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Bootsmann
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| Posted: 28 July 2018 at 06:59 | IP Logged
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Ontario and British Columbia are the traditional lacrosse
hotbeds in Canada, but the best professional indoor team
in the country right now calls Alberta home. The
undefeated Edmonton Rush improved to 5-0 over the
weekend, the only National Lacrosse League team yet to
taste defeat so far this season. In fact, the Rush are
the only Canadian club with a winning record as Toronto
(2-3), Calgary (2-3) and Vancouver (2-5) all lag behind
Edmonton. "Its early still and you dont want to get too
high or too excited but were playing well," said Rush
head coach and general manager Derek Keenan. "Its a
process of maturity." Edmontons defence was been
exceptional so far, led by Kyle Rubisch. "Hes a bulldog,"
Keenan said of the two-time reigning NLL defenceman of
the year. "He takes away opponents space, he picks off
passes and hes a beast when the ball is on the turf. His
gap closure is scary good. Guys think they have a step on
him or an opportunity to get by him and hes in their face
and theyre on their butt. "Hes a shut-down guy. Hes got
great vision and good hands, too. He fits our system so
well. Hes a good team guy. Were lucky to have him."
Meanwhile, Chris Corbeil was named captain when Jimmy
Quinlan moved behind the bench as an assistant coach this
year. "I loved the kid when I watched him play in junior
and I continued to watch him when he was in Buffalo,"
added Keenan. "Hes a real quality person, a great
teammate, and hes super fit. He sets an example on the
floor both in games and practices. And hes young, too.
"Thats the M.O. of our whole group. Were a young group,
but pretty experienced for a team so young -- a lot of
Canadian championships (in summer lacrosse), a lot of
experience in big-game situations." Rubisch, Corbeil and
Brett Mydske were good enough to be on Canadas team that
won the most recent world indoor championship. "Weve got
all three of them on our back end and theyre three of the
best in the business," said Keenan. The whole defence-
transition corps has been together for three years now,
with the addition this year of Nik Bilic, and that
continuity has resulted in a league-best 7.8 goals-
against average. Top-notch goaltending is a must in
lacrosse and Aaron Bold, who gets most of the starts, and
Brodie MacDonald supply it for the Rush. "Hes been
awesome," Keenan said of Bold. "Hes made big saves at key
times. Last game, Rochester tied the score late and he
made two big saves on Dan Dawson in the closing minute of
regulation time. Hes really raised the level of his
game." Up front, second-year forwards Mark Matthews, who
was 2013 rookie of the year after being the No. 1 overall
draft pick, and Curtis Knight are maturing impressively
in the pro game. The former Whitby, Ont., junior
teammates share the team goal scoring lead with 12 each.
It was Matthews who scored the overtime winner in a
thrilling 8-7 home triumph last Saturday over two-time
defending champion Rochester. At six-foot-five, hes a
superstar in the making. "Hes got a great passion for the
game," said Keenan. "One thing about him Ive found
different from so-called premier players is that hes
willing to do a lot of the dirty work, too. A lot of his
big plays in games are without the ball. Hes willing to
do that. I look at (Buffalo forward) John Tavares who is
45 but who can still play because hes changed his game 10
times. You can constantly try to get better, and Mark is
willing to do that." Add it all up and it is clear to see
that Keenan has been putting a complete package on the
green carpet. "Its my fifth year in Edmonton and weve had
ups and downs," he said. "This is the first year you feel
such positive vibes. You hear people talking about us.
Everybody loves a winner. Winning consistently was a
problem for us in the past. We were 2-6 at home last
season. That was a problem. This season were 3-0 at home
so far. You can feel a different kind of vibe in the city
-- that theres some belief in us. Again, its early in the
season, but theres progress there." Average attendance in
Rexall Place is 7,695 through three home games, which is
less than what owner Bruce Urban needs to break even. So,
everybody in the Rush organization is hoping the winning
ways will fill more seats. "We play an exciting brand of
lacrosse people should want to see," said Keenan. "Bruce
is a committed owner. Weve worked together on finding the
right formula and we seem to be getting there. "The tempo
of play is so fast these days. We dont designate one or
two or three guys as transition players to move the ball
quickly up the floor. We expect our entire defence group
to contribute that way because we think they are capable
of that. Skill levels across the league are phenomenal
now and we fit that mould well." Edmonton began NLL play
in 2006 but it wasnt until 2010 that the Rush won more
games than it lost. Last years 9-7 record was the teams
second .500-plus showing, although the 2012 lineup
managed to get as far as the title game despite a 6-10
regular season. Winning the Champions Cup that year would
have been a colossal upset. Now, Keenans crew looks more
ready than most other NLL teams to push Rochester off the
top of the heap. Rush players are from either Ontario or
B.C. except for defenceman John Lintz, a local who
attends the University of Alberta, and faceoff specialist
Jeremy Thompson, who is a First Nations player from
upstate New York. A home playoff date for the first time
in franchise history seems likely come spring. "Weve
established a fan base and, to get more people out to
games, they just need to see some results," said Lintz.
