Month: November 2019

Mets deGrom Wins Back to Back Cy Young Awards — The New York Extra

Robbins Nest By Lenn Robbins What is with it with the Mets and these one-voter outliers?! Mets ace Jacob deGrom made history Wednesday night, becoming the first Met pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Young awards, just the seventh in NL history to go back-to-back and the 12th overall to accomplish that remarkable feat. But it […]

Mets deGrom Wins Back to Back Cy Young Awards — The New York Extra

Man arrested for ripping facemask off Joe Montana statue at Levi’s Stadium — ProFootballTalk

The penalty for grabbing a facemask in the NFL is 15 yards, but a Santa Clara man is facing more severe discipline for his own tug of a facemask on Monday night. Santa Clara police announced that they arrested Jorge Alberto Lopez for felony vandalism after the conclusion of the 49ers’ home loss to the…

Man arrested for ripping facemask off Joe Montana statue at Levi’s Stadium — ProFootballTalk

WHAT THE MAPLE LEAFS SAID POSTGAME: “Obviously, we want to play a lot better, a lot more consistent. We’ve got to keep working to find a way. At times it feels like it’s going against us and that’s just the nature of it.” –JOHN TAVARES.

HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK

On tonight’s game:

Well, I don’t like that it was 5-4. I really liked our start, I thought we had an outstanding start and played really well. The period was over, we were down 2-0. I thought we crawled our way back and had a really good second period; gave up very, very little. In the end, we gave up the goal at the end of that and then I thought in the third period we weren’t as good as we needed to be in order to have success and crawl our way back. It’s a one-goal game at the end, but the way – I would have liked it better at 3-2, to be honest with you. We’ve got to do a better job. Tonight the special teams battle is 2-0 for them and, so, you can’t win enough games losing the special teams battle so we’ve got to do a better job in that area, for sure. I really liked the start of our game, I liked our energy, I liked our execution, I liked how much time we played in the O-zone. I thought Tavares’ line played in the O-zone more than they’ve played all year, that was good for us.

On Muzzin saying weird lapses led to goals:

When you go through it, the first one we had total control of the puck, managed to turn it over twice, it goes in our net. The third one – the penalty came after a turnover – and then the third one was one of those ones that, to me, it was a simple play for us and we didn’t make it. The bottom line is we’re through 20 games now and, when you evaluate what we’ve done in 20 games, we don’t like it as a group. We think we can be better and we’ll identify the areas again here tomorrow as we go through it and grind our way out of this. We got ourselves in the spot we’re in, we’ve got to grind our way out of it.

On if the team seems frustrated through 20 games:

I don’t think that’s been the case at all. I thought we’ve had good energy and I think we’ve done lots of really good things. In saying that, tonight after the first period, after the second period, you feel you’ve played really well and should be ahead in the game. You’re not ahead in the game. Just stay the course, stay patient, take care of the puck and, if you do good things in life, good things happen.

On Hyman’s return to the lineup:

Like I said to you, I thought Tavares’ line played – I don’t know how many heavy shifts they had, but they had a lot. They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone. I didn’t – I said it yesterday, I had no idea what to expect, I really didn’t. I didn’t know he could be out that long and still come with that energy. Maybe there’s going to be a drop, I don’t know that, but I thought he did a good job in all areas of the game.

ZACH HYMAN (17:37 TOI)

On his first game back since off-season surgery:

Felt good, felt strong. I didn’t worry about my knee which was good. Thought I just went out there and tried to play my game and just kind of pick up where I left off, which was six months ago. It’s a long time but I felt good.

On how the team can improve the penalty kill:

We’ve just got to find confidence. We’ve got to string some kills together. The bounces just aren’t going our way right now. I think if we get back on track, we’ll string a run together. That’s what good PKs do, they get on a roll and they find their confidence and it feels like you don’t get scored on ever. So, we’ll get that fixed and come back strong.

JAKE MUZZIN (1 ASSIST)

On back-to-back one goal losses:

I think we have confidence in this group, in the team and in this room. We’re just having some weird lapses in the game and it’s costing us. I think we just have to be sharper throughout a full 60, shift-to-shift, more focus, better preparation I think and we’ll come out on top in these games.

