TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on the Maple Leafs, who practised at Ford Performance Centre in Toronto on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes.
Sheldon Keefe isn’t reading too much into Toronto’s blown leads in the third period last week.
“It’s important that we don’t overreact and try to create much of a complex around here,” the coach said. “Just continue to go out and work and look at the greater sample and trust ourselves.”
Prior to last week, the Leafs had been 17-1 under Keefe when holding a lead in the final period. Then last Monday against the Florida Panthers they squandered a 3-1 lead in the third, losing in regulation after Andersen exited with the injury. On Friday, Toronto also blew a 3-1 advantage against the Anaheim Ducks before salvaging the win in overtime. On Saturday, Toronto grabbed a 1-0 edge in Montreal early in the third before surrendering a late equalizer and losing to the Canadiens in overtime.
“The trend, of course, is that they’re all third periods and all that, but when we look at the issues in each of the games there’s no real trend there for us,” Keefe said. “So, we’re hoping it’s just a funny week and the way things worked out.”
After Friday’s loss, Keefe said the Leafs played like a “fragile group.”
“We just got to get our swagger back,” said winger Kasperi Kapanen. “We’re a great hockey team and we’ve been working really hard on our D-zone and trying to be better there and I think we have, but the third period comes around and we get a bit nervous.”
In the last two third periods, Toronto has been outshot 31-5, including 16-1 on Saturday, but Keefe was actually happy with how his team defended against the Canadiens.
“Defensively, we did a really good job and that’s been a big focus of ours,” Keefe said. “We scored early and then kind of got on our heels … but we felt all the shots, including the goal, were from the outside and that’s a positive for us relative to what we were giving up in the past.”
So, what happened? A team oozing with high-end skill suddenly started misfiring.
“I just think we’re getting away from our game,” said Marner. “We’re not playing with the confidence we need … We’re not getting in the offensive zone enough. To go in and only get one shot is unacceptable. I felt like we gave the game to them in the third.”
One of the rallying cries for Keefe since taking over is “Fight the panic” and hold onto the puck more.
“It’s just supporting each other,” explained defenceman Travis Dermott, “and then if they do get a little momentum swing it’s not breaking down, it’s coming back to the net, staying deep, supporting each other, not getting too stretched out, talking and then kind of working it through that way instead of panicking, shooting the puck out of the zone, giving it back to them and letting them come right back at us. It’s sometimes hard to fight that panic.”
Keefe’s possession-based system works best when the team takes care of the puck, but on Saturday night in the third period the Leafs seemed to slide back into some bad habits.
“It feels like we’re forcing plays that we usually don’t and we’ve gotten away from,” noted Marner, “trying to just force stuff up the middle or to a stretch guy who’s by himself on an island. We know what we got to do to be better so tomorrow’s going to be a better showing for us, let’s hope.”
‘Fight the panic’: Leafs hope blown third period leads just a ‘funny week’
The Maple Leafs have given up third period leads as of late and they believe it could be an issue of confidence and some nerves. The team insists as long as they support each other, they will eventually figure it out. Mark Masters has more.
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Frederik Andersen participated fully in practice for the first time since sustaining a neck injury last Monday.
“It’s feeling good,” the goalie said after the session. “First practice back with the team today was pretty positive.”
Andersen had his own net during most of the workout while Jack Campbell and Michael Hutchinson rotated at the other end. If Andersen isn’t ready, then Campbell will start against Arizona.
Andersen got bumped a couple times in the game against the Panthers, but wouldn’t list one hit that led to the injury.
“I can’t tell you which one was the worst,” Andersen said.
Some injuries you can play through, but the nature of this neck injury makes it tough, Andersen said.
“I don’t want to go into specifics, but just making sure that I can play to the level I need to be at and making sure there are no symptoms … make sure we don’t rush anything.”
Andersen refused to answer when asked if he’s dealt with this type of injury previously.
After going 1-2-1 last week and with four more games in the next six days, the Leafs are eagerly anticipating Andersen’s return.
“Freddie’s been unbelievable so it’s big news if he is back,” said winger Mitch Marner, “and brings a little more confidence to our team.”
TSN’s Kristen Shilton has more on Andersen’s status here.
‘It’s feeling good … pretty positive’: Andersen possible to return Tuesday
Frederik Andersen didn’t want to go into detail about his injury but did say he is feeling good and a return on Tuesday has not been ruled out. The Maple Leafs goaltender also said it is important that he isn’t rushed back and he believes the medical staff is ensuring that does not happen.
