Sports

Golden Knights Back To Work After Stanley Cup Win And Short Offseason

Published

8 months ago

2023-09-23

LAS VEGAS — From elevating the Stanley Cup to a victory parade on the Strip to a summer of celebration, the Vegas Golden Knights are now back to the business of playing hockey.

A brief offseason is a desirable yet problematic issue.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said This is part of why some teams may have difficulty winning consecutive championships as the team opened training camp on Thursday. “An abundance of vigor and enthusiasm currently surrounds our team. I’ve always believed that if you play until the end and win, you don’t mind that short summer. The summer will feel brief if you play until the end and lose in the championship game.

The Knights, who won the Stanley Cup by defeating the Florida Panthers in five games, aim to become the most recent team to repeat as champions. Only two teams in the salary-cap era have accomplished this feat: the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017.

Vegas opened training camp with an almost identical roster to the one that claimed the championship less than three months prior. Reilly Smith, who was traded to the Penguins to create cap space, is the only player from the championship game who is no longer with the organization.

The Knights, who typically make a statement in free agency, added players on September 12, when they acquired forward Max Comtois. But Comtois, who has played for the Anaheim Ducks in parts of the past five seasons, was signed for training camp without a roster place being guaranteed.

The Knights focused most of their offseason efforts on re-signing goaltender Adin Hill and forward Ivan Barbashev.

The result was a locker room filled with familiar faces.

The Knights’ status as underdogs is nothing new.

“You already know what to expect,” said center Chandler Stephenson. “You know how everyone operates and performs, as well as the systems and other pertinent information. It is somewhat fluid. You can continue roughly where you left off.”

Coach Bruce Cassidy set the tone early by making a repeat a priority, leading the chanting “back to back!” at the victory parade. It didn’t reach the level of Pat Riley’s promise at the Lakers’ parade in 1987 — Los Angeles did indeed repeat — but it was still a fairly bold statement less than a week after winning the championship.

“We feel like we’re returning a lot of players to give us that opportunity,” Cassidy said. “We are currently of an age where it wouldn’t be just this year, either. All of these are positive developments for us. I said it in jest at the time, but you’re asking me about it now. We have an equal opportunity as anyone else. I feel that way about where each athlete is in their career and where our team is, but until you get out there, everything is up in the air.”

The odds do not favor back-to-back performances. FanDuel Sportsbook lists Vegas as the sixth-most probable team to win the Stanley Cup, tied with the Dallas Stars at 13-1 odds. The Colorado Avalanche, who won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago, are 8 1/2-1 favorites.

The Knights’ status as underdogs is nothing new. Teams such as the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers received more attention heading into the postseason during the previous season.

After opening the playoffs with a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, however, the Knights went 16-5 for the remainder of the postseason.

The Knights’ status as underdogs is nothing new.

Now they are back at work, hopeful that this season will end similarly to the previous one.

“We felt we had something to prove to ourselves and the rest of the league after missing the playoffs the previous year,” said center Jack Eichel. It’s an Equis theme.

IN ENEMY PROPERTY
When Eichel had his day with the Cup, he brought it to Chelmsford, Massachusetts, where he is from. That region had anticipated the Bruins would be the ones celebrating after they put together a record-setting regular season only to be eliminated by the Panthers in the first round.

“After they were eliminated, many (Boston) fans said they were rooting for me,” Eichel said. “Whether it was true or false, everyone was respectful.”

LEHNER IS YET ABSENT
Goal-scored Robin Lehner continues to be placed on long-term injured reserve. Six weeks before the start of training camp, he had hip surgery, which caused him to miss the entirety of the previous season. Being on LTIR allows the Knights to exceed the salary cap by Lehner’s $5 million salary.

SOURCE – (AP)

Election News

Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead

Published

8 hours ago

2024-05-19

Kiara Grace

AP News - VOR News Image

IMOLA, ITALY Max – Verstappen defeated McLaren’s Lando Norris to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, extending his Formula One championship lead.

Verstappen began on pole and led Norris from the start but was pushed by the McLaren driver near the end, winning by less than a second.

