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Nick Suzuki’s will drives Canadiens to bounce-back win over Senators – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

February 6, 2021

It’s 1-1 between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens during a second period that’s not going particularly well for Montreal, and Nick Suzuki has just taken a rush up the ice when the puck gets turned over in the Ottawa end.

Suzuki takes a sharp cut south, gets going in a full sprint to catch up to the play and arrives just in front of Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen to lift Chris Tierney’s stick and take away what would’ve been the Senators’ best scoring chance of the first 30 minutes.

It’s a subtle play, one of the dozens Suzuki customarily makes in any given game. But making it after he won a faceoff, blocked a shot, rushed up the ice and had to rush back offers you a window into the competitive drive of this 21-year-old kid.

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We’re usually talking about Suzuki’s craftiness, his skill, and the tantalizing moves that had him enter Saturday’s matinee as Montreal’s top-scoring centre (11 points in 11 games). But he does tend to get undersold on the will element, and in this game—a 2-1 win built much more on will than skill for a Canadiens side that didn’t play its best—it’s that element of Suzuki’s game which shone brightest.

Spotlight on his play on Tierney; on the first-period battles with former teammate Mike Reilly, who knocked Suzuki down twice in one shift but didn’t get the better of him on the whole sequence; on the way he beat Artem Zub to a loose puck to generate the rebound Josh Anderson buried his eighth goal of the season on for the game-winner; and on the two faceoffs he drew back in the final seconds of play—one of them with the Canadiens down two men, with Ben Chiarot looking on from the penalty box and the Senators icing an extra attacker while goaltender Matt Murray sat on the bench. This was all a direct contrast to how Suzuki played in Montreal’s 3-2 loss to the Senators on Thursday.

The London, Ont., native played a rare bad game, said afterwards that he fought the puck, struggled reading the play, got lost in his own zone and got beat clean in the faceoff circle.

Canadiens coach Claude Julien heard Suzuki’s comments before making his own that night, and then he said he was certain his young centreman would bounce back.

“(I) said that the other day that I’m sure he’s going to bounce back,” reminded Julien after Saturday’s win.

Why was he so sure?

“Just knowing the individual, his character and what we’ve seen from him in the past,” Julien explained.

No mention of Suzuki’s skill there. No mention of his vision, or his playmaking ability. It’s about will, when a player digs in to make a big defensive stop. It’s about will, when a player who’s lost 11 of 15 faceoffs gets into the circle late in the game and pulls back the two you need most.

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.

Phillip Danault, who had won 52 per cent of his faceoffs but was struggling on his weak side said he told Suzuki to take those last two because they were on the right-hander’s strong side.

“I told Suz to be a little hungrier,” Danault said.

Suzuki obliged. And he was hungrier all game.

Not everyone in a white sweater was. Julien felt a few players on the Canadiens didn’t quite push their chips into the middle, to the point that he felt the need to intervene after the second period to demand more of a commitment.

It’s what was needed with the way the Senators were playing.

“I thought their D were doing a great job of staying on top of us,” said Suzuki. “We had a lot of success with bringing out the puck earlier this season, and in these couple of games we struggled a little bit. They were right on top of us. So we’ve gotta do a better job of finding ways to move the puck out of our end, and you’ve gotta give them credit sometimes.”

We’ll give the Senators the share they deserve—they out-shot Montreal 27-14 over the final 40 minutes and played a simple, hard game that belied their 2-8-1 record coming into Saturday’s action at Canadian Tire Centre. The rest goes to Suzuki, Anderson, Jeff Petry, who scored the opening goal for Montreal, and Allen.

The Montreal goaltender was doing hockey’s version of a shirshasana (that’s Yoga speak for a headstand) in the crease, coming up with 34 saves for his fourth win in five starts.

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We suspected it was Julien’s plan to start Allen—the goaltender confirmed he was told he was getting the nod 48 hours before puck drop—and argued on Friday that Julien should alter it to get Carey Price into a rhythm and give him a chance to redeem himself from an off-night Thursday, especially with the Canadiens idle for the next three days.

But the coach stuck his guns, and has to be credited for doing so.

“We knew we had a good goaltender since the first day we got him,” Julien said of Allen, who’s sporting a .940 save percentage. “I know that we don’t have a busy schedule at the moment, but we’re able to keep our two goalies playing and keep them as fresh and as sharp as possible. It’s certain that as we move along there’s going to be more games where you’ll see that this (strategy) will be fruitful for both goalies.”

Price will surely get his shot at redemption Wednesday versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’ll have to be much better in a game that will require many other players on the Canadiens to redeem themselves after two relatively causal performances against a much weaker Senators team.

It’s also a game that will present Suzuki the opportunity to keep things rolling because he bounced back with one of the most competitive efforts in his short time in a Canadiens uniform.

Suzuki showed his maturity and his poise on Saturday.

“His character, as well,” said Danault. “Suz has been awesome for us so far. He works hard. He knows when he’s playing good or not, which gives him really another step, and he also can push himself to another level.”

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Ravens win fifth straight game by beating Bucs 41-31

Published

24 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.

The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.

Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.

Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.

The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

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CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.

Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.

Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.

It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.

Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.

Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.

It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.

Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

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Struggling Whitecaps, Timbers set to meet in MLS wild-card matchup

Published

24 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.

With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.

The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.

The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.

An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”

Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.

There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.

“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.

Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.

“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”

Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.

“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.

“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”

The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).

The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.

Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).

The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.

To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.

“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”

A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.

The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.

“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)

Wednesday, Providence Park

HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.

ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.

POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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No rugby, field hockey, badminton, triathlon or cricket at leaner 2026 Commonwealth Games

Published

24 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.

Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.

The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.

There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.

The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.

It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.

“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.

Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.

More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.

The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”

Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.

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