Sports

LEAFS TAKEAWAYS: Ilya Samsonov, Ryan O’Reilly, resilience add up to an unlikely Game 3 victory

Published

2 years ago

April 23, 2023

Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov makes a save against Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nicholas Paul during the third period in Game 3 at Amalie Arena on Saturday night. Photo by Kim Klement /USA TODAY Sports

Never mind that there were long stretches when we didn’t think the Maple Leafs deserved to win on Saturday night.

The simple truth: They beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime at Amalie Arena.

The 4-3 victory, which came when Morgan Rielly’s shot eluded goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy at 19:15 of the extra period, puts the Leafs in control of the best-of-seven series heading into Game 4. It’s a 2-1 Toronto lead, and a victory on Monday would put the Leafs to within one win of advancing to the second round.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Our takeaways from the win:

BETTER THAN ANDREI

Consider that in all situations the Lightning had 91 shot attempts and the Leafs had 52.

The Leafs couldn’t get much penetration offensively as Tampa smothered them and made passage through the neutral zone a challenge.

Yet, the Lightning couldn’t put the Leafs away.

Put that on the shoulders of goalie Ilya Samsonov, who made 36 saves.

None was bigger than a stop on a Nikita Kucherov backhand six minutes into overtime. As Kucherov got space and moved to his backhand across the front of the net, Samsonov tracked him and got a glove on the shot.

Early in the second with the game tied 2-2, Tampa had two terrific scoring chances. Had the Lightning scored on either — or both — the outcome probably would have been different.

Instead, as his teammates couldn’t get untracked, Samsonov stopped Tanner Jeannot on a breakaway. Moments later, Samsonov stretched to deny Victor Hedman, who otherwise thought he had much of the net to shoot at.

“Sammy was the biggest thing (in giving the Leafs a chance to win),” Ryan O’Reilly said. “Getting out of that second period, only down one, was huge. They dominated us and had some great chances.”

At the other end, Vasilevskiy couldn’t make saves at crucial times. He was ordinary, not the guy who, since 2020, boasted a record of 21-2 following a loss in the playoffs.

Neither goalie has been consistent through the first three games. Expect that to change.

THE FACTOR

O’Reilly comes by his nickname honestly.

When the Leafs acquired the 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner from the St. Louis Blues at this season’s trade deadline, the desire on their end was that O’Reilly, four years after leading the Blues to the Stanley Cup, would bring savvy to the dressing room, but most importantly, become a crucial cog on the ice.

Well, the bearded veteran has 16 points in 16 games with Toronto, totals that would have been higher had he not missed significant time with a broken finger.

That includes five points in three playoff games. On a night the Leafs weren’t great, O’Reilly was key in driving the visitors to the positive outcome.

After tying the game with one minute to play in the third (thanks to a fine play by William Nylander), O’Reilly beat Brayden Point on the faceoff in the offensive zone, feeding Rielly in OT. He also had an assist on the opening goal by Noel Acciari.

O’Reilly won 62% of his draws (8-for-13), had three hits and three blocks.

Big things, little things, O’Reilly did it all.

There was no player of O’Reilly’s stature that has been added by general manager Kyle Dubas in trade deadlines before this year. If the Leafs advance — and Tampa has to win three of four to stop that from happening — O’Reilly will be at the forefront.

What’s unfolding now is why the Leafs got O’Reilly.

“That’s just how he rolls,” Rielly said of O’Reilly’s composure. “Playing against him and now with him, you can tell he really likes those moments and those challenges. He’s not fazed by the pressure or anything like that when we’re down late in games.

“You really appreciate the way he plays. We’re very fortunate he came to play. His name is all over this game.”

ADJUSTMENTS COMING

When the puck drops in Game 4, provided the Lightning plays with the same kind of persistence it brought on Saturday, the Leafs are going to have to come up ways to combat Tampa’s speed and pressure.

The Leafs can take some solace that they won without an overly effective forecheck. In fact, that the Leafs persevered and came out on the other side with a victory says something about the way this resilient team has grown.

As a few said, they bent, but did not break.

“Their pressure on the puck presented real problems for us,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We did not have a lot of space or time to make plays. In the regular season, they were elite at a number of things, and one of them was time spent in the offensive zone.

“That’s because of how they play. Puck pressure, half-ice game, quick ups, and they got us in that trap and we couldn’t get through that consistently. Because they’ve got you on your heels, it’s hard to get on your toes and establish your own game. Not getting frustrated is critical. We’re one shot away and we’re standing right there.”

THEY SAID IT

“Not in the NHL. Fair share of practice scuffles and stuff like that, but not really.” — Auston Matthews on whether he had fought in hockey before he scrapped with Steven Stamkos in the third period

“The fight itself, it’s a classic example of a veteran championship team like Tampa Bay manipulating the officials and taking advantage of a situation … it’s a free-for-all, they can do whatever they want and they just know the way the games get called they are not going to get another penalty. You watch that sequence back. To say we should not be on a five-on-three … Credit to Tampa for recognizing that situation. It’s a free pass. You can do what you want. Not only do they get out of it unscathed, they take Matthews and O’Reilly to the box. Brilliant play by the Lightning there, manipulating that situation.” — Keefe on fracas that broke out after Rielly and Point collided, leading to fights between Stamkos and Matthews, and Kucherov and O’Reilly

“I really liked our game. We had ample chances to score some goals. I leave that game unfortunate that we lost, but I loved our guts. Give Toronto credit. They stuck with it. It sucks losing these games, but we are still in this series.” — Lightning coach Jon Cooper

THE LAST WORDS

Rielly became the seventh Leafs defenceman in franchise history to score in overtime in the playoffs, joining Tomas Kaberle (2003), Cory Cross (2001), Todd Gill (1994), Rick Lanz (1987), Bob Baun (1964) and Bill Barilko (1951) … Captain John Tavares was minus-3 and had one shot on goal. Almost all of his other games with the Leafs have been better … Veteran TJ Brodie struggled on the blue line. When he was on the ice at five-on-five, the Leafs were outshot 12-4 … Just three Leafs — Matthews, Mitch Marner and Calle Jarnkrok — finished above 50% in possession at five-on-five … Matthew Knies lost Darren Raddysh along the boards when the latter scored Tampa’s third goal, but otherwise the 20-year-old rookie continued to prove he belonged. Knies played 19 minutes 15 seconds in total and got a regular shift in overtime, proof that Keefe already has trust in him. Knies had his first playoff point on Acciari’s goal and was on the ice for the winner … After missing Game 2 with an undisclosed injury, Hedman played 32 minutes 35 seconds. He’s the definition of playoff warrior, not that further evidence was required … The Leafs finished with a 62-60 edge in hits, led by Acciari’s nine. Jeannot had a team-high 11 for Tampa … Nylander had seven of the Leafs’ 28 shots on goal. Point led the Lightning with seven … As previously announced by the NHL, Game 5 in Toronto on Thursday will be a 7 p.m. start.

Source link

Sports

Canada’s Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Routliffe pick up second win at WTA Finals

Published

1 day ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

Source link

Sports

Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

Source link

Sports

Mahomes throws 3 TD passes, unbeaten Chiefs beat Buccaneers 30-24 in OT

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

Chiefs: Host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

—

AP NFL:

Source link