EDMONTON – It doesn’t feel like summer here anymore.
On Sunday morning, long before the Vancouver Canucks lost 5-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights to imperil what has been a fairly magical playoff run, it was nine degrees downtown and felt cooler than that with wind howling out of the west from the Rockies far beyond the horizon.
The first fallen leaves were kicked up into little cyclones and the courtyard in the players’ hotel bubble – “the yard” with a couple of basketball hoops and a Tim Horton’s truck that is the highlight of their day, was deserted and forlorn. Looking at the barren concrete, you half-expected tumbleweed to roll through.
The Canucks have been here so long that the seasons have changed. The sun set at 9:39 p.m. when they arrived on July 26, wide-eyed and eager for the summer Stanley Cup tournament. On Monday it set at 8:24 p.m.
In length, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are barely past the halfway point, but it sure feels like the end of something. For the Canucks, it will be the end of their season unless they beat the Golden Knights on Tuesday to extend the second-round series beyond five games.
Livestream the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, plus every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sportsnet NOW.
The Canucks have been here five weeks and won eight playoff games — of the 15 required of them to lift the Stanley Cup. Much has happened.
All those players who had never experienced an NHL playoff game have logged 14 of them, increasing in intensity, pressure and pain as the games piled up. The Canucks lost players to injury, welcomed a couple of them back, overcame a false start against the Minnesota Wild, a huge momentum swing against the St. Louis Blues, and have won two more playoff rounds than the last eight years’ worth of Vancouver teams.
They could have hardly experienced more had they spent the last month backpacking around Europe.
Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes have shown they’re going to be superstars. Bo Horvat is a great captain, Jacob Markstrom a great goalie. J.T. Miller is a warrior and there’s still game in many of the Canucks’ veterans, an underrated component on a team rebuilt around youth.
They’ve learned a lot. They’re not wide-eyed anymore. But maybe the toughest lesson of summer school is this: sometimes no matter how hard you try, how well you play, it may still not be enough.
Tuesday, in Game 5, they’ll experience an elimination game for the first time from the desperate end of the ice.
Reach Deep
Iain MacIntyre's level of belief in the Canucks bouncing back in the series
August 31 2020
“Everyone has played in these types of games throughout their life,” said veteran defenceman Chris Tanev, who in 2011 was a rookie minor-league call-up on the last Canucks team that came this far in the playoffs. “Maybe not in the NHL for everyone. But guys have played at high levels their whole life and they’ve faced elimination before.
“Obviously, we’ve taken big steps forward from previous years. Last time we were in the playoffs was five years ago. So going from that to where we are now is a lot of growth. (But) we’re obviously not satisfied where we are right now, down 3-1 against a good team.”
“I think you’ve just got to go and play the game and love to be in this situation,” Horvat said during Monday’s video call with reporters. “Embrace it, embrace the moment. Get back to hard work and doing the little things right and everything else will take care of itself. The minute you start overthinking things and gripping your stick too tight, that’s kind of when it goes the opposite way. Leave it all out there; we’ve got nothing to save it for.”
Horvat has three more years on his contract. But Tuesday could be Tanev’s final game after a decade with the Canucks. He is an unrestricted free agent. So is Markstrom. These are the things they can’t afford to be thinking about.
That uncertain future, however, becomes most distracting when facing elimination.
“They’re probably a little bit upset right now, and rightfully so,” coach Travis Green said when asked about his players’ mindset after falling behind 3-1 in the series by blowing a third-period lead to Vegas on Sunday. “When you want to win bad and you lose, it stings. It should sting. You’re playing for the Stanley Cup ultimately. We’re in the playoffs and (the pain of losing) doesn’t just go away.
“Could we have won that game last night? One hundred percent. That’s playoff hockey, though. We had a 3-2 lead, we were in a good spot. It didn’t go the way we want. We’ll talk to our group tonight and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
The Program
Murphy: 'Canucks fans shouldn’t be hanging their heads being down 3-1'
August 31 2020
The problem, of course, is so will be the Knights. Vegas has won with defence, and they’ve won with scoring and they’ve won with goaltending, where the guy who shut out Vancouver twice in three games (Robin Lehner) will be back in the Knights’ net. Whatever the Canucks have tried, the Knights have handled it. But Vancouver still hasn’t played its best.
Brock Boeser hasn’t scored in the series, neither has a Vancouver defenceman, and the Canucks haven’t had a point from a forward outside their top six. Markstrom wasn’t sharp in the third period on Sunday. Hughes, minus-seven in the series, relentlessly targeted physically and verbally by Vegas, hasn’t found the form that made him the best player against St. Louis. The penalty kill has struggled.
Even the Canucks’ best may not be enough to take down the Knights. But they’d sure like to know for sure.
