Sports
Kings look uninspired in blowout loss to Edmonton Oilers in Game 1
When the Edmonton Oilers abandoned the Northlands Coliseum for their handsome new downtown home eight years ago, the collection of office towers, hotels and restaurants that sprang up around Rogers Place became known collectively as the Ice District.
For the Kings, the name alone has had a chilling effect because Rogers Place is where the team’s last two playoff campaigns started — and both were put on ice in first-round losses to the Oilers.
The Kings were back in Edmonton for the third installment of their postseason trilogy Monday and the first act did not go well, with the Oilers scoring twice in the first 10 minutes on their way to a 7-4 win.
And for Edmonton, it was truly a team effort. Zach Hyman finished with three goals and an assist, Adam Henrique and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist, Evan Bouchard had four assists and Connor McDavid had five helpers to lead a performance that was as efficient as it was one-sided.
Mikey Anderson and Adrian Kempe each scored in the second period, and Pierre-Luc Dubois and Trevor Moore scored late in the third period for the Kings who, aside from a brief span late in the second period, were overmatched.
It will take at least a week to find out how much that result will mean since the Kings beat the Oilers in the playoff opener in each of the last two seasons, only to lose the series. And the last time the Oilers won the first game of a postseason series, they wound up losing to the Ducks in the second round in 2017.
“It’s a seven-game series,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “We’re down 1-0, but we can easily make it 1-1 next game. We’ve gotta put that one behind us.
“We’ve got to learn from what we did wrong and fix the things we did wrong. And bring them into the next game. We’ll just have a short memory and be ready to win the next one.”
Nevertheless, for a veteran Kings team featuring 14 players off last season’s postseason roster, it was a troubling start.
The Kings wanted to set the tone and instead they came up flat, conceding the first four goals while giving up 45 shots overall.
The Kings turned shaky after the first five minutes and it didn’t take long for the Oilers to take advantage, with Hyman deflecting a McDavid pass from the edge of the left circle to give Edmonton the lead 6:52 into the game.
On the play, McDavid reached to control a loose puck at the blue line, deking toward the center of the ice, then spinning away from Anderson before passing to Hyman in the slot for a tap-in.
Henrique doubled the Oilers’ lead less than three minutes later, scoring on a wrister from the center of the left circle off an assist from Hyman.
The Kings’ best chance in the first 30 minutes came early in the second period when a turnover in the neutral zone launched Viktor Arvidsson on a breakaway with only Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner to beat. But his wrist shot was wide of the net, the Oilers controlled the rebound and 20 seconds later Hyman scored again to make 3-0.
Kings Goalie Cam Talbot positions himself to stop a shot by Oilers forward Zach Hyman during the first period of Game 1.
(Curtis Comeau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
McDavid again set up the goal, this time spinning away from Drew Doughty, who got caught in traffic behind the Kings’ net, and centering the puck to a wide-open Hyman at the bottom edge of the right circle.
“The rushes were just too many,” Doughty said. “We’re letting their top guys get way too much speed and just go through the neutral zone like it’s nothing and it’s tough on the [defense] when those guys are flying.
“So we’ve got to fix that. And we know that we’ll fix it.”
Kings coach Jim Hiller agreed.
“Over the last couple of months of the season when we’ve had a [poor] game, every time we’ve had one of those, we’ve come back with a strong effort,” he said. “So we’re going to have to do that. We’re going to have to be much better than we were tonight, that’s very clear.
“These are things that are fixable for us. I don’t have a good answer as for why we did [that]. But that’s not how we play.”
The Kings, who haven’t won a playoff series in a decade, entered the postseason healthier than they were at any point during the regular season and boasted the NHL’s second-best penalty kill, something they hoped would act as kryptonite to the Oilers’ deadly power play. But even that didn’t work, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring the first of three power-play goals to make it 4-0 at 8:44 of the middle period.
The rout was on.
