Previously on Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers the Maple Leafs hosted the Panthers in a crucial game to try and build a lead against the Panthers, but lost 5-3. Previously to the previously, the Maple Leafs went to Miami, took a day off, then played the Panthers and lost 8-4.
Wow, I’m having some good luck with these Panthers/Leafs games eh?
Tonight’s game began well with a shot from Timothy Liljegren off the post a minute in that has the travelling Leafs fans on their feet.
The Florida Panthers come quickly down the ice to the Leafs zone and once again Mark Pysyk scores against the Maple Leafs to give the Panthers the lead early on in the first period.
After this goal, former Florida Panthers draft pick Zach Hyman will score to put the home away from home crowd on it’s feet and tie the game:
With less than four minutes played, it’s 1-1.
Play continues, uneventful, until the Panthers skate into the Leafs zone following an Alex Kerfoot turnover, and Frank Vatrano shoots into Frederik Andersen’s pads and Mike Hoffman is there for the rebound, tucks it nicely into the open side of the net. 2-1 Panthers.
There wasn’t a lot of defending going on in this play, Liljegren kind of just watches it happen.
Then, chaos happens.
The Leafs aren’t controlling the puck in their own zone, or the offensive zone as shown above, and their inability to exit the zone with the puck rather than missing a pass or dumping it out, comes back to haunt them as Nylander misses a pass that gets to the blue line and the Panthers defenders, which has Keith Yandle getting the puck to Noel Acciari who scores his 20th of the season.
William Nylander does his best to try and get the Leafs back in the game, skating in one on one, but the puck gets away from him, and the play ends up behind the net.
The Maple Leafs will get the first power play of the game when the Panthers are called for too many men on the ice.
The Panthers penalty kill was doing a good job at clogging the centre of the ice, causing the Leafs to struggle to get the puck into the offensive zone, and denying them a chance to set up.
Colton Sceviour gets the puck and comes into the Leafs zone, drawing Andersen into the far side of the net, but he skates around the net and by some miracle he doesn’t score:
The Leafs struggle to get past the Panthers PK, but just as the power play ends, Kasperi Kapanen gets a shot from the circle under Sergei Bobrovsky’s pad and brings the Leafs within one of the Panthers. 3-2.
The Maple Leafs tie the game after Matthews rubs off the puck-holding Panther on the boards behind the net, sending the puck up to Nylander who passes to Zach Hyman, who sends the puck across the crease to Auston Matthews who gets goal number 3 for Toronto:
The first ends with the game tied at three goals each.
Funny enough, this is also how the second period starts.
The start of the second period features the Panthers taking two shots on net, and seeing just how far they can push things without getting a call.
The Leafs decide to play hockey, and they attack the Panthers net with a bouncing puck and Barrie, Sandin, and Matthews do their best to try and score.
Zach Hyman almost scores a bit later on, but Bobrovsky splits himself in half to try and cover the net after he loses his stick, and denies the Leafs a fourth goal.
Both teams are getting their moments in the game and things are being kept tight between the two. Halfway through the game the goals are tied, the shots are tied, and we’re moving up and down the ice in waves.
Auston Matthews hasn’t been afraid to use his body in this game. He did it ahead of the second Leafs goal, and he continues to push people around.
The Leafs are not playing passively at all, or giving up as much room to the Panthers as they did in the firs period. They’ve more than doubled the number of Panthers shots, and controlling the puck in all three zones. The urgency of this game is being felt by all of the players on the ice.
I mean, most of the Leafs feel this urgency. Some are panicking.
Despite the play of the Leafs, Sergei Bobrovsky has played to their level, denying every chance they take and keeping the game tied. This isn’t to say Andersen hasn’t been tested, but he hasn’t been nearly as active as his Floridian counterpart.
As we have only three and a half minutes remaining, Martin Marincin is called for interference, giving the Panthers their first power play of the game.
The Panthers get the puck into the offensive zone, but the PK duo of Zach Hyman and Mitch Marner get the puck and they almost connect to take the lead, but once again Bobrovsky makes the save.
The Leafs change PK units, and Pierre Engvall and Kapanen try the same trick as Hyman-Marner, but Kapanen shoots wide on the play. The penalty is killed, but the Leafs offense is not. They keep digging hard and Auston Matthews wins a puck battle on the boards, gets it to Tavares who shoots but can’t score and the period will end still tied at three each.
The second period was completely different from the first. It was just great to see the Leafs not collapse into themselves after going down 3-1, rally to tie the game and come out harder and stronger than in the first.
Neither of these teams are happy with each other, and the first minute of the period sees a scrum along the boards with Jason Spezza skating away with words for the Panthers. Andersen makes some saves before and after this, and the Panthers have added a bit of an edge to their game for the final frame.
The Panthers are also aware of the magic that is Auston Matthews and panic when they see he has the puck:
The Maple Leafs trap the puck in the offensive zone, with Justin Holl playing the role of border guard at the blue line, and we see Jason Spezza almost score, as the Leafs increasing pressure on the net. The Panthers do a good defensive job, and eventually end the cycle.
The Maple Leafs have another mad scramble in the Panthers zone that sees Matthews, Hyman, and Kyle Clifford all make attempts on goal. Martin Marincin almost misplays the puck out of the zone but William Nylander scoops it up and scores the Leafs fourth goal of the game to finally break the tie.
The Leafs start to get a little sloppy as the period ticks on, giving away the puck just a little more than they have been, letting the Panthers have a bit more room in front of Andersen. Nothing to really worry about, but that little worrying bit at the back of my mind was working itself up.
Neither team is letting up, taking their foot on the gas, and all that. Weegar, Pysyk, and Aleksander Barkov all push hard for the Panthers, while Auston Matthews continues his reign of dominance over these last two periods.
At the two minute remaining mark, Andersen makes a vital save, keeping the Leafs in the lead. The Panthers call a time out with 1:52 left in the game as my blood pressure rises. The Panthers keep Bobrovsky on the bench following the time out.
The Leafs win the face-off and get the puck to the neutral zone, but the Panthers keep the Leafs from getting an empty net goal. The Panthers get a couple good shots on Andersen (Yandle, Barkov), and the Leafs are struggling to get the puck out of their zone. A lot of struggles but they battle against the Panthers defense and Justin Holl makes a desperate dump out of the zone, and it manages to roll into the empty net, giving the Leafs a 5-3 win over the team they’re trying to keep ahead of in the standings.
It was a very good game to watch the Leafs actually fight back against a disappointing start (three goals on six shots), and maintain a lead despite hard pressure coming from the opposition in the final minutes.
The Leafs bump their points lead to four ahead of the Panthers, and get a stronger hold onto the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
The next Maple Leafs game is Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks. Can they make it three wins in a row?
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.
The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.
The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.
Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.
The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.
The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.
Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.
Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.
Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.
RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.
Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.
They’re one step away.
Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.
Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.
Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.
This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.
“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.
The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.
Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.
“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.
Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.
“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”
The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.
New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.
The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.
“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”
Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.
“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”
The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.
The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.
While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.
“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.
Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.
It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).
Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.
“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”
But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”
“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.
The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.
