Before the game, Jon Cooper noted, “Usually, these odd-numbered games — Games 3 and 5 — in series are pretty pivotal games. This one is not as pivotal as a Game 5, but it’s pretty darn close.”
Without question, this was the best hockey game of this series. The Leafs came out of it on top and now lead the series 2-1.
Let’s break it all down in the game in 10:
1. I’ve always been fascinated by how teams start games — specifically, who the coaches send out for shift one to set the tone. The Leafs have been starting the John Tavares line through the first two games in response to the Lightning declaring a starting lineup featuring the Brayden Point – Anthony Cirelli line. In this game, Sheldon Keefe switched the opening shift to the Auston Matthews line.
On the first shift, the Lightning got it in deep, and Cirelli laid a big hit on Ilya Lyubushkin, creating a turnover in the slot for Brayden Point, who nearly scored. It was a tough start, particularly for Lyubushkin.
The decision to dress Justin Holl and consequently sit Timothy Liljegren generated a ton of discussion. I am assuming a big part of the coaching staff’s decision-making logic was based on wanting Holl in for the penalty kill. He is a legitimately good penalty killer, and the Lightning power play lit the Leafs up in Game 2.
Jason Spezza was also back in, so he was replacing Liljegren on the power play. If you decide Holl is in fact playing and you’ve completely taken out Liljegren in the process, the question is whether to keep the Rielly – Lyubushkin pairing together or the Giordano – Liljegren pairing together at 5v5.
I am not necessarily saying I agree with it, but that’s really the context of the decision. And Lyubushkin was all over the place in this game, in both a good and bad way.
2. The power play had yet to score on a 5v4 heading into this game, but that changed rather quickly in this one as the Leafs scored on their first PP of the game.
There were some subtle adjustments made on the man advantage by the Leafs. The main one: William Nylander started on the half-wall to begin the power play. The Leafs have been switching Nylander and Mitch Marner on the half-wall — and even moving Auston Matthews to his one-timer side — but Nylander has not generally started on it. He did in this one.
3. The Leafs power play was a little static at the start — specifically, Auston Matthews was taking passes standing still. They are at their best when Matthews catches the puck when skating downhill, and lo and behold, when did the power play break open? AFter Matthews skated in the middle of the ice from the top of the blue line and shot in stride. They just started firing pucks on net from there.
The goal came off of a Matthews one-timer, a Mitch Marner shot off the rebound, and Morgan Rielly potting Marner’s rebound.
The other thing of note: Sheldon Keefe kept the top unit on for the full two minutes. It’s early in the game, and he’s trying to get them going knowing the importance of the first goal of the game. It worked out in this case.
4. In Game 2, the Lightning had their way with the Leafs on the power play. On the first test in this one, the Leafs’ PK got back to what made them successful in Game 1: preventing Tampa Bay from setting up the zone.
We talked about how the Leafs heavily used TJ Brodie and Justin Holl on the PK throughout the season — particularly during the month of April — but even with Holl back in, it was Muzzin – Brodie opening on the penalty kill.
Right when the Leafs killed it off, Muzzin had the puck on his stick under some pressure in a somewhat similar scenario to how the first period ended in Game 2 (where he couldn’t get it out, and Tampa Bay scored shortly after). This time, Muzzin got the puck out, the Leafs went the other way on a 3-on-1, and the Leafs buried it.
A big problem I’ve had with Leafs teams of years past is that it wasn’t always about making the right play; it was about who was the most skilled and getting those players the puck/ice time at all costs. This was a case of simply making the right play.
Pierre Engvall knew it was Ilya Lyubushkin to his right, who is not exactly a playmaker or goal scorer, and you could tell Engvall thought about it for a second. Lyubushkin was simply too open and in too much space, so Engvall dished it and drove the net. Lyubushkin had a special moment and made a special play, setting up Colin Blackwell for the 2-0 goal. That’s good hockey.
5. Alex Killorn ran Justin Holl at the buzzer, a scrum ensued, and the Leafs went to a power play to start the second. It even turned into a 5v3 for 25 seconds (that was a big faceoff loss, essentially negating any opportunity available there).
You have to be careful with this stuff with Tampa Bay; it’s almost like they seek out the antics at times to get themselves fired up and into the game. The Leafs didn’t score on their power plays, and the Lightning seemed to be gaining some momentum, but enter David Kampf.
Kampf is having a series right now. We mentioned Ilya Lyubushkin being everywhere in this one – he picked up an unofficial assist on the goal. With Branden Hagel coming down the wing, he stepped up and laid a pretty good hit. The puck came out of the zone, Hagel picked up the puck in a similar spot with Lyubushkin again coming for him, and Hagel made a bad pass that resulted in a turnover. Kampf skated down the ice and straight-up beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with a wrister.
That’s two goals now for Kampf in this series, and both have them been him legitimately beating Vasilevskiy clean. There were no rebounds or strange deflections. He has straight up skated down the ice and beat him outright.
