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'A man possessed,' Hyman adding offensive layers to his game – TSN

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TSN Toronto Reporter Mark Masters reports on the Maple Leafs, who held an optional practice at the Ford Performance Centre on Friday ahead of hosting the Winnipeg Jets Saturday night.

Looking for a spark on Thursday night, Sheldon Keefe promoted Zach Hyman to Toronto’s top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. And Hyman made an immediate impact winning a board battle behind the Winnipeg net moments before Marner got the Leafs on the board in the second period.
 
“He’s playing like a man possessed,” Marner told TSN in an intermission interview. “He’s really taken it to another level these past couple games.” 
 
Hyman’s relentless work ethic is his calling card, but more and more the gritty winger is showing he can create his own offence. An end-to-end rush on Tuesday was further evidence that the 28-year-old isn’t done developing. 
 
“He’s been lights out,” said Matthews. “He’s extremely easy to play with because you know he’s just going to get in there and battle and work. He’s scored a couple really, really nice goals lately. He’s really been letting the hands come out to play.”
 
Hyman has four goals and two assists in the last eight games.
 

 
 Hyman is up to eight goals and eight assists in 26 games this season. He is averaging 2.65 shots per game, which is up from 2.07 last season. 
 
“We’re encouraging him to hang on to the puck a little more,” revealed Keefe. “We know he’s great at retrieving the puck and those type of things and we still obviously need that from him, but I love the way he challenges the defencemen. He doesn’t let them off the hook. He doesn’t make it so they can go back for a puck all the time. Sometimes he’s just burying his head and challenging them to take it from him. It opens up a lot of things for him and creates more space for him … He’s adding different layers to his game offensively.”
 
Hyman has proven he can boost any line he’s on. Most recently, he’s been the driving force on the third unit with Pierre Engvall and Ilya Mikheyev. 
 
“He’s attacking middle ice, making plays, getting shots from the middle of the rink,” said Keefe. “There are a lot of things happening in his game that are really good and really encouraging for our team. No matter where we’re playing him he’s just being himself.”

With Hyman on the top line, Joe Thornton saw shifts beside John Tavares and William Nylander while Alex Kerfoot filled in on the third line. Keefe hasn’t hesitated to bring out the blender and try new combinations during games. 
 
“He’s got a really good sense of where the game’s going and he makes really good adjustments,” Matthews told the boys on TSN 1050’s OverDrive during an interview Friday afternoon. “He’s really good at reading the game. You always come in with a game plan and you always come in with a lineup, but if it’s not working out I think he’s shown he’s not afraid to mix up lines and move people around to see if he can spark something … I don’t mind that at all.”
 
Following practice, Keefe said no decision had been made about what the lineup will look like in the rubber match against the Jets.
 

‘A man possessed’: Leafs’ Hyman is ‘letting the hands come out to play’

Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and Sheldon Keefe describe what stands out to them about how Zach Hyman is playing right now.

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Matthews scored a highlight-reel goal in overtime to give Toronto its first third period comeback win of the season. 
 
“That was unreal,” said Nylander. “It was sweet.”
 
“So fast,” Tavares marvelled. “Incredible set of hands he’s got. A special player made a special play.”
 
“He’s a star, that’s what they do,” said Keefe, who pointed out Matthews must’ve been gassed considering he was almost a minute into the shift. “That’s big-time stuff.”

One day later, the Leafs were still buzzing about the latest dazzling move by the NHL’s goal scoring leader. 
 
“It’s just exceptional,” said defenceman Travis Dermott. “He doesn’t have too much time with the puck there and he’s able to make a deceptive play and then get it over to his backhand and tuck it cheese within a quarter of a second.”
 
“It’s a world-class goal,” agreed forward Jimmy Vesey. “I know there’s more [open] ice in three-on-three overtime, but to have a guy closing on you and then to make that move and put it under the bar just shows Auston’s skill-set. He’s been the best goal scorer in the league this year.”  

Matthews is up to 21 goals in 25 games and has a five-goal lead on Edmonton’s Connor McDavid in the Rocket Richard Trophy race entering play Friday night. TSN’s senior hockey reporter Frank Seravalli ranks Matthews third on his mid-season Hart Trophy ballot. 
 
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it and it didn’t cross my mind,” Matthews said on OverDrive when asked about the awards. “But I don’t think that’s like something I truly, really focus on. When I’m out there before the game or on the ice, I’m not thinking like, ‘Oh, I need to win the Rocket Richard. I need to score.’ I’m out there, obviously, trying to score, but to help the team win and doing more than just scoring.”  
 
Matthews leads the NHL with seven game-winning goals, which is two ahead of Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl. 
 

