This Original Six battle on Hockey Night in Canada turned into an 11-goal barnburner.
While the Leafs‘ play wasn’t always pretty, five unanswered goals in the third period are almost always enough to overcome any sloppiness in the preceding 40 minutes.
Here is tonight’s game in 10:
1. The Leafs did not exactly start this game on time. With Morgan Rielly caught deep on a turnover high in the offensive zone, Dylan Larkin scored just 75 seconds in on a partial breakaway off of a nice pass from Vladislav Namestnikov. At the first commercial break, Detroit held a 7-2 shot advantage over a Leafs team that looked half asleep.
Fortunately, the Leafs manufactured a response. Ondrej Kase nearly tied the game up when play resumed. Pierre Engvall, one of Toronto’s best players in the period, didn’t capitalize on his first high-danger scoring chance of the period, but he tied things up with three-and-a-half minutes to play in the opening frame.
The goal itself wasn’t pretty, but Engvall transitioned the puck all the way down the ice from deep in the defensive zone to get the play started. Rielly threw a weak backhand shot towards the slot, where Engvall was rewarded for driving to the net.
Engvall also made a nice defensive play to break up a potential odd-man rush earlier in the frame, so it was a well-earned reward on the scoreboard. The Leafs were outshot 15-9 in the opening frame despite zero penalties for either team, but Petr Mrazek managed to keep the game tied.
2. Much like the first period, the Leafs failed to start the middle frame on time. TJ Brodie’s breakout pass went right to a Red Wings player in the neutral zone before Vladislav Namestnikov scored just 76 seconds in off of a scramble in front. Tyler Bertuzzi then doubled the lead just 55 seconds later when Brodie took away the pass on a 2-on-1 and Bertuzzi roofed the puck over Mrazek’s glove.
You would think that two quick goals against would wake the Leafs up, but Lucas Raymond just missed making it 4-1 a couple of minutes later. It looked like the Red Wings were on the power play up until the period’s first commercial break. Rielly and Brodie were on the ice for all four of the game’s first four goals, three of which were against Toronto.
Down two, the Leafs finally started to gain some momentum about halfway through the second. William Nylander drew a tripping call in the neutral zone to draw the first power play of the night before Auston Matthews had a good chance on the man advantage.
While that power play came up empty-handed, a line of Michael Bunting, David Kampf, and Ilya Mikheyev jumped over the boards afterward and brought the game to within one. After some good cycle time, Bunting nicely redirected Justin Holl’s point shot from the high slot.
Toronto came close to tying the game up soon after. Bunting, Matthews, and Rielly didn’t convert on a 3-on-1 before Marner and Kampf failed to take advantage of their own odd-man rush.
The Red Wings ended up scoring the game’s next goal after the Leafs took a sloppy too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty, leading to Larkin’s second of the game thanks to a power-play one-timer.
The score remained 4-2 into the second intermission, but the final minutes of the frame were far from uneventful. Both goalies made multiple good saves that bailed out their defenders, and we got to see a scrum in the final moments, featuring — unsurprisingly – Michael Bunting in the middle of it for the Leafs.
3. The third period started just like the other two with Dylan Larkin’s line generating plenty of chances in the opening minute. Fortunately, the Red Wings didn’t score 75 seconds into the period this time!
The game finally slowed down a bit, and it wasn’t until around the halfway mark when we finally saw the puck cross the goal line. A strong shift from the reunited Bunting, Matthews, and Marner line created the goal, with Bunting picking up his second of the night on a tip in front. It was fully “game on” with the score at 4-3 and 10 minutes left to play.
Sheldon Keefe reverting to Toronto’s usual lines seemed to be the spark the team needed. The Tavares line spent the majority of their next shift in the offensive zone before the Matthews line jumped on and scored again.
Guess who? With his hometown of Scarborough hosting Hockey Day in Canada, Michael Bunting completed the hat-trick to tie this game at 4-4. Marner was incredible on the shift, setting up Bunting for two high-danger chances and weaving his way past multiple defenders to pick up the assist.
The Leafs then went for the throat. Matthews nearly scored a go-ahead goal with a little over four minutes to play before Engvall set up Spezza for a good chance shortly after.
It ended up being an unlikely hero for the Leafs who scored the game-winner: Rasmus Sandin picked up his first goal of the season off of a great set-up from John Tavares with under three minutes to play.
