Latest news with #WesternConference
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
McDavid and Oilers going back to Stanley Cup Final after 6-3 win over Stars in Game 5
DALLAS (AP) — Connor McDavid had a breakaway goal and an assist, 40-year-old Corey Perry scored again and the Edmonton Oilers are going to their second Stanley Cup Final in a row after beating the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Thursday night in Game 5 to wrap up the Western Conference final. Edmonton scored on its first two shots, and jumped ahead 3-0 in the first 8:07 on way to eliminating the Stars in the West final for the second year in a row. Advertisement The Oilers now get another rematch, against defending Stanley Cup champion Florida after a seven-game series last June. Game 1 is Wednesday night in Edmonton. Mattias Janmark, Jeff Skinner, Evander Kane and Kasperi Kapanen also had goals for Edmonton, the last being an empty-netter in the closing seconds. Leon Draisaitl and Jake Walman each had two assists. Jason Robertson scored twice and Roope Hintz had a goal for the Stars, who ended their season in the West final for the third year in a row. Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley each had two assists. Dallas was down 3-2 when Harley had a one-timer blocked by Mattias Ekholm, the Oilers defenseman playing for the first time this postseason. Oilers captain McDavid gathered the long ricochet well past center ice and beat goalie Casey DeSmith with 5:32 left in the second period. Advertisement DeSmith had taken over in net after starting goalie Jake Oettinger was pulled following Janmark's goal that made it 2-0 only 7:09 into the game. Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner had 14 saves. DeSmith, who hadn't played since April 26 in Game 1 of the first round against Colorado, stopped 17 of 20 shots. Perry scored on a power play, assisted by McDavid and Draisaitl, only 2:31 in the game. His seven goals are the most by any player age 39 or older in a single postseason, and the 2007 Stanley Cup champion with Anaheim when he was 22 is now going to his fifth Final in the past six seasons. That was McDavid's 100th assist in 90 playoff games, the second-fastest player in NHL history to reach that mark. Wayne Gretzky had 100 assists in his first 70 playoff games, and no other player has reached the mark in fewer than 125 games. Advertisement Robertson scored a minute into the third period to get the Stars within a goal again. Kane then scored on a shot that went off the skate of Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell and past DeSmith. Jeff Skinner, the 33-year-old forward ho has played 1,078 regular-season games over 15 years with three teams, scored his first career postseason goal. His playoff debut was in the first-round opener against Los Angeles on April 21, but he didn't play again until Thursday when the Oilers were without injured forwards Zach Hyman and Connor Brown. ___ AP NHL playoffs: and Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NHL Stanley Cup 2025: Oilers' win over Stars sets up rematch against Panthers
This year, the Stanley Cup Final will look familiar, as the Edmonton Oilers face off against the Florida Panthers for the second straight year. The 2024 Final rematch will begin next week in what is likely to be another exciting series. Edmonton secured its 2025 Final appearance with a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday, icing a 4-1 series win and the Western Conference championship. The victory set up a rematch against Florida, which picked up its own 4-1 series win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. Advertisement As the Oilers chase their first Stanley Cup since 1990, their final obstacle will once again be the Panthers, who defeated Edmonton in a thrilling series in 2024. Florida went up 3-0 in the series before Edmonton went on a run to force a Game 7; the Panthers staved off a historic collapse with a 2-1 victory over the Oilers to earn the franchise's first title. It's been more than 30 years since a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup — and the Oilers, out for revenge, have extra motivation to break that drought. Edmonton will also open the series as a slight betting favorite over the Panthers. Hockey superstitions may also come into play here. After not touching the Clarence S. Campbell trophy last year and subsequently losing the Finals, Oilers captain Connor McDavid grabbed it right away this year — opening the hope that Edmonton's luck might change. Both teams have been on strong postseason runs heading into the rematch. Florida kicked off the playoffs with a 4-1 series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, before dashing the Toronto Maple Leafs' postseason dreams with a 6-1 Game 7 victory. Advertisement As for Edmonton, the Oilers pulled through the first two rounds with a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings with a 4-2 win and a 4-1 win over the Las Vegas Knights before dispatching the Stars. The Stanley Cup Final will begin on June 4, with Edmonton hosting the first two games.
