Minggu, 29 September 2019

Preseason Game Notes: Toronto Maple Leafs 5 vs. Detroit Red Wings 0 - Maple Leafs Hot Stove

First Period

The Leafs came out of the gates flying and grabbed the lead 29 seconds in on the first shift of the game:

Auston Matthews did a great job of reading the play to intercept the pass and create a fast-developing odd-man rush the other way, setting the stage for a nice finish from Andreas Johnsson in tight.

The Leafs excelled early on in getting their speed game going to create space for themselves and generate scoring chances, with Detroit simply unable to keep pace.

Throughout the period, the Leafs were also effective hunting down loose pucks and taking them to the scoring areas. No player did a better job of this than Ilya Mikheyev, who came close on this chance:

Spoiler alert: This is not the last time Mikheyev’s name will be mentioned in this review.

As the period progressed, so did the Leafs‘ relentless pressure on the Red Wings at both ends of the ice. The Leafs were able to stymie the Detroit attack and really get their transition game going.

Frederik Gauthier has progressed leaps and bounds beyond where he was when he made his NHL debut in 2016. His combination of positional awareness, improved skating/balance and puck-protection abilities tends to add up to positive possession play.

The play above put Toronto on the man-advantage for the first time. While they had some good looks, they were unable to capitalize on their chances as the period ended with the score at 1-0.

Second Period

The Leafs did not come through on the man advantage but there were some new wrinkles on display from Paul McFarland’s units.

The double-drop is something the Leafs did a little bit of later in the season and in the Boston series; this looks like a bit of a different take on things with Matthews swinging through and Marner charging across up the left side of the ice.

While there was no breakthrough coming on the man-advantage, the Leafs did not take their foot off the gas pedal one bit at 5v5.

Despite the stranglehold on the game from the Leafs, Toronto found themselves down a man nearly five minutes in after a questionable call on Jake Muzzin.

That didn’t slow the Leafs’ offense down, though — in fact, the Leafs generated ample shorthanded chances before finally burying one.

In addition to earning a promotion up the lineup to line three, Moore looks like he’s ready to become a real contributor shorthanded, where he wasn’t used initially after earning the call late last season and into the playoffs.

After extending the lead, the Leafs kept pressing for more and came close on numerous occasions:

The floodgates opened with a power-play opportunity roughly seven minutes into the period after William Nylander ripped a bullet that went in and out of the net off the back crossbar:

Nylander arguably looks for this shot too often when shooting for holes and rebounds might be more productive, but he likes that short side high angle and the power in his release is extremely impressive.

Detroit tried to challenge the goal for offsides, but the ruling was the goal stood due to the play being inconclusive. As a result, the new rules of an unsuccessful coaches challenge sent the Leafs to another power-play.

On the ensuing opportunity, the Leafs converted with another great snipe from the half-wall:

Matthews’ shot never fails to amaze, even after watching it for nearly four years now; largely because he’s able to score in so many ways from so many angles/sides of the ice.

Later in the frame, the Leafs found themselves on yet another power-play and again were able to capitalize. John Tavares was the beneficiary of an individual effort from Auston Matthews to beat a defender and free up space down low:

By period’s end, the Leafs were comfortably in control of the game with a large lead and 40 dominant minutes of play under their belts. To this point, the Leafs had limited the Red Wings to just 11 shots in the first two periods (!).

Third Period

With the game and pre-season more-or-less finished, both teams slowed the game down to a crawl in the final frame with minimal highlights worth mentioning.

This isn’t to suggest that there weren’t any, because a few notable plays stood out: Cody Ceci, who has been steady in preseason, came close to burying his first (unofficial) goal as a Leaf with a nice bit of patience with the puck and a cut back off the rush before ringing the cross bar:

One Leaf who truly made his mark on this game was Mikheyev, who was a workhorse at both ends of the ice all evening long. He showcased his work ethic, instincts, and strength on the puck while on the penalty kill, creating a quality scoring chance.

Later on, the big man showed off his elusive speed to gain separation on a Red Wings defender and generate another quality look.

