EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers will have a huge advantage, they said. The Montreal Canadiens had one decent practice in a week. Their legs will be like cinder blocks, they said.
And then the Canadiens scored just 18 seconds into the game. Then they blasted home another one at 3:23. And by the time the game was over, the score read Montreal Canadiens 4, Conventional Wisdom 0.
Jump?
The Canadiens had jump.
The Oilers? They got jumped.
“We didn’t start very well. We didn’t play very well. We didn’t end very well,” said head coach Dave Tippett — a thought bubble above his head of two crucial points with wings, flying off into the heavens — after the Oilers’ 4-0 loss Tuesday.
But, seriously. How do you know?
In this weird, unpredictable pandemic season, 19 out of 20 hockey experts would have told you that the Habs had no prayer of beating anyone after their week-long layoff due to COVID-19 protocols, with just a single practice Monday evening and a morning skate to prepare.
Then they steamrolled Edmonton, in a game that was never close. How does that happen?
“If I could answer that question I would be a billionaire,” said Connor McDavid, whose Oilers were supposed to play three games in Montreal last week, and ended up stuffing one in Tuesday before flying home. “One of the longest road trips I think I’ve ever been on and we played three games. Lots of sittin’ around doing nothing.”
How does an NHL player feel off a week away from the rink, like the Habs experienced?
“Either you feel great or you feel like crap,” McDavid said. “They obviously felt pretty good out there tonight.”
It was Edmonton’s first regulation loss in six games, and a blip in a long skein of games in which they were wholly competitive. In a schedule like this one, performances like this are inevitable.
“We didn’t have it. But it’s a good reset for us,” said Tippett. “There have been some things in our game that have been an undercurrent for us. We go on the road for three games in 10 days, or whatever the hell it was. Not ideal.”
Coaching in the 2020-21 season, even for a veteran like Tippett, is a new experience.
“This is not a regular time,” he said. “This is a whole different bird here. Every day is a new challenge.”
Tres Belle Centre
You can’t talk Oilers history if you don’t begin with their first-ever National Hockey League series win, a stunning upset of the Montreal Canadiens back in 1981. It was the 14th place Oilers versus the No. 3 Habs — and Edmonton swept the opening round best-of-five in three straight games.
Back then, the Canadiens were playing in the old Forum, though today a game at the Bell Centre remains an experience that every NHL fan should treat themselves to.
“Tons of history,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Even getting to practice there last week, it is still a cool experience. This many years in the league (10), and you still enjoy it and take it all in. With fans, the atmosphere is incredible. Without fans, it’s still the old, classic building.”
Why have the Oilers enjoyed playing there so much over the years? How about this: they usually win, posting an incredible all-time record in Montreal of 43-19-7. Since Nugent-Hopkins came into the league, the Oilers are 8-2-1 in Montreal, winning their only game here this season.
“I didn’t know that,” Nugent-Hopkins said of his career mark. “We’ve always had some good games here. It’s fun to play in this building – definitely one of the best places to play in the league.”
Tippett recalls from his time as a player, when his Hartford Whalers were in the Adams Division with Montreal and Boston, his team played in a shopping mall, while the Bruins and Canadiens played in hockey cathedrals.
“You’d go into the old Original Six cities, the hockey atmosphere is contagious,” he said. “Players like to play here. They’re enthused to play here, and a lot of times you’ve got family, and it turns into a fun place to play.”
Next Up
Edmonton comes home for just long enough to change out their suitcases — and play the Calgary Flames on Friday and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday — before flying back out East to play Montreal on Monday, then a pair in Ottawa vs. the Senators on Wednesday and Friday.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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