The Toronto Maple Leafs (optional) and Edmonton Oilers skated at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
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After missing Sunday’s practice, Jack Campbell was back on the ice at the morning skate, but will not start against the Oilers tonight.
“We’ve got to really be smart with how we manage Jack’s workload here,” head coach Sheldon Keefe explained. “The reality is that he hasn’t been playing at 100 per cent and the games take a toll on him. The combination of the fact that he’s not used to playing multiple games in a row and the fact that his body hasn’t quite co-operated with him the way he’d like it to through this season, we’ve got to be really smart.”
Campbell initially sustained a left leg injury on Jan. 24 in Calgary. He returned to the lineup on Feb. 27 in Edmonton posting a shutout, but also aggravating the issue and being forced to the sideline again.
Campbell has won three straight starts since returning to the lineup on March 20. However, he wasn’t happy with his performance on Saturday despite improving to 6-0-0 on the season.
“He took the day [off] yesterday, because he wasn’t feeling the best coming off of the game and I think he’s feeling a little better today, and that’s positive,” Keefe said. “I just think us continuing to roll him out there when he’s not 100 per cent is not smart. We’ve got to manage it.”
So, Michael Hutchinson will get his seventh start of the season. He posted a 31-save shutout in Edmonton on March 1, but has struggled in his past two starts. He was pulled after allowing two goals on three shots in his last outing on March 14 in Ottawa.
Keefe wasn’t sure if Campbell would be available to dress as the backup goalie. The recently acquired Veini Vehviläinen, who has played just one NHL game with Columbus, will suit up for the first time if Campbell isn’t available. The 24-year-old Finn has only skated twice with the team since emerging from a post-trade quarantine.
Frederik Andersen remained off the ice on Monday as the team awaits further clarity on his lower-body injury. He hasn’t skated since March 19.
Mike Smith will start again for the Oilers.
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Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remained on the same line at the Oilers morning skate. Edmonton’s dynamic duo had a hand in all three goals scored by the team in Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss.
“It can seem like a two-on-two [rush] and all the sudden it’s in the back of your net so that’s the element they bring,” said Leafs defenceman Justin Holl. “It’s just a reminder that you have to be absolutely perfect against them.”
It’s a big challenge for the coach as well. In Saturday’s game Keefe looked to get either the Auston Matthews line or the Pierre Engvall line out against Edmonton’s big boys.
“It’s harder to match against them when they’re on separate lines,” Keefe said. “When they’re together, you can control the matchup a little bit better and they’re also that much more dangerous when you make a mistake. Between the Matthews and Engvall line, we really tried to get that matchup going, but the difficulty is that they play so much. It has the ability to really disrupt your own flow. I actually felt some of that through the game where you’re worried about that matchup and you lose your flow a little bit with your own bench. I’ve got to manage that here tonight. Certainly, there’s that much more heightened awareness and narrowed focus when they’re together.”
‘They can make you pay’: Leafs focused on trying to stop high powered McDavid-Draisaitl line
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s line registered at least a point on all three of Edmonton’s goals on Saturday night, and the Leafs say that they have to be perfect when the two Hart candidates are on the ice together, or they will pay the price.
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The Leafs were able to grab two points on Saturday, because the John Tavares line outscored Edmonton’s second unit by two goals.
“We need to be able to contribute just like those [top-line] guys,” said Kailer Yamamoto. “Maybe not as much, but we need to be able get in there and contribute points. It’s definitely a challenge for me and I need to be better.”
Yamamoto registered just one shot while playing 15 minutes and 50 seconds in his first game back from injury.
“It felt different, but it’s game one. I got another one tonight so just trying to improve on it,” Yamamoto said. “The biggest thing for me is the speed of the game and getting your timing back. It’s a fast game and you have to react quick.”
“Connor’s line generated most of our chances,” acknowledged coach Dave Tippett. “So, we’ll look to tweak things a little bit to see if we can generate more.”
Dominik Kahun projects to be a scratch while Kyle Turris took reps alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Yamamoto at the morning skate. Turris hasn’t played since March 8. He recently spent time on the NHL’s COVID protocol list.
“We’d like to get him back up and going,” Tippett said. “He missed a week and that’s hard on players. You take a week in the middle of the season where they can’t skate, can’t really do anything so it’s taken him a few practices to get up and going. He works hard in practice. He’s got unbelievable skill. You talk to our goaltenders about the best goal scorers on our team and his name comes up all the time.”
Oilers’ not fazed by Saturday’s third period: ‘We’re confident against anyone in this division’
The Oilers know they let one get away against the Maple Leafs on Saturday as they were unable to hold a 3-1 lead in the third period. Their confidence playing with leads has been evident for most of the season and Darnell Nurse believes the Oilers put themselves in that position and just have to play better.
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Joe Thornton started Saturday’s game on the top line, but was dropped down to the fourth line with Alex Kerfoot and Jason Spezza. What’s it like bouncing around the lineup?
“I love it,” he said enthusiastically. “I love it. Just put me anywhere. It don’t matter. I’m starting to feel good. I’m starting to feel comfortable. It doesn’t matter where I play as long as we keep winning. That’s all that matters.”
Thornton was asked about the unlikely bond he’s formed with 22-year-old defenceman Mac Hollowell, who has been on and off Toronto’s taxi squad of late.
“He’s just a super kid,” the 41-year-old said. “He’s a fun guy to be around. The guys like him being in the locker room. He just lightens things up. He’s 20 years younger than me, but we have the same interests and it’s kind of cool. He’s teaching me a lot of things and I’m teaching him some things and it’s a good friendship.”
What are they teaching each other?
“He’s got some different music than me,” Thornton said. “I’m trying to teach him stuff about The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Def Leppard so we can teach each other lots of different things.”
Jumbo Joe strikes up unlikely bond with Hollowell
When asked about his moving up and down the line-up, Joe Thornton said he is happy to play anywhere, just as long as the Leafs keep winning. Thornton also spoke about his bond with prospect Mac Hollowell after an Instagram post showed the two together on a flight.
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With his sister Kia Nurse starring as part of TSN’s basketball coverage, Darnell Nurse was asked if he’s interested in being an analyst one day.
“It might intrigue me,” the Oilers defenceman said with a smile. “Seeing her do it and how well she’s been doing it for TSN, for me, that’s a lot of pressure to step in behind that. I don’t know if I have the confidence to hop in behind Kia, because she’s been doing such a great job. It’s been fun to watch. I know she did the Raptors game with the first all-female broadcast last week and, I mean, she can do it all. Not just an analyst in between games, but also during the game, so it’s so cool to see her do it. So, like I said, it might be a little too much pressure.”
Darnell Nurse in awe of sister Kia’s broadcasting work: ‘She can do it all’
Darnell Nurse had high-praise for his sister Kia and the job she has done on both TSN’s NCAA Basketball coverage and the work she did during the all-female broadcast of the Raptors’ game last week. Asked if he could do a similar job, Nurse quickly responded by saying ‘it might be too much pressure.’
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Projected Leafs lineup based on Sunday’s practice:
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