“This talk about talking to your group about facing an elimination game. . . we’ve just got to win one game tomorrow,” Green said. “Last series we lost two against St. Louis (to make it 2-2). Everyone thought we were down and out and were going to be done. We were ready to go. I can guarantee our team is going to be ready to go tomorrow. We win tomorrow, we get to play another one.
“These guys have been in hockey a long time. They’ve all played important hockey games. I hope that we play a lot more important games this year.”
The Vancouver Canucks don't need a special talk as they face elimination against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Second Round, coach Travis Green said.
Vancouver's season would end with a loss in Game 5 of the best-of-7 series at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the West hub city, on Tuesday (9:45 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"I'm not worried about our group one bit," the coach said Monday.
The Canucks are in the postseason for the first time since 2014-15. Some of the players are playing in the postseason and facing elimination for the first time in the NHL, most notably 21-year-old center Elias Pettersson and 20-year-old defenseman Quinn Hughes.
The Canucks lost Game 1 of the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers against the Minnesota Wild and then won three games in a row. And in the Western Conference First Round, they lost back-to-back games to the St. Louis Blues, the defending Stanley Cup champions, and were even after Game 4. Vancouver won the next two games and the best-of-7 series.
"Everyone thought we were down and out and going to be done, and we were ready to go," Green said. "I can guarantee you our team's going to be ready to go tomorrow. We've just got to win one game. We win tomorrow, we get to play another one.
"These guys, they've been in hockey a long time. They've all played important hockey games. I hope we play a lot more important games this year."
The Golden Knights present a particularly tough challenge because of their speed, physicality and depth. Twice in the series, they have shut out the Canucks. They have outscored them 15-8 and outshot them 146-115.
After a 3-0 loss in Game 3, Green said when the coaches had asked for a response from the players, they had always gotten one. He said they got one in Game 4, even though they gave up a 3-2 lead in the third period and lost 5-3. To him, the Golden Knights got a couple of bounces and the Canucks missed a couple of chances.
"I liked our response last night," Green said. "Now, did I like that we didn't win? No, I don't. No one does. But when you ask for a response, it's not saying you're guaranteeing a win. I want our team to come ready to play when we ask for a response, and if you do that, you're going to win more than you lose. Could we have won that game last night? One hundred percent. That's playoff hockey though."
Center Bo Horvat, the 25-year-old Canucks captain, has scored nine goals to lead the postseason, his second in a six-season NHL career. Pettersson is second in the postseason with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists), behind Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, who has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists).
Hughes has 13 points (one goal, 12 assists), tied for third among defensemen with Cale Makar of the Avalanche, who has three goals and 10 assists. Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists), and Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists).
"I think you can't go into this game gripping your stick too tight," Horvat said. "That's how it kind of goes the opposite way. You've just got to go and play the game and love to be in these situations. Embrace it, embrace the moment, and everything's going to fall into place by itself."
Win or lose -- in Game 5 in particular or the series in general -- the Canucks will have made progress, more than most expected. But they can't think that way, at least not yet.
"Obviously, we've taken big steps forward from previous years," Vancouver defenseman Christopher Tanev said. "Obviously the last time we were in the playoffs was five years ago. Going from that to where we are now is a lot of growth.
"But I mean, we're obviously not satisfied where we are right now, down 3-1 against a good team. But we felt like we've been in every game and been close, obviously except for (a 5-0 loss in) Game 1. Tomorrow we're going to have to go out and play hard and get the job done."
NHL.com staff writer Tim Campbell contributed to this story
Another game, another complaint about taking out the starter early.
Chase Anderson pitched 5 innings, gave up a run in the first inning. 2-5 he gave up just 1 hit. He struck out 8 (his first 6 outs were strikeouts). He was rolling. At 84 pitches and coming up on the top of the order for the third time. I would have sent him out for the sixth, likely with the plan that he comes out on the first base runner. I get that managers like to have relievers start an inning if possible, but I didn’t see the point. Of course, Charlie is closer to the players than I am and maybe there was a reason to pull him. I’m thinking that they didn’t want him above about 95 pitches today, but I’d still lean to leaving him in.
Part two of the complaint, Wilmer Font came in and Font has not been good and really shouldn’t be in ‘high leverage’ spots. Up by 1 in the sixth is too high leverage to me. Font gave up a single and double, to start the inning, and we were tied. A strikeout and two hard hit flies to the outfield got us out of the inning tied, but we were lucky.
Ryan Borucki started the seventh and had his problems too, but then giving up 2 hard hit singles. Thomas Hatch came in and got out of the inning and pitched the eighth.
Rafael Dolis gave up a couple of base runners in the ninth, but got out of the inning.
On offense, we didn’t do much, just 5 hits in the first 9 innings. Lourdes Gurriel and Joe Panik had 2 each. We had a lot of bad at bats. It looked like the guys were out drinking after last night’s walk-off win.
