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Stuart Skinner back in net for Edmonton Oilers? Carrick in for Perry? New third line? Yes, sounds like it
Stuart Skinner back in net instead of Calvin Pickard for the Edmonton Oilers for Game 6? Centre Sam Carrick in for winger Corey Perry? And a new third line of Derek Ryan, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod, the same line that did so well against Las Vegas last playoff season? It sound like it to me, at least if I’m correctly following the bread crumbs dropped by Edmonton’s Game 6 line-up dropped by the team’s ultimate insider Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now. When it comes to Carrick in the line-up, it sounds like it’s either him or Adam Henrique, Stauffer made clear. “Adam Henrique is a game time decision. I think one of Henrique or Carrick is coming in for Edmonton.” As for Skinner over Pickard, Stauffer said, “I think hypothetically there’s a strong possibility we might see Stuart Skinner start tomorrow.” Stauffer works for the team, travels with the team, is a tireless worker, and is by far the most connected reporter of all things Edmonton Oilers. If he makes.a statement like that, I take it that he’s not spitballing, that he’s heard something and this is his way of telling us. It happens now and then on Oilers Now, which is why the show is a can’t miss broadcast for fans. Stauffer and guest Frank Seravalli, the hard-hitting NHL writer of the Daily Face-off, both agreed if they were picking, they’d go with Skinner over Pickard. Servalli noted that Skinner is rested and that as well as Pickard played there was still six pucks that got behind him, one that hit the post, one of crossbar, one pulled off the line by Vincent Desharnais. “Let’s say the Oilers win Game 6 and there’s a Game 7,” Seravalli said. “Do you really want Cal Pickard playing four in a row. That’s why I’m gong with Stuart Skinner now.” Stauffer noted that Skinner had had a break and he’s been number one all year. “I’m not disrespecting for a second what Cal Pickard has done. But it’s crunch time and the team has got to play way better in front of him.” As for the third line, Stauffer had a suggestion. If they do sit Corey Perry , one of the things they can do, was to go with Derek Ryan, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod at third line, a trio that had been Edmonton’s best possession line against Vegas last year. “They got one shift together at the end of the second and Derek Ryan almost scored on (Vancouver goalie Arturs) Silovs.” Related: The best 20 minutes of radio you’ve ever heard? Staples and Stauffer discuss Oilers heading into game 6 My take 1. Cal Pickard was fantastic against Vancouver in Game Five. He faced 20 Grade A shots and let in just two goals. On 20 such shots you’d expect a team would score four-to-six goals. I’d go with the hot hand, stick with Pickard and worry about Game 7 if the Oilers get a win in Game 6. Skinner wasn’t sharp last year against Vegas and he hasn’t been sharp against Vancouver. If he starts, maybe he’ll be lights out. But I suspect there’s a better chance Pickard will provide solid goaltending in the next two games than Skinner will. 2. I’d like to see Sam Gagner in, but Stauffer made that sound unlikely. And, whatever my own preference, I do like the idea of going back to a line of McLeod, Ryan and Foegele. Frankly I don’t know why we didn’t see this line repeatedly throughout the season. The trio played solid two-way hockey against Vegas. 3. Perry has been struggling to keep up with the speed of the playoffs, so it makes sense he’d come out. Henrique is a smart player who blends well with Hyman and McDavid when healthy. But if Perry is coming out, and if Ryan-Foegele-McLeod are to be re-united, it makes sense to play Carrick over Henrique on the fourth line, given Henrique may be unable to take face-offs. Carrick is also healthy and can provide a physical element, something the Oilers lacked in Game 5. Related Secret sauce from each Oilers player to avoid Game 6 elimination LEAVINS: Player grades in Game 5 loss
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5 THINGS: What the Edmonton Oilers need to do to stave off elimination
This is it. Do or die. Make or break. It’s now or never. The Edmonton Oilers are down to one last chance to avoid the end of their season. And if they’re lucky, they’ll have another last chance after that. A 3-2 loss at Rogers Arena in Game 5 of their Western Conference second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks puts the Oilers’ collective back up against the proverbial wall as the series moves to Rogers Place for Game 6 on Saturday (6 p.m., Sportsnet, CBC). The Canucks have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and are one win away from eliminating an Oilers team that boasts the top three scoring leaders of the playoffs. That puts Edmonton in the unenviable position of having to do something neither team has accomplished yet this series — win back-to-back games — if they hope to avoid elimination and toss away yet another prime year of Connor McDavid. So, what has to happen in order for them