Sports

Campbell gets another start in Leafs net

Published

5 years ago

February 11, 2020

Freddy is getting steady, but he’s not quite ready to resume his goaltending duties with the Maple Leafs.

Frederik Andersen again skated on Tuesday morning at Scotiabank Arena ahead of the Leafs’ date with the Arizona Coyotes, but the Leafs’ No. 1 netminder will be a spectator for the fourth game in a row.

Andersen has not played since suffering a neck injury on Feb. 3 against the Florida Panthers.

Jack Campbell will make his third consecutive start since being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings last Wednesday.

“Just part of the process,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said, referring to Andersen. “He was wanting to get another skate in today and see how he felt. He’s been progressing very well and working towards a return, but not quite there yet.”

Andersen could return for the Leafs’ next game, at home against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

Campbell, who will be backed up by Michael Hutchinson against the Coyotes, helped the Leafs gain three of a possible four points in his first two starts against Anaheim and Montreal.

“I like the confidence he has in himself and the confidence he brings to our team,” Keefe said. “He’s excited for every opportunity that comes about, whether it’s coming in and playing right away in essentially his first day with us or playing on the back-to-back nights or playing today, when maybe he wasn’t coming to the arena thinking that he would be starting. He is prepared for everything that comes.”

Campbell has made a fine first impression on his Leafs teammates.

“He’s great, his energy is awesome,” forward Alex Kerfoot said. “He has a good attitude. A fun guy to be around.”

Leafs captain John Tavares and defenceman Justin Holl, who missed practice on Monday because they were sick, will be game-time decisions, Keefe said. The Leafs had an optional morning skate and neither player was on the ice.

“They were in the building this morning and feeling a lot better than yesterday,” Keefe said. “We will have extras in warmup and make our decision at that time.”

It’s expected William Nylander, who missed the past two games with illness, and Zach Hyman, who had did not practise on Monday as he had a maintenance day, will be in the lineup.

The Coyotes, who beat the Canadiens in Montreal on Monday night before travelling to Toronto, did not hold a morning skate.

The Leafs will try to leave in the recent past a spate of inconsistent play, especially in the third period. In three of their four games last week, the Leafs let leads in the third period disappear, eventually losing two of those games, to Florida and Montreal.

“Each game was unique in its own sense,” Keefe said. “We’re not overthinking that.

“We believe in our group and we’re confident in the greater sample of what we’ve done. We want to make sure that we just focus on starting fresh and putting ourselves in that position again so we can get it right.”

The Leafs go into the game with 66 points and in third place in the Atlantic Division, two points up on Florida. The Panthers, who have a game in hand on the Leafs, visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.

The match carries just as much weight for the Coyotes. Arizona is on the outside of the playoff picture with 63 points, sitting in ninth overall in the Western Conference.

Coyotes forward Taylor Hall has 20 points (eight goals and 12 assists) in 23 games since being acquired from the Devils on Dec. 16.

In 14 career games against the Leafs, Hall has three goals and six assists.

Source link

Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

14 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

___

This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

___

AP sports:

Source link

Sports

Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

14 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

Source link

Sports

Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

Source link