Sports

Player grades: Hard-hitting exhibition ends with Edmonton Oilers beating Calgary Flames 4-1 – Edmonton Journal

Published

4 years ago

July 29, 2020

Adam Larsson, 7. He looked strong, confident and healthy out there. He did well to thwart a Johnny Gaudreau wrap-around attempt early in the third. He drilled Derek Ryan with a fearsome hit in the third. If he can play his “A” game for the Oilers this playoffs, that will be huge for the team.

Kris Russell, 6. He made a strong, stick-to-it check on Dillon Dube in the second. Overall played his usual quiet and low major-event game.

Matt Benning, 5. In the second he put the puck on net, a speciality of his, and Yamamoto almost tipped it in. He made an awkward and unsuccessful pinch in the third leading to a wicked Sam Bennett one-timer, which Mike Smith somehow saved.

Phillip Broberg, 6. He looked good in his first ever NHL game. He saved a shot on the goal line in the second, then coughed up the puck, but blocked the second shot as well. Two solid plays but he might have done better shutting down this attack earlier in the sequence.

Mikko Koskinen, 8. A surprise starter for me, but if it were my call I’d go with Koskinen against the Blackhawks, a team that doesn’t dump it in much, works plays and shoots plenty. He was not tested severely in the first period, but looked like his usual massive self thwarting a dangerous Andrew Mangiapane backhander. Early in the second, he made a nice save through a heavy screen on an Elias Lindholm shot, the kind of glove hand snipe that often confounded Koskinen last season. To finish up, he also made two excellent saves off a Sam Bennett one-timer and rebound, then saw the rookie Broberg make two big saves when he was out of the play.

Mike Smith, 8. He was a sharp on his first tough stop, a Grade B high slot snipe from T.J. Brodie. A few moments later he was even better on a similar kind of ripper from Matt Tkachuk. He was also solid on a Sean Monahan backhander early in the third. His best moment came when he thwarted a screamer of a one-timer shot by Sam Bennett.

At the Cult

McCURDY: What is the key to success for each Oilers line?

STAPLES: Do reunions get any unlikelier than Peter Chiarelli and Taylor Hall?

STAPLES: Top 10 reasons why the Chicago Blackhawks can beat the Edmonton Oilers

LEAVINS: Playoffs missing one key ingredient

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Arch Manning to get first start for No. 1 Texas as Ewers continues recovery from abdomen strain

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.

It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.

Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.

Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.

The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.

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