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Auston Matthews at the top of his game

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5 years ago

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Auston Matthews already owns one of the most formidable shots in the NHL, and it’s that desire to continue being among the best driving the 22-year-old to continue refining it as much as possible.

“I try to work on it all the time at practice, trying to pick different spots, try different shots,” Matthews said after the Leafs’ outdoor practice at Nathan Phillips Square on Thursday. “And obviously [Frederik Andersen] is a pretty tough guy to score on, so it’s fun going up against him, and we’re pretty close [off the ice] so I like scoring on him in practice and just trying to pick those different areas on the ice to shoot it.”

The work Matthews has put in is paying off on the scoresheet. He’s notched seven goals in his last six games, and on Wednesday reached the 30-goal mark for the fourth consecutive season. Matthews is the first player in Leafs’ history to hit the 30-goal plateau in each of his first four campaigns, and joins a short list of 15 NHL skaters to have ever accomplished the feat.

Matthews’ shot still wowing his teammates: He can pick a corner quick, he’s deceptive

The Maple Leafs discuss how Auston Matthews has elevated his game this season and how he continues to find different ways to score.

“He puts the work in every day; he’s a hard worker,” said Jason Spezza of Matthews. “He’s a guy that takes the game very seriously. I think what we’re seeing is going to be a little more the norm, not so much a hot streak. I see him as a guy that can be like this all the time and [now] the puck is going in, but I think the consistency of his game has been great. That’s the sign of a guy really coming into his own.”

Matthews’ 31 goals put him one behind Boston’s David Pastrnak for the league lead, and he credits being healthy for the entire season to date as a catalyst for his consistency.

Over the past two years, Matthews has missed time with injuries ranging from a concussion to a separated shoulder, but now his focus has been entirely on producing.

“I try to approach every game the same,” he explained. “Not really get too crazy out there with how you prepare or how you approach any such game. Just try to go out there and do your best, have fun. I want to create as much offence as I can and help the team win and produce.”

In order to do all that Matthews has also had to zero in on his defensive play, an area where head coach Sheldon Keefe has seen him make strides.

“I’ve met with Auston about that,” Keefe said. “Whether it’s his intelligence that he has or his strength or speed, his instincts, those things can really help him defensively. The more that he can be good at that, he’s going to have the puck that much more offensively. Last night [when he scored in the first period against Winnipeg] was a great example, but he’s been doing that for quite some time here now. He’s been putting in a lot of really good work on the defensive side of the puck. So I’ve been really happy with that.”

When he puts all those elements of his game together, Matthews can become the most dominant player on the ice.

“It’s incredible the way that he’s able to control a game sometimes,” said Tyson Barrie. “His shot is obviously world class. We see it all the time now. He’s making big plays at big moments in the game too, which is huge. He’s a special player and he’s on top of his game right now, so it’s fun to be a part of.”

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When Keefe said after Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to Winnipeg that John Tavares had been “fighting it a bit” the last couple of games, he wasn’t calling out his captain for poor play. He was identifying how the Maple Leafs captain putting too much pressure on himself was ultimately impacting his ability to execute.

“One thing I know about John is he takes his responsibility and his role on our team very seriously,” Keefe said. “He takes a lot on his shoulders and he expects himself to be able to produce. With the skill level he has, he’s going to make plays and he’s going to score and all that’s going to happen for him. We just need him to not take on too much, and recognize that we got a lot of support around him and he can just relax and play.”

Tavares committed two turnovers in Wednesday’s loss that led directly to Jets’ goals and hasn’t produced a point in three games. But while owning up to his errors following Toronto’s most recent defeat, Tavares was also confident the bad puck luck plaguing him would break soon.

“I think obviously [there’s been] a couple mistakes here and there, but I think I’ve still been able to generate some good opportunities,” he said. “And if you’re able to capitalize on some, it can change the way you feel. …I’ve have had some good looks, hit the post a couple times, had some chances in good scoring areas, but I think it’s just continue to have the puck and play well in the offensive zone, defend well when you have to, continue to be strong in the faceoff circle and be hard to play against.”

