Although Tuesday’s game meant nothing in the standings, there was still a lot to play for despite the personnel sitting in the press box. The Lightning could’ve taken this opportunity to send a message before the playoffs, saying something like, “Sure, we haven’t looked our best this season, but we’re still the Tampa Bay Lightning.”
They pushed, grabbed and hit whenever they could, and instead of taking it, the Leafs pushed back. They were active in the scrums and contested with Tampa Bay when the intensity increased, playing steady enough to respond from tying goals and hold on to the eventual 4-3 lead when the Lightning tried to force overtime.
This game wasn’t a Picasso, and it might not be good enough to hang up in the Louvre. It was a slow dance with some moments of quick footwork, and the Leafs held on to the end. That and any doubt that Joseph Woll can be the backup in the playoffs should be destroyed immediately.
On to the reports.
First star
Joseph Woll
One more save and it would’ve been 50, but Woll stopped 46 of 49 shots on goal against the Lightning. Brayden Point, on the hunt for his 50th goal of the season, had eight of those shots, and Nikita Kucherov had 10. Tampa Bay’s top players threw everything at Woll, and he made save after save and gave the Leafs a whistle for a faceoff or change when the pressure was too much. He did a great job ensuring he got a piece of the pucks sent his way and fighting through traffic and gloving shots down. His best save came in that final push for a tying goal on Kucherov. Woll timed his push well and squeezed the puck against his body.
Nylander took control of the game with two other members of the Core Four getting the night off. He was excellent on his zone entries with the puck and was the trigger point of a majority of his line’s offensive chances. His 39th goal of the season created the first crack in Andrei Vasilevskiy, as he took advantage of the over-preparedness for a shot and instead sent the puck through.
He added two more assists, one on the power play, and the other — the more impressive of the two — came from stealing the puck from Victor Hedman and passing it to Matthew Knies.
It was Järnkrok’s first game back with a weird lineup, but he made the most of it with his second-period goal. Järnkrok followed the puck and buried the rebound, hitting the 20-goal mark and converting on the team’s second five-on-three power play of the season (no hyperbole).
McCabe was excellent — in the third period, especially — and came up with some clutch tie-ups and blocks. They weren’t your average “stand in the lane” blocks. McCabe got down and stretched his left leg, blocking high-danger wrist shots and one-timers from the right circle.
Knies is looking more and more comfortable in the NHL. His game lends itself to those who like to skate with and hold on to the puck, and he does a good job working the puck back and setting up his linemates. He’s also good at intercepting the puck along the boards and stealing it on the backcheck.
A few things need ironing out — including his no-look backhand passes — but they will likely be fixed with more game time and figuring out where the Leafs go to keep the puck moving. He has the tools to score in this league, and the assist on Ryan O’Reilly’s goal shows how impactful his shot can be. It squeaked through Vasilevskiy, and maybe with some extra velocity it would have crossed the line, but Knies will have to settle for the apple.
Ryan O’Reilly
He handled matchups against Tampa Bay’s top lines, starting with the faceoff dot. He won battles below the red line and supported his linemates, giving them space to work with the puck. Nylander benefited a lot from this. A give-and-go play on a zone entry gave Nylander the space to shoot and score on Vasilevskiy. Also, O’Reilly followed up with Knies’ shot to make sure it crossed the line for the game winner.
Minutes later, he dropped Pat Maroon in a fight, throwing several lefts and sending the message that this isn’t a team the Lightning can walk all over.
He saw a lot of Kucherov, getting a workout on a lot of those early penalty kills. Brodie got some good blocks and tie-ups in the Leafs’ end but also got beat a few times on zone entries. Additionally, his backhanded pass to the slot was the “primary assist” on Mikhail Sergachev’s goal.
The Lightning like to use the middle of the ice in the offensive zone a lot, so it was good to see Liljegren covering the slot and taking away those options.
Bunting gets an “A” in the extracurriculars department. He was public enemy No. 1 against the officiating, and that’s a whole other conversation, but he answered the bell when Corey Perry came knocking and stood up for John Tavares after Toronto’s captain got caught in a three-on-one mobbing in the second.
Acciari got the lone assist on Schenn’s goal, fending off Darren Raddysh and Nick Paul. He was also part of the Leafs’ ongoing pushback front during the game. Another good addition at the deadline for that reason.
John Tavares
Tavares made himself a deflection option for Nylander on the power play, and when that didn’t work, he bumped the puck over to Järnkrok for a goal.
Alex Kerfoot
There were some quality skill plays from Kerfoot in the offensive zone. He had a solid toe drag around Hedman in the first and nearly converted on a David Kämpf pass in the second. The only downside is, similar to many of these types of chances this season, Kerfoot didn’t bury them.
David Kämpf
The Leafs leaned on Kämpf. The Lightning had eight power-play opportunities and failed to score on any of them. Kämpf led all Leafs forwards in short-handed time at 6:04, but he started with the puck only twice off the faceoff. When not with the puck, he made some good reads along the boards, getting there before a Tampa Bay player made the pass.
It was a steady night, for the most part. Holl had a blunder in the second period, putting the puck on Woll, then failing to get it out of the defensive end.
Rielly threw out a hipcheck on Ross Colton. The Tampa forward didn’t expect it, and I can understand why. The Leafs were a bit more reserved as far as their blue-line activations, but Rielly was caught one too many times on the pinch.
C+
Zach Aston-Reese
The TSN boost didn’t get Aston-Reese a goal, but he answered with three hits. He also struggled to clear the puck at times, but he was counted on in the final three minutes when holding on to the lead.
I was hoping the “Timmins at centre” experiment would work similarly to how it worked against the Leafs via Mark Pysyk. However, Timmins didn’t get many touches of the puck on the wing, and he looked awkward at times playing along the wall.
Game Score
Final grade: B+
The Leafs kept Tampa Bay’s best players at bay. They got their chances, but it took long shots and deflections for their depth players to produce at five-on-five. Tampa Bay’s three goals came from areas high in the zone, and its scoring chances didn’t get dangerous until it found itself on the power play. It was very playoff-like, which should give the Leafs a bit of a chip on their shoulder, considering they didn’t have their two best players. However, the team’s best players were able to produce while Tampa Bay’s couldn’t, and not for a lack of trying.
This was a huge night for Woll. The poise and confidence in net Tuesday, as well as in his other performances this season, should go a long way for the coaching staff. Although there are times when he is far out of the net, he gets back in due time and moves around in the crease to ensure his line of sight is as clear as possible. He didn’t have to make the flashy glove saves or stretch passes. His movements were sound, and he made his bigger saves look textbook.
What’s next?
The Leafs finish their regular season Thursday against the New York Rangers (7 p.m., TSN4).
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
