Sports
Oilers’ Connor McDavid a game-time decision, Connor Ingram to start Game 5 vs. Ducks
EDMONTON — Connor McDavid did not take the Edmonton Oilers’ morning skate and will be a game-time decision for Game 5 against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night, coach Kris Knoblauch said. The Oilers, down 3-1 in the series and one loss away from a first-round elimination, are also turning back to goaltender Connor Ingram, who backed up Tristan Jarry in Edmonton’s 5-4 overtime loss in Game 4.
McDavid appeared to injure his ankle in Edmonton’s Game 2 loss after getting tied up with teammate Mattias Ekholm. The Ducks have since beaten Edmonton in three straight, and while McDavid has produced points, he’s clearly not 100 percent and also took what Knoblauch called a “maintenance day” on Saturday in Anaheim ahead of Game 4.
Asked about the state of his health on Sunday, McDavid responded by saying the Oilers “feel we’re all doing the best we can out there.”
Third-line center Jason Dickinson will also be a game-time decision, Knoblauch said. Dickinson, who injured his ankle blocking a shot late in the regular season, also missed Games 2 and 3.
After tightening up for the last 10 games of the regular season, the Oilers are having across-the-board defensive struggles against the Ducks. Anaheim has outscored the Oilers 17-11 over the last three games, outshot them 105-89 and scored six power-play goals. Edmonton has blown two-goal leads in consecutive games.
“Obviously, injuries are affecting how we’re playing. Obviously, there’s some, but there’s a lot of teams that have injuries and they still continue to play well. I see some of the things that we’re doing right now weren’t the things that we were doing at the end of the season,” Knoblauch said.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the best out of our group even though there’s some circumstances and some guys that are not 100 percent, but I still think we got a lot more.”
Leon Draisaitl, who missed the last month of the regular season, will be in the lineup. He, like McDavid, took a maintenance day on Saturday.
“I think every team has things that they have to battle through,” Draisaitl said. “Obviously it’s not ideal right now at the moment, but we gotta find a way to grind through it, and we gotta find a way to stick to it.”
Ingram, meanwhile, had been benched in favor of Jarry for Game 4 after allowing six goals on 38 shots in a 7-4 Game 3 loss. In the first three games combined, Ingram stopped 79 of 93 shots, a step backward after seizing the starting job down the stretch.
“I thought (Jarry) had a solid game the other night, but going down these last few weeks or months, Ingram’s been our starter. He’s been our guy,” Knoblauch said. “Now that our season’s on the line, we felt that we would go with our guy.”
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Sports
Leyton Orient criticise badge on new Wrexham third kit
Leyton Orient have criticised Wrexham and their celebrity owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, for creating a badge on their new kit which mirrors their own.
Wrexham unveiled their cream third strip on Wednesday, and received the Hollywood seal of approval with pictures of Reynolds and Mac modelling it on the club website.
But it was a new-look badge which raised eyebrows as Wrexham deviated from their traditional crest of two red dragons facing inward, a golden football, the Prince of Wales feathers with a coronet and motto, and Welsh flag colours.
Instead, the badge was replaced with two wyverns or dragons facing each other over a football, and looking remarkably like the crest of Orient.
The wyvern is the defender of the Thames in mythology and of the sea, through the old Orient Shipping Company, and adorns the badge introduced by the League One club in 1976.
Orient criticised Wrexham’s badge on their social media by asking: “What you playing at @VancityReynolds @RMcElhenney?, alongside a video of former England manager Roy Hodgson using colourful language.
Leyton Orient’s criticism comes after Wrexham pulled an anthem jacket from its club shop following swift backlash from fans over the use of a white dragon emblem.
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Sports
Ezri Konsa ‘available’ to make Arsenal debut against former club Aston Villa – Mikel Arteta
Arsenal summer signing Ezri Konsa could be set to make his debut against his former club Aston Villa on Monday night, Mikel Arteta says.
The 28-year-old completed a £51million move to Arsenal last week from Villa Park, where the England international had played since 2019.
“He’s available. He’s been training really well so I think he will be available for selection,” the manager said in a press conference on Thursday afternoon. The Premier League champions will take on Unai Emery’s side in their second league game of the season away from home.
“That’s nothing that concerns me,” Arteta added on Konsa returning to Villa Park. “If I see something different in the player, maybe I question that.
“(But) the way I have seen Ezri from day one, knowing his personality well and with all the feedback I get from the people who have worked with him, that’s nothing that concerns me.”
If Konsa is to start, he could displace Ben White at right-back or Cristhian Mosquera, partnering with Gabriel, who both started in the opening-day 3-0 victory over Coventry City at the Emirates.
Arteta said Bruno Guimaraes is “potentially available,” but the club has managed his training over the last few days due to a groin injury.
“He’s out on the pitch, he’s doing training sessions,” the manager said. “But we need to manage a lot to get (Guimaraes) to Monday in the best possible condition to be able to get selected.”
The summer signing played the first half in Arsenal’s Community Shield victory over Manchester City but wasn’t in the squad against Coventry.
As for Gabriel Jesus, the Brazilian forward was not involved in training on Thursday. Jesus’ contract at Arsenal expires in June 2027.
“It’s something to do with the numbers that we have in the squad at the moment and the way we’re managing that kind of situation individually with all the players that have some personal situations,” Arteta said.
Gabriel Martinelli is another potential departure, with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal pursuing a deal for the 25-year-old forward. Martinelli was seen leaving Thursday’s training ahead of the other players by members of the media.
“Again, that’s another personal situation that we are dealing with,” Arteta added. “Everybody knows and recognises how much we love Gabi. And whatever the outcome is, it will be because everybody agrees to that.”
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Sports
Itauma vs Hrgovic: Croat says he will send British heavyweight “back to high school”
Filip Hrgovic told British heavyweight Moses Itauma he will “send him back to high school” when they fight for the vacant IBF heavyweight world title at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.
Unbeaten Itauma, 21, is aiming to become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion in history – Mike Tyson remains the youngest.
Hrgovic, 34, has repeatedly called Itauma a “kid” in the build-up, prompting the Chatham heavyweight to admit the taunts were starting to wind him up.
But Itauma played down their impact at Thursday’s news conference. “At the end of the day, talk is cheap. It’s schoolboy banter,” he said.
An Olympic bronze medallist with an extensive amateur pedigree, Hrgovic’s only pro defeat came against Daniel Dubois in 2024.
He dismissed suggestions he was trying to play “mind games”.
“I just tell you what I think. I think he’s a kid, he’s not mature enough. I think I’m the man. I’m a much better age, much more experienced. That’s it,” he said.
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