NASHVILLE — One of the big sponsors of Nashville Predators hockey is a local institution called the Fifth Third Bank. On Monday night in Music City, the Edmonton Oilers took that literally.
The Oilers pounded Nashville with five goals in the third period, breaking open a 3-3 tie to bulldoze the Predators 8-3. It was Muscle Beach, sand-in-your-face stuff by the Oilers and their two Hart Trophy favourites, as Leon Draisaitl (four goals and an assist) and Connor McDavid (1-4-5) had 10 points — six in the third period.
This was like John Belushi smashing the guitar in Animal House, as the Oilers penned a hurtin’ song on Nashville’s playoff chances.
Observed Nashville head coach John Hynes: “We got punched in the face pretty good tonight.”
It should be said, Pekka Rinne wasn’t very good in the Predators’ goal, allowing eight goals for the first time in a career that began as Nashville’s eighth-round draft pick back in 2004. A four-time Vezina finalist and the winningest Finnish goaltender in NHL history, the soul of this club was finally yanked with the score 8-3 and 10 minutes to play.
“It was enough,” Hynes said.
“Hate it,” spat Nashville defenceman Roman Josi. “What we did in the third, we just left him out to dry. It’s just not good enough from us. We’ve got to be so much better. You hate it for (Rinne), for sure.”
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The Oilers watched the Calgary Flames give up a goal with 0.1 seconds left in this building last week, then lose the extra point in overtime. And they saw the Vancouver Canucks cough up a 3-1 lead with 8:00 to play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, tossing away two points in a king-sized tank job.
So, as Edmonton walked out of the dressing room tied 3-3 — on a night when none of the teams it’s battling out West were playing — it was a defining moment.
Five goals in 5:13 defined things, all right. It defined the Oilers, a team that will have James Neal and Oscar Klefbom back by week’s end, as a club that might be better than we thought.
“It’s impressive,” said Draisaitl, after his second five-point night of the season. “All four lines … we probably could have scored a few more, too. Those nights, you don’t score five goals in every period. I wouldn’t get used to it.”
Edmonton sweeps the season series with Nashville 3-0, an incremental sign of where this team has come after years of playing doormat to the Preds. The worm is turning out West — this Oilers team is deep and good, and will take a serious run at the Vegas Golden Knights for the Pacific title, who they trail by two with a game in hand. They also host the Golden Knights at Rogers Place twice more this season.
This was another tour de force by the Hart favourite Draisaitl, with McDavid painting around the edges as he leap-frogged both Artemi Panarin and David Pastrnak into second spot in the NHL scoring race. McDavid has 32-64-94, but didn’t gain an inch on Draisaitl, who beefed up his totals to 43-64-107.
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With 14 games to play, suddenly Draisaitl looks good for his second 50-goal, 100-point campaign. He was money on a night when Edmonton scored eight, but went just one-for-one on their league-leading power play.
“If you look at he and McDavid tonight, you go into the third period, game on the line,” began Hynes. “There’s just a different level. Those guys are relentless.
“They have an ability,” he continued, “when big plays need to be made, when the game’s on the line, these guys just rise to a different level. Their compete level, when things are hot and when the game matters? That’s what separates those two guys.”
In a battle of two 37-year-old goalies, Mike Smith was by far the better ‘tendy, running his record in 2020 to 12-1-4. Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had three helpers, while Kailer Yamamoto had 1-1-2 in his return. Kris Russell blocked a shot, left the game, and will be examined Tuesday, with Edmonton playing the Dallas Stars that evening in the Big D.
“Yamo comes in and he just balances out the whole lineup,” said McDavid, who had beaten Nashville once in 12 tries in his entire career before this season. He downplayed the turnabout. “We’re a little bit better, and they’re still a solid team. But we have a better group than we did in previous years, that’s for sure.”
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