Anderson finally got the Kings on the board at 10:56 of the second period, blasting a slap shot past Skinner from between the blue line and left circle, and Kempe made it a two-goal game when he circled behind the net and deflected a shot in off the skate of Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard with 2:04 left before the second intermission.
But the Kings gave back whatever momentum they had earned when Draisaitl and Hyman scored power-play goals in the opening 6:27 of the final period.
“We talked about our penalties. We talked about their power play so much before this series,” Doughty said. “That shot us in the foot.”
The Kings got a couple of meaningless goals from Dubois and Moore in the final 3:04 late before Warren Foegele closed the scoring for Edmonton with a empty-net goal with 26 seconds to play.
The series continues Wednesday at Rogers Place before moving to Crypto.com Arena for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday.
Sports
Chris Johnson’s former teammate reflects on ex-star’s surprise ALS diagnosis, tight-knit bond after milestone
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The NFL world was stunned on Monday when it became public that Chris Johnson, one of just nine players ever to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, is suffering from ALS.
The news hit close to home for Ryan Fitzpatrick, who played for Johnson’s Tennessee Titans for a season. And despite it being just one year, the two have a special connection.
“He was a great teammate when I got to play with him for the one year, and obviously a super talented guy on the football field. We texted about a year ago. I was just looking back at our text messages, and one of the things that I had sent him — the 100th touchdown pass that I threw in the NFL was to CJ2K, and he signed the football for me and gave it to me. It says, ‘To my cool white boy. Congrats on number 100,’” Fitzpatrick recalled in an interview with Fox News Digital. “So the amount of street credit I have from Chris Johnson calling me a cool white boy has always been awesome to me.”
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, No. 4 of the Tennessee Titans, hands off to running back Chris Johnson, No. 28, against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on October 13, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
But ALS is just such a tough thing to have to deal with, obviously for Chris and for everybody around him. You can just imagine the frustrations of his mind being there but his body starting to fail him and how difficult that is. We’re obviously all hoping for the best for him, and all our love and support goes to him and his wife and his family.”
In a lengthy social media post, Johnson said that there is growing research that shows a link between repetitive head trauma and ALS, and studies have shown that NFL players are four times as likely to develop ALS as the general population.
Fitzpatrick, personally, said that when it comes to football, he would do it all over again, even as the risks are more prevalent now than ever before. However, what comes with age is more grim reality.
Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson runs against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Aug. 28, 2010. (Sam Sharpe/USA TODAY Sports)
FORMER NFL STAR CHRIS JOHNSON SAYS HE’S BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH ALS
“I do think guys playing football understand at least the broad scope of what the risks are. I think a lot of guys would tell you, and I would be the same way, football has given me so much in my life that it’s something I would do again in a heartbeat. And for my kids that want to pursue it, I’m happy for them to pursue it,” Fitzpatrick said.
“But as you get older, I’m 43, as you get older, and your parents get older, I lost my mom five years ago, there’s just more stuff that seems to happen. It’s really sad. One of my best friends from high school was diagnosed with ALS. So seeing that firsthand, and the difficulties that come with it, not just for him but everybody that is around him, it’s really hard. As you get older, stuff happens, and there are things that you have to deal with and figure out. So unfortunately, it’s a tough part about aging.”
There is no known cure for ALS – known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It’s a progressive disease in which the brain loses connection with the muscles, according to the ALS Association. The afflicted slowly lose their ability to walk, talk, eat, dress, write, swallow and, eventually, breathe.
Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson breaks free for a long run against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2009. The Titans defeated the 49ers 34-27. (Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports)
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The former running back played in the NFL from 2008 to 2017 with the Titans, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.
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I will miss watching the greatest maestro and savant in the history of basketball, LeBron James. He is to basketball what Van Gogh was to painting, Coltrane to music, Hemingway to literature. He came from poverty and rose to a global hero and gave back. His after-game interviews were always intelligent and sometimes humorous. To all his detractors and haters? Eat your hearts out, he is a happy man.
