The Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa, Fla., on April 29.Chris O’Meara/The Associated Press
When John Tavares’s seemingly harmless toss at the crease found its way into the back of the net in overtime on Saturday, the Maple Leafs and their long-suffering fans exorcised demons that had haunted them for two decades.
In their suite above Amalie Arena, Maple Leafs management leaped around and participated in a group hug. Players on the bench jumped over the boards to join joyous teammates on the ice. Thousands gathered for a tailgate party in downtown Toronto erupted in cheers and spilled into the streets.
The last time the Maple Leafs had won a round in the Stanley Cup playoffs was 2004. Matthew Knies, the team’s prized 20-year-old rookie, was a year and a half old.
“Seeing that puck find its way in was such an incredible moment,” said Sheldon Keefe, the first Maple Leafs coach to win a playoff series in 19 years. “It was pure jubilation. You black out in the moment. You don’t even know what’s going on.”
Toronto had lost in the opening round of the postseason for seven successive years, and in seven games to Tampa Bay and Montreal in the past two. It is headed to the Eastern Conference semi-finals after beating the Lightning in overtime three times in a row in one of the NHL’s most hostile environments.
A little luck was involved – Tavares’s shot bounced off an opponent’s skate 4:36 into extra time before it went in – but it was due.
When he went into the dressing room to address the team afterward, Keefe was overwhelmed.
“It was incredibly emotional,” he said. “Everyone in the organization is there and the guys were really excited so it was hard to find words in that moment.
“I acknowledged the fact that it has been a long road for our players and that they have been through a lot of crap to get to this spot. For them to get here, they really deserve it. They have been questioned a lot so it is about time a bounce went our way.”
After they eliminated Tampa Bay in six games, the Maple Leafs will now play the Florida Panthers in the next round. The Panthers pulled off a stunning upset on Sunday night, winning Game 7 in overtime against the Bruins in Boston. Toronto will have the home-ice advantage.
It was a strange series mostly dominated by the Lightning, a veteran team that won two of the past three Stanley Cups and lost in the final last summer. They are hard to beat at home once much less three times, but it happened. First on a goal from Morgan Rielly in Game 3, then on a tip-in by Alexander Kerfoot in Game 4 and Saturday on a shot that Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay’s magnificent goalie, laid neither his eyes or glove on.
“It is pretty exciting,” said Auston Matthews, the star centre. He scored Toronto’s other goal in the 2-1 victory, had five in the series and a point in all six games. “It is really hard to put into words. It took everybody to get this job done.
“It gets the monkey off the back for a lot of us who have been here for quite a long time now. It is something we can enjoy tonight but it is just step one.”
To win, a lot of good things have to happen. Mitch Marner had two goals and 11 points over the six games. Rielly, who scored four goals during the entire regular season, had three in the series and an assist on Tavares’s winner in Game 6. Ilya Samsonov outplayed Vasilevskiy and seconds after Toronto won on Saturday he skated out to centre ice and leaped into the arms of Erik Gustafsson.
Samsonov signed with Toronto in the off-season after the Washington Capitals declined to make him an offer. He ended up taking the starting job away from Matt Murray – remember him? – and became the first Maple Leafs goalie to win a playoff round since Ed Belfour.
You want to feel really old? Mats Sundin, Gary Roberts, Brian Leetch, Joe Nieuwendyk and Alexander Mogilny were on that team.
The Maple Leafs are the first team to snap a streak of eight or more consecutive series losses in the playoffs since the Islanders did so against the Panthers in the first round in 2016. Tavares, then the New York captain, scored the winner then in double-overtime.
So why did Toronto win now? Why not last year, or the year before that? It’s hard to say.
“I look at a year ago,” Keefe said late Saturday night. “We were in this very same building in Game 6 in overtime and we had opportunities to win and it didn’t go our way. I look at Game 6 against Montreal. We had opportunities to win and it didn’t go our way.
“We have been talking about it feeling different for our team this year, but feeling different doesn’t help us. It has to actually be different. And I am glad to sit here and say it is.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
