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'WE'RE VERY PLEASED': Maple Leafs run over Kings, set season-high with six goals – Toronto Sun

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It was Toronto’s 12th win in 14 games

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About that narrative that the Maple Leafs are having trouble scoring: Never mind.

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The Leafs opened their three-game swing through California with a resounding victory at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, routing the Kings 6-2.

The six goals represented a season-high for the Leafs, who have won five in a row on the road and 12 of 14 overall.

The victory was powered by a four-goal outburst in the second period, also a season-high for any period for the Leafs in 2021-22.

The lone negative was the status of third-line centre David Kampf, who was taken out for precautionary reasons after he awkwardly hit the ice before the game was two minutes old. Kampf was checked by Kings centre Rasmus Kupari and fell on his left side. Kupari was given a tripping minor on the play.

Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said Kampf would be reevaluated on Thursday. If Kampf is out, one of Kirill Semyonov or Kyle Clifford would draw in.

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With the offensive outburst, the Leafs, who are establishing themselves as one of the better defensive teams in the National Hockey League, moved into 21st overall with 2.71 goals a game. Expect them to keep moving up in that category. They’re at the top or near it in many offensive categories.

“I don’t know if it’s (anything more than) just a matter of some of the luck coming back our way,” Keefe said of filling the net. “I don’t know if we did anything a whole lot different than what we have been doing in other games. But it was certainly nice to see it go in.

“We’re very pleased. We have been playing good of late, but it has been a long time since we blew a game open like that. It’s great for the team and the camaraderie of the group.”

Several Leafs will be feeling good about themselves as the club takes its record of 14-6-1 into San Jose to face the Sharks on Friday night.

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With good pal Justin Bieber watching from a private box, Auston Matthews, feeling a bit of heat as he has not been able to score with consistency, got his third goal of the season at five on five.

Rasmus Sandin’s strong night on the blue line was highlighted by his first three-assist game in the NHL. It won’t be his last.

Pierre Engvall scored for the first time since the season opener, Wayne Simmonds continued to make an impact with two assists and Jason Spezza scored for the first time in 13 games.

“We worked on our offence (Tuesday) in practice,” Spezza said. “Keefer has done a good job of going over some of the habits he thinks he can improve on to help scoring. We got rewarded for it. When you get rewarded, it creates a belief for the team in what we have to do. We had volume at the net, layers.”

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GAME ON

Jack Campbell made 30 saves three nights after Joseph Woll stopped 20 shots in a shutout win against the New York Islanders to start the four-game trip … The game was the first in Los Angeles for Campbell and Toronto defenceman Jake Muzzin, who went north in separate trades — Muzzin in January 2019 and Campbell in February 2020. A few times, the “Souuuuuuup” chant that has become common at Scotiabank Arena could be heard … “It was a fun game,” Campbell said. “Great building. A lot of great memories. We’re just rolling. Working hard and having fun.” … The Leafs had a strong start and opened the scoring when Alex Kerfoot held off Kings captain Anze Kopitar, took great pass from Ondrej Kase and lifted a backhand over the left shoulder of goalie Jonathan Quick … At 1-0, Campbell had to make a tough save when he stopped Lias Andersson’s shot from the slot … Former Leafs prospect Sean Durzi, who went to L.A. in the Muzzin trade, made his NHL debut on the Kings blue line and assisted on Victor Arvidsson’s goal at 1:21 of the second. Arvidsson deflected Durzi’s shot, tying the game 1-1. In the third, Durzi, who was a second-round pick in 2018 by the Leafs out of Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League, snapped a shot for his first goal … Not that we’ve come to expect anything different from these Leafs in the past month, but they didn’t flinch when Arvidsson evened the score. Engvall scored less than two minutes later when he had a tap-in after a fine pass from Simmonds. And then it was 3-1 at 5:26 when John Tavares tipped a William Nylander shot … Simmonds had two assists for the first time since he had three in a game on Oct. 30, 2019, for New Jersey against Tampa Bay. Simmonds had two assists all of last season … On the Matthews goal that made it 4-1 at 13:16, he outworked Kopitar behind the Kings net on the forecheck, moved to the front and deposited a Tavares pass … Spezza often practises shots from tough angles, and there he was blasting a high shot past Quick on a Leafs power play at 15:36. Nick Ritchie provided an effective screen … TJ Brodie had two assists, his first two-point game with the Leafs, after registering two in his previous 20 games … Michael Bunting scored the Leafs’ sixth goal at 3:59 of the third when his shot went off the post, hit the skate of Kings centre Phillip Danault and went over the line … The only Leafs forwards without a point were Mitch Marner, Ritchie and Kampf.

