Sports

The real Carey Price stood up against Toronto – Habs Eyes on the Prize

Published

4 years ago

February 14, 2021

There’s no denying that Carey Price hasn’t had the best first quarter of the season he could hope for. While he hasn’t been costing the team games, he just hasn’t been up to the standard he’s established in his tenure with the Montreal Canadiens. With the Canadiens scoring at will early in the season, it didn’t matter at first, but it became more apparent due to their recent struggles on offence.

With Jake Allen providing some impressive relief on Price’s nights off, there has been some chatter around the fan base of a potential controversy. It hasn’t been an unfounded discussion, as there is legitimate argument that Allen has been the better of the two, albeit through a smaller sample size.

That talk may not be dead, but it should quiet down a little after Price’s performance against the Leafs on Saturday.

Following an early goal by Mitch Marner, Price shut the door with authority. He looked calm, well positioned, and every bit of his usual style where he can make even hard saves look easy. And he needed to be, since the Leafs were swarming him for the better part of the first 60 minutes.

The Leafs controlled 54.55% of scoring chances and 63.33% of high-danger chances through the first two periods. If Price didn’t play the way he did, the game easily could have been out of reach by the time the Habs woke up and began generating chances of their own in the third. They played a fantastic third period, but they have to thank their goaltender for giving them the chance for that to matter.

In the previous game against Toronto, there were a few goals that he would probably stop on his best night. Again, when the Habs were scoring five goals every game he could get away with that, but now the offense has at least temporarily dried up. Until and unless the team can open the flood gates again, last night’s Price is what they’ll need, particularly against teams like Toronto.

They’ll need their starting goaltender to steal a few games. Last night, he did. If he can continue playing like that moving forward, it would go a long way to silencing the talk about Allen taking the lead for good, and an even longer way to getting these Canadiens where they want to be.

And we know what he has the ability to do, should they get there.

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Sports

Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

18 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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