TSN Toronto Reporter Mark Masters reports on the Maple Leafs, who practised at the Ford Performance Centre on Friday ahead of Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Jason Spezza and Auston Matthews led the Leafs to a convincing 7-3 win on Thursday night and came within a whisker of ending a 56-year drought. Spezza scored three goals while Matthews potted a pair against the Vancouver Canucks. The last time two Leafs recorded a hat trick in the same game? Dave Keon and Bob Pulford did it against the New York Rangers in 1965. Matthews and Spezza were both back on the ice before practice on Friday working on their craft. Matthews was fine-tuning his shot.
“He’s passionate about it,” observed coach Sheldon Keefe. “Whether it’s off-season or in-season, he wants to get the reps … We know the dangerous weapon that he has, but I don’t think he gets enough credit for the fact that he scores in so many different ways: different types of shots, far away from the net, close to the net, rebounds, tips, he scores in all different ways and that’s probably the most impressive part.”
On Thursday night, Matthews scored in the first period by skating past J.T. Miller, who was covering for pinching defenceman Quinn Hughes, and beating Thatcher Demko five-hole off the rush.
“He’s really developed his 200-foot game and is able to create chances from his own end as you saw last game,” noted linemate Zach Hyman. “He skated it 200 feet and put it in.”
Matthews started the play behind the goal line in the Leafs zone helping his team gain possession.
“He’s such a big body,” said defenceman Zach Bogosian, “and helps out the D down low winning battles and getting that puck going north so it’s been fun to see.”
Later in the game, Matthews was in the perfect position at the side of the net to receive a no-look pass from Mitch Marner and bank a puck in off Demko.
“I just know him and Hyms are going to the net and that short-side post,” said Marner, “and a nice little chip shot by him.”
Matthews finished the night with seven shots and came close to securing his third career hat trick, but Demko stopped a one-timer from the Arizona native on the power play.
“He’s really hungry,” said goalie Frederik Andersen. “He demands the puck and he shoots with purpose every time. He has so many different kinds of shots that it’s really tough to prepare or scout him. He picks his spots and has really good vision out there.”
Matthews has now scored in his last six games, matching his longest streak during one season. He’ll look to set a new personal best on Saturday when the Leafs host the Canucks again. “One of the things that separates him from a lot of guys is how consistent he is and how he can create chances for himself every game,” said Hyman, “so if he doesn’t score in one game he definitely has a couple looks at it.” Matthews has been held without a shot only four times in his 292 NHL games.
“You can’t put limitations on players of his calibre,” said Keefe. “He’s got elite talent, but he’s got the elite drive to be great.”
Why Matthews doesn’t get enough credit for goal-scoring ability
Sheldon Keefe agrees that Auston Matthews has a great shot but doesn’t think he gets enough credit for the different ways in which he does score. His teammates discuss the work he puts in and why his shot is so hard to defend against.
Matthews and Marner often highlight Spezza’s work ethic, but the 18-year pro is quick to return the compliment
“The excitement and passion they have for the game rejuvenates the whole room,” Spezza said, “and when you see your top guys work like that it makes everybody want to be better.”
Spezza is always looking to get better. The 37-year-old took part in Monday’s optional practice and, per usual, was on the ice at Thursday’s optional morning skate.
“I just like to keep the engine running,” he said. “I’m a guy who goes by a lot of feel.”
Matthews and Spezza hit it off immediately because they both love talking about sticks.
“He can feel if the manufacturer made a little mistake or something,” Andersen noted of Spezza. “If there are any inconsistencies he can pick it out really quick and feel it right away. The way he prepares is meticulous. The amount of time he spends in the stick room, he lives in there.”
Only hours after producing his first hat trick since April 9, 2016, Spezza was back on the ice ahead of practice working with Toronto’s development staff.
“I was joking around with him that the skill development guys are going to be going crazy after his night last night,” said Hyman, who worked out alongside Spezza during the off-season. “He’s just such a great guy to be around. He’s such a great person. Just an overall great human being.”
“It was so much fun for me to play with him last night,” said linemate Travis Boyd, “and seeing him smiling after he got the third goal and even afterwards in the locker room, too. Somebody who does it a long time, you know, it’s easy to lose the fun in it and it turns into a job versus something you’ve grown up playing and loving to do, but every day I come in and he seems happy.”
Spezza puts on vintage performance, Leafs claim top spot in North Division
Jason Spezza scored a legit hat trick against Vancouver. No easy, cheap goals, and he showed off some of the skills that made him such a dynamic offensive throughout most of his career. With the dominant win, the Leafs now sit atop the league standings. The Canucks, on the other hand, find themselves struggling mightily to compete in the defensive end. The TSN Hockey panel weighs in on Toronto’s convincing victory.
