Sure, the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t deserve a fate any better than their 4-3 overtime loss to the better-dressed Edmonton Oilers Saturday night.
And, yes, the fastest player on the planet will make sure we see the Leafs Reverse Retro sweaters on many a highlight reel to come.
But the Leafs have banked points in seven of their past eight games and still believe their potential is far from fulfilled.
“I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of the best hockey that we can play collectively as a team. That’s always encouraging,” Auston Matthews said post-game, “knowing that we can play a lot better but that we’re still getting points. We’re still winning.”
Here are eight takeaways from the most thrilling of the four Oilers-Leafs matchups we’ve already seen this year.
Oilers wanted it more, needed it more, deserved it more
Zack Kassian had uttered the phrase “must-win.” In January.
So, while it feels a tad premature to slap a do-or-die label on Saturday’s prime-time showdown (showcase?) of some of the game’s brightest stars, certainly the home side needed the two points more than their visitors.
And, boy, did it show.
Edmonton burst out the gates, generating the first nine high-danger chances and thumping the Leafs 18-8 in that department for the night.
“We knew we’d have a motivated group coming out tonight,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Disappointing to not win. But in the grand scheme of things, taking seven out of eight points on the road is never going to be a bad thing for our group.”
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl — one-two on the scorers’ leaderboard once again — put on a show, creating highlights that will get play long beyond the weekend.
Frankly, were it not for stellar close-range stops and some determined response goals by Toronto’s own top playmakers (William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Matthews), this thing would’ve never sniffed OT.
Afterward, Matthews was asked if it was fun going head-to-head with his off-season training partner two games in a row.
“I don’t know if I’d describe it as fun, but it’s always a challenge,” Matthews said. “It’s always a challenge going up against that amount of talent and speed coming at you.”
The Rush
McDavid is a one-man power play.
Watch how he slices through all four Maple Leafs skaters, plus goalie Frederik Andersen, on this third-period strike. Then feel free to retrieve your jaw from the floor.
This is how McDavid’s victims viewed it.
Hyman: “We could’ve defended it better. I think that I was the first guy up, and I’ve got to take away speed a little bit and give Hollsy, (Jake Muzzin) and Mitch (Marner) a little bit more time kind of wedge him out of the middle. But, you know, once he gets that time and space, he’s a special player, obviously. So he can make moves like that.”
Justin Holl: “There’s different things that we could’ve done differently, for sure. The forward could wedge in the middle a little bit better. I think I could push him a certain direction better. Maybe start skating forwards, so I at least can try to chase him down. But obviously that’s a tall order on McDavid.”
Andersen: “I felt a little bit flatfooted in the situation. Obviously, (I should) try to take a little bit more ice maybe and challenge him a little bit more.”
Holl: “He’s always creating scoring chances for himself. You know it’s gonna happen, you just do your best to limit what he gets…. He’s a terrific player, so that’s just part of the deal sometimes.”
Message to Leafland: Don’t get down on Dermott
On a night it was revealed that two players have requested trades out of Canadian towns — Calgary’s Sam Bennett and Montreal’s Victor Mete — it was notable that Leafs coach Keefe went out of his way to address Travis Dermott being a healthy scratch for half of the Alberta trip.
“For me, he’s a guy that hasn’t deserved to sit out and have to come out of the lineup,” Keefe said. “But much like some of the rotations we’ve had in the fourth line here, the only way to get people in is to take people out.
“We’re actually very encouraged with Dermott’s game. He’s really done everything we’ve asked of him, and lots of positive things about his game. We shouldn’t be reading anything into him coming out other than the fact that we’re just trying to create opportunity for Mikko (Lehtonen) to show what he can do.”
Lehtonen, a man-advantage specialist whom the Leafs lured out of the KHL, notched his first NHL point with a sifter from the point that John Tavares tipped and Hyman swept in. But in these close games — and they’ve all been close games — the Finn has yet to earn his coach’s trust at even-strength.
The 27-year-old import gets sheltered or sat.