He was a man on a mission in this game, cementing an already-secured role in the Leafs’ top-nine.

After 20 minutes of forgettable play from both teams, the horn sounded to mark the end of the 2019 pre-season with an easy 16-save shutout win for Frederik Andersen.

Clip of the Night

Notable Stats

Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Locations

Post Game Notes

  • As previously mentioned, no player on the Leafs stood out more than Ilya Mikheyev. He was a force for good at both ends of the ice and made numerous strong plays on the puck despite not being rewarded offensively. At even strength, he recorded an impressive 76.47 CF%, a 76.92 FF%, a 53.57 SF% Rel, a 90.21 xGF%, and a 75.00 SCF% Rel. It’s the kind of performance that Mike Babcock will have all the time in the world for. It may be pre-season, but Mikheyev looks like the real deal so far.
  • As far as forward lines go, the Auston Matthews line was the most effective in terms of puck possession and scoring chances. He, William Nylander, and Andreas Johnsson combined to register a 52.25 CF%, a 66.67 FF%, a 71.43 SF%, a 62.18 xGF%, and a 55.56 SCF% at 5v5. For all sorts of reasons, we didn’t see as much of Matthews – Nylander last season (the contract holdout, Nylander’s subsequent struggles, maybe a little stubbornness on Babcock’s behalf, Nazem Kadri’s suspension). It appears the duo is ready to hit the ground running from the start of the year. Keep in mind that we never really saw the Tavares – Marner / Matthews – Nylander one-two punch at its full powers last season due to the Nylander situation.
  • Nick Shore and Egor Korshkov had a lot on the line in this game with the final roster cuts looming. Following Saturday’s win, both should feel pretty good about themselves for at least making the Leafs management’s lives a little more difficult in the coming 24 hours. While both didn’t play much (both recording roughly 10:30 of TOI), they were effective on the forecheck and gave the team safe minutes in the defensive end.
  • The Leafs’ blue line overall had another good night; the Jake Muzzin and Tyson Barrie pairing was pretty quiet in the final tune-up, though. At even strength, the two combined to record a 35.00 CF%, a 31.25 FF%, a 30.77 SF%, a 22.25 xGF%, and a 25.00 SCF%. Separate from each other, their numbers in the aforementioned categories drastically improved. Granted, this is a pre-season game, so this performance (like the other ones mentioned previously) should be taken with a grain of salt. But they’ll need to find the next level when the real games start after a just-okay exhibition season.

Condensed Game



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September 29, 2019 at 11:12PM
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Connor, Jets agree on 7-year $50-M deal - Winnipeg Free Press

ALL that talk, not to mention angst, this fall about the Winnipeg Jets limping out of the gate without two of their offensive weapons.

Wasted words and worries, indeed.

The Jets signed restricted free agent Kyle Connor to a seven-year, US$50-million dollar contract on Saturday night, the NHL club confirmed.

The 22-year-old Michigan product’s contract carries an average annual value of US$7.14 million. He’ll be paid US$7.5 million this season.

ALL that talk, not to mention angst, this fall about the Winnipeg Jets limping out of the gate without two of their offensive weapons.

Wasted words and worries, indeed.

The Jets signed restricted free agent Kyle Connor to a seven-year, US$50-million dollar contract on Saturday night, the NHL club confirmed.

The 22-year-old Michigan product’s contract carries an average annual value of US$7.14 million. He’ll be paid US$7.5 million this season.

The news comes a day after Patrik Laine inked a two-year bridge deal worth US$13.5 million.

Connor, Laine and Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff are expected to speak to the media on Monday.

Winnipeg has solidified its roster, at least up front, less than a week before the start of the 2019-20 NHL season. The Jets open in Manhattan on Thursday against the New York Rangers.

The additions of Laine and Connor increase Winnipeg’s training camp roster to 29 players. Still absent is defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, granted a personal leave of absence just before camp started.

The rest of Connor’s deal breaks down like this: 2020-21: $8.0m; 2021-22: $7.5m; 2022-23: $5.0m; 2023-24: $7.5m; 2024-25: $7.5m; and 2025-26: $7m.

