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Shilton: Red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs aim to curb careless penalties – TSN

Published

4 years ago

January 29, 2021

TORONTO — For all the talk about emerging rivalries among North Division opponents this season, the Maple Leafs’ biggest enemy early on has been of their own making, through a landslide of careless penalties that very nearly derailed recent victories.

“Obviously [we’ve been] tempting fate and making it way harder on ourselves than it needed to be, and that’s been a bit of a trend for us with these tight games,” head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters on a Zoom call Friday following the Leafs’ practice in Edmonton. “We take penalties, and give really good, dangerous power plays opportunities. Our penalty kill and goaltending…has stepped up when it really needed to, to allow us to get our two points, but without question, we’ve got to stay out of the penalty box.”

Toronto was leading the Oilers 2-0 in the second period of Thursday’s game when a pair of penalties to Alex Kerfoot (slashing) and Zach Hyman (tripping) gave Edmonton a 5-on-3 power play that Leon Draisaitl capitalized on late in the frame. It was Draisaitl again on a man advantage chance early in the third period who would score the game-tying goal and put the Leafs back at square one with 14 minutes to play in regulation.

“We don’t like being called,” surmised Mitch Marner of Toronto’s seven penalties on the night. “It’s something we got to be better and smarter with, something that if we give that team the amount of power plays we did last night, they’ll score eventually on a couple of them which they did. It’s something we’ve talked about, so we’re going to clean that up. It’s unacceptable and something we’ve got to be better at.”

In the end, Toronto still found its way through to a win, topping Edmonton 4-3 and moving to 7-2-0 on the season. But while the Leafs’ boast a league-high 14 points thus far, they’ve also taken the third-most penalties in the NHL (42) and are averaging the sixth-most penalty minutes per game (10:33).

A few of those infractions, specifically the slashing call against Kerfoot on Thursday that looked more like a stick lift, have sent waves of frustration through the Leafs’ bench for appearing incorrect. Keefe’s focus though is on his players not putting themselves in positions where they could get the gate at all.

“Some of them are calls that could go either way, or maybe the ref would want to have them back,” Keefe said. “Over the course of the season, we’ve had a couple calls that the ref has commented to me that he made a mistake; those kind of things happen. I think those situations usually are a symptom of other things, such as [on Thursday], a couple of slashing penalties probably shouldn’t have been called and yet the door is open because they’re looking for slashes on the hands and when you’re slashing the stick, it can be misinterpreted as on the hand. So just don’t do it.”

Keefe has also been bemused by the number of tripping calls against Toronto this season, after the team registered three more on Thursday alone. It’s something he intends to address more closely with the Leafs next week when the club has a string of days off from game action.

“We’ll see if there’s anything we can do on that, because if you look at it, a lot of players are doing what we’re asking them to,” Keefe explained. “Their stick is down on the ice, they’re looking to win pucks. We’ve taken a lot of penalties this season where we’ve won the puck, yet the follow through of winning the puck gets into skates and trips people up. So I don’t know if that’s just happenstance or if it’s something that we can bring to the players’ attention.”

One thing the Leafs know they can’t do is simply rely on the penalty kill to always come through. It did late in Thursday’s game, when William Nylander was called for a trip and the Oilers pulled Mikko Koskinen to create a 6-on-4 situation that Toronto managed to shut down. But still, the Leafs’ penalty kill is a middle-of-the-road 16th overall in the NHL at 78.4 per cent and their eight power-play goals against are tied for third-most in the league.

“I thought that against [the Oilers’ top power play], we actually did a pretty good job,” admitted Jimmy Vesey, who averages 1:24 per game on Toronto’s penalty kill. “We were one lucky bounce away from a clear [on Draisaitl’s first goal], but there was a lot of skill on that ice, they had two one-timer options and they scored. But we got it done when it when it mattered. I just think we’d like to be a little bit more consistent and take less penalties.”

The Leafs can put that plan into action immediately on Saturday, when they’ll face Edmonton for the fourth time in 10 days and potentially cap off a week-long road trip in Alberta with a fifth straight win.

And if nothing else, all that time going up against the Oilers’ power play of late has certainly made Toronto aware of dangerous it can be, and how to try slowing it down if needed.

“As a team, we don’t want to be in the box as much as we were last night,” said Morgan Rielly. “And obviously moving forward that’s an area that we have to clean up in terms of taking those penalties. I think [Connor McDavid and Draisaitl] are extremely important to [Edmonton’s power play] and I think that they are able to create space for one another, their breakout attacks with a lot of speed, and I think we have plenty of tape that our coaches are going to have for us because we’re in the box a lot. So we’re going to look at that and just try to be as prepared as much as we can tomorrow night.”

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

8 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

9 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

9 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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