VANCOUVER — Three minutes into overtime on Monday, Vasily Podkolzin found himself on the ice for the Vancouver Canucks. And it wasn’t because he fell off the bench.
The 21-year-old winger, who was sent to the minors in November for remedial work and spent nearly half the season there, was sent out in OT by Canucks coach Rick Tocchet as reward for Podkolzin’s strong, diligent game in a depth role. The Russian had also scored on a first-period deflection.
It would be a great story if Podkolzin h..
Category: Sports
Canucks’ culture heading in ‘right direction’ as Tocchet rewards effort with opportunity
Flames’ Toffoli roofs game winner on breakaway to stun Stars with 6.2 seconds left
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Oilers’ Skinner shines in win over Sabres, looks ready to seize starting role
BUFFALO — Today’s Edmonton Oilers are never going to be yesterday’s New Jersey Devils.
There will be no 22-save shutouts for Stuart Skinner, the way there were for the great Martin Brodeur, where 18 of the shots come from outside the hashmarks.
This is a team that is still waiting for its first shutout this season — and that’s not on the goalies. They are the highest scoring team in the National Hockey League, but that mantle comes at a price — one that tends to get paid by the guy in goal. ..
‘Absolutely nothing there’: Raptors in disbelief after refs eject Barnes in tough loss
DENVER — The Toronto Raptors finally got an up-close look at the Denver Nuggets‘ Nikola Jokic, the Serbian star who plays like Steve Nash — if the Canadian Hall-of-Fame point guard was a giant, lumbering centre who averaged a triple-double and was the favourite to win his third consecutive MVP award.
At the very least, it was memorable, though not for the reasons you might expect.
With Jokic and Jamal Murray of Kitchener, Ont. supported by a deep cast of quality role players, the Nuggets are ..
Flames Takeaways: Huberdeau’s world-class pass leads to ‘massive’ win
It was the type of pass Flames fans expected plenty of when the coach opened the season anointing Jonathan Huberdeau “the best passer this team has had in, maybe, ever.”
Spotting Tyler Toffoli streaking down the middle of the ice as the final 10 seconds of a see-saw battle unfolded on Monday, Huberdeau made a world-class pass between two defenders that sprung the team’s leading goal scorer for a solo sprint he finished brilliantly with 6.2 seconds left.
Converting the breakaway with a top shel..