‘That’s big time stuff’: Leafs still buzzing over Matthews’ OT magic

The Leafs share their thoughts on Auston Matthews’ incredible game-winner against Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets, with Jimmy Vesey calling it a ‘world-class goal’.

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Nylander seemed to be getting increasingly agitated on Thursday night as Connor Hellebuyck denied a series of Grade A chances. Normally a cool customer during games, Nylander snapped the blade of his stick at the bench. 

“Sometimes it’s good to get frustrated,” he said with a smile after the game. “I like it.”
 
So do his teammates. 
 
“I love seeing Willy fired up,” said Dermott. “He can be one of the most dangerous players in the league when he wants to be. I don’t trust too many guys with the puck on their stick more than Willy.”
 
Nylander eventually did break through with a big goal in the third period courtesy of a beautiful set up from Tavares. And after the dust settled on the 4-3 win, Keefe declared that Nylander had played his best game of the season. 
 
“He just looked determined,” the coach observed. “Determined to score, determined to make a difference. He starts the game with a blocked shot. He’s right in the lane … and he gets rewarded with a breakaway. There were a number of examples like that. He’s been all over the net making plays, doing a lot of good things with the puck and had a ton of opportunities to score and then a great individual effort by JT to find him and that’s a great shot. It’s not an easy shot to make across the body like that as a righty.”

Nylander and Tavares have struggled to produce goals in five-on-five play this season, but really seem to be coming on of late. Nylander now has six goals in the last eight games. 
 
“We’ve built off a couple good stretches here and this is where we want to be every night,” said Nylander. 
 
“I like what we’re doing a lot without the puck,” said Tavares, “which is setting up a lot of good things offensively. When we do get the puck I like the way we’re filling three lanes in the offensive zone [and] spreading the opponent out to open up plays in the middle of the ice. Something we’re getting better at, but can do more is just getting more pucks to the net.”

‘Sometimes it’s good to get frustrated’: Nylander bringing his best

William Nylander is not frustrated easily, but on Thursday night it was visible. Nylander explains that he didn’t have to calm himself down because sometimes it’s just good to get frustrated.

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Nylander made a brief cameo on the ice at Friday’s optional practice firing a few shots on Jack Campbell, who is working his way back from a leg injury. 
 
“For those who play a lot for us, we wanted to give them an opportunity to have some time away,” Keefe said of Friday’s plan. “Everybody was here in the building, of course to get tested first and foremost, but everyone kind of had their own thing today whether it was treatment or a workout or a meeting with a coach. We really haven’t had a day away at all here since returning from out West.” 
 
The Leafs will face the Jets again on Saturday before heading to Ottawa for a showdown with the Senators on Sunday. Campbell would be in line to start the second half of the back-to-back set if he’s cleared to return. Campbell hasn’t dressed since re-aggravating a leg injury in Edmonton on Feb. 27. 
 
“In terms of my concern level, I would say low given that it does appear to me that there’s been consistent progress,” Keefe said. “So it’s just a matter of time. It’s really a day-to-day thing and it looked today like another good day so we’ll see where that puts him tomorrow.”

Leafs Ice Chips: Resting before the rubber match; Campbell concern ‘low’

Fresh off their big overtime victory over the Jets, the Maple Leafs held an optional practice on Friday, with most of the regulars deciding to stay off the ice. Sheldon Keefe also updated the status of goaltender Jack Campbell, who re-aggravated a leg injury during Toronto’s Western Canada road swing. Mark Masters has more.

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Vesey isn’t sure why Thornton has started calling him ‘Hollywood.’
 
“He’s probably called me 15, 20 nicknames at this point,” the Boston native said. “That’s the latest one. He’s been coming up with these nicknames for me with a California theme. He’s got seven California-themed nicknames for me and I don’t really know where it came from. You’ll have to ask him.” 

Thornton’s creativity in nicknaming his new teammates – including ‘Willy Styles’ for Nylander – has helped keep the Leafs dressing room a fun place this season. 
 
“Jumbo’s loud and always buzzing and getting everybody laughing,” Matthews said. “He’s always got something on the go and he’s so loud. The minute he starts talking people start filtering in because they can hear him from the other side of the room and they’re like, ‘OK, what’s this guy got to say today?'”
 
Thornton has played coy so far when asked to explain the thinking behind the nicknames. 
 
Vesey doesn’t seem to carry himself like a Hollywood star although he is getting used to the Toronto spotlight. 
 
“I’m starting to feel more comfortable and getting a little more confidence with the puck,” Vesey said. “I think that’s a result of getting a couple goals in Edmonton and then carrying that over. I feel confident and I’ve been progressing, especially over the last couple weeks.”

