EDMONTON — They’ve been talking about goals against and 5-on-5 play since Darnell Nurse told us this in late December:
“5-on-5, obviously, we have to get our goals down,” Nurse declared. “We talk about it far too often in the last five years that I’ve been here.”
Then Connor McDavid arrived in camp and swiftly remarked, “No one’s putting their head in the sand here. Everyone understands where we’re at, and we’ve got to keep the puck out of our net if we want to be successful.”
Then opening night arrived, and Edmonton gave up five.
Five, 5-on-5 goals in a 5-3 loss Wednesday — a game that showed exactly what team the Edmonton Oilers are trying not to be.
“We haven’t played in a while,” said the less-than-trusty defenceman Adam Larsson. “I don’t think we expected the perfect game, but this was far from it. There are certain areas where we have to get a lot better.
“The greasy areas, we have to do a lot better work.”
The goaltending was average and the defensive zone coverage well below that, as the Vancouver Canucks exploited goalie Mikko Koskinen for three goals that were some version of a breakaway, and another one-timer by a wide-open Adam Gaudette left to make a sandwich between the hash marks.
Look: Vancouver was the better team, no doubt. They deserved the two points, unequivocally.
The Canucks can score, and when they’re skating in alone on your goalie shift after shift, they’ll beat you for fun. That’s what happened in the season opener, as Vancouver held leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-2 and 5-3.
Braden Holtby was better than Koskinen, but wasn’t left to his own devices nearly as much as the big Finn. Edmonton’s loose play from the qualifying-round loss to Chicago never missed a beat versus Vancouver.
“Just poor reads and poor puck play by some people,” said Oilers head coach Dave Tippett. “Grade-A chances against. Give up enough of them and they’re going to capitalize.”
Was it the number of chances allowed that disturbed Tippett? Or the quality of chances?
“Both,” he began, “but the quality of the ones they scored on, you’ve got to find ways to defend better on those. Larsson made a poor read on the first one. (Zack) Kassian made a poor read on the fifth one. Caleb Jones made a poor read on (the fourth one). Those are puck play errors compounded by poor reads, mistakes by players that lead to Grade-A chances against.
“Those are the ones,” Tippett continued. “If we want to be a better team, a harder team to play against, those are the ones that have to come out of our game.”
McDavid went pointless in 25:42 of ice time, but created more than enough opportunities. It was his opposite number, the once defensively accountable Larsson, whose duty was derelict.
Is Larsson finished as a shutdown-type defenceman? He was poor last season, brutal in the qualifying round, and on opening night he made two reads that resulted in Canucks walking in all alone to score on Koskinen.
There used to be a strong defensive defenceman here, and may still be one. But a season that begs for a major bounce-back began with a thud for Larsson.
“It was a couple of breakdowns today that cost us goals,” Larsson said. “We still believe in our team we still have really good players I’m really confident we’ll get this fixed tomorrow.”
There is no need to overreact, with a rematch Thursday against Vancouver. In fact, starting the season this way is an excellent reminder that this flashy, offensive-minded Oilers team won’t win squat until they learn to figure the parts of the game that never make the highlight reel.
Tippett has been preaching that for the entirety of training camp. We’d say he should have a receptive crew at this morning’s video session.
“We had a very receptive team at the beginning of camp and we still have a receptive team,” he said, clearly miffed post-game. “It’s a matter of doing it.
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.
