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'Monster' Ilya Mikheyev looks ready to resume top-six Leafs role – TSN

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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on the Maple Leafs, who opened their return to play training camp on Monday, practising in two groups at the Ford Performance Centre. 

Out since sustaining a significant laceration to his right​ wrist on Dec. 27, Ilya Mikheyev appears ready to reclaim a role in Toronto’s top-six forward group. The Russian rookie skated alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner on Monday scoring the opening goal of the camp scrimmages.

“He’s been eye-opening to watch,” Marner gushed, “how quick and how much better he’s really gotten. I was talking to [Jake Muzzin] a bit when they were both injured and he kept saying, ‘This Mikheyev is a monster and turning into an animal in the gym and on the ice.'”

Mikheyev picked up 23 points in 39 games before the skate blade of New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt cut him on a freak play leading to surgery to repair an artery and tendons that were severed.

“Skating with him now he’s shooting a lot better, seeing the ice a lot better,” Marner said in a Zoom session with reporters. “From my point of view, in these scrimmages we’ve been playing, he’s been good finding the open ice and that lane for me or JT to find him and he’s not afraid to go to the net either.”

Head coach Sheldon Keefe said Mikheyev looked “excellent” in the Phase 2 sessions noting the 25-year-old has been skating with Muzzin, who was working his way back from a broken knuckle, basically the entire time since the season was paused on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Those guys really haven’t had any time off,” Keefe revealed. “They continued to rehab their injuries and skated all the way through for the most part.”

One area where Mikheyev still needs to improve, though, is his English language skills.

“We’re working on that a little bit,” noted Marner with a grin, “but he’s gotten a lot better. He understands a lot more now, which is great. I’m always just trying to talk to him on the ice and explain things and explain plays and keeping him knowing what I’m going to do and I like to hear his feedback on what he’s trying to do when he goes down the wall and stuff. When you’re on the ice and call for it, he knows [what’s going on] very well and he’s aware of where you are, which is something he’s gotten a lot better with.”

—

Nick Robertson skated on a line with Egor Korshkov and Adam Brooks, which means the 18-year-old has a lot of work to do if he plans on cracking the lineup for Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their best-of-five qualifying round series. And Robertson certainly seemed determined to make an impression on Monday.

“He was working hard trying to get better, that was clear during our scrimmage,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly. “He’s a guy that’s going to continue to push, that’s just his nature, so it’s always good to have people like that on board.”

Robertson, who lit up the Ontario Hockey League with 55 goals in 46 games with Peterborough last season, was feisty in the scrimmages and drills. On more than one occasion, a veteran player had to look back in annoyance as the five-foot-nine left winger hounded the puck.

“He worked hard,” Keefe said. “I’ve come to expect that from him. He’s another guy that over the last three weeks I’ve been watching in these sessions, we’ve come to get to know him better as a player and his work habits are exceptional.”

“He’s got a tremendous shot and release,” observed John Tavares. “He gets on top of goalies and the puck is around him all the time. Guys like him just have a knack. He has a great head on his shoulders. We’ll do everything we can to help him.”

If Robertson is to steal a spot, it will likely be as the third line left winger. Pierre Engvall filled that role on Monday skating alongside Alex Kerfoot and Kasperi Kapanen.

—

Auston Matthews confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19 during the season pause, but noted he was “pretty much asymptomatic.”

“Didn’t really hinder my training,” the Leafs centre said in his first media session since April. “I was able to do stuff at home. Obviously, wasn’t able to leave or anything. I think that’s really the only thing that kind of took a hit for me. I was skating beforehand and having to take two and a half, three weeks off obviously kind of catches up to you.”

Most of the Leafs have been skating at the Ford Performance Centre during Phase 2 while Matthews only arrived in the final week leading up to training camp.

“Those guys who have been here the entire time certainly are at a higher level,” said Keefe. “All things considered, Auston’s worked well, worked hard and he’s done what he could given his circumstances and it won’t be long before the conditioning matches up with his ability.”

Matthews seemed gassed at times during the first on-ice workouts of camp, but in fairness the schedule was designed to test player fitness and other guys were also hunched over their sticks. Keefe had the team separated into two groups with only three forward lines in each, which reduced the rest time between drills. And then the scrimmages featured only two forward lines, which further wore down the players. 

“A couple weeks of not being able to do much, so kind of out of the norm of a typical training camp where you’re going in there feeling good so it’s going to be a little bit different,” Matthews acknowledged. 

Teammates didn’t seem all that concerned, though, with Tavares noting that Matthews has proven to be a fast starter during his NHL career. Matthews opened this season, for example, with seven goals in the first seven games.

Matthews’ COVID-19 experience slowed down his training, but it’s not a concern

When it comes to conditioning, Auston Matthews is a bit behind his teammates as his positive COVID-19 test did slightly hinder his ability to train at full capacity. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe believes it’s only a matter of time before he gets up to speed. Mark Masters has more.

—

Leafs players wore ‘Black Lives Matter’ shirts during off-ice activities on Day 1 of camp.