Connor, who has 67 goals and 128 points in 178 NHL games, will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026.

Drafted in the first round (17th overall) by the Jets in the 2015 NHL Draft, Connor scored 31 goals in his NHL rookie season (2017-18) and followed up with 34 goals last season.

The Jets play the Minnesota Wild this afternoon in St. Paul, Minn., in their final pre-season game.

Connor was the NHL’s First Star of the Week in late March last season after he recorded eight points (5G, 3A) in four games, including his first career hat-trick against the Nashville Predators in March.

He scored three goals and added a pair of assists in the Jets’ six-game opening-round playoff series with the eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell

Jason Bell

Jason Bell
Assistant sports editor

Jason Bell wanted to be a lawyer when he was a kid. The movie The Paper Chase got him hooked on the idea of law school and, possibly, falling in love with someone exactly like Lindsay Wagner (before she went all bionic).

Read full biography



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September 29, 2019 at 09:30AM
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Rob Vanstone: Saskatchewan Roughriders' Cody Fajardo posted Ron Lancaster-like numbers - Regina Leader-Post

Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 23 of 27 passes on Saturday, matching Ron Lancaster's totals from a memorable 1976 game.

Cody Fajardo has just treated Saskatchewan Roughriders fans to a sprinkling of Ron Lancaster.

One reminder of the iconic Little General was uncanny as Fajardo piloted Saskatchewan to Saturday’s 41-16 CFL victory over the host Toronto Argonauts.

Consider Fajardo’s passing numbers: 23-for-27 for 278 yards and three touchdowns, with nary an interception.

Compare those stats to No. 23’s dazzling data from Aug. 15, 1976: 23-for-27 for 290 yards and three touchdowns, without an interception.

It was, in this seasoned scribbler’s assessment, Lancaster’s finest game — one in which Saskatchewan blanked the Edmonton Eskimos 40-0 at Taylor Field.

He systemically sliced and diced the Eskimos’ defence with short and intermediate passes before seizing an opportunity to go over the top — the result being a touchdown toss to Tom Campana, who made a diving catch in the north end zone.

Similarly, Fajardo patiently and precisely lacerated the Argonauts’ alleged defence until the fourth quarter, when he launched a 55-yard touchdown bomb to Manny Arceneaux.

It was an empathic exit for Fajardo, who spent the remainder of the game watching Bryan Bennett and Isaac Harker accept snaps for Saskatchewan.

Back in 1976, then-Roughriders head coach John Payne removed Lancaster from the Edmonton game during the third quarter, whereupon Dave Syme saw extended garbage-time duty.

There are, of course, distinct differences.

By 1976, Lancaster had been a member of Roughriders royalty for the better part of a decade — his legendary status having been cemented when he threw three TD passes in Saskatchewan’s first Grey Cup win.

Lancaster had just turned 28 when he guided Saskatchewan to its ice-breaking, 29-14 victory over the Ottawa Rough Riders on Nov. 26, 1966.

Fajardo, at 27, has started only 12 CFL games — all of them this season.

With that in mind, it may be considered a stretch to mention Lancaster and Fajardo in the same sentence, even though this passage has, in fact, survived the scrutiny of chainsaw-wielding copy editors.

Nonetheless, when you watch Fajardo dissect a defence to the tune of 23-for-27, how do you not sit back, marvel, and wonder where all this is leading?

As the 2019 season dawned, who could have envisioned Fajardo becoming such a sensation in Saskatchewan?

It was reasonable to suggest that he would receive considerable playing time. After all, anyone who begins a season as the next man up behind the fragile Zach Collaros can expect to be elevated to front-line status at some point.

But it was still a shock to see Fajardo assume the reins so quickly — after an illegal hit by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Simoni Lawrence left Collaros concussed on just the third play from scrimmage of the 2019 season.

The loss of the starting quarterback at such an early juncture could have been catastrophic.

However, one inspection of the CFL’s West Division standings confirms that the Roughriders are just fine, thank you.

