Long lines, early arrivals: Fans pack Ice District for playoff parties
Oilers fans lined up early outside the Ice District, hoping to snag a spot in the thick of the playoff action. With crowds packing the Fan Zone and Moss Pit, we asked: How early do you need to show up? And have some ever been turned away? The CBC's Tristan Mottershead reports.
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The Province
44 minutes ago
- The Province
Oilers can beat Panthers. But need to go big, bigger, biggest, most bigly
Darnell Nurse #25, Mattias Ekholm #14 and Adam Henrique #19 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate after Nurse scored during the second period against the Florida Panthers in Game Four of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 12, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida. Photo by Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Can the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers? Of course they can. But they need to go big, bigger, biggest, and most bigly. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors What do I mean by that? This series has been super close with three games going to overtime. Overall Edmonton has had 91 Grade A shots to 80 Grade A shots for Florida. In the subset of the most dangerous shots, the 5-alarmers, Edmonton has had 46, Florida 42. It's the 5-alarm shots — the one-timers off seam-passes, the odd-man rushes and the breakaways — that are critical. In the two games that Florida has dominated (Games 3 and 5), the Panthers had six 5-alarms shots both times to three and four 5-alarmers for the Oilers. The Oilers typically get about six or seven 5-alarm shots per game. How can Edmonton get more of the best shots? How can they win Game 6 in Florida and Game 7 in Edmonton? Again, they need to go big, bigger, biggest, and most bigly. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Panthers have played with more focus, confidence and determination. The Oilers have been thrown off by misplays of the puck, failing to cover off over the slot, and by numerous bad and missed calls by the refs. Instead of playing their positions, they Oilers are either slow to make reads in the d-zone, or they over-react, chase the puck and are out of position. If Edmonton goes big when it comes to defence and play a sound, confident, focused and structured game in their own zone, they will shut down the Panthers enough to bring victory. BIGGER When was the last time the Oilers threw a big hit in this series? Evander Kane nailing Aaron Ekblad in Game 1? Yes, we all know the Oilers miss hit machine Zach Hyman. Whatever. At this point in time, excuses are for losers. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And, yes, we all know the refs appear to have a bizarre proclivity to give the Oilers soft penalties, while letting go hard fouls by the Panthers. But that's just now another self-defeating excuse. Edmonton has to forget all that, keep their sticks low, but charge hard and throw their bodies into oncoming Panthers. How about five hits each in Game 6 from Darnell Nurse, Jake Walman and Mattias Ekholm? Last game they did not have one hit between them. What's that about? How about a five hit game from Leon Draisaitl? He's a bull, an aircraft carrier, a tank, right? It is past time for Draisaitl to start throwing his weight around. He's got all summer to heal up. Evander Kane has got to be all the scary monster he can be. He hasn't been close to that in recent games. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. I was good with Connor McDavid, Vasily Podkolzin and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' hustle in Game 5, but to win Game 6 the Oilers need major ferocious physical games out of forwards like Connor Brown, Viktor Arvidsson, Kasperi Kapanen, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Jeff Skinner, and Corey Perry. No Panther puck carrier should be left unhit, unscathed. Just keep your stick down while doing it because those Panthers go down like they've been harpooned if get so much as a fly-by scratch from a blade. BIGGEST When it comes to scoring and goaltending, Edmonton needs its biggest improvement on breakaways. The numbers here in Florida's favour are scary. Simply put, the Oil have been crappy finishing their own breakaways and crappy stopping Florida goals on breakaways against in the first five games. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Before the series started prophetic words came from former NHL goalie and Grade A shots expert Steve Valiquette. Valiquette, TV analyst for MSG and Clear Sight Analytics CEO, said the biggest factor in the series would likely be how the goalies did on stopping breakaway shots. 'I feel like breakaways are a real momentum shift in a game, at least for a goalie. I feel it. I know you guys, if you're on the bench and one of your line mates or teammates rather, gets a breakaway and they score, like there's a lift there… You feel worse as a team giving up a breakaway than, you know, a third bounce opportunity.' The Oilers had success on the breakaway against Bobrovsky in the 2024 Final, especially as the series went along. Edmonton had 10 breakaways and scored six times against Florida in that seven games series. