Every year the league labels a certain date with, “Last possible day of the Stanley Cup Final,” but only rarely do we observe that date as we will tonight.
Also observing is a plane-load of Oilers family — players’ parents, extended staff who don’t usually travel — flown in by the team to be in Florida for this game.
Flights, Canadian customs, hotels, tickets, last-minute requests … Can you imagine being the person in charge of all of those logistics, responsible for not letting any of those details slip through a crack?
So, on the day of the most important game this franchise has played in 18 years, a shout-out to the Oilers’ director of team services, Kaite Doyle, and her people. A day like this isn’t complete without having your family on hand, and Doyle et al have had that plane-load of responsibility.
Meanwhile, perhaps as many as 5,000 Oilers fans will be in the building Monday night. The scene, the magnitude of the game, a Canadian team, the way the Oilers got here, Connor McDavid…
Is this the biggest Game 7 of our generation? It just might be.
Keeping it routine
It takes a special effort to maintain a routine on a day like this.
But while the Florida Panthers likely want to change up their game-day routine after three straight losses — goalie Sergei Bobrovsky opted not to practise for the first time on Sunday — the Oilers are trying not to change a thing.
They’re telling themselves that this scenario is going to end the way all the other similar ones have ended this spring.
“It’s our sixth elimination game, so we’re used to being in this position,” said Oilers winger Zach Hyman. “It’s the first time we have the ability to win, which is an amazing opportunity. But all those games you’ve played as if it is a Game 7, because it’s your last game of the season.”
Only three other teams in NHL history have faced six or more elimination games in a run, and just one of those — the 2014 L.A. Kings — won the Cup.
‘Opportunity of a lifetime’: Oilers’ Holland on experiences in Game 7
No line changes
Less than half the team took the morning skate Monday morning, but no lineup changes are expected for Edmonton. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — who stayed home from the rink on Sunday, feeling ill — was at Amerant Bank Arena for meetings Monday and is expected to play.
In the quarter century that Ken Holland has been an NHL general manager, Mattias Ekholm has become perhaps the best trade he ever made. The big Swede came from Nashville last season along with a sixth-round pick in exchange for Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, a first- and a fourth-round draft pick.
We thought we knew how good a player and person Ekholm was from the covering Nashville Predators games over the years, but it turns out he is better than we thought. He is the perfect No. 2 defenceman for a young No. 1 like Evan Bouchard, fluent in two languages — and a better quote in English than 90 per cent of his Canadian teammates — and then we find out that the Ekholms love the thought of raising their kids in a winter city like Edmonton.
Oilers’ Ekholm started having Stanley Cup dreams through a video game
He’s six-foot-five and 225 pounds, a sound and able puck-mover, and he scored 11 goals this season and five more in these playoffs.
What more do you want? How about a guy who can laugh at himself, as he did on the podium before Game 7, when asked about his pre-series warning about being ready for Game 1.
“Well, funny enough, I thought my biggest lesson was, you can’t really dip your toe in the water because it’ll be over sooner than later. Sure enough, we didn’t do a great job of that,” he said of Edmonton’s 0-3 series deficit. “But here we are, Game 7, right?
“I remember somebody said before the playoffs: ‘Don’t script the playoffs. Don’t script your journey. Just try to live the moment. Just stay in the moment.’ If you’re thinking too much about stuff you can’t control it’s going to get out of your hands.”
Nobody saw coming what we will all witness tonight. Least of all anyone in an Oilers jersey.
“You never know how it’s going to turn out or how it’s going to end up,” Ekholm said. “You look back nine, 10 days — nobody thought we’d be here. But surely we are.”
Nuge is huge
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the longest serving Oilers player with 881 regular season games played and another 82 in the playoffs, was drafted first overall in the 2011 draft — exactly 13 years ago today.
Thirteen long years before his first chance to win a Stanley Cup.
“He’s been an Oiler for a long time, and he’s gone through some dark days as an Oiler and kind of come out the other side,” said captain Connor McDavid, whose own draft occurred in this very building in Sunrise back in 2015. “Now he’s a big reason why we have an opportunity to be in this position.”
Of course, every first-overall pick is supposed to turn into a franchise player. At age 31, Nugent-Hopkins may not quite be that, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a forward who does as many things at as high a level as he does.
He’s a first-line winger, a second-line centre, and a crucial part of both the NHL’s best penalty kill and top power play. Four seasons into an eight-year deal with an AAV of $5.125 million, RNH’s contract has aged as well as he has.
