Rookie Erik Källgren pitched Toronto’s first shutout since New Year’s Day in his first NHL start, while a reinvigorated John Tavares tallied a goal and an assist as the Maple Leafs beat the Dallas Stars 4-0 on Tuesday night.
It was a game worth watching for Leafs fans tonight — not just because the home team picked up a convincing win, but also because it was a new-looking lineup: new forward lines without Auston Matthews in the fold, a new top pair, and a new goaltender making his first NHL start.
That combination of factors produced a much-needed victory as the Leafs allowed fewer than four goals for the first time in the month of March.
Your game in 10:
1. We have to start with the story of the night: the performance of one Erik Källgren. In his first NHL start, the Swedish goalie stopped all 35 Dallas shots he faced and completed a shutout to earn his first win in the bigs.
Despite what the score may show, with only three combined goals scored before a net went empty, this was not a low-event slogfest. The Leafs‘ defense wasn’t terrible (in your author’s opinion), but Källgren still faced plenty of shots and chances.
The big story with Toronto’s goaltending analytically has been the disastrous 5v5 save percentage against scoring chances and high danger chances. Entering tonight, since the beginning of 2022, the Leafs‘ team 5v5 save percentage against scoring chances was an NHL worst .801, and the situation with high danger chances was even worse: an also NHL worst .729 (miles worse than second-worst, Seattle (.774)!!!!).
Tonight Källgren faced 29 scoring chances at 5v5, including 13 high danger chances at 5v5, and stopped them all. Just what the doctor ordered.
Källgren made a save on a 2-on-1 in the game’s early moments (one of only a few odd-man rushes conceded tonight), and that seemed to help him settle in. The highlight of the night was this stop on the snakebitten Radek Faksa:
Källgren’s positioning was excellent, tracking the puck well and knowing where he was in his crease. Deflections have been a major problem against Maple Leafs goalies in recent weeks, but Källgren had no problem against one of the great deflection artists in the league in Joe Pavelski.
If there’s one critique, it would be rebound control, as Källgren let a few too many harmless shots turn into juicy rebounds. He recovered well in all of those situations, though. The scoreboard doesn’t lie, also.
It’s often too easy to be hyperbolic about a rookie goalie’s first NHL start (remember Garret Sparks?), but Källgren gave the Leafs what they needed tonight. He has earned a chance to start against Carolina on Thursday.
2. With superstar Auston Matthews out of the lineup due to the controversial suspension over his cross-check in the Heritage Classic, all eyes were on the changes in Sheldon Keefe’s lineup. John Tavares slid into the 1C role centering Matthews’ usual wingers, Mitch Marner and Michael Bunting. That line didn’t seem to miss a step.
Sure, it hurt to not have the NHL’s best goalscorer, but what the Leafs got in Matthews’ absence from that line was a rejuvenated captain. Tavares played his best game since his heroics against Washington a couple of weeks ago, picking up a goal and an assist in the first period alone.
He scored his goal off of a deflection on a William Nylander shot while posting up in front of the net:
Tavares also had a nice pass to Ondrej Kaše on the power play that Jake Oettinger shut down and was far more noticeable throughout the game than he has been ordinarily in the last couple of months. The analytical result from his efforts? 2.41 xGF while on ice at 5v5 and more crucially, a stingy 0.24 xGA while on ice at 5v5. As a percentage, that’s 90.98%.
The Leafs have been looking for ways to get more out of their $11 M captain, and perhaps playing him with Marner and Bunting is the answer.
3. The top line didn’t miss a beat, and neither did the third line, which just keeps humming along with ruthless efficiency. All three members of the line, Ilya Mikheyev, David Kämpf, and Pierre Engvall, owned at least 65% of the expected goals at 5v5 while on the ice tonight.
Though Mikheyev was able to net an empty-net goal, it is a testament to the goaltending in the opposing net that these three didn’t produce more goals. Engvall and Mikheyev were shut down on a 2-on-1 in the second period followed by a speedy Mikheyev rush down the wing that he was stoned on (Engvall couldn’t snare the rebound). The entire line also produced a couple of chances (Kämpf hit the post) in the game’s final minute.
These three have now played 133:16 together at 5v5 this season and have owned 68.9% of the expected goals, 66.7% of the scoring chances, and 64.3% of the high-danger chances while on ice. The Leafs may have a suddenly dominant checking line in their ranks.
4. The other two lines didn’t grade out as well, although I thought the second line with William Nylander, Nick Robertson, and Alex Kerfoot had some moments.
Robertson put together a tenacious sequence on the forecheck while hounding his brother on Dallas, Jason:
Unfortunately, Nylander was also beaten defensively by Radek Faksa on the big Källgren save and the line didn’t seem to have a firm presence on ice, just appearing periodically in memorable moments. I would be very curious to see what this line could do with Auston Matthews centering it instead of Kerfoot.
5. Sheldon Keefe said after the game that he is going to stick with the top pairing of Morgan Rielly and Ilya Lubushkin for another game. Many in the Maple Leafs community are applauding that idea, but interestingly, the analytics were not polite to those two at 5v5. Rielly and Lyubushkin were on ice for 1.32 and 1.78 expected goals against at 5v5 in just 15 and 14 minutes, respectively, in Evolving Hockey’s numbers. That’s … not ideal.
However, I think Leafs fans are not off-base in their assessment that the eye test was kinder than the numbers, and it’s worth getting a little bit larger of a sample.
