Oilers turn Stanley Cup final into a classic, but Canada’s drought continues

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Joel Eriksson Ek scored two goals and added three assists as the Minnesota Wild grounded the Winnipeg Jets 8-5 in NHL pre-season action on Friday.

Kirikk Kaprizov had two power-play goals for the Wild, who scored seven goals in the second period to break open a tight game.

Ben Jones, Mats Zuccarello, Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov also scored for the Wild who got a 36-save performance from netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. Thirteen players had at least one point for the Wild in the lopsided win.

Cole Perfetti, Mason Appleton, Nikita Chibrikov, Brayden Yager and Morgan Barron scored for the Jets, who had two power-play goals.

The teams were tied 1-1 after the first period and the Wild took an 8-2 lead into the final frame.

Connor Hellebuyck allowed eight goals in two periods of play, stopping 21 of 29 shots. Thomas Milic stopped all six shots he faced in the final period.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.

Wild: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

WINNIPEG – Zach Collaros threw a career-high six touchdown passes to ignite the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a 55-27 victory over the Edmonton Elks that extended their win streak to seven games and clinched a playoff spot for the eighth consecutive season.

Winnipeg’s first four series of the game resulted in TD catches by Nic Demski, Keric Wheatfall and Brady Oliveira, plus a field goal by Sergio Castillo.

The explosion of points had the team’s third straight sellout crowd of 32,243 at Princess Auto Stadium cheering wildly as the CFL West Division-leading Blue Bombers improved to 9-6.

The Elks dropped to 5-10 and have a flicker of a chance to still make the CFL playoffs.

Collaros completed 21 of 26 pass attempts for a season-high 432 yards with the six touchdowns and no interceptions. His career best for passing in a game is 439 yards.

Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who got the start ahead of Tre Ford, had a tough night against Winnipeg’s stifling defence. He was 19-of-34 passing for 223 yards with three TDs and no picks.

Winnipeg led 17-0 after the first quarter, 34-6 at halftime and 41-20 heading into the fourth.

Demski had a pair of TD receptions for 40 and 11 yards, while Kenny Lawler added two majors with catches of six and seven yards.

Lawler finished with a game high of 130 yards off eight catches and Demski had four receptions for 117 yards.

Wheatfall took a pass and turned it into a 61-yard major and Oliveira grabbed a short toss and deked and dashed 33 yards into the end zone.

Winnipeg defensive end TyJuan Garbutt scooped up a fumbled Edmonton pass attempt and ran 62 yards for a TD.

Castillo connected on field goals from 39 and 33 yards and made seven converts.

Edmonton kicker Boris Bede booted an 18-yard field goal at 10:10 of the second quarter to get the visitors on the board. He added a 24-yarder as time expired on the first half and made three converts.

Eugene Lewis, Tevin Jones and Dillon Mitchell each had TD catches for the Elks.

Edmonton’s fortunes turned early.

On Winnipeg’s first series of the game, Lawler fumbled a catch the Elks recovered but a review deemed Lawler had been down by contact.

Three plays later, Collaros fired the ball to Demski in the end zone at 3:04 and Castillo hit the convert to begin spinning the numbers on the scoreboard.

Edmonton’s first four possessions ended with three punts and a turnover on downs.

Collaros used the turnover for a TD pass to Wheatfall and 17-0 lead at 12:49 of the first quarter.

At that point in the game, Bethel-Thompson had completed one of three passes for nine yards. Collaros was 6-of-7 for 143 yards.

Oliveira made his run to the end zone at 1:09 of the second quarter, followed by Garbutt’s fumble-recovery TD at 6:45 to make it 31-0.

Three field goals ended the first half.

Lewis, Lawler and Jones provided three touchdowns for the third-quarter scoring that cut Winnipeg’s lead to 41-20.

Demski added his second TD of the game 23 seconds into the fourth, followed by Lawler’s stretching grab in the end zone at 7:06 to boost the lead 55-20.

Mitchell recorded his 37-yard TD catch as time expired.

UP NEXT

Elks: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Blue Bombers: Visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

TORONTO – Xavier Edwards made franchise history on Friday by becoming the first Miami Marlins player to record three triples in a single game. His achievement helped the Marlins crush the fading Toronto Blue Jays 15-5 at Rogers Centre.

Edwards emerged as Miami’s hero early in this contest, smacking his first triple in the second inning and finishing the contest 3-for-5 with four RBIs. In addition to setting a franchise record, the 25-year-old became the first Major League Baseball player with three triples in a single game since 2014.

“It’s definitely cool to get an opportunity to run at full speed and get to open it up,” Edwards said of his impressive evening.

The Marlins (60-100) broke through early, plating three runs in the first inning off Jays’ starter Jose Berríos. Miami built some heavy momentum and never slowed down, recording 17 hits.

Jonah Bride was also an integral part of the Marlins victory. The Marlins infielder hit two homers, his 10th and 11th of the season, and drove in three RBIs to secure Miami’s lead.

The Blue Jays (74-86) came up short in their 12-hit effort, which included Ernie Clement’s solo homer in the fourth inning, his 12th of the season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added two singles and an RBI, bringing him one hit shy of 200 on the season, while Alejandro Kirk extended his hitting streak to 18 games.

“We didn’t pitch well at all,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I think effort and compete — that was there. (We’ll) move on to tomorrow.”

Berríos (16-11) took the loss, allowing six earned runs on six hits in just three innings of work, marking his shortest start of the season. The right-hander also struck out four batters and yielded three walks.

“Frustrating that that’s his last outing for the year,” said Schneider, summarizing Berríos’ season. “But I think, looking at his overall body of work, he should be really proud of the things that he did on and off the field.”

The Marlins quickly extended their lead in the second inning as Otto Lopez singled, Kyle Stowers walked, and Nick Fortes advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Edwards capped off the Marlins rally with a two-run triple off Berríos.

The Blue Jays responded against Marlins starter Adam Oller (2-4) in the bottom of the third, as Nathan Lukes doubled off the right-field wall, scoring Leo Jiménez from second. Spencer Horwitz singled up the middle, driving in George Springer and Lukes two batters later.

Oller earned the win for the Marlins, pitching five innings and allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out three.

The Marlins poured it on with five runs in the seventh inning. Griffin Conine homered, Edwards picked up his third triple of the night, and Jake Burger, after driving in a run earlier, doubled for his team-leading 76th RBI of the season.

The Rogers Centre roof opened an hour before first pitch, revealing cloudy skies. Announced attendance was 31,597, and the game lasted three hours, seven minutes.

SCHUMAKER LEAVES THE TEAM

Midway through Friday’s game, the Marlins announced manager Skip Schumaker would miss the remaining two games of the season due to a family medical issue. Bench coach Luis Urueta will manage in Schumaker’s place.

MARLINS MAKE A MOVE

Before the game, Miami placed reliever Declan Cronin (3-4) on the 15-day injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis and activated right-hander Mike Baumann (3-1) from the paternity list.

ROTATION SHUFFLE

Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt (10-14) will not pitch in Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins, Schneider announced Friday. With the Jays eliminated from playoff contention, the Jays skipper said he prefers to rest Bassitt and let other pitchers see some action.

UP COMING

The Blue Jays send right-hander Yariel Rodríguez (1-7) to the hill for the second leg of this three-game series on Saturday. The Marlins have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.