“He means a lot to our group. He means a lot to the people of the city of Edmonton,” McDavid said. “Obviously, he took a massive pay cut to stay there and be a part of the group. And he’s a big part of it.”
Montreal police say they’ve arrested a man in connection with the theft of tens of thousands of dollars in golf merchandise tied to the Presidents Cup PGA Tour being held this week in the city.
Police say that on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 a person entered a downtown Montreal hotel and stole numerous official items and clothing “from a major golf tournament.”
The tournament is taking place at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in the city’s L’Île-Bizard–Ste-Geneviève’s borough through Sunday.
Police say a 46-year-old man was arrested in downtown Montreal on Thursday and was arraigned Friday on a number of charges including theft.
The accused remains detained until his next court appearance.
Police say the investigation is ongoing to locate the stolen golf items and apparel, adding that anyone with information is invited to come forward.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors are expected to confirm today that Vince Carter’s No. 15 will be the first number to be retired by the NBA franchise.
Carter will attend an MLSE Foundation event this afternoon at the renovated Vince Carter Court at a park in the city’s northwest end.
Raptors president and vice-chairman Masai Ujiri will also be on hand along with some current players and city officials.
Reports this week said that Canada’s lone NBA team would honour Carter on Nov. 2 when Toronto plays the Sacramento Kings at Scotiabank Arena.
Carter, an eight-time all-star, played parts of seven seasons with the Raptors. He was named NBA rookie of the year in 1999 and won the Slam Dunk Contest in 2000.
He was the Raptors’ first superstar and is credited for raising the profile of the team and igniting enthusiasm for basketball across Canada.
Carter guided the Raptors to the Eastern Conference semifinal in 2001. Toronto had a chance to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 but Carter’s shot at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced out.
He asked for a trade in 2004 and was dealt to New Jersey in a mid-season deal that saw the Raptors receive little in return. The Nets, who are now based in Brooklyn, plan to retire Carter’s number in January.
Carter played 22 seasons in the NBA before retiring after the 2019-20 season. He’ll be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame next month.
The Raptors are celebrating their 30th anniversary this season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 58th home run, going deep for the fifth straight game to help the New York Yankees wrap up their second AL East title in three years with a 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.
Giancarlo Stanton had four RBIs that included his 27th homer, Alex Verdugo also homered and Gerrit Cole outpitched Corbin Burnes in a possible postseason preview. Judge and Stanton homered in the same game for the 14th time this year, tying Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1961 for the most in Yankees history.
New York assured itself a first-round bye and home-field advantage in a best-of-five AL Division Series starting Oct. 5.
Baltimore, which clinched a postseason berth by winning Tuesday night’s opener of the three-game series, will be in a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.
Stanton homered in the second to put the Yankees ahead and hit a three-run double in a six-run sixth.
Judge hit a two-run homer in the seventh against Bryan Baker and has 144 RBIs, the most in the major leagues since Ryan Howard’s 146 in 2008. Judge matched his career best by homering in five consecutive games.
Making his last start before the playoffs, Cole (8-5) allowed two hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out five and walked one, lowering his ERA to 3.41. He struck out Anthony Santander with a 98.1 mph fastball that ended the eighth after plate umpire David Rackley called a ball on the previous pitch, a knuckle-curve that appeared to be just above the strike zone. Cole glared as the umpire as the pitcher walked back to the dugout.
Cole was given a standing ovation when he walked to the dugout with two outs in the seventh and tipped his cap to the crowd of 42,022.
Burnes (15-9) allowed two hits in five innings, one walk and nine strikeouts — including eight on cutters. Burnes came out after 69 pitches and is likely to start the Orioles’ postseason opener on Tuesday. He had a 1.20 ERA in five September starts.
Stanton lofted a slider at the bottom of the strike zone into the left-field seats after missing badly at a slider on the prior pitch.
Austin Wells, in a 4-for-42 slide, forced in a run when he walked with the bases loaded against Cionel Pérez. Stanton drove the next pitch on one hop to the wall in right-center for a 5-1 lead. Stanton has 72 RBIs after hitting 6 for 18 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in his last five games.
Anthony Rizzo added a two-run single against Baker.
Emmanuel Rivera hit a ninth-inning sacrifice fly for the Orioles.
UP NEXT
Orioles: LHP Cade Povich (2-9, 5.59) starts a series opener at Minnesota on Friday, when LHP Pablo López (15-9, 4.11) will be on the mound for the Twins.
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-9, 3.98), 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA since the All-Star break. starts Friday’s series opener against Pirates RHP Jared Jones (6-8, 4.14).
