Most will say the ultimate April Fools’ prank would’ve been the Leafs losing another Hockey Night in Canada game to the Ottawa Senators. I argue the ultimate April Fools’ prank came from the Leafs themselves.
“Desperation” has come up a lot given the teams the Leafs have seen in the last month. Their opponents need every single point they can muster to make their respective playoff pushes while the blue and white have been in it for the whole season.
This is a loss that’s going to sting the Senators. A win would’ve brought them within four points of the final wild-card spot with games in hand. A win would’ve significantly improved their chances of qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2017. A win would’ve been something we’ve all come to expect from the Senators when taking on the Leafs.
But they lost. The Leafs won, and they won in excellent fashion with a shutout.
It seems as if the hockey gods have one thing to say to us now …
April Fools (and here are your 100 points). On to the reports.
He made two excellent saves on Sanderson and DeBrincat with an outstretched pad and a flashing glove respectively but did a good job handling the back of his net as well. Samsonov didn’t hesitate to come out and stop a cycling puck and fended off Senators who were behind him and trying to take advantage of the empty cage.
It was his Maple Leafs debut and his first NHL game since January 8th. It then became his first NHL goal since March 22nd, 2022 to make it 3-0 for the Leafs. It was a quick goal off the start of a shift as Zohorna comes on in favour of Tavares after sustained pressure in the offensive zone, catches the puck and fires it short-side on Sogaard.
Tonight was definitely a “show us what you can do” opportunity from the Leafs. High pressure and strong play would’ve been enough and Zohorna added a goal to it and nearly made it two in the third. All that with only 6:15 of ice time.
An incredible individual effort from Bunting for his 22nd of the season. Both Nick Holden and Ridly Greig tried to get control of the lobbed puck but Bunting stuck with and gained control of the puck before he spun and shot it.
This defensive pair needs to continue into the playoffs. They read off each other well and are in great spots to support each other in all three zones. If Brodie is putting pressure on puck carriers with his stick, McCabe isn’t too far away to lay the body on them or pin them against the boards.
Brodie was really handling the puck on his own and making some great stretch passes and well-timed outlet passes to McCabe who ties his dump-ins in the neutral zone so they don’t get picked off. While in the offensive zone, Brodie is a lot more active and jumps up from the point while McCabe has a good eye on lanes and takes shots when there is traffic or tries to shoot for rebounds. They’re as steady as you can want defensively and they each ended up getting assists on Zohorna’s goal.
The boxout on Brady Tkachuk is what Kyle Dubas traded Schenn for. He makes it difficult for players in front of the net and never shies away from the physical element of the game.
Schenn was credited with six hits, but it easily could’ve been more with how often he bumps the opposition. He gets in the player’s way directly, and indirectly to block shots while also being able to make those short passes out of the zone.
He was really taking advantage of the space the Sens gave him in the offensive zone. Rielly kept his feet moving all night and was up and down the ice to be up in the play but able to get back in time to negate any odd-man rushes.
He made a number of stretch passes along the wall through the neutral zone to catch the Senators offside, especially on line changes. Not to mention he had six blocks on the night though I thought one of his better defensive plays didn’t involve a block at all. Ottawa was charging into the zone on an odd-man rush and Giordano completely took away the pass option from Joseph, even hopping over to the left to put more pressure on him.
Alex Kerfoot
A really noticeable night being the puck facilitator for the second line moving the puck between Nylander and Tavares in transition and in the offensive zone. He was rewarded for that with a primary assist on Nylander’s goal after knocking Holden’s clear attempt down. Kerfoot also had some effective speed blitzes to get past the Senators and get to pucks first. He made a good pass to himself off the boards which led to a shot on goal using that.
He had some great gaps on advancing players through the neutral zone, enough to disrupt their handling of the play and make them regroup. Holl also had a great sprawling play on Tkachuk on the penalty kill.
Liljegren is piecing more steady performances together. He isn’t jumping up as much in the play but is making nice defensive plays in stride and taking hits to send stretch passes to his advancing forwards.
He’s been fighting for the last while so it was good to see him get on the board to tie the team lead in goals with Matthews. His first shot of the game nearly beat Sogaard but he couldn’t get enough air on it to rise over his pad. However, Nylander beat him in the second with a clean shot through the five-hole to make it 2-0.
The fire is slowly returning, and once he gets his legs moving and ramps things up against the opposition when they get pushy, he’ll be back to that dynamic force he displayed earlier in the year.
Alas, Marner’s 11-game point streak comes to an end. The neutral zone was the area for a number of quick-touch passes leading directly to scoring chances. The first was less than 10 seconds into the middle frame with a desperation play up to Järnkrok. The second saw Marner make a backboard from his stick and direct the stretch pass from Liljegren deep in the defensive end up to Matthews.
He was a snake-bitten in this game and could’ve easily walked away with two goals. The first was a game of inches as he did everything but beat the bar ripping a shot at Sogaard to start the second period. After some nice patience from Marner, Järnkrok had an empty net to shoot at but had too many bodies and sticks in front of him to make contact with the puck.
The invisible second assist goes to Tavares tonight. He didn’t get credit on Nylander’s goal but he did a good job of putting pressure on Holden off the draw.
A surprisingly poor performance from Matthews in the faceoff dot as he finished the game with a 25 percent. Based on the standard Matthews returned to, it was a relatively quiet night for him with some bursts of energy and skating through the neutral zone. Additionally, he had an excellently placed shot almost picking the right corner on Sogaard.
It was nice to see Kämpf on the ice for his fellow countryman’s goal in the second period. He led Leafs centreman with 11 faceoff wins though didn’t have a shot on goal.
Four hits with a single shot on goal. He also blocked a point-blank slap shot and had enough gas in the tank to chase down the puck and was in the hunt for an empty-net goal to close the game.
Game Score
Final grade: A
The Leafs did an incredible job in front of the net. The Senators couldn’t get much going from the dangerous areas and instead were relying on shots from the blue line and the hash marks. When they did get their looks, Samsonov shut the door.
Ilya Samsonov: “Special win today, especially after birth of my son. Last time we played we lost in OT. I need to get back on track, win track. I get some extra focus for today.”
I think the Leafs blue line overall had a very good game and the team stuck with it and capitalized on their opportunities in the middle frame, including Bunting who scored the team’s 100th goal of the second period this season. I was very impressed with how they handled the third, especially the final quarter. D.J. Smith pulled Talbot with nearly five minutes to go and the empty net wasn’t the focus. Schenn was the only one who made an active attempt to go for it, which would’ve been his first Leafs goal in 11 years.
The rest of the team made smart plays with the puck but took advantage of the time they could hold the puck and run the clock. No one made it 4-0 but they didn’t allow the Senators to get even a wink of momentum or hope in the game. Not only did the Leafs secure the win with that responsible play, but they also earned their seventh 100-point season in franchise history.
What’s next for the Leafs?
In the short term, the Leafs are back home Sunday to take on the Detroit Red Wings (7:00 p.m. on Sportsnet Ontario). In the long term, the Tampa Bay Lightning are next. Now that they’ve clinched their spot, that first-round matchup is confirmed. And I’m sure no one saw this coming (April Fools).
Our first opening-round series is officially locked in. ????
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.
