Sports

Player grades: Edmonton Oilers collapse in miserable loss to Ottawa Senators – Edmonton Journal

Published

3 years ago

January 16, 2022

Publishing date:

Jan 15, 2022 • 5 hours ago • 5 minute read • 10 Comments

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) makes a save on Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson (19) during the second period at Rogers Place on Jan. 15, 2022. Photo by Perry Nelson /USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers played a great game for two periods, they really did. But then the Oil collapsed in the third period with the defensive pairing of Evan Bouchard and William Lagesson on for three straight goals against.

Lagesson and Bouchard first allowed an odd-man rush and a goal against.

Then young goalie Stu Skinner coughed up the puck for a goal.

Then Bouchard screened Skinner on Ottawa’s fourth goal.

Edmonton tied it up, but after Cody Ceci took a penalty, Ottawa won it on a power play goal, with the final score 6-4.

Brutal loss and brutal way to lose it.

“We come in, work ourselves to a 3-1 lead and we just five it away,” Connor McDavid said after the game.

The scoring chances were 21 for the Oilers, just nine for the Sens ( running count ).

Connor McDavid, 7 . He made major contributions to 10 Grade A shots but didn’t get one point. This wasn’t his night. His puck control was iffy to start, including him losing the handle on a break-in chance. But his hard charge up the ice led an Ottawa penalty and a 5-on-3 power play. He could not beat a sprawling Matt Murray in the first on an open 5-on-3 slot shot. How did he miss? Maybe some rust. On Ottawa’s fourth goal, he got in to deep to his own zone, allowing the Sens to move the puck easily into shooting position.

Leon Draisaitl, 8. He also was great on the attack, making major contributions to ten Grade A shots. He was dangerous on the 5-on-3 but got it done on the 5-on-4 in the first, winning a huge battle in the corner, then feeding Kassian for a goal, one of many such battles won and great feeds he made all game.

Zack Kassian, 6. Excellent slot shot in the first to score Edmonton’s first goal. Solid game.

Ryan McLeod, 5. Sweet feed to Bouchard in the first. He made a fine defensive stop on Brady Tkachuk in the second. He failed to cut out the pass to the slot on Ottawa’s third goal.

Jesse Puljujarvi, 6. He and Hyman came out strong on the forecheck, popping and protecting pucks. He won the puck to kick off the sequence leading to Kass’s power play goal in the first. His stretch pass was crucial to Edmonton’s fourth goal.

Zach Hyman, 7. One of his better games. His hard work in the first saw him puck protect to set up McLeod, who sent a cross ice dart to Bouchard for a shot off the post. On Edmonton’s 5-on-3 in the first, he jammed two shots on net from the crease and set up McD in the slot, but no goals. He made a huge cross-ice dart to Nurse on Edmonton’s fourth goal.

Derek Ryan, 4 . Bad mistake on the first PK, allowing a wide open slot shot to goal scorer Josh Norris. He was one of four Oilers in the corner there. Everybody on the ice, in other words. But Ryan and his mates did better on Edmonton’s second kill in a tense and close game. And he was decent at even strength.

Warren Foegele, 6 . His high flying flip pass sent in Yamamoto for a breakaway and goal in the second. He almost clicked on a wrap-around shot in the third.

Kailer Yamamoto, 6. He made a failed and early o-zone pinch that led to an early 3-on-2 rush for Ottawa, which was not a great way to start his game. He almost scored in the second off a sweet Duncan Keith feed. Scored a great breakaway goal. He lost a battle leading up to Ottawa’s second goal.

Devin Shore, 4. He barely played, did little.

Colton Sceviour, 4 . He allowed the cross-ice pass on Ottawa’s winning power play goal. You can’t allow that pass at that moment.

Brendan Perlini, 6. He gobbled up and snapped in a slot shot in the second for Edmonton’s third goal. A sniper’s snipe.

Darnell Nurse, 8. He ripped nine shots on net to lead his team. I liked this new partnership with Ceci, in part because I pushed it hard two weeks ago. But it makes sense to give the most minutes to Edmonton’s two best defenders on the left and right side. Brilliant rush through the Sens in the first but the new Edmonton Express could not score. He darted into the slot again later in the second for a solid shot. Huge goal, obviously, to tie it up in the third.

Cody Ceci, 5. The pass went right through him on Ottawa’s first goal. Tipped on net a tricky shot off a great Draisaitl backhander on the second. His battle won in the defensive slot kicked off the scoring sequence on Nurse’s goal. But he got his stick up trying to lift Josh Norris’s stick and took a tough third period penalty, leading to Ottawa’s winning goal.

Duncan Keith, 7. Super solid game. He made a wickedly fine cross ice dart of a pass to set up Yamamoto for a slot shot in the second. Even better he walked the line like Johnny Cash late in the second, then fed it into the slot to Perlini for a goal. He kept a clean sheet on defence at even strength, not making a mistake on one Grade A shot against, but it would have been swell if he had blocked the shot on Ottawa’s fifth goal.

Tyson Barrie, 6. He and Keith snapped the puck around smartly all game, but Barrie had a few hiccups. Bapped the puck out of the rink, took an early penalty and the Sens scored. His early turnover let to Tyler Ennis moving in and cracking it off the top bar.

Evan Bouchard, 3. He put a slot shot off the post after moving in deep in the first. He got sucked over a bit to the puck carrier on Ott’s second goal, allowing the pass over to Adam Gaudette. On Ottawa’s fourth goal, he screened Skinner.

William Lagesson, 2 . He lost an n-zone battle to allow Ottawa in for its second goal. Big mistake in a big moment. He also failed to take the man on Ottawa’s third goal. If his agent wonders why he’s not in the line-up more often, it is plays such as these two.

Stuart Skinner, 3. An iffy game. Not good enough. He got beat on one of Ottawa’s two Grade A shots in the first but made a tricky save to start the second off a tipped shot. A moment later he fought off a slot shot. But after having little traffic in the first two periods, he got beat twice early in the third, first on an Ottawa fast-break, then after he made a wretched turnover behind the Edmonton net. Ottawa’s fifth goal was a tough shot but if Skinner had been sharper he might well have had it.

Staples on politics

How did Alberta survive wicked cold snap? Thanks for nothing, solar power

At the Cult

McCURDY: Depth play lacking on Oilers

McCURDY: Smith out! What does it mean?

STAPLES: Report — Oilers have agreed to terms with Evander Kane pending league investigation

McCURDY: Some fans will turn against Oilers if Kane is signed

STAPLES: “I believe in the coach” — Holland stands up for Tippett

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Sports

Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

Published

7 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

Source link

Sports

Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

Published

7 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

Source link

Sports

Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

Published

7 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

Source link