2021-22 Matchups vs. Dallas: First of Two Toronto Season Record: 37-17-5 Toronto Home Record: 20-7-2 TV: TSN RADIO: TSN 1050
RECENT TRANSACTIONS March 10, 2022 Goaltender Erik Källgren has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis. March 8, 2022 Defenceman Mac Hollowell has been loaned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). March 4, 2022 Defenceman Mac Hollowell has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 25, 2022 Forward Nick Robertson has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 2 at Buffalo 5 Date: Sunday, March 13, 2022 TOR Goals: Kaše, Matthews BUF Goals: Krebs (2x), Hinostroza (2x), Thompson TOR Goaltender: Mrázek, 33/37, .892 SV% BUF Goaltender: Anderson, 34/36, .944 SV% TOR Power Play: 0-for-3 TOR Penalty Kill: 4-for-4 Team Notes:
Auston Matthews recorded his 45th goal of the season. Matthews paces NHL goal leaders and is ranked fifth in points with 77 (45G, 32A).
TJ Brodie recorded his 300th career NHL point with an assist on Auston Matthews’ second period goal. Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022
NEXT GAME Opponent: vs. Carolina Hurricanes Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), TSN 1050 (Radio)
INJURY REPORT Jack Campbell Rib Injury Jake Muzzin Concussion ALL-TIME VS. DALLAS STARS:
First Matchup between Clubs: November 11, 1967 (Toronto 1 vs. Minnesota 2) All-Time Record: 97-92-28-1 (218 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 55-39-17-0 (111 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 42-53-11-1 (107 Games) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: March 14, 2018 (Toronto 6 vs. Dallas 5 – SOW) Record in Last Five Games: 3-2-0 Record in Last 10 Games: 7-3-0
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. DALLAS STARS: Games Played: Kyle Clifford (34), Wayne Simmonds (30), TJ Brodie (26) Goals: John Tavares (8), Wayne Simmonds (7), Auston Matthews (6) Assists: John Tavares (11), Mitch Marner (11), Morgan Rielly (10), Wayne Simmonds (8) Points: John Tavares (19), Wayne Simmonds (15), Mitch Marner (13) Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (47), Kyle Clifford (42), Jake Muzzin (10)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 46/157 (29.3%) Power Play Goal Leader: 13 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 23 – Matthews (13G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22| Penalty Kill: 139/165 (84.2%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%)
FAST FACTS Tuesday games 9th of 14 (8 home, 6 road) Back-to-Backs played 9 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 5-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 4-4-1 March games 7th of 14 (9 home, 5 road) UPCOMING MILESTONES
David Kämpf Six games away from 300 career NHL games played Ilya Lyubushkin 10 games away from 200 career NHL games played Mitch Marner Six assists away from 300 career NHL assists William Nylander Eight assists away from 200 career NHL assists Petr Mrazek Eight games away from 300 career NHL games played Jason Spezza 10 points away from 1,000 career NHL points John Tavares Nine assists away from 500 career NHL assists
RECENT MILESTONES TJ Brodie Recorded his 300th career NHL point, March 13, 2022 at BUF Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, March 5, 2022 vs. VAN Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 45 – Matthews HITS 100 – Simmonds ASSISTS 40 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 84 – Brodie POINTS 77 – Matthews (45G, 32A) TAKEAWAYS 63 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 23 – Matthews (13G, 10A) TOI PER GAME 24:03 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) PP TOI PER GAME 2:53 – Matthews PIMs 51 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:41 – Muzzin SHOTS 253 – Matthews WINS 24 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.4% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 1.98 – Källgren SHOT ATTEMPTS% 59.72% – Matthews SAVE PERCENTAGE .914 – Campbell
DALLAS STARS
ABOUT LAST NIGHT — The Stars dropped a 7-4 decision to the New York Rangers on Saturday night at American Airlines Center. — Defenseman Esa Lindell registered two points (1-1=2) against the Rangers on Saturday. — Defenseman John Klingberg (0-2=2) and forward Roope Hintz (0-2=2) each posted two assists in the contest. — Goaltender Jake Oettinger turned aside 22 of the 28 shots he faced on Saturday night. — Dallas went 1-for-2 on the power play and was 1-for-2 on the penalty kill against New York. “SURRENDER HER PRONTO, OR WE’LL LEVEL TORONTO” — The Dallas Stars travel to Toronto to face off against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday in the first of two matchups scheduled between the two teams this season. — Dallas comes into Tuesday’s contest having posted wins in two of the last three games against the Maple Leafs (2-1-0) and have points in three of the last five (2-2=1). — The Stars are currently riding a three-game road point streak (2-0-1) against Toronto, including wins in back-to-back trips (2-0-0) to Scotiabank Arena. — Dallas owns a 93-94-31 record all time against the Maple Leafs, including a 39-53-19 mark on the road. — Forward Alexander Radulov logged two goals (2-0=2) in his last games against Toronto and has earned points (3-2=5) in each of his last two, and three of his last four (3-3=6) games against them. Radulov has tallied two points (1-1=2) in four career road games against the Maple Leafs and has 13 points (4-9=13) in 10 career games against them. — Defenseman Ryan Suter enters Tuesday’s contest having registered points (1-1=2) in two-straight