The Maple Leafs have an opportunity to close the gap in the Atlantic Division standings when they host the Bruins on Hockey Night in Canada (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).
As the Leafs scraped together a bunch of extra-time wins/points over the last stretch, the Bruins went on their first three-game losing slide of the season, which they snapped against the 32nd-place San Jose on Thursday.
As a result, the Leafs now enter this matchup facing a six-point deficit in the divisional race but hold a game in hand. A regulation Leafs win tonight would reduce it to a four-point difference with a game in hand for Toronto, which would mean we have a real Atlantic Division title race on our hands after the first quarter of the season.
Only once last season did the record-setting Bruins lose four out of five (in late January-early February), and the one win during that dip came against Toronto. Boston ended up responding with a 10-game winning streak which officially put to bed any remaining intrigue about a divisional race to the finish.
This game is but one of 82, but it certainly feels a bit bigger given the four-point swing possibility and the opportunity to give Boston something to think about with a fourth loss in eight days.
Almost certainly, the Leafs will need their best 60-minute effort in some time to accomplish a regulation win, of which they have just five in 21 games. Despite collecting nine of the last 12 points (4-1-1), the Leafs have owned just 46.6% of the shot attempts and shots at five-on-five, where they’ve been out-scored 13-11.
Clearly, Boston is an elite five-on-five team, and with the Leafs’ defense behind their top pairing stitched together with string and bubble gum at the moment, they’re going to need their fully healthy forward group — particularly their star talent — to really drive the bus and bring their best 200-foot efforts tonight.
Winner of four of his last five starts (.921 save percentage), Joseph Woll will start for the fourth consecutive game in net, with Martin Jones serving as backup due to Ilya Samsonov’s illness. Ryan Reaves re-enters the lineup on the fourth line.
Game Day Quotes
Sheldon Keefe on whether there is “extra emotion” in this matchup after the incident in Boston earlier this season:
I don’t think you can get extra emotion going into a game like this. We recognize we are playing against a very good team that is going to demand everything from us — everything that we have. That is what we are preparing for.
Ryan Reaves on dealing with Brad Marchand’s antics:
He is not going to fight you. That’s for sure. You just have to play him hard. You can try to bait him into whatever, but you have to make sure you are doing it smartly. You can’t take penalties.
He is not a guy who is going to drop his gloves. He will try to bait you in and make you do something stupid. Their power play is dangerous. That is where he thrives. You have to be smart, and you have to play hard.
Reaves on the verbal jousting with Marchand:
There is always chirping back and forth. He likes telling me he makes a lot more than I do. It doesn’t really bother me. A lot of players make a lot more than I do. It is not really a good one.
It just happens in the heat of the moment usually.
Marchand on Reaves’ comments about Marchand pointing out their difference in salary:
I think I said that once a long time ago. Sounds like he is holding onto it.
He is one of those guys that brings physicality to their group. He has obviously made a great career out of it.
It seems like there is always a great rivalry with this team. Usually, that stems from playing each other in the playoffs a few times. Both teams have been very good for a while.
Always a fun game to play.
Marchand on the Leafs’ lack of response to the Liljegren incident:
There wasn’t a response because it wasn’t a bad play. It is one of those things that happens fast in a game. You get tied up and try to battle for positioning on a puck. Things happen.
Clearly, no one thought it was a big deal. They made it out as something. Unfortunately, when you allow that stuff to leak into the media outside of the room, it creates more drama than is necessary. That is kind of what happened in that situation.
Keefe on the keys to dealing with Marchand:
You have to play hard against him. You can’t get preoccupied with things that don’t matter and focus on the things that do.
He is such a high-quality player that he can hurt you in a lot of different ways. He helps drive the rest of their team. If you get overconsumed with whatever he has going on, all of a sudden, Pastrnak is running free and doing his thing.
We just have to remain focused on our game, most importantly. If our game is in order, I think we have a really good opportunity to compete against anybody in the league. We have done a good job against teams that are above us in the standings for the most part through the season. We are going to need more of that.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery on his team’s losing-slump-snapping 3-0 win over San Jose:
We gave up 17 goals in three games, and we didn’t look anything like ourselves. It was good to see us look like ourselves without the puck in all three zones.
Montgomery on Reaves’ presence in the lineup and the possible response to Marchand:
I don’t think it is any different than the Florida game where they were targeting Charlie [McAvoy]. We are going to stick together and play together out there.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. Bruins
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #88 William Nylander
#59 Tyler Bertuzzi – #91 John Tavares – #16 Mitch Marner
#89 Nick Robertson – #11 Max Domi – #19 Calle Jarnkrok
#18 Noah Gregor – #64 David Kampf – #75 Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #78 TJ Brodie
#85 William Lagesson – #22 Jake McCabe
#2 Simon Benoit – #25 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#31 Martin Jones
Injured/Out: Mark Giordano, John Klingberg, Timothy Liljegren, Ilya Samsonov
Boston Bruins Projected Lines
Forwards
#74 Jake DeBrusk – #18 Pavel Zacha – #88 David Pastrnak
#63 Brad Marchand – #51 Matthew Poitras – #43 Danton Heinen
#21 James van Riemsdyk – #13 Charlie Coyle – #11 Trent Frederic
#94 Jakub Lauko – #39 Morgan Geeke – #62 Oskar Steen
Defensemen
#27 Hampus Lindholm – #73 Charlie McAvoy
#48 Matt Grzelcyk – #25 Brandon Carlo
#28 Derek Forbort – #12 Kevin Shattenkirk
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Linus Ullmark
#1 Jeremy Swayman
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
