The idea of a Game 7 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins once seemed nearly impossible, and yet, here we are. In another tight, defensive performance, the Leafs beat the Bruins 2-1 in Game 6 on Thursday to tie the series 3-3.
Toronto had control in the first period, holding the Bruins to a single shot, from Jake DeBrusk while short-handed. Boston had nothing going at five-on-five. The shot attempts between the two clubs were close, but the Bruins couldn’t hit the net. That’s partly because their shots were simply going wide, but the Leafs also did a good job getting in front of their attempts and re-directing shots high and wide.
The Bruins didn’t start to get chances until halfway through the second, and Joseph Woll rose to the challenge. Despite power-play opportunities on both sides, including a double-minor against Boston, it looked as though the game was going to remain without a goal heading into the third until William Nylander scored his first of the playoffs in the final minute. In the third period, both teams pushed for the next goal, and some solid work and lucky bounces kept the puck out of the Leafs’ net.
With time winding down, Nylander got his second goal of the game, putting the Leafs up by two and securing the victory. Morgan Geekie wound up scoring with 0.1 seconds left, and although it hurt Woll’s save percentage, it won’t change the fact that the Leafs’ season is still alive.
Three stars
First star: Joseph Woll
He was so close to his first career playoff shutout, but that doesn’t take away from his performance. Woll didn’t see much action for the first 25 minutes of the game but was sharp. His saves through traffic were strong, but I was more impressed with how he handled those chaotic moments when he was down yet composed, doing his best to take as much of the net away from Boston as possible.
The goals obviously were important, but the timing of them was more meaningful. Late-period goals are anchors, and Nylander’s in the second period likely made a Boston team that wasn’t playing at its best feel even worse. Nylander’s first goal, similar to Jake McCabe’s goal in Game 5, was another example of it never being a bad idea to throw a puck on net, as this one hit Charlie McAvoy along the way.
Knies was going to get a star regardless of whether he got a point or not. The assist was just a bonus.
The 21-year-old was wherever the puck was, offensively and defensively. You could tell the Bruins had an extra eye on him and finished their checks whenever they could, but Knies handled the physicality well and bulldozed through some of those attempts to slow him down.
Two defensive plays, in the first and third periods, stood out the most. David Pastrnak wound up with the puck in the slot in the first period, and Knies, in the correct position, deflected it, stopping it from getting on net. Then, his backcheck from one end of the ice to the other, to get in a position to stop McAvoy, was a well-timed play.
Player Grades
A
Simon Benoit-Jake McCabe
Not much to complain about with these two together, aside from a neutral-zone turnover by Benoit in the second period. These two together have been as steady as it gets.
He’s made for a series like this. His well-timed blocks, especially on the penalty kill, and the way he closes on the opposition in his own end were huge for the Leafs in getting the puck out quickly.
The fourth line didn’t get many chances on net, and totaled three shots. That doesn’t change the fact that they were a strong unit. They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and kept the puck out of the Bruins’ hands. Those extended shifts were big momentum-wise, especially that near-minute-long shift in the third.
He had helpers on both goals and got a lot of ice time in the final part of the third period. There were times when he seemed to struggle to handle and move the puck, and he got hit in the hand by a puck in the first period.
He was still a positive contributor in the faceoff dot, and easily the fastest player on his line. That steal on Brad Marchand from behind the net in the first period was one of Boston’s best chances to score early, while Domi’s offensive awareness on the rush led to some good chances for himself and his linemates.
He recorded only one shot on the net, but Bertuzzi was all around Swayman. Whether it was his his stick, his body or his skate, he did whatever it took to maintain possession of the puck in the offensive zone.
Timothy Liljgren
He got the primary assist on Nylander’s first goal, and I liked the communication with Rielly on some of Boston’s rushes.
Similar to Knies, Holmberg is hitting another gear when it comes to his physical game.
Mitch Marner
He led all Leafs forwards in ice time and created some rebound chances in front for Bertuzzi. He didn’t get many opportunities to make skilled plays, and that may be a benefit moving forward. Keeping it simple is the way to go in this series.
I’m not sure if anyone had Gregor making his playoff debut in Game 6, but he definitely made good on it. I was looking forward to seeing his regular-season speed and physicality in the postseason, and he made the best of his chance with six hits.
Nick Robertson
I thought his shot in the first period might’ve caught Swayman off-guard. His second shot was the only significant danger that the Leafs created on the power play, while his best chance of the game didn’t lead to anything, as he fanned on the eventual shot. But he got into the corners and initiated contact, which is a plus.
Final grade: A
It was another tight game in which the Leafs didn’t give the Bruins much to work with. When Boston pushed, the Leafs pushed back and retained control. The commitment to blocking shots in the first period, from both the forwards and the defencemen, was huge, even though it didn’t give Woll much to work with. It’s another game in which the Leafs scored only two goals, and the power play doesn’t look anywhere close to being better, but you love the execution and the result.
What’s next for the Leafs?
Game 7. Saturday night, 8 p.m. Hockey Night in Canada. It’s an opportunity for the Leafs to exorcise their demons against a Boston team that needs to redeem itself after a 3-1 series collapse a year ago.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