and five of his last six games (1-4=5) against the Maple Leafs. Suter also has assists (0-2=2) in two of his last three against Toronto, while he’s logged 12 points (2-10=12) in 20 career games against them. — Defenseman John Klingberg is currently riding a five-game point streak (1-4=5) against the Maple Leafs, including notching points (0-3=3) in each of his last three trips to Scotiabank Arena. Klingberg has tallied points (0-4=4) in four of his six career trips to Toronto and has seven points (1-6=7) in 12 career games overall against them. — Forward Joe Pavelski has notched points in two of the last three games (2-1=3) against Toronto and has points in eight of his last 10 games against them (7-6=13). Pavelski has also recorded points (4-4=8) in six of eight career road games against the Maple Leafs. — Pavelski has earned 12 goals and 21 points (12-9=21) in 17 career games against Toronto. — Forward Tyler Seguin comes into Tuesday’s contest having tallied points (5-9=14) in seven of his last eight games against the Maple Leafs and has posted 15 points (5-10=15) over his last 10 games against them. Seguin is currently riding a five-game road point streak (3-5=8) and has 15 points (8- 7=15) in 15 career trips to Toronto. — Seguin paces all current Stars in goals, assists and points (15-18=33) in 30 career games against the Maple Leafs. — Captain Jamie Benn has earned points (2-1=3) in two of his last three road games at Toronto, while he’s notched four points (3-1=4) in his last five games overall against them. Benn has registered 13 points (6-7=13) in 17 career games against the Maple Leafs. — Goaltenders Jake Oettinger and Adam Scheel have yet to face the Maple Leafs in their NHL careers. — Netminder Braden Holtby owns a 12-8-1 record with a .916 save percentage and a 2.66 goals against average in 22 career appearances against Toronto. 2021-22 Regular Season Schedule March 15 at Toronto April 7 vs. Toronto INJURIES Man-games lost, 2020-21: 144 Dallas Stars: Media Notes NAME INJURY # OF GMS DATES G Ben Bishop Lower Body 55 10/14 – Pres. D Andrej Sekera Illness 13 2/9 – Pres. COVID Protocol 6 1/14 – 1/24 D Miro Heiskanen Illness 3 3/4 – Pres. Illness 1 12/17 G Braden Holtby Lower Body 1 3/12 – Pres. TRANSACTIONS March 11 – Signed F Joe Pavelski to a one-year contract extension March 12 – Recalled G Adam Scheel from Texas (AHL) and reassigned F Riley Tufte to Texas (AHL) March 13 – Recalled F Marian Studenic from his conditioning assignment with Texas (AHL) ON THE ROAD AGAIN — The Stars come into Tuesday’s contest having earned points in nine of the last 11 road games, logging an 8-2-1 record dating back to Jan. 20. — Over that Span, the Stars rank fourth in the NHL with a .773 road points percentage, while the team has allowed just 23 goals against for a 2.09 average, good for second in the League. — Forward Joe Pavelski has tallied points in 10 of his last 12 road games (6-14=20) dating back to Jan. 15 with his 20 points over that span tied for third in the NHL. Pavelski shares 22nd in the League with a team-leading 30 points (10-20=30) away from home this season. — Forward Jason Robertson has logged 11 goals and 16 points (11-5=16) over his last 11 road games. Robertson shares 12th in the NHL with a team-high 16 road games and ranks second on the Stars with 25 points (16-9=25) in 22 road games this season. HERE’S TO YOU, MR. ROBERTSON — Forward Jason Robertson scored a power play goal (1-0=1) on Saturday and now has eight goals (8-0=8) over his last five games. — Robertson recorded hat tricks in back-to-back games (6-0=6) from March 4 – 6, becoming the first player in Dallas Stars history and the second player in franchise history to post hat tricks in consecutive games (Bill Goldsworthy – 1970-71). — The Arcadia, Calif. native ranks second in the NHL with a team-high nine game-winning goals this season, becoming just the sixth player in franchise history to earn at least nine game winners and the first since Bill Guerin scored 10 in 2003-04.
GAME #68 – TORONTO RAPTORS (37-30) at LOS ANGELES LAKERS (29-38) MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022 – 10:30 P.M. (ET) – CRYPTO.COM ARENA TV: SPORTSNET – RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN
• The Toronto Raptors (37-30) continue a six-game road trip (March 6-16) Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers (29-38) at Crypto.com Arena. The Raptors defeated Denver 127-115 on Saturday and have now won three straight games (March 9-12). Led by 27 bench points, Toronto outscored the Nuggets 34-16 (+18) in the fourth quarter, marking it’s largest point differential in the final frame this season. Toronto is now 5-5 since the All-star break. The Raptors host the Lakers on Friday. • Pascal Siakam finished with a game-high 33 points, seven assists and five rebounds Saturday in Denver. Siakam has now scored 20+ points in a career high-tying six straight games (Mar. 3-12), averaging 27.3 points and shooting .509 (60-118) from the field during this stretch. • Scottie Barnes recorded 25 points, a season-high 10 assists and seven rebounds Saturday against the Nuggets. Barnes and Damon Stoudamire (1996-97) are the only rookies in franchise history to record 25+ points and 10+ assists in the same game. Barnes has recorded 10 double-doubles this season and leads all rookies having tallied six 20-point double-doubles. • Toronto collected a season-high 23 offensive rebounds Saturday at Denver. The Raptors outrebounded the Nuggets 50-39, including 23-to-9 on the offensive end, leading to a 30-11 differential in second-chance points. The last time Toronto recorded 23-or-more offensive rebounds was Mar. 17, 2013 vs. Miami. Toronto (13.3) currently ranks second in the NBA in offensive boards and is +38 (104-66) on the offensive glass through seven games in March, having collected a league-best 104 offensive boards this month. • Reserve Chris Boucher recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds Mar. 12 at Denver for his seventh double-double of the season. Boucher (2 0) holds the franchise record for double-doubles as a reserve. He also grabbed a career high-tying nine offensive rebounds Saturday. • Toronto recorded just eight turnovers Saturday in Denver, while forcing 19 Nuggets turnovers leading to 31 points. The Raptors (18.9) currently rank third in the NBA in points off turnovers. • Pascal Siakam is averaging 21.8 points, and career bests of 8.