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William Nylander returned to practice after missing the last two games due to an illness.
“I feel way better today, that’s for sure,” the 23-year-old said while holding a cup of chicken broth. “I don’t know what exactly it was, just high fever and just felt terrible.”
Monday’s practice was the first time Nylander skated since Wednesday’s game.
“Legs felt fine,” he insisted, “it was more so (about my) breathing after not doing anything.”
“I thought he looked fine,” said Keefe. “Willie’s a guy that loves to skate all the time and stay with that consistently so I’m sure he didn’t feel (like) himself, but we’re happy to see him back in the building.”
Nylander had been on a nine-game point streak with six goals in that span before getting sick. Is he worried some of the momentum will be lost?
“No,” he said with a grin, “I’m not too worried about that.”
‘I’m not too worried’: Nylander doesn’t expect illness absence to slow momentum
William Nylander was enjoying a good stretch personally before falling ill but he doesn’t expect any momentum that he has gained on the ice to be impacted by his brief absence.
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The flu bug seems to be making its way through the dressing room, with centre John Tavares and defenceman Justin Holl the latest to get sick. Both missed practice, but Keefe is optimistic they’ll play Tuesday night.
“I am expecting them, yes,” Keefe said. “However, it’s an illness and you don’t know how that’s going to affect our guys so a lot of those people will be game-time decisions and, of course, we’re hoping it’s something that doesn’t spread.”
Precautions are being made.
“Everyone’s just got to make sure they’re taking care,” Marner said, “and when they’re at the rink taking all the vitamins and stuff like that. It happens every year and it’s something that sucks.”
Dermott, who missed a recent game due to food poisoning, noted that players are leaning on Margaret Hughes, the team’s lead performance dietician, to help them get through the flu season.
Leafs Ice Chips: Tavares, Holl miss practice as illness hits the room
There were plenty of missing bodies at Maple Leafs practice on Monday as an illness has made its way through the room. Mark Masters has more on the sick players and who else was missing from the morning skate.
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Toronto’s offensive struggles on Saturday extended to the power play, which had a rare off night producing just two shots in two missed opportunities.
“Some of our spacing and decision-making coming out of our zone was an issue,” Keefe said. “So, you don’t get that right coming out of your zone then you’re going to end up getting jammed up at the blueline as you’re trying to enter. That’s something we had to do better.”
There was a focus on zone entries during the video session.
“Tyson (Barrie), a couple times coming out, was a little indecisive with what to do with the puck and then that stalled us,” Keefe added.
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There was a radar gun present at practice on Monday with shot speeds getting displayed on a monitor near the bench.
“I just noticed it when Kappy was shooting,” Andersen said with a smile. “I think he got it up to 60. I don’t know if he was holding back a bit.”
“It doesn’t work well for me,” a deadpan Marner said. “I don’t like it.”
Marner won’t have to worry about it moving forward, it appears. It seems like the radar gun’s presence was simply a fluke.
“I don’t know where it came from or whose idea it was, but it doesn’t interest me much,” said Keefe.
The presence of the monitor, for one day at least, did lead to some questions about which Leaf owns the hardest shot.
“Pierre (Engvall) actually has a very hard shot,” said Andersen, who would arguably know best. “Pierre’s is sneaky hard and comes at you heavy.”
“It depends what kind of shot,” said Nylander. “Wrist shot, probably Auston (Matthews).”
“It’s a tough question,” Kapanen said. “(Jake Muzzin) is probably up there or my centreman (Jason Spezza), he’s got a pretty heavy slap shot so I’d have to pick Spezz.”
Random radar gun at Leafs practice raises the question: Who has hardest shot?
A radar gun crept its way into Maple Leafs practice and although some players didn’t even notice, a few did, and it opened up some chirping possibilities. It also brought up the opportunity to wonder which player on the team has the hardest shot.
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Dealing with some bumps and bruises, winger Zach Hyman stayed off the ice on Monday for maintenance. Newly-acquired winger Kyle Clifford missed the workout to attend his grandfather’s funeral. And, at one point, Barrie briefly left the ice.
“It was a challenge,” a smiling Keefe said of running practice. “At one point we might [have] had as many goalies as we had defencemen. Coming from the American League you’re used to having different challenges such as this and guys adjusted just fine.”
VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