Given Tavares still sits fourth on the Leafs in points with 36 (16 goals, 20 assists), and has a faceoff win percentage of 54.6, his slower stretch coming out of the Christmas break has hardly raised any alarm bells.

“Johnny’s the last of our worries,” said Spezza. “We know he’s going to work his way out of whatever he’s going through. Over the course of an 82-game season, there’s going to be ups and downs and good teams find a way to have contributions from different guys every night. There’ll be lots of nights where Johnny pulls us through games and wins us games himself, so he’s the least of our worries.”

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When a collection of Leafs got onto the subway Thursday morning with Toronto’s other commuters, bound for Nathan Phillips Square and the team’s outdoor practice, Barrie wasn’t sure if their presence – in full gear – was welcomed by others, but he knew from experience it was the best way to get around downtown.

“I take the subway every day to the game, so I was trying to show these guys the ropes,” Barrie said. “There’s a couple of pictures [people asked for], but it’s pretty cool to have a team pile on there when you’re just trying to get to work. Or maybe it’s annoying, I’m not sure. But either way, it was a cool day.”

Barrie: ‘I take the subway every day to the game’

With the Maple Leafs taking the subway on Thursday to their practice at Nathan Phillips Square, defenceman Tyson Barrie admits he takes the subway all the time.

Toronto split up into three groups for the practice’s 3-on-3 tournament based on a player’s region of origin, falling into Team East, Team West or Team Ontario.

Andersen watched the action in street clothes from the bench (he did an on-ice workout beforehand), leaving Michael Hutchinson and practice goalie David Ayres to man the nets. After a hotly contested round-robin and semifinal, Team East defeated Team Ontario for the title, which left a sour taste for Barrie and his third-seed Team West.

“I think anytime you get a group together and you put something on the line and people are watching, it’s going to get competitive,” he said. “Would have been nice to see Hutchy make a save. He kind of ruined it for our whole team, but whatever, it’s not a big deal. I’m not a big finger-pointer.”

Leafs Ice Chips: Barrie jokingly calls out Hutchinson after outdoor 3-on-3 tourney

The Leafs played an outdoor 3-on-3 round robin tournament at Nathan Phillips Square on Thursday afternoon. After being hotly contested it was won by Team East, much to the chagrin of Tyson Barrie from the losing Team West. Kristen Shilton has more.

All jokes aside, it was nice for the Leafs to enjoy some fresh air and a different practice format amid a busy stretch of games.

“It was fun,” said Keefe. “Great to see the fans out there and just to see our players have smiles on their faces and out there enjoying themselves. Nice little experience to break up our week and really break up our season.”

“It’s a lot less serious, and a lot of us grew up being able to play outside and just play shinny with our friends, so it was great,” added Tavares. “And with the way that the team is intertwined with the city and the community, it’s such a big tradition and big history.”

Thursday was the first time Keefe had been back to Nathan Phillips Square since the Toronto Raptors’ championship parade in June.

“I went at about 6:30 in the morning, just to get a feel for it,” Keefe said. “I got out of there – my family was in a different area when the actual parade was coming through – but I wanted to go and see what it would look like at City Hall there.”

Leafs discuss the ‘great experience’ of practicing outdoors: ‘It’s fun for everyone’

For the second year in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs took the subway to an outdoor practice in front of a ton of excited fans at the rink at Nathan Phillips Square. The Leafs discuss the amazing experience playing on the outdoor rink and their appreciation of the fans’ support, especially with the freezing weather.

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Keefe said the Leafs are planning to bring injured forward Andreas Johnsson with them to Florida on Friday, so he can practice with the team on Saturday and even possibly play on Sunday against the Panthers. Johnsson hasn’t played since hurting his leg on Dec. 4.

“We have no determination yet on what’s going to happen for him in terms of the game,” Keefe cautioned. “But he’s going to be out there and get to practice with us and we’re getting more towards the day-to-day type of stage for him.”

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

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17 hours ago

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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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1 day ago

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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

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1 day ago

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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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