NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Hours before the Toronto Maple Leafs played the Nashville Predators on Saturday evening, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said his team would try some different looks on defence in the wake of Jake McCabe’s absence.
The Leafs, with Mike Van Ryn at the controls of the defence behind the bench, were doing just that for a period and a half. Most interesting was their deployment of John Klingberg. Beginning early in the first period, Klingberg was sent out for an offensive-zone draw with Morgan Rielly. And then another one, and another one after that.
All told, Klingberg hopped out for seven offensive-zone faceoffs with Rielly. It was a logical way to keep Klingberg involved while he shared minutes on the third pair with William Lagesson, who didn’t play in the NHL last season.
Then, with about 10 minutes left in the second period, the Leafs lost Timothy Liljegren to an upper-body injury and that plan went out the window. It was next man up after that, particularly for Rielly, who played almost 28 minutes, and TJ Brodie, who logged 25 1/2 minutes.
Liljegren was talking to a trainer and now he’s off to the dressing room
It’s unclear if Liljegren will miss time and if so, for how long. And though Keefe said the team got encouraging news on McCabe’s groin injury — “We’re not expecting him to miss any sort of significant time” — the Leafs might still be down their Nos. 3 and 4 defencemen for the time being.
They were already missing Conor Timmins, their No. 7 defender who suffered an injury (four-to-six-week timeline) late in training camp.
This means the Leafs are already digging into their depth with their apparent No. 8 in Lagesson and maybe No. 9 as soon as Tuesday night, when the Los Angeles Kings come to town.
It’s an early stress test for a defence that entered the season with legitimate question marks.
The good news is Rielly and Brodie are off to a terrific start in top-pair duty. The Leafs won almost 70 percent of the expected goals in their minutes together against the Predators. Rielly and Brodie have been on the ice for only two five-on-five goals together all season.
Expected goals are up over 56 percent.
This while owning the top-line challenge nightly and starting a whole whack of shifts in the defensive zone; Rielly and Brodie have an offensive-zone faceoff percentage of just 37 percent this season.
In short, they’re playing the heaviest, hardest minutes for the Leafs and succeeding. It’s been particularly impressive on the defensive side of things, where the Leafs are giving up just over two expected goals per 60 minutes with the two of them out there, one of the better marks league-wide.
The Leafs needed at least one pair they could count on, and they’ve found it in old faithful: Rielly and Brodie.
That will have to continue in the near term without McCabe and, potentially, Liljegren. Their minutes figure to rise even a little higher.
Mark Giordano will also need to hold up with heavier usage. He played a season-high 20 1/2 minutes in Nashville and was late to Ryan O’Reilly’s stick on the power-play goal that tied the score at two.
“That’s on me, that one,” Giordano said.
He also scored the Leafs’ second goal and had an otherwise solid game.
“This guy takes nothing for granted,” Keefe said. “He’s working every day. He loves the game. He wasn’t happy with how the playoffs went, and I think that pushed him to have a great summer and make some changes to how he prepared.”
With the Maple Leafs’ blue line thin, Mark Giordano will need to hold up with heavier usage. (Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today)
Among those changes is to do a better job of resting throughout the season.
“You can do a good job resting in between games, really taking care of yourself,” Giordano said at training camp. “It goes a long way.”
Keeping fresh will get harder for the oldest skater in the league as the minutes tick up. Without McCabe, the Leafs are back to using Giordano on their second pair. It’s a role he had to take on frequently amid injuries last season and one he fared quite well in.
But this is 40 for Giordano, and he’s already playing on the No. 1 penalty-killing unit.
Can he crank it up again? Can he succeed in difficult second-pair terrain with Klingberg (who would move up in Liljegren’s absence) by his side?
The Leafs were playing Giordano and Klingberg together before McCabe’s injury. But that was in third-pairing territory, where the minutes and quality of competition are quite a bit lighter. If Liljegren remains out against the Kings, Giordano and Klingberg figure to see a fair bit of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kevin Fiala, Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. A couple of nights after that, the Leafs will be in Boston, where the Bruins figure to work hard to find mismatches for David Pastrnak-led groups.
Tough stuff.
The Leafs have been working hard to limit Klingberg’s exposure in the defensive zone. Even in Nashville, he lined up for only three defensive-zone draws at five-on-five. Absent McCabe and Liljegren potentially for the foreseeable future, he’ll have to share more of that burden — and keep things square defensively.
Another noteworthy change in light of the injuries is that Rielly has reassumed a regular role on the penalty kill after starting the season ranked No. 5 on the depth chart. He might even be joined there next game by Lagesson. (The Leafs do not use Klingberg on the penalty kill and didn’t even after Liljegren went out in Nashville.)
It remains to be seen how the Leafs will navigate a call-up on the back end if one is needed and Liljegren’s injury is more of the day-to-day variety. Things are so tight against the cap that sending Pontus Holmberg down and playing a forward short might be necessary. (Fraser Minten had to go back to junior so Lagesson could be recalled.)
Then, there’s the question of which defenceman will get that call. Simon Benoit has the most NHL experience. Mikko Kokkonen impressed at camp.
These are suddenly interesting times for the Leafs defence.
— Stats and research courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Hockey-Reference.
(Top photo of Mark Giordano and referee Jean Hebert: Brett Carlsen / Getty Images)
Vancouver Canucks winger Dakota Joshua is set to make his season debut Thursday after missing time for cancer treatment.
Head coach Rick Tocchet says Joshua will slot into the lineup Thursday when Vancouver (8-3-3) hosts the New York Islanders.
The 28-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., was diagnosed with testicular cancer this summer and underwent surgery in early September.
He spoke earlier this month about his recovery, saying it had been “very hard to go through” and that he was thankful for support from his friends, family, teammates and fans.
“That was a scary time but I am very thankful and just happy to be in this position still and be able to go out there and play,,” Joshua said following Thursday’s morning skate.
The cancer diagnosis followed a career season where Joshua contributed 18 goals and 14 assists across 63 regular-season games, then added four goals and four assists in the playoffs.
Now, he’s ready to focus on contributing again.
“I expect to be good, I don’t expect a grace period. I’ve been putting the work in so I expect to come out there and make an impact as soon as possible,” he said.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be perfect right from the get-go, but it’s about putting your best foot forward and working your way to a point of perfection.”
The six-foot-three, 206-pound Joshua signed a four-year, US$13-million contract extension at the end of June.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
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.