We got our two runs in the fifth only because of some bad Orioles’ defense. With 1-out, Danny Jansen walked and Panik doubled. After a Santiago Espinal strikeout, Cavan Biggio hit an easy grounder to Hanser Alberto at second base but he fired the short throw well wide of first and both runners scored.
We had a shot to win in the bottom of the ninth. Daniel Vogelbach walked (on a pretty closes pitch). Derek Fisher came in to pinch run and was almost doubled off when Danny Jansen popped up a bunt attempt. Panik tried to win it for us, lining one hard to right field but it was caught. Travis Shaw came in to pinch hit for Espinal, but Derek Fisher was throw out trying to steal second. I thought he was safe. I was ok with the idea of Fisher being the guy starting the tenth at second over Shaw.
In the top of the tenth with A.J. Cole in, and Mason Williams starting at second, Hanser Alberto tried to bunt his way on. Cole got him at first on a very very close play. Williams to third. Anthony Santander followed with a fly ball to right which I thought was plenty deep enough to score the runner, but Teoscar Hernandez proved me wrong with a terrific throw from right. Almost Bautista ish. Orioles don’t score.
Bottom of the tenth started with Derek Fisher at second, as the winning run. Shaw back at the plate. Shaw pulled a ground ball to the first base side and Fisher moved up to third. Good at bat. Biggio up to be the hero, but he ground out softly. And Randal Grichuk did the same.
Top of the eleventh. Orioles start with Santander at second and Anthony Bass in to pitch. Jose Iglesias doubled to put the Orioles ahead. Why didn’t someone trade for him today? A strikeout was followed by a Bryan Holaday double. Chase Sisco flew out to medium center. Ryan Mountcastle struck out.
Bottom of the eleventh: Grichuck at second, tying run at the plate. Vlad up to start the inning. He hasn’t looked good at the plate today. He grounds out very weakly, on the first pitch. Hernandez chased two bad pitches to strikeout. Lourdes Gurriel got his third hit of the day, a soft single, scoring Randal. Rowdy Tellez pinch hits, hits a double down the right field line, the Orioles right fielder threw it very softly in towards the infield. Gurriel slowed going around third and then started running again. He was out by 20 feet. I don’t know if he was waved in, it seemed like he was going to stop at third until the bad throw, but there was time for the Orioles to track down the throw and get him out. Once he slows you have to stop him.
We really didn’t deserve that one, we gave away far too many at bats. And if you can’t score the game winning run from third with one out, you really shouldn’t win.
Jays of the Day: Hatch (.263 WPA), Anderson (.163), Dolis (.147), Cole (.147)
Suckage: Espinal (-.195), Grichuk (-.187), Hernandez (-.187). Vlad (-.104) and Vogelbach (-.177) and Bass (whose WPA is mess up by the runner starting on second).
We had 727 comments in the thread. EMK19 led us to crushing defeat.
Watching Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes help carry the Vancouver Canucks to their best playoff showing in a decade comes with a small price.
The Canucks will be one of 13 NHL teams carrying a salary cap overage into next season, according to data compiled by CapFriendly and confirmed by NHL sources, for payment of performance bonuses that pushed them over this season’s $81.5 million ceiling.
The Dallas Stars will carry over a league-high overage of at least $2.95 million, while the Boston Bruins will pay out $1.93 million in bonuses.
Vancouver’s carry-over charge is third most at $1.7 million, split evenly between Pettersson and Hughes at $850,000 apiece.
That figure could still increase by $2 million to $3.7 million if the Canucks somehow dig out of their 3-1 series hole to the Vegas Golden Knights and Pettersson goes on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP – a bonus cheque the Canucks would be more than happy to write.
Typically, all bonus overages from a given season apply in full to the next season’s cap.
But with the unique statistic ratios applied from a shortened season and a frozen salary cap, all 13 teams with overages from this season will be able to divide the amount equally over the next two seasons if they so desire, according to the NHL’s Memorandum of Understanding on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Teams must make their decision seven days before free agency begins, or roughly by the end of the playoffs.
That could provide some flexibility for a team like the Canucks, who are already carrying dead cap space from Roberto Luongo’s recapture penalty ($3.03 million), Ryan Spooner’s buyout ($1.03 million) and Sven Baertschi being buried in the AHL ($2.29 million).
The Stars could still add to their league-high bonus total as their Stanley Cup run continues. Corey Perry is owed $100,000 if Dallas makes it to the Stanley Cup Final, plus another $150,000 if they win the Cup Miro Heiskanen is due a $1.65 million bonus if he is voted Conn Smythe MVP, which is a distinct possibility if the Stars hoist the Cup, given his phenomenal postseason.
There are other potential $212,500 bonuses up for grabs for the Blackhawks, Penguins and Capitals if Dominik Kubalik, John Marino and Ilya Samsonov are selected to the season-ending All-Rookie team.
