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Canadiens Lose Thriller Of A Game In The Shootout

Martin St-Louis wondered on Sunday morning if it was an advantage for his Montreal Canadiens that their host, the Tampa Bay Lightning, had played the night before. Usually, yes, it would have been, but after returning from the Christmas break, the bench boss was concerned that his players might need some time to shake off the rust. It wasn’t the case, though. The Habs hit the ground running and played a nearly perfect first frame, but as has often been the case this season, it was in the second frame that they came undone.

Montreal dominated the first 20 minutes in puck possession and shots, but it just wasn’t able to capitalize on three power play opportunities; that’s the kind of mistake that eats at you, at your confidence and plays on your mind for the rest of the game.

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Staying In Control For 60 Minutes

Given the fact that the Habs dominated the play early on, they probably felt they should have been in the lead when Ivan Demidov’s stick broke for the second time of the game, which allowed the Lightning to send Nikita Kucherov on a breakaway and, of course, to take a 1-0 lead.

The frustration was evident when Alexandre Texier took a silly penalty in the offensive zone less than 40 seconds after the locals had taken the lead. Thankfully for Texier, the Bolts were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, but it still gave Jon Cooper’s team some momentum back.

The second goal also came from a Canadiens’ mistake/stroke of bad luck when Juraj Slafkovsky tried to launch Josh Anderson on a breakaway but hit the linesman with his pass, and the puck bounced straight to the Lightning, who made the most of the odd-man rush.

Luck had no part in Nick Paul’s goal, however, as he just blew by Phillip Danault to evade his coverage and score on a rebound. Down 3-0 after 35 minutes, the Canadiens were clearly feeling hard done by, while the Lightning were entirely in control.

Gun Shy

It’s been discussed multiple times since the start of the season: the Canadiens need to shoot more. Spending six minutes on the power play and just generating three shots is inexcusable. A goal’s a goal, no matter how pretty the build-up was; there is no point in looking for the perfect play, you need to get the little piece of vulcanized rubber past the goal line by whatever means necessary.

In the third frame, the Habs took 16 shots on net and, unsurprisingly, scored four goals: no shots, no goals; plenty of shots, plenty of goals.

The Kids Line

The first line might be struggling since Slafkovsky has been moved to the second line, but the new unit he forms with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov was the sole reason the Canadiens clawed their way back into this game.

Slafkovsky and Kapanen both had five shots in the game, while the Russian rookie had three (those three all had eight shot attempts, but some were missed or blocked). What’s most impressive is the chemistry between the three, which is getting increasingly better. The ease with which they go from the attack to the defence and back is fantastic; they flip the switch incredibly quickly, and the opponent isn’t always ready for it.

The patience they’ve displayed on a couple of plays was just as impressive. On the Canadiens’ second goal, as soon as the Lightning turned the puck over, Slafkovsky called for the puck even though he was far behind. Kapanen understood that meant put it in space for me when you get to the blueline, and that’s precisely what he did. The power forward collected it, skated in and picked his spot before unleashing a hard wrister, which turned the tide.

A goal wasn’t enough for the Slovak, though; he also got the buzzer beater that sent the game to overtime with less than four seconds left in the frame, thanks to a perfectly timed feed from Demidov that he one-timed past Jonas Johansson.

Slafkovsky finished the game with two goals and an assist, and he now has a five-game point streak going. Demidov had a goal and an assist, giving him a three-point lead in the rookie scoring race. As for Kapanen, he only got an assist, but he’s no passenger on that line.

When the Canadiens manage to have that same level of effort for 60 minutes, they’ll be quite a force to be reckoned with. While this wasn’t Jacob Fowler’s best game, he gave up four goals on 22 shots for just an .818 save percentage; he couldn’t be faulted on most of the goals. Will the Canadiens use this loss as a reason to send him back down to Laval? I’d be surprised since the loss wasn’t really on him, and I’d wait to see how Samuel Montembeault does in his first game back before making a change to the roster.

The Canadiens will play their next game on Tuesday, taking on the Florida Panthers at 7:00 PM.

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ICC rates MCG pitch ‘unsatisfactory’ after two-day Ashes Test

  • Match referee says pitch ‘too much in favour of bowlers’

  • Shortened Test could cost Cricket Australia up to $10m

The MCG pitch where England beat Australia inside two days in the fourth Ashes Test has been rated ‘unsatisfactory’ by the International Cricket Council.

Head curator Matthew Page admitted he was in a “state of shock” at how the penultimate match of the series unfolded on a surface that had 10mm grass left on, producing lavish movement for seam bowlers.

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Leonard equals Clippers record in win over Pistons

Kawhi Leonard takes a shot against the Detroit Pistons
Leonard was one of four starters for the Clippers who were aged 34 or above [Getty Images]

Kawhi Leonard equalled the Los Angeles Clippers record for most points in a game to help his side beat the Detroit Pistons 112-99.

His 55-point haul is also a career-high total for the 34-year-old, who matched the Clippers record set last month by team-mate James Harden.

Harden added 28 points against the Pistons while Nicolas Batum scored 12 to secure a fourth consecutive win for the Clippers - their best run of the season.

Elsewhere, Luka Doncic and LeBron James helped the Los Angeles Lakers end their three-game losing run with a 125-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Doncic hit five three-pointers on his way to 34 points while James added 24 points before exiting the game midway through the fourth quarter with a back injury.

The 40-year-old collided with Kings guard DeMar DeRozan and was forced to leave the court with 5:43 remaining.

There were also wins on Sunday for the Toronto Raptors, the Washington Wizards and the Portland Trailblazers.

Oklahoma continue to lead the way in the Western Conference as City Thunder saw off the Philadelphia 76ers 129-104.