With a 9-4 record, they are tied for first place with the perennially powerful Calgary Stampeders. (Calgary gets the nod, at least for the time being, by virtue of having won 37-10 at Mosaic Stadium on July 6.)

If the Roughriders defeat the 9-5 Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium), the odds will be favourable for a home playoff game.

When the Blue Bombers last visited Regina, Fajardo led the Roughriders on a late-fourth-quarter drive that set up Brett Lauther’s game-winning field goal.

The script has unfolded in comparable fashion in three of Saskatchewan’s past four home games, with Fajardo repeatedly engineering fourth-quarter comeback victories.

Sometimes, Fajardo’s statistics are not eye-popping, but his timing is impeccable, his mindset indomitable.

He has quickly established himself as someone who should be feared by rival teams with the game on the line.

As long as there is time on the clock, it is unwise to bet against him.

The same cautionary note often resonated when Lancaster called signals for Saskatchewan.

The aforementioned 1976 season was one of his finest, which is saying something. In November of that year, he became the Roughriders’ first two-time recipient of the CFL’s most-outstanding-player award.

The 1976 Roughriders secured first place in the Western Conference when Lancaster rallied them from 24-0 and 27-8 deficits and ultimately celebrated a 33-31 victory in Calgary on the final day of the regular season.

As time expired, Lancaster found Rhett Dawson for a three-yard, game-winning major.

Lancaster’s opposite number in that Nov. 7, 1976 classic was none other than then-Stampeders quarterback John Hufnagel, who is now the president and general manager of the defending Grey Cup champions from Calgary.

All these years later, it is conceivable that another Saskatchewan quarterback — Fajardo — will leave Hufnagel disappointed when November arrives.

rvanstone@postmedia.com

twitter.com/robvanstone



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September 29, 2019 at 08:04PM
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Flames sign Tobias Rieder, Zac Rinaldo to one-year deals - Sportsnet.ca

Tobias Rieder and Zac Rinaldo have each signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000 with the Calgary Flames after successful tryouts with the team.

Calgary officially announced the signings on Sunday morning, hours after Rieder scored twice in the Flames’ pre-season finale against the Edmonton Oilers.

Rieder was an unrestricted free agent after going scoreless in 67 games last season with the Oilers.

Rinaldo had one goal and two assists in 23 games last season for the Nashville Predators.

September 29, 2019

|

Tobias Rieder

Left Wing

AGE: 26

LENGTH:

1 Year

CONTRACT TYPE:

Free Agency

SALARY CAP HIT:

N/A

TOTAL:

$700 thousand



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September 29, 2019 at 10:17PM
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Under-manned Edmonton Oilers lose a narrow 3-2 battle in Calgary on the final night of the pre-season - Edmonton Journal

Calgary Flames 3 Edmonton Oilers 2

It could be argued that the under-manned (5 regulars scratched) Edmonton Oilers outplayed the all-but-full squad that the Calgary Flames iced Saturday night.

They did out-shoot the Flames 28-22 on the evening. The visitors had a tremendous 3rd Period in particular to come from behind 2-0 and knot the game at 2. But then just a terrible D-zone give-away by a veteran D-man (Darnell Nurse) combined with a 2-goal performance by the guy who put up the biggest goose egg in Oilers history last season (Tobias Rieder) ultimately delivered the 3-2 regulation win for the Flames.

But player evaluation is more important that the ultimate performance for both sides. So here’s the tale of the tape:

Edmonton Oilers Player Grades

MIKKO KOSKINEN. 6. Stopped 19 of 22. I think you would like Mikko Koskinen to have the first Toby Rieder goal. Sure…the shot came from the dot but it barely eluded Koskinen’s (you guessed it) outstretched glove hand. And Koskinen had to have known the shot was coming as Leon Draisaitl had sealed the passing lane tight. A big 2nd Period stuff on Monahan was his best save. Had no chance on the other 2 Calgary goals. Good, not great. Not 100% he’s start Wednesday. Mike Smith is looking over his shoulder.

