The Maple Leafs held a practice and scrimmage at the Ford Performance Centre on Saturday.
Frederik Andersen has a theory about how Toronto’s top stars got so many odd-man rushes against him during Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Something our team needs to adjust for a little bit is they’re cherry picking,” the Leafs goalie said with a smile. “I haven’t seen Willie be in their end yet.”
William Nylander scored two goals in leading Team Matthews past Team Andersen 6-2 in the second of five planned scrimmages at training camp. The series, which pits close friends Andersen and Auston Matthews against each other, is now even at a game apiece.
“It’s a best-of-three now,” Andersen said deadpan, “so we’ll recover and reset here.”
Andersen is facing a stiff test in the scrimmages as Team Matthews features Toronto’s top two forward lines, which is a hard group to keep in check at the best of times. Matthews (on a breakaway) and John Tavares (on a two-on-one rush) both scored during Saturday’s romp.
“All joking aside, they’re some of better players in the league, some of the deadliest players when they get the puck in the scoring situation so that’s a tough opponent,” Andersen said. “It’s good for me to be able to see a lot of shots from them.”
Andersen posted the worst save percentage of his NHL career (.909) while starting 52 of Toronto’s 70 regular season games. It’s imperative that the Leafs get the 30-year-old feeling good about his game during this training camp.
“He had a tough day in the scrimmage,” head coach Sheldon Keefe acknowledged. “I think that his team has to do a better job in front of him. I thought he was the real stand out of the day yesterday … he’s just like everybody else, finding his way to get ready to play and I’ve got no doubts that he will be.”
”I’ve been feeling really good in practices,” Andersen said. “The game situations, getting the timing of everything and reading plays, yeah, that’s what’s kind of missing and these games are good for that stuff.”
Jack Campbell, acquired in a February trade with the Los Angeles Kings, has stabilized the back-up spot, but Keefe made it clear the Leafs will go as far as the six-foot-four Dane carries them.
“Frederik Andersen, from my perspective, was a big reason why that series against Boston went to seven games [last year with] the work that he did to be the backbone of the team at different times. We feel good about his ability to do that. So, when you have somebody who has done it for you and has that ability you’re going to give them more of an opportunity, of course, and trust that they’ll find their way … Fred’s our guy and we have to do all we can to have him prepared.”
Andersen jokes that Nylander is cherry picking at Leafs scrimmage
After a lopsided loss to Auston Matthews’ squad, goaltender Frederik Andersen joked that the opposing team was cherry picking a bit during Game 2 and they’ll be ready for the third and deciding game. Mark Masters has more on the confidence Sheldon Keefe has in his goaltender.
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Andersen, who posted a .922 save percentage in the series against Boston last year, is using the early part of camp to experiment with some new equipment. The CN Tower pads from Bauer, which he wore before the pandemic pause, are gone.
“Just something I’m trying to work out so that’s all I’ll say about that,” Andersen noted coyly. “I’m just trying to make sure I can be the best I can be.”
How important is the feel of equipment to a goalie?
“It means everything,” he said.
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Zach Hyman took a Jason Spezza shot off his leg during special teams work on Friday and appeared to be in a great deal of discomfort. After chatting with the medical staff, he completed the on-ice work. But the winger missed Saturday’s practice and scrimmage. Per NHL policy, Keefe could only say Hyman was “unfit” to take the ice.
In his absence, 18-year-old Nick Robertson got the chance to skate alongside Matthews and Nylander.
“Really didn’t want to disrupt anything else too much,” Keefe explained. “It was a good chance to give Nick a chance to be able to play with those guys and if it can help his confidence and his experience a little bit, I thought that would be a good thing. It wasn’t about Nick, frankly, it was just more about making sure we had consistency throughout the rest of the lines that we wanted to maintain.”
Nick Robertson with a shorthanded goal gives Team Matthews a 3-1 lead midway through the first period of #Leafs scrimmage pic.twitter.com/SwTSZlSChC
Robertson scored a shorthanded goal in the scrimmage and was a force on the forecheck, but afterwards Keefe did his best to slow the hype train.
“I know you guys want to make the story about Nick but that’s not the story of the day for me,” the coach said. “Every experience we can get for Nick is a positive one and if something breaks free and really starts to come together than that’s a positive for both he and us, but we’re just really focused on getting our team ready.”
Keefe indicated there will likely be a different look on that line for Sunday’s scrimmage.
Robertson, who scored 55 goals in 46 games with the Peterborough Petes, skated in Toronto’s reserve group in Friday’s practice.
