TORONTO — If the Toronto Maple Leafs step back on the same ice as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl again this season, it will be part of a playoff series.
But they will definitely make time to reflect on these nine games against the Edmonton Oilers, even if they’ve already seen the last of them.
“I think at different times in the games that we’ve played against Edmonton this season (it has) really been the model of what we’re capable of as a team,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said after Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss.
The 6-1-2 record they amassed against the Oilers could ultimately make the difference in Toronto finishing ahead in the standings — although there’s still far too much runway left on the schedule and far too little separating the North’s top three to say that with any certainty now.
Results aside, it’s the focus the Leafs channelled in this season series that they’ll be looking to replicate down the stretch.
Lining up across from McDavid and Draisaitl was enough to perk their defensive interest. The Leafs surrendered just 43 total shots in the final two games at Scotiabank Arena and still saw Edmonton’s top duo combine for five points on Saturday night before McDavid found Darnell Nurse on Monday’s overtime winner to stretch his points streak to 11 games.
“When you don’t do it, you look real bad, real quick,” said Keefe. “That in itself kind of shocks the system and gets you dialled in and focused on it.”
This was not up to the gold standard the Leafs established while reeling off three straight wins in Edmonton from Feb. 27 to March 3, but there were some echoes of those performances.
Dave Tippett loaded up his top centres on a line with Jesse Puljujarvi here and on Monday the Leafs outchanced that trio 15-4 at evens. Those minutes were largely countered by Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner up front and the Jake Muzzin-Justin Holl defensive pairing.
“Our forwards were really good at helping out and swinging with them, not allowing them to get the puck with speed and space,” said Holl. “I thought as a five-man unit it was really encouraging that way.”
Added Matthews: “I thought we had some really, really good stretches, especially early on in the first period and throughout the game where it really seemed like we were all five guys in sync and all throughout all three zones didn’t give them much.”
McDavid still punched through with a big play in overtime after Mike Smith stopped a 2-on-1 chance at the other end. You don’t score 15 more points than every NHLer not named Draisaitl without finding a way even on the tough nights.
But his line certainly didn’t terrorize Toronto to the degree it is capable of.
“I just thought we didn’t give them very much room,” said Keefe. “I thought the neutral zone was real tough for them. I thought we forced them to dump a lot of pucks. Forced them to play a lot on the forecheck, which, obviously they can do that too, but that takes away a lot of the strength of their game, which is playing on the rush or playing in transition and playing with the puck on their stick.”
As the Leafs seek to claim the division crown, they will need similarly effective five-man efforts against the Winnipeg Jets — starting Wednesday with the first of six remaining meetings against the other team vying to be Kings of the North.
The Jets won’t load up one super-charged line like Edmonton did, but Keefe sees plenty of trouble when he scribbles their entire lineup on the whiteboard in the dressing room.
“You’re going up against the deepest opponent that we face in our division in terms of their forward lines and the depth that they have,” he said. “We’ve got to have that level of focus every shift. That’s something for us to take away, for sure, but we’ve shown what we’re capable of.”
They will discuss what worked against Edmonton while navigating the final 21 games on the schedule and could very well see the Oilers again in May. Even with both teams likely to change in the meantime — “we’ve still got a lot of room to grow,” noted veteran forward Joe Thornton — a seed has been planted.
“If it does come that way, it’d be an exciting series,” said Thornton.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
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.
