SUNRISE, Fla. — Mitch Marner has repeatedly pointed out how little attention he pays to anything that doesn’t emanate from inside the Maple Leafs’ orbit.
The winger insists he stays off social media and doesn’t read or watch what’s being written or said.
With the pressure mounting, the fan base in a hockey-mad city panicking, and his team facing elimination down 3-0 in their second-round playoff series with the Florida Panthers, that tune hasn’t changed.
“We don’t care what you (reporters) say,” Toronto’s under-fire and underperforming star said sharply Tuesday following the team’s practice at FLA Live Arena. “We don’t listen to you guys outside of this locker room.
“We’re just focused on ourselves and this group in here.”
That group has a near-impossible challenge ahead.
After overcoming a painful post-season past that included a number of crushing disappointments, including six straight series defeats, the Leafs got a gorilla off their collective back when they downed the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round to advance for the first time since 2004.
A lot has happened — and not happened — in the 10 days since.
The Panthers hold a surprising and commanding 3-0 lead against Toronto in the teams’ best-of-seven matchup, and can send the Leafs packing with a Game 4 victory Wednesday.
Florida has done a lot of good things and won some tight contests, but Toronto has done itself no favours.
There have been crucial mistakes at key times, ones the Leafs simply didn’t make against Tampa.
The biggest issue, however, is how the offence has dried up.
Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares and William Nylander — the team’s so-called “Core Four” of high-paid talent — has failed to find the mark against the Panthers after carrying a heavy load last round.
Matthews hasn’t scored in this series, while Marner and Nylander haven’t found the back of the net in seven straight games. Tavares has one goal — his Game 6 overtime clincher versus the Lightning — over the same span.
“We’re the leaders,” Marner said. “We want to be the ones to step our foot forward.
“We all know that we’ve got to be a lot better.”
Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said the focus on the top end of his lineup’s lack of production against Florida is one thing, but there’s a lot more that’s gone into Toronto’s predicament.
“Those guys carried us offensively through the Tampa series and came through at clutch times, scored us big goals (in) big moments,” he said. “We’re here playing largely on the backs of how they came through for us.
“They’ll come through for us again, but our team needs to take care of this situation right now.”
Florida won Game 1 by a 4-2 margin before picking up consecutive 3-2 victories, including Sunday’s OT decision, to put a stranglehold on an Original Six franchise that will turn to rookie goaltender Joseph Woll with its season on the line after Ilya Samsonov suffered an upper-body injury in Game 3.
“Playoffs are hard,” Nylander said. “It’s the small little plays that can make a huge difference in the series … that’s been a little bit of (the) case this series.
“As I think it was last series, as well.”
What lines should Maple Leafs roll out in do-or-die Game 4?
Things need to change for the Leafs — and fast — for a team that saw at least one of Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander score in 75 of Toronto’s 82 regular-season games.
“We want to step up,” Matthews said. “Lead by example.”
Going back to the end of the Tampa showdown, Toronto has scored just 10 times over the last five games — a dry spell not seen since 2016-17 when Mike Babcock was in his second year behind the bench, and Matthews, Marner and Nylander were rookies.
Tavares played another season with the New York Islanders before signing on July 2018 with the Leafs, who would host a potential Game 5 on Friday.
“Just go out there and play hockey,” Matthews said when asked how he handles pressure. “That’s what we’ve been doing our whole life. Can’t really focus too much on the outside noise — what you guys are saying, what everybody’s saying. It doesn’t really matter.”
“It’ll be fun,” Nylander added of Wednesday’s must-win. “That’s when you gotta play your best.”
The Panthers, meanwhile, are playing free as they look to extend a franchise-record playoff winning streak to seven games after coming back from 3-1 down in the first round to stun the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins.
“There’s no pressure on us,” Florida winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “Why play if you can’t enjoy it?”
‘Give us everything they have’: Keefe’s message to core Maple Leafs for do-or-die Game 4
There isn’t a lot of enjoyment down the hall as Toronto desperately attempts to take the first step in becoming just the fifth team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit.
“Starts with one game,” Matthews said. “Starts with our attitude, our mindset. It’s not about trying to go and win the series right now.”
Keefe said with just a single date currently remaining on Toronto’s schedule — and the team’s hopes on life support — the message to the entire group is clear.
Not just the big guns currently shooting blanks.
“Everybody has to play their role and give us everything,” he said. “Win one game, bring this thing back to Toronto, and give us more time for all these other things to come together.
“You gotta win one game.”
Watch Game 4 of the Leafs-Panthers series on Sportsnet or SN NOW on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
