Sports
New addition O’Reilly nets hat trick, sparks Maple Leafs in win over Sabres
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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Newly acquired centre Ryan O’Reilly scored twice on Toronto’s first two shots on net and added an empty-net goal in the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
Playing his third game in four nights since being traded to Toronto by St. Louis, O’Reilly scored 37 seconds apart in an opening period the Maple Leafs led 4-0 on goals scored in a span of 8:18. O’Reilly added two assists and sealed the win with the first five-point outing of his career by scoring into an empty net with 1:10 remaining — and after the Sabres scored three times to cut Toronto’s lead to 5-3.
O’Reilly’s new linemates got in on the fun, with captain John Tavares scoring and adding three assists, and Mitchell Marner setting up five goals.
Michael Bunting and William Nylander also scored in a game played before a large contingent of “Go, Leafs! Go!”-chanting, blue-and-white clad fans making the trip across the border.
Ilya Samsonov, who didn’t face his first shot until halfway through the first period, finished with 29 saves. He stopped the first 22 shots he faced before getting beaten three times in the final 14:48.
Alex Tuch, with the 100th goal of his career, Jack Quinn and Jeff Skinner scored for Buffalo in a game the Sabres trailed 5-0 through two periods.
O’Reilly’s offensive outburst came in a homecoming for the two-way center, who spent two seasons playing for the Sabres before being traded to St. Louis in July 2018.
The playoff MVP for the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning Blues opened the scoring 3:51 in by snapping in Marner’s centering pass into the open left side of the net. Set up by Marner again, O’Reilly broke in alone and backhanded a shot, beating Luukkonen on the short side 37 seconds later.
Tavares then made it 3-0 at 7:14 by converting a loose puck after a shot by Marner from the right circle was blocked in front.
WINGING IT
O’Reilly’s addition has led to Tavares shifting to play the wing.
Coach Sheldon Keefe sees the move as easing the load from the 32-year-old Tavares, and having him fresh for the playoffs.
Tavares said he’s still adapting to playing more along the wall, with O’Reilly getting accustomed to how Tavares and Marner play off each other. “Try not to overcomplicate it, but obviously a good opportunity for me,” Tavares said before the game.
Tavares noted he has not played wing since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, when he was on a line centered by Ryan Getzlaf and rounded out by Steven Stamkos.
BY THE NUMBERS
In earning their 78th point, the Maple Leafs (35-15-8) matched a franchise record for points through their first 58 games of a season and set last year, when they were 37-16-5. … The Sabres have been outscored 18-6 in losing their past three home games. Buffalo is 17-8-2 on the road, but fell to 11-15-2 at home. … Nylander extended his points streak to five games (four goals, five assists).
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Host the Minnesota Wild on Friday before departing for five-game trip.
Sabres: Travel to play Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday
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Defending champions Switzerland beat Norway by 6-3 in Sunday afternoon’s gold medal final at the LGT World Women’s Curling Championship 2023.
This was a fourth successive world title for skip Silvana Tirinzoni, fourth player Alina Paetz and second Carole Howald. For Paetz and Howald it is a sixth world women’s championship title.
After blanking the first end, Switzerland’s fourth player Alina Paetz opened the scoring with a single point in the second end when she played a raise take-out.
The Swiss still led by 1-0 in the fourth end when Norway’s fourth player Kristin Skaslien had a complete miss on an attempt to blank the end and gave up a steal of one point to double Switzerland’s lead to 2-0.
In the fifth end, Skaslien made amends with a draw to put two points on the board for Norway, that levelled the score at 2-2.
After another blank end in the sixth, Switzerland took the lead again in the seventh end when Paetz brought her last stone draw inside three Norwegian stones to score one (3-2).
Norway levelled again at 3-3, in the eighth end when Skaslien played a hit to promote one of her own stones into scoring position.
In the ninth end, Switzerland’s Paetz played her final draw precisely onto the button and inside three Norwegian stones, to score one and nudge her team into a 4-3 lead.
In the tenth end, Norway’s Skaslien had a draw to tie the game and force an extra end, but her shot came up short to hand Switzerland a steal of two points and a 6-3 win.
The gold medal winning Swiss team are: skip and third player Silvana Tirinzoni, fourth Alina Paetz, second Carole Howald and lead Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann, supported by their coach Pierre Charette.
The silver medal winning Norwegian team are: skip Marianne Roervik, fourth Kristin Skaslien, second Mille Haslev Nordbye, lead Martine Roenning and alternate Maia Ramsfjell, supported by their coach Rune Steen Hansen.
Gold medal game result
Norway-Switzerland: 3-6
Engage with the World Curling Federation about the LGT World Women’s Curling Championship 2023 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Weibo and be searching the hashtags #WWCC2023 #curling
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Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele were deadlocked in their quarterfinal match Saturday afternoon at Austin Country Club when both players yanked their tee balls at the par-4 finishing hole.
The closest ball had found the left rough, just 74 yards from the hole but with a large tree blocking a straightforward wedge shot.
McIlroy was pretty sure that ball was his.
“I was walking up there expecting it to be a TaylorMade ball and I saw a Callaway on it, and I was as surprised as anyone, because mine was further left than Xander’s off the tee,” McIlroy said. “Look, you need a little bit of fortune in these things, and that was a bit of luck for me today.”
McIlroy’s tee ball had trundle farther down the hill, about 30 yards away. Schauffele, meanwhile, was forced to punch his second shot under and to the left of the tree. He missed the birdie chip, leaving McIlroy, who had pitched to 12 feet, a chance to win a match on No. 18 for the second time in one day.
And McIlroy buried it to advance to the semifinals of the final WGC-Dell Match Play.
“It’s sort of been friendly to me all week,” McIlroy said of the last hole, which he’s now played in 4 under in three trips this week. He eagled after driving the green with a 375-yard shot in Thursday’s group-stage win over Denny McCarthy.
“Yeah, hopefully if I can play a little bit better, I don’t need to play 18 tomorrow. But we shall see.”
McIlroy was certainly joking. His closing birdie against Schauffele marked his 17th of the day. He carded nine of those in a 2-up victory over Lucas Herbert in the Round of 16.
“Both ends of the bag are working pretty well,” McIlroy said, “and the stuff in the middle is not too bad, either.”
McIlroy has seemed to get everyone’s best shot so far, and that figures to continue in his semifinal bout opposite Cameron Young on Sunday morning.
Young played 32 holes in 12 under on Saturday.
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