Leafs Ice Chips: With Hyman out, Robertson promoted
Zach Hyman wasn’t on the ice for the Maple Leafs scrimmage on Saturday and as Mark Masters reports, that gave rookie Nick Robertson a chance to skate alongside Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
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During the season pause, Mitch Marner made an appearance on the Connor Carrick Podcast telling his former teammate that “the award that would be really cool to be acknowledged for is the Selke.”
The 2019-20 nominees for the Selke Trophy, given to the league’s top defensive forward, will be unveiled on Monday. Marner was asked how close he feels to being in the conversation.
“No idea,” he said. “At the start of the season you just put goals in your mind to try and do, but at the same time when you’re playing hockey you don’t think about them too much.”
“He tried really hard when he was a bit younger to really grow that area of his game and he’s done an outstanding job,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly. “He understands the importance of it and has worked really hard to improve it and it’s obvious with how he plays in our end. He takes that very seriously.”
As he looks to take another step in that department, Marner has been keeping a close eye on St. Louis Blues centre and reigning Selke winner Ryan O’Reilly.
“I got the chance to play with him at the Worlds and see how professional he is on the ice, at practice and everything like that,” Marner said. “He doesn’t get as much love as he should. He’s a guy that every single night plays his heart out. He plays every aspect of the game right. He plays power play, penalty kill, if you need a goal or need to stop a goal from going in, he’s always on the ice to do any of those things. That’s the guy I really enjoy watching.”
Marner points out that centres are often viewed as the top defensive forwards so in the future he wants to put himself in a position to be trusted to take face-offs while continuing to fine tune his play around the net.
The 23-year-old is also determined to help the Leafs penalty kill get better. Toronto’s unit was absolutely torched by the Boston Bruins in the last two playoffs.
“We got to talk more coming into our zone,” said Marner, who is on Toronto’s top PK unit alongside Hyman. “When get a chance to jump pucks we got to go at people fast, make people feel uncomfortable on the power play and when we do get those opportunities to get outs we got to be talking to each other and figuring the best way out. And also keeping the shifts short and keeping everyone fresh on the ice. The best penalty kill is when you’re fresh and able to go 100 per cent the whole time.”
During the regular season, Toronto’s kill rate was 77.7 per cent, which ranked 21st in the NHL.
Selke-minded Marner is studying O’Reilly’s game
Mitch Marner admits he made it a goal at the start of the season to be in the discussion for the Selke Trophy as one of the top defensive forwards and says he’s learned a lot from last year’s winner Ryan O’Reilly.
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Lines in Leafs scrimmage: BOLD = Participated in main practice session
TEAM MATTHEWS Goals: Nylander (2), Matthews, Malgin, Tavares, Robertson
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.
OTTAWA – Travis Green might not have liked the end result, but he’s counting on his team learning from the effort.
Green’s Ottawa Senators were handed a 3-1 loss by the New Jersey Devils Thursday night in a game that highlighted the importance of sticking with things.
“I thought both teams played pretty well,” said Green. “I thought we had a lot of the game that I liked, but I thought there’s a few moments where it got away. We got away from our game, and they stuck with their game a little longer.
“There’s always momentum back and forth for one team to create some chances. It’s a fine line between winning and losing in the league, especially when you’re playing, two good teams are playing.”
Jacob Markstrom’s 30 saves also played a part, with the Devils goaltender only getting beat with 65 seconds left in regulation as the Senators were on the power play with an empty net.
Brady Tkachuk tipped a Claude Giroux shot to spoil Markstrom’s shutout bid.
“Outstanding,” said Devils coach Sheldon Keefe of his goaltender. “Just terrible that he doesn’t get the shutout that he deserves in this one here.
“You feel for him when they make that (penalty) call. You can just kind of feel like it’s going to give them a little extra life. But he was outstanding for us, no question.”
The two teams were scoreless after the first period, where each had to fight for every opportunity. Noah Gregor rang a shot off the crossbar for the Senators, but otherwise, neither team was able to generate much offensively.
The Devils capitalized in the second as a power play expired with Erik Haula redirecting a Johnathan Kovacevic shot past Anton Forsberg, who made 32 saves.
Less than four minutes later, Nathan Bastian took advantage of a Giroux giveaway and beat Forsberg low blocker for his first of the season with the Devils short-handed.
“I liked our second period a lot,” Keefe said. “We took hold of the game and didn’t give up much, and when we did, I thought it was really from the perimeter, only a couple there.”
The Devils tightened up defensively in the third and were able to make it 3-0 when Paul Cotter was left alone in the slot.