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Tom Jenkins’s best sport photographs of 2025

The Guardian sport photographer selects his favourite images he has taken this year and recalls the stories behind them

This is a selection of some of my favourite pictures taken at events I’ve covered this year, quite a few of which haven’t been published before. Several have been chosen for their news value, others purely for their aesthetic value, while some are here just because there’s a nice story behind them.

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I was there: Europe’s dramatic Ryder Cup win signed off a strange week

Some extraordinary golf was often overshadowed by the Donald, colourful fans, crazy MCs and tempers flaring

I was out by the practice green late afternoon on the Monday of the Ryder Cup, and so was Bryson DeChambeau. He was on his own, signing autographs for the handful of people on the other side of the railings, and there was this one woman leaning over towards him, a bottle blonde, late middle-aged, in a tight white dress. She was only a couple of feet away from him but she was screaming in his ear like she was trying to reach someone across the far side of the golf course. “We love you Bryson! Bryson! We love you! We love you for everything you’ve done for the Donald! We love you for everything you’ve done for the Donald!”

It was a long, strange week, and when I think back on it now the golf is entirely overwhelmed by technicolour memories of the weird scenes around the grounds of Bethpage Black and in the surrounding town of Farmingdale. I wish I could say that the things I remember best are that approach shot Scottie Scheffler hit from 180 yards at the 10th, or the 40ft putt Rory McIlroy made on the 6th, or Jon Rahm’s chip-in from the rough at the 8th. But they’re not.

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‘We should have pulled the Big Sam ripcord’: Premier League fans assess the season so far

The Guardian’s fans’ network on 2025-26 at the half-way stage: best games, worst setbacks, and their January window wish lists

Story so far It would be pretty churlish to be anything other than super-chuffed, with those displays over Bayern Munich and our neighbours among the highlights. But, as we know, there are no prizes for being top at Christmas. Our success so far has largely been due to our defensive resilience; it’s the most talented squad we’ve had in many a moon but we’ve only shone going forward in fits and spurts. Find that spark on a consistent basis and we really will be firing.

Bernard Azulay onlinegooner.com; @GoonerN5

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After talking through problems, Lakers find unexpected third scorer to end losing streak

Lakers guard Nick Smith Jr. shoots over Sacramento Kings center Dylan Cardwell, left, and guard DeMar DeRozan.
Lakers guard Nick Smith Jr. shoots over Sacramento Kings center Dylan Cardwell, left, and guard DeMar DeRozan during the first half of the Lakers' 125-101 win Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers underwent some soul-searching at practice Saturday, with coach JJ Redick starting the conversation before allowing players to speak freely about the team's issues.

It was an attempt by Redick and the team to prevent things from spiraling out of control after three consecutive losses.

When the Lakers faced the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena, Redick wanted to see players executing on defense and playing harder.

The Lakers did exactly that, with Luka Doncic and LeBron James combining for 58 points and 12 assists in a 125-101 win.

Read more:Lakers 'recalibrate' after Austin Reaves injury, three-game losing streak

“I think it definitely starts with us,” said Doncic, who had 34 points, seven assists and five rebounds. “And when AR (Austin Reaves) is back, it’s going to be all three of us. ... We need to show what we can do and if we are going to do it, we both are going to do it. The group is going to follow. ... I think today just shows that everybody was locked in.”

For the Lakers, it was more than Doncic finishing with 34 points, seven assists and five rebounds. It was Doncic playing defense, illustrated best when he blocked a shot by DeMar DeRozan. It was Doncic hustling, such as when he dove to the floor for a loose ball.

Asked how the Lakers responded to Redick’s message, Doncic responded, “very well.”

“I think our effort was very high starting the game like that, getting deflections, getting steals, being physical,” Doncic said.

Lakers star Luka Doncic controls the ball in front of Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud.
Lakers star Luka Doncic controls the ball in front of Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud during the first half Sunday. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The win was more than James scoring 24 points and handing out five assists. It was James throwing down a reverse dunk and offering words of wisdom to teammates while also shooting 11 for 13 from the field.

Like Doncic, James was pleased with how things turned out.

“I thought it was a good response,” James said. “I think no matter who is coming into your building, no matter the record of whoever, you have to go out and play the game. The game is won between the four lines. So, I thought we executed that and it was one of the better games we had this year.”

And it also was reserve Nick Smith Jr. finding a role in the rotation and producing, one of the six Lakers scoring in double figures. Smith had 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting, making five of 10 threes.

Lakers star LeBron James reacts during a win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Lakers star LeBron James reacts during a win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Rui Hachimura had 12 points, Deandre Ayton had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Jake LaRavia had 11 points.

“We played together. We played for each other,” Redick said. “We had probably one of our most consistent games, in terms of 48 minutes of just competitive spirit. A couple possessions there towards the end of the third that we tried to be the Harlem Globetrotters.

"But this is the first game ... we've had all year that we've won all four quarters. So I think that just says a lot about the approach and the consistent mentality that we played with tonight.”

The Lakers (20-10) took control from the start of the third quarter, going on a 13-2 run to give them a 26-point lead that reached as high as 30 in the fourth quarter.

Granted, the Kings (8-24) have the second-worst record in the West and were missing injured stars Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Bradley, three of their top four scorers.

But the Lakers lost three straight games because of poor defense and an overall effort that Redick described as "terrible."

And with Austin Reaves out for at least a month because of a calf strain, getting the chance to talk through their issues might end up changing the team's fortunes.

“It's the very first thing that we all sat down yesterday and graded ourselves on — was our habits, our communication and our shape,” Redick said. “And the guys all echoed the same thoughts that we haven't been good.

"For whatever reason, we lost our way a little bit. ... But I thought the communication tonight was excellent, particularly on the defensive end.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.