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists, in 54 games this season. Siakam is one of just seven players in the NBA averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Dejounte Murray and Julius Randle. No Raptor has averaged 20-8-5 over the course of an entire season. • Precious Achiuwa scored 15 points, and set career highs in both three-pointers made and attempted (4-6), Saturday against the Nuggets. Achiuwa is shooting .374 (34-91) from three-point distance this season after attempting just one three-pointer as a rookie. • Scottie Barnes was named Eastern Conference rookie of the month for February after averaging 15.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 31.8 minutes in 12 games last month. Barnes is the 11th player in franchise history to earn the honour. PROBABLE STARTERS F – SCOTTIE BARNES #4
MIN: 35.5 REB: 7.6 AST: 3.3 STL: 1.2 TO: 1.9 BLK: 0.8 PTS: 15.2 • Recorded his 10th double-double with 25 points, a career-best 10 assists, and eight rebounds Mar. 12 at Denver. • Leads all rookies in minutes (35.5), ranks third in rebounds (7.6) and fourth in points (15.2). • Has scored 20+ points 15 times – most by a Raptors rookie since Vince Carter (23) during the 1998-99 season. F – PASCAL SIAKAM #43
MIN: 37.6 REB: 8.3 AST: 5.1 STL: 1.3 TO: 2.6 BLK: 0.7 PTS: 21.8 • Scored a game-high 33 points Mar. 12 at Denver; added seven assists and five rebounds in 36 minutes. • The Raptors are 31-7 all-time, and 7-2 this season when Siakam scores 30+ points. • Averaging 26.0 points and shooting .489 (67-137) from the field through seven games in March. C – PRECIOUS ACHIUWA #5
MIN: 23.0 REB: 6.8 AST: 1.1 STL: 0.5 TO: 1.1 BLK: 0.5 PTS: 8.4 • Tallied 15 points, and made a career-high four three-pointers (4-6 3PT), Mar. 12 at Denver; added four rebounds. • Has scored in double figures in three consecutive games (Mar. 9-12), averaging 13.0 points during this streak. • Averaging 8.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 26.9 minutes in 24 games as a starter this season. G – GARY TRENT JR. #33
MIN: 34.7 REB: 2.7 AST: 2.0 STL: 1.8 TO: 1.1 BLK: 0.3 PTS: 18.1 • Finished with eight points, three rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes of action Mar. 12 at Denver. • Ranks third in the NBA in both steals per game (1.83) and total deflections (205). • Leads the team with 106 steals this season; had 105 steals in his first three seasons (2018-21) combined. G – FRED VANVLEET #23
MIN: 38.1 REB: 4.6 AST: 6.8 STL: 1.6 TO: 2.7 BLK: 0.5 PTS: 21.3 • Sat out Mar. 12 at Denver for right knee injury management. • Leads the league in minutes (38.1), ranks second in deflections (207) and fourth in three-pointers (213). • Needs 25 three-pointers to tie Kyle Lowry’s single-season franchise record of 238 made threes (2017-18).
INJURY REPORT OG Anunoby (Right Hand; Ring Finger – Fracture) – Out Isaac Bonga (G League – On Assignment) – Out Justin Champagnie (G League – Two-Way) – Out Malachi Flynn (Left Hamstring; Strain) – Out David Johnson (G League – Two-Way) – Out Fred VanVleet (Right Knee; Soreness) – Questionable
2021-22 RECORDS W-L EAST WEST OVERALL 37-30 23-19 14-11 HOME 17-15 11-9 6-6 AWAY 20-15 12-10 8-5 OVERTIME 2-1 2-1 0-0
GAME DETAILS Opponent: Los Angeles Lakers Date: Monday, March 14 Tip-Off: 10:30 p.m. (ET) Venue: Crypto.com Arena Television: Sportsnet Radio: Sportsnet 590 The FAN SERIES RECAP VS. LA LAKERS OVERALL HOME ROAD 2020-21 1-1 0-1 1-0 ALL-TIME 20-29 11-14 9-15 STREAKS Won 1 Lost 1 Won 6 LAST WIN: May 2, 2021 (121-114) LAST ROAD WIN: May 2, 2021 (121-114) LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: +33 (Dec. 2, 2016) LARGEST MARGIN OF DEFEAT: -20 (Jan. 6, 2002) LAST TIME VS. LA LAKERS GAME 65 – MAY 2, 2021 TORONTO 121, LA LAKERS 114 LOS ANGELES – Kyle Lowry had 37 points and 11 assists, Pascal Siakam had 39 points and 13 rebounds and the short-handed Toronto Raptors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 121-114 … LeBron James had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists before going back to the locker room with 6:42 to play … It was the second game back for James after missing 20 because of a sprained right ankle … Toronto ended a threegame losing streak despite not having Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher and Gary Trent Jr. available because of injuries or to rest … DeAndre’ Bembry had 14 points off the bench and the Raptors led by as many as 21 … Kyle Kuzma had 24 points for Los Angeles, Anthony Davis chipped in with 12 and Andre Drummond had 19 points and 11 rebounds … After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, the Raptors led 72-59 at the half after blitzing the Lakers for 40 points in the second … A rampaging Lowry had 13, including the final seven points for Toronto going into the locker room, and Bembry chipped in with 11 … The Lakers got back within 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but Lowry responded with a personal 8-2 run … Lowry was 8 for 13 from 3-point range and 12 for 20 overall …Kuzma hit a 3 with 58.8 seconds to play to cut Toronto’s lead to six before Bembry and Siakam hit free throws to seal it. 1 2 3 4 TOT TORONTO 32 40 27 22 121 LA LAKERS 38 21 25 30 114
