TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on the Maple Leafs. The Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators.
Midway through the third period on Tuesday night, Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn crashed the crease, falling on Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen, who had just corralled a loose puck. The six-foot-one, 197-pound Lightning forward didn’t appear to be all that interested in the puck. With the Leafs protecting a 2-1 lead, no Toronto player did anything to remove Killorn.
The team watched video of the play before practice today and discussed what happened. Sheldon Keefe was asked if he wanted to see someone come to the goalie’s defence.
“Yes and no,” the coach said. “You want someone to acknowledge it and speak up that it’s not acceptable but, at the same time, I really believe strongly that you can’t overreact to situations like that.”
“It’s all situational,” Andersen said. “I didn’t really see it happening. I was trying to battle for the puck, like, no real damage was happening so I think it would’ve been undisciplined to go after him and maybe take a two-minute penalty for something that didn’t really matter. That could hurt us even more.”
Keefe says his experience as a player has him informed how he views the matter.
“I just don’t buy into the fact that you make a big scene and you overreact and someone’s going to say, ‘Oh, OK, I won’t do that anymore.’ That’s just not reality. I think that the players know what they’re doing, they’re pretty methodical about it, you have to trust the referees are going to protect the players on the ice and it’s our job to win the games on the power play and take advantage there.”
But while Blake Coleman was called for goalie interference earlier in the game, Killorn’s jump went unpenalized.
“If they’re taking liberties and you know they’re bothering Freddie, you’re going to want to step in,” said defenceman Travis Dermott, “but it’s all situational. It’s just being smart about it.”
“We want to be standing up for each other,” said Keefe, “we’re a family and all that kind of stuff, but it’s very important, especially this time of year, that we remain composed.”
Keefe: Leafs were right to not overreact to Killorn jumping on Andersen
After Alex Killorn jumped on Frederik Andersen last night during a scramble in front, the question was asked whether the Leafs’ handled the situation correctly, or if they should have done something about it. Andersen, Travis Dermott and Sheldon Keefe give their perspective, as they believe they handled it right.
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Andersen spoke to the referee after the play and didn’t seem sold on the explanation – “He said the puck was loose” – but the Dane didn’t show any outward frustration. He didn’t allow it to shake his focus or unsettle the team.
“It fired me up a little bit and I tried to play with an edge,” the 30-year-old said.
Andersen ended the night strong stopping 32 of 33 shots overall as Toronto edged the highest-scoring team in the league. And while no one got in Killorn’s face, Andersen believes there was emotion in the team’s game and he says that has to continue.
“There has to be emotion and some sort of feeling where you want to leave everything out there and … last game was great, we came out with fire right away and took the game to them.”
It wasn’t long ago, after a blowout loss in Pittsburgh on Feb. 18, that Andersen admitted his focus wasn’t where it needed to be. He vowed to be better and has responded with a 5-1-1 run posting a .931 save percentage in that stretch.
“At the end of the day, as a goalie, I’m not going to be the loudest guy in the room,” Andersen said. “I’m playing a different sport than all the guys, technically, so the way I lead is just by playing my heart out and trying to play as well as possible and really let nothing faze me when times are a little bit tough.”
Andersen will make his 53rd start of the season tomorrow against Nashville. He was given a break last week in California and only played once in a nine-day stretch before Tuesday. Toronto only has one back-to-back set left and Keefe said there’s no specific plan to get the No. 1 goalie more rest although the team is cognizant of the need to keep Andersen fresh.
“There is an ongoing discussion, really, each day about where Fred’s at and what’s the right decision for us to make that particular day,” Keefe said.
Andersen is 9-2-0 with a .929 save percentage against the Predators, including stopping 34 of 36 shots in win in Nashville on Jan. 27.
Fired-up Andersen: ‘The way I lead is just by playing my heart out’
Lightning forward Alex Killorn landed on top of Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen after a scramble in front and it seemed to spark the net-minder, who was ‘lights out’ for the remainder of the game. Andersen downplays the situation saying ‘the way I lead is just by playing my heart out’, but he was praised by his teammates and coaches after last nights performance.
