Campbell starts as Oilers seek points, season sweep of Coyotes
Campbell starts as Oilers seek points, season sweep of Coyotes
San Jose Sharks' Logan Couture (39) is stopped by Edmonton Oilers goalie Jack Campbell (36) during third period NHL action in Edmonton on Monday March 20, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
With regular-season games dwindling and the chances of winning the Pacific Division slipping away, the Edmonton Oilers still are fighting for every point.
Occupying third place in the division, Edmonton will try to stretch its point streak to seven games Monday night when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., to face the Arizona Coyotes.
The Western Conference clash will conclude the season series between the clubs.
Edmonton (41-23-9, 91 points) won the first two meetings, trouncing Arizona 8-2 in Canada on Dec. 7 in the Oilers' highest goal-producing game this season.
And in Edmonton last Wednesday, the Oilers grabbed a 4-3 overtime victory over the Coyotes, clinching two points on Connor McDavid's game-winning tally.
On Saturday night, against the Pacific-leading Vegas Golden Knights, the Oilers rallied three times to tie the game and force overtime, but a defensive lapse left Nicolas Roy open in front of goaltender Stuart Skinner for the winner.
That 4-3 defeat damaged Edmonton's hopes of claiming the division. A win in regulation would have left coach Jay Woodcroft's group just four points behind Vegas, but that gap grew to an almost insurmountable seven.
The Oilers entered the game riding a five-game winning streak, and the point did allow them to stay close to the second-place Los Angeles Kings, who are their likely matchup in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Although Woodcroft has said he doesn't pay attention to the standings, Oilers top-line forward Zach Hyman -- who scored his career-high 31st goal -- said everyone is aware of them.
"To be honest, yeah, you look at the standings, for sure," Hyman said during a Sportsnet intermission interview. "But the most important (thing) is how you're playing. You want to be playing well going to the playoffs, and you want to be feeling good about yourself and your team.
"It doesn't matter if you're one, two or three. ... You just want to be playing well."
In a home-and-home set with the Colorado Avalanche over the weekend, the Coyotes (27-34-13, 67 points) lost 3-1 Friday in Denver and fell 4-3 Sunday afternoon at home in a shootout.
In the latter matchup, Arizona rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 third-period deficits to send the game to overtime.
In the bottom of the seventh round, Colorado's Valeri Nichushkin - who was 0-for-1 in his career in the one-on-one competition -- deked around goalie Connor Ingram for the shootout's only tally.
By earning a point, the Coyotes stretched their home point streak to eight games (6-0-2).
For Arizona, Matias Maccelli, Christian Fischer and Clayton Keller scored goals while defenseman Michael Kesselring managed his first NHL point with an assist.
Keller became the first player in the franchise to reach 80 points (36 goals, 44 assists) since Keith Tkachuk notched 86 in the 1996-97 campaign -- the then-Phoenix Coyotes' inaugural season.
"My teammates and coaching staff have done such a tremendous job with me coming in a little bit slower," said Keller, who suffered a leg fracture in March 2022. "It's cool to be in the same conversation with (Tkachuk). He was a big part of my youth hockey and such an unbelievable captain and person."
Fourth-line right winger Brett Ritchie (illness) became sick before the match and didn't play, and Arizona iced 11 forwards in the setback.
As bystanders screamed for help, a man with a knife stabbed four young children at a lakeside park in the French Alps on Thursday, assaulting at least one in a stroller repeatedly. The children between 22 months and 3 years old suffered life-threatening injuries, and two adults also were wounded, authorities said.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The battle against hundreds of wildfires continues, as almost every jurisdiction in Canada remains under either heat or air quality warnings from the federal government. The day after what was supposed to be national Clean Air Day, dozens of alerts remain in place for unseasonable heat or smoky air quality.
Norwegian officials said the smoke from Canadian wildfires that has enveloped parts of the U.S. and Canada in a thick haze is expected to pour into Norway on Thursday.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
Calgary city council has reconsidered its decision to vote against recommendations made by an expert panel to address the city’s housing affordability crisis.
Police say a man on a mobility scooter has life-altering injuries after he was struck by a vehicle in a northeast Calgary intersection on Wednesday evening.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
Flooded underpasses have been a common occurrence in Regina this spring with several thunderstorms dumping heavy rain on the city, but Mayor Sandra Masters says several solutions are in the works to help prevent further flooding.
Regina city council has asked its administration to pursue permission from the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) to increase its debt limit to $780 million.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it will announce Thursday when more residents can return to their homes in communities impacted by the Tantallon wildfires.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
An Ontario man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, after she was gunned down at the wheel of her car in Montreal last month.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The man in the spotlight during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Dr. Horacio Arruda, has been appointed assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Smoke and haze from wildfires cleared over Ottawa-Gatineau on Thursday, allowing outdoor recreational programming and activities to resume. Officials warm the smoke and haze could return on Friday afternoon.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board says home sales were up six per cent in May 2023 compared to a year prior, marking the first year-over-year unit sales volume increase since early last year.
Waterloo region and Wellington County remain under a special air quality statement for the fourth straight day Thursday with pollution levels expected to climb back into Environment Canada’s “high risk” zone this afternoon.
Kitchener is hosting a series of watch parties to cheer on basketball star Jamal Murray as his Denver Nuggets take on the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
Romance scams have always been around, but they got worse during the pandemic, and fraudsters continue to use social media and dating sites to find victims.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
Manitoban and Vegas Golden Knight defenceman Zach Whitecloud is getting plenty of support from his hometown community while he competes for the Stanley Cup.
Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini jumped to chants in front of supporters while players and coaches streamed on to the field at B.C. Place, tearing off their shirts and hugging one another to celebrate a back-to-back Canadian Championship win.
The nondescript parking lot at the centre of debate about the future of Vancouver's historic Chinatown is unchanged in the six years since plans to build a condo tower there were shot down by the city's development permit board.
British Columbia’s beer game continues to pack a punch on the national stage, as breweries from across the province took home nearly four dozen awards at the Canadian Brewing Awards.
There's no end in sight for the closure of Highway 4 on Vancouver Island – the only highway leading to the communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet – due to a wildfire burning in the area.
A busload of high school students were finally heading home to Nanaimo on Wednesday after they were stranded by a raging wildfire that forced them to spend the night inside a Port Alberni high school.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre has seen an increase in women, trans and gender-diverse survivors seeking support after experiencing sexualized violence.
San Jose Sharks' Logan Couture (39) is stopped by Edmonton Oilers goalie Jack Campbell (36) during third period NHL action in Edmonton on Monday March 20, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