On where the team can make improvements on the penalty kill:

I don’t know. I mean we’ve got to look at the stuff, I haven’t looked at it. I don’t even know how many penalties we took tonight, how many did we take tonight? [Three] So, that’s better, but we let two goals in, so that’s not good. We’ve got to look at some stuff and clean it up.

WILLIAM NYLANDER (1 GOAL)

On tonight’s performance:

I think we played a good game for the most part. We’ve just got to sharpen up on a few things to not let them score goals.

On what prevented the power play from having success:

I think the one where we had a faceoff in the D-zone and they jumped us, we’ve got to be ready there. I mean, we’ve got to be more determined like we were in the last couple of minutes of the game.

JOHN TAVARES (1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST)

On going down early and not being able to finish the comeback:

It feels like when we do make a mistake it seems to really hurt us. Because I thought, especially in the first period, we had a pretty good first period until they got their first goal and then they capitalize on the power play and got the momentum. We played really well again in the second, didn’t come out the greatest in the third and, you know, they got another power play goal so special teams really hurt us today. It just seems like when we do make a mistake we’re getting burned. I think parts of this game we did a lot of good things. We tried to stay patient, stayed with it, got ourselves back in it, but just too many mistakes leading to too many against.

On where he sees the team after 20 games into the season:

Well, I just think we’re not where we want to be. Obviously, we want to play a lot better, a lot more consistent. We’ve got to keep working to find a way. At times it feels like it’s going against us and that’s just the nature of it. Sometimes it’s the way hockey goes, the way the game goes and you’ve just got to mentally stick with it and keep playing and keep trying to find a way to turn the tide and consistently up your level and up your consistency and get things snow balling in the right direction. We’ve had that for points in the year but we haven’t really been able to sustain it as long as we’ve liked. Obviously, something we need to continue to do and the results are obviously critical. We’ve done good things but we know we’ve got to get the job done. 

ISLES 5, LEAFS 4: POSTGAME NOTES: “Zach Hyman played 17:37 over 23 shifts in his season debut following off-season surgery to repair a torn ACL.”

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (9-7-4 – 22 Points) vs.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (13-3-1 – 27 Points)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019

 123OTFINAL
TORONTO022–4
NEW YORK212–5

GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY


ON THE SCORESHEET

  • Kasperi Kapanen put the Maple Leafs on the board at 0:43 of the second period. Kapanen has scored four of his five goals on the road this season. He has seven points (4-3-7) in seven games against Metropolitan Division opponents in 2019-20.
  • William Nylander scored the second Toronto goal of the night at 11:22 of the second period. Nylander has goals (4) and points (4-1-5) in three consecutive games. With a three-game goal streak, he has tied his career-long goal streak. He has eight points (4-4-8) in 11 career games against the Islanders.
  • Justin Holl scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the game at 18:13 of the third period. Holl has two points (1-1-2) over his last three games. Three (1-2-3) of his six points thus far in 2019-20 have come against Metropolitan Division opposition.
  • John Tavares registered the primary assist on Kapanen’s second period goal and later scored the fourth Toronto goal of the night at 19:22 of the third period. Tavares has goals (2) and assists (2) in two consecutive games. His second period assist was his 100th point as a Maple Leaf. He has three multi-point performances over his last four games.
  • Travis Dermott had the secondary assist on Kapanen’s second period goal. Dermott has two points (1-1-2) over his last three games. He has a goal and an assist in seven games this season, after recording 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 64 games played in 2018-19.
  • Andreas Johnsson recorded the primary assist on Nylander’s second period goal. Johnsson has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games. Four of Johnsson’s seven assists have been primary assists.
  • Jake Muzzin picked up the secondary assist on Nylander’s second period goal. Muzzin has five points (2-3-5) in seven road games this season. Five of his seven assists have come against Metropolitan Division teams.
  • Frederik Gauthier notched the primary assist on Holl’s third period goal. Gauthier has four points (2-2-4) in 20 games this season.
  • Nick Shore had the secondary assist on Holl’s third period goal. Shore has two points (1-1-2) in 17 games this season. Both of his points have come on the road.
  • Morgan Rielly registered the primary assist on Tavares’ third period goal. Rielly has six assists in eight road games this season. He has collected six assists in seven games against Metropolitan Division teams.
  • Auston Matthews collected the secondary assist on Tavares’ third period goal. Matthews has assists (7) in three consecutive games and points (2-8-10) in five consecutive games. He has six assists and seven points in eight road games.
  • Frederik Andersen stopped 25 of the 29 shots he faced in the loss.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

