No one can say with certainty that Auston Matthews will be able to sustain his current goal-scoring pace.
Sports
LEAFS NOTES: Auston Matthews’ goal pace ‘hard to believe’ as Maple Leafs hit Vancouver
Matthews’ hat trick on Thursday at Calgary in a 4-3 Leafs win over the Flames put him on pace for 71 goals, which would obliterate his franchise record of 60 goals set two seasons ago. Matthews has 37 goals in 42 games.
“It’s hard to believe, really,” Leafs captain John Tavares told the media in Vancouver on Friday, referring to Matthews’ pace. “When you see it every single day, not just the skill level and the talent, but the work ethic, the drive, it’s really special.
The Vancouver Canucks sit atop the NHL standings with 64 points but won’t take the challenge of trying to frustrate Matthews for granted when the teams meet Saturday at Rogers Arena. While the Toronto superstar has 18 goals in 22 career games against Vancouver, it’s the kind of thing that Matthews did in Calgary that holds more concern for Canucks coach Rick Tocchet.
“You have to protect the guts of the ice with that guy,” Tocchet said on Friday. “I saw (Matthews’ first) goal against Calgary — somehow he got the puck in the middle, and when he gets the puck in the high slot … If you want him to shoot, hopefully it’s from the outside. That’s your game plan at least.
Naturally, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe took a broader view when considering Matthews’ contributions against the Flames. Matthews’ fourth hat trick of the season and 11th of his career drove his team to end a four-game losing streak that had Leafs Nation in emotional tatters, but there was more to it for Keefe.
“His puck battles, his defending, his checking — when he is checking and defending like that, he is winning most of his shifts, and that sets our team up for success,” Keefe said. “The combination of the two things (scoring and defensive strengths) are why a player of his calibre can lead us to winning.”
BERTUZZI FACTOR
After going with some different line combinations in the past several games, Keefe had Tyler Bertuzzi back on the left wing with Tavares and William Nylander at practice on Friday.
“I just think he has done a good job there most of the season,” Keefe said. “When those guys have been together, they have been a really good line for us. It’s a good fit. It falls into place nicely.”
We would take issue with the idea that Bertuzzi has done a good job on the line. While Bertuzzi does have positive underlying numbers, six goals in 43 games is a major disappointment for someone who was supposed to score and is being paid $5.5 million US to do so.
Bertuzzi was asked why he thinks the goals have not been coming for him.
“I don’t know,” Bertuzzi said. “Just keep working hard, keep getting to the net and eventually it will come.”
On Jan. 1, Reaves indicated after practice that day that he was close to returning, but that has not materialized.
“There is not a lot (Robertson and Reaves) can do at this point while not playing,” Keefe said. “It’s more what is happening around them (with the positives Keefe is seeing in Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann).
“I have these discussions every day with Tre (general manager Brad Treliving), sometimes multiple times, in terms of how we manage our lineup and try to make the decisions that are the best for the team that particular night, but also looking at a little bit bigger picture.”
Tavares has gone six games without a point, his longest slump as a Leaf. Does his confidence take a hit? “Well, I’m human too, so there’s emotions you feel throughout the game,” Tavares said. “I have a lot of belief in myself, but you have to prove it every single day.” … After going the first 40 games without taking a penalty, Morgan Rielly has been penalized twice in the past three games. “I was happy to go to the box,” Rielly said. “I didn’t want that goose egg on there any longer.” Would Rielly like a shot at the Lady Byng Trophy? “No comment,” he said … The Leafs have had 123 power plays, putting them at 28th before NHL games on Friday. Why are the Leafs near the NHL’s bottom in that category? “I would love to know,” Tavares said. “Getting into the second half of the year now, with the playoff races heating up, the refs don’t want to be the ones deciding games. You just play and compete and earn your calls.”
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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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sports
Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s season ended by ruptured Achilles tendon, team said he’ll have surgery
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.”
Watson was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals and carted off the field in tears.
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.
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