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The Leafs are 1-5 in the shootout this season after dropping another one in Los Angeles last week. Only Boston and Columbus have a worse record his season. Toronto’s only win in the skills competition came way back in November during an 11-round marathon in Philadelphia. With points so valuable right now, Keefe made the rare move to schedule a shootout drill at the end of today’s 20-minute practice.
“To be honest, it’s not an area I’ve spent a whole lot of time thinking about,” Keefe said. “But, of course, recognizing we’re at a point in time in the season where it could be a major factor (so) you’re focusing in more this time of the year on those small details that maybe get lost throughout the season. I do believe there are elements of randomness that go on in a shootout that are uncontrollable and you can’t prepare and practice for, but we tried to have more of a game-like setting to it today.”
The sides were split into two teams with the top-six forwards and extra defence shooting on Jack Campbell and the bottom-six forwards and top defencemen shooting on Andersen. Defensive defenceman Martin Marincin scored the clinching goal for the top-six team.
“That move’s a cheat code,” Andersen said with a chuckle. “He’s got the long reach and it’s like a glitch. He did a great job. He’s gotten me with that one before as well. Maybe we’ll see him in the shootout moving forward.”
Probably not. For one thing, Marincin was a healthy scratch last night and will likely be in the press box again Thursday assuming the line rushes at practice hold true.
When Toronto gets into a shootout they will likely rely on the usual suspects even though they have largely misfired. William Nylander and Jason Spezza have scored twice on four attempts to lead the way this season while Auston Matthews has one goal on six attempts. Mitch Marner has missed on all five of his. In Los Angeles, Matthews and Marner both failed to even get a shot off on Jonathan Quick.
What’s the comfort level for Matthews in a shootout?
“I prefer overtime,” he said. “Obviously, L.A., that one kind of got away from me, but I’m pretty comfortable.”
Andreas Johnsson, who is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery, is the only Leaf other than Spezza, Nylander and Matthews to score in the shootout this season.
Denis Malgin and John Tavares joined Marincin as the only players to score in today’s five round practice competition.
Leafs Ice Chips: Marincin the unlikely hero in rare shootout work
The Toronto Maple Leafs have only one shootout win this season in six attempts and with points so valuable down the stretch, head coach Sheldon Keefe wanted to work on it in practice, something that has been rare for them this season. After a good showing, could defencemen Martin Marincin be the unlikely shootout hero for the team?
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The return of Morgan Rielly was a huge boost for Toronto’s defence last night, but another key development for the Leafs has been the play of Dermott, who seemed to be stalled in his development after returning from shoulder surgery earlier this season. The 23-year-old has been elevated into a shutdown role opposite his good friend Justin Holl and has responded with his best stretch of the year.
Dermott played just over 25 minutes against the Lightning, a career-high for a game that ended in regulation. He played 25:21 in Los Angeles last week.
Against the Lightning, Dermott spent almost 11 minutes on the ice with reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov. Per the NaturalStatTrick website, Tampa Bay only outshot Toronto 7-6 in those five-on-five minutes and Kucherov failed to hit the scoresheet. Dermott’s reward was to be put on the ice in the final moments to preserve a crucial win.
“You try to keep your mind clear of all the nerves and stresses that can be out there,” Dermott said of his mindset. “Just rely on everything we’ve been taught and keep that in the back of your mind and stay close to Freddie, help him as much as we can and then take away pass lanes, try and block as many shots as you can so it’s pretty simple when you break it down like that, but it can be nerve-wracking at times.”
It means a lot, Dermott says, that Keefe and assistant coach Dave Hakstol, who runs the defence on the bench, have faith in him.
“It’s huge,” he said. “It really gives you that push and that confidence … you really start believing you can do it pretty quick.”
“He’s earned that through the fact that he’s improved his play,” Keefe said. “He’s stepped up and done a really good job.”
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.
