The Edmonton Oilers restored the natural order of things Friday, pounding the Los Angeles Kings back into their role as the second-best team in this series.
If there was any fear that the Kings had figured Edmonton out and were about to use the home-ice advantage they’d stolen in Game 2 to pull an upset, it was dead and buried by the end of the first period.
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And so were the Kings.
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The Oilers wrapped this one up in 20 minutes, jumping out to a 3-0 lead on goals from the Big Three — Zach Hyman at 6:42, Leon Draisaitl at 15:36 and Connor McDavid at 18:34 — and never looking back.
“We had a strong start and just built off of that,” said Darnell Nurse. “That first period was great for us.”
Evander Kane left his mark on the night with a Gordie Howe hat-trick, picking up an assist in the first period, a goal in the second and a fight in the third after taking a high hit from big Andreas Englund.
The 6-1 victory gives the Oilers a 2-1 series lead, restores home-ice advantage and reestablishes Edmonton’s dominance in a rivalry that’s seen them win 11 of the last 15 games dating back to last season. They’ve scored 17 goals in three games.
“We did a lot of good things,” said McDavid, who finished with three points. “Special teams was great. Stu (Skinner) was a rock back there for us. The penalty kill did its thing and five-on-five we were were solid. A lot of positives but it just counts as one win, that’s all. We have to be ready for a big one Sunday.”
This was all Oilers from the quick start to the suffocating finish.
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“When all those things are going in the right direction we’re a force,” said Nurse. “We have to continue to do it. We can’t just do it one game and take the next game off. That’s what makes Game 4 so important.”
Rebounding after a shocking 5-4 overtime loss in Game 2, the Oilers were in peak playoff form. Hyman’s first goal to make it 1-0 was nothing more than a determined forward jamming away at the puck in the crease. McDavid’s power-play goal was the same thing — he took it to the net and had three hacks at it before it was 3-0 Oilers.
Perhaps the most deflating goal of the series came late in the first period when the Oilers walked right through L.A.’s vaunted 1-3-1 and made it 2-0 on Draisaitl’s sharp angle shot. The Kings had plenty of time to get set up but Draisaitl and Evander Kane gained the zone and scored without even having to break stride.
Draisaitl became the fastest player in NHL history to score 20 goals on the road, taking just 26 games to move ahead of Kevin Stevens and Bernie Nicholls.
Referees Peter MacDougall and Chris Rooney butchered this one, missing obvious penalties, calling chintzy ones and finally taking Los Angeles out of the game for good in the third period by giving Edmonton a two-man advantage for a full two minutes after a scrum at centre ice.
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It was an absolutely bizarre ruling — handing three minors to L.A. and one to Edmonton after the fairly harmless shoving match. Edmonton made it 5-1 on the ensuing five-on-three.
Just a rough night that both of them would probably want to have back.
Stuart Skinner didn’t have to worry much about the pressure of needing a bounce-back game or having the weight of the series on his shoulders. He had a 3-0 lead before the Kings had their eighth shot on net.
Still, Skinner did all he needed to do on a night that his team was firing on all cylinders — don’t give the other guys anything easy. He turned in a strong night overall, stopping 25 of 26 shots.
Returning to Los Angeles was supposed to be the bump the Kings needed to pull ahead in the series, maybe for good. They were 12-2-1 in their last 15 home games, after all, while the Oilers haven’t been great on the road (8-7-2 dating back to February, not counting the two throwaway road games at their end of the season when they were resting a bunch of their players).
But it was the Oilers who made Crypto-com Arena their own.
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L.A.’s power play is where momentum goes to die. They had two power plays in the first 10 minutes, a golden opportunity to take the lead and bring the crowd to life, and they couldn’t do anything with them. Same goes for a second-period man advantage with the score 4-1. The Kings are 0-for-9 in the series.
“As a guy who spends a lot of time on the power play, when things are’t clicking it can be frustrating,” said McDavid. “Our kill did a great job. They were flying around the nice not allowing them to get set up and when they were set up we were doing a great job of being in lanes.”
Edmonton’s power play, meanwhile, has six goals in three games.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
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AP cricket:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
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