Alexander Ovechkin — the greatest pure goal scorer of all the generations — showed up at the rink with a new look and his old tricks, as the Washington Capitals rose from an 0-3 series deficit and 0-2 Game 4 deficit to inject a furious dose of pushback and belief some doubted we’d ever see from the Metropolitan Division superpower.
Entering Tuesday’s elimination test with just a single bubble win and reared way back on their heels at 5-on-5 play through the first 10 periods of a surprisingly lopsided series to former coach Barry Trotz’s organized New York Islanders, something switched in the 2018 champs.
Sustained pressure, a gradual compounding of positive offensive-zone shifts, a crunching Radko Gudas hip check on Cal Clutterbuck, an Evgeny Kuznetsov strike…
“I could feel the push coming,” Capitals coach Todd Reirden would later say.
Then Ovie went beast mode. A clapper from his circular office smacked a dialled-in Semyon Varlamov in the mask, and a second from the same spot (you know the one) tied the game.
An Ovechkin-led 2-on-1 rush in which everyone on their sofa knew there’d be no pass ended in a wicked wrister, another red lamp, and — scariest of all — a seed of belief.
“Nothing to lose, right? We started playing our game,” said Ovechkin, after his second two-goal effort in three games. “It was great hockey by us.
“You never know what’s going to happen.”
The captain’s winner and 69th playoff goal completed a 3-2 comeback and scooted him past both Gordie Howe and Sidney Crosby for sole possession of 18th spot on the all-time list.
“No one can score goals like this player. It’s the other stuff that went on,” Rierden said post-game. “There was the stuff that was said in the locker room. There was stuff that was said to the teammates. It was stuff that was said on the bench. It was physicality. It was belief. It was the emotion he showed after he scored the goal. Get in line, ’cause we’re goin’.”
Absolutely, the Islanders have been the superior squad since arriving in the bubble. And, yes, Trotz’s consistent, four-line rollout has three more chances to stomp out his former employer. Math and history peg the Capitals’ chances of rallying from 1-3 and stealing the series at a measly 9.4 per cent.
Yet Tuesday felt more like a ground shift than a last gasp, and the Isles may lament all the power plays (all five in this game, 18 of 19 in the series) they’ve left uncashed.
“Momentum is a crazy thing in this game, and you have to earn it,” John Carlson said.
The Capitals’ awakening began with scissors and shavers. Jakub Vrana, goal-less all post-season, arrived at Game 4 with a buzzcut. Kuznetsov chopped his down to the wood. Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie went with mean, clean goatees.
“What happens with the team stays with the team,” Kuznetsov said of the group barbering.
Superstition? Bonding? Symbolism?
“You always try to adapt and do different things that you think can give you an edge physically, mentally. Try different stuff to maybe get yourself out of a funk. That’s happened in every sport for years and years,” Reirden explained.
“So, this was an example of some different things that went on with our team, and there’s obviously many other things that go on behind closed doors. We’ve got a strong leadership group. We’ve got a strong bond in our team and belief. And we know that if we’re going to get anywhere, it’s going to be together. And that was the most buy-in that we’ve obviously had in the playoffs.”
Without rabid fans on hand to unleash their fury, the Capitals have struggled to create their own energy.
It has taken favourites like the Bruins and Blues a few games to do likewise, but they mustered that urgency absent in the round-robin games before putting themselves on the brink.
The Caps left it till the final 40 minutes, and Reirden admitted that self-generating momentum through repetitive, fierce shifts and feeding off their own teammates has proved a greater challenge in the bubble than anticipated.
For at least one night, the Capitals rediscovered their identity, their joy.
Yes, that jump resulted in 63 per cent of Game 4’s even-strength shot attempts. More importantly, it resulted in two more nights at Hotel X — minimum.
“I think we just stopped thinking about those Corsi, whatever that stat is, and just trying to play fun hockey. We tried to hold on to the puck, and that’s how we always played,” Kuznetsov said in his second language.
“Maybe I’m not understanding the hockey, but I think that’s how we’re supposed to play. It’s not about the thousand shots — it’s about the possession. It’s about wearing them down, and it’s about enjoying it and having fun.
“That’s maybe not the NHL typical hockey, but that’s how we’re supposed to play. And if we’re going to play like that, we’re going to have joy, we’re going to have fun, and we’re going to have success.”
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.