Boyd and Nic Petan helped set up Spezza’s second goal of the night on a perfectly executed three-on-two rush.
“Offensively, all three of us just have good chemistry,” Boyd said. “We kind of see the game the same way and we all like to make plays. Being on the fourth line sometimes it’s hard to go out there and make plays because you’re sitting a little bit here and there and you obviously don’t want to turn anything over, but that doesn’t mean when the opportunity to make a play is there that you shouldn’t take it. We had a clean three-on-two and why not make a play. Why not go out and do what we did.”
Petan was making his season debut on Thursday while Boyd was playing just his third game with the Leafs. Keefe, who has tinkered with the look of the fourth line in six straight games, is going to give that trio a chance to build on the momentum created against the Canucks.
”The one thing that they did really well, aside from producing offence and scoring, they carried play, they won shifts, they changed in the offensive zone and set up the next line very well,” Keefe said. “Yesterday is a game where most things went our way, but the games are going to be more difficult and there are other areas of the game that they’ll be challenged on and that’s where we want to see their detail, the competitiveness and the physicality and all those things brought out.”
Boyd has generated four points in his three games.
“I thought I should’ve been or could be an every-day NHL player for a few years now and that opportunity didn’t work, didn’t pan out in Washington,” said Boyd, who played 24 games with Washington last season.
What was his mindset upon arriving in Toronto?
“I’ve played a decent amount of NHL games so just to believe in myself a little bit more and go out there and know I can be an every-day player and be someone who can help this team out,” Boyd said. “Being confident and trusting myself and letting myself just play hockey again instead of getting too worried about if you make a turnover … just continue to, every night, show why you should be in the lineup.”
Boyd, 27, has now played in 88 NHL games over four seasons.
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Travis Dermott missed practice and the defenceman will sit out Saturday’s game after sustaining a minor injury during his first shift against the Canucks. Keefe described it as a “charley horse” in his post-game Zoom call.
KHL import Mikko Lehtonen, who has struggled to get up to speed with the North American game, will draw back into the lineup playing his fifth career NHL game on Saturday.
“Today was the best practice Mikko’s had with us in terms of the jump he had, some of the plays he made,” said Keefe. “We played a little small-area game to start practice and he made some very subtle, little plays within that that are things we’ve been really talking to him about and working at so I’m sure he’s confident coming in. He’s put in a lot of good work here over the last number of days on the development side. [Director of player development] Stephane Robidas has worked closely with him as has [assistant coach] Dave Hakstol.”
Rasmus Sandin, who hasn’t played a game since March, will continue to wait for his chance. Keefe made a point to chat with the 20-year-old on the ice after practice wrapped.
“Just letting him know Mikko is going to go tomorrow and just checking in with him, because obviously when he sees a guy go down that’s when a player might think it’s going to be his chance, but it’s not quite yet,” Keefe revealed. “I just reminded him that right now it’s Mikko’s time and we’re giving him an opportunity here to try and get some traction … Also, just reminded him that we haven’t forgotten who Rasmus is and we know what he can bring and his time will come. He just has to remain patient as we go through this.”
Leafs Ice Chips: Lehtonen in, Dermott out and Sandin’s time will come
Sheldon Keefe revealed that Travis Dermott will not be ready to go in time for Saturday’s contest against the Canucks. Which means Mikko Lehtonen will be back in the lineup, Mark Masters has more on why Rasmus Sandin will have to continue to be patient.
Spezza isn’t the only veteran making a big impact. Wayne Simmonds fought for the second time this season on Thursday while logging second-line minutes alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. Bogosian is bringing a physical presence to the back end while eating up some penalty-kill minutes.
Those two additions, along with injured forward Joe Thornton, have helped turn the Leafs room and bench into a louder place.
“We’ve had a lot more chatter on our bench from everybody,” said Keefe. “Simmonds and Bogosian have added a lot in that regard and Jumbo when he was in the lineup. But I’ve seen progression from everybody all the way through. Having multiple people that have that level of personality brings it out in others, too, whether it’s John, Auston, Mitch, even Will, guys are stepping up in that regard. Whether it’s encouraging one another or pushing each other it’s been very good and an area we needed to improve upon.”
CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.
Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.
Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.
The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.
Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.
The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.
Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.
Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.
Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.
Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.
Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.
Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.
The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.
The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.
Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).
Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.
Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.
The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.
The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.
“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.
“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”
The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.
Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.
“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.
“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”
Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.
Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.
“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.
Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.
The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.
Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”
Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.
Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.
“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”
The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.
Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.
The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.
Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.
“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”
A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.
Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.
“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
