You’re not getting much optimism from this game other than the first little bit I wrote when the game was only 2-0 and the birds still sang. you’re going to get players getting called out for laziness, mistakes, and genuine lack of ability. Once the game was done, the big guns (aka the top two lines and Morgan Rielly) looked good and got a couple goals back on the board, but what good were they when the game mattered. All in all, the Toronto Maple Leafs slept in all of Sunday, missing their 10-3 loss to the Florida Panthers.
The Leafs are now clinging to third place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the Panthers with one game less to play. They are six points back of the Lightning, who have zoomed past them with all the skill and tenacity they’ve always had. I don’t actually know if the Lightning beat the New Jersey Devils in their game that started at the same time as Toronto’s, but c’mon. Oh, they lost? Hahahahahahahahah.
I’m done with Tyson Barrie. I know it makes virtually no sense to trade him with where the Leafs are. Kyle Dubas bought him as a year-long rental over the summer and that’s that, but oh my god, he is so bad offensively and defensively. He shuts down offense with his fancy moves that push him into the corners and make his elite linemates do all the heavy lifting all over again. This is exacerbated on the power play.
On defense, he misses assignments and pinches without support (that lack of support is its own issue). He’s like Cody Ceci. He *looks* good in the areas of the game people give him praise for, but he doesn’t actually do anything to help or move the puck in a positive direction. He got saved on the shot metrics by the Matthews line having a good second half of the game, but his shots against numbers were awful and have been as such all season.
I also worry I see too much of Tyson Barrie in Travis Dermott. Twitchy, electric movements, but not idea where to be and how to use them in a productive, team way. That really worries me as the 23-year-old is an RFA this summer.
I feel like I ranted a lot about Barrie in this game, but it takes that much to explain all the things that deteriorate his value for me. There were a lot more awful performances in the first half of this game, and then all through the rest of the night, namely the goaltending.
Frederik Andersen simply did not have it in this one. Four goals on 12 shots, despite only a total expected goals against of 0.82. Yep, three goals above expected. Two of the goals he gave up were 2-on-1’s that the forwards goofed on, but Freddy Andersen would stop them more often than not. He did not in this one.
Once Michael Hutchinson got in the game, it was done, but he didn’t do much of a good job settling the game down and giving the Leafs a chance to get back. He gave up the first shot he faced and two more before the end of the second. Yes, I’m writing this at the second intermission, wouldn’t you?
I saw some really concerning things out of captain John Tavares in this game. Failures to backcheck, failures to cover sticks in front of the net, and a real lack of energy when attempting to lead by example. He scored in this game, but I don’t really care. It was 3-7 when he scored that one. I wasn’t surprised when Katya said he had the least amount of ice time in the first period ignoring the fourth line. It’s a shame, really, because I thought William Nylander was having a great game but wasn’t getting anything out of it.
Pierre Engvall centred the third line just fine. I got worried when he injured his back when Josh Brown shoved him awkwardly into the boards after one of his better rush chances. He works well with Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. Johnsson had some moments where I recognized him, but I’m giving him a bit of a pass since he’s coming back from a leg injury and it takes time to get your game feet back.
As I write this, the third period started and Mitch Marner scored his second of the game. He and Zach Hyman were quite good throughout the contest, scoring three of the four goals that brought the Leafs (somewhat) back into the contest.
Next point in my rant: penalties. You know what I felt when Marner made it 4-7? Hope. Perhaps misguided hope, but hope nonetheless. You know what kills hope? Back-to-back penalties and an embarrassing goal against that gave Jonathan Huberdeau the franchise lead in points. The lack of discipline and effort from this team to stay in the right position and not force themselves into taking penalties is infuriating. I hate it. It makes me question whether this team has enough flaws covered to succeed in the playoffs.