“We just want to be part of the conversation and do what we can to help have positive change in a very important matter that we all take very seriously,” said Tavares.

The Leafs captain called it a “player-driven” decision to wear the shirts, but was quick to point out there was organizational support behind the move.  

“We as a group tried to have some conversations about it,” Rielly said. “I think what we realized is not all of us have had the experiences that people around the world have had and I think that this is just our small way to keep the conversation going and to really try to acknowledge the fact that this is an ongoing thing and it’s gonna take a lot of work. We’re completely committed to supporting the movement.”

“It was a great initiative by our players,” said Keefe, “obviously one that, as an organization, we’re very supportive of. On a day where everyone wants to talk about hockey, everybody is excited to get back to playing, it’s important to have that – the Black Lives Matter movement – be prevalent. We want to make sure that that’s not lost in all of this and that it is a very important issue that we haven’t forgotten about. We want to be a big part of making positive change.”

—

Although he was spotted at the practice facility, Timothy Liljegren did not take part in the on-ice work. Tyler Gaudet, a forward, filled in on defence during Monday’s sessions.

—

Leafs lines in Monday’s practice and scrimmages:

Forwards

Nylander – Matthews – Hyman

Mikheyev – Tavares – Marner

Engvall – Kerfoot – Kapanen

Clifford – Gauthier – Spezza

Robertson – Brooks – Korshkov

Agostino – Petan – Malgin

Defencemen

Muzzin – Holl

Rielly – Ceci

Dermott – Barrie

Sandin – Marincin

Rosen – Kivihalme

Gaudet

Goaltenders

Andersen

Campbell

Woll

Kaskisuo

Unfit to play: Timothy Liljegren

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Washington Capitals 3-2 win ends Dallas Stars’ winning streak

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October 18, 2024

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored to help the Washington Capitals end the Dallas Stars’ season-opening winning streak at four with a 3-2 victory Thursday night.

Wilson’s goal was his third in three games, Strome his second of the season and Raddysh his first since joining the team in free agency last summer. Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves as the Capitals wrapped up this early homestand with back-to-back wins.

The Stars fell from the ranks of the league’s unbeaten teams despite a short-handed goal by Colin Blackwell and one at even strength from Jason Robertson. Rookie Oskar Bäck set up Blackwell for his first NHL point.

Casey DeSmith was screened on two of the three goals he allowed on 26 shots.

LIGHTNING 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the winning goal with less than a minute to play just 1:27 after Brandon Hagel had tied it and Tampa Bay rallied to beat Vegas.

Kucherov’s second goal of the game with 55 seconds left was his sixth of the season.

Janis Moser had a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who remain unbeaten. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves.

Brayden McNabb, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev had goals for Vegas. Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots.

Jack Eichel, with two assists on Thursday, now has 10 points this season in five games and reached reached double-digit points faster than any other player in Vegas history. He is the 10th U.S.-born player to accomplish the feat.

After Barbashev put Vegas up 3-2 early in the second, Hagel pulled Tampa Bay even at 3 with 2:22 remaining in the third.

BLUE JACKETS 6, SABRES 4

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier each had a goal and an assist and Daniil Tarasov made 21 saves to help Columbus to a win over Buffalo.

Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Zachary Aston-Reese and Damon Severson also scored for Columbus, and Zach Werenski added two assists.

Ryan McLeod, Owen Power and JJ Peterka scored for Buffalo, and Jiri Kulich added his first NHL goal. Devon Lev stopped 19 shots for the Sabres (1-5-1), who have lost two straight road games and five of their first six overall.

CANUCKS 3, FLORIDA 2, OT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — J.T. Miller scored 2:09 into overtime and Vancouver got their first win of the season, beating Florida.

Teddy Blueger and Quinn Hughes had goals for Vancouver, with Kevin Lankinen stopping 26 shots.

Anton Lundell got his fourth goal in the last three games for Florida and Jesper Boqvist also scored for the Panthers, who got 30 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky.

Florida remained without forwards Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness).

DEVILS 3, SENATORS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots and lost his shutout bid in the final minutes as New Jersey beat Ottawa.

Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who won for the third time in four games and improved to 5-2-0.

The Senators, who were coming off an 8-7 overtime victory against Los Angeles on Monday, struggled to beat Markstrom.

Brady Tkachuk was the only scorer for the Senators, beating Markstrom, with a power-play goal with 65 seconds remaining in the third period.

Anton Forsberg, making his second straight start and hoping to rebound after getting pulled Monday, made 32 saves in the loss.

Haula opened the scoring early in the second period and Bastian added a short-handed goal, giving New Jersey a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Cotter scored midway through the third.

RANGERS 5, RED WING 2

DETROIT (AP) — Artemi Panarin had his eighth career hat trick and New York rolled to a victory over Detroit.

Panarin became the first Rangers player to have multiple points in the first four games of a season. He scored twice on the power play. Vincent Trocheck also had a power- play goal and assisted on all of Panarin’s goals.

Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in his season debut. Victor Mancini also scored.

The Rangers have won the last five meetings, including twice this week. New York had a 4-1 home victory over Detroit on Monday night.

Moritz Seider and J.T. Compher scored for Detroit. Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals.

KINGS 4, CANADIENS 1

MONTREAL (AP) — David Rittich made 26 saves a night after being benched in the second period in Toronto, helping road-weary Los Angeles snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over Montreal.

Los Angeles improved to 2-1-2 on a season-opening, seven-game trip necessitated by arena renovations.

Rittich rebounded after allowing four goals on 14 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Alex Laferriere, Mikey Anderson, Andreas Englund and Adrian Kempe scored.

Justin Barron scored for Montreal (2-3-0). Sam Montembeault stopped 28 shots. He made a save on Kevin Fiala on a penalty shot.

BLUES 1, ISLANDERS 0, OT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joel Hofer made 34 saves and assisted on Jake Neighbours’ goal at 2:04 of overtime in St. Louis victory over New York.

Hofer had his second career shutout in his and the team’s second overtime victory of the season.

Philip Broberg carried the puck into the New York zone and made a centering pass to Neighbours for the winner.

Islanders goalie Ilya Sorkin made 29 saves.

Blues defenseman Nick Leddy sat out because of a lower-body injury, the first game he has missed this season. Leddy played in all 82 games last season.

OILERS 4, PREDATORS 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brett Kulak scored twice and Connor McDavid added his first goal of the season to lead Edmonton to a victory over reeling Nashville.

Jeff Skinner also scored and Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for the defending Western Conference champion Oilers, who have won consecutive games after beginning the season with a three-game skid.

Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored and Juuse Saros made 32 saves for Nashville (0-4).

Forsberg’s goal midway through the first period gave Nashville its first lead of the season. That lasted less than six minutes before Kulak tied it.

Kulak sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute for the defenseman’s first career two-goal game.

BLACKHAWKS 4, SHARKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Foligno each scored a power-play goal, and Chicago beat San Jose.

Taylor Hall and Jason Dickinson also scored for Chicago. Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists.

Hall, who missed most of last season because of right knee surgery, put the Blackhawks in front 4:20 into the first period. It was Hall’s first goal since Nov. 5 and No. 267 for his career.

Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored for San Jose, which trailed 3-0 early in the second. William Eklund and Mikael Granlund had two assists each.

The Sharks dropped to 0-2-2 under Ryan Warsofsky, who was promoted to head coach in June.

Petr Mrazek had 20 saves for Chicago, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 stops for San Jose.

KRAKEN 6, FLYERS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Eeli Tolvanen, Jordan Eberle, and Shane Wright scored three goals in less than three minutes in the second period and Seattle held off a Philadelphia rally in a victory.

Tolvanen’s goal broke a 2-2 tie at the 14:57 mark. Eberle made it a two-goal game with a goal at 17:44. Eight seconds later, Wright scored to give Seattle a three-goal lead.

Jared McCann tied the game at 2-2 with the first of Seattle’s four second-period goals.

Cam York and Jamie Drysdale scored to pull Philadelphia within 5-4 in the third period, but Oliver Bjorkstrand responded with a goal to push Seattle’s lead to two with just over five minutes left in the game.

Scott Laughton scored twice for the Flyers in the first period, while Brandon Montour scored one in for the Kraken.

Chandler Stephenson had an assist in his 500th NHL game. Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.

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Canada’s Dabrowski, New Zealand’s Routliffe out of Japan Women’s Open after walkover

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October 17, 2024

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OSAKA, Japan – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are out of the Japan Women’s Open tennis tournament.

Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Romania’s Monica Niculescu advanced to the final on Thursday by way of walkover.

The fourth seeds were supposed to play the top-seeded Dabrowski and Routliffe in the semifinals.

Bucsa and Niculescu will next face third-seeded Ena Shibahara of Japan and Laura Siegemund of Germany in the final.

Dabrowski and Routliffe defeated Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to advance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Mountain West commissioner says she’s heartbroken over turmoil surrounding San Jose State volleyball

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October 17, 2024

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is “not what we celebrate in college athletics” and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.

Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.

A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they will not take the floor when the Wolf Pack are scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. They cited their “right to safety and fair competition,” though their school reaffirmed Thursday that the match is still planned and that state law bars forfeiture “for reasons related to gender identity or expression.”

All those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, went ahead with its home match on Thursday night, which was won by the Spartans, 3-1, the team’s first victory since Sept. 24.

“It breaks my heart because they’re human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. “It just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year’s presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,” Trump replied before he was asked what can be done. “You just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen.”

After Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said “it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”

San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians’ “fairness” references, and Nevarez did not go into details.

“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”

The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship.

“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it’s a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,” Nevarez said.

Ahead of the Oct. 26 match in Reno. Nevada released a statement acknowledging that “a majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit against San Jose State. The school said only the university can take that step but any player who decides not to play would face no punishment.

___

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