Here is the team-by-team breakdown for bonus overages heading into 2020-21, with help from CapFriendly.com:
Dallas Stars
$2,947,866
Boston Bruins
$1,928,445
Vancouver Canucks
$1,700,000
Carolina Hurricanes
$1,367,073
Buffalo Sabres
$1,275,000
Chicago Blackhawks
$877,744
St. Louis Blues
$719,405
Edmonton Oilers
$682,653
Vegas Golden Knights
$571,544
Washington Capitals
$419,749
Arizona Coyotes
$393,902
Philadelphia Flyers
$66,037
Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli
Denis Shapovalov advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over American qualifier Sebastian Korda on Monday.
Shapovalov, the 12th seed from Richmond Hill, Ont., had to take a medical time out in the third set, but was dominant from that point on.
He finished with 13 aces and 35 winners, though his aggressive style also resulted in 43 unforced errors.
Shapovalov won four of his 14 break point opportunities. He only faced break point twice, saving one of those chances.
The Canadian next faces the winner of a match between American Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and South Korean Soonwoo Kwon.
WATCH | Denis Shapovalov wins opener:
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., moves on to the 2nd round of the U.S. Open with 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sebastian Korda. 1:57
Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil, Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., play their opening men's singles matches Tuesday. Raonic is coming off a run to the final at the Western & Southern Open last week.
WATCH | Cameron Norrie pulls off upset on Day 1:
Down 2 sets, 76th ranked player in the world Cameron Norrie comes back to defeat 9th seed Diego Schwartzman in the opening round of the U.S. Open. 1:08
Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova advanced in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Anhelina Kalinina, while on the men's side, No. 9 seed Diego Schwartzman blew a two-set lead and was knocked out by Cameron Norrie 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 in a match that took nearly four hours.
Denis Shapovalov recently released his new song 'Night Train', but the Canadian had no problem Monday inside Louis Armstrong Stadium during the day.
Shapovalov battled past fellow #NextGenATP star Sebastian Korda 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the second round of the US Open.
Shapovalov has shined at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center throughout his young career. In his first three appearances at Flushing Meadows from 2017-19, the Canadian advanced to at least the third round on each occasion. The lefty made a splash on his debut as an 18-year-old, advancing to the fourth round.
The 12th seed didn't have it easy against 20-year-old Korda. The American crushed a forehand winner down the line to even their match at one set apiece. But Shapovalov's level was more consistent throughout the two-hour, 47-minute encounter.
The Canadian is known for his shotmaking prowess, and sometimes he goes for too much too often. But he played within himself after losing the second set, hitting aggressively to big targets to force Korda to play riskier tennis from disadvantageous positions. Shapovalov, who will next play Soonwoo Kwon or Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, struck 35 winners, while Korda made 50 unforced errors.
Korda, the son of former World No. 2 Petr Korda, was competing in his first Grand Slam main draw. Last week, he qualified for his first ATP Masters 1000 main draw at the Western & Southern Open.
The Blue Jays have made another trade, adding to their infield/bench/speed. Jonathan Villar is coming in trade from the Marlins.
Jonathan is hitting .272/.328/.360 with 9 steals this year. He’s been playing short and second mostly. But he’s played center as well. He’s also played third in his career. He isn’t a great defensive player. He is a free agent after the season.
It looks like the Marlins have picked up Starling Marte too.
Villar is 29, a switch-hitter. He’s played for 4 teams, Astros, Brewers, Orioles and Marlins. Career he has a .261/.328/.406 line with 80 home runs and 211 steals in 808 games.
Griffin Conine going to the Marlins. More than I hoped. I had some hope Conine would make it to the Jays. Of course his dad was a big fan favorite in Miami.
Griffin Conine is coming back to Miami in the Villar deal from thr Jays. Per sources. Son of Mr. Marlin Jeff Conine.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic, - The Serbian completed a second Career Golden Masters at the Western & Southern Open (d. Raonic) to tie Rafael Nadal's record of 35 ATP Masters 1000 titles. With the resumption of the ATP Tour after a five-month suspension, Djokovic is now on 284 weeks at No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings - two weeks shy of Pete Sampras' mark of 286 weeks. Roger Federer has spent the most weeks at No. 1 on 310 weeks. Read & Watch W&S Open Final Report
No. 18 Milos Raonic, +12 The Canadian returned to the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time since 12 August 2019 after competing in his fourth ATP Masters 1000 final on Saturday at the Western & Southern Open (l. to Djokovic). The 29-year-old beat Sam Querrey, Daniel Evans, two-time former champion Andy Murray, Filip Krajinovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the title match. Raonic, who underwent left wrist surgery in 2017 and has suffered a number of injuries, rose to a career-high No. 3 on 21 November 2016.
No. 35 Reilly Opelka, +4 The American is four spots shy of his career-high after reaching his first Masters 1000 quarter-final in New York, where he lost to Tsitsipas. The 22-year-old recorded the fifth Top 10 win of his career over No. 8-ranked Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 7-6(4) in the third round. He hit 54 aces in four matches.
