Sports

Four big name Edmonton Oilers knocked for poor playoff performances

Published

1 year ago

May 16, 2023

Apr 21, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings left wing Trevor Moore (12) celebrates after scoring the winning goal as Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm (14), defenseman Darnell Nurse (25) and goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) look on in the first overtime period of game three of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea /USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

Me? I think the coach also has some explaining to do

There’s no shortage of disappointment in Edmonton. The Oilers are knocked out of the playoffs just as it seemed they had a clear path to the Stanley Cup finals.

There’s also no shortage of criticism, with everyone from the players to the coaches to management under some amount of fire.

But four players are on the hockey hot seat in particular: Darnell Nurse, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Stuart Skinner and Kailer Yamamoto.

These are four big name Oilers, all part of the team’s Core-12, the seven forwards, four d-men and one goalie who form the heart of any NHL team.

The criticism is widespread but let’s focus on some of what I heard today on Oilers Now, as it’s by far the most popular and authoritative (given host Bob Stauffer’s knowledge as an NHL insider) radio show on the team.

Hockey commentator, John Shannon singled out Nugent-Hopkins for his lack of production.

Said Shannon: “The guy that really sticks out … is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the one guy that you wonder what was going on? I was semi-joking with someone this morning, saying, ‘I really hope he’s hurt.’ Because that was so non-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the way we saw him this regular season.”

Former Oilers winger Georges Laraque talked about Skinner’s iffy play, then moved on to Darnell Nurse, the Oil’s franchise d-man. “There’s also another player I hoped could be better. I was a bit disappointed in him because I know he’s a better d-man than that, and it’s Darnell Nurse.

“I hate calling out guys because I love the guys, I love the game, and I don’t want to criticize the guys. But, you know, he’s better than what we saw in the playoffs. I found he made too many mistakes… He’s paid to be the leader, the best defensive defenceman that could chip in once and awhile for the Oilers. And he wasn’t.”

As for Yamamoto, host Stauffer mentioned how difficult it is for a smaller player to get the job done in the heavy-hitting and tight-checking of the playoffs.

Take away

1. The Oilers lost to Vegas because too many nights Edmonton’s goaltending was second best, because Vegas was a far superior team at even strength because Edmonton failed to mount a physical forecheck in Games Five and Six, and because Edmonton got some more iffy calls against it in crunch time (the Philip Broberg penalty in Game Five, the Mattias Ekholm non-call in Game Six and the bizarrely short Alex Pietrangelo suspension).

2. I’d also add that in Game Six, coach Jay Woodcroft made two major tactical mistakes, starting goalie Skinner over Jack Campbell (a move that I also mistakenly thought was the best course of action) and because Woodcroft matched up the weak-checking line of Leon Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Yamamato against the Vegas power trio of Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault and Ivan Barbashev.

Before Woodcroft juggled his lines half-way through the game, the Drai line had created two Grade A shot and no goals but had given up four Grade A shots and two goals against.

I don’t know why Woodcroft would put three players who have had struggles on defence against that the Vegas top line, but as soon as I saw the match-up, I feared the worst would come about. Why not go with the strong checking line of Derek Ryan, Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele against the Eichel line, especially when you’re at home and have last line change?

3. When it comes to Nurse, we’ve already noted at The Cult of Hockey many times in our game grades just how inconsistent Nurse has been in the playoffs, alternating OK-to-good games with poor-to-atrocious ones. Too often he has tried to do too much and has been dragged far out of position, abandoning his guard at the front of the Oilers net. Perhaps he was just trying to do too much instead of letting the game come to him. But his over-active play may also be a feature of the Oilers man-to-man defensive system. If so, Vegas certainly made the most of it, pulling Nurse here, there and everywhere in several games.

Whatever the case, Nurse didn’t play a simple, aggressive and fundamentally sound brand of hockey enough in the playoffs.

Nurse’s iffy defensive play is seen in his high rate of major mistakes at even strength. He made 1.88 major mistakes on Grade A shots per game (15 mins ES), with only Evan Bouchard making a higher rate, 2.05.

By comparison, Brett Kulak was at just 0.51 per game.

Nurse does do the heavy lifting against the toughest opposing lines, so it’s expected he’s going to make mistakes, but that rate is too high if the Oilers have a hope to win the Stanley Cup.

Nurse is known for going over game tape in the summer. Perhaps he and his coaches will put their finger on the changes in tactics he and team need to make to limit Grade A shot and goal-causing mistakes.

4. Skinner is a rookie, and as Stauffer mentioned, he only ever started six games in a row in the regular season, but was asked to start 12 in a row in the playoffs. Perhaps the extra work and playoff pressure was a touch too much. He did seem tentative at times, not as sharp as he’d been during his best runs of the 2022-23 regular season. Of NHL goalies who played in at least four playoff games in 2023, Skinner’s .883 save percentage ranks 19th out of 21 goalies.

5. Yamamoto? This is the second playoff season in a row where Oilers fans have been left wanting much more from Yamo, and this despite the fact that he made a few huge plays in crunch time both playoff years.

After an injury-plagued season, Yamamoto finds himself in much the same position — with the fans at least — as Jesse Puljujarvi heading into this season. There are a huge number who doubt whether he will ever be a consistent difference-maker in the playoffs. When it comes to goals plus-minus, only Nugent-Hopkins had a worse number than Yamo in these playoffs. Their poor even strength play was also reflected in their Grade A shots plus-minus, the worst numbers on the team for wingers.

6. As for Nugent-Hopkins, after his spectacular regular season expectations were high for the playoffs. But out of 141 NHL forwards who have played at least 75 minutes in the 2023 playoffs, RNH ranks just 121st in even strength point scoring, 0.75 per 60, the worst number of any qualifying Oilers forward.

Ouch!

This is his third mediocre playoff performance in a row. After playing well against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020, Nuge’s two-way play has crashed. This is seen in his poor Grade A shots plus-minus in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 playoffs (see chart below).

This is a nasty trend with RNH and it’s something both he and his coaches have to work on. RNH is too good a player to fade so badly in the playoffs three seasons in a row. He found a way to start scoring at even strength in the 2022-23 regular season. His new challenge is to find a way to be an impact player in the 2024 playoffs.

7. Some people would include Evander Kane on the crap list of the 2023 playoffs, but his run of injuries this year explains part of his problems. First his wrist was sliced open by a skate, then he broke ribs, and now Stauffer reports that Kane played in the playoffs with a broken finger. For all that, Kane did well in his two-way play and was the biggest physical force on the team in the playoffs. He failed to score much, but he did put in a few key goals and no one threw more devastating body checks on the team. I give him a pass myself, though others are free to disagree.

8. Finally, to get back to Woodcroft’s line matching: he tends not to use any kind of checking line against a top attacking line of opposing teams, instead preferring to go power against power, with lines led by McDavid and Draisaitl facing off against the top lines of other teams. I can see the logic in this. It forces Edmonton’s top attacking players to step up on defence. At the same time, I think the Oil might be better served if now and then they used a designated checking line to thwart the top attacking trio of opposing teams. It would give the Oil one more tool in the toolkit come playoff time if Woodcroft gave this idea a run next season. It’s not like what is going on now is any good at holding onto leads. It isn’t. It’s time to experiment.

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

___

AP cricket:

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Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Sports

Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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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