NEXT GAME DETAILS Opponent: Los Angeles Clippers Date: Wednesday, March 16 Tip-Off: 10:30 p.m. (ET) Venue: Crypto.com Arena Television: Sportsnet Radio: TSN 1050 Toronto SERIES RECAP VS. LA CLIPPERS OVERALL HOME ROAD 2021-22 1-0 1-0 0-0 ALL-TIME 28-23 17-9 11-14 STREAKS Won 1 Won 1 Lost 2 LAST WIN: Dec. 31, 2021 (116-108) LAST ROAD WIN: Dec. 11, 2018 (123-99) LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: +25 (Feb. 1, 2013) LARGEST MARGIN OF DEFEAT: -32 (Mar. 13, 1998) LAST TIME VS. LA CLIPPERS GAME 32 – DECEMBER 31, 2021 TORONTO 116, LA CLIPPERS 108 TORONTO — Pascal Siakam had 25 points and matched his career-high with 19 rebounds, Fred VanVleet scored 31 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-108 … OG Anunoby scored 26 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 10 as the Raptors won for the first time in three games … Weakened by COVID-19 absentees in their last two games, Toronto welcomed VanVleet, Anunoby and Justin Champagnie back from health and safety protocols … Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes also exited protocols, but was unavailable because of a sore right knee … Marcus Morris Sr. scored 20 points, Terance Mann had 18 and Reggie Jackson 17 for the Clippers … Amir Coffey scored a season-high 15 points for Los Angeles … The game was played in a mostly empty arena after the Ontario government reduced capacity limits to 1,000 people in an attempt to control the spread of COVID-19 … The Raptors finished with 18 offensive rebounds, compared to three for the Clippers, outscored Los Angeles 21-3 in second-chance points, and had 96 field goal attempts to LA’s 78 … Toronto’s Chris Boucher snapped a 105-all tie with a pair of free throws with 2:08 remaining, and Siakam’s slam with 1:34 left gave Toronto a four-point edge … After a missed 3 by Morris, VanVleet added a decisive 3-pointer with 25 seconds left. 1 2 3 4 TOT LA CLIPPERS 29 33 25 21 108 TORONTO 32 24 26 34 116 GAME 67 – MARCH 12, 2022 TORONTO 127, DENVER 115 DENVER — Pascal Siakam scored 33 points, Scottie Barnes had 25 and the Toronto Raptors pulled away late to beat the Denver Nuggets 127- 115 … Chris Boucher added 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, and Barnes also had 10 assists and eight rebounds … They won their third in a row and improved to 5-5 since the All-Star break … The victory came on the back end of a back-to-back that began with a victory at NBA-leading Phoenix the night before … Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Nuggets … Bones Hyland added 17 points, and Will Barton had 16 in his return from an ankle injury … Toronto finished with 55 rebounds, including 23 offensive boards leading to 30 second-chance points … Only nine of Denver’s 46 rebounds were on the offensive end and the Nuggets had 11 second chance-points … Trailing by two at the break, the Nuggets got 3-pointers from Hyland and Austin Rivers around a tip-in from Siakam to close the third quarter with a 99-93 lead … The Raptors regained the lead with a 10-2 burst capped by Boucher’s alley-oop layup that put them in front 117-109 with 3:56 left to play … Morris made one of two free throws, but Boucher hit a 3-pointer and Barnes drove in for a layup around a dunk by Jeff Green to build the Raptors’ lead to 10 points with 1:25 left to secure the victory … Siakam scored 23 of his points in the first half, helping the Raptors take a 65-63 lead. 1 2 3 4 TOT TORONTO 28 37 28 34 127 DENVER 25 38 36 16 115 GAME 66 – MARCH 11, 2022 TORONTO 117, PHOENIX 112 PHOENIX — Gary Trent Jr. scored 42 points and the Toronto Raptors held off the Phoenix Suns, beating the NBA’s leading team 117-112 … Trent was 8 from 11 from 3-point range and 13 of 21 from the floor … He fell just short of his career high of 44 points set last season … He also had eight rebounds … Pascal Siakam added 25 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, and Scottie Barnes had 15 points …
2021-22 SCHEDULE Day Date Opponent Time (ET)/Result Wed. Oct. 20 Washington L 98-83 Fri. Oct. 22 at Boston W 115-83 Sat. Oct. 23 Dallas L 103-95 Mon. Oct. 25 Chicago L 111-108 Wed. Oct. 27 Indiana W 118-100 Fri. Oct. 29 Orlando W 110-109 Sat. Oct. 30 at Indiana W 97-94 Mon. Nov. 1 at New York W 113-104 Wed. Nov. 3 at Washington W 109-100 Fri. Nov. 5 Cleveland L 102-101 Sun. Nov. 7 Brooklyn L 116-103 Wed. Nov. 10 at Boston L 104-88 Thu. Nov. 11 at Philadelphia W 115-109 Sat. Nov. 13 Detroit L 127-121 Mon. Nov. 15 at Portland L 118-113 Thu. Nov. 18 at Utah L 119-103 Fri. Nov. 19 at Sacramento W 108-89 Sun. Nov. 21 at Golden State L 119-104 Wed. Nov. 24 at Memphis W 126-113 Fri. Nov. 26 at Indiana L 114-97 Sun. Nov. 28 Boston L 109-97 Tue. Nov. 30 Memphis L 98-91 Thu. Dec. 2 Milwaukee W 97-93 Sun. Dec. 5 Washington W 102-90 Wed. Dec. 8 Oklahoma City L 110-109 Fri. Dec. 10 New York W 90-87 Mon. Dec. 13 Sacramento W 124-101 Tue. Dec. 14 at Brooklyn L 131-129 (OT) Thu. Dec. 16 Chicago POSTPONED Sat. Dec. 18 Golden State W 119-100 Mon. Dec. 20 Orlando POSTPONED Wed. Dec. 22 at Chicago POSTPONED Sun. Dec. 26 at Cleveland L 144-99 Tue. Dec. 28 Philadelphia L 114-109 Fri. Dec. 31 LA Clippers W 116-108 Sun. Jan. 2 New York W 120-105 Tue. Jan. 4 San