The Toronto Maple Leafs are the top team in the National Hockey League in points, points percentage, and in the second edition of our Power Rankings.
After a disastrous start to the week that saw the Leafs blow a 5-1 lead in an overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators, Toronto rattled off three straight wins to finish the week 3-0-1.
The Leafs own the second-best goal differential and fourth-best expected goal differential in the NHL. Toronto’s league-best power play continues to impress, clicking at 37.5 per cent. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have led the way offensively, with Matthews scoring an NHL-best 18 goals in 18 games while Marner ranks third in the scoring race with 30 points. Toronto is back in action tonight against the Calgary Flames on TSN4 (Regional) at 7 p.m. ET.
The Carolina Hurricanes jump from seventh place to second in our rankings, thanks to a 3-0-1 week that included a 4-0 win Saturday over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Hurricanes don’t have a top-25 scorer on their team, but they do have a balanced offensive attack with four players (Vincent Trocheck, Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal) averaging at least a point per game. It will be a tough week ahead for the Canes, with three more games against the Lightning followed by a date with the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
The Colorado Avalanche sit third in our Power Rankings despite ranking seventh in points percentage. The 9-4-1 Avs rank third in goal differential and own the best expected goal differential in the NHL. Colorado has won the expected goals battle in all but three games this season, suggesting that their record should likely be better than it is. We expect that the Avalanche will be a top-five team in points percentage by this time next week.
After an 0-2-0 week, the Lightning drop from top spot to fourth in this week’s rankings. The Lightning still own the best goal differential in the league but rank sixth in expected goal differential. With three straight games coming up against the Hurricanes, Tampa Bay can get back in the top three by rattling off a few wins this week.
The Panthers round out this week’s top five. Florida went 3-1-0 last week with impressive wins over the Lightning and Hurricanes. The Panthers rank third in expected goals for and seventh in expected goals against but have been hurt by below-average goaltending. Florida’s goaltending has allowed an average of 0.32 goals per game above expected, which ranks 26th in the league.
The next Canadian team to check in on our list is the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton went 3-1-0 last week, jumping from 11th to eighth in our Power Rankings. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to lead the way, ranking first and second in league scoring. The Oilers will look for a fourth straight win on Tuesday against the Canucks.
The Winnipeg Jets went 3-1-0 last week and have moved from 13th to ninth in our Power Rankings. The Jets rank seventh in goal differential despite having a negative expected goals differential that ranks 16th. Like last season, Connor Hellebuyck deserves a ton of credit for Winnipeg’s success as only the New Jersey Devils have received better goaltending than the Jets this season.
The Montreal Canadiens drop outside the top 10 in our Power Rankings, sliding from eighth to 12th after an 0-1-1 week. The Habs have one win in their past five games and have scored more than two goals in a game just once in their past seven. The Canadiens will look to rebound against the Senators on Tuesday before heading to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Thursday and Saturday.
The Calgary Flames have lost three straight and drop from 18th to 23rd in our Power Rankings. The offensively challenged Flames also rank 23rd in goals per game. Three-time 30-goal scorer Sean Monahan has just two goals in 16 games for Calgary. Life doesn’t get any easier for the Flames who are in Toronto to face the Maple Leafs tonight and Wednesday.
The Vancouver Canucks went 1-1-2 last week, dropping from 27th to 29th in our Power Rankings. Team defence continues to be an issue for the Canucks who have the worst expected goals-against average in the NHL at 3.29. The Canucks are 27th in scoring chances against and are struggling to slow teams down, ranking last in rush chances against.
Despite a respectable 2-2-0 week with wins over Toronto and Montreal, the Ottawa Senators remain 31st in our rankings and in the standings. While the Senators rank 25th in expected goal differential, their goaltending has let them down this season, costing the team an average of one goal per game – by far the most of any team.
Matt Murray’s play has been better in February and the team seems to be gaining confidence, but the Senators still have some work to do to move up from 31st on our list.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