“I think for stretches of the game we played the right way and kind of get in on the forecheck and play that way,” said Senators centre Nick Cousins. “It seems like when we get down a couple goals, we kind of change our game, which isn’t a recipe for success in this league.
“I think we’ve just got to keep doing the right things over and over again, even when it’s 2-0.”
With the Senators just four games in and still learning and adjusting to a new system, Green understands there will be growing pains along the way.
“We’re also trying to define our game,” he said. “I think we’re getting there. Both teams play fast. It was a fast skating game. There wasn’t a lot of room to move out there for either team.”
In his short tenure behind the Senators bench, Green has seen his team play very different styles of games and knows there will be nights like this along the way, but learning from them will be key.
“There’s going to be a lot of nights where you kind of got to earn everything you get,” admitted Green. “It’s not going to be freewheeling. Good teams don’t play freewheeling hockey.
“You learn when you win, you learn when you lose games that you don’t play well. You learn when you lose games that you had a pretty good game but you still lose and you’ve got to find a way. Good teams find a way to win those games.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens fell 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. They also lost their top minute-muncher in the process.
Matheson logged 7:35 in ice time during the first period but did not return for the second because of an upper-body injury. When or how Matheson sustained the injury was not clear. The Canadiens said he would be re-evaluated on Friday.
The game was tied at 1 before he exited, forcing the Canadiens to play with five defencemen for 40 minutes.
“Mike is one of the biggest parts of our D core, and I think losing him — he’s playing against top line, playing power play and we want him on the ice — definitely losing him was a big loss,” teammate David Savard said. “We got to figure out a way to get the two points, even if a player goes out.”
The 30-year-old Matheson of Pointe-Claire, Que., led all Canadiens defencemen with 62 points and a 25:33 average ice time last season.
With his absence, rookie sensation Lane Hutson played a whopping 30:05 in only his seventh NHL game. The next closest player? Kaiden Guhle at 23:09.
Head coach Martin St. Louis was impressed with how the 20-year-old Hutson handled the challenge.
“Lane doesn’t take a shift off,” head coach Martin St. Louis said. “I love the consistency of his compete level, and he drives possession. For a guy who played 30 minutes, I think he gave everything he could to try and help the team.
“I’m not surprised. I know it’s challenging at this level, losing Mike definitely made him play many minutes, chasing the game made him play many minutes, but I just love his compete level.”
Canadiens fans have been clamouring for Hutson — a five-foot-nine, 162-pound defenceman with world-class skill — to take Matheson’s spot on the No. 1 power play.
The Canadiens, however, went 0-for-3 with Hutson running the show after Matheson went down. In the first instance, Kirby Dach took a hooking penalty early in the man-advantage to end it. On the second, the Canadiens failed to generate any zone time.
The third came in the final minutes, but the Kings buried an empty-netter.
“It wasn’t a lack of opportunity, lots of ice time, lots of shifts,” Hutson said. “It was good, it was fun, but obviously you want to be on the other side of it, winning.
“Means a lot (to get that opportunity), but obviously, you want to get more out of that opportunity. It’s a lot of ice, and you want to keep taking steps in the right direction.”
‘IMMATURE EFFORT’
The Canadiens fell to a Kings team that had lost three straight games and was coming off a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Under those circumstances, the Canadiens were brutally honest with themselves after the game.
“Definitely disappointed,” captain Nick Suzuki said. “It was an immature effort from us, especially with them playing yesterday and getting in late, so I think we gave them too much life, and let them feel comfortable in the game. It’s on us to be a lot better than that.”
Before the game, St. Louis stressed the need for a good first period against a fatigued Los Angeles side. That’s not what he saw Thursday night.
“I think we had 14 turnovers in the first period. It’s unacceptable. It gives them life,” he said. “Then you’re chasing the game for the second half of it — we didn’t play to our standard.
“I’m really disappointed. Really disappointed.”
BIG SAVE DAVE
Kings goalie David Rittich played his second game in two nights — an unusual occurrence in this day and age of the NHL. He made 25 saves after allowing four goals on 14 shots in Toronto.
“We always believe in him anyway, but he performed today pretty well and bounced back,” defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov said. “It’s probably like most important for himself, that’s huge, and for the team. He played outstanding today.”
LONG ROAD
The Kings are opening the season on a seven-game road trip because of renovations at Crypto.com Arena. They’ve collected six of a possible 10 points so far.
“Pretty much worse (than expected),” forward Phillip Danault said. “We’ve been on the road for three weeks … It’s good team-bonding, whether we should do it again I’m not sure, but it has turned out well let’s say with six points out of 10.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