 1st2nd3rdOTTOTAL
TORONTO5 (5)13 (13)9 (8)–27 (26)
NEW YORK9 (5)6 (6)15 (9)–30 (20)
      

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

 1st2nd3rdOTTOTAL
TORONTO17 (15)23 (23)26 (20)–66 (58)
NEW YORK11 (7)14 (14)21 (14)–46 (35)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Record on the Road3-5-0 (8 Games)
All-Time Record vs. New York73-68-7-10 (158 Games)
All-Time Record vs. New York on the Road31-38-3-6 (78 Games)
Record vs. Eastern Conference5-5-4 (14 Games)
Record vs. Central Division2-2-3 (7 Games)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots4 (Barrie, Kapanen)
Shot Attempts10 (Barrie)
Faceoff Wins9 (Matthews)
Faceoff Win Percentage82% (Matthews – 9 won, 2 lost)
Hits5 (Moore)
Blocked Shots2 (Ceci)
Takeaways2 (Muzzin)
TOI24:41 (Rielly)
Power Play TOI2:30 (Rielly)
Shorthanded TOI2:44 (Ceci)
Shifts26 (Muzzin)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage85.7% (Petan – 18 for, 3 against)
  

RECORD WHEN…

Opponent scores first6-6-3
Trailing after 13-5-1
Trailing after 20-4-1
Do not score on the power play5-4-2
Allow multiple power play goals1-2-1
Outshot by opponent4-4-3
Wednesday1-2-0

OF NOTE…

  • The Maple Leafs went 1-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play tonight.
  • Tyson Barrie was on the ice for a team-high 22 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 tonight. He finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 68.8 percent (22 for, 10 against).
  • Zach Hyman played 17:37 over 23 shifts in his season debut following off-season surgery to repair a torn ACL.
  • Auston Matthews won 80 percent (4 won, 1 lost) of his offensive zone faceoffs tonight and was 4-for-5 (80%) in the faceoff circle against both New York centre Brock Nelson and New York centre Casey Cizikas, respectively.

UPCOMING GAMES:

  • Friday, November 15, 7:00 p.m. vs. Boston Bruins (TSN4, TSN 1050)
  • Saturday, November 16, 7:00 p.m. at Pittsburgh Penguins (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
  • Tuesday, November 19, 10:00 p.m. at Vegas Golden Knights (TSN4, TSN 1050)
  • Thursday, November 21, 9:00 p.m. at Arizona Coyotes (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)
  • Saturday, November 23, 7:00 p.m. at Colorado Avalanche (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)

Report: NFL, NFLPA move closer to new labor agreement, which likely includes 17 games — ProFootballTalk

The NFL and its Players Association could have a deal completed by early 2020 after making progress in negotiations, Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement likely includes a 17-game regular season. The agreement would scale back the preseason and could come with an expansion of the playoffs from 12…

Report: NFL, NFLPA move closer to new labor agreement, which likely includes 17 games — ProFootballTalk

TORONTO FC ACQUIRES ALLOCATION MONEY FROM INTER MIAMI CF

Toronto FC announced today that the club has acquired $100,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) from Inter Miami CF in exchange for midfielder Jay Chapman.

“Jay has been part of the club for a long time and we are wishing him nothing but the very best in his next endeavor. Having signed a homegrown contract in 2015, Jay has been part of teams over the years that have won a lot for the club,” said Toronto FC General Manager Ali Curtis. “While we believe the trade is good for TFC, it presents a solid opportunity for Jay to start a new chapter in his life and playing career. Jay will be missed but having been with both our academy and first team, he will always be part of the TFC family.”

Chapman, 25, originally signed with Toronto FC on January 15, 2015. In five seasons, he made a combined 88 appearances with six goals and five assists for Toronto FC in all competitions. Chapman was part of Toronto FC’s Treble winning team in 2017 and was also part of two other Canadian Championship winning teams (2016, 2018).