"Getting a home playoff date would be amazing. If we get
that, it would really cement us in the eyes of a lot of
fans." The West Division leaders play in Philadelphia on
Saturday and at Minnesota on Feb. 15. They are at home
against Toronto on Feb. 28 and against Vancouver on March
8. A March 14 game in Calgary precedes a March 21 home
game against the Buffalo Bandits (5-1), who currently
hold down first place in the East Division.
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Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round
winners Friday at the French Open.ST. LOUIS -- Ryan
Miller was supposed to be the piece the St. Louis Blues
needed to make a deep playoff run and perhaps at long
last win a first Stanley Cup. The highly-decorated goalie
was among those falling fall short for a franchise
smarting from another early exit, and he might not be
back. The team scheduled availabilities for general
manager Doug Armstrong, coach Ken Hitchcock and players
for Tuesday. Hitchcock deflected questions about the 34-
year-old Miller, wholl be an unrestricted free agent,
after the Blues were eliminated Sunday in Chicago. The
Blues could opt to go with prospect Jake Allen, called
the franchise goalie of the future by Armstrong when the
Miller deal was made. "I dont get into long-term stuff.
Thats Dougs department," Hitchcock said. "He played good
for us. Im sure theres some goals that hed like to have
back, just like any goalie would. We win as a team and
lose as a team." Asked how he played, Miller said: "Im
going to sit down and think about that. Not good enough,
I guess." The Blues were among the NHLs best before a
six-game losing streak to end the regular season landed
them with a tougher first-round draw. For the second
straight year they were knocked out in four straight by
the defending Stanley Cup champion after taking a 2-0
series lead. Last season, it was the Kings. This time, it
was Chicago. It was small consolation that before the
Blackhawks four-goal third period in Game 6, the
difference was razor-thin. The first five games were
decided by one goal, discounting an empty-netter by the
Blackhawks in the final minute of Game 3. "Youve got to
bring your game every night, every shift, every period,"
captain David Backes said Sunday. "I sound like a broken
record here. Finding ways to win those close games, they
did and we didnt." Miller was acquired from Buffalo on
Feb. 28 along with forward Steve Ott in a deal that cost
the Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart
and a fiirst-round pick in 2015.dddddddddddd He made
$6.25 million last season. "Ive just got to take things
as they come right now," he said, adding, "I guess Im
free to go to my sister-in-laws wedding." Miller would
like to stay, but acknowledged he wasnt sure how the
Blues "feel about me." He had a 2.70 goals-against
average and .897 save percentage in the series. Hitchcock
wasnt pinning the teams failure on the goalie. He noted
the Blackhawks split the defence on the go-ahead goal and
the Blues surrendered a breakaway on the third goal,
which he called "a back-breaker." Just as important, they
couldnt capitalize on scoring chances. St. Louis was 2
for 29 on the power play in the series. "Ill take more
than my share of the blame," Backes said. "Im counted on
to produce and I didnt produce. Ill think about that a
lot this summer and drive the engine going into next
year." Injuries factored into the early exit. Backes
missed two games with stiffness in his neck after an
illegal hit by Brent Seabrook, who was suspended for
three games. T.J Oshie also wasnt quite himself coming
off a blow to the head late in the regular season and
Patrik Berglund was no factor coming off a shoulder
injury, scoreless and minus-7 in four games. Vladimir
Tarasenko was a breakout star early in the series and had
four goals, one of them forcing overtime with 6.4 seconds
to go in Game 3. But he was scoreless the last two games.
The Blues defence got burned on an ill-timed change in
the pivotal Game 5, leading to Jonathan Toews overtime
winner. Barret Jackman was minus-5, Jaden Schwartz minus-
4. Backes, Oshie, Ott and Roman Polak were all minus-3.
"We all need to look in the mirror and assess how we did
and we didnt do, and take that gut check," Backes said.
"No offence to you guys," he added to reporters, "but
these interviews are getting a little sickening to have
in April and not in June."
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