Antonio W 129-104 Wed. Jan. 5 at Milwaukee W 117-111 Fri. Jan. 7 Utah W 122-108 Sun. Jan. 9 New Orleans W 105-101 Tue. Jan. 11 Phoenix L 99-95 Fri. Jan. 14 at Detroit L 103-87 Sat. Jan. 15 at Milwaukee W 103-96 Mon. Jan. 17 at Miami L 104-99 Wed. Jan. 19 at Dallas L 102-98 Fri. Jan. 21 at Washington W 109-105 Sun. Jan. 23 Portland L 114-105 Tue. Jan. 25 Charlotte W 125-113 Wed. Jan. 26 at Chicago L 111-105 Sat. Jan. 29 at Miami W 124-120 (3OT) Mon. Jan. 31 at Atlanta W 106-100 Tue. Feb. 1 Miami W 110-106 Thu. Feb. 3 Chicago W 127-120 (OT) Fri. Feb. 4 Atlanta W 125-114 Mon. Feb. 7 at Charlotte W 116-101 Wed. Feb. 9 at Oklahoma City W 117-98 Thu. Feb. 10 at Houston W 139-120 Sat. Feb. 12 Denver L 110-109 Mon. Feb. 14 at New Orleans L 120-90 Wed. Feb. 16 at Minnesota W 103-91 Fri. Feb. 25 at Charlotte L 125-93 Sat. Feb. 26 at Atlanta L 127-100 Mon. Feb. 28 at Brooklyn W 133-97 Tue. Mar. 1 Brooklyn W 109-108 Thu. Mar. 3 Detroit L 108-106 Fri Mar. 4 Orlando L 103-97 Sun. Mar. 6 at Cleveland L 104-96 Wed. Mar. 9 at San Antonio W 119-104 Fri. Mar. 11 at Phoenix W 117-112 Sat. Mar. 12 at Denver W 127-115 Mon. Mar. 14 at LA Lakers 10:30 p.m. Wed. Mar. 16 at LA Clippers 10:30 p.m. Fri. Mar. 18 LA Lakers 7:30 p.m. Sun. Mar. 20 at Philadelphia 8:30 p.m. Mon. Mar. 21 at Chicago 8:00 p.m. Thu. Mar. 24 Cleveland 7:30 p.m. Sat. Mar. 26 Indiana 7:30 p.m. Mon. Mar. 28 Boston 7:30 p.m. Wed. Mar. 30 Minnesota 7:30 p.m. Fri. Apr. 1 at Orlando 7:00 p.m. Sun. Apr. 3 Miami 7:00 p.m.# Tue. Apr. 5 Atlanta 7:30 p.m. Thu. Apr. 7 Philadelphia 7:30 p.m. Fri. Apr. 8 Houston 7:30 p.m. Sun. Apr. 10 at New York TBD KEY: * ESPN # NBATV ^ TNT
LAKERS
LAST TIME OUT: • LeBron James became the only player in NBA history to tally 10,000+ points, 10,000+ rebounds and 10,000+ assists as he recorded his 10,000th career assist against the Suns. James finished the night with 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists and one block in 30 minutes. The performance marked his 28th game of the season with 30+ points. DOUBLE 50 BURGER: LeBron James fi nished with 50 points, seven rebounds, six assists and one block in 36 minutes. The performance marked his second 50-point game of the season and the 14th such game of his career, tying Rick Barry for sixth most in NBA history. In his last two home games, James has scored 106 points, the fi rst Lakers player to score 100+ across two consecutive home games in a single season since Kobe Bryant did so in April of 2007. James is the sixth player in NBA history to score 50+ points in consecutive home games and the only player to do so after turning 30. ULTIMATE WARRIOR: LeBron James fi nished with a season-high 56 points (19-31 FG, 6-11 3FG, 12-13 FT) to go with 10 rebounds, three assists and one block in 38 minutes on 3/5 vs. Golden State, good for the sixth 50-point double-double of his career. James became the fi rst Lakers player to tally 55+ points and 10+ rebounds since Shaquille O’Neal on March 6, 2000. He is just the fourth player in NBA history to record a 50-point game at age 37 or older, joining Jamal Crawford, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. James scored 30 points in the second half, his highest scoring half since scoring 35 points in the second half on April 6, 2018 at Philadelphia. He has now scored at least 30 points in 19 diff erent halves throughout his career TWENTY FIVE A NIGHT: LeBron James put together a scoring streak unlike anything he has done since the 2007-08 season. James scored at least 25 points in 23 consecutive games, good for the longest streak of his career. The last time he had such a streak was from 1/25/08-3/8/08 when he scored 25+ points in 21 consecutive games. His streak is tied for the longest such streak in the NBA this season HALF A NIGHT, RUSS: Russell Westbrook had one of his strongest nights since joining the Lakers as he finished with 35 points (12-23 FG), four rebounds and fi ve assists on 1/28 against the Hornets. Westbrook scored 30 of his points in the second half, becoming the first Lakers player to have a 30-point half since Kobe Bryant scored 38 points in the final half of his career on 4/13/16 vs. Utah. The performance marked the seventh time that Westbrook had scored 30+ in a single half and the fi rst time since scoring 30 points in the second half on 3/7/17 vs. Portland. Westbrook is just the seventh player this season to tally a 30-point half. I’M THE CAPTAIN AGAIN: For the sixth consecutive season and ninth time overall, LeBron James led all players in All-Star voting as he was named an All-Star for the 18th time in his career. James has been named a captain in every year since the NBA switched to the current format and improved to 5-0 as the team captain of the annual event. His 18th straight selection ties him with Kobe Bryant for most all-time and his 18th overall selection ties him with Bryant for second-most selections in NBA history. A three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP and the contest’s all-time leading scorer (413 points), James made his NBA-record 18th All-Star start on February 20, 2022, fi nishing with 24 points, six rebounds, eight assists, three steals and one block in 36 minutes. 