHockeyTalk) June 8, 2022

Lightning worry meter: ???????? … That Game 1 flop by Vasilevskiy feels like it happened sometime in April. Other teams would be a little more concerned over a 2-2 series. Not this one.

Rangers worry meter: ???????????????? … They’ve played themselves into a best-of-three against the champs. They look increasingly disorganized. Shesterkin, at times, appeared to be gassed. Ryan Strome is hurt. Goodrow, clearly, is dealing with something. And Filip Chytil’s apparent upper-body injury — he left the game after a hit by Victor Hedman — might break up The Kid Line. Could be going better.

Three stars

(Top photo of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov celebrating: Mark LoMoglio / NHLI via Getty Images)

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Red Wings sign Raymond to 8-year, $64.6 million contract

Published

6 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.

Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.

The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.

Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.

Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.

—

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Cousins caps winning drive with TD pass to London as Falcons rally past Eagles 22-21

Published

6 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.

The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.

Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.

Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.

The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.

And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.

Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.

Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.

Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.

Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.

Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.

With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.

Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.

Questionable call

Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.

Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.

Running wild

Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.

Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.

Foles honored

Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”

Injuries

The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).

Up next

Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.

The Eagles play at New Orleans on Sunday.

___

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Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

17 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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