TRANSACTION: Toronto FC acquires $100,000 in General Allocation Money from Inter Miami CF in exchange for midfielder Jay Chapman.

-TORONTO FOOTBALL CLUB-

When Brien Taylor Ruled The Hobby World — SABR’s Baseball Cards Research Committee

If you hear the name ‘Brien Taylor’ today, it’s probably in the way of some kind of cautionary tale. A lesson against getting too caught up in the hype surrounding amateur or minor league super-duper stars. A lesson that top draft picks, no matter how much of a sure thing, are never really a sure […]

When Brien Taylor Ruled The Hobby World — SABR’s Baseball Cards Research Committee

Why Keith Hernandez, Willie Stargell shared MVP Award — RetroSimba

Keith Hernandez of the Cardinals and Willie Stargell of the Pirates were first basemen who batted left-handed and played for teams in the National League East Division. The link became even stronger 40 years ago, on Nov. 13, 1979, when it was announced they would share the National League Most Valuable Player Award, finishing in […]

Why Keith Hernandez, Willie Stargell shared MVP Award — RetroSimba

MAPLE LEAFS AT ISLANDERS PREGAME NOTES: “Frederik Andersen is 7-1-1 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in nine career games against the Islanders. He is 3-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage on the road in 2019-20.”

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (9-6-4 – 22 Points) vs.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (12-3-1 – 25 Points)

NOVEMBER 13, 2019 ▪ 7:00 PM EST

NYCB LIVE/NASSAU COLISEUM (UNIONDALE, NY) ▪
TV: SPORTSNET ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN

MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus NEW YORK ISLANDERS

ALL-TIME RECORD:73-67-7-10 (157 Games)
ALL-TIME ON THE ROAD:31-37-3-6 (77 Games)
2018-19:1-2-0
LAST FIVE:3-2-0
LAST TEN:6-3-1

MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus NEW YORK ISLANDERS

GAMES PLAYED:Jason Spezza (40), Morgan Rielly (17), Cody Ceci (16)
GOALS:Jason Spezza (17), Auston Matthews (6), Mitch Marner (4)
ASSISTS:Jason Spezza (24), Tyson Barrie (7), Four players tied (4)
POINTS:Jason Spezza (41), Mitch Marner (8), Auston Matthews (8)
PENALTY MINUTES:Jason Spezza (16), Auston Matthews (8), Jake Muzzin (8)

MAPLE LEAFS – ISLANDERS TEAM STATS

 TORONTONEW YORK
GOALS FOR (Rank):63 (6th)48 (23rd)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):       60 (t-25th)35 (1st)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):12/66 [18.2%] (t-17th)5/28 [17.8%] (t-19th)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):54/70 [77.1%] (t-23rd)40/47 [85.1%] (8th)
SHOTS (Rank):639 (2nd)442 (31st)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):921 (1st)678 (28th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):52.7% (t-3rd)45.0% (30th)
FACEOFF % (Rank):52.8% (4th)47.9% (28th)

MAPLE LEAFS – ISLANDERS NOTES

FIRST MATCHUP BETWEEN CLUBS:Jan. 10, 1973 vs. New York (Maple Leafs 4, Islanders 1)
ALL-TIME RECORD:73-67-7-10 (157 Games)
ALL-TIME RECORD AT HOME:42-30-4-4 (80 Games)
ALL-TIME RECORD ON THE ROAD:31-37-3-6 (77 Games)
LAST WIN VS. OPPONENT ON THE ROAD:April 1, 2019 (Toronto 2, New York 1)

MAPLE LEAFS MILESTONES vs. ISLANDERS

Travis DermottFirst NHL goal (Jan. 31, 2018 vs. NYI)
Justin HollFirst NHL game (Jan. 31, 2018 vs. NYI)
First NHL goal (Jan. 31, 2018 vs. NYI)
Jake Muzzin200th career NHL game (Mar. 26, 2015 (LAK) at NYI)
Nick ShoreFirst NHL goal (Mar. 26, 2015 (LAK) at NYI)
Jason Spezza500th NHL point (Feb. 15, 2011 (OTT) vs. NYI)
John TavaresSelected by NYI in the first round (1st overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft
  