The uptick in play coincided with Vesey’s demotion to the fourth line. 
 
“We’d like to see him really grab onto that role,” Keefe said. “That’s kind of where he is now and he needs to really latch onto that role and responsibility in order to stay there.”
 

Thornton impresses Leafs with longevity, nick-naming ability

The Maple Leafs will try to end their three-game losing streak tonight when they host the Jets again. In the past, Toronto has struggled to deal with adversity, which is one reason why they added some veterans last off-season to help deal with situations like this. Like Joe Thornton, who has been playing a ‘jumbo’ role. TSN’s Mark Masters has more.

 
—
 
Players on the ice on Friday: 
 
F: Agostino, Boyd, Kerfoot, Nylander, Simmonds, Vesey
 
D: Bogosian, Dermott, Marincin, Rosen 
 
G: Andersen, Campbell, Hutchinson 

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Washington Capitals 3-2 win ends Dallas Stars’ winning streak

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October 18, 2024

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored to help the Washington Capitals end the Dallas Stars’ season-opening winning streak at four with a 3-2 victory Thursday night.

Wilson’s goal was his third in three games, Strome his second of the season and Raddysh his first since joining the team in free agency last summer. Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves as the Capitals wrapped up this early homestand with back-to-back wins.

The Stars fell from the ranks of the league’s unbeaten teams despite a short-handed goal by Colin Blackwell and one at even strength from Jason Robertson. Rookie Oskar Bäck set up Blackwell for his first NHL point.

Casey DeSmith was screened on two of the three goals he allowed on 26 shots.

LIGHTNING 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the winning goal with less than a minute to play just 1:27 after Brandon Hagel had tied it and Tampa Bay rallied to beat Vegas.

Kucherov’s second goal of the game with 55 seconds left was his sixth of the season.

Janis Moser had a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who remain unbeaten. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves.

Brayden McNabb, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev had goals for Vegas. Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots.

Jack Eichel, with two assists on Thursday, now has 10 points this season in five games and reached reached double-digit points faster than any other player in Vegas history. He is the 10th U.S.-born player to accomplish the feat.

After Barbashev put Vegas up 3-2 early in the second, Hagel pulled Tampa Bay even at 3 with 2:22 remaining in the third.

BLUE JACKETS 6, SABRES 4

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier each had a goal and an assist and Daniil Tarasov made 21 saves to help Columbus to a win over Buffalo.

Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Zachary Aston-Reese and Damon Severson also scored for Columbus, and Zach Werenski added two assists.

Ryan McLeod, Owen Power and JJ Peterka scored for Buffalo, and Jiri Kulich added his first NHL goal. Devon Lev stopped 19 shots for the Sabres (1-5-1), who have lost two straight road games and five of their first six overall.

CANUCKS 3, FLORIDA 2, OT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — J.T. Miller scored 2:09 into overtime and Vancouver got their first win of the season, beating Florida.

Teddy Blueger and Quinn Hughes had goals for Vancouver, with Kevin Lankinen stopping 26 shots.

Anton Lundell got his fourth goal in the last three games for Florida and Jesper Boqvist also scored for the Panthers, who got 30 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky.

Florida remained without forwards Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness).

DEVILS 3, SENATORS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots and lost his shutout bid in the final minutes as New Jersey beat Ottawa.

Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who won for the third time in four games and improved to 5-2-0.

The Senators, who were coming off an 8-7 overtime victory against Los Angeles on Monday, struggled to beat Markstrom.

Brady Tkachuk was the only scorer for the Senators, beating Markstrom, with a power-play goal with 65 seconds remaining in the third period.

Anton Forsberg, making his second straight start and hoping to rebound after getting pulled Monday, made 32 saves in the loss.

Haula opened the scoring early in the second period and Bastian added a short-handed goal, giving New Jersey a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Cotter scored midway through the third.

RANGERS 5, RED WING 2

DETROIT (AP) — Artemi Panarin had his eighth career hat trick and New York rolled to a victory over Detroit.

Panarin became the first Rangers player to have multiple points in the first four games of a season. He scored twice on the power play. Vincent Trocheck also had a power- play goal and assisted on all of Panarin’s goals.

Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in his season debut. Victor Mancini also scored.

The Rangers have won the last five meetings, including twice this week. New York had a 4-1 home victory over Detroit on Monday night.

Moritz Seider and J.T. Compher scored for Detroit. Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals.

KINGS 4, CANADIENS 1

MONTREAL (AP) — David Rittich made 26 saves a night after being benched in the second period in Toronto, helping road-weary Los Angeles snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over Montreal.