The Leafs nearly blew the lead within a minute; Lucas Raymond’s point shot deflected off of Brodie’s chest and hit the cross-bar. Fortunately, Robby Fabbri took a hooking penalty right after and Mitch Marner capitalized with an empty-net goal.
With 11 seconds to play, Tavares tacked on a second empty netter to make it 7-4 Leafs as your final score.
4. The Leafs went with the “balanced” lineup approach again tonight, with Auston Matthews between Michael Bunting and Ondrej Kase, John Tavares between Ilya Mikheyev and Mitch Marner, and David Kampf between Alex Kerfoot and William Nylander. Overall, these lines played fairly well against Anaheim, although John Gibson prevented them from scoring an even-strength goal. It was worth another look, but Keefe went back to his normal lineup by the third period with the team chasing the game.
Facing a multi-goal deficit, it’s not surprising Marner returned to Matthews’ wing, but we’ll see if Keefe really has the resolve to actually keep the Bunting, Matthews, and Marner line apart for Monday’s game against New Jersey. The trio was dominant in their period together, and the Tavares line also played better as soon as Kerfoot was back on the left side.
5. Petr Mrazek made his sixth start of the season tonight against the team that drafted him in the city he called home for six seasons. Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly go according to plan early on.
The first goal against was off of a nice move and finish from Larkin in alone. The second wasn’t really on him, either, and the third came off of a nice shot from Bertuzzi. It would have been nice if he came up with a save on one of those goals, but there wasn’t a real softy among them. Larkin’s power-play goal went off of the edge of his pad and in, which I saw as his worst goal against of the night.
It wasn’t a perfect game by any stretch, but I’m going to give Mrazek some credit tonight. He made some big saves late in the second period to keep the Leafs in it before stopping all seven shots in the third period. He wasn’t amazing in this one, but he stayed in the fight and was good enough to pick up the win.
He’s now 4-2-0 on the season, and one of those losses came in Arizona where Karel Vejmelka turned into prime Dominik Hasek for a night. With a back-to-back coming up against New Jersey, we’ll see Mrazek back in action as soon as Tuesday night.
6. The fourth line was great tonight. All three members led Toronto in expected goals percentage (xGF%). Engvall got on the scoreboard and came awfully close to a multi-goal game, while Spezza nearly scored the winner late in the third. It is the only line that didn’t get broken up after 40 minutes.
The fourth line has been great as of late whenever Engvall is on it but terrible without him. I’m not comparing Engvall to McDavid or MacKinnon, but Spezza and Simmonds really benefit from his transition skill and two-way game.
Engvall put five shots on goal and now has five points in his past five games. I understand that he’s big and not all that physical, but I don’t want to hear any complaints about Engvall for a while. He’s a valuable piece of this roster.
7. I have to bring up the contract again: Michael Bunting’s cap hit is just $950k through next season. Toronto’s front office found the bargain of the offseason here.
He’s been an excellent fit on the team’s top line. The Leafs had a major hole to fill when Zach Hyman left for Edmonton on a big-ticket deal, but Bunting has gone a long way in making up the difference, including a 24-goal pace in the first half of the season after tonight’s hat trick. His courage, instincts, and touch around the net are a fantastic complement to two world-class players.
On top of that, he’s helped make up for the loss in the fan-favourite department; we’ll see plenty of Bunting jerseys around the city of Toronto sooner rather than later given his style of play. The scrum at the end of the second period was a small thing, but it’s important to have players that refuse to go away quietly and remain competitively engaged even when a game isn’t going the team’s way.
In the preseason, it looked like Bunting was set to start the season on the fourth line. Nick Ritchie was given the first chance in the top-six with a cap hit that suggested he was the “Plan A” to help replace Hyman. I don’t think the Leafs even expected that the Bunting signing would work out this well, but it’s a huge development that one of their options has been such a boon to the top six.
8. With Jake Muzzin out of the lineup again, the Leafs partnered Sandin with Holl and Dermott with Liljegren for the second consecutive game. Surprisingly, it was the Rielly-Brodie pairing that was on for all three goals against at even strength; they also came close to giving up a fourth in the final minutes.
Given how strong the Rielly-Brodie pairing has been this season, I don’t think we can read too much into tonight. It wasn’t a particularly strong night for any of the pairings; Liljegren had a couple of bad giveaways early on, and the Sandin-Holl pairing got hemmed in their own end a few times.