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

CATEGORYLEADER
GOALS13 (Matthews)
ASSISTS14 (Marner)
POINTS25 (Matthews)
POWER PLAY POINTS7 (Marner, Matthews)
SHORTHANDED POINTS2 (Kapanen)
PIMs16 (Kerfoot, Rielly)
SHOTS77 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%57.7% (Gauthier)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %57.7% (Nylander)
BLOCKED SHOTS37 (Ceci)
TAKEAWAYS24 (Marner)
HITS41 (Moore)
TOI PER GAME25:34 (Rielly)
PP TOI PER GAME3:34 (Matthews)
SH TOI PER GAME3:43 (Ceci)


MAPLE LEAFS NOTABLES

–      Frederik Andersen is 7-1-1 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in nine career games against the Islanders. He is 3-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage on the road in 2019-20.  

–      Tyson Barrie has five assists in six career road games against the Islanders. He has been on the ice for 365 Toronto shot attempts, which is the second-most on-ice shot attempts among all NHL skaters.

–      Cody Ceci ranks fifth among NHLers in shorthanded time on ice (70:37). He is tied for 18th among NHL skaters in blocked shots (37).

–      Andreas Johnsson has been on the ice for 28 Maple Leafs goals-for, which places him in a tie for third among NHL left wingers in on-ice goals-for. He has scored three goals via the snap shot this season, which is a team high.

–      Kasperi Kapanen has eight points (3-5-8) in seven games on the road this season. He is one of four right wingers in the NHL to have multiple shorthanded goals in 2019-20.

–      Alex Kerfoot has four points (2-2-4) in three career games against the Islanders. He is averaging 20.4 shifts per game, which is the highest average in his career to-date (2018-19: 19.1; 2017-18: 17.7). 

–      Auston Matthews is tied for third in the NHL in goals (13) and is tied for second in the NHL in even-strength goals (9), while sitting seventh in the NHL in points (13-12-25). He is tied for third in the NHL in shots on goal (77). In six games against Metropolitan Division opponents, he has eight points (4 goals, 4 assists).

–      Ilya Mikheyev leads all NHL skaters in shots on goal while shorthanded (10). He leads NHL rookies in shots on goal (44) and is tied for fourth among rookies in takeaways (11).

–      Trevor Moore is the only NHL rookie to average at least 1:00 per game in power play ice time (1:28) and 1:00 per game in shorthanded ice time (2:08). He is tied for the lead among rookies in hits (41). 

–      Jake Muzzin is tied for 16th among NHL skaters in shifts per game (28.5). He is the only Maple Leafs defenceman and one of seven NHL defencemen to have registered at least 35 hits (37) and 35 shots on goal (41).

–      William Nylander ranks fifth among Maple Leafs in faceoff win percentage (53.7% – 65 won, 56 lost). He has three multi-point performances over his last four games and has at least one point in 12 of Toronto’s 19 games this season.

–      Morgan Rielly is tied for seventh among NHL defencemen in points (3-13-16). He is tied for third among NHL defencemen in even-strength points (3-8-11). His 25:34 TOI per game average is the third-highest mark in the NHL, while he is tied for third in shifts per game (29.7).

–      John Tavares has four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in four games since returning from injury on November 5 vs. Los Angeles. He has six points (2-4-6) in four road games in 2019-20. He has won 61 offensive zone faceoffs, which is the most among NHLers who have played fewer than 15 games (61 won, 55 lost – 52.6%).

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

Auston MatthewsHas assists (6) and points (2-7-9) in four consecutive games.
William NylanderHas goals (3) and points (3-1-4) in two consecutive games.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

John TavaresFour assists from 400 career NHL assists.One point from 100 points as a Maple Leaf.

RECENT MILESTONES

Andreas Johnsson100th career NHL game (Nov. 9 vs. PHI)

INJURY REPORT

Zach Hyman (Knee)On injured reserve.
Mitch Marner (Ankle)On injured reserve.
 Man Games Lost: 40

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

November 12Recalled forward Nic Petan and goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Loaned goaltender Michael Hutchinson to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
November 8Loaned forward Nic Petan to the Toronto Marlies (AHL)