Is there any way for the Maple Leafs to schedule playoff games in Stockholm, too?
Sports
Nylander the hometown hero as Leafs beat Wild for Sweden sweep
“It was pretty special, for sure, to get that winner, but it was a great four points here and hopefully we bring that home,” Nylander told the travelling media.
“We started feeling our game back in Toronto (two wins before departing). It’s been a blast, I love being here and hopefully we can do it again sometime.”
“I think it’s about as good as it gets for him,” teammate Morgan Rielly said in praise of Nylander. “I know he had some downtime with his family here, but he was also doing his job and kind of taking it to the next level, promoting our game and the team.
“Hats off to him for both his play and his execution off the ice.”
After the late Leafs legend Borje Salming’s son Anders dropped the puck before Friday’s win, franchise leading scorer Mats Sundin did the honours on Sunday during a game that featured an 8 a.m. ET start.
In an overtime period that underlined some of their disoriented play on this trip, all three Leafs on the ice congregated in the same corner, allowing Joel Eriksson Ek a clear path to Joseph Woll. But Woll stopped that among the 33 pucks that came his way and a Rielly blocked shot on Marcus Johansson sent Nylander the other way to beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a dandy deke.
William’s father Michael was in the audience again to celebrate and Friday was his grandmother’s first chance ever to see him play live.
Marner and Auston Matthews had the assists on Rielly’s goal, Matthews tying Bob Pulford for ninth in franchise scoring with his 563rd point, while an earlier helper by Marner on one by Matthew Knies made him the fastest Leaf to 400 assists at 524 games.
Matthews, with his first goal in four games to regain a piece of the league lead, had answered Jon Merrill’s 2:37 into the match.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe promised a better start than Friday’s early trepidation against Detroit, given his team was now used to the time change, nuances of Avicii Arena and, like Friday, played a foe on a back to back.
“It was one of those trips where you really come together as a team,” Matthews said. “We’re about ready for a couple of days away from each other now (after the plane ride home comes a couple of days off), but we got to experience a new country, a different culture in a city like Stockholm.
“I definitely won’t forget the sun going down every day at 3 p.m., but it’s been a lot of fun.”
The Leafs will reconvene on the ice mid-week and head to back-to-back U.S. Thanksgiving road games against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, then old boss Kyle Dubas’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
NOT QUITE A CLEAN ESCAPE
Warhorse defenceman Mark Giordano, who’d overskated an empty net crossbar rebound from John Tavares, was the catalyst on the Knies goal, which caught Fleury’s five-hole coming across the crease.
However, the Leafs couldn’t pull away in the second, far too busy killing three penalties, including one when a fed-up Marner whacked Eriksson Ek in retaliation for getting mugged in front of Fleury.
And while they looked sharp doing so, they were not winning many 5-on-5 battles in their end in the second period, allowing Kirill Kaprizov a free look. Woll stayed right with the star winger with a stretched pad save.
BACK TO MATS
It had to be a weird and wonderful feeling for Giordano watching Leaf great Sundin drop the puck. In Giordano’s first game in his hometown of Toronto as a Calgary Flame on Oct. 14, 2006, he scored twice and was having a dream night. Until Sundin fired a hat trick, including the overtime winner short-handed, for his 500th NHL goal.
NEW BLUE CREW?
The Leaf roster could have a different look next week. Defenceman Conor Timmins will likely be activated, perhaps taking John Klingberg’s place on the roster as Klingberg has now gone more than a week without playing because of an undisclosed lower-body injury.
Bobby McMann has now played three games on the fourth line and is in good stead, as is third-liner Nick Robertson, but before Sunday night, Alex Steeves had 15 points through 10 consecutive games for the Marlies and newcomer forward Dmitry Ovchinnikov had five goals in his past three.
LOOSE LEAFS
Nylander’s 17-game streak tied him with Connor McDavid as the only active NHLer off to such a hot start. The retired Dave Andreychuk and Henrik Zetterberg also got as high as 17 … Matthews said after the game he’d like to see the Global Series tried in Mexico City. That’s indeed on the short list for the NHL, said its chief content officer Steve Mayer on a pre-season ESPN podcast. While Matthews’ mother is Mexican and the appeal would be obvious to include Toronto, the Dallas Stars have long been the favourite to be involved in such a venture, given they claim to have one million registered Hispanic fans … Keefe’s 10th win of the year and 176th of his career ties him on the all-time NHL list with Leaf pro scout Tom Watt.
