Tag Archives: Hockey

Oilers blow out Canucks to force Game 7

The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks are going the distance.

The Oilers handily defeated the Canucks 5-1 in Game 6 on Saturday to force a winner-take-all contest Monday night in Vancouver.

The winner of Game 7 will book a ticket to the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars.

It was a dominating performance by the Oilers, who outshot the Canucks 27-15.

"All we did is give ourselves a chance to play one more game," Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. "We gotta bring the same mindset to Vancouver on Monday."

Edmonton's star players came through when the team needed them most. Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Evan Bouchard each put forth three-point efforts. Leon Draisaitl picked up a pair of assists, while Zach Hyman potted his 10th goal of the postseason.

Stuart Skinner wasn't tested often in his return to the crease but was stellar when called upon, stopping 14 of 15 shots.

"Not many shots, but the ones they did get I thought were dangerous, and he did a great job stepping up," McDavid said postgame, per Sportsnet.

Vancouver tallied eight high-danger scoring chances compared to Edmonton's nine, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Skinner took a back seat to Calvin Pickard for Games 4 and 5 after struggling to the tune of a .793 save percentage in the first three contests of the series. McDavid said the team's belief in Skinner never wavered.

"We never had a doubt, honestly," McDavid said. "He's a battler. He's always been a battler. Our team always responds, and he's no different."

Arturs Silovs, meanwhile, struggled in the opposite crease, as he was on the hook for all five goals. He projects to get the call in Game 7, too, as Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said injured netminder Thatcher Demko won't be able to return Monday. Vancouver's other option between the pipes is veteran Casey DeSmith, who hasn't played since Game 3 of Round 1.

Tocchet believes in his group's ability to turn the page after a rough performance.

"We are a good bounce-back team," Tocchet said. "That's the way I look at it. Our job right now is we gotta flush this game. Obviously some guys know they have to play better. You have 48 hours to get your energy back. It's Game 7, people would kill to be in this situation right now."

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Canes, Brind’Amour agree to reported 5-year extension

Rod Brind'Amour isn't going anywhere.

The former Jack Adams Award-winning head coach agreed to a multi-year extension with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced Sunday.

The contract is five years, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports.

"Rod has been instrumental to the success we've had over the last six season," general manager Don Waddell said. "Ever since he joined the organization 24 years ago, Rod has embodied what it means to be a Hurricane. We hope to keep him a Hurricane for life."

The rest of the Hurricanes' coaching staff - assistant coaches Jeff Daniels and Tim Gleason, video coach Chris Huffine, and goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder - also received extensions.

Brind'Amour coached under the final year of his contract in 2023-24 and could've become a free agent.

Reports following Round 1 of the playoffs indicated Brind'Amour had become unsure about his future with the organization that's employed him for the last 24 seasons.

The Hurricanes were ousted by the New York Rangers in six games in Round 2. The club has qualified for the playoffs in each of Brind'Amour's six seasons as head coach, making it as far as the Eastern Conference Final in 2019 and 2023. He was named the NHL's coach of the year in 2021.

Brind'Amour played 10 seasons with the Hurricanes from 2000-10, captaining the franchise to its lone Stanley Cup in 2006. He became the director of player development immediately after his retirement before moving to an assistant coach role in 2011 and taking the head coach job in 2018.

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Barkov wins Selke Trophy over Matthews, Jordan Staal

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is this year's recipient of the Frank J. Selke Trophy, the NHL announced Saturday.

Barkov won the honor for the second time in his career. He last claimed it for the abbreviated 2021 season and was also a finalist for the next campaign.

The 11-year veteran beat out Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews and Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal for this year's award, which recognizes the league's top defensive forward.

Barkov ran away with it in a landslide. Here's how the top 10 shook out among the 41 players to garner votes:

Place Player Voting Points
1 Aleksander Barkov 1817
2 Jordan Staal 539
3 Auston Matthews 514
T4 Sam Reinhart 440
T4 Anze Kopitar 440
6 Roope Hintz 315
7 Adam Lowry 308
8 Seth Jarvis 152
9 Sidney Crosby 85
10 Joel Eriksson Ek 65

Barkov excelled at both ends of the ice in 2023-24. In addition to posting 80 points in 73 games, the 28-year-old played a significant role in the Panthers tying the Winnipeg Jets for the fewest goals against.

He authored a sublime 61.07 expected goals for percentage at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, while ranking among the NHL's best in standing points above replacement, wins above replacement, and goals above replacement, per Evolving Hockey.

Barkov also dominated in the faceoff circle, winning a career-high 57.3% of draws (ninth in the NHL among players with 50 games played and at least 500 taken), while lining up for a team-high 1,100 in total.

Matthews ranked second in the league in SPAR, WAR, and GAR while trailing only Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin in takeaways (by five) among all NHL skaters.

Staal boasted favorable underlying numbers of his own while helping the Hurricanes allow the fourth-fewest goals.

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