10 ACROSS THE BOARDS: Dwight Howard added to his Hall of Fame resume as he passed Nate Thurmond for 10th place on the NBA’s all-time rebounds list on 1/21 against the Orlando Magic. With his fi rst rebound of the night, Howard broke a tie with Thurmond to take sole possession of 10th place, recording his 14, 465th career rebound. PASSING THE ALL-TIME PASSERS: LeBron James continued his climb up the NBA’s all-time lists as he moved passed Oscar Robertson on the all-time assists list on 1/9 vs. Memphis. With his seventh assist of the night, James passed Robertson for seventh all-time, passing out his 9,888th career assist. James will now look to become just one of seven players all-time to tally 10,000 career assists. DOUBLE-TRIPLE-DOUBLE: In the Lakers’ 132-123 win over the Houston Rockets, both LeBron James and Russell Westbrook recorded triple-doubles and James added to his list of career milestones. • LeBron James became the third player in NBA history to score 36,000 points as he fi nished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, one steal and two blocks in 39 minutes. James became the fi rst Lakers player since Kobe Bryant in 2013 to score 30+ points in fi ve consecutive games. • Russell Westbrook tallied his seventh triple-double of the season with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals. James and Westbrook became just the third pair of Lakers teammates to record a triple-double in the same game, and the fi rst since James and Lonzo Ball on 12/15/18. CHRISTMAS TREE TOPPER: LeBron James appeared in his 16th career Christmas Day game, tying Kobe Bryant for most such games all-time, and put on a show in front of the Crypto.com Arena crown. James fi nished the night with 39 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals and one block in 40 minutes. With his third free throw of the night, James surpassed Bryant to become the all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day, totaling 422 career points on the holiday. With his second fi eld goal of the night, James passed Bryant for most career fi eld goals on Christmas Day, now totaling 150 fi eld goals on December 25th. BEST IN THE WEST: LeBron James was awarded the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week award on December 13th, winning the weekly honor for an NBA-record 65th time in his 19-year career. James averaged 28.3 points (.608 FG%, .417 3FG%), 8.0 assists, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks as the Lakers fi nished the week 3-1 with victories over Boston, Oklahoma City and Orlando. THIRD’S THE (MAGIC) WORD: The Lakers had their strongest defensive performance of the season as they dominated the third quarter against the Orlando Magic on December 12, holding their opponent to just 10 points in the third frame. • Los Angeles held the Magic to 37.5 percent (33-88 FG) from the fi eld, the lowest shooting percentage by a Lakers opponent this season • The Lakers held Orlando to just 8.7 percent shooting (2-23 FG) in the third quarter, the worst shooting percentage by a Lakers opponent in a single frame since December 14, 1999 vs. LA Clippers (.056, 1-18 FG, Second Quarter) • Los Angeles scored 23 unanswered points in the third quarter, good for their longest scoring run of the season.
KEEPING IT 100: LeBron James became just the fi fth player in NBA history to record at least 100 career triple-doubles as he recorded his 100th such game on 12/9 at Memphis. James fi nished the night with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals and two blocks in 37 minutes. He joins teammate Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd as they only players to accomplish the feat. HOT-N-READY COMEBACK: The Lakers picked up their largest come-from-behind victory as they overcame a 17-point defi cit on 11/21/21 at Detroit to beat the Pistons by a fi nal score of 121-116. It marks the team’s largest comeback since they erased a 20-point Memphis lead on 2/12/21. • Anthony Davis fiished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, four steals and fi ve blocks in 40 minutes. The performance marked the fi rst time that Davis has tallied 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ steals, 4+ steals and 5+ blocks in a game. He became just the fourth player in NBA history to tally such statistics, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan. • Carmelo Anthony led the second unit with 18 points (5-8 3FG), two rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes. It was the sixth time this season that he has made at least fi ve three-pointers in a game. The only other seasons that Anthony had more games with 5+ triples was 2013-14 (8) and 2017-18 (7). NO PLACE LIKE HOME: In his 19th season in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony is fi nding himself right at home with the Los Angeles Lakers. Through 32 regular season home games at Crypto.com Arena, Anthony is shooting 44.6 percent (82-184 3FG) from three-point range on the Lakers home court. His shooting percentage at home would rank third in the league among three-point shooters. Including road contests, he is currently shooting at a 39.2 percent clip on the year. ALAMO-T: The Lakers picked up their first overtime victory of the season on 10/26 at San Antonio, securing a 125-121 victory. Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook each grabbed a 30-point double-double in the win. The Lakers overcame a 12-point defi cit in the win, marking their second consecutive win where they had to overcome a double-digit defi cit. The win also marked the 400th career victory for Head Coach Frank Vogel. AGING LIKE FINE NINE: Carmelo Anthony continued to climb up the NBA’s all-time scoring list as he passed Moses Malone for ninth all-time on 10/24 vs. Memphis • Anthony finished with a team-high 28 points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks on the historic night. • He shot 10-15 from the fi eld and 6-8 from three-point range, marking his 20th career game with at least six three-pointers made.
