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How the Leafs have earned a 2-1 series lead on Tampa

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Through three games the Toronto Maple Leafs lead their series versus Tampa Bay, two games to one. Things didn’t start well in the series opener for the Leafs, but that game has faded into the past already.

Toronto has made some adjustments. Certain players have increased their role, while others have played exactly to their expected identity.

Here are some observations from the Leafs’ overtime win in Game 3, and what it means going into Monday’s Game 4:

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MATTHEW KNIES CONTRIBUTING

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Before he arrived in Toronto I was on record stating Matthew Knies could slot into a third or fourth line role, and be deployed on the second power-play unit. I also described him as a player who doesn’t have to score to contribute. He brings wide-ranging value to the Leafs lineup. He plays quick, finishes his checks, extends plays along the boards and below the goal line, and battles net front.

His style of play benefits his linemates and the entire group on the ice. He looks more comfortable by the minute. Knies skated just shy of 20 minutes in the Leafs’ Game 3 overtime victory, so he’s evolving in a pressure packed environment.

When breaking down Knies’ game, overall I’m looking for examples of positive plays and ones he requires more detail. The attached clip provides both.

Matthew Knies’ entire shift leading up to his first career playoff point

Summary of the sequence:

• Knies establishes proper positioning in the offensive zone above the play when the Leafs don’t have clear possession of the puck or control of the play.

• He back checks aggressively.

• He shows sound awareness in the defensive zone, taking away the slot and moving with his head on a swivel.

• One negative: slow reaction to Zach Bogosian keeping play alive along the boards.

• One positive: Knies jumps up ice following the chip out of the Leafs zone, easily out-races Bogosian and ends up with the puck on his stick for a zone entry. He makes a nice drop pass to Acciari in middle of the ice, Acciari scores and Knies has the first playoff assist of his career.

THE PLUS-MINUS DEBATE

One of the most debatable statistics is plus-minus and here’s an example of why the stat is so polarizing:

John Tavares has won 53 per cent of his face-offs so far in the series. He loses the draw I’ll show below here, but watch him closely. The Leafs play man-on-man coverage in their zone and Tavares sticks with Steven Stamkos after he loses the face-off. He fronts his check and keeps him from getting open.

The breakdown in the play happens when the puck moves behind the net and Jake McCabe overplays the scenario by trying to apply a big hit on eventual goal scorer Darren Raddysh. All McCabe had to do was either make a play on the puck, or allow Raddysh to continue moving towards the corner. McCabe would have been better off positioning himself off Raddysh’s right hip. Instead, he loses position altogether and ends up losing containment.

Raddysh scores, and Tavares is handed a minus for his solid effort.

Does Jake McCabe’s missed check leads to Darren Raddysh’s go-ahead goal?

Summary of the sequence:

• It’s Tavares’ job to win defensive zone face-offs. He’s one of the best draw guys the Leafs have.

• Lost face-offs happen all game long. Teams practice how to defend off lost draws in the defensive zone. Tavares did his job after the loss, but others in the sequence did not.

THE GOOD AND THE NOT SO GOOD

Ilya Samsonov was strong in net for the Leafs in their overtime victory in Game 3 and he deserves credit for bouncing back from a poor performance to open the series. The Leafs have won two straight and Samsonov has elevated his game.

Game 4 is now a must win for the Lightning. I’m anticipating Samsonov will have to provide his best game of the series for the Leafs to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

When Samsonov is at his best, he tracks the play moving side to side without ending up outside his posts, or too high in his crease. He gets into trouble when he starts “swimming” around, lacks rebound control, or when his read/react tracking is off.

Here are some examples of the good:

Samsonov shows proper tracking on the Kucherov pp chance
Samsonov shows off perfect shot-tracking getting over to rob Hedman

And … Here is an example of the bad:

Samsonov losing his place in net a bit on the Brandon Hagel goal

Summary:

• Positive: In the first clip Samsonov reads the play developing and moves laterally in time to square up and make a save on Nikita Kucherov.

• Positive: Also in the first clip (second highlight) Samsonov remains crease ready after a small scramble out in front of his net. His glove is in position, his chest is square to the puck and when it spills to Victor Hedman at the left side Samsonov reads and reacts and makes an athletic save moving from side to side.

• Negative: To be fair, the entire sequence on the Brandon Hagel goal is a bit of a tire fire for the Leafs in their zone, but my eyes were on Samsonov in the sequence. He loses sight of the puck behind his net , ends up out of position and flopping around, and deflects the puck into his own net from his stomach

Ilya Samsonov is 6-foot-3, 214 pounds and when he’s at his best he doesn’t overextend himself. He uses his size and quickness to make saves without losing his net. He’s been much better the past two games for the Leafs, but he still has his acrobatic moments. The Leafs are counting on him to continue to elevate and give them a chance to win Game 4, and beyond.

