MONTREAL – Precisely one month from the NHL’s trade deadline, the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs was asked for his wish list.
“My wish list is to play a really good, solid, 60-minute hockey game here in Montreal,” Keefe replied Monday morning.
Keefe knew.
He knew that his talented team has an infuriating tendency to ease off the gas pedal, to play down to a weaker opponent if they believe the win is a gimme.
Until, oh, about Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens had been the NHL’s lay-up. Two points as bankable as Steph Curry at the line.
Their special teams are atrocious, they struggle to score, and they allow more goals than anybody.
The Habs should’ve be sluggish coming off Sunday’s shootout win on Long Island, while the Leafs got a full night’s rest in la belle province.
The Canadiens in last freaking place.
Easy peasy, right?
Well, that’s precisely the trap thinking to which Keefe did not want his players to fall prey.
So, Keefe spoke at length pre-game about how his former Lightning teammate, Martin St. Louis, had infused the Canadiens with a jolt of renewed energy. And how the Canadiens — winners of consecutive games for the first time since their magical playoff rip — would feel an extra boost from the Bell Centre crowd, increased to 50 per cent capacity.
“Of course, through all this, we haven’t forgotten there’s 11 out of 18 skaters that’ll be on the ice that knocked us out of the playoffs last year. So, lots of reasons for us to be focused and committed to playing our best game,” Keefe said.
“They’re a team that’s working and competing very hard, and when you do that, you tend to play better defensively.”
And when you don’t?
Well, you get the sort of lacklustre effort the Maple Leafs delivered in the first two periods against a rival they not only should beat but want to beat.
Instead, it was Montreal that smashed into the arena like Kool-Aid Man, Rem Pitlick registering the contest’s first shot on a clear breakaway and crashing into Petr Mrazek.
Mrazek stopped that one, but the odd-man rushes and Grade-A opportunities continued to pour his way.
Keefe continues to scramble his bottom two defensive pairs (Jake Muzzin–Timothy Liljegren and Travis Dermott–Justin Holl on this night, with Rasmus Sandin scratched) in search of calm and consistency, and GM Kyle Dubas added burly stay-at-home type Ilya Lyubushkin via trade Sunday because the status quo is concerning.
In Monday’s porous 5-2 loss to the lowly Canadiens, however, we’re not certain the Russian Bear would’ve swayed the scoreboard. Maybe not even the Russian Army.
“2-on-1’s, 3-on-1’s, 3-on-2’s…” Auston Matthews recounted. “I think we just made it difficult on ourselves.”
Opportunistic strikes by Josh Anderson (twice), Cole Caufield, Mike Hoffman and Pitlick built the home side a formidable 5-0 lead through two periods. And while the Leafs had their share of O-zone time, the Canadiens held a decided advantage in high-danger chances 5-on-5 (12-8).
All those rush chances, Keefe says, are a continuation from Saturday’s lopsided loss to the Blues. Lost puck races. Forwards failing to get a bump on the opponent blowing the zone. Disconnected pairs. Misplays backing up.
“As a group we’re obviously going to have to look into that more. It’s a common theme,” Morgan Rielly said. “As a D corps, we have to be better.”
A half-full Bell Centre roared at full throat and the “Olé! Olé! Olé!” chants rang out with 21 minutes still to go.
Nick Suzuki barged over Holl with a massive clean hit, causing Jason Spezza to go picking fights.
Poor Muzzin left the game after a frightening collision with Chris Wideman left him prone on the ice for nearly two minutes.
“Terrible. As bad a thing as you see in the game,” Keefe said.
Muzzin got up and skated down the tunnel on his own power, but considering he suffered a concussion just last month, there is reason for concern.
The defenceman will spend the night of his 33rd birthday getting tested at a Montreal hospital, not travelling with his teammates to Columbus.
“I just hope he’s OK,” Rielly said. “He’s a guy we care deeply about. We wish him nothing but the best and hope he’s back soon.”
Injury to insult.
Keefe tried to glean the positives post-game. He spoke of a strong showing from his bottom six, which generated a pair of third-period goals, and hoped Monday’s embarrassment could have a similar effect on his players that October’s 7-1 debacle in Pittsburgh did. [LINK: https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/maple-leafs-extend-losing-streak-embarrassing-defeat-penguins/ ]
“Sometimes these games happen. And, frankly, sometimes they’re needed,” Keefe said.
And then the coach made another wish: “Sometimes you need these types of games as a true wakeup.”
Set to face the Blue Jackets Tuesday, the Maple Leafs have less than 24 hours to rub their eyes and jostle their defensive game back on the rails.
“We gotta put the fire out now,” Matthews said.
Fox’s Fast 5
• Prized prospect Nick Robertson has been producing well since returning from the broken leg he suffered in October, scoring three goals and adding a pair of assists.
“He’s come back to the Marlies off a long injury, and he’s been outstanding. It’s probably the best I’ve seen him play at that level. He’s only 20 years old – I think sometimes that gets forgotten,” Kyle Dubas said.
Robertson has always wielded a dangerous shot, but the GM raved about (pumped up?) the winger’s play with and without the puck, his improved skating, and his willingness to sharpen his penalty-killing skills to round out his game.
Said Dubas: “It’ll just be a matter of time before he forces our hand.”
• The Canadiens are auctioning off Monday’s Black History Month warmup sweaters. (Caufield’s is the most coveted.)
Loved the pre-game soundtrack: Kendrick Lamar, 2Pac, Jennifer “Jenny from the Block” Lopez, Nate Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Public Enemy, Lil Nas X.
• How did newest Leaf Ilya Lyubushkin earn the nickname “Russian Bear”?
“He’s just a big boy,” says former Coyote Michael Bunting. “He plays rough out there, and he’s not afraid to be physical at all.”
You’re going to love the Russian Bear #LeafsNation. Maybe as much as Bunting.
• Lyubushkin flew to Columbus Monday and will meet up with his teammates Tuesday ahead of their game against the Blue Jackets. The 27-year-old left his family in Arizona and needs to get his visa sorted before moving to Canada.
Considering Lyubushkin hasn’t skated in a couple days, Keefe has not yet committed to playing him Tuesday. When he does, he’ll wear No. 26.
“We want to put him in a position to succeed,” Keefe said.
• Matthews spent a couple hours in a dentist’s chair and lost a tooth from Thursday’s accidental run-in with the crossbar, as he was locked in pursuing Sidney Crosby around the net.
“I’ve had better days. It’s been a bit of a battle trying to eat and all that stuff,” said Matthews, his speech temporarily affected by the collision.
“I saw the crossbar and just decided it would be a great idea if I put my face right through it and see what happens. So, great question.”
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.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
