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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Winnipeg Jets – Game #36 Preview, Projected Lines & TV Info – Maple Leafs Hot Stove

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Tonight, a critical two-game series gets underway as the North Division’s first-place Maple Leafs face off against the second-place Winnipeg Jets, who are one point behind Toronto, rolling offensively, and winners of four of their last five (7:30 p.m. EST, Sportsnet)

As has been customary for Jets hockey in recent years, Winnipeg hasn’t dominated their opponents at five-on-five, but they are built on very strong goaltending and an opportunistic offense. Winnipeg spends a significantly greater amount of time in their own end than Toronto does, and yet they’re just behind the Leafs‘ points pace thanks to high-end goaltending, a top-five power play, and an ability to convert 5v5 shots into goals at an above-average clip.

While the Jets hover over 30% on the power play in the month of March, the Leafs, while they continue to gain the zone consistently and move the puck well, have not produced a high enough volume of shots on goal on the man advantage as of late.

Amid the scoreless slump on the power play over their last eight games (0-for-18) that dates back to March 10, the Leafs are 20th in the NHL in shots for per 60 on the power play after leading the NHL in the category prior to the dip. What’s interesting about the rest of the numbers, though: Toronto is still top five in expected goals, scoring chances, and high-danger chances per 60 during their dry spell.


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That is likely a big part of why Sheldon Keefe continues to be encouraged by the process, although the calls to fully load the top unit (with both William Nylander and John Tavares) are growing louder by the day. Regardless of who is out there with who and for how long, the Leafs do have to get more pucks on net, as it might take an ugly one to get the man advantage rolling again.

In the Leafs net, Jack Campbell, after taking a game and a practice off earlier this week, will return tonight as the Leafs continue to handle his nagging injury situation with an abundance of caution. Veini Vehvilainen and Michael Hutchinson have traveled with the team to Winnipeg, and the latter will back up tonight.

With a team .880 save percentage in their last 10 games over all situations, it will be crucial for Campbell to stabilize the crease — as he has in all of his starts this season — against an opponent with the most lethal top six the Leafs will encounter in this regular season and a goaltender across the way that has given the Leafs headaches in the season series (2-2-0) despite Toronto’s territorial control over the matchups at 5v5.

Connor Hellebuyck is 4-1 in his last five games and has only allowed seven goals in those contests. This season, he is 17-9-2 with a .918 Sv% and a GSAx of 9.6.


Stats — Last 10 Games

  • Dylan Demelo leads the Jets with a 60.8% xG rating  — Logan Stanley is their only other defenseman over 50% (53%).
  • All of the Jets primary five forwards — Schiefele, Wheeler, Stastny, Dubois, Ehlers, and Connor — are producing over 2.5 xG/60 at five-on-five.
  • In his five games with the Maple Leafs, Alex Galchenyuk leads the team with 67% xG share and a 62% shot attempt share.
  • John Tavares leads the Maple Leafs in individual shot attempts and xGoals/60
  • The Jets team save-percentage in all situations is .923%, while Toronto’s is .880%
  • The Leafs have greatly outplayed the Jets at five-on-five; Toronto has a 58% xG share while the Jets are only at 49%

All stats are score and venue adjusted and sourced from evolving-hockey.com


Game Day Quotes

Paul Maurice on moving Pierre-Luc Dubois away from Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers, the players he spent most of his first few weeks in Winnipeg with:

Going back to when we first acquired Pierre-Luc, that was one of the combinations that you have that you’d like to see. There was the end of a road trip and [we wanted] a bit of a change to see if we could spark something. I wanted to be careful about changing [Dubois]’s line because, after game one of the Vancouver set, I really, really liked where they were at. In the two Edmonton games as well, I liked what they were doing, and then it just kind of levelled off.

