TORONTO – Bearded wise man Jake Muzzin once said that the Toronto Maple Leafs sometimes prefer themselves an “easy game.”
Well, they don’t get much easier than Wednesday’s 5-2 laugher over the dreadful Chicago Blackhawks.
A mighty mini dynasty in the first half of the last decade, under rookie general manager Kyle Davidson, Chicago is now embracing full Bruno Caboclo status: two years away from being two years away.
The Windy City teardown is so severe, the on-ice product so incomplete and uninspired, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe found it difficult to even feign enthusiasm over his players’ bounce-back victory.
“Frankly speaking, it’s a game we’re not going to evaluate too much, in terms of anything good, anything bad. We’re gonna wash it, move on, enjoy a day off tomorrow, and get ready for Montreal (on Saturday),” Keefe said.
Maple Leafs happy with a comfortable win in bounce-back game vs. Blackhawks
“We got a tired team in here on a back-to-back, and it’s a team that I didn’t think had much life tonight.”
When you’re strolling through the morgue, you don’t bother checking the cadavers for a pulse.
The Blackhawks play in the weakest conference yet have managed the fewest wins (16). They’re stumbling toward the March 3 trade deadline having lost three straight by a margin of three or more goals. They’ve yet to win on the second half of a back-to-back and barely contend in the first half of them.
So, yeah, Chicago stood a marshmallow’s chance in an incinerator of surviving its lone trip to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs were coming off three days’ rest, had received a series of group and individual smarten-up talks from their coaching staff, and were welcoming the return of MVP Auston Matthews to the lineup.
“Yeah, it didn’t look like he was away for three weeks,” smiled Rasmus Sandin, after watching Matthews rip his trademark wrister, add an assist, and look every ounce like his dominant self.
“It’s Auston. You want him in the lineup every time you can.”
Matthews shines in return to Maple Leafs’ lineup with two-point performance
Perhaps more impressive than his multi-point night was Matthews’ engagement leading up to puck drop. He skipped out on the beach vacations many of his peers took to Barbados, Miami, and Turks and Caicos and instead remained in chilly Toronto to rehab his sprained knee.
Prior to winning the opening faceoff, Matthews drew up this quick-strike play in the dressing room that sprung winger William Nylander free for a burst up the gut and a tally nine seconds in:
Maple Leafs’ Nylander scores nine seconds in to ring in Matthews’ return
“We’ve been talking to our guys a lot about taking charge. A lot of these guys have been playing together for a long time now. They have a sense of what the structure is, and they know what they can do when they get the information on faceoffs. They have a lot of flexibility to call plays and get organized themselves. And that’s what you want. You want the players out there taking charge,” Keefe said. “They have a feel for things that coaches can’t replicate.
“That’s what you love to see: those guys take that initiative and execute it.”
No doubt, execution comes a touch easier against a toothless Blackhawks side that is preparing to Shed Hard for Bedard™.
Try as they might to hold their heads high, the stacks of rumours upon stacks of losses are visibly weighing on a group that is about to get thinner.
Name a player – for the right price, he could be yours.
Patrick Kane, of course, is the headliner of this sad fire sale.
Are the Maple Leafs in the hunt to acquire Blackhawks’ Kane or Sharks’ Meier?
Through a Blackhawks spokesperson, Kane declined to speak following a minus-1, four-shot, two-giveaway performance with plenty of scouts in attendance (two each repping Dallas and Tampa Bay).
“I know it’s tough. Everyone gets frustrated, and we’re losing. No one wants to lose. Definitely not him. He’s one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever met,” said teammate Max Domi, also a pending UFA.
“Selfishly, I hope stays. He’s an awesome guy and Hall of Famer.”
Nylander, too, is a longtime Kane admirer who switched his sweater number to 88.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best to ever play, so it’s always special playing against him,” Nylander said, after a zippy three-point effort. “And it’s just fun in general playing the Blackhawks.”
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.
