Player grades: Edmonton Oilers take first-overall Avs to the limit but fall in shootout | Canada News Media
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Player grades: Edmonton Oilers take first-overall Avs to the limit but fall in shootout

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Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl (29) is stopped by Colorado Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) during first period NHL action at Rogers Place in Edmonton, on Saturday, April 9, 2022. Photo by Ian Kucerak /Postmedia

The Edmonton Oilers came into Saturday night’s showdown with Colorado Avalanche riding their first 6-game winning streak since 2015-16 and a franchise-record-tying 9 regular-season wins in a row on their own ice. Both streaks came to a halt, but it took a whale of a hockey team to beat them, and in a whale of a hockey game that went the distance. The two sides battled to a 1-1 stalemate through 65 minutes so had to resort to the shootout to decide the winner. For the first time all season the Oil dropped the skills contest, with Nathan MacKinnon netting the only marker.

The game was low on goals but high on action and excitement. Both netminders were nothing short of brilliant, with Colorado’s Darcy Kuemper winning the day with a mind-blowing 11 saves in overtime and 3 more in the shootout. Mikko Koskinen had his own shining moments in the Edmonton net, especially on an Avalanche powerplay in the dying minutes of regulation that threatened to leave the Oilers empty-handed on a night they played well.

Instead, the Oil take 1 point to the bank and a hard-earned point at that.

Edmonton fired 50 shots on Kuemper compared to the 34 faced by Koskinen at the other end. The Oilers also held a 21-15 advantage in Grade A shots as logged by us at the Cult of Hockey, with a narrow 11-10 edge in 5-alarm chances (running count). Did I mention the netminding at both ends was outstanding?

Player grades

#2 Duncan Keith, 6. Mostly solid in 19 minutes of work. Had one defensive misadventure when he tipped an outside shot on his own net, but minutes later kicked off a dangerous Oilers attack with a quick headman pass from the neutral zone to spring McDavid and Puljujarvi 2-on-1. Made quite a few subtle but positive touches of the puck throughout. One bad decision when he shot a floater from centre point when Draisaitl was open to his left with a clear path to the net.

#5 Cody Ceci, 6. Hard matched against Avs stars MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen all night (over 16 minutes at 5v5 vs. each) with a heavy dose of Cale Makar as well (14 mins) and sawed them off in every department, including 1-1 in actual goals. His stat line suggests he did most of his work on the defensive side of the puck with 4 hits, 2 takeaways, and 2 blocked shots.

#10 Derek Ryan, 6. Contributed to 1 Grade A shot with a hard charge on net that drew 2 defenders. 0 shots on net, also 0 problems defensively while cleaning up a couple of messes in the process. 2 takeaways, 3/4=75% on the dot.

#13 Jesse Puljujarvi, 7. All over the ice, mostly in a good way. Had 5 shots on net, 3 of them Grade A including a pair of one-time blasts off McDavid feeds that Kuemper somehow fought off. Both were hard shots released quickly, on net, and upstairs, though fired towards the middle of the seemingly gaping net rather than the short side corner. Still hard to believe neither went in. He also had a nice mid-air deflection of a Bouchard shot that Kuemper fought off. His long reach and good anticipation cut out a couple of dangerous passes in the defensive zone, and he added a good block of a Burakovsky drive. Also made a couple of area passes that were nothing short of exquisite, one chip to a streaking McDavid up the right wing wall and one aerial feed to Kane breaking into the o-zone. Oilers outshot the Avs 16-8 during his 16½ minutes, all played at 5v5, while JP was himself directly involved in 6 Grade A shots by Edmonton, 2 against.

#16 Derick Brassard, 6. Played just 8 minutes, but mustered 5 shot attempts, 2 of them on net. Edmonton’s fourth line dominated flow of play to the tune of 12-3 Corsi, 5-1 shots on Brassard’s watch though nothing super dangerous.

#18 Zach Hyman, 6. A typically strong effort featuring 4 shots on net and plenty of battles in the tough areas of the ice. Not quite sure who he was covering on the tying goal but that sequence went sideways in a hurry without a lot of time to react.

#19 Mikko Koskinen, 9. That number is the code for “outstanding” which is the best word on our palette to describe the netminder’s play in this one. Got a little help from his stick-side post in the first period, which rang loudly after rockets by Makar, Bowen Byram and J.T. Compher. But Koskinen followed the last of those with a pair of brilliant stops on close-in rebounds. Did a fine job seeing the puck through traffic. Made one fine breakaway save on Valeri Nichushkin in the middle frame, then another one on Mikko Sturm. Saved his best work for the third period when he stopped 17 of 18 shots, including a fabulous glove grab off a Rantanen slot shot seconds after he was bowled over by big Valeri Nichushkin that somehow the zebras deemed legal. No chance on the goal which MacKinnon buried off a broken play. Saved his team a point with some stalwart goaltending during a pulse-pounding penalty kill in the last 144 seconds of regulation. 34 shots, 33 saves, .971 save percentage.

#22 Tyson Barrie, 6. Active all night with 7 shot attempts, 2 hits, 3 blocks. Did some good work running the point and distributing the puck on the overtime powerplay.