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NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sports
Duke’s Cooper Flagg makes preseason AP All-America team as ACC, Big 12, SEC each place 2 players
Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina‘s RJ Davis looked into the possibility of leaving for the NBA before deciding to return for another college season.
Their decisions helped their teams earn top-10 rankings in the AP Top 25 and earned both players some preseason honors, too.
Sears was a near-unanimous selection for The Associated Press preseason All-America men’s basketball team released Monday, earning all but one vote from a 55-person national media panel. Davis was right behind him, nabbing 51 votes.
They were joined by Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard Caleb Love and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Love and Flagg tied for the final spot, creating a six-man team that includes only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.
Alabama twin bill
Sears was a key cog in the Crimson Tide’s first trip to the Final Four a year ago, orchestrating one of college basketball’s highest-scoring teams.
The 6-foot-1 guard was named a second-team AP All-America after averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He was the first Division I player in 31 years to have 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists and 95 three-pointers in a single season while breaking the Alabama single-season record with 26 games with at least 20 points.
Sears worked out for NBA scouts during the offseason before deciding to return to Alabama, earning the Crimson Tide a No. 2 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25.
“I saw the team that we had and I wanted to be a part of it, and bring home Alabama’s first national championship in basketball,” Sears said.
Across the state at rival Auburn, Broome made a quick decision about his future, announcing in April that he would be back for a fifth season.
The 6-10 forward was a third-team AP All-American last season after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting nearly 55% from the floor. With an eye on an NBA future, Broome worked hard on his perimeter shooting during the offseason and his return earned Auburn a No. 11 preseason ranking.
“My main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship, to make it as far as I can in March Madness,” Broome said. “When a team shines, everyone shines individually.”
Along Tobacco Road
Like Sears, Davis has similar aspirations after opting to return for his fifth season at North Carolina.
The 6-foot guard was an AP All-American last season and the ACC player of the year after averaging 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Davis enters this year within reach of former North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time ACC scoring record.
“I know there’s more work to be done,” Davis said. “I know my jersey’s not going up until I leave. So there’s some more records to break and some more work to be done. I’m satisfied but I’m not satisfied, if that makes sense.”
Up the road at Duke, Flagg was the only underclassman on the preseason All-America team after arriving with tons of hype. The 6-9 swingman was the No. 1-rated high school recruit out of Newport, Maine and has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Flagg has the skills of a guard, but can also play inside and has worked hard on his perimeter shooting, giving him the potential to be one of college basketball’s most versatile players. He’s part of a stellar recruiting class that has No. 7 Duke eyeing a deep March run.
Big 12 duo
Dickinson was the biggest move in the transfer portal last spring after leaving Michigan for Kansas. The 7-2 center lived up to the billing, averaging 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading the Jayhawks back to the NCAA Tournament.
With Dickinson’s return and an influx of talented transfers, Kansas is ranked No. 1 going into the season that begins Nov. 4.
Love’s decision to return for a second season at No. 10 Arizona has ratcheted up expectations in the desert for the Big 12 rival of Kansas.
The athletic 6-4 guard had a high-scoring career at North Carolina and continued it after transferring to Arizona last season. He was the Pac-12 player of the year and a third-team All-American after averaging 18 points per game and making 92 3-pointers.
Love tested the NBA waters this summer before deciding to return.
“He’s had a very successful college career thus far,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He’s kind of this last generation of player that’s going to get better with this extra year, and so I just encourage him to take advantage of it.”
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Sports
Browns QB Deshaun Watson ruptured his Achilles tendon and is out for the season, AP source says
CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of Cleveland‘s season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon on Sunday against Cincinnati, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
Watson was injured on a non-contact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals.
Watson will soon undergo surgery, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the results of imaging tests taken on his leg.
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year.
The 29-year-old Watson went down without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson collapsed to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
As he laid on the ground, there was cheering by some Cleveland fans, leading to some of Watson’s teammates criticizing that behavior during the team’s fifth straight loss.
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s divisive stay with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks to Houston and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million in 2022. The deal came amid Watson being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions. He settled civil lawsuits in all but one of those cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games with the Browns and then made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
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