No. 66 Marton Fucsovics, +18 The Hungarian qualified for the Masters 1000 tournament, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, and beat 2017 titlist Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in the second round, before falling to Krajinovic. He soared 18 spots to No. 66 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, but remains 35 positions shy of his career-high (No. 31 on 4 March 2019).
Max Pacioretty scored twice and added an assist, and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied for three goals in the third period and beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Sunday night.
The Golden Knights took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven second-round series. With a win in Game 5 on Tuesday, Vegas can eliminate Vancouver, the last Canadian team from the post-season.
The 31-year-old Pacioretty suffered a minor injury as players returned to training camp in July for the return to play tournament. He didn't play in the round-robin portion and also missed one game in the first round against Chicago.
"It's easy to come back and join this group," Pacioretty said. "Everyone here is on the same page. You're not really expected to come in here and be the hero, we have such great depth.
"(Coming back from injury) you're not really relied upon to do too much out of your comfort zone, and that's a nice feeling going into a lineup knowing your teammates are working for you to get back into the rhythm of things."
William Karlsson, Nate Schmidt, and Chandler Stephenson also scored for Vegas. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves and earned his third win of the playoffs.
WATCH | Gloves, saves and playoff chirps:
In his daily recap, Rob Pizzo breaks down three teams looking to take a stranglehold on their playoff series. 2:52
Shea Theodore added two assists, giving him four goals and 10 assists in the playoffs.
Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson, and Tyler Toffoli scored for Vancouver. Jacob Markstrom, in his 14th start, made 28 saves in the loss.
It was a game that saw two lead changes after there had been no lead changes in the first three games of the series.
The Golden Knights led 2-1 after the first period, but trailed 3-2 after the second.
Vegas pressed Canucks
Vegas pressed the Canucks early in the third and tied it when Schmidt cranked a slap shot from the blue line past Markstrom at 2:52.
Pacioretty then scored the winner at 7:02 on a give-and-go with Schmidt, with the return pass going off his skate blade at the doorstep and behind Markstrom.
Pacioretty then set up the insurance goal 87 seconds later, feeding Karlsson from behind the net for the 5-3 lead.
WATCH | Vegas powers past Vancouver:
The Vegas Golden Knights score three unanswered third period goals to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 and take a 3-1 series lead. 1:01
"It was a strange game," said Vegas head coach Peter DeBoer. He said the Golden Knights started out well but got away from their game when they got into penalty trouble in the second period.
"We talked at the end of the second about just getting back to our game, staying out of the (penalty) box and getting more direct and stopping at the net," said DeBoer.
"When we play that way we can put a lot of pressure on teams."
The veteran winger has four goals in the series and five in the last five games.
It was Fleury's third start of the post-season, replacing Robin Lehner. The change was expected as Lehner played 24 hours earlier, and head coach Peter DeBoer had said the plan is to play both goaltenders in the playoffs.
Lehner, acquired at the trade deadline, has been getting the bulk of the work in the post-season and is 7-2.
Fleury had been the starter until Lehner's arrival and that has not sat well with Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh. When the Vancouver series began, Walsh tweeted a meme of his client, in full uniform on the ice, taking a broadsword in the back. On the blade was written the name DeBoer.
For Vancouver, Toffoli has two goals and four points in the last three games since returning to the Canucks' lineup after missing an extended period due to a suspected foot injury.
Pettersson has six goals and 17 points in the post-season. J.T. Miller recorded three assists, giving him five goals and nine assists in the return-to-play tournament.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue on Saturday, Aug. 22 in the hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto. Now that the First Round is complete the full 2020 NHL Second Round playoff schedule has been announced.
The top four teams during the regular season in both conferences played a three-game round robin for seeding in the First Round. The eight winners of the best-of-5 Qualifying Round advanced to the First Round.
Rogers Place in Edmonton will host both the NHL’s 2020 Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final.
Here is the 2020 NHL Second Round playoff schedule.