Great start to the period is marred by back to back penalties taken. Ceci minor is killed before Holl heads to the box for tripping. #LeafsForever
Sheldon Keefe had some fun at the start of the game, putting John Tavares in the middle of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Alex Kerfoot was with William Nylander and Zach Hyman on the next shift. You know, if the Leafs want to do that full-time, I’d be very cool with it, especially if Pierre Engvall can hold his own at centre on the third line. And we all know my feelings towards Engvall.
I wrote that at the top of the game, which is about the same time this game stopped being fun. A lot of bad goals happened before these four goals came from the Leafs, but I’m putting it first because.. eh.
While the Leafs were getting their butt whooped, I thought Nylander and Engvall each had a couple nice chances that could’ve gone in. If they did, it probably would’ve been a much different game.
1-5
If there is anyone on this team that is consistent enough to work hard even in a blowout loss, count on Zach Hyman for doing so. He, Rielly, and Kapanen connected on this goal and it was faint bright light in an otherwise pitch black game.
2-7
Thank you, Mitch. Thank you, Zach. Good play from these two.
3-7
Nylander with a great play in the neutral zone to hold possession and open up the lane for Tavares. I really want to ask John where this was nine goals ago.
4-7
Still in shock that the Leafs were able to score three goals in a row and make something out of a 7-1 ass-kicking. Marner’s early goals in the third period seemed to give the Leafs some light, unfortunately, after his and Hyman’s strong effort in getting the goal, Justin Holl and Cody Ceci each took a stick infraction penalty and Mike Hoffman scored his second goal of the game.
Goals Against
TL;DR, they just couldn’t keep track of Panthers players moving in and out of the area, missing assignments way too often. After the first couple times this happened and the puck went in the net, the defense devolved into odd-man rushes and failures to cover rebounds. Also, the goaltending was trash the entire time.
0-1
On the first goal, Kasperi Kapanen completely missed the defenseman, Josh Brown, coming down from the point. It didn’t help anymore that Travis Dermott had gotten himself boxed out by a quick play by Noel Acciari and couldn’t get in the way of the shot.
0-2
The second goal, Tyson Barrie could’ve not existed and Aleksander Barkov wouldn’t have found it any easier to score. It didn’t help that Frederik Gauthier and Jason Spezza just stood there with their controllers off.
0-3
The Leafs looked like they were starting to turn things around, but then with Rielly on the bench nursing a blocked shot off his ankle, Barrie took a reckless pinch, giving the Panthers an odd-man rush against. Kerfoot was there, but he lost the puck from a weird bounce off the glass. I think my biggest issue with the goal is that Tavares stopped skating. Never stop skating on the backcheck. Go back, help, it doesn’t hurt to have an extra guy there. That moment from him was really disappointing to see.
0-4
Freddy got pulled after this goal, and honestly, yep. Just a floater he didn’t see and didn’t move to try and stop. No help moving players from the shooting lane. Just a mess and a goal that shows how gone from the game Andersen was.
0-5
Barrie was awful on the power play. Really static. I’ve linked my thoughts here. What’s worse is that defensively, he can’t keep up and stop a guy from going around the outside on him. Put Rielly back out there. Please.
1-6
What the fuck, Travis. I think this top-four experiment with him is going quite poorly. He hasn’t lived up to expectations full stop.
THIS WAS ON THE NEXT SHIFT.
1-7
This goal was Jonathan Huberdeau’s 420th career point and 420th for the Florida Panthers. That goal tied Leaf great Olli Jokinen for the most points in Florida Panthers franchise history. That was also his 61st point in 45 games, putting him on pace for 111 points. Yup.
4-8
The last goal of the game, as Huberdeau breaks the franchise point record with the primary assist.
Florida Panthers fans then sung “Na Na Na Na, hey hey hey, goodbye” as the Leafs drifted through the final 10 minutes, dreaming about what dessert they’re going to get on the plane. That’s all, folks.
I will be accepting no criticism for this game because I had to watch all two and a half hours of that and you probably didn’t.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
