In these troubled, unsettled and unprecedented times, I’m looking forward to the Leafs disappointing me this season as a reminder of more pleasant, stable times.
FIRST PERIOD
New Leaf Zach Bogosian endearing himself to me early by breaking up a pretty hapless 2 on 1 by the Habs:
The Leafs get their first chance of the game on a 2 on 1 of their own, with Auston Matthews feeding Mitch Marner:
The Leafs get the bulk of what scoring chances were to be had in the first seven minutes, but Zach Bogosian puts them on the PK after tripping up Kotkaniemi in his own end.
We got to see our first Matthews’ FOGO PK strategy, which… happened is the most I can say about it. Frederik Andersen was only tested once off a rush, and stood tall on the shot and subsequent rebounds.
The Habs strategy for the rest of the PK seemed to be to pass around the perimeter then fire a slap shot from the point. Shockingly, it didn’t work and the Leafs killed it off with some ease.
After the Leafs killed the penalty, they came back with a line of Nylander-Tavares-Mikheyev and generated a good chance that Mikheyev couldn’t put home:
Leafs have some good shifts, but Hyman touches the puck as he’s changing and drew a too many men penalty… not the smartest decision Zachary. And the Leafs pay for it, a slap pass by Petry bounced off the post, and Nick Suzuki was in the right place to put home the rebound in the open net.
You know, when the Leafs are at even strength they’ve been pretty dominant. They’ve given Montreal NOTHING, and even if they haven’t generated any goals are great scoring chances they’re doing much better than Montreal, and controlling play.
I was mid-sentence writing that last thought when WILLIAM BILLIAM NYLANDER TIES THE GAME! Great point shot.
After the goal the Canadiens got their first good shift at evens. The Leafs got caught scrambling, especially Freddie, he got knocked out of his net and knocked his stick away. They got out of it unscathed.
They didn’t get out of the period unscathed, as Josh Anderson ripped a wrister past Freddie off the faceoff. 2-1 Habs. A characteristic Leafs lapse after a good period the rest of the way (at even strength), in the final minute of the period.
First Period Thoughts:
Offense: the offense was… okay. They had some goodish chances that led to one goal, and they did control play at even strength until pretty much the last minute of the period. They had the Habs doubled up in scoring chances and expected goals until that point.
Defense: the defense was actually very good, until the final minute of the last period. They finished up 20-15 in shot attempts and 0.31 to 0.18 xGF (via NST)… until that last minute when it swing to 0.45 to 0.31 for the Habs. Not a high octane period.
Lines: The fourth line got murdered in shot attempts and scoring chances. The Matthews line with the Muzzin-Holl pair were under water as they were who was on the ice for that final minute and got scored on. But they also had the most offensive chances driven. The Tavares-Nylander line with the Rielly-Brodie pair did some good things. Keefe started with the lines as advertised, but when they were down a goal the line blender came out. We saw Simmonds up with Tavares, and Hyman up with Matthews.
Special Teams: the first PK looked good, if only because the Habs powerplay looked awful. The second PK they got picked apart on the goal against, albeit with a bit of an unlucky bounce.
Heatmap:
SECOND PERIOD
The second period is starting like the bulk of the first period went. The Leafs are controlling play, but not getting a lot of quality. Simmonds had the best chance so far after a Spezza pass from behind the net:
And just like the first period started, Bogosian put the Leafs onto the PK.
Unlike the first period, the Leafs don’t kill off the Bogosian penalty. They did a mostly good job right up until the last 10 seconds, when a bad change led to a breakaway — if not a 2 on 0 — and Tatar put the Habs up 3-1. Bit of a weak one for Andersen to give up, but it’s also a breakaway oh my god this is last season all over again.
The Leafs respond to the goal against by looking like they were still killing a penalty. By the time they start getting some offensive zone time, Simmonds gets into a fight with Chiarot and the fight was as exciting as the game has been. Oh, but the Leafs get a PP from it? I won’t complain! SIMMONDS THE MVP!
Leafs get some okay-ish chances, but no goals from it. The next several minutes are pretty uneventful. Leafs are getting more zone time, but Montreal is shutting the Leafs out of any dangerous areas. Finally the Leafs get a bit of a break with Vesey drawing a penalty. WILLIAM BILLIAM NYLANDER! Waits patiently, edges into the middle of the ice and flicks a wrist shot top shelf. Good work in front by Hyman. Leafs cut it to 3-2 Habs. Spezza got an assist for his 600th career apple.