EASTERN CONFERENCE (Scotiabank Arena – Toronto)
No. 1 Philadelphia Flyers vs. No. 6 New York Islanders (NYI lead 3-1)
Series preview Game 1: Islanders 4, Flyers 0 (recap) Game 2: Flyers 4, Islanders 3 (OT) (recap) Game 3: Islanders 3, Flyers 1 (recap) Game 4: Islanders 3, Flyers 2 (recap) Game 5: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream) *Game 6: Thursday, Sept. 3 – TBD *Game 7: Saturday, Sept. 5 – TBD
*if necessary
No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. No. 4 Boston Bruins (TBL leads 3-1)
Series preview Game 1: Bruins 3, Lightning 2 (recap) Game 2: Lightning 4, Bruins 3 (OT) (recap) Game 3: Lightning 7, Bruins 1 (recap) Game 4: Lightning 3, Bruins 1 (recap) Game 5: Monday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m. ET – NBCSN (livestream) *Game 6: Wednesday, Sept. 2 – TBD *Game 7: Thursday, Sept. 3 – TBD
EASTERN CONFERENCE Philadelphia Flyers (3-0-0, 6 points) Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1-0, 4 points) Washington Capitals (1-1-1, 3 points) Boston Bruins (0-3-0, 0 points)
Canadiens beat Penguins (3-1) Hurricanes beat Rangers (3-0) Islanders beat Panthers (3-1) Blue Jackets beat Maple Leafs (3-2)
WESTERN CONFERENCE Vegas Golden Knights (3-0-0, 6 points) Colorado Avalanche (2-1-0, 4 points) Dallas Stars (1-2-0, 2 points) St. Louis Blues (0-2-1, 1 point)
EDMONTON – You work and sacrifice, suffer physically, battle and crawl and build yourself a one-goal lead to try to save your season. And then the Vegas Golden Knights arrive like a landslide in the third period, pump in three goals and win 5-3.
And if you’re the Vancouver Canucks, you have to wonder if Sunday was your last best chance to make this a series.
After playing well for two periods on Sunday, the Canucks were buried by three goals in six-and-a-half minutes in the third and lost for the second time in 25 hours to the Knights, who took a 3-1 lead in this second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs clash.
Yes, the Golden Knights are loud and obnoxious. Who needs fans in the building when you have Ryan Reaves and the rest of the Vegas bench? But they seem capable of backing up everything they say.
Vegas won Game 3 with defence and won Game 4 with offence, scoring off the rush, scoring off the cycle and scoring on the power play. The Canucks, Canada’s last-standing team — not counting all the American ones in the bubble — are a Tuesday loss away from leaving the Stanley Cup tournament.
Livestream the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, plus every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sportsnet NOW.
“It’s unchartered territory for a lot of players, obviously,” veteran Canucks forward J.T. Miller said late Sunday. “A lot of young guys on the team. We’ve just got to worry about next game. We’ve proven we can play with (the Golden Knights) for a long stretch of the first four games. We’re going to come out and try to have a good start to the next game and go from there. It’s the only thing we can focus on at this point.
“We put ourselves in a helluva spot to win a hockey game (tonight) and get right back in the series. And we need to do a better job… I mean, it’s not the third period we wanted. That’s a dream spot to be in in the playoffs, (trying) to tie a series 2-2 and be up one going into the third. And they had too many good looks.”
Starting with Nate Schmidt’s equalizer at 2:52, a 50-foot slapshot that beat goalie Jacob Markstrom between his arm and torso after a shift of sustained pressure, the Golden Knights surged back in the first half of the final period, scoring three times on Canucks mistakes and a couple of bounces.
Max Pacioretty reached behind him for the puck as he was being checked to somehow finish a three-on-two rush from Schmidt’s pass to put Vegas ahead 4-3 at 7:02. And from the remnants of another outnumbered rush, William Karlsson tapped in Pacioretty’s centring pass 87 seconds later as both Markstrom and defenceman Tyler Myers, just back after missing seven games with a shoulder injury, reacted slowly.
Markstrom made some terrific saves during the game but looked tired in the third trying to play both halves of the playoff back-to-back. Vegas coach Peter DeBoer had the luxury of dividing the weekend workload between his two “No. 1” goalies, starting Marc-Andre Fleury Sunday after Robin Lehner shut out the Canucks 3-0 on Saturday.
“I felt great,” Markstrom said defiantly after the game. “There was about five (goals) I would like to have back.”
“There’s no quit in this team,” Canucks centre Elias Pettersson said. “We’ve been working all season for this and we’re not going to back down without a battle. Of course, it’s frustrating now, but we’ve just got to focus on next game.”
They’d better focus solely on Tuesday because the idea right now of winning three straight against the Golden Knights is a little overwhelming.
The biggest game of the series was also the best as the Canucks and Golden Knights traded four goals through 25 minutes Sunday before Tyler Toffoli’s power-play marker gave Vancouver its first lead at 11:26 of the second period.
Quinn Hughes, hellaciously hit earlier in the game by Reaves to initiate a Vegas goal, surprised the Golden Knights by continuing forward on a power-play break in rather than drop the puck in the neutral zone. Hughes passed to Toffoli, who fired from close range high and in off Fleury’s shoulder.
The Canucks had tied the game seven minutes earlier when Fleury spilled a deflection from Miller, leaving captain Bo Horvat a tap-in that made it 2-2 at 4:07.
Vancouver’s push was impressive, as Vegas built a 2-1 lead in the first period but could have led by more based on the scoring chances.
Pacioretty made it 1-0 for the Golden Knights at 9:28, punishing the Canucks for a too-man-men penalty by shooting through Markstrom’s pads from the high slot.
