National Hockey League
Edmonton Oilers 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 1
Leon Draisaitl’s power play goal stood as the game winner for the Oilers
Edmonton improves to 2 & 3 on the year
Auston Matthews had the lone Toronto goal
The loss snaps the 2 game win streak for Sheldon Keefe & the Leafs
The same two teams will play again tomorrow night, again in Toronto.
Vancouver Canucks 6 Montreal Canadiens 5 (SO)
Bo Horvat scored twice in regulation and fired the shootout winner for the Canucks
Tyler Toffoli had a hat trick for the Canadiens
The Canucks & Canadiens meet again tonight, again in Vancouver
San Jose Sharks 2 St. Louis Blues 1 (SO)
Former Attack netminder Jordan Binnington made 37 saves in the game but took the loss in the shootout
Vegas Golden Knights 5 Arizona Coyotes 2
Shea Theodore scored twice for Vegas
Minnesota Wild 3 Anaheim Ducks 2
Tonight
Philadelphia Flyers at Boston Bruins 7 pm
Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets 7 pm
New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders 7 pm
Winnipeg Jets at Ottawa Senators 7 pm
Montreal Canadiens at Vancouver Canucks 9:30 pm
Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings 10 pm
Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes (ppd)
Hurricanes Halted
The NHL has postponed the Carolina Hurricanes’ games through Saturday as 5 members of the Hurricanes are on the COVID Protocol Related Absence List.
The games between Carolina & Florida Panthers tonight & Saturday will be rescheduled
The Panthers have now had 4 games postponed, as their opening games against the Dallas Stars were called off prior to the season.
Caps $lapped
The Washington Capitals have been fined $100,000 for player violations of the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
Four members of the Capitals, Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov. were added to the league’s COVID-19 related absence list.
The Capitals were punished by the league for social interactions among teammates who were in close contact & not wearing face coverings.
Sweeney Swap
The Collingwood Blues of the Ontario Junior Hockey League traded Derek Sweeney to the Stayner Siskins who play in the PJHL Carruthers Division.
Collingwood General Manager Mike Tarantino explained the deal ” as with the other 2000 born players on the roster, Derek was moved simply to extend his playing career due to COVID. Derek had options in other leagues and offers from NCAA schools to continue playing next year, but ultimately, he has decided to pursue education closer to home. As such, moving his rights to Stayner before the February 1 deadline offers him the opportunity to play an extra year of hockey. Jr. C players can play until age 21, while the age restriction in the OJHL is 20 years old. Derek along with our other veterans was a big part of this team and led by example to our younger guys. The Blues wish him all the best for the remainder of this year and next season with Stayner. There is a no question, he will become a leader with Stayner and a key piece to their club”.
National Basketball Association
Miami Heat 111 Toronto Raptors 102
Kendrick Nunn led the Heat with 28 points
Miami has won 2 in a row
Fred VanVleet had 24 points & 9 rebounds for Toronto
The loss snaps the Raps 3 game win streak
The Raptors host Miami again tomorrow night in Tampa Bay
Philadelphia 76ers 117 Boston Celtics 109
Joel Embiid scored 42 ;points and had 10 rebounds for Philadelphia
The 76’ers move into 1st place in the Eastern Conference 10 & 5.
Los Angeles Clippers 115 Sacramento Kings 96
Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points in the victory
The Clippers and Lakers are tied for 1st in the Western Conference at 11 & 4.
Dallas Mavericks 124 Indiana Pacers 112
Cleveland Cavaliers 147 Brooklyn Nets 135 (OT)
Atlanta Hawks 123 Detroit Pistons 115 (OT)
Orlando Magic 97 Minnesota Timberwolves 96
Phoenix Suns 109 Houston Rockets 103
Golden State Warriors 121 San Antonio Spurs 99
Washington Wizards at Charlotte Hornets (ppd)
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers (ppd)
Tonight
Los Angeles Lakers at Milwaukee Bucks 7:30 pm
New York Knicks at Golden State Warriors 10 pm
New Orleans Pelicans at Utah Jazz 10 pm
PGA American Express
at La Quinta, California
Andrew Landry is the defending champion
He’s scheduled to tee off at 1:40 pm California time
5 Canadians are in the field
Adam Hadwin of British Columbia will be the first Canadian to tee off at 1 pm
LPGA Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions
at Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Gabby Lopez is the defending champion
Lopez will be in the final pairing this morning with Bronte Law at 9:50 am
Brooke Henderson from Smith’s Falls, Ontario is the lone Canadian in the field
Henderson will begin play at 9:10 am as she’s paired with Brittany Lincicome.
Baseball Notes
Pitcher J.A. Happ has agreed to a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins
Last year, Happ made 9 starts for the New York Yankees, going 2 & 2
Happ was a 20-game winner in 2016 with the Toronto Blue Jays, finishing 6th in AL Cy Young voting that year.
Michael Brantley is staying with the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball after agreeing to a 2-year, $32 million deal
Reports Wednesday indicated that Brantley had agreed to a 3-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays
Brantley has hit .309 combined over the past 2 seasons.
Lacrosse Loop
In preparation for the launch of the first major junior lacrosse league in history, the Canadian Lacrosse League (CLL) announces the formation of the Ontario Lacrosse League (OLL) and Western Lacrosse League (WLL) to carry out the functions of lacrosse operation in each region.
“While all aspects of business operations will be handled by the Canadian Lacrosse League it is vitally important that each league administer its own lacrosse operations to meet the needs unique to each region.” said Chris Fox, CLL Founder and President.
The Ontario Lacrosse League will represent the eastern half of the CLL and will include Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic Provinces. While the Western Lacrosse League will represent the western half of the CLL and will include the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan along with the territories of Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon.
Lacrosse operations will focus on scheduling, player transitions, and compliance. “Having full-time staff dedicated to the day-to-day operations will create the best development environment for players, coaches, and officials possible.” added Fox. In the coming months the CLL will begin a national search to name Commissioners for each league, under the formal titles of Vice-President of Lacrosse Operations, in preparation for an inaugural season.
In addition to naming Official Suppliers of Nike Lacrosse, O’Neill Lacrosse, Signature Lacrosse, STX, and TRUE Sports Lacrosse the Canadian Lacrosse League will be announcing dates and locations for the 2021 Regional Combines which will take place throughout seven different Provinces in preparation for the 2021 IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship scheduled for August 8-14, 2021 in Winnipeg, Manitoba at Bell MTS Place.