The Edmonton Oilers gutted out a few 4-2 win over division rival Los Angeles.
Stuart Skinner came up big in net, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman were explosive on offence and Evan Bouchard made a few brilliant attacking plays to lead Edmonton.
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In total, Edmonton had 13 Grade A shots, eight for the Kings, with the subset of 5-alarm shots seven for the Oilers, four for Los Angeles.
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Connor McDavid, 7. Two assists. He continued his brilliant run of assists, slicing over the puck to Zach Hyman late in the first for a one-timer goal. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strenth: +3/-2; Special Teams +0/-0.
Leon Draisaitl, 8. His best game in some time. One goal, one assist. He got the game’s first Grade A, tipping a slap pass from Bouchard. He got Edmonton’s second goal in similar fashion on the power play, tipping in Bouchard’s outside wrister. Two great plays leading up to Bouchard’s early third period goal, first winning a board battle to key a rush, then setting up Bouch’s harpoon. He barged in for a couple third period Grade As. GAS: +7/-1; ST +1/-0.
Zach Hyman, 9. Edmonton’s difference maker in this one. In the middle of most good moments. In one of Edmonton’s first bursts of life, he puck protected into the slot and slammed a backhander off the post. A moment later he harpooned in Edmonton’s first goal. He almost jammed in McD’s wrap-around rebound in the second. His hustle drew a penalty late in the second and the Oil cashed in on the PP. Excellent screen on Bouchard’s early third period goal. A moment later he dug out the puck for a wicked Drai slot shot. GAS: +5/-1; ST +0/-0.
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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 6. For much of the game, until’s RNH’s brilliant rush and insurance goal, his line sawed it off in a quiet fashion, getting little done on the attack but giving up nothing much in its own zone. RNH won a key faceoff leading to a zone clearance on the 5-on-3, but then he and Ceci were too aggressive, allowing Kempe in for a 5-alarm rip a moment later, then allowed a dangerous pass and slot shot, typical of Edmonton’s over-aggression on the PK of late. GAS: +1/-0; ST +0/-3.
Evander Kane, 5. Had a good hit but not much else. GAS: +0/-0; ST +0/-0.
Mattias Janmark, 7. He had earned a promotion to the second line by standing up for McDavid against the Flames and played his usual solid defence. Nice kicked pass on the RNH goal. GAS: +1/-0; ST +0/-0.
Ryan McLeod, 6. Some fine moments but no cigar. He failed to drain a deep slot shot in the second, as well as a wide-open breakaway shot early in the third. GAS: +2/-1; ST +0/-0.
Warren Foegele, 7. Strong work. His hustle on the forecheck led to a McLeod’s 5-alarm shot in the second, then he made a sweet pass to set up McLeod’s breakaway early in the third. GAS: +2/-0; ST +0/-0.
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Corey Perry, 5. Won his share of battles, drawing a penalty in the third. GAS: +1/-0; ST +0/-0.
Derek Ryan, 4. He was late to the rebound off the end boards on the first goal against, but was otherwise fine. GAS: +0/-1; ST +0/-0.
Dylan Holloway, 5. Looked good in a limited role. He got bumped up to the RNH line for a shift in the second and brought some needed skill and speed. GAS: +0/-0; ST +0/-0.
Connor Brown, 6. Quiet game, save for one brilliant pass to set up RNH. GAS: +1/-0; ST +0/-0.
Darnell Nurse, 4. Started out with some iffy hockey, got stronger. He and his partner Cody Ceci have struggled mightily for more than a month and that continued early on, as both allowed the pass through the low slot on L.A.’s first goal, neither player taking the shooter. GAS: +0/-2; ST +0/-0.
Cody Ceci, 4. As weak as Nurse on the first goal against. He was also caught out on Kempe’s second period PP 5-alarmer. But helped shut down Kings down the stretch. He played just 17:55. GAS: +0/-2; ST +0/-2.
Mattias Ekholm, 7. Another big game from Edmonton’s best d-man. He made a great move sliding into the slot and almost scored late in the second. GAS: +1/-1; ST +0/-0.
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Evan Bouchard, 7. Excellent game except for one hideous blemish. One goal, one assist. He moved the puck well early on and made a key pinch, kicking off the Virtuous Cycle on Edmonton’s first goal. But he made perhaps the lamest defensive mistake on the season, getting beat cleanly at the Oilers blueline with a weird fly-by that took him right out of the play. He redeemed himself a bit with an outside wrister on the power play that Drai tipped in net. He ripped a slot shot off a McD pass early in the third, then a moment later scored on his fearsome bomb of a shot. GAS: +4/-1; ST +1/-0.
Vincent Desharnais, 7. He kept a clean sheet at even strength, not one major mistake on a Grade A shot against. He made a solid attacking play early on, moving down the boards and throwing the puck into the slot. GAS: +0/-0; ST +0/-0.
Brett Kulak, 7. Good game, smart on the puck, smart without it. GAS: +2/-1; ST +0/-0.
Stuart Skinner, 8. Not much chance on the first goal against, a defensive SNAFU, or on the second, which was FUBAR. He made a massive save off of Kemp on the second period 5-on-3. Was solid otherwise and made a few huge stops. He faced 40 shots, just eight Grade As but made no major mistakes.
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NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
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AP golf:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
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AP Paralympics:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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