LEON DRAISAITL. 6. High-end distribution of pucks from Leon all night long. 1st Period take-away. Fed Sam Gagner for a good 1st frame chance. He and Gagner teamed up again on the power play later but were denied. Absolutely robbed by David Rittich on a 3rd Period opportunity. Took away the pass on the 1st Rieder goal but maybe he could have been more aggressive toward the shooter. Played 24:45. 50% on the dot. Had trouble making the PP click (1/5).

JOAKIM NYGARD. 7. We’ve seen his wheels all camp long. But finally tonight we saw some hands to go along with Joakim Nygard’s quick boots. Had 2 assists and 3 shots on goal. Also had a 1st Period give-away and was -2. But Nygard was way more than decent, making for a tougher decision for Dave Tippett to make when it comes to the final construction of the roster.

ALEX CHIASSON. 5. Alex Chiasson couldn’t convert a 1st Period dish from Draisaitl. Had a couple take-away’s. Solid on defence. Too often a half-step behind on the attack. He’s on the squad but was quiet-ish tonight.

DARNELL NURSE. 4. Missed Gaetan Haas with a dicey D-zone pass late in the game that ended up in the back of the Oilers net a split-second later, breaking a 2-all tie. It was a horrible decision. Took a 3rd Period minor but it was negated by a Calgary Too Many Men call. But those two high-profile issues aside Nurse was “barely ok” and logged 29:55…although over 8 minutes of that was on a largely ineffective power play.

ADAM LARSSON. 5. Adam Larsson played solid enough in 21:15, even though he did end the night -2. But I didn’t have Larsson even partially responsible for either one. 3 shots, a hit and a block. Far from a “problem” on a night when they did have a few issues on the back-end.

GAETAN HAAS. 6. His best game of the pre-season. Set up Jurco for a 1st Period chance. Tied the game at 2 in the 3rd with a nifty upper-corner deflection on the 1st of 2 terrific Nygard feeds. Also strong in the face-off circle (56%). Haas has been a little better with each outing and his skating was a notice-able plus tonight. He’s not “fast” but is quick. Haas could use another 10 games on North American ice (Bakersfield).

TOMAS JURCO. 5. A little quieter tonight than he has been recently but still a solid performance. 3 shots in 19:18. One of the knocks on this guy is consistency. So that may stick in the coach’s mind.

SAM GAGNER. 5. Sam Gagner fed Granlund for a good 3rd Period chance. Combined twice with Leon Draisaitl (as described above) on 2 chances but they were twice denied. 2 shots in 17:10. Was part of a sputtering power play. Decent.

ETHAN BEAR. 6. Played 19:01 and was effective with the puck. A beautiful feed to a breaking Granlund led to a Grade-A scoring chance. Earned an assist by starting the play that ended with the Haas deflection. Teamed up with Colby Cave for a big 1st Period short-handed clear. Took a high-sticking minor during a spirited D-zone battle with Matthew Tkachuck but it was killed off. The only real blemish on his night was a noticeable one as Bear was walked by Sam Bennett, only to be bailed out by his goaltender. Happens occasionally to rookie D-men.

WILLIAM LAGESSON. 4. Was over-matched much of the night. To this set of eyes, he was just a half-step behind which in the NHL can cause you serious problems. The kid has had an excellent camp. But I can’t help but think he could use another 20-30 AHL games. And that’s not a crime. At all.

COLBY CAVE. 4. Lost the draw on the 2-0. 0 shots, no hits, 43% on the dot. Not exactly inspiring. Did have one strong series on the PK.

MARKUS GRANLUND. 5. Looked a fair bit better tonight. Had 2 shots and was effective in 2:53 of PK work. Took a hooking minor that the Flames converted on the resulting power play on a Milan Lucic net-side deflection. Yes Rieder and Lucic accounted for all 3 Calgary goals. Where were they last year? I imagine how much better Granlund could have been had he been health all training camp.