Toronto: J. Anderson (20) SH (A. Biega, K. Rubīns), J. Duszak (7) (J. Anderson, C. Krys) Goaltender: M. Hutchinson (35/37) W
Syracuse:R. Elie (14) (O. Somppi), D. Walcott (5) (F. Claesson, A. Green) Goaltender:H. Alnefelt (14/15), M. Lagace (10/11) L
ON THE SCORESHEET
Joey Anderson opened the scoring at 27 seconds into the second period and later added the primary assist on Duszak’s third period goal. This was his fifth shorthanded goal of the season which leads the AHL.
Joseph Duszak scored at 12:18 of the third period He has points (2-1-3) in consecutive games. Duszak has 40 points (7 goals, 33 assists) in 40 games.
Alex Biega recorded the primary assist on Anderson’s second period goal. He has seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) in 28 games this season with the Marlies.
Kristiāns Rubīns registered the secondary assist on Anderson’s second period goal. He has assists (2) in consecutive games. Rubīns has nine points (1 goal, 8 assists) in 39 games this season.
Chad Krys had the secondary assist on Duszak’s third period goal.
Michael Hutchinson stopped 35 of 37 shots he faced. He did not allow a goal in the shootout.
IN THE SHOOTOUT
Mikhail Abramov – Goal (2021-22: 2/3)
Joey Anderson – Goal (2021-22: 2/2)
OF NOTE
This was Toronto’s third shootout of the season (2-1). Mikhail Abramov has recorded both of Toronto’s game-winning shootout goals.
Joey Anderson’s second period shorthanded goal was his fifth of the season which ties the single season record set by Alex Foster in 2007-08. He has seven shorthanded goals in his two seasons with the Marlies which is tied for the second most in franchise history.
Toronto went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play. Toronto is 7-11-2-1 when not scoring on the power play and 14-10-1-0 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
Syracuse had a 37-27 edge in shots in all situations. Joseph Duszak led the Marlies with four shots on goal. Toronto is 17-15-2-1 when outshot by their opponents.
The Marlies are 16-12-2-1 against North Division opponents and are 1-1-0-0 against the Crunch. Syracuse has outscored Toronto 6-5 through two games.
RECORD WHEN
Scoring first 20-5-1-1 Tied after 1 6-3-0-0 Tied after 2 5-2-0-0 On the road 14-10-1-0 March 2-5-0-0 Saturday 10-5-2-0
The whole effort, everything that the team brought today was impressive. Really proud of the group. These last three games we’ve put together, last game we didn’t get the result we wanted but they extended the way they played today. It was just a gutsy effort. It was fun to watch them dig one out.
On Michael Hutchinson: That’s a tough spot for a goalie to be out that many games, he comes in and plays phenomenal. Made some huge saves for us, gave us a chance to win the game here in a tough building.
JOEY ANDERSON (1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST)
On rebounding from last night’s loss:
It was great. I thought last night we put forth a really great effort, didn’t get the result we wanted but we kept that going tonight. Guys were all pulling on the rope together and it was just a really good 60 minutes and a little more than that tonight. We had every guy pulling on the rope tonight and doing the little things we needed to do to win and Hutchy steps in after not playing for a while and was awesome for us and it was great to see that. It was a really good night for the guys to get this win.
UPCOMING GAMES: *All times Eastern Standard Time
March 17 vs. Hershey – 1:30 p.m. March 19 vs. Chicago – 4:00 p.m. March 20 vs. Chicago – 4:00 p.m. March 22 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton – 7:00 p.m. March 23 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton – 7:00 p.m.
2021-22 Matchups vs. Buffalo: Third of Four 2021-22 Record vs. Buffalo: 1-1-0 Toronto Season Record: 37-16-5 Toronto Road Record: 17-9-3 TV: Sportsnet RADIO: Sportsnet 590
RECENT TRANSACTIONS March 10, 2022 Goaltender Erik Källgren has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis. March 8, 2022 Defenceman Mac Hollowell has been loaned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). March 4, 2022 Defenceman Mac Hollowell has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 25, 2022 Forward Nick Robertson has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 4 vs. Arizona 5 – OTL Date: Thursday, March 10, 2022 TOR Goals: Engvall, Kerfoot, Matthews, Nylander ARI Goals: Galchenyuk, Chychrun, Boyd, Fischer, Chychrun (OTW) TOR Goaltender: Mrazek, 8/12, .667 SV%, Kallgren, 10/11, .909 SV% ARI Goaltender: Wedgewood, 34/38, .895 SV% TOR Power Play: N/A TOR Penalty Kill: 1-for-1 Team Notes:
Alexander Kerfoot recorded three points (1G, 2A) in Thursday’s overtime loss tying a single-game career-high which he has marked on seven occasions during his NHL career. Kerfoot registered his third threepoint game of the season.
Timothy Liljegren posted a single-game career-high five shots on Thursday. With his assist on Engvall’s second period goal, Liljegren has registered an assist in four-consecutive games (4A) marking the longest point streak of his NHL career.
TJ Brodie recorded a single-game career-high seven shots during the game. He surpassed his previous career-high of six shots marked on Dec. 30, 2011 at OTT.
John Tavares recorded a single-game career-high seven hits in Thursday’s overtime loss. NEXT GAME
Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 Opponent: vs. Dallas Stars Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: TSN (TV), TSN 1050 (Radio)
INJURY REPORT Jack Campbell Rib Injury Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. BUFFALO SABRES: First Matchup between Clubs: November 18, 1970 (Toronto 2 vs. Buffalo 7) All-Time Record: 84-107-18-11 (220 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 51-41-12-5 (109 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 33-66-6-6 (111 Games) Last Road Win vs. Opponent: November 13, 2021 (Toronto 5 at Buffalo 4) Record in Last Five Games: 3-2-0 Record in Last 10 Games: 7-3-0
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. BUFFALO SABRES: Games Played: Jason Spezza (68), John Tavares (36), Wayne Simmonds (31) Goals: Jason Spezza (23), John Tavares (22), Auston Matthews (11) Assists: Jason Spezza (50), John Tavares (20), Morgan Rielly (14) Points: Jason Spezza (73), John Tavares (42), Auston Matthews (18) Penalty Minutes: Jason Spezza (46), Wayne Simmonds (27), John Tavares (18)
2022 TIM HORTONS NHL HERITAGE CLASSIC NOTES PER NHL STATS PACK:
The 2022 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic will be the fourth outdoor game for the Maple Leafs and third for the Sabres.
