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.
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston will be questioned by MPs at committee Tuesday morning, about his role, his report into election meddling, his decision against a public inquiry, and allegations of a conflict of interest.
Prince Harry entered a courtroom witness box Tuesday, swearing to tell the truth in testimony against a tabloid publisher he accuses of phone hacking and other unlawful snooping.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Many Canadian parents are stretching themselves thin — even going as far as to postpone their retirement in some cases — in order to help pay for their children’s education, according to a new survey.
The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday, triggering floods, endangering Europe's largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the emergency.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
Pope Francis briefly went to Rome's main hospital on Tuesday for tests and returned to the Vatican, two months after he was hospitalized with an acute case of bronchitis.
Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer, songwriter and entertainer whose off-hand, English-language cameo on 'The Girl from Ipanema' made her a worldwide voice of bossa nova, has died at age 83.
Canada’s housing market saw the largest improvement in affordability in nearly four years in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from economists at the National Bank of Canada.
Calgary-based Cenovus Energy says it has safely restarted a portion of its production that was shut down because of the threat of wildfires in northern and central Alberta.
While Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) publicly mulled moving its downtown emergency shelter to a location on 20th Street near the city's core, city documents reveal the wellness centre's present Fairhaven area location was heavily favoured early in the process.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
A 53-year-old man was shot and killed in the Montreal suburb of Dorval on Monday afternoon. A source told CTV News that the victim is Francesco Del Balso, who has links to Montreal's Mafia.
The numerous forest fires raging in certain regions of Quebec have led to thousands of evacuations since the weekend and continue to threaten infrastructure on Tuesday. Temporary accommodation centres have been opened in nine municipalities on the Côte-Nord, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, to accommodate evacuees.
Officials are asking people living around Centennial Lake to evacuate their homes as a forest fire burns in the area west of Calabogie, Ont. An evacuation order has been extended to Wednesday afternoon.
Capital Pride will be receiving money from the federal government to cover costs of added security measures at this year's Pride parade and other events.
Flames and smoke could be seen shooting out of a home on Graham Street in Waterloo shortly after midnight on Monday, creating a scene that firefighters say was intense before they arrived.
A report going before regional councillors on Tuesday will recommend beginning the process of environmental remediation at the former Charles Street bus terminal in Kitchener.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Officials are asking people living around Centennial Lake to evacuate their homes as a forest fire burns in the area west of Calabogie, Ont. An evacuation order has been extended to Wednesday afternoon.
A Ukrainian woman who now lives in Winnipeg is hoping one day she will be able to bring her husband's remains to her new home, a place he hoped one day he too would be able to call home.
Manitoba Public Insurance is suing the Manitoba government, a Manitoba construction company and an unidentified employee for more than $31,000 saying road work damaged 12 vehicles in 2021.
The provincial wildfire service is warning British Columbians to have a go-bag and make an evacuation plan with this year's wildfire season off to an alarming start.
Real estate experts say B.C.’s housing market is heating back after cooling off due to rising interest rates but the future is uncertain as several economists expect the Bank of Canada to hike rates again.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
The province is revealing its housing cards, as 37 more municipalities have been identified as the next group that will be required to create housing targets in their communities to help combat the ongoing housing shortfall.
A wildfire that has been burning out of control on Vancouver Island since Sunday morning is now estimated to cover approximately 20 hectares of dense forest near Port Alberni.
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