ZACK KASSIAN. 8. His best game of the pre-season. Zack Kassian’s goal was a nice tip on a feed from Joakim Nygard. But Kassian could have had 2 or 3 including a 2nd Period chance off a pass from Markus Granlund but David Rittich shot out a right pad for the save. A 2nd Period take-away. Had another point-blank chance early in the 3rd but was denied. All over the ice, especially in the back-half of the game. I counted 5 Grade-A scoring chances. Excellent performance.

BRANDON MANNING. 7. Won an impressive board battle with the bigger Milan Lucic earlier in the game. In the 3rd, had a tremendous D-zone shift during which he won numerous battles and ultimately drew an Edmonton power play. The Oilers scored in the resulting man advantage. You may not like this guy. But he may have made the club as a 7D based on tonight’s solid effort.

MATT BENNING. 5. Matt Benning lost his man on the 2-0 PP goal. Rang one big blast off the goaltender’s mask. 2 hits. Uninspiring pre-season from this (now) perennial slow starter. I think he’s on team but not because he’s been terrific.

RILEY SHEAHAN. 5. A very strong defensive effort featuring one head-to-head against Matthew Tkachuck in an early 2nd Period match-up. But he did struggle in the face-off circle (29%).

JUJHAR KHAIRA. 4. More quiet than you would like. Followed up a 1st Period give-away with a strip seconds later. 0 shots, 2 give-away’s. He’ll  make the squad but needs to be better.

JOSH ARCHIBALD. 5. Drew an early 2nd Period Power Play. A shot and a hit in 11:01. Very good in 2:53 short-handed. Can really skate, makes lots of smart little plays.

SCRATCHES: McDAVID, NUGENT-HOPKINS, NEAL, K.RUSSELL, P.RUSSELL, KLEFBOM, BRODZIAK (I), PERSSON (I), DAY (I), SMITH (Back-Up).

O.K….now it gets real. The regular season gets underway Wednesday night at home to the Vancouver Canucks.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

Cult of Hockey David Staples

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September 29, 2019 at 12:01PM
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Canadiens vs. Senators game recap: An exciting end to a long pre-season - Habs Eyes on the Prize

You may have expected the final game of the pre-season to be a contest that the players just wanted to get through as quickly as possible. However, that’s not something the current relationship between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators allows.

After a fairly standard tight-checking opening to the first period — something we saw in the previous game between these two clubs as well — the familiarity bred some contempt behind the Canadiens’ net. It was Ben Chiarot and Bobby Ryan who got involved, dropping the gloves at the midpoint of the opening frame for the game’s first penalties.

Half a minute later, Max Domi took exception to a trip by Scott Sabourin, and confronted him near the benches. The two threw punches as well, and it seemed the tone for the night was set.

An extra roughing minor to Sabourin sent the Canadiens on a dreaded power play, interrupting the physical play for the time being. It was a short-lived man advantage, however, as Phillip Danault tried to gain a further advantage by hanging on to a penalty-killer’s stick, making for some very crowded penalty boxes on both sides.

The special teams brought about the game’s first goal, but not in the way they were designed to contribute to offence. While short-handed late in the first, an initial odd-man rush went to Montreal as Paul Byron tried to hit Nick Suzuki on a two-on-one, but the pass was deflected. After jumping over the boards moments later, Phillip Danault picked up the puck in the neutral zone thanks to an Erik Brannstrom turnover, and this time he did all the work involved to get the goal.

The second period saw a good display of finesse from the last player you’d expect to apply that term to. Brendan Gallagher collected the puck after it was knocked loose by Danault. Gallagher tiptoed around a stick lying on the ice and then sent a pass right in front of the pad of netminder Anders Nilsson to the stick of Tomas Tatar for a 2-0 lead.

Ottawa attempted to cut the deficit in half, but with Ben Chiarot tying up Vitaly Abramov’s hands, the Sens player only had his legs to propel the puck into the net. After the group of pensioners running the in-game technology figured out how to turn the officials’ tablet on, the goal was reviewed, and then quickly disallowed.

The services of the off-ice officials weren’t needed the next time Carey Price was beaten. Bobby Ryan wasn’t tied up at all beside the crease, and picked up a puck sitting behind the Canadiens’ goaltender for the visitors’ first legal goal.

