The veteran goaltender was recalled on an emergency basis for Thursday’s game against the Ottawa Senators due to backup Ilya Samsonov‘s illness, then found himself thrust into action late in a tight game when the Leafs’ breakout No. 1, Joseph Woll, needed two teammates to help him off the ice.
“Yeah, it’s brutal. You don’t wish that upon anyone,” teammate Mitch Marner said, following Toronto’s bittersweet 4-3 road victory. “Hopefully news comes back somewhat positive.”
The early outlook is not.
Crunching his lanky frame to make one of the more innocuous of his 29 saves during a hectic 31-shot night, Woll lurched forward in palpable pain. An audible gasp rose from the well-represented Leafs fans inside the Canadian Tire Centre.
Following a lengthy conversation with athletic therapist Paul Ayotte, Woll lumbered his arms around the shoulders of Ryan Reaves and T.J. Brodie, who helped him off the ice.
The goaltender couldn’t place weight on his left leg and was later spotted leaving the rink on crutches.
“It’s unfortunate, right?” head coach Sheldon Keefe said.
“He’s been playing so well, and he’s building such great momentum here on his season and his career. It’s a setback here. Now he’s going to miss time for sure. We’ll determine the extent of it once we get home. But, obviously, he’s the big reason why we get two points here tonight.”
Absolutely.
Making his fifth consecutive start, Woll was one of the only Leafs dialled in from puck drop, as the Senators pressed and swarmed, and the visitors had as much difficulty exiting their zone as downtown commuters do reaching the CTC parking lot in rush hour.
He stoned Mathieu Joseph on a breakaway, denied Josh Norris in the blue paint, and supplied Vladimir Tarasenko with nightmare fuel with a pair of 10-bell, cross-crease glove flashes on two-on-ones.
“Those two on the backside could’ve easily been goals — and he owned him,” said William Nylander, the winning goal scorer.
Added Morgan Rielly: “We hope he’s OK. He’s been playing outstanding for us.”
Maple Leafs’ Woll stretches out before flashing the leather to rob Tarasenko of sure goal
Woll’s steady performance, perfect shootout record, and excellent .916 save percentage have played a huge role in papering over Toronto’s defensive injuries and inconsistent efforts.
Consider: This team’s past eight games have been decided by a single goal. Dressing a netminder who can come up with a clutch stop or two, which Ottawa did not have Thursday, can be all the difference in the muddled middle of the Atlantic Division race.
Even prior to Woll’s injury, goaltending depth was a topic on Keefe’s mind.
“It’s six games in the next 10 days with nine in 17 leading up to Christmas here,” the coach noted at morning skate.
“So, we’re gonna need two goaltenders for certain. Maybe three.”
Gulp.
Well, let’s talk about that third-stringer.
Still loitering on the UFA market in August, the 33-year-old Jones accepted a paltry $875,000, one-year deal from Leafs GM Brad Treliving for this very occasion.
Armed with 445 games of regular-season experience, plus multiple deep playoff runs during his San Jose Sharks prime, an admittedly “little stiff” Jones was composed in his 10-minute relief appearance, stopping nine of 10 pucks fired his way and withstanding the Sens’ pulled-goalie push.
Clearing waivers before opening night and splitting time with Toronto’s goalie prospects on the farm, Jones has played the role of solid teammate while getting humbled by a pay cut and his first stint in the AHL in a decade.
Healthy and patient, the North Vancouver native has been granted just five scattered appearances with the Marlies while busying himself with more practice time than a concert pianist.
“Just an awesome human being. Great dude to have around. Brings some good energy,” Marner said of Jones. “He knows how to win hockey games, and he’s done it for a long time as well. So, it’s great to have him — especially in these moments.”
‘He’s going to miss time for sure’: Maple Leafs’ Keefe on Woll injury
Had Samsonov not been smacked with an illness this week, Jones wouldn’t have even been on the bench. Now, suddenly, it appears he’ll be leaned upon during Toronto’s busy December — albeit at the cost of Woll’s remarkable run.
“It’s tough to watch,” Jones said. “You don’t want to see that. But just tried to get my head in the game and get ready to go.
“Sometimes it helps. You’re not thinking too much… You just stop thinking, and then you’re just reacting to the play.”
How the Maple Leafs’ new tandem of Samsonov and Jones reacts to Woll’s undetermined absence could have a great impact on the team’s placement in the standings.
Keefe maintains that his faith in Jones is high and that he’s handled his newfound status as the club’s third goalie with “tremendous” professionalism.
“That’s why you signed veteran depth. We were fortunate when he got through waivers and he remained a part of our organization — and it’s for situations like this,” Keefe said.
“[Jones] comes in and does the job and makes sure we get our win. So, gives me confidence. Whether it’s the injuries we’ve faced on defence or what we went through here tonight, guys have found ways to rise above those things.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Very cool to show up at a Senators weekday morning skate and see Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Neil, and Jacques Martin milling about. Recently, the organization has done a fantastic job of keeping some of its most esteemed alumni involved.
• Ottawa’s No. 1 defenceman, Thomas Chabot, played the full 82 last season but has appeared in just nine of his club’s 21 games this fall. After the game, the Senators placed him on LTIR and said he is expected to miss a month with a leg injury.
“I just feel for him,” said Jacob Chychrun. “He’s got a couple unlucky breaks, and I feel for him. I’ve been through it; I know it’s never easy being out. I know he wants to play more than anybody. And we just got to hold the fort down for him till he’s back.”
Jacob Bernard-Docker, 23, couldn’t make this team out of camp. Now, he’s operating on the Sens’ top pair. Bernard-Docker notched his first career goal Thursday.
“He went through waivers, and here he is. Didn’t pout about it. Got right back to work,” D.J. Smith says. “He’s giving us a chance to win every night.”
• Former Senator Bobby Ryan told JD Bunkis on Thursday that during his Battle of Ontario days, Chris Neil was undisputedly the teammate who got most jacked up to beat the Leafs: “He was putting on the foil every time.”
• Bit of a Nick-picky thing considering how little the second unit gets deployed, but it’s a little curious that Nick Robertson — whose greatest weapon is his shot — can’t get time on PP2.
I suppose Keefe wants to reward the more trustworthy veteran, Calle Järnkrok (not a bad shot himself), with some offensive ice time.
• John Tavares is up to 997 career points. The Maple Leafs are in Long Island on Monday.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
