After Toronto allowed three odd-man rushes to Edmonton in the first four minutes, it was clear this game wasn’t going to be as boring as the last time these two teams met. Things did start to tighten up a bit after that, but there was noticeably more space available for both teams to create offense off of the rush.
Thanks to some strong goaltending and offensive pushback, the Leafs were able to prevail in the end, defeating the Oilers by a final score of 4-2, although the last goal was a Mitch Marner empty netter with 0.4 seconds left on the clock.
Let’s be honest, no one reads these for the introductory paragraphs. It’s time to grade some Toronto Maple Leafs!
***
5/5 Stars
Game Puck: Frederik Andersen (G, #31) — This was Andersen’s best start of the season by far. He kept his team in the game with a stellar first period, making crucial stops on odd-man rushes and cross-ice passes. When we go back and look at the two goals, one was a last-second deflection by Connor McDavid, while the other was a brutal turnover to Leon Draisaitl right in front of the crease. It’s hard to blame the goalie for either of those.
Ilya Mikheyev (LW, #65) — If he keeps playing like this, it’s going to be hard to justify not playing him in the top six. The Soupman has looked explosive off the rush this season, blowing by defenders in transition. Here’s a great example of Mikheyev using his speed to create a dangerous chance off the rush.
The pass obviously didn’t connect, but that net drive is a high-percentage play when you’re able to beat your man backdoor. It’s something I’d like to see the Leafs do more of in transition: dish the puck out wide after gaining the zone, then barrel your way to the high-danger area.
Pierre Engvall (C, #47) — He’s clearly one of Toronto’s best 12 forwards. One factor is his contract; Engvall earns $175,000 more than an NHL team can “bury” under the current CBA, meaning he’s quite a bit more expensive than the league-minimum depth options. We’re talking about a team who waived Jason Spezza so they could save $6,000 per day – that cap space matters to Kyle Dubas, Brandon Pridham & company.
If Engvall improves the team’s chances of winning, though, they need to play him. Tonight, he showed off his ability to transport the puck up the ice, which is an attribute they’re sorely missing from their depth forwards at the moment. He also had a couple nice moments in the offensive zone, but it’s his transition play in the neutral zone that really impresses me.
The combination of Mikheyev and Engvall worked really well in this game. If they get to play with a more skilled linemate than Wayne Simmonds, I could see it being an effective middle-six line.
***
4/5 Stars
Alex Kerfoot (C, #15) — Most fans aren’t going to obsessively watch players in neutral zone defence, but it’s a major component of driving results. Kerfoot was excellent in this department on Friday night, getting his stick in the passing lanes and intercepting stretch passes through the middle of the ice. He didn’t get a chance to use his speed for much offensively, but his role this season is to provide value defensively as a checking 3C this season. I’d say mission accomplished in this game.
The Muzzin-Holl Pairing — When was the last time Toronto had two pairings that you genuinely trusted? Every so often, I’ll hear people complain about Jake Muzzin or Justin Holl, but I see a pairing you can put out there for 20-plus minutes a night and not think twice about it.
Holl was more noticeable in this game, which makes sense considering he tends to be the one activating into the play while Muzzin sits back. Both players did a great job boxing out Edmonton forwards in front, keeping things to the outside, and stepping up in the neutral zone when they had a chance.
That’s how you defend the blue line in transition. Holl doesn’t give McDavid any space to operate, which leads to a turnover and odd-man rush the other way. We see these types of plays a lot from Holl, and I don’t see it ending anytime soon.
3/5 Stars
William Nylander (RW, #88) — This was such an up and down game for Nylander, so let’s start with the good. He showed off his puck-carrying prowess, skating from end-to-end to create a few chances off the rush. When Nylander wanted a loose puck, he was able to go get it with a strong stick on the forecheck.
He also did this.
How many open nets is Jimmy Vesey going to be staring at thanks to #88 this season?
Nylander would’ve ended up in the 4 or 5-star club if not for a few ghastly moments vs. Draisaitl.
Earlier in the game, Nylander got beat by Draisaitl for a 2-on-1 rush because he wasn’t moving his feet on the backcheck. Every player has flaws in their game they need to clean up, but with Nylander, they’re so glaringly obvious that I can understand why Leafs fans get frustrated with him at times.