Less than two minutes later, the lead was erased completely by the Senators’ short-handed goal in the game. Max Domi attempted to protect the puck as he carried it along the blue line on the power play, but had it poked away. Anthony Duclair had plenty of runway to get in on Price, and scored the tying goal.

The third period saw a few more power plays, but neither team could find the opening for a prime short-handed chance, and so the game remained tied.

Just as it seemed the game was getting set for overtime, an ill-advised pass from Price while well out of his net went right to Filip Chlapik, and the forward sent the puck behind Price’s desperate sprint back to the crease to put Ottawa up 3-2.

Price made a beeline to the bench shortly after the play had resumed and Montreal was into the Sens’ end. A scrum along the side boards was won by four of the six Canadiens skaters now on the ice, and the puck was sent back to the point. Jeff Petry fired a shot toward the net that was deflected by Gallagher, and the winger became the third and final member of the Habs’ top line to score a goal in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

The start of the three-on-three period was a slow one. The Canadiens held the most possession, but unfortunately were doing so quite literally, with the puck held just inside the Senators’ blue line and no real attempts to get to the net. Two tries at advancing the puck went for icing, bringing the NHL’s most entertaining situation to a standstill.

With Montreall seemingly uninterested in making something happen, the Senators decided to give it a try. Duclair broke in Price for the second time in the game, but the goalie was no longer in a generous mood, and turned the shot aside with his arm.

As the clock ticked down to a minute, Suzuki felt it was time to bring proceedings to a close. He raced into the Senators’ end and got to the puck at the same time as a coasting opponent. He won that battle and took the puck behind the goal, swung out in front, and sent a shot to the far post for the winning goal.

Thoughts

  • He probably didn’t need it, but the OT goal was one more positive in a long list for Suzuki from his training camp performance. He has earned a spot on the NHL roster, and he may be playing in every situation right from the outset.
  • Cale Fleury didn’t have the standout moments in the pre-season, but he did look much more steady than the defencemen he was battling with, and clearly has the potential for even more. For him to make the team, someone else needs to be placed on waivers, but I think Marc Bergevin may take that risk given how solid the rookie has looked, and the fact there are some other players with NHL experience already in Laval who could replace either Christian Folin or (especially) Mikey Reilly if they did get claimed.
  • Ryan Poehling’s situation may be a bit different. Using the same test of whether you’d place a forward on waivers in order to keep him around, I’m not sure the answer would be as easy in Poehling’s case. He’s looked good enough to play in the league, but the concussion limited his ability to make impressions and placed him on the back foot for the latter half of the pre-season. Should he be assigned to the AHL, he would only be there until the first injury necessitated a recall, but there could a brief period of time in the minors on the horizon.

We will have those answers soon enough, as the roster needs to be finalized by Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Canadiens’ season-opener on Thursday night.



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September 29, 2019 at 05:00PM
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Shapovalov eliminated from Chengdu Open - The Globe and Mail

Denis Shapovalov reacts during his men's singles semi-final match against Pablo Carreno Busta on September 28, 2019.

STR/AFP/Getty Images

Denis Shapovalov has been eliminated from the Chengdu Open after Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta defeated the Canadian 6-3, 6-4 in semifinal action Saturday.

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., was the last seeded player remaining in the ATP 250 tennis tournament.

Carreno Busta took advantage of his opportunities, converting both of his break point chances. He also saved both of Shapovalov’s break point opportunities.

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Shapovalov fell despite having a good game on serve. The Canadian hit 12 aces to Carreno Busta’s two, didn’t commit a double fault and won 72 per cent of his first serve points, and an impressive 83 per cent of second serve points.

Carreno Busta converted 78 per cent of first serve points and 72 per cent of second serve points.

Carreno Busta will face Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in Sunday’s final. Bublik defeated Lloyd Harris of South Africa 7-6 (6), 6-4 in Saturday’s other semifinal.

After struggling through a mid-season slump, Shapovalov, ranked 34th in the world, has now reached at least the third round in three straight ATP tournaments.



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September 28, 2019 at 10:27PM
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