adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Sports

Maple Leafs not focused on coach Keefe job security

Published

 on

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs are only focused on improving, not coach Sheldon Keefe’s job security.

“We’re out there trying to win games, that’s all we are thinking about,” defenseman Morgan Rielly said at practice Tuesday.

After a 1-2-2 road trip that ended with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, when they gave up a 3-1 third-period lead, the Maple Leafs will play eight of their next 10 games at home beginning against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, TVAS, NBCSP+, ESPN+, SN NOW).

Despite high expectations, Toronto (4-4-2) has started slowly through 10 games, including regulation losses to the Montreal Canadiens, Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights, and overtime losses to the San Jose Sharks and Ducks — all teams that did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

300x250x1

As for any suggestions that Keefe’s job is in jeopardy, the players do not agree.

“We’re a hockey team that wants to win games,” forward Mitchell Marner said. “Keefe has done an unbelievable job with this team when he’s come in and done what he’s done. If you look at our numbers, we’ve really improved on a lot of things and he’s done an amazing job here. It’s been a lot of fun to play for him. For us, it’s just making sure it starts with our effort, accountability and once we get those two things going, I think we are really going to be moving in the right direction.”

Marner was held publicly accountable by Keefe during the loss Sunday, being benched for a shift after committing two turnovers that led directly to Anaheim goals. He left the bench during a stoppage in play to take out his frustration, but said his discontent stemmed from his poor play, not the benching.

“I take a lot of accountability in myself, and [Keefe] does with everyone here in this locker room,” Marner said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, you have to show every player is accountable regardless, and I’ve got no problem with that at all.”

Keefe is 120-54-21 in 195 games across four seasons since replacing Mike Babcock as Toronto coach Nov. 20, 2019, and the Maple Leafs have lost all three of their playoff series during his tenure. He said he’s not focusing on the mounting pressure.

“My focus solely is just to get our team to play better,” Keefe said. “I think an area we can improve on the most is how connected we are, how we execute coming out of our zone and getting through the neutral zone and just getting on the attack from there.”

The Maple Leafs are built around offensive prowess but ranked 27th in the NHL in goals per game (2.70) entering Tuesday, having scored more than three in a game once. Toronto ranked second with an average of 3.80 goals per game last season, when it went 2-4-1 in its first seven games, then won five straight on the way to finishing second in the Atlantic Division (54-21-7).

Captain John Tavares agreed with Keefe that the path toward improvement offensively starts in the defensive zone.

“We look at the way we are breaking the puck out and just trying to be more efficient there,” Tavares said. “Open up our speed and our ability to get on the attack and on the forecheck and hopefully connect all three zones together.”

Though the players admitted they can sense the frustration among a fan base eager to see the Maple Leafs have success, center Auston Matthews said the fans are not alone in those feelings.

“I think we’re frustrated too,” Matthews said. “I think it’s not a one-way street. We want to be better, win games and play to our capabilities. … We expect a lot from each other.”

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

Published

 on


Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

300x250x1

With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

Published

 on


TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

300x250x1

Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

Published

 on

The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

300x250x1

Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending