TORONTO – Immediately after he was traded to Toronto Maple Leafs, Alex Galchenyuk’s phone illuminated with a welcoming text message from Auston Matthews.
The two top-three NHL draft picks with very divergent career trajectories had developed a relationship over the pandemic off-season, engaging in some exclusive, private skills and skating sessions in Phoenix with Galchenyuk’s father, Alexander Sr., and Matthews’ boyhood trainer Boris Dorozhenko.
On Saturday night, Galchenyuk (now with his seventh franchise) and Matthews (destined to become the face of his first) were integral to the construction of a come-from-behind, 4-3 overtime victory over the dynamic Edmonton Oilers.
Matthews snuffed out his five-game goal drought by scoring his league-best eighth game-winner in the extra frame.
But that opportunity would not have presented itself had Galchenyuk — bumped up to Line 2 mid-game by coach Sheldon Keefe — not played a helping hand in the set up of third-period strikes by linemates John Tavares and William Nylander.
“It’s funny how things work out,” said Galchenyuk, following his first multi-point effort since three teams ago. “Definitely happy to be on the same team.”
If you’ve played any left wing for the Maple Leafs this season, chances are you’ve had a tryout alongside Tavares-Nylander as Keefe searches for a third tenor to make his second line sing.
Jimmy Vesey, Wayne Simmonds, Zach Hyman, Joe Thornton, Alexander Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev….
At the risk of drawing conclusions from a four-game, three-point sample size, maybe Galchenyuk is not only the one that sticks, but the one who makes general manager Kyle Dubas wonder if he already traded for his top-nine winger.
That low-risk, high-reward flyer the Leafs GM plucked off the Carolina Hurricanes, in part, because, hey, Galchenyuk was already in Ontario, had already cleared waivers and wouldn’t require an extensive quarantine.
Saturday’s showdown between two-thirds of the North Division’s best was loaded with blinding assist highlights: Connor McDavid’s top-speed, no-look rush pass to Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl’s no-look, behind-the-back, behind-the-net, give-and-go with Tyson Barrie. And Galchenyuk’s no-look, between-the-legs, backhanded drop pass to Tavares in the slot — on a rush that began off a D-zone draw and which triggered the Leafs’ rally and further endeared castaway Galchenyuk to a Toronto team growing tighter by the win.
“He plays with a lot of energy,” Matthews beams. “He’s really passionate about hockey. He works extremely hard. He cares a lot. He’s been playing great over the games he’s been with us. He works hard every shift, he competes, and you can’t really ask for more. He’s got plenty of skill to go along with that. He made a couple of really nice plays tonight, and a couple of huge goals from that line.”
That line — Galchenyuk-Tavares-Nylander — has now generated 82 per cent of expected goals and 90 per cent of high-danger chances in the 30 minutes it’s been on the ice together.
Keefe had started Simmonds in that spot early, but once the Maple Leafs started getting caved in and lost their legs — and the lead — in the second period, the coach peeked at Galchenyuk’s minimal ice time and gave him a promotion.
“I thought Galchenyuk had played well to that point. I hadn’t used him very much, yet the shifts that he had I thought were good,” Keefe explained post-game.
“Galchenyuk hadn’t done anything to come off of that line. He had played quite well. It was more just about giving Simmonds that opportunity there. Just the way that it works out with how the game was going, needed to make some changes. And it was nice to see that line continue the way that it had been playing.”
Especially nice for Tavares, whose strong work in the D-zone and the face-off circle hasn’t kept critics from noticing his lack of even-strength production.
On a night where the Oilers rolled McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line, conjured up wow moments and still lost, it’s worth remembering that the success of the Maple Leafs rests on the Matthews and Tavares units smacking defenders with a one-two punch at even strength.
Particularly when Toronto’s vaunted power play, now 0 for its past 18, gets stuck in the mud.
“Nice to get one,” said Tavares, up to 10 goals in 34 games. “(Scoring) is a big part of my game, and this year it hasn’t seemed to be as consistent as I’d like.
“I’m still trying to figure some things out. Not a perfect science. Just got to bear down on some opportunities. I’m good around the net at finding rebounds and plays in tight, and I haven’t seemed to get as many of those.”
Tavares credits Galchenyuk’s blend of talent, work ethic and playmaking sense as a complement to him and Nylander.
“He was drafted really high for a reason,” Tavares said.
“He’s had really good success in this league. He makes plays quickly, and great two plays on the two goals that help tie it up. Just the energy that he brings. He won a lot of loose pucks, getting first to pucks and just keeping possession and doing a lot of things like that that just help you just make positive plays and over time wear the opponent down and create the openings that you’re looking for.”
Hockey, as always, is a game of breaks. Of opportunity seized.
Galchenyuk, it seems, needed a club willing to be patient, to pump up his confidence and comfort in the minors, then give him shifts him alongside high-end talent to jolt a revival.
And Matthews, after drilling posts and pounding Mike Smith’s pads all night, needed an OT puck to clink off Draisaitl’s stick and Darnell Nurse’s foot before finally finding twine and quenching his drought.
Next one’s going in, next one’s going in, the Rocket leader kept thinking to himself as his attempts got denied.
“Sometimes those ugly ones help you get out of a big slump,” Matthews smiled.
“Not really how I drew it up, but I’ll definitely take it.”
We could say the exact same for the Maple Leafs’ incorporation of Galchenyuk into their top six.
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.
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.
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.
