WINNIPEG — The measuring stick game or series is mostly a media creation, it’s a narrative that players and coaches rarely have any interest in engaging in.
When it comes to the question-and-answer part associated with it, there is very little to be gained by making any such declaration.
This isn’t about providing bulletin-board material or ammunition for other teams, but the simple fact remains that if things don’t go well for the Winnipeg Jets, there will be questions about the cost associated with those losses.
If a team doesn’t measure up, where do they go from there?
Even if it does go well, that doesn’t mean the Jets get to change their approach against the other five teams in the North Division.
As this three-game series between the Jets and the Toronto Maple Leafs begins on Tuesday in Toronto, it doesn’t really matter what you call it or if the parties involved want to play along.
“You’re so much more focused on your life and your journey, where you’re at, so it’s a new experience for us,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “We had a real tough game and now we want to come back and get on the right track again, with the full awareness that we’re going to see a real quality team. Over the course of the year, you see that a lot.
“Every time you play a team that is one or two in the division, you know you have to be at your best to beat them. It’s different this year because there is only one first-place team you see, and you’re trying to chase them. In terms of measuring stick, when you’ll come to the rink, you’ll know the other team has some really high-end guys on their team.”
No, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a season-defining moment for either the Jets or the Maple Leafs, but you can be darn sure that the players, coaches and management teams on both sides are curious to see how they stack up against one another as the midway point approaches.
Even if they’re doing their very best to not get into any sort of verbal sparring contest on a public forum.
“You could say it’s a measuring stick, but I think every team within our division can bring something different to the table. When you play each team nine or 10 times in one season you just have to worry about that individual series,” said Jets forward Paul Stastny. “For us, we lost the first game to them, but they are a whole different team and we’re a whole different team. We’re just excited for the challenge.
“They’ve just got a lot of finishers — like every team — but they don’t need as many chances to produce as many goals. They play a good transition game, they have good puck possession and they have a lot of creativity. All four lines have different guys who play different ways and sometimes it can create havoc, and sometimes if you play it the right way you can create chances for yourself.”
The timing for these games is fascinating, with the Jets coming off a rare blowout loss to the Montreal Canadiens and the Maple Leafs losers of consecutive games to the Vancouver Canucks.
Just last week, the Maple Leafs heard all about how the Edmonton Oilers had an opportunity to make their own statement in the first-place showdown.
Well, that ended with the Oilers getting swept in the three-game series and outscored 13-1 in the process.
Instead of building on that dominant showing, the Maple Leafs hit a rare speed bump, so you can be sure they’ll be looking to get back to the detailed approach that has made them so successful to date.
As for the Jets, they had won six of seven games before getting thumped, so it’s not like you could have made the argument the Jets were trending toward a suspect showing.
This is just the second of 10 meetings between the two clubs and the Jets have played 22 games since the last game against the Maple Leafs.
Although the final score was only 3-1, it was flattering to the Jets thanks to a 35-save performance from goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
The Jets were loose defensively and didn’t ever get their skating legs going or generate much offensively.
“Looking back to that first game, we didn’t play very good that night. We’re a lot better team than what we showed,” said Jets centre Adam Lowry. “We’re getting a lot closer to the identity and the way we want to play — that’s big, that’s fast and kind of imposing our will and that’s from controlling the puck and playing with pace. That’s going to be something we try and do.
“Obviously, the Leafs are rolling. They’ve lost a couple (games), but they’ve had a great start to the year and we know it’s going to be a tough test for us.”
Speaking of Hellebuyck, he will be looking to get locked in after getting pulled for the first time this season.
It’s been an interesting stretch for Hellebuyck, who has allowed three goals or more in seven of his past eight starts.
The numbers haven’t told the whole story either, as he’s sprinkled in a pair of 40-save outings during the same span of time.
The point is that the Jets have dipped to 14th in the NHL in goals against per game (2.83) after occupying a spot in the top 10 for a considerable stretch of time, while the Maple Leafs are holding steady in fifth (2.42).
For all the talk about the Maple Leafs’ potent offence (which is second in the NHL at 3.46 goals per game), it’s their commitment to getting the puck back defensively that has caught the attention of teams across the NHL — and specifically in the North Division.
With recent history as a guide, high-event hockey figures to be on the agenda, with an abundance of skill sure to be on display.
Resisting the urge to get into a game of trading scoring chances and staying disciplined will be essential if the Jets are to make up any ground in the standings this week.
“It’s going to be important to contain their speed. They’re a terrific transition team, they feast off turnovers and they’ve got some real high-end talent up front,” said Lowry. “So, it’s going to be important that we try and get some zone time on them. To try and limit the free chances that they get just by careless plays by us. So, it’s managing the puck properly and staying out of the box. They have a lethal power play as well.”
That power play is leading the NHL, with an efficiency rate of 31.2 per cent, so even on the rare nights when the Maple Leafs might not be operating at full potential, special teams have supplied a boost.
As the Jets find themselves in the chase position, it will be interesting to see how they respond.
It’s an area they’ve been able to excel at so far, posting a record of 6-0-1 coming off a loss.
Avoiding consecutive losses in regulation is one of the reasons the Jets have been able to stay within striking distance of first place, while so many of the other teams in the North have endured lengthy dry spells or gone through a crisis or two.
Whether you want to call it a measuring stick series or not, this figures to be appointment viewing.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
