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Oilers at Canadiens: Five things you should know – Montreal Gazette

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Eric Staal skated Sunday for the first time for Montreal and is expected to make his debut Monday after completing a mandatory seven-day quarantine.

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Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Oilers game Monday night at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM).

The matchup: If it seems like the Oilers were just in Montreal, that assessment would be correct. Edmonton was blanked 4-0 by the Canadiens last Tuesday. It was an uninspiring performance by the visitors, who directed only 17 shots at goaltender Carey Price. Of course, it also came a night after the Oilers were in Toronto, edging the Maple Leafs in overtime. The Canadiens, meanwhile, are coming off a 6-3 home-ice loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, the defeat ending Montreal’s three-game winning streak. Edmonton (23-14-1) is second in the North Division, a tie-breaker ahead of Winnipeg, both teams with 47 points. The Oilers also are six points ahead of the fourth-place Canadiens (16-9-9).

There’s a dressing-room stall for Staal: Veteran centre Eric Staal skated Sunday for the first time as a member of the Canadiens. Although the team had the day off, the 36-year-old was on the ice at the Bell Sports Complex with a member of the team’s training staff. Acquired March 26 from Buffalo for a pair of draft choices, Staal is expected to make his Montreal debut on Monday, having completed his mandatory seven-day quarantine. He should be rejuvenated now that he has escaped purgatory playing for a lousy Sabres team. In 32 games this season, Staal has three goals and 10 points, along with a plus/minus rating of -20.

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He doesn’t drop the gloves often: It seemed odd Saturday night when defenceman and Canadiens captain Shea Weber appeared forced into a fight with Senators pest Brady Tkachuk. For starters, at 6-foot-4 and 229 pounds, not many are willing to tangle with Weber. Also, at age 35, isn’t the guy too old to be dropping the gloves? The fight, only his third since coming to Montreal for P.K. Subban, was Weber’s first since March 2020, when he fought Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev. Before that, he hadn’t duked it out with someone since the 2017 playoffs, when he scrapped with the New York Rangers’ J.T. Miller.

This much the Oilers know: Edmonton’s coming off a 3-2 victory at home Friday night against the Calgary Flames. The Oilers’ game the following night, against the visiting Vancouver Canucks, was postponed. According to reports Sunday morning, the number of positive COVID-19 cases on the Canucks has increased to more than 20 players and coaches. While the Oilers will continue on to Ottawa this week for games on Wednesday and Friday, they’re scheduled to entertain Vancouver on April 12 and 14. Those games potentially hang in the balance as of now.

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This and that: Price was beaten for five goals — the sixth was scored into an empty net — on 24 shots Saturday, although he ended up facing 32 shots in total. It marked the fifth time this season Price has surrendered five goals in a game. That’s not good. … Josh Anderson, who paced the Canadiens’ attack with two goals on Saturday, has seven two-goal games in his career — including three this season. … Tyler Toffoli, who returned to Montreal’s lineup Saturday after missing three games with a lower-body injury, scored against the Senators, giving him a team-leading 19 goals in 31 games. … Defenceman Jeff Petry, who might get some consideration for the Norris Trophy, could have removed himself from that conversation with one game. Petry, incredibly, had a plus/minus rating of -5 against Ottawa.

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

twitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1


  1. About Last Night: Senators get revenge on Habs with 6-3 win


  2. Eric Staal skates for first time as member of the Canadiens


  3. Canadiens Game Day: A night to forget for the Habs and Jeff Petry

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David Lipsky shoots 65 to take 1st-round lead at Silverado in FedEx Cup Fall opener

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NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.

Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.

After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.

“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”

Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.

“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”

Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.

Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.

Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.

Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.

Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.

Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.

Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.

Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.

Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.

Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.

That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.

“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”

Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.

Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.

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AP golf:

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic advances to quarterfinals at Guadalajara Open

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.

The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.

The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.

Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.

However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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France investigating disappearances of 2 Congolese Paralympic athletes

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PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.

Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.

Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.

The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.

The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.

Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.

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AP Paralympics:

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