adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Sports

Game #39 Review: Toronto Maple Leafs 5 vs. New Jersey Devils 4 (OT) – Maple Leafs Hot Stove

Published

5 years ago

 on


The most important thing is the Toronto Maple Leafs picked up another two points.

Was it hockey that will make them successful in March, April, May and beyond? No. But do they need points more than anything else right now? Yes. It’s not like they have breathing room to try other things out. They need points.

A win is a win, but beyond that, the hope is that Ilya Mikheyev is okay. He suffered a wrist laceration on a nasty skate cut and went straight to the hospital. The broadcast indicated he will be okay and we are definitely all thinking of him. Get well soon, Ilya.

Your game in 10:

1.  After an entertaining but kind of sloppy win against Carolina, I was curious to see how the team would respond riding a hot streak and playing against a weaker team, especially following the time off. The first few minutes were fine; the Leafs had a number of chances, including William Nylander and Mitch Marner in the slot. But a John Tavares turnover was capitalized on, giving the Devils the early lead instead. It marked the first time the Leafs have trailed in the first period with Sheldon Keefe as head coach.

In truth, the Leafs just generally outplayed them to start the game – they outshot the Devils 18-9 in the first period and probably could have been up 3-1 or 4-1 after the first.

2.  The Leafs had a four-minute power play in the first period and didn’t get a ton out of it, and then suddenly scored. The best chance up until their goal was probably Morgan Rielly, from the top of the circle, just missing on a backdoor pass to Kasperi Kapanen where he would have had a tap in. The second unit was the one that cashed in through Zach Hyman in front of the net:

We have wondered about Hyman as a net guy before; in this game, he cashed in there. That’s his game: greasy, battle-winning rebound goals. The second unit was much better than the first unit during that extended power play look.

Of note: When the Leafs did the drop pass breakout on the PP, there was only one player back instead of the two that they were starting the season with.

3.  There were so many things to like on the Leafs’ second goal. In particular, they actually lost the offensive zone faceoff, but Ilya Mikheyev and William Nylander were ready to go and were aggressive, skating right through their checks and causing a turnover. From there, they cycled it to the point, put the puck to the net, and benefitted from some good work in front to tip the puck.

It’s noteworthy that the Leaf who put the immediate pressure on the Devils, Mikheyev, was the one who got to the net at the end of the play to score the goal. Nylander was the one who actually reclaimed the puck and he was dancing throughout the first period. We’ve seen this type of response from him after being demoted before. He ended up with a three-point night and three shots on net in a little over 16 minutes of ice time.

4.  A game that started to feel in control for the Leafs began the second period with a penalty and then a delay of game penalty while shorthanded. The Devils tied it immediately. There wasn’t much they could do on the goal itself – a shot from the point deflected straight to a Devil on the side of the zone, leading to a relatively easy goal. When it went back to being a 5v4, the Leafs got a little cute on the penalty kill and almost got burned by it.

First, it was Pierre Engvall and Ilya Mikheyev getting caught in the offensive zone; Engvall had a nice backcheck, but a sharper team would have a 3v2 rush to try to capitalize on. Mikheyev went for a change on that play and on came Kasperi Kapanen, who gave it away in the defensive zone trying to make a pass to a tired Engvall instead of just shooting it down. The Devils worked the puck around and had a few good chances after that.

5.  This website for the past few weeks has been noting that Kasperi Kapanen is a right winger. We have seen enough evidence for the time being that he cannot play left wing in the top six. Two coaches have tried it now. Back on the third line on the right side, he scored a great goal showing him at his best, flying down the right wing, protecting the puck wide and using his shot — which is great.

It’s also worth mentioning that he was back on the half-wall on the power play on his one-timer side. He has kind of bounced around on the power play playing every role except defense at one point or another. Kapanen actually played almost 20 minutes on the night – only Tavares, Marner and Matthews played more than him among forwards on the team.

6.  Tyson Barrie complained right after the Devils’ tying goal, but he was way too nonchalant playing the puck and paid the price. Seconds before, he helped to kick start the partial 2v1 rush for Devils by pinching without real support, but Marner hustled back to help break it up.

After the goal, the Leafs put out the Muzzin – Holl pairing with the Gauthier line; they got outplayed (after an initial shot attempt by Spezza) and had to ice the puck on the shift. I wonder how many more times we will see that line get used after a goal against after that. Nobody on that line played over seven minutes on the night and this doesn’t seem sustainable to have basically a non-existent fourth line that isn’t making any impact.

7.  It’s not Tyson Barrie’s fault on the next goal (a 2v1), but he also could have played it better. Anytime the pass gets through, the defense is of note on the play. All your job is in that situation is take away the pass; if the goalie is beat clean on the shot, there isn’t much to say. The goal was primarily on Kasperi Kapanen, though, as he got way too cute at the offensive zone blue line and got burned.

That was three goals in about ten minutes for the Devils, the second straight game the Leafs were sloppy for an extended period of time and got burned. To the Leafs credit, they did respond with a good run of offensive shifts. Engvall got robbed, Tavares missed a tap in, and the Leafs had three shifts in a row of a strong offensive push.

Tavares put seven shots on net in this game, by the way, as he was all over the place making plays.

8.  Before the Leafs scored on the power play to tie the game, it was a 4v4 and in order to preserve the top power-play unit for the man advantage time, Keefe went with Kerfoot – Kapanen / Muzzin – Dermott. I think Rielly was just getting some rest there because he was just on the ice (he doesn’t play top power-play unit right now).

The strategy worked — the Leafs put their top unit on once the power play started and they tied the game relatively easily. Nylander made the pass to Tavares for an easy goal (for him anyway). This isn’t particularly surprising, but of all Leafs playing their off-wing on the power play half-wall, Nylander seems the most comfortable. Matthews has a kind of awkward one-timer, but Nylander does not.

Matthews had a really awkward one-timer in overtime on the power play that led to a zone clear for the Devils. When it was 4v4 again with a little over a minute to go in a tie game, it was the same four Leafs that were trotted out for the 4v4 shift again.

9.  Before the Leafs tied it, Michael Hutchinson made a big save on Jack Hughes, who got in all alone in front of him. It wasn’t a banner night for him – he let in four goals – but none of them were awful. The criticism of him has been pretty simple to this point: While every goal is not exactly bad, he has to make a save at some point. Ultimately, he picked up his second straight win and this is kind of where it’s at with this team: If he makes one or two big saves and doesn’t let in anything awful, he has a chance to collect a win.

10.  I legitimately have no idea what Damon Severson was thinking on his own goal to end the game, but it was a somewhat fitting way for it to end as the game was pretty loose and messy overall. It was a nice play by William Nylander to create the turnover, but he was the one that turned it over in the first place for Hughes to take possession. At times over the years, we have seen Nylander turn those pucks over and not work to get it back, so it was nice to see that second effort from him — he was rewarded accordingly.

Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New Jersey Devils

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

4 days ago

 on

November 8, 2024

By

 

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

___

AP cricket:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

4 days ago

 on

November 8, 2024

By

 

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

4 days ago

 on

November 8, 2024

By

 

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

—

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending