They gave up six. They scored zero when it mattered. Their power play let them down when they needed it. They got roughed up. They turned the puck over way too often and they left so many Toronto Maple Leafs wide open around their net you would have sworn it was 2011.
By the end of the second period a hooked Stuart Skinner was rocking a .783 save percentage and every player on the Edmonton Oilers was in the minus figures except third-pairing defencemen Cody Ceci and Brett Kulak.
“It sure didn’t feel like it was 5-0 going into the third,” sighed Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse, after a 6-3 pistol-whipping at Scotiabank Arena. “But we gave them a few too many Grade A opportunities and they’re a good team, they’re going to capitalize.”
They capitalized the Oilers into oblivion. It happens. You can twist yourself into a pretzel trying to decipher what Saturday’s result means, but in the end it’s probably nothing more than an unfortunate and untimely stumble.
Yes, the Oilers stumbled face first into a mud puddle on national television, turning the most anticipated game of the regular season into hockey’s version of Rocky Balboa pummelling a side of beef, but I wouldn’t read too much into it.
And neither do they.
“Weird game,” said Leon Draisaitl. “They probably capitalized on every single one of their chances. We gave up a little too much in the first 40 and they did a good job capitalizing on their looks. It’s tough to win when you give up five. It’s something to clean up.”
Getting pumped in a high-profile game is going to generate considerable hand-wringing among Oilers fan, but one 60-minute upchuck doesn’t mean anything. And it certainly doesn’t mean a team that’s 9-2-2 in its last 13 games and owns the best record in the NHL since Nov. 11 might not have what it takes to go deep in the playoffs.
But the Leafs just taught them a few good lessons, reminding them again how important it is to start on time and illustrating mistakes that simply can’t happen in the playoffs.
“Just the attention to detail it takes for 60 minutes as we come down the stretch,” said Nurse. “We know that, but at this point in the season everything is heightened to the extreme. That’s what we take from it.”
Adam Henrique has to be smarter instead of turning the puck over on Toronto’s fourth goal. Evan Bouchard has to be stronger instead of pulling the chute on Toronto’s third goal. Edmonton’s fourth line can’t leave Bobby McMann WIDE open in front of their net for the first goal. Skinner needs to make a save on the third, fourth or fifth Toronto goals. And the Oilers cannot continue easing their way into games and waiting until the third period to turn it on.
“We have to play hard the whole time,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “The mistakes that we made were too costly. We didn’t make many mistakes but when we did they were big ones. And they capitalized.”
And the Oilers didn’t.
“We didn’t capitalize on our early opportunities in the first period, especially the McDavid line,” said Knoblauch. “They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and didn’t capitalize. That set us back. We also had a couple of power plays, we don’t capitalize on two and they score on theirs. It just snowballed from there.”
Maybe it was stage fright or maybe they were trying too hard on the big Toronto stage. Whatever it was, the moment got the better of them and a good Oilers team looked pretty bad in front of the whole country.
“We wanted to come out and win this game, obviously,” said Nurse. “But we didn’t.”
They need to shake it off in a hurry because they play Ottawa on Sunday and have another one of those highly-anticipated showdowns Tuesday in Winnipeg.
On the bright side, Zach Hyman scored his 49th goal of the season to make it 5-1 in the third period, Corey Perry made it 5-2 and Draisaitl cut it to 5-3 with three minutes to go, but the Oilers weren’t coming back from 5-0 down in the third period and everyone knew it.
An empty-netter from Auston Matthews made it official.
“We believe we’re capable of anything in here and we’ve been a good third-period team,” said Nurse. “We just didn’t want to quit. And we didn’t, but we weren’t good enough in the first 40.”
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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