Globe and Mail
40 minutes ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
Head coach Jesper Sorensen guiding Vancouver Whitecaps to new highs
Jesper Sorensen believes in giving his players room to make mistakes. 'If you're afraid of making mistakes, you'll make nothing. That's the problem. Because you will end up making mistakes,' the Vancouver Whitecaps' head coach said in a recent interview. 'So making mistakes is a big part of a fluid game … where there's a lot of transition moments and a lot of moments where things are not going perfectly. And my job is to try to construct a safety net behind the mistakes.' Sorensen's first five months in charge haven't featured many missteps – just an astounding start to the season. A 0-0 draw against Minnesota United on Wednesday extended the club's unbeaten streak to 15 games (7-0-8) across all competitions. A third of the way through the Major League Soccer campaign, Vancouver sits atop the Western Conference standings with a 9-1-5 record. The 'Caps have also stunned giants in CONCACAF Champions Cup play this year, ousting five-time champions CF Monterrey from the round of 16 and besting Lionel Messi's Inter Miami twice in the semi-finals. The team will look to write the final chapter in their fairy-tale run when they face LIGA MX side Cruz Azul in the tournament final on Sunday. 'It's been a lot of fun. It's been a lot of work. And it's been a time that I couldn't have foreseen, becoming this successful,' Sorensen said. 'And it's been great. Everybody has been great.' The 51-year-old former midfielder from Aarhus, Denmark, was introduced as the MLS-era Whitecaps' sixth full-time head coach on Jan. 14, just hours before the team took off for training camp in Marbella, Spain. He replaced Vanni Sartini, the eccentric Italian whose three-and-a-half season tenure saw the 'Caps win three straight Canadian Championship titles, but fail to get past the first round of the MLS playoffs. Though he'd played more than 300 matches in Denmark's top league, Sorensen was a relative unknown for many North American soccer fans before taking the job in Vancouver. He joined the 'Caps after two years as head coach of Brondby IF in the Danish Superliga, and two and a half more as assistant. He also spent more than a year in charge of Denmark's under-21 national squad. Sorensen's track record of quickly guiding new teams to positive results and his passion for player development stood out to Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster, who also liked the coach's 'calmness and confidence in himself.' 'I would love to say that I had seen all of this coming and that I was exactly expecting this,' Schuster said. 'I have to say that he's overdelivering on the results. But in general, he is exactly what we hoped he would be.' Sorensen's first game with the 'Caps ended in a frustrating 2-1 loss to Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa in Champions Cup play on Feb. 20, but the team rebounded with three straight wins across all competitions before the squad dropped its first match of the MLS season on March 22, a 3-1 decision to the Chicago Fire. The Whitecaps have not lost since. 'I think we've played amazing football. I think we are playing entertaining football. Actually, I would be a little bit arrogant if I said that we had imagined it to be as good as it is,' said 'Caps assistant coach Jan Michaelsen, who's known Sorensen since the 1990s when they played together at Akademisk Boldklub in Denmark. 'But we have to continue. We have the quality in the team. I think we have shown the quality. Now we just have to continue. That is the hardest job.' Under Sorensen, the 'Caps have been relentless, a team that attacks in waves and isn't afraid to pick the ball off an opponent's feet. It's a style of play that suits the players, said striker Brian White, who leads the team with 15 goals across all competitions. 'I think he's allowed everyone to kind of flourish and play their kind of game, and in respect to the way we want to play as a team,' he said. 'So I think he's found a way to get the best out of everybody, and I think we're just playing really well as a team.' The new coach isn't convinced that he's found new strengths in his athletes. What he's done, Sorensen said, is find ways to play to their existing strengths by utilizing them in the right moments. 'Sometimes it's also maybe a player that hasn't had the chance often is given a chance a couple of times,' he said. 'And then he can grow with the challenge. And then you can set even higher demands on the player like that. 'And I think it's very important, because players want demands, because then they know that you have expectations for them.' Knowing they can grow makes players hungrier, said Sebastian Berhalter, who's become a stalwart presence for Vancouver this season. 'I think we always had those strengths and it's about how he just pulled them out of us,' said the midfielder, who recently earned his first call-up to the U.S. national team. 'He's been really good at talking to each individual player and making sure that we know we're all going on the same page.' While some of the team's young talent has shone under the new bench boss, a vast array of players have seen their game develop this season, said 'Caps captain Ryan Gauld. 'I'd say he's got a passion for it and he's very good at individuals and coaching the younger players,' said the attacking midfielder, who's been sidelined since early March with a knee injury. 'And us, the older boys, the more experienced boys, we're learning a lot in training sessions as well. But especially the young boys, the amount they're learning off him and picking up, little things that they can do to improve their games, is huge for them. And I think that's why everyone's been enjoying it so much.' Sorensen, too, has been learning since stepping into the job. Before joining the Whitecaps, he'd spent his entire career playing and then coaching in Denmark. The new gig has brought an abundance of travel and a chance to explore North America – if only in short bursts. On every 'Caps road trip, he tries to take a walk and see part of the city. The packed MLS schedule is a challenge, he admitted, especially when he's trying to stay in touch with his wife, Pernille, and three young adult sons back home in Denmark, scheduling calls across a nine-hour time difference. Sorensen is learning to navigate those challenges for the sport he fell in love with 'instantly' as a kid. 'I played football every day after school, and I played in school, and I played all the time. And it was great,' he said, adding that he also dabbled in badminton and handball. 'When I was a kid, we were fortunate that there was not much television. In Denmark, you only had one channel and there was no internet. So all the time you were moving. And sport was the most fun thing for me to do.' That love hasn't waned. Sorensen remains passionate about soccer and exploring all of its complexities. It's a passion that bubbles out of him as he talks about why he turned to coaching after his playing career. 'I love studying the game,' he said. 'Finding new things, seeing new trends, learning about the game because it's so complex. It's the most complex game I think there is. 'I love it. I love the game.'
Epoch Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Epoch Times
MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Still Hasn't Achieved His Main Goal for the Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY—Shai Gilgeous-Alexander achieved his short-term goals on Wednesday night and positioned himself to achieve his long-term one. He had 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124–94 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals for a 4–1 series win and a spot in the NBA Finals.
Epoch Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Epoch Times
Oilers Going Back to Stanley Cup Final After 6-3 Win Over Stars in Game 5
Connor McDavid had a breakaway goal and an assist, 40-year-old Corey Perry scored again, and the Edmonton Oilers are going to their second Stanley Cup Final in a row after beating the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Thursday night in Game 5 to wrap up the Western Conference final. Edmonton scored on its first two shots, and jumped ahead 3-0 in the first 8:07 on way to eliminating the Stars in the West final for the second year in a row.
