However, it was still an interesting draw nonetheless. The usually secure and well-structured Carolina Hurricanes didn’t look too secure and structured throughout the game and wound up securing both points in a 5-4 shootout victory.
The Leafs and Hurricanes were even in shots with both teams having two power-play opportunities each. Toronto’s offense came from John Tavares, William Nylander and Nick Robertson, who scored in the opening half of the middle frame. Carolina answered back via Jordan Martinook and Seth Jarvis, who scored his 22nd of the season with three seconds left in the period. It looked like the two points were in the bag for the Leafs after David Kämpf scored on another breakaway to make it 4-2.
The luck of the Irish went Carolina’s way after Kämpf was called for hooking with 2:54 left in regulation. The Hurricanes took advantage of it as Sebastian Aho converted on the man advantage to make it 4-3. Carolina continued to push with its net empty and tied it late in the third, thanks to another goal from Aho.
Toronto outshot Carolina in overtime 6-2, but some of its best chances didn’t make it on net. Despite a dangerous-looking four-on-three power play, the game remained tied and went to the shootout. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped Nylander and Auston Matthews and went for an old-school lunge at Max Domi to keep the Leafs off the shootout scoreboard. Ilya Samsonov made saves on Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andrei Svechnikov, but Jake Guentzel beat him five-hole to win the game.
Three Stars
Ilya Samsonov
The Leafs did not dominate the Hurricanes by any means, and Samsonov had to make a lot of well-timed saves when their mistakes started to pile up.
Robertson is starting to make a pattern for himself as he now has three goals in returning games. He’s making a case to at least be an option in the playoffs, and this game could keep him in the lineup for the rest of the regular season.
All four of the Leafs’ goals had a common theme. They all started with a turnover in or by the neutral zone followed by a quick pass to head to the opposition’s end. TJ Brodie disrupted the zone entry ahead of the first goal and sent a quick pass down the ice to Tavares. Morgan Rielly had similar neutral zone plays off the Hurricanes’ turnovers in the neutral zone, finding Nylander and Kämpf with bank passes off the boards.
Robertson’s goal was more active on the Leafs’ end and will likely be another reason he stays in the lineup. He started by initiating contact on the puck carrier heading to Toronto’s end. Liljegren quickly got the loose puck and sailed it up for Tavares. Jaccob Slavin was on Tavares, so he turned to protect the puck and found Robertson breaking in with speed.
Ideally, you’d like more of the team’s goals to be these hard-working masterpieces, but simply having the skill to make a team pay for a mistake sprung the Leafs to that lead in the second.
The powerless play continues
The Leafs walked into this game with a single power-play goal in eight games and 20 total opportunities. Something has to give with the units, and Sheldon Keefe tried something new playing both Liljegren and Rielly with the top guys. Liljegren, as the right shot at the top, could be a good way to fill in the missing Mitch Marner void, while Rielly was along the left wall but was pretty fluid in the offensive zone.
Despite the changes, there still weren’t too many high-grade scoring chances, and the Hurricanes had little to do with it. The Leafs turned the puck over too often upon the zone entry and passed up on key chances when Carolina left a lane for them to take advantage of. Matthews had a lot of room on the left at one point, and no one got the puck to him.
It was much better in the third period as they sorted their timing out, but they still didn’t have anything to show for it.
Live penalties
It was such a bittersweet night to be a fan of the penalty kill because it had a lot of good momentum-changing moments. The kill via Matthew Knies’ tripping penalty was particularly strong and gave the Leafs the momentum to run away with the period. Connor Dewar, Bobby McMann and Nylander created a lot of scoring chances because of their speed and timing. But you can move the goal posts only so far without addressing the issue at hand.
Similar to the power play, the Leafs’ short-handed squad hasn’t been up to par lately. They’ve given up at least one power-play goal in the last three games and added two more to their tally Saturday with the opposition free by the side of the net.
McMann ascension
Keefe is starting to lean on McMann more. He not only saw a lot of penalty-killing time but also replaced Pontus Holmberg on the top line with Matthews in the third. His speed is still catching the opposition off guard, and he doesn’t hesitate to take those hard paths down the wall and cut to the front of the net. Don’t be surprised to see a McMann-Matthews-Marner line in the future.
Game Score
Final Grade: B
The Hurricanes really don’t like giving up more than three goals. They’ve held their opponent to two or fewer goals 21 times in 2024, so the Leafs putting four past them is noteworthy. It could’ve been more, and the Leafs had opportunities to get that fifth, sixth and, no hyperbole, seventh goal of the game. Losing a game like this and in this matter further reinforces the priorities the Leafs have to figure out in the next month. Both ends of their special teams need to improve, and Marner returning will help. You’re still getting scoring from up and down the lineup, though all four lines were outchanced and outshot at five-on-five. The Tyler Bertuzzi-Matthews-Holmberg line got the brunt of that lopsided stat.
At the end of the day, these are two playoff-bound teams. An iffy penalty call and a deflection extended the game.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