to make it happen? Here’s a look at five factors, for starters: 1. McPULL YOUR HEAD OUT, ALREADY And not just you, Connor, but Zach Hyman too. How on Earth have the Canucks managed to so effectively negate both Edmonton’s top points leader and top goal scorer of the regular season? McDavid has a goal and five assists in five games. The problem with a point-per-game player lies in the fact the team that’s built around him being used to the fact he’s a 1.5 point-per-game player on his career. And that extra fraction can add up to a big difference in a series where every game so far has been decided by a single goal. He has one assist to show for his past three games. And, speaking of goals, Hyman has two of them, along with an assist in five games against the Canucks. After scoring 54 of them in 80 games this season, the math suggests he should have another goal already. And in a series where every single one has made a difference, Hyman has been held pointless for three games in a row now. If the rest of Edmonton’s big guns don’t join playoff scoring leader Leon Draisaitl in firing again, the season will go up in smoke. 2. BE MORE EVEN, LESS EVAN There is no denying the offensive impact defenceman Evan Bouchard has had on the Oilers all season, let alone this series. But if the yin to his game-winning-goal yang results in him coughing up a puck in his own zone that ends up in the back of Edmonton’s net, then he might as well go ahead and sit the rest of it out. He couldn’t have picked better spots for two of his three goals in the series than the game-winners he came up with in overtime in Game 2 and in the dying seconds of Game 4. Of course, the flip side was the entirely avoidable turnover so lackadaisically pulled off in the second period of Game 5 that allowed the Canucks back in it with the tying goal. Good luck trying to pull back any sort of momentum after that one. So, maybe let’s try to not be so offensively minded that it blows up in your face on defence from now on, yes? Keep up the good work, though. 3. PICK IT UP FOR PICKARD Calvin Pickard could very well have salvaged the series after being brought in to replace a struggling Stuart Skinner in Games 3 and 4. The 10-year veteran has looked anything but the journeyman handle that has accompanied his career up to this point, sparking the Oilers back into gear with performances that have only proven head coach Kris Knoblauch’s faith in the backup goaltender. But Pickard can hardly do it all on his own and needs every little piece of run support his offence can muster. Or at the very least, have his teammates in front of him show a bit more zest when it comes to clearing pucks out of the zone. 4. DROP THE DUMP AND CHASE The strategy — if you can even call it that — of flipping the puck into the offensive zone and going after it might have worked against the 1-3-1 neutral-zone-clogging formation of the Los Angeles Kings a series ago. But all it has led to for the majority of the Vancouver series is a host of one-and-done entries that have appeared little more than nuisances to the retrieving Canucks defenders. Typically, it only leads to shots from the perimeter. And not always shots on net, either. If that’s the only answer the Oilers can come up with to counter the Canucks’ momentum-grabbing play style, then what a waste of incredible offensive talent. Give Rick Tocchet a raise. Related Edmonton Oilers go back to Pickard in net for Game 5 against Canucks SOCIALS SAY: Potent posts from Oilers' 3-2 win over Canucks in Game 4 5. STOP TRYING TO MAKE IT LOOK PRETTY For the love of all things hockey, you don’t need to try and pass a perfect Picasso when a regular ol’ stickman will do. Better yet, maybe slow down on the passing altogether and go for more shots on net. It’s not that much of a stretch to say McDavid has put more effort into spinning 360s with the puck than he has in shooting it this season. The Oilers are 5-2 when outshooting the opposition in these playoffs, including both wins against the Canucks so far. While it’s no guarantee (hello, outshooting them 45-18 in a Game 3 loss!), it’s still the best formula for success. E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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It's official, Craig Berube is new head coach of Maple Leafs
The book on the 40th coach in Toronto’s NHL franchise history is that he’s not one to forgive a failed effort easily. Whether Craig Brerube does hold the star power on the Maple Leafs and the rest of the team more accountable than his predecessor, especially in the playoffs, remains to be seen, but first the new man has to get up to speed with his new charges. General manager Brad Treliving confirmed he picked the name atop most lists of candidates after last week’s firing of Sheldon Keefe, hiring the 58-year-old Berube. It’s almost five years to the day Berube won a Stanley Cup by shaking up the St. Louis Blues as a mid-season replacement. Unlike when he accepted his last assignment, Berube inherits a team that finished with more than 100 points the past three years, with NHL goal leader Auston Matthews and two right wingers who were