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Maple Leafs’ offence remains lethal, but play away from puck is improving – Sportsnet.ca

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The sizzling start the Toronto Maple Leafs so badly desired has been built on a lethal power play and the ability to find one more goal every time they need it.

But their commitment at the less enjoyable end of the ice merits some mention as well.

In beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Thursday night, the Maple Leafs kept another opponent below 30 shots. They are averaging just 27 against per night during the 7-2-0 climb to the top of the North Division, which is a marked improvement from where they were a year ago.

Protecting the net-front was a priority spelled out on the first day of training camp by Sheldon Keefe earlier this month and the head coach is seeing progress. Call it a long-range goal for a roster that can seemingly summon offence at will.

The Leafs were disappointed by squandering 2-0 and 3-2 lead at Rogers Place. Keefe was livid at seeing his players take seven minor penalties in the game, saying “Obviously we have to stay out of the penalty box. The penalties have been crazy. It’s just not good enough.”

But the sting was softened by an Auston Matthews power-play strike with less than seven minutes to play since it delivered another regulation victory and allowed everyone to step back and look at all the good happening for the team at 5-on-5 over the first couple weeks.

“We’ve defended hard,” said Keefe. “The guys are working and we’ve really significantly cut down on the high-danger chances and odd-man rushes and the players have been really committed to that. It’s been far from perfect, we’ve got a lot of areas to grow. We’re not even close to being the team that I think we can be, the team that we would need to be.

“I think the greatest news of all is that none of the games have been perfect and there’s lots of room for growth.”

With that mind, here are some observations from Toronto’s fourth straight victory.

VINTAGE PERFORMANCE

Jason Spezza has already passed through the waiver wire this season and was coming off a healthy scratch Tuesday in Calgary.

As deeply respected as he is within the organization, the 37-year-old is battling to carve out his niche on an extremely fluid fourth line that featured Travis Boyd and Alexander Barabanov on Thursday, but has also included Pierre Engvall, Adam Brooks and Joey Anderson in prior games.

This should help.

Spezza had a goal and an assist among his five first-period shifts in Edmonton. After taking a Boyd pass and beating Mikko Koskinen for his first goal since Feb. 7, 2020, he wisely kept the puck in at the line before William Nylander made it 2-0.

Keefe had felt the extra rest would help Spezza in sitting him out in Calgary.

“Obviously he was right,” said the veteran centre. “I felt good tonight and had a little bit of an extra jump. It’s nice when those things work out.”

He also went 5-3 in the faceoff dot and continues to be one of the NHL’s most reliable faceoff men. Despite seeing limited playing time, Spezza has five points to show for his eight games this season but indicated that he hadn’t been feeling any added pressure by a goal drought that stretched back 27 games.

“I’m not judging my play on goals and assists anymore,” he said. “I’m in a different role and I have to make sure I play that role well and be fine with it.”

NYLANDER SHOOTS

You almost had to laugh.

Just hours after acknowledging that he needed to shoot the puck more often, William Nylander found himself on 2-on-1 with Ilya Mikheyev during the opening shift of the game and … passed.

His attempt was broken up by Oilers defenceman Tyson Barrie.

But Nylander ended up rebounding to make good on his intentions, firing a season-high five shots on net with seven attempts. He also scored for the first time since bagging two on opening night against Montreal.

One of the key ingredients to his breakout 31-goal campaign a year ago was more volume, with an average of 2.9 shots on goal per game. He had just 13 over the opening eight games this season.

“Yeah I think we haven’t been getting the solid [offensive] zone time that we have been used to getting and we’re working on that,” said Nylander. “But I know myself I’ve been looking to pass in certain situations where I should definitely get a shot on goal. That’s something that I keep in mind and something that I’ve got to do better and get pucks to the net.”

Among the biggest areas of emphasis for him, Mikheyev and John Tavares are generating better puck retrievals in the offensive zone. That remains a work in progress after Thursday’s game where they spent most of their 5-on-5 time defending while seeing a healthy dose of both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Nylander’s shooting mentality was mostly on display during his power play minutes.

WAYNE TRAIN

Wayne Simmonds won’t want to see this Alberta road trip come to an end.

He’s scored in all three games the Leafs have played out there, getting a stick on Mitch Marner’s shot in the third period Thursday while stationed in his usual spot at the edge of the crease.

“It feels really nice, obviously,” said Simmonds, who signed with his hometown team in October. “But without everyone else on the ice that doesn’t happen. The team did a great job tonight. Most importantly we got the two points.”

The Leafs wrap up the trip Saturday night with another game against the Oilers.

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Ravens win fifth straight game by beating Bucs 41-31

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.

The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.

Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.

Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.

The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.

Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.

Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.

It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.

Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.

Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.

It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.

Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Struggling Whitecaps, Timbers set to meet in MLS wild-card matchup

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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.

With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.

The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.

The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.

An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”

Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.

There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.

“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.

Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.

“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”

Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.

“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.

“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”

The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).

The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.

Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).

The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.

To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.

“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”

A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.

The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.

“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)

Wednesday, Providence Park

HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.

ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.

POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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No rugby, field hockey, badminton, triathlon or cricket at leaner 2026 Commonwealth Games

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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.

Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.

The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.

There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.

The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.

It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.

“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.

Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.

More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.

The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”

Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.

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