The club recalled its struggling top-paid goaltender ahead of Wednesday’s practice, returning prospect Dennis Hildeby to the AHL Marlies before he had a chance to taste NHL action.
Samsonov, who maintained a stall in the Leafs dressing room during his demotion, practised with the big club for the first time since he gave up six goals on 21 shots during a disastrous 6-5 collapse to the Columbus Blue Jackets in late December.
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The move is less about getting Samsonov back into the NHL than it is about squeezing Hildeby into some games.
Hildeby’s camp and the Maple Leafs organization have prioritized the gigantic goalie’s 2023-24 as a development year. And with veteran Martin Jones slated to make a sixth consecutive start Thursday on Long Island, Hildeby’s groove of game action has been interrupted so he could sit on the bench and watch Jones do his thing.
“That’s really what it’s about,” coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters Wednesday, before jetting to New York. “But at the same time, it gives us a chance to assess Ilya and give him an opportunity to get back with the group.
“You want to see him play with confidence in the net. Right now, all we have to go off are his practices. You want to see him practise well and have good habits, and you want to see him have life about him and confidence. We’ll reassess after Friday.”
‘Great to see him back out there’: Maple Leafs’ Tavares on Samsonov
And with Joseph Woll (high ankle sprain) still weeks from recovery, and the trade market thin on reasonable alternatives, the organization is doing its best to buy time for Woll (now skating solo) and manage the situation on the fly.
“It’s all unpredictable,” Keefe said recently.
The coach was speaking generally to the state of NHL goaltending, but the sentiment applies to where, exactly, the Leafs crease goes from here.
To free up Hildeby, Samsonov will back up Jones against the Islanders.
Earlier this week, GM Brad Treliving did not outline a plan for Samsonov, who had been working on his mental and technical game with development staff for a week before participating in one Marlies practice (Tuesday) and now one with the Leafs.
The team declined to make Samsonov available to reporters following practice, protecting him from professional game action and the media.
“Part of what he’s going through is physical, but more of it is mental,” Keefe said. “You guys are fine people. But when you’re going through something, [answering questions] doesn’t help. It hurts.”
Toronto is staring at a weekend back-to-back versus Colorado and Detroit that extends to a three-in-four-nights set when you include Tuesday’s challenge in Edmonton against Connor McDavid’s red-hot Oilers.
Thank goodness for Jones, earning every penny of his $875,000 salary, but he’ll need a breath.
“I’m sure it’s challenging playing all these games, but he’s doing a great job,” Morgan Rielly said. “Jonesy’s been great. Had a great [California] trip for us. It’s not easy playing back-to-backs, but you didn’t hear a peep out of him. He just worked and played well.
“He’s just doing his thing.”
Between starts, Jones celebrated his 34th birthday Wednesday with a hockey practice.
His thing is playing goalie for the Maple Leafs. At some point, Jones will need support doing his thing.
Knies should be OK after practice scare
With Wednesday’s news of Connor Bedard undergoing jaw surgery and being sidelined for as long as eight weeks, diehard members of Leafs Nation wondered if Matthew Knies may have an outside shot at entering the Calder Trophy conversation.
Toronto’s prized rookie has carved out a niche on the club’s top line alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and has comported himself well in a forechecking and playmaking role with the superstars.
Well, Knies himself suffered an injury scare Wednesday and needed help off the ice from teammates after going down during a drill.
Maple Leafs’ Knies helped off ice after sustaining apparent injury at practice
Matthews told reporters he saw his linemate after the skate and that the injury appeared minor.
Knies will travel with the club to Long Island, an optimistic Keefe assured, and may well be available to suit up against the Islanders.
Maple Leafs’ Keefe: Knies ‘looks good,’ not ruled out of game vs. Islanders
One-Timers: Despite ripping a goal in his last-minute return to the lineup during Tuesday’s 7-1 rout of the San Jose Sharks, Nick Robertson is expected to be a healthy scratch Thursday on Long Island as Noah Gregor recovers from illness. Keefe on Robertson: “I don’t think he’s fully separated himself from the pack.”… That pack features Pontus Holmberg, one of Mitch Marner’s favourite players in the NHL. The Swede scored a beautiful one-handed goal against the Sharks and is endearing himself to the team by playing centre, left wing and right wing this season, bouncing around the bottom six. “You can do a lot with that as a coach,” Keefe said…. Mark Giordano missed Wednesday’s practice and took a recovery day instead. Expect him to play Thursday…. Marlies Hildeby and Alex Steeves were named to the AHL all-star game in San Jose.
Maple Leafs projected lines Thursday at New York Islanders
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.
