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The Los Angeles Kings are not going down without a fight.
And who knows, they might not be going down at all.
Sports
Quick Reaction: Pelicans 113, Raptors 99 – Raptors Republic
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NO Pelicans | 113 | Final Box Score |
99 | TOR Raptors |  |
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P. Siakam38 MIN, 20 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 8-17 FG, 3-7 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, -15 +/-
You love to see it. Pascal Siakam began the 2020-2021 season by getting back to his roots – slashing to the cup, not settling for jumpers and playing with the moxie of a No.1 option on a contending team. Pascal looked like the all star that blossomed before Raptors fans eyes last year, hopefully an indication that his development is still well underway. |
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O. Anunoby36 MIN, 8 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 4-10 FG, 0-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 4 TO, -14 +/-
OG started off slowly, but as usual, he compensated for his offensive shortcomings by turning in a solid performance on D. But for a guy who just got paid north of 70 million dollars, I hoped to have more to remember about his performance. That monster block from Zion in the 1st quarter might have spooked him. |
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F. VanVleet29 MIN, 9 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 3-12 FG, 2-8 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -18 +/-
He was pure on his first triple of the game, but wasn’t able to get much going for the rest of the evening. 3 for 11 just. isn’t going to cut it for a guy who is expected to shoulder an increased offensive load for the 2019 NBA champs. Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar for FVV. |
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K. Lowry38 MIN, 18 PTS, 1 REB, 10 AST, 1 STL, 7-15 FG, 4-9 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 6 TO, -1 +/-
Took a charge, dove for a loose ball, stuck a couple 3s in transition and acted as the calming presence Toronto needed on what was often a sloppy game of basketball. The same Kyle who starred in the last 8 seasons of Raptors basketball, showed up for his 9th rodeo. The greatest raptor of all time turned in a performance that silenced any critics about the 35 year old’s ability to compete at a high level. |
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A. Baynes28 MIN, 11 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 5-9 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -17 +/-
For those who weren’t familiar with the big Aussie’s game, Baynes showed Raptors fans exactly who he is in his Dinos debut. Good challenges at the rim on D, soft touch, superb outlet passes, and the ability to stroke it from beyond the arc. Raps nation should be excited to see how Baynes progresses once he can develop some real chemistry with his new teammates. |
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N. Powell23 MIN, 12 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-11 FG, 1-6 3FG, 7-8 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -13 +/-
If the Raptors are going to succeed this year, Powell needs to consistently assert himself on the offensive end of the floor. Norm did a damn good job of that tonight, leaning on a quick first step and a strong appetite to feast on slow Pelican rotations en route to a 12 point night off the bench. |
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M. Thomas20 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 3-6 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/-
Looks like putting shots up with Reddick in the offseason didn’t hurt. One of the first subs into the game, Thomas turned in a solid night from the field, hitting 3 of his 5 triples. Given the one-sided nature of Thomas’ game, he’s going to need to keep knocking down his open looks to keep his spot in the rotation. |
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C. Boucher14 MIN, 12 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 6-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, 2 +/-
He’s known for his pool noodle sized arms, but what defines Boucher is his hustle and tenacity. His second effort on the glass and ability to track the ball on the defensive end injected life into a Raptors offence that was often stagnant this evening. Boucher played his ass off tonight and looks poised to take advantage of his increased workload this season. |
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D. Bembry5 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 4 +/-
Bembry turned the ball over on his first pass of the game, but promptly made up for it as he hunted down the player who intercepted him for an emphatic swat. He didn’t do much else in his limited minutes, but that block alone is worth a B. |
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M. Flynn1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/-
Drafted 29th overall, Malachi Flynn’s preseason performance caught the attention of Vegas, closing with the 12th best rookie of the year odds. Nurse is going to need to play the young fella more than 1 minute a night for him to show us what he’s capable of in his first professional season. |
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Nick Nurse
Everything was looking really good for Nurse’s feisty young group – until the second half hit. New Orleans went on a 20-6 run in the 3rd quarter for which Nick couldn’t seem to find an answer to. The Raptors don’t play again until the 26th, hopefully Nurse can use that time to his advantage and come out fresh on Boxing Day. |
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Things We Saw
- Yeah, the preseason was only 3 preseason games long, but that doesn’t excuse the YMCA basketball that was being played at times throughout this contest. It’s going to be really important for Nurse to find the lineups that mesh well this season because this team’s margin for error is slimmer that it’s been in years past.
- The one of the biggest questions for this season, is when the offensive well runs dry, where will the Raptors turn? Guys contributed in spurts this evening, but consistency is going to be paramount if this team wants to position themselves for a playoff run. It feels like for this team to take a leap, someone needs to jump to the next level. Nobody put themselves in the conversation to be a player close to taking that jump, tonight.
- The chevron logo, which is a mainstay in Toronto’s 2020-2021 uniform design, looked like it belonged on the new hardwood floor setup. It’s a pity that the Raptors’ Canadian fanbase didn’t get to admire it in person.
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After trouncing the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 in a one-sided Game 1 romp and then wiping out every sniff of momentum the visitors had in Game 2, the Edmonton Oilers looked like they were fully in charge of a potentially short series.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the sweep.