Dell Franklin
Cayucos
I have always been in awe of LeBron’s athleticism and basketball IQ. And I greatly admire his dedication to maintaining his physical abilities throughout the years and his philanthropic pursuits.
But, as a lifelong Lakers fan, I will not miss LeBron. He was never a true Laker. He made it clear when he announced that he was taking his talents to South Beach that he cared only about LeBron, not the team.
So, as he closes out his career elsewhere, I will enjoy watching his superior playing prowess from afar. But I will be grateful that I can now cheer for my Lakers without the drama LeBron brings to every team he’s been on.
Linda Salzman
Rancho Palos Verdes
I agree that it was probably time to move on from LeBron simply in the interest to pursue a long-term player versus one more year from the King. But Bill Plaschke’s argument that he was tired of the mind games LeBron supposedly was playing is a terrible take. Losing 27-7-7 is not replaceable overnight, if ever.
George Metalsky
Redondo Beach
While acknowledging LeBron James as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, it never really felt as if he was selflessly committed to the Purple and Gold team concept like so many of the legendary players that preceded him.
During his eight years as a Laker there seemed to be countless occasions when Lakers brass capitulated to his “demands.” Year after year we endured a mishmash roster with his hand-picked players, just to appease LeBron.
During the Lakers’ dynasty we had championship teams. With LeBron we had a king shaping his fiefdom to first and foremost best serve him.
He’s a great player but a horrible GM. The Lakers will be a better team without him.
David Griffin
Westwood
I only have one question regarding LeBron James: What happens to Bronny now?
David Waldowski
Laguna Woods
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On Friday, Argentina looked to continue its quest for back-to-back World Cup titles, and to do it, they had to get through one of the darlings of this year’s tournament, Cape Verde.
The small island nation off the coast of West Africa came into the match as the No. 64-ranked team in the world, and they managed to hold Argentina — the No. 2 team behind France at the moment — scoreless for almost thirty minutes.
But in the 29th minute, Lionel Messi scored to give Argentina the lead.
WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE
That was the 20th World Cup goal of his career, and it also made him the first player to score seven or more goals in multiple World Cups, having done it in Qatar as well.
It was also Messi’s eighth-straight World Cup match with a goal.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi scored in his eight-straight World Cup match and potted the 20th World Cup goal of his career. (Photo by Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images))
Well, typically when Argentina takes the lead, they don’t cough it up, but early in the second half, Cape Verde’s Deroy Duarte pulled off a stunner and tied the game at 1-1.
HARRY KANE RESCUES ENGLAND FROM SHOCK WORLD CUP EXIT WITH TWO GOALS IN 11 MINUTES AGAINST DR CONGO
While there was some late pressure from Argentina, that included an always-dangerous Messi free kick from just outside the box that Cape Verde managed to stop.
And with that, it was off to extra time.
Cape Verde celebrates after scoring one of their two tying goals against Argentina. (Photo by Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
However, it only took moments for Cape Verde to find themselves once again battling from behind.
Lisandro Martinez found the twine in the 92nd minute to give Argentina the lead.
It looked like that would be all she wrote… but Cape Verde had other plans.
They stuck with the defending World Cup champs, and in the 103rd minute, Sidny Lopes Cabral scored an unbelievable goal to tie the game again.
Coming into this game, Argentina had given up just two goals in their ten-match World Cup winning streak.
Cape Verde did that in one match.
Argentina’s Cristian Romero gets his head on what proved ot be the game-winning goal. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
But in the 111th minute, Messi took an Argentina corner kick and put it in the perfect spot for Cristian Romero to head it to the back post and into the back of the net.
This was eventually updated to an own-goal, as it went off the Cape Verde defender’s arm, but it counts the same on the scoreboard.
Despite a late flurry of chances, Argentina held on to avoid what would have been potentially the biggest upset in World Cup history.
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What a match, and what a run Cape Verde had in the tournament.
Argentina will now have to recompose and get ready for a tough Round of 16 match against Egypt, which will take place on Tuesday in Atlanta.
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