EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Nick Cousins played every game of the Florida Panthers' 2023 run to the Stanley Cup Final and 69 more during this past season.
He was in the lineup in Game 6 Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers, a 5-1 Panthers loss that sends the series back across North America. And now it's a question of whether Cousins will play in Game 7 back at home Monday night.
Cousins has been in and out of the lineup in the playoffs, a healthy scratch the past eight games dating to early in the Eastern Conference final. He replaced Kyle Okposo on Florida's fourth line and skated 15 shifts for just under 10 minutes.
Coach Paul Maurice, who has changed up a fourth-line winger or two just about every time the Panthers lost this postseason, chalked up Cousins being out as a product of general manager Bill Zito acquiring Okposo and fellow forward Vladimir Tarasenko at the trade deadline. That depth has helped them get this far and given the coaching staff a bevy of options.
Cousins was the latest button pushed.
“We found that the players that come out and then come in, they never come in afraid to make a mistake,” Maurice said, complimenting Ryan Lomberg's play when he made his series debut in Game 5. “They come in wired. They sat out, they don’t like it. It’s not a negative emotion. It’s that they want to be a part of it so bad.”
Cousins wanted to be part of it, but he tried to handle sitting out like a professional.
“It doesn’t really change my personality,” he said. “Just come in with a good attitude and support the guys any way I can. I’ll always be a good teammate whether we win or lose. But the guys have done a really good job of getting some wins and getting to us to this point.”
Evan Bouchard has, rightfully so, gotten a lot of attention for his 32 points, second only to Connor McDavid among all scorers in the playoffs, with his 26 assists being the most by a defenseman in an NHL postseason. But the Oilers are only in the final because of a change coach Kris Knoblauch made last round inserting Philip Broberg into the lineup and reeling off three consecutive victories to beat Dallas.
Broberg has two goals and an assist in nine strong games, playing just under 16 minutes a night.
“We put him in a difficult situation,” Knoblauch said. "Game 4, Dallas, almost a must-win game and we put him in a situation where he played really well, and since then, he’s only continued to play better and better. We’re very fortunate to have him, and we wouldn’t be in this situation without him. I think he’s helped our team.”
Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner not only stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in Game 6 to keep the series going, he also had a primary assist on Darnell Nurse's empty-net goal with 3:03 left. Skinner made a miraculous save on Matthew Tkachuk, then played the puck to Nurse, who sealed the victory.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) moves the puck between Florida Panthers' Nick Cousins (21) and Gustav Forsling (42) during the first period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Florida Panthers' Nick Cousins (21) catches a high stick from Edmonton Oilers' Derek Ryan (10) during the third period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. The Oilers won 5-1 to tie the series. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
HONG KONG (AP) — The sole candidate in the election for Macao’s next leader on Saturday pledged to diversify the economy of the Chinese casino city, a goal previously laid out by Beijing.
Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, said at a news conference that the diversification is a key issue he must address. At a separate event, he told election committee members who will vote on Oct. 13 that the city has learned a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Macao's tourism and gaming industries suffered a big slump because of the virus controls before China rolled back its “zero-COVID” strategy in late 2022.
Sam said just relying on the gaming industry is not enough. “Otherwise, how could we handle it if big disasters arise?” he said.
Sam, 62, is widely expected to secure the leadership in next month's vote, during which a 400-member committee — mostly dominated by establishment figures — picks the leader. Most of the semi-autonomous territory’s population of 687,000 does not have a right to vote. He would be the city’s first leader from mainland China.
During the application period, he already received nominations from 386 committee members. The city’s safeguarding national security committee affirmed his loyalty to China and Macao.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed hopes that the former Portuguese colony can promote healthy and sustainable economic development and diversify its economy, which its gaming industry has dominated for decades. Macao is the only place in China where casinos are legal.
In May, incumbent Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng said the gaming industry accounted for less than 40% of the city’s gross domestic product, down from its past contribution of about 60%. Last year, his government rolled out a diversification plan to boost the tourism and leisure industry and other sectors such as traditional Chinese medicine, finance, and exhibition and commerce.
Ho decided not to seek reelection due to health reasons.
Sam was born in Guangdong province in 1962 and graduated from the law school of Peking University in Beijing. He studied the Portuguese language, culture and law at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. He once worked as a lawyer in mainland China.
Sam was the city’s top judge from when Macao returned to Chinese rule in 1999 until he resigned in August.
Critics have questioned his ability to administer a government given his lack of business and executive background.
He previously said he has worked and lived in Macao for nearly 40 years. He argued his understanding of Macao is no worse than that of many well-known figures and likened his experience of managing the city’s courts to running a small government.
Sam has also handled some politically sensitive cases during his tenure, including upholding the police’s ban on a vigil commemorating China’s bloody 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. The top court also ruled in the authorities’ favor over their decision to bar pro-democracy figures from joining the legislative election in 2021.
The sole candidate for the upcoming election for the Macao chief executive post, Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, waits for questions near the slogans "Entrepreneurship and Solidarity, Persistence and Innovation" at a press conference at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex in Macao, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Kwan)
The sole candidate for the upcoming election for the Macao chief executive post, Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, speaks near the slogans "Entrepreneurship and Solidarity, Persistence and Innovation" at a press conference at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex in Macao, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Kwan)
The sole candidate for the upcoming election for the Macao chief executive post, Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, waves as he leaves the stage after a press conference at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex in Macao, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Kwan)
