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Nurse says Raptors seeking more action, answers after Jacob Blake shooting – Sportsnet.ca

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As NBA players journeyed from their homes to Orlando Fla., preparing for the league’s experimental resumption amid a global pandemic, far more than basketball weighed on their minds and pressed against their chests.

In the wake of George Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, men and women in cities across America were marching against racial injustice and for an end to police brutality against Black people. NBA players joined them, including Kyle Lowry, who marched in Philadelphia alongside members of the Philadelphia 76ers.

The trauma that started those protests and marches has an echo — one that was heard and felt by members of the Toronto Raptors once again since the shooting of Jacob Blake.

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“You wouldn’t believe how many of our own players have been in this situation with law enforcement officers, with guns held to their head,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said during a Tuesday appearance on Sportsnet’s Tim and Sid. “That’s why you see how much it hurts for them, that’s why it hurts them, they’re having to re-live it being them or it could be them or their kids. That’s why you can feel the depth and the heaviness of it for these guys, and the realness of it.”

Video of Blake’s shooting surfaced online Sunday night and spread quickly on social media. It showed a Black man, identified as Blake, rounding the front of a silver SUV with two Kenosha, Wis., police officers following close behind with their weapons drawn. When Blake then opened the vehicle’s door to attempt to get inside, one of the officers grabbed Blake by his shirt from behind and several shots are then heard firing. According to a lawyer for the family, three of Blake’s children were in the back of the SUV he was attempting to enter when the shooting occurred.

On Tuesday, attorneys for Blake’s family said he had been paralyzed by the shooting after at least one bullet struck his spinal chord, and has suffered other serious injuries — including having much of his colon and small intestines removed. Blake’s relatives have issued a call for protests in Kenosha to remain peaceful, where the demonstrations since his shooting prompted the governor to declare a state of emergency.

All NBA teams in Orlando have sought to keep racial injustice at the forefront as games resume. The Raptors themselves have been seen as leaders on that front, arriving to the bubble in team buses with the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ painted on their sides, devoting media availabilities to the discussion of systemic racism and police brutality, kneeling for the national anthem. But as could be heard in Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell’s comments on Tuesday, the yearning to do more is stronger than ever — and could lead to the boycotting of games.

“Well, we might,” Nurse said, when asked about boycotting specifically. “It’s being talked about. As far as what may happen with the games, I think that everyone’s done everything they can do with wearing t-shirts and hats, painting the floors and kneeling. They want to make more of an impact. They want things to stop, so they may have to move things up another notch. They want more action and they’re seeking answers.

“…I think that from Masai [Ujiri], to Bobby [Webster], to me, to Larry Tanembaum if our team wants to do something that they feel is necessary to make change and an impact, we will support them.”

Nurse, for his part, does not see lending his support if players choose to boycott games as being where his role begins or ends. A coach’s job is to strategize, after all. To plan and help a team create actionable ways of implementing that plan — on the court and off of it, too.

“I think that you’ve got to prioritize and what I do is I forget about the basketball,” Nurse said, when asked to describe his role in his team’s advocacy. “That’s not the priority. So the priority is first of all, to listen and get them together and share this space with them to let them talk.

“I’m listening to your ideas and now we need a plan of action. This is how it’s gonna work. Your vision is that you want police reform, well what’s going to be our top five points in our plan of action? That’s just me being one of the leaders of the group.”

Whether it’s seeking justice or advocating for voter turnout and awareness — for which Nurse has been a staunch supporter, particularly in educating Americans abroad about their rights to vote in the upcoming election — the world is still watching the NBA. Nurse knows there’s power in that.

“Playing here certainly lets there be more of a platform and a voice for these guys than not playing would have been,” Nurse said. “I stated that from the beginning. I think there was some question about coming — obviously, Kyrie [Irving] and those guys had meetings and talked about not playing at all — and I think I’m on the side that coming here was a better way to use the platform than not playing.”

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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