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The Kings delivered a rousing, spirited response Monday night at Rogers Place, never trailing in a 5-4 overtime victory that evens the series and steals away home ice advantage.
How’s that for a plot twist?
“In the first period we dug ourselves a big hole being down 2-0 and 3-1, but after that I thought we played a lot better, especially in the second period,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “I felt like if we ever able to get the lead we could have finished the game but we were never quite able to do that.”
Edmonton spent the entire night in chase mode — trailing 2-0 in the first, 3-1 in the second and 4-3 in the third before Anze Kopitar stuck the knife in at 2:07 of the extra period to spoil the party and flip the series on its head going back to Los Angeles.
The winning goal started with a freaky bounce off of L.A.’s Quinton Byfield along the boards, right to Kopitar for the breakaway. This, after two Kings goals went in off of skates and another as the result of a broken stick in Game 1.
If you’re scoring breaks, L.A. leads the series 2-0.
“You saw some of the goals that they scored last game, you saw some goals that they scored tonight, not to take anything away, but they seem to be fluky goals somehow,” sighed Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm, wondering when the Kings run of luck is going to dry up.
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“Whether it’s a bat out of the air or a shot from the outside of the hashmarks on the ice. They just seem to find its ways through. That’s the playoffs.”
Goaltender Stuart Skinner has been on the receiving end of it for two games now. He’s been a victim as time, but the bottom line is nine goals against in two games. He needs to get back to his regular season level.
“Games like this where you feel like the universe is against you, the pucks just not working well for you, it’s part of life,” he said in the post-game dressing room. “It’s part of playoffs too.
“The takeaway for tonight is just kind of, wash it out. I know who I am. I know my game and I’m going to get back to work.”
The Oilers knew exactly what to expect from a desperate Los Angeles team that knew falling behind 2-0 is as close to a death sentence as you can get without actually being dead, and that’s what they got.
The prospect of having to win four of the next five games against a team that’s beaten them 11 of the last 14 provided all of the adrenaline the Kings needed and they rode it to the win.
The outcome wasted a great night from Oilers forward Dylan Holloway, who scored the first two playoff goals of his career in the loss.
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So suddenly it’s the Oilers who are in peril, having to play Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles against a team that has come to life in a big way. The Kings have finally broken through against a team that’s owned them for a long time and who knows where it goes from here.
“I thought we played a good game and had the puck most of the night,” said Ekholm, adding the Oilers still feel very good about who they are. “They (Kings) are going to have their looks and their bounces, but I still liked the way we played and hopefully we can build off of that.”
THE CALIFORNIA STORM
If Game 1 was played on the Oilers terms, Game 2 was played on L.A.’s.
At the start, anyway.
The Kings scored first (courtesy of an Oilers breakdown that went about four players deep), choked things up (the shots were 4-3 through 14 minutes) and took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
Everything was going their way. Even when it wasn’t.
When Brett Kulak got the crowd into it with a rocket of a one-timer to make it 2-1, Drew Doughty took them out of it 29 seconds later when he and Skinner both whiffed on a breakaway shot that trickled in through the five-hole
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Skinner allowed three goals on seven shots in the opening 20 minutes and while you couldn’t lay the deficit at his feet, the Oilers needed a save.
CUE THE COMEBACK
The second period was all Oilers. The same team that ran away with Game 1 showed up in the second period, washing away L.A.s lead in less than 11 minutes and turning the volume in Rogers Place as loud as it’s been in years.
Their relentless forecheck had the Kings on their heels all period, breaking them on Holloway’s first goal of the playoffs at 7:51 and Zach Hyman’s power play marker at 10:33.
In addition to scoring, Hyman also delivered the hit of the playoffs, crushing Phillip Danault with a violent open-ice check in the third period that sent the Kings centre straight to the dressing room. He returned a few minutes later after gathering himself in the room.
GRAND FINALE
The Kings refused to go away, tying it 1:46 into the third period on Kevin Fiala’s goal, but this time it was Edmonton’s turn to answer with a quick strike — Holloway at 3:23.
From there, it was next shot wins territory.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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Familiar Territory
James van Riemsdyk has played his fair share of playoff contests here in Toronto – but all of them have come in blue and white. On Wednesday night, he would be on the other side for the first time if he indeed makes his Bruins postseason debut, which appeared to be a strong possibility based on the Black & Gold’s morning skate.
“It’s always special to play in this building,” said van Riemsdyk, who played in 20 postseason games with Toronto, including nine at Scotiabank Arena. “In this rivalry, it’s always a lot of fun. This time of year is always amazing, no matter where you’re at – if you’re at a 500-seat arena or a rink with all the tradition and history like this. It’s always fun and always a great opportunity to get in there.”
van Riemsdyk was a healthy scratch for the first two games of this series, following a trend across the second half of the regular season, during which he sat out several games.
“Playoff time of year is always the best time of year,” said van Riemsdyk, who has 20 goals and 31 points in 71 career playoff games between Philadelphia and Toronto. “Obviously, in this rivalry, it’s always a lot of fun – two fun buildings to play in. You cherish every opportunity you get.