#25 Darnell Nurse, 6. Played a heavy 26:48 in 30 shifts, both of which led the Oil. As with his partner Ceci, he saw double-digit minutes of Colorado’s best: Rantanen, MacKinnon, Burakovsky, Makar, Toews. Played a little bit of rover at times resulting in some high event hockey, but made plenty happen with 5 shots on goal, 3 hits and 2 blocks. Made an alert play to clear a dangerous puck from the slot after a bad bounce off the stanchion left Koskinen stranded. Rang the crossbar with a fine shot from the slot. Earned a primary assist on Oilers lone goal with an outside shot that was tipped home by Foegele. Lost a battle to Rantanen on the 1-1 when the big Finn lifted Darnell’s stick just as he was about to bank the puck around the wall, which I saw as more of an elite play by the Av than a blunder by the Oiler. Strong on the penalty kill.

#27 Brett Kulak, 5. Oilers had their share of the play on his watch, but he got beat a couple of times on dangerous Avs chances.

#29 Leon Draisaitl, 7. Took a bit of a pounding in the first period when he was pitchforked down by Josh Manson a good 30 feet from the puck, and was later tripped into the boards by Makar after being robbed by Kuemper on a breakaway (see: feature image). With no penalty called in either instance, Draisaitl responded with some hard hockey of his own, crushing Burakovsky with a reverse hit and later crunching Andrew Cogliano in open ice. Actually drew a penalty in the second period, no mean feat on this night. Played a powerful two-way game throughout even as he couldn’t beat Kuemper with any of his 6 shots on goal. Contributed to 9 Grade A shots for, burned on 2 against, with Oilers outshooting the Avs 12-6 during his 15 mninutes at 5v5. 7/16=44% on the dot, though he cleanly won the faceoff that led almost directly to the Avs goal; the problem came in the corner right after that. Made a couple of terrific defensive plays including one on MacKinnon and another on Makar. Did make one bad line change that resulted in trouble. Had a couple of excellent steals. Was terrific in overtime but nobody could solve Kuemper. Ditto in the shootout when he blasted an accurate slapper that the Avs stopper managed to get a piece of with his blocker.

#37 Warren Foegele, 7. Played a hard game, skating well and winning a number of puck battles in all three zones. Was the only Oiler to solve Kuemper with a fine mid-air deflection of Nurse’s point shot. 2 shots, 2 hits, 1 takeaway and no meaningful defensive problems.

#44 Zack Kassian, 6. Oilers fourth line did its job in a little under 10 minutes of work, winning the possession battle handily even as no goals were scored at either end. 3 hits, 2 shots, 1 takeaway, and some decent defensive coverage.

#56 Kailer Yamamoto, 5. Made a terrific pass to Draisaitl for a close-in deflection in the early going. Was given the old how-do-you-do by Makar who froze him with a fake shot before ringing the post with a wicked drive. Did some fine penalty killing on Edmonton’s first minor. Was unable to cut out the shot on the 1-1.

#71 Ryan McLeod, 5. No shot attempts even as his line did OK in flow-of-play. Did get into trouble on the powerplay with a turnover that led to a dangerous Colorado rush and an Oilers penalty. A couple of good moments on the penalty kill, and an impressive 5/5=100% on the faceoff dot.

#75 Evan Bouchard, 5. Up and down night, which included 2 trips to the penalty box — the only 2 by any Oiler. The first came trying to rectify a defensive miscue at the end of an Edmonton powerplay; the second, an extremely ill-timed interference call with 2:24 left in regulation. (At that point he had every right to wonder why the refs called that one in such a high-leverage situation after letting pretty much everything go all night.) Thankfully his mates, especially Koskinen, had his back and killed it off. At the good end he contributed to a trio of rapid-fire Edmonton chances when his good outside shot was tipped on net by Puljujarvi and produced a pair of dangerous rebounds. 9 shot attempts, 6 of them on goal.

#91 Evander Kane, 6. Played 20:48 with 4 shots, 3 hits. Won a key battle on the wall that sprang McDavid and Puljujarvi on a 2-on-1, and had a dangerous shot of his own when he slammed the rebound of J.P.’s tip on goal. One big mistake with a cross-ice pass to nobody just inside the Avs blueline which led to a jailbreak and 3 rapid-fire chances, with first the goal post, then Koskinen (twice) saving his bacon.

#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Won a key battle that led to the one Oilers goal. Had the game on his stick in overtime but like so many of his teammates, was unable to pound the puck over, under or through Kuemper. 4 shots on net and 5/8=63% on the dot. But his old Red Deer Rebels teammate Kuemper seemed to know his favourite shootout move and turned it aside to end Oilers’ chances.

#97 Connor McDavid, 8. Saw his 15-game point streak come to an end in this goaltenders’ duel. His 24:13 TOI included some strong moments defensively, including teaming up with Ceci to make a fine stop of MacKinnon. Became more of a factor offensively down the stretch, firing 4 of his 5 shots in overtime. Drew a penalty in that extra frame which resulted in a tremendous Oilers powerplay that produced 8 shots on net but ultimately no joy. Was left shaking his head in disbelief when Kuemper somehow kept out a shot he deliberately banked off MacKinnon. Contributed to 10 Grade A shots in all, including a pair of terrific feeds to Puljujarvi in the slot in regulation and no fewer than 6 contributions in the 5-minute overtime. Took a team-high 20 draws and won 11 of them (55%). Didn’t execute his plan in the shootout when Kuemper poke-checked him mid-deke.

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Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

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November 8, 2024

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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

___

AP cricket:

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Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

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November 8, 2024

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

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November 8, 2024

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Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

—

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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