TORONTO – To understand what it means to the Toronto Maple Leafs that Jason Spezza picked a fight, chucked his gloves and started throwing rights at Dean Kukan’s face with the season looking lost Friday night, you should know a few things.
You should know that Spezza, 37, grew up a Leafs fan in this city and that he agreed to skate minimal minutes here for the lowest amount of money the club could legally agree to pay him.
You should know that already this week he’s watched some of his ring-chasing contemporaries, like Henrik Lundqvist and Patrick Marleau, get kicked out of the Eastern Conference bubble with, quite literally, no fanfare.
And you should know that he has four daughters aged 10 and under: Sophia, Nicola, Anna and Julia. Sometimes he reads them children’s books authored by Zach Hyman.
When Spezza kissed his girls goodbye and moved into a hotel so close yet so impenetrably far away in order to play “road” games like Game 4’s 4-3 stunner over Columbus, they understood why their father would be FaceTime-only for two months, best-case scenario.
“They know Daddy’s got a dream,” Spezza said. “Trying to win a Stanley Cup as a Maple Leaf is something I dreamed of as a kid.”
This isn’t sacrifice. This is choice. This is opportunity, perhaps one last.
So, it wasn’t that Spezza got caught up in the emotions of Elimination Night that he fought for just the seventh time in an NHL career that spans 1,207 games. It was that — after watching the Maple Leafs give up six unanswered goals in the series — he was trying to inject some emotions.
No way the young guys who affectionately nicknamed him “Vintage” and picked his brain for face-off tips could possibly feel as desperate as the old fourth-liner with no job security for 2020-21. But he could help them come close.
“Just trying to spark the guys,” Spezza explained of the five-minute major, which drew a chorus of stick slaps from the bench. “Just trying to show some desperation and have some pushback. Without the crowd, you don’t have that. Just trying to create some emotion and play the role that I’m in. Trying to get everyone going.”
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Hey, maybe the Maple Leafs’ all-stars wouldn’t have thrown down their historic three-goal, three-minute, goalie-pulled comeback without Spezza’s calculated bit of barbarianism. We’ll never know.
We do know the effort of Spezza’s fourth line — which topped all units by generating 78.57 per cent of shot attempts 5-on-5 — made a tangible impact in the most important game of the year.
“Jason Spezza just did not want our season to end today. He played with that level of urgency. You see the fight. That’s playoff hockey,” said coach Sheldon Keefe, unprompted.
“That’s a guy not wanting to go down — literally — without a fight.”
Hyman, who slammed the tying goal with 22 seconds left in regulation, recently revealed that he and his new bride are going to have a baby this winter. The winger said he wouldn’t hesitate to call “Spezz” in the middle of the night for parenting tips.
Seeing that fight meant something to Hyman. Spezza got the boys going. Somehow, with less time on the clock, the group’s belief in a comeback was better in the second intermission than the first.
“He wants it more than anybody,” Hyman said. “He was a first-line player throughout his career, an all-star, Hall of Famer — and now he’s playing on the fourth line and he’s willing to drop the gloves and give our team momentum when we’re down.
“He’s a real leader on our team, and he’s a huge part of our team. We all love him.”
Game 4 was Spezza embracing his new role — critical bit player in the Leafs’ 19-act drama — to an extent that seemed almost impossible in October.
To think: Spezza was healthy-scratched on Opening Night against Ottawa because former coach Mike Babcock believed he wasn’t really interested in being a fourth-liner. As Toronto’s roller-coaster season clattered and dipped, Spezza was at risk of being waived due to a salary-cap crunch.
Yet some well-spaced forward injuries kept his dream on life support, and a coaching change secured more ice time. Do you believe fate?
As Keefe has tinkered with his fourth unit in this series, benching Frederik Gauthier and Pierre Engvall for games, Spezza’s presence has been steady, valued.
Spezza has gone out of his way to chat with quiet 18-year-old Nick Robertson, closer to Sophia’s age than his, because he remembers what it’s like being an OHL phenom wedged into an NHL playoff roster and just yearning to belong. This week he’s ditched the game-day suit and tried to embrace the young Leafs’ fashion-forward attire.
Now that he’s found a niche, he doesn’t want to crawl out.
“This is a time when experience really pays off. You can be calm in pressure-packed situations, and I’ve always had good playoff performances,” Spezza said. “This is kind of what you envision — being a piece of a good team and having to be a leader.”
What you don’t envision is three straight 6-on-5 goals, an overtime win and being on the fun side of an 0-3 comeback 21 hours after being on the wrong side of one.
“I’ve never been a part of anything like that,” said Spezza, 17 years deep. “With the firepower we have with these guys, the way they can put the puck in the net, we’re never out of it. There’s a great sense of belief in our group.”
Sophia, Nicola, Anna and Julia couldn’t be there Friday to press their faces to the glass and watch one of the most exhilarating moments of Dad’s career. But the good thing about the bubble? It’s see-through.
“They’ll be watching the games a little more eagerly because they know what has gone into it,” Spezza said.
“That’s what families are for – you lean on each other in difficult times.”
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.