Lyubushkin laid the boom in the neutral zone on this hit:
Rielly’s best moments came on the power play, first leading a coast-to-coast zone entry that set up a chance for Tavares, and then netting the primary assist in setting up Ondrej Kaše’s blast:
Rielly also helped dig the puck off the wall and made the first pass to Mikheyev on the empty netter, garnering two assists in the box score. Perhaps it was just those big moments tricking our eyes, but it didn’t feel like these two played as poorly as the advanced numbers suggest.
Lyubushkin and Rielly are definitely a fascinating pair to put together: Lyubushkin is an extremely productive defender at suppressing chances against, but he can’t drive play offensively at all, while Rielly is the exact opposite.
I’ve been intrigued about this possibility for a while, and I don’t think we got a definitive answer on whether this pairing can work or not tonight. I agree with giving it a second try on Thursday.
6. The pair that was definitively terrific tonight was Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren. It’s been a bit of time since these two were together, as Sandin dealt with an ailment that held him out of the lineup and Liljegren received a stint on the top pair, but the two young Swedes have been tremendous when together on the third pair all season long.
Tonight was a banner night for Sandin, personified by the game’s opening goal:
He began the play by tying up his man in the defensive end — allowing Liljegren to get the puck and lead a clean exit — and then he flew up ice, took the pass from Marner, and finished it on the backhand. Sandin later made a great pass diagonally across the offensive zone to set up Robertson with a good look. He was all over the place on the ice, creating offense with ease.
Liljegren was not quite as sharp, but I didn’t have major complaints with his game. Both owned >65% of the expected goals at 5v5.
There’s a lot of discussion about the Leafs trading for a defenseman at the trade deadline, but right now, I feel pretty confident that this could be a great third pairing regardless of what happens in the top four.
7. It was a quiet night offensively from the TJ Brodie and Justin Holl pairing, but I thought they had another solid night. That group has been leaned on by Keefe to be Toronto’s shutdown pair since Jake Muzzin‘s second concussion, and I think there’s something to work with here. They are very steady defensively and have seemed a little more involved offensively when apart from their usual partners.
Holl, in particular, was Toronto’s best-performing defenseman at 5v5 according to xGF%, and I didn’t write down a single negative note about his game tonight. In fact, he saved a goal on the penalty kill:
I feel like it’s time that the fanbase needs to re-consider some of the narratives around Holl considering how much better he’s looked away from Muzzin. Since Muzzin’s first concussion took him out of games on January 18 (he’s played only six games since then), Justin Holl has flourished analytically: he’s owned 58.97% of the expected goals at 5v5 while on ice.
Perhaps more important for the problems that have plagued the Toronto defense recently, Holl has owned 64.23% of the high danger chances while on ice at 5v5. He has been really good lately, and the eye test backs that up. He looks much freer and more confident away from Jake Muzzin and is clearly playing his way into the Leafs’ playoff top four, in my opinion.
8. It was another good night for the Toronto special teams. The Leafs went three-for-three on the penalty kill, continuing to pad the stats of one of the NHL’s best penalty-killing units. The first and third kills were very sharp, while the second one did cede some good looks, including a whopping seven shots.
Still, David Kämpf got himself a chance while short-handed, and no goals went in the back of the net — in part thanks to Erik Källgren, and also partly thanks to the Holl block mentioned in the previous point.
The power play only got two chances, but it managed to go one for two, with the Kaše blast coming in the final moments of the second opportunity. After tonight, the Leafs’ PP is now firing at 29.6%, best in the NHL, while the PK is succeeding at 84.5%, third in the NHL.
Play at 5v5 is very important since most of the game is played at that strength, but I think sometimes the analytics community has a tendency to underrate how important special teams can be (think about a good Florida team getting ripped apart by Tampa’s PP last playoffs). If nothing else, we can say the Leafs are not overlooking the special teams, and hopefully, the excellence of both units will pay dividends when it matters.
Wayne Simmonds didn’t suit up tonight (he was seen chowing down on popcorn, though), but the line of Ondrej Kaše, Jason Spezza, and Kyle Clifford did nothing to inspire. All three created 0.4 expected goals or fewer at 5v5 while on ice tonight, and the problem of a lifeless, identity-less fourth line continues.
The central problem is largely that most all fourth line combinations that Toronto can put together include at least two veterans (two of Spezza, Clifford, and Simmonds) that don’t have a ton left in the tank. I can see the argument that Spezza is saving his energy for the playoffs (2021 is a good piece of evidence for that), but I’m not sure how much Clifford and Simmonds have left to give in the NHL, and a regular-season Spezza with one of those two just isn’t moving the needle.
Whether the Leafs need to bring up a college prospect after the NCAA season ends (Abruzzese? Knies?) or pick up a forward at the deadline to try and juice this unit, I’m not sure, but I can’t say I’m optimistic about the current names turning things around.
10. This doesn’t pertain to the Maple Leafs directly, but I thought we ought to give a proper shoutout to Jake Oettinger of Dallas. The Stars’ goalie was terrific tonight, which is a rather unusual thing to say for someone who allowed three goals. Oettinger did allow the three goals, yet finished the game-saving 1.85 goals above expected in Evolving Hockey’s numbers.
That matches the eye test. He came up with a handful of huge stops, as this was a really impressive offensive effort from Toronto. It could’ve been a much more lopsided score with a different goalie in the opposing net, but you could say the same about it being a much more even game with a different goalie in the Toronto net.
A good night for goaltending all around, but kudos to Oettinger, who is a very promising young NHL goalie.
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.