ANGLED SHOOT-INS

The Maple Leafs recognize Andrei Vasilevskiy is a goaltender who plays the puck very well. He has the ability to stop the puck behind his net on shoot-ins and outlet it up ice quickly and accurately. For this reason, I have noticed the Leafs directing pucks as far away from Vasilevskiy as possible on their shoot-ins.

Here are two examples:

Maple Leafs angling their dump-ins so Vasilevskiy can’t play them

Summary:

• Both shoot-ins are from one shift early in the first period of Game 3. Although the Leafs didn’t gain extended possession off either sequence, the Lightning weren’t afforded the opportunity to outlet the puck up ice quickly off Vasilevskiy’s stick. The tactic is a safe, responsible play to make. It gives the Leafs’ forwards a chance to get in behind the Tampa defenders and attempt to work plays off the cycle down low in the Lightning zone.

CHIP AND GO!

At every level, coaches preach making responsible plays from just inside the defensive and offensive blue lines. It’s imperative the Leafs don’t give the Lightning extended life in their own zone off poor decisions.

Watch the following clip closely. Acciari has clear control of the puck high in the Leafs zone. This is a prime example of the chaos that ensues when pucks aren’t promptly cleared from the defensive zone:

Lightning pepper Samsonov with chances after Acciari fails to clear the zone

Summary:

• Acciari had Knies coming across the top of the blue line. All he had to do was chip the puck off the boards and the Leafs would have had a clean zone exit.

• By trying to make a stick to stick outlet in the middle of the ice, Acciari turned the puck over and Tampa hemmed the Leafs in their zone for an extra 30 seconds, forcing Samsonov to make a couple of big saves (including one up high through traffic).

GAME WITHIN A GAME

• Through three games the goaltending battle favours Toronto. Vasilevskiy has posted a 4.22 GAA and .853 save percentage, while Samsonov has a 3.70 GAA and .878 save percentage.

• Morgan Rielly has scored a goal and four assists. He’s a plus-5 and being used at even strength and the power play. Rielly is averaging 22:32 of ice time per game.

• Trade deadline acquisitions Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn, and Noel Acciari have combined for 47 hits and 12 blocked shots in the first three games.

• Auston Matthews was a much more responsible three zone player this season and he’s continuing the trend so far these playoffs. Matthews has scored a goal and four assists, averaged 20 minutes of ice time, and been credited with 11 hits and four blocked shots.

• Ryan O’Reilly was acquired by the Leafs for a variety of reasons, one of them being his knack for winning key face-offs. O’Reilly has won 61 per cent of his draws so far in the series.

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Shane Pinto has a goal, three assists as the Senators roll over the Sabres – Sportsnet.ca

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Here’s what we know about the allegations against Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara

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LOS ANGELES –

Only a week has passed since the Los Angeles Dodgers abruptly fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and constant companion of their new $700 million slugger, Shohei Ohtani.

But the biggest story of baseball’s spring is still murky — and shocking — as the regular season begins in earnest Thursday.

The scandal encompasses gambling, alleged theft, extensive deceit and the breakup of an enduring partnership between the majors’ biggest star and his right-hand man. Investigations are underway by the IRS and Major League Baseball, and Ohtani publicly laid out a version of events Monday that placed the responsibility entirely on Mizuhara.

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Here are the basics as Ohtani and the Dodgers prepare for their home opener against St. Louis on Thursday:

Why was Ippei Mizuhara fired by the Dodgers?

Ohtani claims his close friend repeatedly took money from his accounts to fund his illegal sports gambling habit. Ohtani also says he was completely unaware of the “massive theft,” as his lawyers termed it, until Mizuhara confessed to him and the Dodgers last week in South Korea, where the team opened its regular season against the San Diego Padres.

Mizuhara has given more than one version of his path to this trouble, which was catalyzed by the IRS’ investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara has consistently said he has a gambling addiction, and he abused his close friendship with the Dodgers superstar to feed it.

Did Shohei Ohtani ever bet on sports?

That’s the biggest question to be answered in Major League Baseball’s investigation, and the two-time AL MVP emphatically says he has never gambled on sports or asked anybody to bet on sports for him.

Further, Ohtani said Monday he has never knowingly paid a bookie to cover somebody else’s bets. Mizuhara also said Ohtani does not bet, and Bowyer’s attorney said the same.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. If that were true, Ohtani could face trouble even if he didn’t make the bets himself — but ESPN said Mizuhara dramatically changed his story the following day, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering — even legally — on baseball. They also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

What’s next for Ohtani?

