Maple Leafs hold off Ovechkin, ultimately fall to Capitals | Canada News Media
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Maple Leafs hold off Ovechkin, ultimately fall to Capitals

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Alex Ovechkin called for fans to throw hats on to the ice to celebrate a three-goal performance not from him but rather one of his least likely teammates to pull that off.

While Ovechkin will have to wait for his next milestone, Erik Gustafsson recorded his first career hat trick to help the Washington Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 Saturday night.

All eyes were on Ovechkin at 800 goals, one back of tying Gordie Howe for second on the NHL career list, until the focus shifted to Gustafsson registering the third hat trick by a defenceman in franchise history.

“It’s not going to happen too often,” said Gustafsson, who had yet to score in his first 31 games this season since signing with Washington. “When you’re kind of feeling it, you just shoot the puck and tonight it went in.”

Capitals’ Gustafsson fires it top shelf to record his first career hat trick

Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet but still had an impact. He checked Maple Leafs defenceman Conor Timmins into the bench in the second and heard plenty of “Ovi! Ovi!” chants as a result.

Teammates several times tried to get Ovechkin the puck for goal No. 801 and are not worried about him eventually matching and passing Howe.

“It’ll come, for sure,” centre Evgeny Kuznetsov said. “There is no doubt.”

Ovechkin launches Maple Leafs’ Timmins into Capitals’ bench with the massive hit

Sonny Milano had three assists and Trevor van Riemsdyk and Garnet Hathaway also scored for the Capitals, who lit up former Washington goaltender Samsonov in his first game back in his old home arena. Samsonov allowed five goals on 28 shots.

“It’s hard loss for me: I think I play bad in this game,” Samsonov said. “I need to play better.”

Samsonov was not tendered a qualifying offer and became a free agent last summer with the team looking to make wholesale changes at the position. On Saturday night, one of his replacements put on a show while Samsonov was shaky at the other end.

“Yeah, we lost. It’s hard loss for me. I think I play bad in this game. … A couple bad bounces, yeah. We need to get working. We’re coming back tomorrow and back to work again. For my game, I need to play better,” said Samsonov.

Charlie Lindgren made 34 saves in his seventh consecutive start, keeping Washington in the game when Toronto tilted the ice in his direction, especially in the second period. Hathaway scored 10 seconds into the third to provide some breathing room.

“It was one of those games where I knew they were gonna have some opportunities and just wanted to rise to the occasion,” Lindgren said.

The Capitals have won six of seven and will take two important points to continue catching up in the playoff race, but they also may have suffered another injury. Winger T.J. Oshie skated off in pain during the second period, never sat down on the bench and needed assistance getting down the tunnel.

The team said Oshie had an upper-body injury and would be re-evaluated Sunday. He missed 11 games from late October through mid-November with what was called a lower-body injury.

“Because of the history there is always a concern,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “I don’t know if it is identical or exact, but I think just because of the history you are just a little bit more concerned about that.”

William Nylander and reigning league MVP Auston Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs, who have lost two in a row. Samsonov had not allowed a goal in either of his previous two starts, and his shutout streak ended at 163:46 when Gustafsson beat him midway through the first period.

“I thought we didn’t do a very good job in the neutral zone on both sides and I thought we just kind of fed their transition a little bit too much. They were playing with some pace tonight and it just kind of caught us on our heels,” said Matthews. “It’s a one-goal game at the start of the third and then that goal right off the faceoff definitely kills a little bit of the momentum and then another one to make it a three-goal lead. Tough hole to climb out of with that amount of time left.”

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Jays reliever Green and Canadian slugger O’Neill nominated for comeback player award

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NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.

Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.

The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.

Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.

The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.

O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.

After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Duke’s Cooper Flagg makes preseason AP All-America team as ACC, Big 12, SEC each place 2 players

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Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina‘s RJ Davis looked into the possibility of leaving for the NBA before deciding to return for another college season.