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This year in the first three rounds of the playoffs, Edmonton had 16 breakaways and scored seven goals. But in the five games of the Final, the Panthers have scored on five out of six breakaways. The Oilers have scored on two out of seven. The biggest moment of Game 6 will be the two or three breakaways in the game. Edmonton, for once, must come up biggest in those moments. MOST BIGLY The series hinges on Florida's fast and nasty forecheck vs Edmonton's quick and dangerous break-out passing game. So far the Florida forecheckers have won this fight, especially in Game 5, when the Oilers d-men started to look befuddled and anxious, afraid to make a mistake, throwing the puck up the boards far too often. They were unrecognizable compared to previous games. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. When Paul Coffey took over as d-man coach, he insisted that his d-men make plays, not throw away the puck. He instilled confidence in them and they responded. All of them became better passers of the puck. Where has that confidence gone? Has Coffey's message changed? Or is the Florida forecheck simply so good that the Oilers can't beat it. Whatever the case, the Oilers might as well go down trying and flying, pushing themselves to make great passes. This throwing-away-the-puck-up-the-boards strategy has got to end. Why not try to make a play? Move your feet, get your eyes up, evade a forechecker and rip a stretch pass — that's got to how the Oilers d-men roll, correct? It's that passing game that allows the Oilers to get pucks deep in the Florida end, to make the Florida d-men have to race back for the puck and it sets up those same d-men to get bashed hard into the boards. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Oilers have six strong d-men in Evan Bouchard, John Klingberg, Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, Jake Walman and Brett Kulak who can all wheel and deal. It's time for them to take over the game with their excellent passing, no? If they go down firing, so be it. If they go down fighting to play their 'A' game, better than going out wastefully and ineffectively blasting the puck up the boards. I think they can succeed. And I bet playing with confidence and determination to make a good pass will be the most bigly factor in the Oilers coming back to win the Cup. At the Cult of Hockey LEAVINS: 9 Things STAPLES: Player grades: Florida Panthers dead puck Edmonton Oilers to death in 5-2 win STAPLES: 'Pure garbage': Panthers fanbase rants about Skinner hold, say it proves refs biased against Florida Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Sports Local News BC Lions
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Tajon Buchanan's brace lifts Canada to 6-0 Gold Cup win over Honduras
Social Sharing Niko Sigur has made some special memories over his years of watching soccer at Vancouver's B.C. Place. He added another Tuesday as he scored his first goal for Canada and helped his country thump Honduras 6-0 to open their Gold Cup campaign. "Of course, it feels really nice," Sigur said of the strike. "Something I'm working for all these years. You don't always see right away the work paying off, but this is one of those days that it is." The 21-year-old rightback/midfielder from Burnaby, B.C., was part of a well-rounded offensive onslaught for the 30th-ranked Canadians on Tuesday. Sigur opened the scoring in the 27th minute, and Tani Oluwaseyi followed with a tally in first-half injury time. Tajon Buchanan notched a brace with goals in the 48th and 65th minutes, substitute Promise David scored in the 75th, and Nathan Saliba sealed the win with a strike in the 90th minute. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair stopped all four on-target shots he faced from No. 75 Honduras. The victory was a "total team" effort, said Canada's assistant coach, Mauro Biello. "I can't look at one guy and find someone who had an off game. Everybody came out with the right mentality," said Biello, who stood in for head coach Jesse Marsch on the touchline as he sat out the first game of a two-game suspension. "We played within our identity, and we were able to not give them much and score goals. And that's part of who we want to be. And I think for this first game of the tournament, super happy to get it started in that way." WATCH | Buchanan strikes twice in Gold Cup opener: Tajon Buchanan strikes twice as Canada crushes Honduras in opening Gold Cup match 7 hours ago Duration 2:28 The Canadians settled into the game midway through the first half and took charge when Sigur scored in the 27th minute. Sigur passed off to Jonathan David at the top of the penalty area and, when David chipped it right back, he sent a right-footed shot sailing in past Honduras 'keeper Edrick Menjivar. His first goal for the senior national team came in his sixth appearance, and with ample friends and family in the announced crowd of 24,286. "I don't often get to play in front of my family and friends in Croatia. I've maybe got two, three people I have to give tickets to," said Sigur, who