Ohtani has played in every Dodgers game since the story broke, and he is expected to be their designated hitter in most regular-season games this season while baseball’s investigation continues.

Ohtani says his legal team has alerted authorities to the theft by Mizuhara, although his team has repeatedly declined to say which authorities have been told, according to ESPN.

Ohtani’s new interpreter is Will Ireton, a longtime Dodgers employee and fluent Japanese speaker who has filled several jobs with the team in everything from game preparation and analytics to recruiting free-agent pitches. But Ireton won’t be Ohtani’s constant companion, and manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday he’s optimistic that Ohtani will become closer to his teammates without the “buffer” provided for years by Mizuhara.

What don’t we know?

MLB’s investigation of Ohtani’s role in the events could last weeks or months, and it’s unlikely to be publicized until it’s complete. No one outside of Ohtani’s inner circle knows what it will find or how serious any repercussions could be, and nobody outside the circle is making informed speculation about the process.

One major question looms: How did Mizuhara have enough access to Ohtani’s bank accounts to get the alleged millions without Ohtani knowing? Is the slugger overly trusting, or is he wildly negligent in managing his vast fortune, which includes years of lavish endorsement deals in addition to his baseball salaries? Why didn’t the team around him, including his agent, do more to prevent the possibility of the theft he claims?

Finally, where is Mizuhara? Anybody who knows isn’t saying. He was fired in South Korea and apparently didn’t travel home with the Dodgers. Japanese media have visited his home in Southern California to look for him. Although he was born in Japan, Mizuhara’s life is in the U.S. — but his life will never be the same.

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NHL analyst gets absolutely roasted for ‘insanely rich’ take on Zach Hyman

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They say everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when you’re a member of the media and you share a truly awful take, you’re going to get called out for it.

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That’s what happened when NHL analyst/podcast host Andrew Berkshire decided to post a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) mainly attributing Zach Hyman’s success to the fact that he grew up “insanely rich.”

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The post came on the heels of the Oilers winger reaching the 50-goal milestone for the season and was rightly ripped apart by several notable colleagues, former players and fans in general.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 5.4 million times as of Wednesday morning, begins by stating that he has been in the sports media industry professionally since 2012 and that the industry “has to do a better job of telling truthful stories,” before discounting Hyman’s accomplishment.

“The story that’s being sold right now … is that, you know, if you work hard, if you stick to it, you can get there too, 31-year-old guy finally hits the 50-goal mark, harder worker, all that,” Berkshire said.

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“Yeah, great, except you’re missing the part of the story where Zach Hyman grew up insanely rich.”

Berkshire, who works as an analyst and host with the Steve Dangle Podcast Network, then details how Hyman’s parents bought a league to “guarantee him playing time,” and that he did “exclusive training that only a rich person … could afford.”

“This is a person that has had every single possible advantage to get where they are today,” Berkshire continued, before also bringing up the fact that Hyman has been fortunate enough to play on teams and lines with Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid most of his career.

While Berkshire does state that Hyman is a hard worker and brings grit when he plays, he also discounts it almost immediately.

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“Working hard, everybody works hard. You think every NHLer didn’t get there by working hard?” he asks. “Let’s not build this stupid narrative of ‘work hard, you’ll succeed.’ It’s just not true.

“There are people who’ve worked as hard as Zach Hyman their entire lives and never got a sniff of the American Hockey League, let alone the NHL because they didn’t have the advantages he had.”

Former Leafs defenceman turned NHL analyst Carlo Colaiacovo thought the whole take was ridiculous, posting the following: “Let me tell you something Andrew. You can’t buy your way to the NHL. You definitely can’t buy your way to having the career Hyman has had which includes scoring 50. Pretty ridiculous thing to say.”

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Retired NHLer Bobby Ryan was one of the first to weigh in, calling the opinion “purely false.”

“As someone who has maybe lived on both ends of the ‘financial edge’ I can say this is just purely false. Who cares, he accomplished a feat not many do and to downplay the way it’s reported is just wrong. You show up, do the work, good things happen,” Ryan posted on X.

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Jonathan Goodman, who claims he was Hyman’s personal trainer and tasked with getting the budding pro ready for the combine, had a glowing review of his former pupil’s work ethic.

“Yes, he had advantages. His family was wealthy and father obsessed with his success,” he said. “But the dude worked hard. Harder than anybody I’ve ever seen.”

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But, perhaps another former NHLer, Jason Strudwick said it best, replying to the video by asking: “Did Hyman not sign an autograph for you one time?”

 

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