EDMONTON — There is some irony that an Edmonton Oilers team that started the season so slowly it got its coach fired, is at the same time the best first period team in the National Hockey League with 31 goals. The fastest starters, this bunch of tardy gentlemen.
But there were the Edmonton Oilers on a Sunday night against Anaheim, down 1-0 early, then 2-1, against one of a group of teams they’ll have to work their way past in the Western Conference standings if the season is going to extend past mid-April.
For the past month, an early 2-1 deficit most often continued south, getting uglier and uglier as the night wore on. But two nights after the Oilers had pounded the Washington Capitals 5-0 down in D.C., Edmonton grabbed hold the game and won it in a romp, dusting the Ducks 8-2.
“The first 10 or 15 minutes for sure, was a little sloppy. (But) I thought they did a heck of a job in the last 50 minutes,” observed head coach Kris Knoblauch. “We gave up 11 shots in the last 50 minutes of hockey, so I think they were playing pretty responsible from then on.”
All the right things happened in this one, if you’re an Oilers fan.
The obvious — eight goals — was the offence created in Edmonton’s biggest outburst of the season. But the powerplay scored a couple, Connor McDavid lit it up with a goal and five points, and the Oilers rolled into a scheduled day off on Monday feeling pretty good about the areas that make this team tick.
Oilers’ McDavid walks in on the three-on-one and fires his seventh goal of the season
“It’s nice to be able to break through and get our offence going a little bit,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who had a goal and went plus-4. “Early in the season the puck wasn’t going in. We were trying hard and trying to get around it, but I think it does help the confidence when they start going in.”
Ya think?
An eight-goal explosion is exactly what this club needs, with Vegas in town on Tuesday night.
Across the way, the Ducks were reeling. They’ve lost six straight.
“A lot of our guys are not used to seeing McDavid or Draisaitl, and that team’s fast, so we’ll learn from it,” said Ducks coach Greg Cronin. “We’re on a bit of a losing streak, we’ve got to figure out a way to get out of it.”
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Zach on Attack
Zach Hyman scored two more goals Monday, and now has 12 goals in 20 games.
After scoring a career-high 36 last season, he’s on pace to perhaps reach 40 for the first time in his career.
“Goal scorers, no matter who you are — Ovechkin , Stamkos, Matthews — they’ve got an exceptional shot,” began Knoblauch. “Maybe (Hyman) doesn’t have that natural ability to score from the perimeter or outside the dots, but as good as they are at scoring goals it usually (happens) around the net.
“Zach’s been going to the net and not getting tied up. He’s getting inside position, and not allowing defenceman to lift his stick. And he’s been rewarded.
“And,” the coach added, “it doesn’t hurt playing with Draisaitl and McDavid. They find him a lot.”
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Back To Fine Form
It just never seemed right to have to scroll to Page 3 or 4 to finds Connor McDavid’s name in the NHL scoring race. But there he sat, somewhere in the 100’s, for much of the first 18 games of the Oilers’ season.
Was he healthy? Couldn’t be…
Had he lost his confidence? How can that happen to a player of this pedigree.
McDavid and Oilers far from ‘dead in the water’ after two straight dominant performances
Whatever it was, McDavid busted out with his first three-point night of the season in Washington, with a four-assist night. Then, another 1-4-5 on Sunday against Anaheim, and a player who stood 39th in league scoring when he awoke Sunday morning went to bed in 16th place and climbing.
“Confidence is obviously a bit part of it,” said McDavid, who has 12 points in his last 4 games. “Our whole team is playing better and I think that is why you are starting to see guys have success. It is not just a light switch that one or two guys can just turn on — it takes a whole group.
“Our group has been playing better of late and you are starting to see guys have a little bit of success. Guys are making plays and it is just going in.”
It was the 39th three-plus assist game for McDavid, who passes Jari Kurri for third place in that category in the Oilers record books. He trails only Mark Messier (41) and, of course, the great Wayne Gretzky, who only accomplished that feat 143 times.
It was McDavid’s ninth career five-point game. No active NHL player has that many.
“I’m not sure what turned it around,” said Knoblauch. “He’s an elite athlete — he was going to figure it out.”
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Evander Kane had a goal, an assist, and 10 hits in 18:47 of ice time. Through this whole team slump he has been one of Edmonton’s most consistent players … With two assists it was the first multi-point game of Vincent Desharnais’ career … Cam Fowler went minus-5 for the Ducks … the Oilers have a scheduled day off on Monday and hoist Vegas for the first time since last year’s playoff series loss on Tuesday.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
TORSBY, Sweden (AP) — David Beckham and former England coach Roy Hodgson were among the soccer dignitaries who attended the funeral of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday in the Swedish manager’s small hometown of Torsby.
Eriksson’s wooden coffin was covered in white flowers and surrounded by six tall candles and other floral wreaths as the ceremony began inside the 600-seat Fryksande church.
“It is a day of grief but also a day of thankfulness,” the priest, Ingela Älvskog, told those in attendance.
Beckham, who arrived by private jet on Thursday, greeted Eriksson’s 95-year-old father Sven and other family members with hugs inside the church before the funeral started.
Eriksson became England’s first foreign-born coach when he led the national team from 2001-06, and made Beckham his captain.
Eriksson, who also won trophies at club level in Italy, Portugal and Sweden, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 76, eight months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had at most one year to live.
Some 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church from 1898 were reserved for his family, friends and players from his career in the football world, according to his agent. The remaining seats were open for the public, according to Eriksson’s wish, with a big screen set up outside the church where hundreds more gathered to watch the ceremony. The funeral was also broadcast live on some Swedish media websites.
The wooden coffin was wheeled in by pallbearers at the church Friday morning as fog wrapped Torsby — a town of about 4,000 people located about 310 kilometers (193 miles) west of Stockholm. Next to the casket was a photo of Eriksson on a small table. The floral wreaths included ones sent by FIFA and Lazio, the Italian team that Eriksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
The ceremony began with somber piano and organ music, but later took on a more upbeat note with Swedish singer Charlotta Birgersson performing Elton John’s song “Candle In The Wind” and then “My Way” in a duet with Johan Birgersson, who later intoned the popular Italian song “Volare” after the family had gathered around the casket to lay flowers.
Beckham also visited Eriksson in Sweden in June to say goodbye. Others attending the funeral included the Swedish coach’s longtime partner Nancy Dell’Olio. Eriksson’s agent had said that guests from England, Italy and Spain were expected.
After the funeral, the casket was carried out of the church by eight men to the hearse. The guests then walked in a procession accompanying the coffin to a nearby museum where speeches and eulogies to the coach fondly known as “Svennis” were planned on an outdoor stage. A brass band played during the procession through Torsby, including the tune “You never walk alone” from the musical “Carousel” which has become the anthem of Liverpool, the club Eriksson supported since childhood.
The local soccer club Torsby IF, where Eriksson started his career in the 1960s, wrote on its webpage that “you also showed your greatness by always being yourself, the caring Svennis who talked to everyone and took the time, for big and small, asking how things were and how the football was going. We will miss you.”