within 100 points this year and last in William Nylander and Mitch Marner. But getting more from the Leafs in clutch post-season moments, particularly Marner and Matthews, will be what fans want to see a year from now. Berube was let go by the Blues this past December as their Cup roster thinned out through age, injuries, trades and free agency. But he’s best recalled for winning a title without a recognized franchise player and steady, but not spectacular goaltending, a game plan based as much on skill players accepting defensive roles as scoring themselves. Berube might have kept the Blues in the Cup hunt had COVID-19 not disrupted the whole NHL the following year. They stayed competitive, but his often heavy-handed approach had run its course by last December when the team lost four straight and dipped below .500. Craig Berube or Todd McLellan will put Leafs on notice says ex-NHLer Kelly Chase https://torontosun.com/sports/maple-leaf-sports-and-entertainment-unveil-latest-steps-in-reimagination-aimed-at-enhancing-arena For all of Keefe’s efforts to pry the most of his Core Four, the three aforementioned players and captain John Tavares, the Leafs as a whole bought into playoff hockey a little too late after getting down 3-1 to Boston. It turned into the sixth time they’d lost a Game 5 or 7 of an opening round series since 2017, the fourth under Keefe. Nicknamed ‘Chief’, with 3,360 NHL penalty minutes in almost 1,200 NHL games, he brings a lot of that pugnacious attitude to the job. “He’s going to ask you to play hard or you won’t play,” former NHLer and Blues’ broadcaster Kelly Chase told the Sun last week when Berube’s name came up as a replacement for Keefe. “And that (controversy) only has to happen a couple of times in the winter for it to be understood by every player come spring. “He’s brutally honest. He went to Alex Steen in our Cup year and said, ‘I want you to take a lesser role, but it’s going to be important’. He played him with Ivan Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist. People were calling it the third or fourth line, but they were huge. So, he might go to Marner and say, ‘I’m moving you down because this other player is doing better. You want to play more? Play harder.’ ” Treliving will just have to hope Berube can find a level of comfort in Canada’s most intense hockey market compared to the game’s often secondary status in St. Louis. But Berube did start out with the Philadelphia Flyers as their head coach ten years ago (75-58-28 with one playoff appearance in two years) and after his Cup appearance, knows how to survive a large media scrum. Just don’t expect the long and detailed answers Keefe liked to provide in explaining his methods. Part-Indigenous Cree, Berube was born in Calahoo, Alta., a reserve community with less than 200 people. Undrafted, he debuted with the Flyers with two fights and eventually played for both his home province Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. In between, he was a Leaf for 40 games, traded from the Oilers in the Glenn Anderson-Grant Fuhr acquisition and to the Flames when Toronto acquired Doug Gilmour in the record 10-player swap. Craig Berube or Todd McLellan will put Leafs on notice says ex-NHLer Kelly Chase https://torontosun.com/sports/maple-leaf-sports-and-entertainment-unveil-latest-steps-in-reimagination-aimed-at-enhancing-arena “I’m going to wait for an NHL job and see what happens,” Berube told Flyers’ blogger Wayne Fish after being let go in St. Louis and returning to the Philly area to be closer to his three children by his first marriage. “It doesn’t matter where. I’m sure I have a shot. It all boils down to talking to a team, talking to the GM, the ownership. “If they believe in your message, if they like what you’re saying. In the interview process, if it’s a good fit for me and a good fit for them, probably something will get done.” It was believed Treliving met face-to-face with seasoned NHL coach Todd McLellan as part of the interview process. Another well-travelled coach, Gerard Gallant, was in the mix, but Berube was named before Rod Brind’Amour’s future with the Carolina Hurricanes was determined, after their Thursday-night elimination by the New York Rangers. Berube coming to the Leafs, after being briefly courted by New Jersey, shifts the coaching spotlight to vacancies with the Devils, Winnipeg Jets, Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks. It remains to be seen if Joel Quenneville gets clearance from the NHL to resume his career after three years on the sidelines. lhornby@postmedia.com X:@sunhornby
Craig Berube's past Stanley Cup success won't necessarily result in championship for Maple Leafs
