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Super Bowl LIV Expert picks and predictions

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The day is here. The game is upon us.

With the Kansas City Chiefs set to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, Sportsnet’s expert panel is ready to weigh in on who will win the day, and who will leave Miami empty-handed.

The panel includes editors Geoff Lowe and Craig Battle, fantasy analyst Andy McNamara, and staff writers Donnovan Bennett and Emily Sadler.

So who will hoist the Lombardi Trophy?

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Andy McNamara
The Pick:
San Francisco 49ers
The Score: 24–21
Super Bowl MVP: Raheem Mostert

The Breakdown: The only way the 49ers pull this off is if they keep it low scoring. If Jimmy G has to come back from behind and play catch-up with Patrick Mahomes then the Chiefs will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. What’s interesting is that Kansas City essentially got a tune-up for San Francisco’s run-first offence in defeating the Derrick Henry–led Tennessee Titans. They rose to that occasion by limiting the bulldozer to 69 yards on the ground and forced Ryan Tannehill to go to the air 31 times.

San Francisco needs to find a way to make its late-season stud running back Raheem Mostert not just relevant, but dominant. The last running back to win a Super Bowl MVP was Denver’s Terrell Davis all the way back at SB XXXII, and I feel Mostert is going to have to play at an MVP level for his team to limit the time KC’s dynamic offence is on the field.

In the head-coach chess match, I’m giving the edge to Kyle Shanahan’s family-legacy zone-read offensive strategy that’s a modernized variation of his father Mike’s when he won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Broncos. Shanahan’s in-game creativity and adjustments are some of the best in the NFL, and if Andy Reid’s old nemesis — clock management — comes knocking, then I’ll bet on San Francisco.

The 49ers win it by a field goal.

Geoff Lowe
The Pick:
Kansas City Chiefs
The Score: 35-31
Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes

The Breakdown: The Chiefs flip their playoff script, charging out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter instead of digging themselves a hole. Rather than abandon the rushing game, though, Shanahan doubles down and the 49ers put together one of those run-only drives to get San Francisco back into the game as the Niners defence shuts out K.C. in the second quarter. A Robbie Gould field goal pulls the 49ers within four as the first half closes, 14-10 Chiefs.

Then both teams go off in the third.

Mahomes leads the Chiefs to quick back-to-back third-quarter touchdown drives, and then Shanahan finally unleashes Playoff Garoppolo with his team down 28-10. The 49ers rally behind their quarterback, scoring three straight touchdowns and 21 unanswered points as San Fran’s defence stifles Mahomes and Co. for what amounts to more than a full quarter.

Down 31-28 with only a few minutes to go in the game, Mahomes gets a shot to lead the Chiefs to victory – and he does just that. No. 15 finds Travis Kelce in the back of the end zone with less than a minute left in the game. Jimmy G gets a shot at his own game-winning drive, but ultimately falls short and it rains red and white confetti in Miami as the Chiefs lift the Lombardi for the first time since January 1970.

Emily Sadler
The Pick:
Kansas City Chiefs
The Score: 47-41
Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes

The Breakdown: Down 12-0 halfway through the first quarter, Kansas City fans start fretting that the slow-starting Chiefs are digging themselves a hole too big to climb out of… but then they remember they’ve got Mahomes. The king of the comeback does just that, and while Garoppolo can’t keep up in what becomes an offensive shootout, he doesn’t have to — Mostert keeps the Chiefs’ defence busy trying to figure out how to shut him down like they did Henry two weeks prior.

The result is a high-scoring — actually, the highest-scoring — Super Bowl that comes down to a single score. (After last year’s low-scoring, defensive dud, the football gods owe us this one, right?)

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Donnovan Bennett
The Pick:
Kansas City Chiefs
The Score: 31–30
Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes

The Breakdown: The Chiefs have a clean bill of health with all 53 players on the roster already proclaimed healthy to play on Sunday. That roster, specifically on offence, is scary.

“It almost looks like they got their roster from the Olympic relay team and threw them all on the football field,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said when describing the Chiefs’ offence.

Never before have we seen an offence with this amount of speed and a quarterback with this kind of arm talent paired with a play caller like Andy Reid. The Niners’ defence is great, but the New Orleans Saints put up 46 points on them. If the Chiefs do anything close to that number, they’ll win going away.

It seems like we are witnessing the beginning of the Mahomes era. Mahomes has eight TDs and zero interceptions in one of the best post-seasons we’ve ever seen. As we start a new decade, it seems only fitting that Mahomes will bookmark it by becoming the youngest player in NFL history to win the Super Bowl and MVP.

Craig Battle
The Pick:
San Francisco 49ers
The Score: 27–24
Super Bowl MVP: Jimmy Garoppolo

The Breakdown: No, I don’t feel confident about this. It’s just that no matter how many times I tried to type out “Kansas City,” I couldn’t quite do it. And yes, I know that Garoppolo has thrown for only 208 yards this post-season, but I have a feeling — “Ooh,” you say, “a feeling” — that’s going to change on Sunday. He threw for almost 4,000 yards on a 102 QB rating in the regular season, so we’re not talking Trent Dilfer or Rex Grossman here. Garoppolo can pass — he just hasn’t needed to during these playoffs.

Furthermore, Shanahan is a creative, inventive coach, and you know he’s going to have some new looks to throw at the Kansas City defence, creating room and opportunity for his QB to shine when the Chiefs adjust to make life hard on Mostert and the running game.

Finally, speaking of defences, the 49ers ranked second on Football Outsiders’ defensive efficiency rankings in 2019. Kansas City was way down the list at 14th.

What’s that old adage about defence and championships, again?

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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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