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WAYNE TRAIN SPEEDS UP

If you think you have noticed a difference in Simmonds this season — a bit more of a burst in his step, for example, leading to more scoring chances — you’re on to something.

It’s a result of the work Simmonds put in during the off-season at the Leafs’ facility in Etobicoke.

“I skated a lot more with our development team, came in two or three times a week during the summer to work with Barb Underhill,” Simmonds said. “I think it helped me out a lot. I worked with (development staff) Denver Manderson and Nik Antropov.

“Those little skill things, protecting the puck, I think I got away from that with all the injuries I had because I spent a lot of time doing rehab. I was able to get right back to the ice and think it has worked out for me.

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“The game is changing. It’s extremely fast and you don’t have that much time. You have to figure out a way to buy yourself an extra second. I think I have figured that out again.”

Keefe, as one would expect, has witnessed the change.

“When you look at the type of scoring chances he has had and how he has done it, he is protecting the puck really well, his hands in general to be able to get out of tight spaces and be able to get to the middle of the ice, I see some real transfer from what he has worked on,” Keefe said. “He is in a lot of the early sessions we have before practices, we’re getting him involved in those consistently. I know when I talked to him last season about it, a lot of that stuff was new to him.

“If he can continue to get to those spots, it’s going to to fall. His role is reduced this season, but his chance generation has increased greatly. That’s a nice development.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/koshtorontosun

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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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Senators score 5 in 1st, cruise past Sabres

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“I thought that we were ready to go,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “We got some pucks at the net, we got people at the net. Took advantage of our opportunities and, I think, built a nice lead. And then I thought, in the third period, we continued again. Our goaltending was good. Made some key saves. But I thought we shut them down in the third period good.”

Shane Pinto had a goal and three assists, and Brady Tkachuk, Boris Katchouk, Jakob Chychrun and Drake Batherson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (31-36-4), who have won three in a row. Korpisalo made 34 saves.

“If you want to win, you need balance,” Pinto said. “And we had that tonight and it’s going to be big for the back-to-back tomorrow (against the Chicago Blackhawks) to have that same thing. So, going to need all the guys on board.”

JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton scored for the Sabres (34-34-5), who have lost four of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on nine shots before he was replaced by Devon Levi, who made 31 saves in relief.

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“We wanted, I guess, to play as individuals,” Clifton said. “I’m disappointed we let ‘Upie’ down, he’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s kept us in so many games, and just to not show up and play that careless style, give them freebies all over the place. … Yeah, obviously, the first 20 really dictated the rest of the game.”

Artem Zub gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period. He stuffed in a loose puck on the goal line after Katchouk’s shot was redirected by Mark Kastelic between Luukkonen’s pads.

Katchouk made it 2-0 at 4:56, tipping Parker Kelly’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle past Luukkonen.

“It’s keeping the consistency with good effort, right habits,” Katchouk said. “The small things matter so much in this game. And obviously, it worked out tonight with the tip. But kudos to my linemates. ‘Kels’ and ‘Kassy,’ they worked hard to get the puck as well. Those two battle hard every night as well. We feed off each other, and it’s good to play with them.”

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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