Los Angeles improved to 2-1-2 on a season-opening, seven-game trip necessitated by arena renovations.

Rittich rebounded after allowing four goals on 14 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Alex Laferriere, Mikey Anderson, Andreas Englund and Adrian Kempe scored.

Justin Barron scored for Montreal (2-3-0). Sam Montembeault stopped 28 shots. He made a save on Kevin Fiala on a penalty shot.

BLUES 1, ISLANDERS 0, OT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joel Hofer made 34 saves and assisted on Jake Neighbours’ goal at 2:04 of overtime in St. Louis victory over New York.

Hofer had his second career shutout in his and the team’s second overtime victory of the season.

Philip Broberg carried the puck into the New York zone and made a centering pass to Neighbours for the winner.

Islanders goalie Ilya Sorkin made 29 saves.

Blues defenseman Nick Leddy sat out because of a lower-body injury, the first game he has missed this season. Leddy played in all 82 games last season.

OILERS 4, PREDATORS 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brett Kulak scored twice and Connor McDavid added his first goal of the season to lead Edmonton to a victory over reeling Nashville.

Jeff Skinner also scored and Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for the defending Western Conference champion Oilers, who have won consecutive games after beginning the season with a three-game skid.

Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored and Juuse Saros made 32 saves for Nashville (0-4).

Forsberg’s goal midway through the first period gave Nashville its first lead of the season. That lasted less than six minutes before Kulak tied it.

Kulak sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute for the defenseman’s first career two-goal game.

BLACKHAWKS 4, SHARKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Foligno each scored a power-play goal, and Chicago beat San Jose.

Taylor Hall and Jason Dickinson also scored for Chicago. Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists.

Hall, who missed most of last season because of right knee surgery, put the Blackhawks in front 4:20 into the first period. It was Hall’s first goal since Nov. 5 and No. 267 for his career.

Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored for San Jose, which trailed 3-0 early in the second. William Eklund and Mikael Granlund had two assists each.

The Sharks dropped to 0-2-2 under Ryan Warsofsky, who was promoted to head coach in June.

Petr Mrazek had 20 saves for Chicago, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 stops for San Jose.

KRAKEN 6, FLYERS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Eeli Tolvanen, Jordan Eberle, and Shane Wright scored three goals in less than three minutes in the second period and Seattle held off a Philadelphia rally in a victory.

Tolvanen’s goal broke a 2-2 tie at the 14:57 mark. Eberle made it a two-goal game with a goal at 17:44. Eight seconds later, Wright scored to give Seattle a three-goal lead.

Jared McCann tied the game at 2-2 with the first of Seattle’s four second-period goals.

Cam York and Jamie Drysdale scored to pull Philadelphia within 5-4 in the third period, but Oliver Bjorkstrand responded with a goal to push Seattle’s lead to two with just over five minutes left in the game.

Scott Laughton scored twice for the Flyers in the first period, while Brandon Montour scored one in for the Kraken.

Chandler Stephenson had an assist in his 500th NHL game. Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.

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Canada’s Dabrowski, New Zealand’s Routliffe out of Japan Women’s Open after walkover

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October 17, 2024

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OSAKA, Japan – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are out of the Japan Women’s Open tennis tournament.

Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Romania’s Monica Niculescu advanced to the final on Thursday by way of walkover.

The fourth seeds were supposed to play the top-seeded Dabrowski and Routliffe in the semifinals.

Bucsa and Niculescu will next face third-seeded Ena Shibahara of Japan and Laura Siegemund of Germany in the final.

Dabrowski and Routliffe defeated Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to advance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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Mountain West commissioner says she’s heartbroken over turmoil surrounding San Jose State volleyball

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October 17, 2024

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is “not what we celebrate in college athletics” and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.

Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.

A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they will not take the floor when the Wolf Pack are scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. They cited their “right to safety and fair competition,” though their school reaffirmed Thursday that the match is still planned and that state law bars forfeiture “for reasons related to gender identity or expression.”

All those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, went ahead with its home match on Thursday night, which was won by the Spartans, 3-1, the team’s first victory since Sept. 24.

“It breaks my heart because they’re human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. “It just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year’s presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,” Trump replied before he was asked what can be done. “You just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen.”

After Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said “it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”

San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians’ “fairness” references, and Nevarez did not go into details.

“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”

The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship.

“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it’s a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,” Nevarez said.

Ahead of the Oct. 26 match in Reno. Nevada released a statement acknowledging that “a majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit against San Jose State. The school said only the university can take that step but any player who decides not to play would face no punishment.

___

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