TORONTO — The team with all the Toronto Maple Leafs won not one but two elimination games on home ice, putting a tidy bow on their storybook all-star weekend.
Team Matthews trumped Team McDavid 7-4 Saturday in what was a highly entertaining and more competitive-than-expected 3-on-3 tournament.
“Good for them. They needed some wins,” quipped Team McDavid’s David Pastrnak, with a smile. “They got one.”
The home fans left happy. Team Matthews left $1 million richer. And Auston himself scooped up the game’s MVP award for a two-goal, three-point effort in the finale that included the winning goal.
Captain Auston wins MVP, Team Matthews awarded $1 million prize as All-Star Game champions
“We were talking in the locker room. I don’t think there was much messing around. I think everybody was pretty much on the same page — to try to go out there, put in a pretty good effort, and try to come up with a good result,” Matthews said.
“The team just seemed to gel really well, and guys put in some really good efforts out there. Just a lot of fun on the bench and a lot of chatter, a lot of encouragement, a lot of chirping. And I think that’s what this weekend is all about. It’s supposed to be fun.”
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The fun came from celebrity coaches like Canucks stan Michael Bublé, who may or may not have been macro-dosing mushrooms for three days.
From Will Arnett, whom co-coach Peter Laviolette credited with delivering one of the best pregame pep talks he’s ever heard.
And from Team Matthews co-coach Justin Bieber, who wore a ridiculous red-and-pink polka-dot fur coat that made the pop star easy to spot from the 600 level.
“We we’re loving it,” Matthews smiled. “We were saying Monty should chuck in on for the second period.”
‘He was getting the boys going’: Bieber gave Team Matthews a boost at All-Star Game
Monty, of course, is Bruins-coached Jim Montgomery, who ironically found himself in charge of four Leafs — Matthews, Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner and William Nylander — and giddily wrapped an arm around Bieber when his group clinched the title.
“He was great to be around. He was so into it, you know? And he had real emotion,” said Montgomery, who used his time on the bench to pick the musical brain of his assistant.
“Who do you listen to, like, when you’re just relaxing at home?” Montgomery asked The Biebs.
“He said right now he’s listening to some new band from Austin, Texas, I’ve never heard of. I wrote ’em down though, so I’m going to check ’em out.”
Montgomery was in it to win it, though. And didn’t hesitate to make an adjustment to a winning lineup.
So, after Team Matthews survived its tight semifinal against Team Hughes, edging the Canucks-loaded squad 6-5 in a shootout, Montgomery split up Matthews and Marner.
A look back at the best moments from the 2024 NHL All-Star weekend
“Well, one line was minus-3 in the first game,” Montgomery reasoned. “Third line was great. I talked to Auston about it, and Auston agreed.”
Matthews and good friend Clayton Keller got defensive support from Rielly in the deciding game, while Marner and Nylander were paired with responsible two-way pivot Vincent Trocheck.
That small tweak balanced the lines, and every member of Matthews finished the speedy championship game a plus-1.
Indeed, the chirps and laughs continued well past the final buzzer.
But sprinkled in the centre of the good times had by all involved this weekend in the centre of the hockey universe were some genuine moments of reflection and gratitude.
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“The only thing that surprised me at all was nerves,” said Rielly, a first-time all-star after 11 seasons in the league.
“I didn’t expect to get nervous or anything like that before the game, and I think when you’re in that environment, around all those unique players, I think I was a little nervous.”
Marner wasn’t nervous, but he was appreciative for the weekend.
“Amazing,” Marner said. “I’ve dreamt of being in all-star games my whole life. I’ve watched all-star games from my couch, on my carpet with my parents. You know, just watching Sid, Spezza, Hossa, Owen Nolan, and the list goes on and on.
“You always dream of being a part of one. And to have it in this city, it’s pretty remarkable. And to be able to enjoy it with the ones that got me to where I am, it’s even better.”
‘We wanted to win in front of our home fans’: Maple Leafs’ Marner on what it means to win ASG
“Is Team Russia going? I want to go. I think everybody wants to go. Definitely means a lot for the country. Ever since I was a kid, I was watching Olympics and dreaming to be part of it one day — and sucks to not participate in one. But, hopefully, my fingers crossed, that we’re gonna be in the Olympics, that Team Russia gonna is be on the Olympics, and it’s gonna be a real best-versus-best. Because when Team Russia is not out there, it’s not the same.”
The IIHF has not yet decided on Russia’s eligibility for 2026, but with Belarus eager to participate in Olympic qualifying games this August, the governing body is under pressure to make a call.
• The catch with 2025 4 Nations Face-Off? Some decent talent from countries such as Czechia, Russia, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, and Latvia will be left out in the cold.
“I’m glad they don’t call it best of the best because it’s only four nations. A lot of good players are sitting that out,” says David Pastrnak, a proud Czech.
Bruins’ Pastrnak on Czechia not being in 4 Nations Face-Off: ‘Of course we are sad’
“I just found out it’s gonna be in Boston. That stings. That one hurts a little bit. But I understand they didn’t have much time to come up with the format, so I’m definitely gonna watch it.”
• All players ruled ineligible to play for Team Canada due to the 2018 world juniors investigation, such as the disappointed Cale Makar, are appealing their case with the IIHF.
Participation in 2025’s 4 Nations Face-Off won’t be an issue because that is an NHL-run event.
• Favourite head-to-head matchup, by far: Crosby-MacKinnon-Makar line versus Draisaitl-McDavid-Pastrnak line.
• Justin Bieber got to live out a little fantasy camp, participating in the game’s warm-ups and posing for a photo at centre ice with any all-star that asked.
“You could tell he was just having a fun time,” says Kyle Connor, after sharing a dressing room with The Biebs.
“He loves the game more than anybody. I’m sure this is an awesome experience for him. To hang out and talk to a guy like that, who’s so humble as well, it’s pretty cool.”
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.
