“It’s a forecheck drill,” Sheldon Keefe said to Mitch Marner at Toronto Maple Leafs practice on Monday morning. “It’s blue’s puck.”
Blue being the colour of Marner’s practice jersey. They were the line that was supposed to be forechecking, in other words.
It was a mostly quiet morning otherwise for the Leafs ahead of Game 5 on Tuesday and potential elimination from the playoffs. No smiles. No laughs. Not much chatter. And no sign of Auston Matthews, who left Game 4 after two periods with an illness he just can’t seem to shake.
Keefe said Matthews’ status for Game 5 had “yet to be determined” but the team is “hopeful” he can play. “Of course we’re hopeful that he’s available and feeling good and back to himself,” Keefe said. “That’s what we’re hopeful for.”
And so the Leafs are preparing to be without their best player with their season on the line.
Max Domi took Matthews’ spot at centre on the team’s No. 1 line during Monday’s practice and also took reps in his usual position on the No. 1 power-play unit.
This, it seems, is how the Leafs would line up if Matthews is unavailable to go on Tuesday night. (Timothy Liljegren is set to replace TJ Brodie on the back end.)
Line
LW
C
RW
Lyubushkin
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There’s no understating how crippling Matthews’ absence would be in the biggest game of the season. He almost singlehandedly won Game 2 for the Leafs and is coming off a Hart Trophy-calibre regular season. He’s the best offensive and defensive player on the team.
“It’s not ideal to be without Auston Matthews,” Tavares said. “Obviously you’re talking about one of the best players in the world.”
And yet, the Leafs have also shown over the years, including this one, that they can pull together and win the odd game without him — or without some of their other top players, including Marner, Nylander (in that Game 2 win) and Morgan Rielly.
Matthews missed only one game during the regular season. He was unavailable because of illness, oddly enough, when the Leafs hosted Pittsburgh on Dec. 16. His team ripped the Penguins 7-0 that night anyway.
One combination that produced sparks: Domi, playing centre, alongside Marner. (The third forward on the line that night was Knies.)
Domi had a goal and two assists that night. Marner had two points himself.
That connection would explain, at least in part, why the Leafs opted not to, as they have in the past, promote Tavares into the top centre’s spot in Matthews’ potential absence.
“He’s done well with Mitch, he’s done well when we’ve had guys out,” Keefe said of Domi, who spent most of this season playing centre before shifting more recently to right wing. “Whether it was Auston or John, when they’ve been out, Max has played in that spot and he’s done a nice job for it.”
Tavares also has baked-in chemistry with Nylander, and there’s this: The Leafs would prefer that a Tavares-led unit goes head to head with David Pastrnak if they can help it rather than one fronted by Domi.
If there’s one thing that’s gone right for the Leafs this series, it’s the job Tavares’ line (with help from the pair of Simon Benoit and Jake McCabe) has done defensively against Pastrnak’s unit.
The downside of that work: The line hasn’t scored much at all, just one goal in Game 3 from Knies on a setup from Marner.
The Leafs will likely need more punch from that group if Matthews isn’t around — particularly from Nylander, a back-to-back 40-goal scorer who has 12 goals in his last 26 playoff games.
Nylander looked sluggish in his return to the lineup in Game 4 and was held off the scoresheet.
“Throughout the year, guys have been out of the lineup and I think we’ve rallied together each time,” he said. “If that’s the case then that’s what we’ll have to do.”
How much more Keefe can get that unit starting on offence on the road in Game 5 is uncertain. The big concern for the Leafs coach: Pastrnak.
Is he comfortable dropping any other line out there repeatedly for defensive zone faceoffs knowing Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery might pounce on a potential mismatch and drop Pastrnak out there?
He might have no choice but to risk it more often than he did in Games 1 and 2, if only to boost the chances of that line breaking through what Tavares described as the “layers” of defence the Bruins have around their net.
“I felt like last game they got a lot of sticks, a lot of bodies on pucks, and nothing was clean, even when you found ways to get into some good spots,” Tavares said. “You really gotta support each other really well, to be able to break through layers and pressure and be able to find the open areas and then obviously attack when the opportunities are there.”
Referring to Pastrnak, the Leafs captain said, “Obviously we know how dangerous he is offensively. You’re not trying to be overaggressive or high risk.”
If not Tavares’ line, the Leafs have to hope Marner can power the No. 1 unit in Matthews’ potential absence. Marner had a quiet Games 1-4 offensively while playing in a shutdown role against Pastrnak.
He still had a direct hand — a goal and a primary assist — on two of the Leafs’ six five-on-five goals in the series.
Playing on the top unit will free him up for many more offensive zone faceoffs and, playing with Domi, more opportunities to shoot the puck.
Marner has fewer five-on-five shots in this series (four) than Connor Dewar (five). Not enough.
If Matthews comes around and plays in Game 5, Keefe has an interesting choice of where exactly to use Domi.
Option 1: Keep him with Matthews, a look the Leafs coach hasn’t budged from for weeks now. That would require, potentially, moving Marner and Nylander around somehow.
Option 2: Move Domi down into the 3C spot, keep Marner with Matthews and look for more threatening depth with a possible third line of Nick Robertson, Domi and Calle Järnkrok.
Domi occupied Matthews’ usual spot on the right flank of the No. 1 unit at Monday’s practice. More interesting is the apparent adjustment — which will presumably stick even if Matthews plays — that will see Marner move to the bumper position.
There’s Nazem Kadri-like potential there for Marner — that is a weaker shooter pouncing on quick shots from the slot. Though he hasn’t played in that spot much at all, Marner should get juicier shooting opportunities from a position on the ice where the lack of zip on his shot won’t matter as much.
Marner will have even more space there if Matthews is available to play.
“No videotaping, Mark,” Marner shouted in jest to TSN’s Mark Masters, filming the work on his phone during the unit’s pre-practice session on Monday. “You’ll share our secrets.”
Guy Boucher, who runs the power play, appeared to be stressing the need for more support around the puck at that session — better retrievals, in other words.
The Leafs assistant coach placed a puck along the wall and had three of the five members of the unit crowd around before the group got into their set actions.
“We gotta be hungry,” Tavares said, “the way we work for pucks, work for opportunities.”
Nylander said the Leafs were intent on moving pucks around quicker on the power play and firing from more varied locations on the ice. “The focus is get the puck to the net and then get the rebounds and get those in,” Nylander said.
The Leafs are 1-14 on the power play in this series.
Keefe identified special teams (the penalty kill has killed off only 53.9 percent of the Bruins’ power plays) and goaltending as the two big areas for needed improvement in Game 5, whether Matthews plays or not. “They’ve had the edge in those areas in the series,” Keefe said, “and that’s tough to overcome.”
(Photo of Max Domi: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