Right after the goal the third line drew another penalty, putting the Leafs back on the PP for a chance to tie it. And right after THAT Weber put the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty, Leafs get a 5 on 3 PP for 1:57. Leafs put out their Unit of Death with Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares and Rielly and Tavares gets a goal with a sweet little deflection off a Marner feed. We’re all tied up!
Leafs end the period with a regular 5 on 4 powerplay, and do get one chance they can’t capitalize on. The period ends tied at three.
Second Period Thoughts:
Offense: Was more of the same from the first period, but the Leafs avoided having a big lapse like they did in the final minute. Shot attempts were 10 to 9 for the Habs, expected goals were basically tied 0.33 for the Leafs and 0.30 for the Habs.
Defense: Basically what I said above. They had a better period over all in shutting down any Habs offense, mostly due to not having one disastrous stretch.
Lines: Things largely seemed to go back to the pre-game plan for the top two lines. The Matthews line dominated, pulling way ahead in shot attempts and scoring chances. They’re also playing a LOT of minutes. The Tavares-Nylander line continued to be strong. The third and fourth lines continue to get killed, though they’re not playing a lot either. On defense, the Brodie-Rielly pair is doing very well, and Dermott is somehow well ahead of all the other three defensemen on his own.
Special Teams: Funny how the Leafs looked bad when they were down 0-3 in penalties, and then that evened up suddenly they looked better and the game is now tied. The game is tied 1-1 at even strength, and now 2-2 on special teams.
Heatmap: It’s been a very tight game overall. Leafs have a slight edge in shot attempts, Habs have a slight edge on expected goals. This is true both at even strength and on special teams.
THIRD PERIOD
Just over a minute into the game, and the Leafs turn an offensive zone faceoff into a Josh Anderson goal the other way, after he blew by Tavares. Andersen should have had that, and the Leafs are now down 4-3.
Freddie redeems himself a few minutes later when Suzuki undressed Rielly and got in alone on net. Brodie had a stretch pass in the air batted down by Suzuki, who I’m afraid to report looks really good. Anderson had a shot on the rebound that Freddie managed to stop as well.
We’re five minutes into the period and the Leafs have gotten nothing going. Montreal has slowly been taking over the game.
BUT WHO CARES WHEN WE HAVE JIMMY BIMMY VESEY! He’s making a better impression than other first time Leafs. The Leafs catch a break as the Habs defenseman tried to pass the puck behind the net and hit the ref. Willy picked it up, fed Vesey, and he made no mistake. Tie game 4-4.
The game has started opening up more. Both teams have almost matched the last two periods in expected goals through just over half the third period. Shots are tied, game is tied, expected goals might as well be tied. It’s as close a game as I can remember seeing. Habs are getting chances, but the Leafs are getting theirs too:
Mikheyev got a breakaway that Price stopped, and it was a bit end to end without great scoring chances for either side. A close game, of course, goes to overtime. Here’s hoping the Leafs’ skill heavy, top-heavy forwards and defense give them an edge.
We get some end to end action, with Rielly almost sneaking one through Price. Both teams look gassed. Except Kerfoot and Mikheyev who have barely played lol. AND TAVARES LEADS A 2 ON 1 AND FEEDS RIELLY FOR THE WINNER! LEAFS COME BACK AND WIN 5-4!!!
Final Thoughts:
It was a very evenly played game. It was high scoring because of the powerplays, but there wasn’t a lot of chances — or good chances — until the third period. The top lines carried the team, as you would want and expect. The bottom two lines and pretty much every defenseman but the Rielly-Brodie pairing got tanked pretty hard.
I saw two big red flags from the game. One, Freddie let in two softies. I hope that goes away fast, it looked an awful lot like last season. For what it’s worth, he made some good saves after the fourth goal. Second, I have some questions for the decisions that Keefe made in terms of who played with who, and who played how long. A mild red flag is how the bottom 6 performed (not great). I honestly don’t expect them to do great against a team as deep as Montreal’s — that’s THEIR strength — but they got murdered to an extent you don’t want to see.
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.
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