That said, I wouldn’t say that the bottom two pairings were completely terrible, and it was nice to see Sandin rewarded with the game-winning goal. He hit the post multiple times the other night and had somehow gone seven straight games without a point. It’s going to be interesting to see who comes out of the lineup when Muzzin returns, but the high quantity of games coming up should lead to a regular rotation.
9. The Leafs failed to start each period on time tonight. I’m not going to call this a trend — they’ve had plenty of early leads lately — but Sheldon Keefe and the coaching staff can’t possibly be happy with their starts to periods tonight. Maybe going back to their normal lineup will help, but more than any line configuration, I think they were simply half-asleep tonight for much of the first 40 minutes. On the bright side, it was nice to watch the other team blow a two-goal lead for once.
The Red Wings are better than they used to be, but they’re still a bottom-10 club by most metrics. The Leafs are expected to outplay them, and while they’ll take the two points, they didn’t exactly do that tonight. They ended up winning the shots on goal count 37 to 35, but score effects played a major role in that, and they waited until halfway through the third period to play their best hockey.
It’s no secret that the Leafs will be judged by their playoff success; it’s tough to call tonight’s performance a step in the right direction in terms of the process they’re looking to achieve toward that end.
With Bunting locking down his spot at the top of the lineup, Ilya Mikheyev and Alex Kerfoot earning Keefe’s appreciation in their roles, and Engvall playing so well down the lineup, I have no idea who would sit if the team acquired a forward for the left side. Adding a defenseman like Manson might be addressing the biggest need at this point, but we haven’t been able to watch the Muzzin-Holl pairing much lately, and their play in February and March will be a big determining factor in the direction Dubas takes.
Who knows if Anaheim — currently first in the Pacific — will even end up selling at the deadline or if the Leafs are willing to pay the price if they do. It feels like we’ve been hearing about Manson as a big-bodied, defensively-sound option for their right side for years now. They probably could have used him tonight.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
TORSBY, Sweden (AP) — David Beckham and former England coach Roy Hodgson were among the soccer dignitaries who attended the funeral of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday in the Swedish manager’s small hometown of Torsby.
Eriksson’s wooden coffin was covered in white flowers and surrounded by six tall candles and other floral wreaths as the ceremony began inside the 600-seat Fryksande church.
“It is a day of grief but also a day of thankfulness,” the priest, Ingela Älvskog, told those in attendance.
Beckham, who arrived by private jet on Thursday, greeted Eriksson’s 95-year-old father Sven and other family members with hugs inside the church before the funeral started.
Eriksson became England’s first foreign-born coach when he led the national team from 2001-06, and made Beckham his captain.
Eriksson, who also won trophies at club level in Italy, Portugal and Sweden, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 76, eight months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had at most one year to live.
Some 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church from 1898 were reserved for his family, friends and players from his career in the football world, according to his agent. The remaining seats were open for the public, according to Eriksson’s wish, with a big screen set up outside the church where hundreds more gathered to watch the ceremony. The funeral was also broadcast live on some Swedish media websites.
The wooden coffin was wheeled in by pallbearers at the church Friday morning as fog wrapped Torsby — a town of about 4,000 people located about 310 kilometers (193 miles) west of Stockholm. Next to the casket was a photo of Eriksson on a small table. The floral wreaths included ones sent by FIFA and Lazio, the Italian team that Eriksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
The ceremony began with somber piano and organ music, but later took on a more upbeat note with Swedish singer Charlotta Birgersson performing Elton John’s song “Candle In The Wind” and then “My Way” in a duet with Johan Birgersson, who later intoned the popular Italian song “Volare” after the family had gathered around the casket to lay flowers.
Beckham also visited Eriksson in Sweden in June to say goodbye. Others attending the funeral included the Swedish coach’s longtime partner Nancy Dell’Olio. Eriksson’s agent had said that guests from England, Italy and Spain were expected.
After the funeral, the casket was carried out of the church by eight men to the hearse. The guests then walked in a procession accompanying the coffin to a nearby museum where speeches and eulogies to the coach fondly known as “Svennis” were planned on an outdoor stage. A brass band played during the procession through Torsby, including the tune “You never walk alone” from the musical “Carousel” which has become the anthem of Liverpool, the club Eriksson supported since childhood.
The local soccer club Torsby IF, where Eriksson started his career in the 1960s, wrote on its webpage that “you also showed your greatness by always being yourself, the caring Svennis who talked to everyone and took the time, for big and small, asking how things were and how the football was going. We will miss you.”