plays for signed with Hajduk Split in Croatia's first division back in December 2023. "This night was a little different. But it means the world to me. "And with the World Cup coming, we have two group stage games here [in Vancouver]. But we have a little bit of work to do in between, so we'll get to that." WATCH | Is Canada ready to win the Gold Cup?: Is Canada ready to win the Gold Cup? Plus, Holly Ward talks her NSL journey 21 hours ago Duration 15:58 Oluwaseyi doubled the lead in the third minute of first-half injury time, collecting a pass from Richie Lareya and quickly blasting a shot into the top corner of the net from the side of the six-yard box. He celebrated by running to the touchline and grabbing the jersey of Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe, who's away from the team after suffering a torn Achilles tendon last week. The offensive onslaught continued early in the second half. Lareya crossed a ball into Oluwaseyi, and the Minnesota United forward back-heeled it to Buchanan. Stationed at the side of the six-yard box, Buchanan popped a shot up and in under the crossbar to give Canada a 3-0 lead in the 48th minute. The 26-year-old forward — who currently plays for Spain's Villarreal CF — struck again in the 65th off a corner. Mathieu Choiniere swung a ball in, and Oluwaseyi jumped up, trying to head it on net. The Honduran 'keeper made the stop, but couldn't cover the ball and Buchanan tucked it in for his second goal of the night. "I feel confident. Enjoying my football, that's the most important thing," Buchanan said of his recent play. "Playing with a smile on my face. And just got to keep pushing hard and keep improving." Promise David came on in the 71st minute for Oluwaseyi and quickly made an impact, scoring in the 75th. With less than a minute to go in regulation, Saliba fired a left-footed shot into the top corner of the Honduras net to seal the score at 6-0. The Canadians have been emphasizing offence during training over the past two weeks, said Jonathan David, the team's captain for the tournament. "I think before the camp and throughout the camp, we talked a lot about being more ruthless. That was a big talking point," he said. "So I think we just try to work on that in training and always try to support the chances that we have. And I think so far, it's been going on pretty well to this point." Canada will return to action on June 21 when the squad faces No. 90 Curacao in Houston. The team will wrap up Group B play against No. 81 El Salvador on June 24. The winner and runner-up from each of the four groups advance to the knockout stage in the 16-team tournament. The finale will be held in Houston on July 6. Canada won the Gold Cup in 2000 and finished third in 2002. When the tournament was last held in 2023, the country lost to the United States in a penalty shootout in the round of 16.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Back-to-back championships: The numbers behind the Panthers' run to the Stanley Cup
The Florida Panthers are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in their rematch final. They needed just six games this time after a seven-game thriller a year ago. Here are the numbers to know about the repeat: 3 — Teams that have won consecutive titles since the NHL salary cap era began in 2005. The Panthers join the Tampa Bay Lightning (2020-21) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (2016-17). 19 — Teams in league history that have won the Cup two or more times in a row. 5 — Championships by teams based in the U.S. Sun Belt over the past six years. Four of those belong to the state of Florida, and the Lightning like the Panthers made three consecutive trips to the final. 32 — Years since a Canadian team last won the Cup (1993 Montreal Canadiens). Edmonton became the eighth Canadian team to lose in the final since. 13 — First-period goals the Panthers scored to the Oilers' four, a plus-9 differential that is tied for the widest margin in a final (Pittsburgh outscored the Minnesota North Stars by the same margin in 1991). 4 — Goaltenders since 1981-82 to win the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie during the regular season and also earn two Stanley Cup rings, with Sergei Bobrovsky joining Hall of Famers Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek and Martin Brodeur. 15 — Goals scored by Sam Bennett in the playoffs, leading all players. Bennett is a pending unrestricted free agent. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 14 — Years between Stanley Cup titles for Brad Marchand, who last won it with the Boston Bruins in 2011. Only Chris Chelios (16 years, 1986-2002) and Mark Recchi (15 years, 1991-2006) had longer gaps. 5 — Losses in the final over the past six years for Corey Perry, who would have had the longest gap between titles had Edmonton won (18 years, Anaheim in 2007). 2 — Teams in NHL history to have three players with five or more goals in the final, with Bennett, Marchand and Sam Reinhart putting the Panthers in the same category as the 1955 Red Wings (Alex Delvecchio, Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay). ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