“At 5-on-5, again, it’s tough to find him much rhythm here playing on the road. They’re doing their best to get favourable matchups, and they’re looking for it, and you’re trying to protect him and keep them away from two of the best players in the world,” Keefe said.
“He still doesn’t look comfortable out there. We’ve put him in two of the last three games here and given him that opportunity. Now we have a break. And we’ll continue to work with him in some areas of development where we’d like to see him really get better now that we’ve got lots of examples and film of him playing in the NHL.”
Reverse Retro revolt
Alexander Kerfoot said it’s exciting anytime you get to slip on a new jersey.
“Something different is nice for a change. I’m sure the fans will enjoy it,” Keefe said pre-game.
We’re sure some fans did enjoy the tone-on-tone look of the remixed ’80s deep-blue throwbacks with accents of grey, but the general response on social media was less than favourable.
“I like them,” Holl said. “Honestly, I didn’t love them right away. I didn’t know where the grey came from, but they’ve really grown on me. I thought we looked really sharp tonight.”
The people have spoken. We have to hand the Oilers third outfits, with those blood orange pants, the crown.
Even the alternates have alternates
Cool gesture for Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, GM Kyle Dubas and Keefe to collectively decide that veterans Muzzin andHyman would wear an “A” on their sweater for all games played in an alternate sweater. That discussion was had with the players at training camp.
“It’s very clear that Hyman and Muzz are both big parts of our core, big parts of our leadership group. I think our established captains recognize that as well,” Keefe explained.
“For myself, with all the teams, for the most part, that I’ve coached, I believe in trying to recognize the larger group than just what you’re allowed in a particular game, be it a C and two As. I think you need to recognize more people than that when you can, so it was a chance to do that.”
We’re going streaking
Less than two minutes after McDavid’s ridiculous rush, Matthews and Marner worked a pretty give-and-go in tight to extend their personal point streaks.
Marner now has assists in five consecutive games. Matthews has goals in five straight and points in seven straight.
“We have kind of little dips and then we have moments where we’re really on it, are creating a lot of offensive zone time,” said Matthews, who believes there is still another level for his line to reach.
“We just want to stay consistent throughout the 60 minutes and apply pressure nonstop on the other team and collectively play in the offensive zone as much as possible, but it’s always nice to contribute in different ways out there.”
Steady Freddy is better than his numbers
Were you to look at his stats — 3.01 GAA, .892 save percentage — you’d hesitate to get too excited about the work of Andersen in 2021.
But after a shaky first two outings, the Leafs’ No. 1 goaltender routinely came up with the timely save on this road trip, and his denial of Josh Archibald in the dying moments of regulation Saturday salvaged his club a point. Andersen is now 5-2-1 and should benefit nicely from a four-day rest.
“I feel like I’m moving really efficiently. I think after the first few games I figured out how I’m supposed to play and how I play my best,” said Andersen.
His coach’s review has also swung positive.
“The thing here with no exhibition games, it’s tough on the goaltenders to find that rhythm and get comfortable again in the net in a game setting. I think he’s settled in. He looks like he’s in a nice groove,” Keefe said.
“He looks really comfortable, confident in the net. I think we’ve done a real good job in protecting him at 5-on-5 in reducing the number of odd-man chances and really egregious chances against. Yet when we’ve had breakdowns, he’s been there. And then on the penalty kill, it’s always tough on a goalie when you’re taking as many penalties as we are — and he’s been excellent there too.”
Deserved time off
The Maple Leafs (7-2-1) will fly home and stay home for a couple days after what Matthews described as “a shotgun start to the season.”
The Leafs’ next game won’t arrive until Thursday, which feels like an eternity in a 56-game schedule.
Sunday is a full day off for the club. Monday will be optional for the regulars. Two hard practice days will gear them up for a three-game homestand against Vancouver.
“We need to find ways to control play a little bit better and generate more shots, more opportunities offensively,” Keefe said. “Then it’s just details all over the ice, continuing to clean those types of things up. Having back-to-back practice days now for the first time since we’ve broken camp would be a good opportunity for us to do that.
“We expect to bring it to another level when we come back to play after this break.”
VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
