It’s Ilya Samsonov’s time to get his season back on track as the Maple Leafs forge ahead without Joseph Woll (high-ankle sprain) starting tonight against the Nashville Predators (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).
Samsonov hasn’t seen game action since the Leafs‘ 4-3 overtime loss on Black Friday in Chicago due to a combination of a flu bug and a strong run of form from Woll before his injury in the third period in Ottawa. The Leafs actually have points in seven of Samsonov’s eight starts this season despite a .878 save percentage, but with their defense currently running out Simon Benoit – Jake McCabe / Max Lajoie – Conor Timmins in behind their Morgan Rielly – TJ Brodie top pairing, they’ll likely need more saves than that if they’re going to keep grinding out results during a particularly busy stretch of the schedule (six games in 10 days).
At the other end of the ice, Samsonov won’t have to face off against one of the game’s elite in Juuse Saros, who gave the Leafs fits in their OT loss to the Predators in Nashville earlier this season. The Predators are giving Saros, who has played more games than any NHL goalie over the past two seasons (84), a rare night off. Kevin Lankinen, who is 3-2-0 with a .901 save percentage, will take the start in goal.
On defense, William Lagesson’s illness will keep him out of the lineup for the second consecutive game, which means it is the same group of six from the Leafs‘ win over Ottawa. Up front, based on the morning skate lines, it appears Ryan Reaves — who is averaging under seven minutes of ice time over his last three games — will remain on the fourth line.
Max Domi on tweeting out his excitement about Shohei Ohtani seemingly coming to Toronto amid the flurry of erroneous reports on Friday:
I was so pumped! I am a Jays fan and a Toronto sports fan in general. I tweeted out because it looked like it was happening.
I went out to an event, and a few hours later, I looked at my phone. All of my friends were texting [asking], “What do you know?” When did I become the MLB insider? I have no idea what is going on. I don’t know the guy at all.
As a Jays fan, I was really hopeful that he was coming. I am still hopeful. We will see.
Sheldon Keefe on the challenge the Predators present:
Good depth through their group. If you look at it from lines one to four, they are getting really good contributions. Their power play caused some problems when we saw them out there.
They are playing really well right now. They have won eight of their last 10 and three in a row coming in. They are a confident group going about their business. We have to be ready for them.
The challenge remains with us and our own game. With Lagesson being out now, you have four defensemen not in our group. We have moved things around. To me, our whole group has to take care of one another with how we play the game, manage the puck, how competitive we are, and how tight we are in terms of adherence to structure.
That is really what my focus is no matter who we are playing, whether it is tonight or in the near future through this busy stretch.
Keefe on his reaction to the news of Joe Woll’s high-ankle sprain:
I came to terms with the news pretty quickly the other night. It doesn’t change anything for me. Tough blow for our team. Tough blow for Joseph. But a tremendous opportunity now for the other two guys.
Samsonov, in particular, hasn’t played for quite a while and has been trying to find his game and trying to find a groove. Here you go.
Keefe on Ryan O’Reilly’s impact in Toronto during his short tenure as a Leaf:
With the way that he trains and the way he goes about his business every day, it is very obvious how much of a professional he is. You see the time he spends off the ice and on the ice.
Despite his age and his accomplishments in the league, the routine and process he goes through to continue to play at a high level are impressive. We have talked about how John Tavares is one of those guys. O’Reilly is right there.
Both [O’Reilly] and Luke Schenn brought a lot to us in their short time with us. Both are tremendous guys. I had a chance to talk to them when we were down in Nashville. They enjoyed their time here. I think they are enjoying their time in Nashville. Both are tremendous leaders and professionals.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. Predators
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
#2 Simon Benoit – #22 Jake McCabe
#48 Max Lajoie – #25 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: #30 Ilya Samsonov
#31 Martin Jones
Scratched: Bobby McMann, Mikko Kokkonen Injured/Out: Joseph Woll, John Klingberg, Timothy Liljegren, Mark Giordano, William Lagesson
Nashville Predators Projected Lines
Forwards
#9 Filip Forsberg – #90 Ryan O’Reilly – #14 Gustav Nyquist
#44 Kiefer Sherwood – #82 Thomas Novak – #77 Luke Evangelista
#13 Yakov Trenin – #10 Colton Sissons – #36 Cole Smith
#75 Juuso Parssinen – #8 Cody Glass – #26 Philip Tomasino
Defensemen
#27 Ryan McDonagh – #59 Roman Josi
#3 Jeremy Lauzon – #45 Alex Carrier
#22 Tyson Barrie – #2 Luke Schenn
Goaltenders
Starter: #32 Kevin Lankinen
#74 Juuse Saros
LONDON – Canada will meet three-time champion Germany in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain this November.
Canada secured a berth in the quarterfinals — also called The Final 8 Knockout Stage — with a 2-1 win over Britain last weekend in Manchester, England.
World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal anchored a five-player squad that included Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.
The eight-team draw for the quarterfinals was completed Thursday at International Tennis Federation headquarters.
Defending champion Italy will play Argentina, the United States will meet Australia and Spain will take on the Netherlands. Schedule specifics have yet to be released but the Final 8 will be played Nov. 19-24.
Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz were unbeaten in doubles play last week to help Germany reach the quarterfinals. The country’s top singles player — second-ranked Alex Zverev — did not play.
The Canadians defeated Germany in the quarterfinals en route to their lone Davis Cup title in 2022. Germany won titles in 1988, ’89 and ’93.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Canada, fuelled by a 2-1 win over the U.S. and scoreless draw with Mexico, has jumped two places to No. 38 in the FIFA men’s world rankings released Thursday.
Of the top six CONCACAF teams, Canada was the only one to move up. Mexico was unchanged at No. 17 while the U.S. and Panama each fell two rungs to No. 18 and 37, respectively
Costa Rica slipped one spot to No. 50 and Jamaica two places to No. 61.
It marks Canada’s highest ranking under coach Jesse Marsch, who was hired in mid-May when the Canadians were ranked 50th. Since then, the team has climbed to No. 49, 48, 40 and now 38.
Canada has been as high as No. 33 in the men’s ranking, achieved in February 2022 under John Herdman with Canada, named the “Most Improved Side” in 2021 by FIFA, turning heads with an unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
The new rankings encompass 184 internationals involving teams from all six confederations including 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Oceania and South America.
The top 10 was unchanged with Argentina ahead of France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia and Italy. But the gap at the top is closing with Argentina losing 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy.
Teams 10 through 15 were also unchanged. But there was movement after that in the form of Japan (, up two), Iran (No. 19, up one) and Denmark (No. 20, up one). Egypt (No. 31), Ivory Coast (No. 33), Tunisia (No. 36) and Algeria (No. 41) all jumped five places while Greece (No. 48) climbed six spots.
The biggest movers were Brunei Darussalam (No. 183) and Samoa (No. 185), who vaulted seven spots on the back of two wins apiece.
Qatar suffered the biggest drop, tumbling 10 places to No. 44.
San Marino remains at the bottom of the rankings in 210th place despite recording its first victory in more than 20 years, San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 on Sept. 5, ending a 140-game winless run since a 1-0 decision over the same opponent in April 2004.
Liechtenstein fell four places to No. 203.
Canada’s next match is an Oct. 15 friendly against Panama at Toronto’s BMO Field. The next men’s ranking will be released Oct. 24.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024
HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.
Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.
Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.
Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.
Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.
The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.