Kampf scored one goal in 56 games last season. He’s now up to 11 in 82 this season (one was an empty-net goal). Big-time contributions from role players like this are what make the playoffs so fun.
6. With the score at 3-0, the game seemed to be reasonably under control for the Leafs. Justin Holl played a good first period and contributed to the penalty kill in the first period, as expected. At 3-0, though, he has to back off on the play leading to the 3-1 goal. It simply can’t happen.
It was a bad bounce, and there wasn’t great forward support. You’re up three goals. You’re on the road. You have to skate back and play it safe at that point. He took a penalty on the rush, and the Lightning made them pay this time.
The Leafs also got too carried away on the penalty kill itself. After a turnover in the middle of the ice at the Lightning blueline, instead of getting it back in deep, Alex Kerfoot stopped up with the puck and tried to make a play. He was knocked down, the Lightning went down on an odd-man rush, and the Leafs never recovered the puck before Russ Colton ripped a one-timer.
Those were two really poor instances of situational awareness (or lack thereof) that made it a game again.
7. The Leafs were fortunate to get out of the second period up 3-1. TJ Brodie made a goal-saving dive to deflect the puck on a Colton look at a clean empty net, but even beyond that, Tampa Bay carried play for the final five or so minutes of the period.
I think Keefe and the coaching staff were hyper-aware of it. They came out in the third period and bumped Kerfoot up to the top line. The Ilya Mikheyev – David Kampf – Pierre Engvall line was reunited as well.
It almost paid off with a goal, too. Auston Mathews went on a breakaway (and got his own rebound to no avail). Right after, Mitch Marner fired a shot that glanced off Vasilevskiy and hit the bar.
8. Andrei Vasilevskiy made a few big saves before Tampa Bay went down the ice and made it a one-goal game. It’s not a bad goal on Jack Campbell, but it was saveable.
It was a wrist shot from the top of the circle with minimal traffic in front. If anything, it looked like a bit of a broken play (Campbell had swatted the puck out of mid-air to get it there in the first place), and he was maybe not able to reset himself properly. The puck clipped off his shoulder a bit, but he didn’t get enough of it.
A 3-0 game is now 3-2, and it was fully game on.
9. Even if you didn’t love that goal, Jack Campbell more than stood tall the rest of the way.
Nick Paul walked TJ Brodie and went in all alone; Campbell came up huge with a toe save. On the power play that followed, Steven Stamkos fired a one-timer off of a seam pass, and Campbell shut the door. Brandon Hagel had a good chance in tight shortly after; again, Campbell stood in there.
There has been so much talk about goaltending going into this series — and rightfully so for many reasons — but for me, Campbell outplayed Vasilevskiy in this one, and that was the story. He came up huge with the game on the line.
10. On the penalty kill in the final half of the third and the shifts that followed, the Leafs used a lot of Jake Muzzin – TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano – Justin Holl to close out most of this game. The Pierre Engvall – David Kampf – Ilya Mikheyev line saw a lot of time, and Alex Kerfoot was a staple on the Auston Matthews line with Mitch Marner.
Closing the game with the lead, those were generally the 10 players the Leafs wanted on the ice. For all the criticism he takes — and he did make one bad play — the Lightning scored on the one penalty where Holl was in the box, and he did a good job of helping to kill the other two. Holl helped them close the lead and the game at the end, too.
We are almost at the point where looking at the Leafs lines and debating them is irrelevant. Pierre Engvall was supposed to be on the fourth line – he played 15:09, more than Michael Bunting, Ondrej Kase, and Kerfoot. That great third line we’ve talked about so much was largely reunited in this one. Of any Leafs line in this game, that trio played the third most together.
In terms of matchups in this one, Tampa Bay has committed hard to Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli line, as well as Victor Hedman and Erik Cernak pairing, matching up against the Matthews line.
The John Tavares – William Nylander reunion created essentially nothing, which has been all too common for them. Neither player has done much for two games in a row, and no other line is making Tampa Bay think twice offensively speaking.
At 5v5, the Leafs aren’t creating a ton outside of the top line (which is why the power play is so important). The third line has been great, but they have been opportunistic offensively more than anything. Tampa Bay controlled play at 5v5 in this one in terms of possession, scoring chances, and expected goals — and it wasn’t just because they were losing, although score effects played a role at the end, of course.
Jack Campbell was excellent, and the Leafs have had a number of players step up with big goals. You need to win games like that in the playoffs, but you have to be honest about what’s happening, too, when planning for the next game.
The de-facto third line has been great, and Matthews and Marner are doing about as well as you can ask against a really difficult matchup. The second line is giving the Leafs very little, and the fourth line without the enforcers at least stopped the antics from Tampa’s Bay fourth line.
The Leafs are up 2-1 in the series. Getting the second line going somehow (do you move Bunting down and keep Kerfoot on the top line? Do you move Nylander up to the top line and have Bunting/Kerfoot/Kase flank Tavares? Is there another option?) would catapult this team to another level.
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.”
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.
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.
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).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
