EDMONTON — There is no such thing as the perfect game in hockey — and we’re not even talking about this crazy COVID era, and all the drama that preceded Thursday’s tilt in Montreal.
Take any normal game. Dig into the game sheet hard enough, you can always a flaw or two.
But the effort the Edmonton Oilers laid down in Montreal Thursday — a 3-0 win in which they were in control for a full 60 minutes — was as close as you’ll ever see to regular-season perfection.
Missing first-line winger Jesse Puljujarvi and backup goalie Mikko Koskinen due to COVID protocol, with the start time pushed back an hour so everyone could be re-tested, the Oilers threw a game at the Montreal Canadiens that was, frankly, as good as Edmonton could be expected to play on their final game of a four-game road trip. Maybe as good as they can play — period.
“Trip was a pretty good one,” understated head coach Dave Tippett said of the 3-1 journey. “In Calgary (a 6-4 loss) there was some positive things we took out of that, but not the score obviously. Ottawa we battled (won two) … there’s a lot of people contributing right now. We’re hanging around hockey games and doing enough to win. The thing I liked was we didn’t give up a lot of goals on the trip, that’s our mindset right now.”
The Oilers got a third-line goal (Jujhar Khaira), two more goals from the defence, perfect goaltending from Mike Smith (38 saves), and in no way were they carried by Connor McDavid (two assists), Leon Draisaitl (a powerplay assist each) or the one-for-three powerplay. They’ve allowed three goals in their past three games.
“Everyone wants to chip in,” said Khaira, who scored and has points in four of his last five games (2-3-5). “The guys on the third and fourth line, they’re not going into the game thinking they’re not going to score. They’re trying to produce as well. If anything we just take some pressure off the top guys that produce day in and day out.”
It was Edmonton’s third straight road win and their sixth ‘W’ in the last seven games. With goals from Darnell Nurse and a powerplay blast by Tyson Barrie that salted this one away in Period 3, the Oilers have now had five of their past six goals delivered by defencemen.
After a 3-6 start, the Oilers have found their mojo, and their first brush with COVID had literally no effect on their game night performance.
“It’s strange,” said Khaira, “but it’s something that we’ve been preparing for and it’s something that can happen. Everybody knows that and for all of us it was still a game day. We were focused right when we got up and went through the day and got ready for the game like usual.”
As for Puljujarvi, we’re not entirely sure of his status, other than he was placed on the NHL’s COVID protocol list. The best-case scenario is that it was a false positive, and he can fly home this weekend after testing negative twice. Worst case, he is positive, and will have to quarantine for a while.
Stay tuned.
Livin’ Right
Everything is going in for Darnell Nurse this season. And we mean, EVERYTHING.
On Tuesday he opened the Oilers scoring with a long, low slapper that inexplicably got under Marcus Hogberg’s pads and stick in Ottawa. Then, against the Canadiens, he watched as Habs defenceman Shea Weber rifled the rebound of a Nurse shot off his own defence partner and into the Montreal goal.
“He continues to mature,” said Tippett. “He’s getting extra minutes because of the (Oscar) Klefbom situation, and he’s taking advantage. He’s one of our leaders and you love it when one of your leaders backs it up with his play.”
Nurse played 24:38 and was a plus-one. With the goal, he became the first Oilers defenceman to notch six goals in the opening 16 games of a season since Paul Coffey some 35 years ago, back in 1985-86.
When Tyson Barrie scored later on, the Oilers moved into the NHL lead with 13 goals from their defencemen.
It’s Smith… Mike Smith
OK. Raise your hand if you thought Mike Smith would return from injury and post a 2-0 record, a 0.50, goals-against average and a saves percentage of .985?
Like, the puck must look like a beach ball right now for the big Oilers netminder, no?
“A little smaller than a beach ball, but I’m seeing it pretty good,” he said. “I wanted to come in after missing a month and be really solid for the group. A lot of hard work has gone into the off-season. You want to come back and feel like you’ve not missed a beat. The first two games have gone really well for me.”
His toughest work on a 38-save night may well have been the Canadiens very first shot on goal — a clear-cut breakaway for Nick Suzuki. Smith thwarted him with the glove hand, and would not be beaten the rest of the night.
“It’s big. It’s a 0-0 game at the time,” Smith noted. “Not the ideal start, but to make a save there was huge for our group and we were able to score some goals there and get a big win.”
Smith continues to seek new training methods, and different ways to remain a viable NHL goalie, as his 39th birthday nears next month. Someone should tell this guy that NHL goalies aren’t supposed to improve with age. Not when they’re pushing 40.
“I don’t agree with that at all,” Smith said. “I feel great. Every year I’ve gone home at the end of the year and found out little things I can improve on. I’m always looking to find ways to get better. Until I lose that drive to get better and play a long time in this league, I’ll keep playing and keep doing what I can to help this team win.”
Smith has given up one goal in six periods, a top-shelf bullet by his own defenceman, Adam Larsson. This was his 40th career shut out, something only 45 NHL goalers have accomplished.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