“I lost grip, especially in the closing 10 to 15 laps. I slid a lot. “I saw Lando closing in,” Verstappen explained. “It’s quite difficult when the tires are no longer working, and you have to run flat out, so I couldn’t afford to make too many mistakes. Thankfully, we didn’t, and we’re overjoyed to have won here today.”

AP – VOR News Image

Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead

It was the defending champion’s fifth victory in seven Grand Prix races this year, following Verstappen’s defeat by Norris in Miami two weeks ago.

Norris’ Second Place Sunday demonstrated the McLaren team’s credentials as the closest contender to Verstappen and Red Bull this season. “It hurts me to say it, but one or two more laps, I think I would have had him,” stated Norris. “It would have been beautiful, but just not today.”

Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, the Italian team’s first podium finish in Imola since 2006.

Overtaking is always challenging on the narrow Imola track, and this year, asphalt run-off zones on key corners were replaced with gravel traps, discouraging risk-taking even more.

AP – VOR News Image

Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead

Leclerc got in on Norris midway through the race but made a mistake and ran across the grass, costing him time.

Oscar Piastri qualified second for McLaren but was relegated to fifth after a penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in a Haas. He got ahead of Sainz during the pit stops and finished fourth, ahead of the Spanish driver.

Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time champion, and his teammate George Russell finished sixth and seventh following a challenging weekend for Mercedes.

Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, began 11th following a mistake in qualifying and finished ninth. His major impact on the race came when he briefly held up Norris and Leclerc following their pit stops, thereby assisting Verstappen.

AP – VOR News Image

Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris To Win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix And Extend F1 Lead

Yuki Tsunoda took ninth place for RB, while Lance Stroll finished tenth for Aston Martin.

Verstappen has a 48-point advantage over Leclerc, who has surged ahead of Perez to second place.

SOURCE – (AP)

Sports

Seize The Gray Win the Preakness 2024, Mystik Dan Finished Second

Published

1 day ago

2024-05-18

Geoff Thomas

Seize The Gray has won the Preakness 2024. Favorite and Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan finished second, halting his pursuit for the first Triple Crown since Justify in 2018, NBC Sports Reports.

Seize the Grey won the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday, defeating Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan and six other horses. Seize the Grey led from start to finish, with Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan in second place. Catching Freedom placed third.

D. Wayne Lukas, 88, becomes the oldest trainer in history to win a Triple Crown event. It marks his eighth Preakness victory in his career, tying Bob Baffert for second all-time. Lukas has won 15 Triple Crown races in his career.

Jaime Torres made a memorable Triple Crown debut with his triumph in Seize the Grey.

MyRacehorse owns Seize the Grey, and it sells thoroughbred “micro-shares” to the general public. There are 2,570 shareholders in Seize the Grey, representing 42 of the 50 states.

Seize the Grey is the Preakness’ 18th victory from the seventh post since 1909. No other post has resulted in more than 14 winners.

If Seize the Grey competes, his next race will be the 156th Belmont Stakes on June 8 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Preakness 2024 Full Race

Sports

Dallas Stars Eliminate Avalanche 2-1 With Double Overtime Win

Published

1 day ago

2024-05-18

Geoff Thomas

Dallas Stars Eliminate Avalanche 2-1 With OT Win

The Avalanche’s aspirations of returning to the Stanley Cup were dashed late Friday night when they lost 2-1 in double overtime against the Dallas Stars.

Former Avalanche player Matt Duchene scored the game-winning goal, allowing the Dallas Stars to advance to the Western Conference final.

Duchene, who began his professional career in Denver, grabbed a loose puck in front of the net and blasted it over a sprawled-out Alexandar Georgiev. Duchene raced down the ice and sank to his knees in celebration.

Dallas Stars will play either Edmonton Oilers or the Vancouver Cunucks next. The Dallas Stars are making their second straight trip to the conference finals, having fallen to eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas last season. The Stars won their sole Stanley Cup championship in 1999.

This was a series in which the road team won five of six games, with the Stars winning all three in Denver. The Avalanche were the best home team throughout the regular season, while the Stars had the best away record.

After winning the Stanley Cup two years earlier, the Avalanche finished the season 50-25-7.