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.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
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AP golf:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
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AP Paralympics:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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