“This time of year, you learn that along the way, it’s all about the team. Whatever the team’s asking you to do, that’s always got to be your mindset and approach…you stay at it every day and just take it one day at a time.”
Montgomery said that if van Riemsdyk does re-enter the lineup, he’ll be looking for the veteran winger to help the Bruins’ offensive game. He also complimented van Riemsdyk’s professionalism throughout a trying second half.
“I guess getting his stick on more pucks,” Montgomery said on what he wants to see from van Riemsdyk. “We’ve talked about it a lot of times internally. Him and [Kevin] Shattenkirk have been great. They’re true pros. Every day come to work, come to get better. It’s not an easy situation, but he’s been great.”
van Riemsdyk concurred with his coach’s sentiments about helping Boston’s offensive attack, saying that he’ll be aiming to be around the net as much as possible.
“I think you’ve got to stay true to who you are as a player and play with good details and manage the game well and play to your strengths as a player,” he said. “This time of year, being around the net is always an important trait. You see all the goals being scored, it’s all within 5-10 feet of the net. That’s an area that I pride myself on, so going to be doing my best to get there and have an impact there.”
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It’s hard to say when, exactly, Alexandar Georgiev truly began to win some hearts and change some minds on Tuesday night.
Maybe it was in the back half of the second period; that was when the Colorado Avalanche, for the first time in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets, actually managed to hold a lead for more than, oh, two minutes or thereabouts. Maybe it was when the Avs walked into the locker room up 4-2 with 20 minutes to play.
Maybe it was midway through the third, when a series of saves by the Avalanche’s beleaguered starting goaltender helped preserve their two-goal buffer. Maybe it was when the buzzer sounded after their 5-2 win. Maybe it didn’t happen until the Avs made it into their locker room at Canada Life Centre, tied 1-1 with the Jets and headed for Denver.
At some point, though, it should’ve happened. If you were watching, you should’ve realized that Colorado — after a 7-6 Game 1 loss that had us all talking not just about all those goals, but at least one of the guys who’d allowed them — had squared things up, thanks in part to … well, that same guy.
Georgiev, indeed, was the story of Game 2, stopping 28 of 30 shots, improving as the game progressed and providing a lesson on how quickly things can change in the playoffs — series to series, game to game, period to period, moment to moment. The narrative doesn’t always hold. Facts don’t always cooperate. Alexandar Georgiev, for one night and counting, was not a problem for the Colorado Avalanche. He was, in direct opposition to the way he played in Game 1, a solution. How could we view him as anything else?
He had a few big-moment saves, and most of them came midway through the third period with his team up 4-2. There he was with 12:44 remaining, stopping a puck that had awkwardly rolled off Nino Niederreiter’s stick; two missed posts by the Avs at the other end had helped spring Niederreiter for a breakaway. Game 1 Georgiev doesn’t make that save.
There he was, stopping Nikolaj Ehlers from the circle a few minutes later. There wasn’t an Avs defender within five feet, and there was nothing awkward about the puck Ehlers fired at his shoulder. Game 1 Georgiev gets scored on twice.
(That one might’ve been poetic justice. It was Ehlers who’d put the first puck of the night on Georgiev — a chip from center ice that he stopped, and that the crowd in Winnipeg greeted with the ol’ mock cheer. Whoops.)
By the end of it all, Georgiev had stared down Connor Hellebuyck and won, saving nearly 0.5 goals more than expected according to Natural Stat Trick, giving the Avalanche precisely what they needed and looking almost nothing like the guy we’d seen a couple days before. Conventional wisdom coming into this series was twofold: That the Avs have firepower, high-end talent and an overall edge — slight as it may be — on Winnipeg, and that Georgiev is shaky enough to nuke the whole thing.
That wasn’t without merit, either. Georgiev’s .897 save percentage in the regular season was six percentage points below the league average, and he hadn’t broken even in expected goals allowed (minus-0.21). He’d been even worse down the stretch, putting up an .856 save percentage in his final eight appearances, and worse still in Game 1, allowing seven goals on 23 shots and more than five goals more than expected. That’s not bad; that’s an oil spill. Writing him off would’ve been understandable. Writing off Jared Bednar for rolling him out there in Game 2 would’ve been understandable. Writing the Avs off — for all of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar’s greatness — would’ve been understandable.
It just wouldn’t have been correct.
The fact that this all went down now, four days into a two-month ordeal, is a gift — because the postseason thus far has been short on surprises, almost as a rule. The Rangers and Oilers are overwhelming the Capitals and Kings. The Hurricanes are halfway done with the Islanders. The Canucks are struggling with the Predators. Panthers–Lightning is tight, but one team is clearly better than the other. Bruins–Maple Leafs is a close matchup featuring psychic baggage that we don’t have time to unpack. In Golden Knights–Stars, Mark Stone came back and scored a huge goal.
None of that should shock you. None of that should make you blink.
Georgiev being good enough for Colorado, though? After what we saw in Game 1? Strange, surprising and completely true. For now.
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