Pettersson tied it 1-1 at 11:15, lethally measuring his shot and picking his spot glove-side on Fleury during Vancouver’s first power play.
But Vegas re-took the lead just 2:04 later when fourth-line centre Chandler Stephenson finished a three-on-two rush from Shea Theodore’s pass. The prerequisite to the goal was the 240-pound Reaves running over Hughes when the Canucks’ five-foot-10 rookie tried to reverse with the puck in the offensive zone, making himself a hugely inviting target. It was like a bear running over a rabbit.
As the Knights counter-attacked with Hughes caught and the Vancouver bench screaming for a penalty, Toffoli turned to confront Reaves, leaving lots of time and space for Vegas to execute its outnumbered rush.
After the goal, Reaves and other Golden Knights could be heard mocking Hughes, and the trash-talking soon involved Canucks coach Travis Green.
Reaves could have been called for boarding, but it would have been marginal. And the Canucks really had no complaints because in the second period Jonathan Marchessault was called for a high-stick on Troy Stecher when the offending twig actually belonged to Vancouver defenceman Alex Edler.
If the Canucks really want to shut up the Golden Knights, all they have to do is win.
“You’re not going to win the series next game,” Miller said. “You’ve got to worry about (only) next game. We’re not worried about… whatever can happen after that.”
Marc-Andre Fleury is the starting goalie for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Sunday (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
Fleury last played Aug. 15, a 2-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the first round, the first of back-to-back games. He made 26 saves, allowing a third-period goal to Olli Maatta.
Robin Lehner started the other nine postseason games for Vegas, including the first three against Vancouver. He shut out the Canucks 5-0 in Game 1 on Aug. 23 and 3-0 in Game 3 on Saturday to give the Golden Knights the lead in the best-of-7 series.
Lehner was 7-2-0 with a 2.08 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and two shutouts in the postseason. Fleury was 2-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .886 save percentage.
Fleury started each of the Golden Knights' first 27 Stanley Cup Playoff games after they entered the NHL in 2017-18 and helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2018, which they lost to the Washington Capitals.
Hernandez came up with the bases loaded and grounded a single into left field. Pinch runner Santiago Espinal scored easily and Randal Grichuk slid in safely just ahead of the throw by left fielder Mason Williams.
Cole Sulser (1-4), who surrendered a game-ending homer to Grichuk on Friday, issued three walks and Hernandez’s hit to take the loss.
Jose Iglesias delivered a go-ahead RBI single on a dribbling infield single in the top of the ninth inning against Toronto reliever Anthony Bass (2-1).
Ryan Mountcastle hit his first two big league homers for Baltimore, which lost its fifth straight. Mountcastle had three hits to run his average to .393 (11 of 28) since making his major league debut on Aug. 21.
Toronto earned its fourth straight win. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his career-best hitting streak to 12 games, and Hernandez had two hits to extend his hit streak to 11 games, also a career high. Cavan Biggio extended his on-base streak to 22 games with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Mountcastle led off the second with a towering drive to left. He hit a two-run shot in the sixth to give Baltimore a 4-3 lead. Both homers came off Toronto starter Tanner Roark.
Iglesias, Renato Nunez and Pedro Severino each had two hits for the Orioles, who are now 0-6 against Toronto this season.
Toronto tied it at 4 with two out in the eighth, getting a Hernandez single and Guerrero walk before Rowdy Tellez came through with an RBI single.
TRADE WINDS
The Orioles completed two trades, dealing right-hander Tommy Milone to Atlanta for two players to be named and sending right-hander Mychal Givens to Colorado for infielders Terrin Vavra and Tyler Nevin and a player to be named or cash considerations.
Milone went 1-4 with a 3.99 ERA over six starts in his first season with the Orioles. Givens, 30, spent parts of six seasons with Baltimore.
Vavra, 23, was a third-round pick by the Rockies in the 2018 draft. Nevin is the son of former big league slugger Phil Nevin.
Right-hander Hunter Harvey and lefty Keegan Akin took over Baltimore’s vacant roster spots. The trade deadline for the pandemic-shortened season is Monday.
“Young clubs get even younger at the deadline,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re young already and we’re going to stay inexperienced for this last month, and we’ll do the best we can with the guys we have.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: Harvey (forearm strain) was activated from the IL, leaving three players on the 10-day injury list: RHP Shawn Armstrong (left SI joint inflammation), INF Chris Davis (left knee patellar tendinitis), and OF Austin Hays (non-displaced rib fracture).
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (sprained knee) took ground balls, ran sprints, and hit in the cage. … Closer Ken Giles (forearm strain) felt good after a bullpen session, and manager Charlie Montoyo envisions “at least two more live batting practices before he comes back.” Montoyo added: “If he looks like he did before, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be our closer again.” … RHP Nate Pearson (elbow tightness) and RHP Matt Shoemaker (shoulder inflammation) played catch from 90 and 60 feet, respectively.