Zach Hyman (LW, #11) — He won the race to beat out an icing call four separate times in this game. That relentless motor on the forecheck is part of what makes Hyman such an effective complementary player. He also got to show off his wheels in the third period.
I don’t remember rookie Zach Hyman making these plays off the rush. He’s come a long way.
Wayne Simmonds (RW, #24) — There was a shift in the first period where he won a puck battle along the wall, made the next pass, then got himself to the front of the net while his four teammates cycled the puck around and created a few chances. That’s more of what we want to see from Simmonds
TJ Brodie (RD, #78) — He wasn’t able to make plays up the ice as often as you’d like, but defensively, I’m really liking what I see from Brodie. He’s done a great job of taking away passes through the middle of the slot. Brodie also has a knack for knowing when it’s the right time to commit to getting down to block a high-quality shot or when it’s time to slide to take away the backdoor pass. He got knocked over by Ryan-Nugent Hopkins on the forecheck prior to the McDavid goal, which isn’t something you love to see, but I’ve been liking his steady game so far this season.
Travis Dermott (LD, #23) — He’s looked much smoother out there this season. After battling back from a shoulder injury last year and never really looking like the same Travis Dermott we remembered from his first couple seasons, I’m hoping this is the year he’s able to take that next step. So far so good for him; he’s looked much more composed with the puck lately.
Coaching Staff — Do we blame the coach when a team comes out of the gate and allows three odd-man rushes in four minutes? Do we give Sheldon Keefe & company credit for righting the ship afterwards? I’m never really sure how to hand out these grades, but I liked the fact that PP1 was top-loaded and the 5-on-5 lines were more or less optimized. Now we just need to find a way to get Mikheyev some more ice time.
***
2/5 Stars
Zach Bogosian (RD, #22) — The 1-on-1 between McDavid and Bogosian went about as well as you’d think.
This is why you shelter #6 defensemen.
The rest of Bogosian’s game actually wasn’t too bad. He delivered a few nice hits in the neutral zone, tied up opposing forwards who were looking for a backdoor pass, and even got himself into some decent shooting positions off the rush. His impact on Toronto’s breakout went about as well as you’d think considering his limited puck-skills and passing ability.
Jimmy Vesey (LW, #26) — Aside from scoring another “freebie” as Ray Ferraro put it, I didn’t have many notes on Vesey. He was able to use his long frame to get his stick on a few passes in the defensive zone, most notably in the 6-on-5 situation late in the game.
John Tavares (C, #91) and Mitch Marner (RW, #16) — They each picked up a goal (Marner’s an empty netter), but overall, they got outplayed by the McDavid line in this game to the tune of 28% possession in the matchup. It’s always a tough task going up against the most dangerous offensive player in the world. That said, you’d hope that your two best (healthy) players could avoid getting hemmed in by #97 at even strength.
The two did connect on this power-play deflection, which ended up being the game-winning goal.
That’s some great hand-eye by Tavares, who’s one of the best in the business in that department.
The 4th Line — Aside from a lucky Adam Brooks goal of his skate on the power play, there wasn’t much to see here. Alex Barabanov cleared the bar of me actually remembering a few plays he made in this game, but again, nothing super dangerous offensively or notable defensively. Jason Spezza made a few nice passes at even strength, whereas Brooks seemed to be fighting the puck for most of the night.
I don’t want to be too mean to a guy who scored his first NHL goal, so let’s at least watch it.
Sometimes hockey is such a weird sport.
***
1/5 Stars
Morgan Rielly (LD, #44) — Burn the tape. Rielly struggled to get the puck going in the right direction on Friday night, spending most of his time in the defensive zone. He had a couple nice sequences offensively, but that was undone by everything he was giving up the other way.
Heat Map
Here’s a quick look at where each team’s shots were coming from at even strength, courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
When you consider the amount of pre-shot movement and odd-man rushes Edmonton was able to generate in this game, the heat map undersells their shot quality in this game. They outplayed Toronto at 5-on-5, but Frederik Andersen outplayed Mikko Koskinen.
Game Score
Game score is a metric developed by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn to measure single game performance. You can read more about it here.
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.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
