Wretched luck doomed the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday. It was Edmonton’s second tough loss in a row in Florida.
In both games, Edmonton gave up early two-goal leads and lost the game. But this loss had more to do with horrid bounces than any lack of effort or mental mistakes. Newcomer Calvin Pickard was sharp, even as he let in five goals.
In total, when it came to Grade A shots (which go in 25% of the time on average), Edmonton had 12, Florida 16, with the subset of 5-alarm shots (which go in 33% of the time), Edmonton seven, Florida 11.
Connor McDavid, 8. He pulled a Draisaitl, ripping in his own version of the Executioner’s Shot, pounding in a one-timer from near the sideboards and on the goal line. He made great passes on an early power play, but Hyman, then Draisaitl could not score. Next set up Bouchard for a 5-alarmer early in the second, but again no red light moment. He and Draisaitl got twisted and turned around, allowing a pass and 5-alarm shot in the second. After getting hauled down on a rush, he calmly drained a penalty shot. He got banged up and beat up, but kept at it. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +4/-2; Special Teams +2, 0.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 3. Not delivering just now. His turnover led a Grade A shot against late in the third. He won just two out of 12 faceoffs. GAS: ES +0/-3; ST +0/-0.
Zach Hyman, 5. Hustling effort this game. He slammed a 5-alarm slot shot on net on a first period power play but failed to drain it. Then came some bad luck, Hyman breaking his stick in his own end, then when the Oil won the puck and were breaking out, Ekholm hit Hyman with it as #18 went to the bench for a new stick, kicking off the Sequence of Pain. He failed to score on a 5-alarm shot in the third. GAS: ES +3/-1; ST +1/-0.
Warren Foegele, 4. Quiet night by his standards, though some good hustle. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-0.
Derek Ryan, 5. His excellent pass hit Kane in stride in the slot and Kane delivered on the strike. He lost a battle and fell down, kicking off the Sequence of Pain on Florida’s first goal. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-0.
Adam Erne, 4. Quiet. Too quiet. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-0.
James Hamblin, 5. Solid screen in the second led to Kulak’s shot off the post. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-0.
Darnell Nurse, 3. Rough game for Nurse, who has been played well lately. He screened Pickard on Florida’s first goal. His starfish slide and stick whip snapped the puck past Pickard for the third Florida goal, a wicked own goal. He got beat for a Grade A shot by Tkachuk late in the second. He created a 2-on-1 against early in the third, but cleaned up his own mess. He allowed Rodrigues in behind him for a breakway in the third. GAS: ES +1/-5; ST +0/-0.
Evan Bouchard, 5. Dangerous on the attack, dangerous on defence. His pinch was essential to McDavid’s early goal. He failed to drain a McD slot pass in the second. He sent in McDavid on a rush that led to his penalty shot. He was caught flat-footed and slow-moving on the fourth Florida goal. He made a solid defensive stop to prevent an empty net goal against. GAS: ES +4/-3; ST +0/-0.
Vincent Desharnais, 4. He got into a fight with an aggressive Florida forward, Gadjovich, who got too feisty around the Oilers net. His lost battle in the corner led to a 5-alarm shot and near goal against late in the second. Providing little if anything on the attack. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-0.
Brett Kulak. 6. More high even than usual but more good than bad. Nasty turnover on Ekblad’s early 5-alarm shot. He put one off the post through a Hamblin screen in the second. He lost a battle in front of the net to Sam Bennett, leading to a 5-alarm shot. He made a key block and won a slot battle in the third, giving his team some hope. GAS: ES +2/-2; ST +0/-0.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
Kings: Host the Clippers on Friday night.
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AP NBA:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – The Professional Women’s Hockey League has revealed the jersey designs for its six newly named teams.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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