Now that the Leafs have hired Craig Berube as the 32nd coach in franchise history, his goal will be to become the next Scotty Bowman. Bear with us here. We haven’t got off to a head start on the May long weekend libations. That will come soon enough. Bowman, the Hall of Fame legend who is properly regarded as the best coach to stand behind any NHL bench, won a record nine Stanley Cups as coach, starting in 1973 with the Montreal Canadiens and ending in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings. Bowman hoisted five Cups as coach of the Canadiens, did it once with the Pittsburgh Penguins and three times with the Red Wings. All of this is pertinent in regard to Berube, whose hiring was announced officially by the Leafs on Friday afternoon, for a simple reason: Bowman is the only man since 1967-68, the season that marked the NHL’s initial charge into expansion, who has coached more than one team to a Stanley Cup. And Bowman, because he has no equals, just happened to do it with three teams. Some excellent coaches — Fred Shero, Al Arbour, Glen Sather and more recently Joel Quenneville, Darryl Sutter, Mike Sullivan and Jon Cooper — have hoisted the Cup more than once. But in all cases, each did so with the same team. There’s a long list of coaches who have won the Cup once and not had that same success when they’ve gone on to coach another team. We won’t recall all of them here, but the list includes Ken Hitchcock, John Tortorella, Mike Babcock and Claude Julien. Peter Laviolette could do it this spring with the New York Rangers, as he won the Cup in 2006 coaching the Carolina Hurricanes. The fact that Berube won the Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, righting what had been a last-place NHL ship in January of that year, doesn’t matter much. Men regarded as being a better coach than Berube weren’t able to win again in another market. What evidence is there to indicate that Berube will buck what has been, to be honest, a rather surprising trend in the NHL? What is there to say that Berube will guide the Leafs to their first Cup since 1967? After the Blues won five years ago, led by the best overall performance of goalie Jordan Binnington’s NHL career, Berube couldn’t take the Blues to anything approaching the Cup final again. The Blues lost in the first round in 2020 and 2021, lost in the second round in 2022 and didn’t make the playoffs in 2023. Fairly run-of-the-mill stuff. Berube hung on until he was fired in St. Louis last Dec. 12. Of course Leafs general manager Brad Treliving did his due diligence in the search, which kicked into earnest when Sheldon Keefe was fired on May 9. That’s what a GM is supposed to do. Somewhere along the way, Treliving decided that the Leafs have a greater chance of winning with Berube than with Todd McLellan, who was thought to be the other frontrunner. But there are more than a few members of Leafs Nation who would be disappointed with the idea that Treliving came to his decision before knowing 100% what the coaching future held for Rod Brind’Amour. When the Hurricanes were eliminated by the New York Rangers from the playoffs on Thursday night, an understandable course of action the part of Treliving would have been to hold off on any coaching decision until the hockey world knew whether Brind’Amour was going to return to Carolina. No such luck if you preferred Brind’Amour as a possible coach of the Leafs. With the Leafs, Berube is going to coach a player — Auston Matthews — with the kind of talent he never had in St. Louis or in a two-year stint as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2013-15. With the Flyers under Berube, Wayne Simmonds led the club in goal-scoring with 29 in 2013-14 and 28 in 2014-15. In St. Louis, the best goal-scorer with Berube as coach was Jordan Kyrou, who had 37 goals in 2022-23. The relationship that Berube, whose contract reportedly is for four years, must build with Matthews will be crucial to any success the Leafs will have. How that unfolds will be fascinating to observe. NHL Notes: Let the Rod Brind’Amour coaching sweepstakes begin ... Brad Marchand better, says Sam Bennett hit part of playoff war Maple Leafs' prospect Easton Cowan caps OHL playoff ride with MVP honours Just as fascinating will be Berube’s relationship with William Nylander. Keefe and Nylander went back to their days together with the Toronto Marlies, and Keefe knew which Nylander buttons needed to be pushed. Include Mitch Marner here if he is back next season. Also, like anyone else, we’re curious to see how Berube’s no-nonsense approach will work with this Leafs group. Will holding players more accountable than Keefe did (at least publicly) result in long playoff runs and eventually a Cup? Will it make the Leafs better than the 100-point team they were annually in the regular season under Keefe? When a new coach is hired, there’s good feelings always emanate from the team, and we would expect nothing less when the news conference introducing Berube is held on Tuesday morning at the Ford Performance Centre. With Berube, no guarantee about a possible Cup victory in Toronto can be made just because he has done it before. Berube is a new voice, sure. But we can’t say now he’s going to be a better one in replacing Keefe, and have a greater impact, because we don’t know that yet. We’re intrigued to see what the next several years bring. Just don’t be surprised if the first line in this column will be one of the few times that Berube is mentioned in the same sentence as Scotty Bowman. tkoshan@postmedia.com X: @koshtorontosun
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