I thought for a while there that Schiefele’s line was grinding and playing hard, but there wasn’t a whole lot going on, so that was the other part. You’ve got to give your team the best chance to win every night but you also have to understand your team by the time the regular season’s over.

We see such different styles of hockey in this division. [The] Vancouver and Calgary [games] had been very straight-line, almost every puck [was] dumped, with really physical battles at both ends. The Toronto and Edmonton series have so much danger off the rush, so you need to kind of get through these games with an idea of what changes could you make to your lines when you get into a series and something isn’t working.

We need to learn more about this team — with Pierre-Luc, I’d like to leave it for a while and see where it goes.

Sheldon Keefe on whether he feels uncertain about his team’s goaltending at the moment:

Yeah, a little bit. Certainly, when it comes to Jack’s situation, it’s kind of a day-to-day thing. He’s progressed well and it seems that when he has time to recover from his recent games, he does bounce back and feel good, so there’s less of a concern there. It is something we have to manage. You have to be responsible with it as a staff and be smart with it. He’s got to be honest and tell us exactly how he’s feeling.

Keefe on the Jets’ forwards:

They have lots of depth and they use four lines very effectively. [They] have three lines that can score and a fourth line that has been contributing as well, does a good job defensively, and they trust them. From a forward perspective, they’re a very deep team that’s playing strong team defense with strong goaltending, so there’s a lot of things that present challenges from them as a team.

Keefe on how he feels Zach Bogosian has fit in this season while playing all but one game:

I wouldn’t say I’m surprised about his durability. I didn’t have a lot of concerns about that going into the season — he’s played well. Like a lot of our guys, he’s had some nights that have not gone well for him, but I think for the most part, he’s bounced back from those and he’s showed great consistency for us in playing the role we need from him: being physical, defending efficiently, and helping us on the penalty kill.


Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards
#11 Zach Hyman – #34 Auston Matthews – #16 Mitch Marner
#12 Alex Galchenyuk – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#97 Joe Thornton  –  #15 Alex Kerfoot – #19 Jason Spezza
#65 Ilya Mikheyev – #47 Pierre Engvall – #24 Wayne Simmonds

Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #78 T.J Brodie
#8 Jake Muzzin – #3 Justin Holl
#23 Travis Dermott – #22 Zach Bogosian

Goaltenders
#36 Jack Campbell (starter)
#30 Michael Hutchinson

Extras: Martin Marincin, Alexander Barabanov, Timothy Liljegren, Adam Brooks, Scott Sabourin, Veini Vehvilainen
Injured: Frederik Andersen


Winnipeg Jets Projected Lines

Forwards
#25 Paul Stastny – #13 Pierre-Luc Dubois – #26 Blake Wheeler
#81 Kyle Connor – #55 Mark Schiefele – #27 Nikolaj Ehlers
#9 Andrew Copp – #17 Adam Lowry – #82 Mason Appleton
#95 Mathieu Perreault – #11 Nate Thompson – #23 Trevor Lewis

Defensemen
#44 Josh Morrisey – #3 Tucker Poolman
#24 Derek Forbort – #4 Neal Pionk
#64 Logan Stanley – #2 Dylan Demelo

Goaltenders
#37 Connor Hellebuyck (starter)
#30 Laurent Brossoit

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Ravens win fifth straight game by beating Bucs 41-31

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.

The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.

Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.

Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.

The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.

Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.

Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.

It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.

Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.

Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.

It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.

Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Struggling Whitecaps, Timbers set to meet in MLS wild-card matchup

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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.

With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.

The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.

The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.

An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”

Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.

There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.

“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.

Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.

“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”

Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.

“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.

“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”

The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).

The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.

Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).

The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.

To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.

“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”

A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.

The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.

“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)

Wednesday, Providence Park

HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.

ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.

POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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No rugby, field hockey, badminton, triathlon or cricket at leaner 2026 Commonwealth Games

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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.

Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.

The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.

There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.

The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.

It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.

“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.

Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.

More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.

The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”

Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.

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