The last time Sheldon Keefe was behind the bench, managing a goaltending tandem comprised of Michael Hutchinson and Kasimir Kaskisuo, and the games were critical, know this:
Kaskisuo was the one the coach entrusted to get the job done.
Despite his undrafted status and his less proven track record as a professional, Keefe gave Kaskisuo the lion’s share of starts during the Marlies’ three-round playoff run last spring.
Kaskisuo saw action in a dozen games, going 9-3 with a 2.14 GAA, .927 save percentage and a shutout. (Hutchinson, meanwhile, saw just 77:23 of AHL playoff action last spring and registered a .821 save percentage.)
“What I’ve come to know about Kaz is he’s a guy that enjoys big moments, enjoys challenges,” Keefe told reporters upon Tuesday’s call-up in the wake of Frederik Andersen’s neck injury. “He had a real up-and-down season with the Marlies, but down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs, he was outstanding. He was a massive reason we were able to sweep a very good Rochester team in the playoffs last year.
“I’m sure if called upon, he would be anxious for an opportunity.”
Oh, he is.
And while Hutchinson has earned the right to start Wednesday in New York and push for his fifth consecutive Leafs win in games he starts, it’s no stretch to imagine Kaskisuo seeing action Friday (versus Anaheim) or Saturday (at Montreal).
Andersen is listed as day-to-day.
Kaskisuo, 26, says he’s taking things hour by hour.
Yet the Finnish native has been eager to build upon his one lousy, wonderful NHL start.
Back on Nov. 16, when Hutchinson was deployed to the minors on a confidence-finding mission and the Maple Leafs appeared to be passive-aggressively trying to get Mike Babcock fired, Kaskisuo made his NHL debut in Pittsburgh — and was promptly devoured by wolves.
Getting pummelled behind a token effort put forth by the skaters in front of him, Kaskisuo allowed six goals on 38 shots in his dream-come-true game. The Leafs lost 6-1 to the Penguins, and Babcock was axed four days later.
Getting shelled only whetted his appetite.
“Things didn’t really go our way in the Pittsburgh game,” Kaskisuo understated in an interview with Sportsnet.
Home of the Maple Leafs
Stream 56 Maple Leafs games this season with Sportsnet NOW. Get over 500 NHL games, blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, all outdoor games, the All-Star Game, 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more.
Must’ve been difficult, being under siege and the guys in front not delivering top effort?
“It was actually kind of easy,” Kaskisuo replied. “You realize that’s your dream and just trying to enjoy every shot, every second of the game.
“Of course, the day of was kind of crazy, trying to stay as distracted as I could. But once the game started, it felt like a normal game. I mean, I have no reference point for what to expect from an NHL game, so I don’t really know if that was a really hard game or really easy game. I just tried to make all the saves that I could.
“Just some bad luck there. It didn’t really matter; I was just so excited to play an NHL game. Tough start but hopefully (I’ll) build on it.”
And he has.
Kaskisuo’s regular-season AHL save percentage in the minors has jumped year-over-year (from .896 to .912), he earned an invite to January’s AHL All-Star Classic, and the six-foot-three Finn looks back on his November call-up as a two-week reward for all that hard work on the farm.
The eyes are wide, the nerves are tingly, and the excitement is tempered with respect.
“It’s crazy. Like, looking around our locker room and seeing, like, these are the guys I’m practising with and on the same team,” Kaskisuo said. “For me it’s a comfortability thing. I’ve known Sheldon for about four years now, and it’s fun to have him around.”
No question, Andersen’s injury has forced the Maple Leafs to reach deep in the system. But Keefe has had a front-row seat and watched Kaskisuo at his best.
And if the kid gets another shot this weekend, he’ll need to be at it.
“We just gotta keep this thing moving along,” Keefe said. “We’re into the meat of it here now. No matter who we have, I’m comfortable with them.”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