UP NEXT
Orioles: With the trade of Milone, originally scheduled to face the Blue Jays on Monday, Hyde did not indicate who would be getting the start. “It’s still up in the air,” he said. “We’re going to take a long look and figure it out.”
Blue Jays: RHP Chase Anderson (0-0, 3.68 ERA) will start in Monday’s finale of the four-game series against Baltimore.
TORONTO – Down to hours remaining before Monday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline arrives, an interesting question is how transformative do the Toronto Blue Jays want to get in bolstering their roster for a run at the post-season.
The obvious need, even after the acquisition of right-hander Taijuan Walker on Thursday, is for another starting pitcher, as there’s still one more hole in their rotation, set to be covered by a bullpen day on Tuesday.
But picking up another starter won’t be easy, as shown by Atlanta’s acquisition of lefty Tommy Milone from the Baltimore Orioles, who pulled the chute with a pair of subtraction trades before the Blue Jays rallied for a 6-5 walk-off win on Teoscar Hernandez’s two-run single.
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Milone is pitching well right now, but under normal circumstances is more of a depth/insurance type of add for a team seeking to bolster itself for the post-season. But as Alex Anthopoulos, Atlanta’s president of baseball operations, pointed out on a conference call, “there aren’t a lot of sellers. With the expanded playoffs, even those teams on the outside looking in, they’re close. There’s not a lot of inventory out there.”
Hence, there’s “a big market” for Texas Rangers starter Lance Lynn, according to one industry source, and while the Blue Jays have checked in on the righty, that doesn’t necessarily means there’s a fit.
The Rangers are said to like the Blue Jays’ young catchers, but subtracting from that duo wouldn’t make sense without another complement add, and Jason Castro, the best option out there, is reportedly headed from the Los Angeles Angels to the San Diego Padres.
A second source wondered if they might build a package around Lourdes Gurriel Jr., whose name was bandied about in trade talks over the winter, while a third source said the Blue Jays have shown some interest in Angels outfielder Brian Goodwin, a left-handed bat who can play all three outfield spots.
Lynn along with Dylan Bundy of the Angels, another trade candidate, both come with one additional year of contractual control, which obviously raises the acquisition cost, and then there’s the super-car possibility of Mike Clevinger, under control through the 2022 season with the requisite price tag.
Multiple top prospects in the Jordan Groshans/Simeon Woods Richardson vein, maybe with a big-league piece, too, would be needed to pull that off, and it’s reasonable to debate if now’s the time to make such a trade when they can add starters via free agency this winter.
At the same time, a case can be made that strengthening themselves up defensively might make more sense, as the expanded rosters make a month of bullpen games – Shun Yamaguchi is capable of serving as the bulk arm – more feasible.
Andrelton Simmons, another possibility from the stripping down Angels, was reported as a possibility Saturday, and Orioles shortstop Jose Iglesias would make some sense covering for Bo Bichette, who added grounders Sunday to his careful resumption of baseball activities.
Goodwin, who has been rated as an above average defender in advanced metrics during previous seasons although his results have been more mixed this year, would help the club’s outfield defence. But for impact in that regard, Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Boston Red Sox, who dealt Mitch Moreland to the aggressively pushing Padres, would be a game-changer.
The difference plus defenders can make was evident again Sunday, when Iglesias beat out a two-out soft chopper over Anthony Bass’s head in the ninth, allowing Rio Ruiz to score. A defender like Simmons or Iglesias wouldn’t necessarily have gotten the out, but would have had a better chance at it than Joe Panik.
That put the Blue Jays down 5-4 but Cole Sulser surrendered a walk-off hit for the second time in the series. After Panik’s leadoff walk, Reese McGuire’s sacrifice bunt and Cavan Biggio’s pop out, Randal Grichuk and Travis Shaw both walked before Hernandez ripped a groundball through the 5-6 hole to secure an 11th win for the Blue Jays in 14 outings.
The Blue Jays are 6-0 versus the Orioles this season, despite Tanner Roark surrendering a 3-1 lead during a three-run sixth capped by Ryan Mountcastle’s second homer of the game, a two-run job. Rowdy Tellez’s two-out RBI single in the eighth tied things up 4-4 before Gurriel stranded men on the corners.
Such resiliency has been a trademark for the Blue Jays, who shook off several late-game losses earlier in the season, something coach Dante Bichette says “usually takes the heart out of a team, especially a young team if there’s two or three in a row.”
“We did have those early, tight games where we lost them late. This team just amazingly showed up every day after those tough losses,” Bichette continued. “And that’s been the key to me. When you walk around in that clubhouse, it’s like we’re panicking way more than they are. They really believe in themselves and you’re like, wow, they really believe in themselves every day. So all those tight losses early never fazed them and that’s why we’re in a position we’re in.”
