Auston Matthews has never had a run like this in the NHL.
And in the process, the Maple Leafs star helped heap more misery on a flailing opponent once again left searching for answers.
Matthews scored twice — including a stunning finish that materialized out of almost nothing — to extend his goal streak to a career-best seven consecutive games Saturday as Toronto thumped the Vancouver Canucks 5-1.
“I try to have the same mindset whether the puck’s going in or not,” said the 23-year-old centre, who also buried a pair in Thursday’s 7-3 victory over Vancouver, and is always more eager to talk about a teammate’s success than his own.
WATCH | Matthews strikes twice against Canucks:
Auston Matthews potted his ninth and tenth goals of the season in Toronto’s 5-1 win over Vancouver. 0:56
With the Leafs already up 1-0 in the first period, Matthews stepped past Canucks defenceman Jalen Chatfield in the blink of an eye before roofing the puck shortside on Braden Holty to extend his streak.
“That goal … it happens so fast that I don’t think anybody on the ice was really ready for it,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Just how quickly he went from going around the defender to putting it in the net … it was impressive.
“I think in both these games we’ve played here, he could have had four or five. He was really feeling it.”
Simmonds, Hyman supplement offence
Wayne Simmonds, with two of his own, and Zach Hyman, with a goal and an assist, provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (9-2-1). Frederik Andersen, who was just over two minutes away from registering his first shutout of the season, finished with 27 saves.
Mitch Marner added three assists to extend his point streak to seven games, while Mikko Lehtonen chipped in with two more for his first two-point night in the NHL.
Toronto is now 7-0-1 over its last eight and sits atop the North Division with 19 points, one better than the Montreal Canadiens.
“We’re controlling the puck well,” Marner said. “When that’s happening, it’s a good sign from us.”
It’s also been a very bad sign for Vancouver (6-9-0), which got a late goal from Brock Boeser in losing a fourth straight game in regulation this week.
“We need to expect a little more out of ourselves,” said Holtby, who made 26 stops. “As a group we need to be a whole lot better.”
WATCH | Week 3 roundup of the NHL’s North Division:
In our new weekly segment, Rob Pizzo catches you up on the week that was in the all-Canadian division in the NHL. 3:11
Playing their league-leading 15th contest, the Canucks have now surrendered an NHL-worst 60 goals in 2020-21, and have given up at least five against nine times.
“Everything looks difficult for our team,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “Simple plays look hard right now.
“It’s not coming easy, and maybe that’s a little bit of a mental thing.”
The teams play seven more times in the NHL’s abbreviated season, including Monday back inside a fan-less Scotiabank Arena because of COVID-19 protocols to wrap up this three-game set.
Looking for a spark, Green reunited the “Lotto Line” of Boeser (No. 6), Elias Pettersson (No. 40) and J.T. Miller (No. 9), while Vancouver winger Loui Eriksson — in the fifth season of albatross $36-million US, six-year contract — made his 2020-21 debut alongside Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson.
WATCH | CBC Sports’ Rob Pizzo highlights NHL’s Black trailblazers:
Willie O’Ree broke the league’s colour barrier in 1958, and there have been a lot of firsts since then. Rob Pizzo walks you through 9 trailblazers for Black History Month. 1:52
The Canucks, who qualified for the second round of the 2019-20 pandemic-delayed playoffs before undergoing a number off-season changes as key veterans left in free agency, were once again far from good enough versus the high-flying Leafs.
Toronto opened the scoring at 4:42 of the first when its lethal power play, which has now scored in 11 of its 12 outings, went to work. Simmonds took a pass from Marner at the side of the net and, with the cross-ice option to Matthews taken away by a defender, instead roofed his fourth of the season in off the bar.
“I’ve seen that goal a couple times,” Marner said of the veteran winger’s finish. “It’s impressive to see it with my own eyes tonight, though.”
Simmonds then hit two posts on the same shift as Vancouver, which didn’t register a shot attempt until Justin Bailey forced a save out of Andersen almost nine minutes in, struggled to keep up.
Boeser spoils Andersen’s shutout
Pettersson, who would find iron at the end of a power play late in the period, had a chance on a partial break Andersen turned aside before Matthews went to work with his ninth to extend that torrid goal run.
“He’s been playing great,” Marner said of his red-hot linemate. “When you give him time and space, it’s usually a goal.”
The Leafs made it 3-0 at 7:36 of the second when Marner wove into the Vancouver zone and found Lehtonen, who in turn fed a great pass for Hyman to tap in his third.
The Canucks showed some life later in the period, with Andersen making a good save on Nils Hoglander. Miller then blasted a one-timer that beat the Leafs netminder, but Toronto correctly challenged for offside.
Matthews, who played second fiddle to Jason Spezza on Thursday with the veteran registering his first hat trick in nearly five years, put his team up by four with his 10th at 1:28 of the third when he outraced Miller to Holtby’s clearing attempt before firing five-hole.
“Just how powerful he can be an how crafty he is, it’s fun to watch,” Andersen said. “It’s nice to see him be as dominant as he is.”
Simmonds, who left the game after taking a shot off his hand later in the period, added to Vancouver’s pain 1:48 later when he tipped home his fifth off point shot from Lehtonen, who was inserted into the lineup with Travis Dermott (leg) out injured.
Boeser spoiled Andersen’s shutout bid when he scored his sixth on a deflection with 2:04 left in regulation on a Canucks’ man advantage.
But that could do little to sour the Leafs’ mood following another dominant performance.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.
The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.
The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.
Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.
The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.
The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.
Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.
Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.
Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.
RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.
Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.
They’re one step away.
Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.
Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.
Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.
This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.
“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.
The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.
Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.
“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.
Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.
“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”
The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.
New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.
The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.
“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”
Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.
“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”
The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.
The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.
While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.
“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.
Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.
It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).
Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.
“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”
But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”
“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.
The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.
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