The Toronto Maple Leafs gave up a goal on the first shot of every period, all within the first 90 seconds, leading to a 3-2 loss at home to the Dallas Stars. Frederik Andersen stopped only 16 of 19 shots he faced against the defensively reliant Stars in his first game back from injury last weekend. Auston Matthews scored his 41st goal of the season in the second and Zach Hyman scored his 17th right near the end to make it close.
The Leafs gave up two goals off breakaways and another on the penalty kill, furthering the Leafs need to patch up big mistakes and holes in defensive coverage from the offensive zone.
First Period
0-1
First shot. First goal. Bah.
As the Leafs were attempting a breakout, John Klingberg pinched down and disrupted an outlet pass from Alex Kerfoot to John Tavares, Denis Gurianov was able to jump into the slot and snap a shot through the five hole of Freddy Andersen.
The negative pressure (aka sucking) sustained through the first half of the period. The Leafs failed to get a shot on goal until the 10:19 mark of the first. However, the shot attempts in the period at this point were nine apiece, with the Leafs actually leading shots from the slot (4-3). The Stars only had three shots up to this point as well.
The Stars had completely covered off the middle of the ice, surrounding the Leafs along the boards as they tried to make some passes into the offensive zone. It was a very disciplined zone defense that kept the Leafs out of any offensive chances until the second half of the period when Matthews tried to jam home a shot from the side of the net.
In terms of the Leafs keeping the shots down, they did a good job of maintaining possession as much as they could, which limited the quantity of chances the Stars got. A lot of their shot attempts in the first period came from the point.
After One
Toronto weathered the early storm well — I mean, they gave up a goal — and played better in the second half than in the first and brought the shot share in the period to 18-13 in their favour. The problem was that the Stars blocked five of their shots and the Leafs missed 10 more themselves.
Also in the period, Andreas Johnsson collided with Kasperi Kapanen in the defensive zone and Johnsson had to leave the game with a knee injury. He hobbled to the bench and right to the dressing room.
Maple Leafs forward Andreas Johnsson will not return to tonight’s game vs. Dallas due to injury (knee). #LeafsForever
You’re kidding me?! Tyson Barrie pinched as the puck came around the weak side. Matthews backed him up. But then, Barrie left Matthews at the point (and on the left side Travis Dermott went for a hit on a random Stars player) and Radek Faksa burst away on a breakaway. He, too, scored five-hole on Andersen like Gurianov did on the first shot in the first period.
Watching this goal again, this is why I don’t like defenders like Barrie and Dermott, and the full ice view that Omar provided gives a perfect example.
Looking at Barrie, the right play was to pinch. The right play after that, while the puck was getting settled deeper in the zone, was to switch with Matthews and back up to cover against the breakout. He didn’t, the 29-year-old instead stood completely still watching the puck go past him, leaving an under-equipped Matthews to deal with it.
As for Dermott, his calling card when he was called up was that he could outrun any mistake in his positioning. That wasn’t the case in this play at all. Not only was he late on covering the guy in the middle of the ice that he half-assed hit, but his correct play was to never go near him in the first place and instead backup Matthews. I have had major problems with Dermott’s decision making and positioning all season. His usage in the top-four has only made that more clear. He can’t outrun the many mistakes he makes.
Some of the best offensive defensemen in the league like Victor Hedman, Mikhail Sergachev, and Dougie Hamilton — you can even put Jake Gardiner on that list — can make those pinches and take that offensive chance without risking it at the other end.
The key thing I’ve learned from watching them and players like Rasmus Sandin, Calle Rosen, Justin Holl, and even Teemu Kivihalme in the AHL, is that they are always moving. They jump up in the rush, but get back as soon as they can in order to let the forwards push instead of them. They don’t get caught flat-footed and they are always aware of who’s behind them and how much support their teammates need.
I do not see that capability from Barrie, and I thought I saw it from Dermott in the AHL, but it hasn’t been there in the NHL.
Following this goal, the Leafs got into a lot of penalty trouble. They got called for back-to-back penalties, first Justin Holl for roughing, then the bench for too many men. After that, Kyle Clifford tried to get the team back into the game emotionally by fighting Jamie “not as cool as Penny” Oleksiak. Both players had to leave the game, Clifford came back with bandaids on his knuckles because he had peeled the skin from them.
I’m not sure if it was this fight or the fact that Sheldon Keefe broke up the MNM line, putting Nylander with Tavares and getting him going. I’m pretty sure it was shortening the bench, to be honest.
1-2
With Corey Perry in the box for being bad and slow (also known as tripping), Auston Matthews scored his 41st goal of the season on the power play.
Auston Matthews’ second period goal is his 41st of the season, establishing a new single-season career-high. #LeafsForever
The play started with Nylander sending a through pass from the front of the net to Matthews on the weak side. This got the Stars defense scrambling and the Leafs a couple good chances from the edge of the slot. Barrie took a slap shot from the point that missed the net, but Matthews was able to recover and snipe a shot past Ben Bishop from the wing.
After Two
It was another good period from the Leafs in terms of owning possession, they had the lead in 5v5 shot attempts (11-9), which improved under special teams. They had four shots on the power play, one shorthanded chance from Kapanen, and five shots during some 4v4 hockey. Unfortunately the big mistakes cost them a tied game or lead.
With that goal, Auston Matthews now has a season total of 69 points #nice
And there’s the Tyler Seguin goal. Again, a big mistake with Tavares in the box for tripping a minute into the period cost the Leafs more time down in the defensive zone. This was his first goal in 18 games. The goal was also on the first shot of the period, which also happened in the first and second periods.
Leafs shortened the bench for the whole third period. Matthews had a handful of chances on his own, but the Leafs never got anything of substance until they pulled the goalie.
2-3
With Andersen on the bench, Zach Hyman banged home a point shot from Marner, bringing the Leafs within one with 1:19 left in regulation. This was Hyman’s third goal in two games and 10th point in nine games.
Unfortunately, the Leafs tried to steal an extra point near the end, but they couldn’t beat Bishop.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
