The Calgary Flames started Game 6 of their quarterfinal series against Dallas by scoring three goals before the Stars had recorded a shot. The Stars’ response was record-breaking: They scored seven consecutive goals in a 7-3 win to eliminate the Flames, marking the first time in Stanley Cup playoff history that a team trailed by three goals and then led by four in the same game.
It was one of the wildest emotional swings in a postseason tournament that has seen its share of them. Dallas coach Rick Bowness says he believes “the bubble” is to blame for that.
“It’s great that we’re playing and that we’re back. But it’s tough. That game was a mess, for both sides. It’s tough to explain, but I don’t think people understand how tough it is living in this bubble,” said Bowness, referring to the two hub cities in Edmonton and Toronto that the NHL created to restart its season during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Give the league a lot of credit. They’ve done the best job they can. Everyone is handling it as best they can. But it’s tough. This bubble living is not what you think it is. Until you’re living it day to day, you don’t understand what everyone is going through.”
Bowness said the stress of bubble life is “a little bit of everything” as this point in the postseason, which is in its fourth week.
“I can only speak for myself,” said the coach, whose team is staying in the Edmonton hub. “I’ve gone a couple of days where I haven’t even gone outside. The way we’re set up here, the hotel is connected to the rink. You walk from the hotel, you’re in a tunnel, you get to the rink, then you go back and right to your room. You’ve really gotta make a concerted effort just to get outside and get some fresh air.
“Everyone is making it the best of it that they can. Again, I give the league credit: They made us all feel safe and secure here. Everyone is getting tested. Everyone is wearing masks. That being said, it’s not like we’re walking out to a park. We’re going to a courtyard, and there are three other teams sitting there. You go to the gym, and you’re working out with the people you’re playing against that night. Everyone deserves a lot of credit for making the best of it. People think living in a bubble is great. It’s tough. It’s mentally tough. And everyone is making the best of it.”
That certainly applies to the Stars, who advance to the Western Conference semifinals to face the Colorado Avalanche, who eliminated the Arizona Coyotes in five games.
Their rally started with a breather. Dallas called a timeout after Rasmus Andersson scored to give Calgary a 3-0 lead just 6 minutes, 34 seconds into the game.
“The mood wasn’t good. I think everyone understood that we hadn’t played our game yet. Pucks are exploding off our sticks at that moment. We were in a hole. It was a good time to catch our breath,” Dallas center Joe Pavelski said.
The message was clear: They needed to chip away at the deficit before the end of the period. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen got one back for Dallas on the power play just over three minutes later.
“I think we need to score on that one. Down 3-0, we need to score and get back into the game,” he said.
In the dressing room between periods, the Stars were reenergized. “We knew that if we could score one goal, we would be on them,” center Radek Faksa said. “We showed lots of character, and then we dominated in the game.”
Rookie Denis Gurianov scored 59 seconds into the second period and then tied the score at 3-3 at 3:25 of the second when the puck deflected off of him and trickled through Calgary goalie Cam Talbot, who was pulled by coach Geoff Ward and replaced by David Rittich after that goal.
“I could feel it coming. Can’t say I blame him. I would have done the same thing if I were him. … It was a 3-0 hockey game for us,” said Talbot, who reentered the game in the third period. “I’ve been there all playoffs for us. When we needed it the most, I wasn’t there. Some of those shots are obviously savable. The onus is on me there. As much as I hated getting pulled, he had to do something.”
It didn’t make a difference. Faksa scored at 5:47, Pavelski at 7:22 and then Gurianov completed his hat trick at 15:30 of the second period. Gurianov added a fourth goal in the third period, becoming the second rookie in NHL history to record four goals in a playoff game.
“Tough first period. We just went into the locker room and forgot about it,” he said.
In the process, the Stars won a game their fans and players won’t soon forget. That includes Pavelski, playing in his 143rd Stanley Cup playoff game.
“It was right there, if we’re talking about comebacks. You play enough playoff games, you see a few things, and this one’s right there with it,” he said. “It just feels good to win. It feels good to end it tonight.”
For Bowness, it was just another night of unpredictable bubble hockey.
“It’s every team. Every game I’m watching has emotional swings,” he said. “Listen, until you live what we’re going through, you have no idea what we’re going through. That’s not to be negative — it’s not. We’re dealing with it the best we can. The way we’re living, and playing, is going to lead to a lot of emotional swings. It’s not your typical playoffs. It’s just not.”
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
