EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers are, in many ways, the Toronto Maple Leafs West.
They’ve always had the skill guys, the ones who lead the league in jersey sales and look great in a 6-5 shootout. But come February and March, a bunch of guys in a uniform you’d never buy — sorry, Nashville — annually come through town and work them for two points.
Or perhaps more accurately, “outwork” them for two points.
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They ran this race on a muddy track in Edmonton Saturday, and the Oilers managed to turn a 2-0 deficit into a mucky, dirty 3-2 regulation win. This was the opposite of fire wagon hockey: Gritty, limited space, hard-checking, stretch run hockey.
You can win all the track meets you want in November and December.
If you can’t win a game like this in February? You’re not going anywhere, pal.
“No, and we’ve seen that in the past,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the longest-serving Oiler. “We could win those pretty games when things were easy, but when push comes to shove you’ve got to be able to win games like these. Games against Calgary, St. Louis… It’s good we’re battling all the way through and finding ways to win.”
Mike Smith, who was stellar versus the Preds, suddenly hasn’t lost a game in regulation since Dec. 20 (7-0-2). He’s been around long enough to know hockey’s change of seasons, as games turn colour — to black and blue — with the playoffs approaching.
“I think we’ve seen our team when we’ve tried to out-skill teams and outscore teams and it works for maybe a game or two here or there,” Smith said. “But consistently, it doesn’t give yourself a chance to win on any given night. It doesn’t give you a chance to make the playoffs, let alone be a good team in the playoffs. And I think this team is figuring that out slowly.”
Look, Nashville isn’t a great team. We get that.
They don’t score much. Never have, actually. So they’ve perfected the art of the 2-1 or 3-2 win.
The Preds copyrighted the act of coming into your building, scoring one in the first, another in the second, then nursing a game home the way they did in Calgary two days before.
“We expected that coming in,” Nugent-Hopkins said, “and then really understood it once the game got going. It wasn’t going to be fancy or pretty. We had to keep it simple.
“It was a greasy game.”
In Gary Bettman’s National Hockey League, where parity — no, competitive balance — rules the day, March happens in February. We used to get pseudo playoff games like this one for the final three weeks of the regular season. Now we get them starting in about the second week of February.
Kyle Turris hoofed home an own-goal with nine seconds left in the second period to give Edmonton life, trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes. Then Leon Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins, whose mixture of sublime defensive work and high-end offensive skills make him perhaps the perfect linemate for the big German, went to work.
Nugent-Hopkins thwarted a Turris chance with a stellar bit of checking, and moments later sauced a backhand pass across the ice to send Draisaitl wide. He would beat Juuse Saros to draw the Oilers even, then score the winner on a Nugent-Hopkins feed 10 minutes later, on the power play.
It was Draisaitl’s 31st goal and league-leading 85th point.
“He is such a dominant player when he plays a big, strong game,” marvelled head coach Dave Tippett. “He just holds the puck and can dominate the game at times. People don’t give him enough credit for being a fast player. He can beat people out wide as you saw on our second goal.
“And you don’t have to tell him that he had a couple of tough games. He is a smart hockey guy. His dad is a coach — he knows how to evaluate his own game. He knew things weren’t going as well as he liked and he knows he is one of the leaders on our team and he played with a purpose to turn it around tonight.”
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McDavid injured his knee when he crashed into the end boards in the second period. He was not made available to the media after the game, but Tippett didn’t sound too stressed about the left knee injury‚ the same knee he rehabbed all summer long.
“He has a little bruise on top of his knee or something like that,” Tippett said. “They looked at it between periods, he iced it and they wanted to ice him right after the game. I asked him how he was doing and he said ‘I’m fine, I’m playing.’ He got out there and played.
“As far as I know it is nothing serious.”
Edmonton will enjoy an off day on Sunday, so the next McDavid update will not come until we see if he skates out for Monday’s 11 a.m. MT practice.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
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.”
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.
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.
