EDMONTON — The St. Louis Blues were a desperate team and played like it Sunday, firing 49 shots at the Vancouver Canucks and finally earning a 3-2 overtime win.
Brayden Schenn scored on a breakaway with less than five minutes to go in the extra frame to give the defending Stanley Cup champions their first win in return-to-play competition.
The win narrows the Canucks’ lead to 2-1 in their best-of-seven series. Game 4 goes Monday night.
“It’s one win. Obviously it took a while, a lot longer than we expected to get one here in Edmonton,” said Schenn.
“We feel the qualifying round we weren’t great, but in the playoffs each game we’re getting better.”
Schenn was circling in the neutral zone when he got the puck, raced in and fired a shot high past Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom.
It was Schenn’s first goal of the post-season.
“Schwartzie (Jaden Schwartz) came off. He was a little bit tired, so I jumped on, kind of on the back check,” said Schenn.
“The puck squeaked out to me, a lucky bounce, kind of popped right in the middle there.
“Markstrom’s playing well. I just tried to give him a quick shot.”
Vancouver captain Bo Horvat said they expected a desperate team and a seesaw battle.
“Anything can happen in overtime. We had our looks. They had theirs,” said Horvat.
“It was just a fortunate play for them. They just kind of slung it and (Schenn) ended up on breakaway.
“We’ve got to have short term memory loss and be ready to play tomorrow. The good thing is we play tomorrow.”
David Perron, with his fourth goal of the post-season, and Justin Faulk also scored for St. Louis, while Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller replied for the Canucks.
Goaltender Jake Allen stopped 39 shots for the win. Markstrom stopped 46 for Vancouver.
It was Allen’s first appearance in the series, replacing Jordan Binnington, the hero of the 2019 Cup run.
Binnington has struggled in return to play, fighting rebounds while letting in nine goals in the first two games (.809 save percentage) against the Canucks.
Allen saw limited action in the regular season but compiled a 12-6-3 record and a .927 save percentage. The 30-year-old from Fredericton, N.B., stopped 37-of-38 shots against Dallas in his lone appearance in the round robin.
“We expected (Allen) to play great and he did,” said Blues forward Tyler Bozak.
“It’s a pretty good luxury to have two goaltenders with that calibre on your team.”
All the scoring in regulation play came in the second period, starting on the power play when Pettersson hit Miller with a tape-to-tape stretch pass with Miller in full flight at the Blues blue line. Miller streaked in and snapped a shot high glove side on Allen for a 1-0 lead.
The Blues tied it midway through the period when Faulk jumped into the slot, took a seam pass from Robert Thomas and ripped the puck past Markstrom.
Perron gave the Blues their first lead of the series, taking a dish pass from Ryan O’Reilly and delivering a sharp angle shot over Markstrom’s shoulder.
Vancouver replied just seconds later when St. Louis defencemen Colton Parayko and Marco Scandella got tangled up with the puck in the high slot. Pettersson jumped in and fired a quick shot short-side under the bar on Allen.
The Blues were without winger Vladimir Tarasenko. The Russian sniper played in the first two games but did not dress for Game 3. The NHL is not releasing injury information.
For Vancouver, defenceman Jordie Benn entered the lineup for Tyler Myers. Myers fell awkwardly into the boards on a hit from Schenn late in Game 2.
All Western Conference games are being played in an empty Rogers Place, with players isolated in a so-called bubble on their off time to prevent contracting COVID-19.
St. Louis was the Western Conference leader (42-29-10) when the NHL halted, and eventually ended, the regular season on March 12 due to COVID-19.
But the bubble has not been kind to the Blues.
They lost all three games in the round robin, dropping to the fourth seed and were winless against the Canucks until Sunday.
The Canucks were 36-27-6, good for 18th in the NHL, when play was suspended. They defeated the Minnesota Wild in four games in the qualifying round.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 16, 2020.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
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.”
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.
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.