Their decisions helped their teams earn top-10 rankings in the AP Top 25 and earned both players some preseason honors, too.

Sears was a near-unanimous selection for The Associated Press preseason All-America men’s basketball team released Monday, earning all but one vote from a 55-person national media panel. Davis was right behind him, nabbing 51 votes.

They were joined by Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard Caleb Love and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Love and Flagg tied for the final spot, creating a six-man team that includes only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.

Alabama twin bill

Sears was a key cog in the Crimson Tide’s first trip to the Final Four a year ago, orchestrating one of college basketball’s highest-scoring teams.

The 6-foot-1 guard was named a second-team AP All-America after averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He was the first Division I player in 31 years to have 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists and 95 three-pointers in a single season while breaking the Alabama single-season record with 26 games with at least 20 points.

Sears worked out for NBA scouts during the offseason before deciding to return to Alabama, earning the Crimson Tide a No. 2 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25.

“I saw the team that we had and I wanted to be a part of it, and bring home Alabama’s first national championship in basketball,” Sears said.

Across the state at rival Auburn, Broome made a quick decision about his future, announcing in April that he would be back for a fifth season.

The 6-10 forward was a third-team AP All-American last season after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting nearly 55% from the floor. With an eye on an NBA future, Broome worked hard on his perimeter shooting during the offseason and his return earned Auburn a No. 11 preseason ranking.

“My main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship, to make it as far as I can in March Madness,” Broome said. “When a team shines, everyone shines individually.”

Along Tobacco Road

Like Sears, Davis has similar aspirations after opting to return for his fifth season at North Carolina.

The 6-foot guard was an AP All-American last season and the ACC player of the year after averaging 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Davis enters this year within reach of former North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time ACC scoring record.

“I know there’s more work to be done,” Davis said. “I know my jersey’s not going up until I leave. So there’s some more records to break and some more work to be done. I’m satisfied but I’m not satisfied, if that makes sense.”

Up the road at Duke, Flagg was the only underclassman on the preseason All-America team after arriving with tons of hype. The 6-9 swingman was the No. 1-rated high school recruit out of Newport, Maine and has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.

Flagg has the skills of a guard, but can also play inside and has worked hard on his perimeter shooting, giving him the potential to be one of college basketball’s most versatile players. He’s part of a stellar recruiting class that has No. 7 Duke eyeing a deep March run.

Big 12 duo

Dickinson was the biggest move in the transfer portal last spring after leaving Michigan for Kansas. The 7-2 center lived up to the billing, averaging 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading the Jayhawks back to the NCAA Tournament.

With Dickinson’s return and an influx of talented transfers, Kansas is ranked No. 1 going into the season that begins Nov. 4.

Love’s decision to return for a second season at No. 10 Arizona has ratcheted up expectations in the desert for the Big 12 rival of Kansas.

The athletic 6-4 guard had a high-scoring career at North Carolina and continued it after transferring to Arizona last season. He was the Pac-12 player of the year and a third-team All-American after averaging 18 points per game and making 92 3-pointers.

Love tested the NBA waters this summer before deciding to return.

“He’s had a very successful college career thus far,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He’s kind of this last generation of player that’s going to get better with this extra year, and so I just encourage him to take advantage of it.”

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Browns QB Deshaun Watson ruptured his Achilles tendon and is out for the season, AP source says

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of Cleveland‘s season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon on Sunday against Cincinnati, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.

Watson was injured on a non-contact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals.

Watson will soon undergo surgery, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the results of imaging tests taken on his leg.

It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year.

The 29-year-old Watson went down without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson collapsed to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.

As he laid on the ground, there was cheering by some Cleveland fans, leading to some of Watson’s teammates criticizing that behavior during the team’s fifth straight loss.

The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s divisive stay with the Browns.

Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks to Houston and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million in 2022. The deal came amid Watson being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions. He settled civil lawsuits in all but one of those cases.

Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games with the Browns and then made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.

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