The Maple Leafs (2-1-0) are in search of their third win outdoors, which would tie the Capitals (3-0-0) and Bruins (3-1-0) for the second-most in the outdoor game standings, behind the Rangers (4-0-0).
A total of 13 Toronto players have appeared in at least one NHL outdoor game: Morgan Rielly (0-1—1 in 3 GP), Wayne Simmonds (3 GP), Kyle Clifford (1-0—1 in 2 GP), Mitchell Marner (1-0—1 in 2 GP), Jake Muzzin (0-1—1 in 2 GP), William Nylander (0-1—1 in 2 GP), Auston Matthews (2-0—2 in 1 GP), Travis Dermott (0-1—1 in 1 GP), David Kampf (0-1—1 in 1 GP), Petr Mrazek (1-0-0 in 1 GP), Jason Spezza (0-1—1 in 1 GP), TJ Brodie (1 GP) and John Tavares (1 GP).
Morgan Rielly is the only skater on the Maple Leafs current roster to have appeared in each of the franchise’s three outdoor games to date. He logged 13:06 as a rookie in the 2014 Winter Classic, tallied a third-period assist in the 2017 Centennial Classic and collected a game-high six shots on goal in the 2018 Stadium Series.
2021-22 AVERAGES AND RANKINGS Points % GF/Game GA/Game PP% PK% SF/G SA/G FO% Toronto .681 3.71 3.02 29.9% 83.9% 34.6 30.6 56.0% Buffalo .390 2.63 3.54 19.9% 76.3% 29.6 34.1 46.0% THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22
Power Play: 46/154 (29.9%) Power Play Goal Leader: 13 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 23 – Matthews (13G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 135/161 (83.9%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%)
FAST FACTS Sunday games 4th of 7 (2 home, 5 road) Back-to-Backs played 9 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 5-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 4-4-1 March games 6th of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie One point away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Six assists away from his 300th career NHL assist
2021-22 MILESTONES Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, March 5, 2022 vs. VAN Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
2021-22 TEAM LEADERS CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 44 – Matthews HITS 98 – Simmonds ASSISTS 40 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 82 – Brodie POINTS 76 – Matthews (44G, 32A) TAKEAWAYS 61 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 23 – Matthews (13G, 10A) TOI PER GAME 24:01 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) PP TOI PER GAME 2:51 – Marner, Matthews PIMs 51 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:41 – Muzzin SHOTS 248 – Matthews WINS 24 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.2% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 1.98 – Källgren SHOT ATTEMPTS% 59.60% – Matthews SAVE PERCENTAGE .914 – Campbell
BUFFALO SABRES
LAST GAME Thursday, March 10 Vegas 1 at Buffalo 3 Goals: Krebs, Olofsson, Tuch Goalie: Anderson (30 saves/31 shots) PP: 1/4; PK: 4/4; Shots: Vegas 31 – Buffalo 24 CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 404) Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed Drake Caggiula (upper body, Nov. 26; IR) – 40 games Malcolm Subban (upper body, Jan. 13; IR) – 24 games Colin Miller (upper body, Jan. 17; IR) – 22 games Zemgus Girgensons (undisclosed, Jan. 29; IR) – 17 games Will Butcher (lower body, Jan. 30; IR) – 16 games TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS 3/6: Activated F Vinnie Hinostroza off IR UPCOMING GAMES Thursday, March 17: Buffalo at Edmonton, 9 p.m. Friday, March 18: Buffalo at Calgary, 9 p.m. Sunday, March 20: Buffalo at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 23: Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 25: Washington at Buffalo, 7 p.m. TODAY’S GAME MAPLE LEAFS at SABRES This is the third of four meetings between the Sabres and Maple Leafs this season. Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Toronto 5-1 in Toronto on March 2. Next meeting: Tuesday, April 12 in Toronto. The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games against the Maple Leafs; 4-5-1 at home. This is the 221st game all-time between Buffalo and Toronto; Buffalo has a 118-74-28 series record. The Sabres are 72-30-9 at home against the Maple Leafs all-time. THIS DAY IN SABRES HISTORY The Sabres are 7-8-4 all-time on March 13. March 13, 1977: Don Edwards turns aside 32 of 33 Toronto shots and the Sabres get goals from five different scorers as they defeat the Maple Leafs, 6-1, in Buffalo. March 13, 1991: The Sabres top the Jets, 6-2, on the strength of a Dale Hawerchuk hat trick and a 37-save performance by Clint Malarchuk. March 13, 2001: The Sabres acquire Donald Audette from Atlanta for Kamil Piros and a fourth-round pick in 2001 NHL Draft and acquire Steve Heinze from Columbus for a third-round draft pick in 2001 NHL Draft. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson earned his 300th career NHL win career on Thursday, stopping 30 of 31 shots faced. Anderson became the 39th goaltender in NHL history to win 300 career games and the sixth American-born goaltender to reach the 300-win plateau. Anderson is now one of five active NHL goaltenders to win 300 games in their career. Kyle Okposo has seven points (4+3) in his last eight games. Buffalo Sabres: Media Notes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 25 of Buffalo’s last 27 games have been decided in regulation, including each of the last 13 contests. Since Jan. 1, the Sabres have gone 11-for-39 on the power play (28.1 percent) and have scored at least one goal with the man advantage in eight of those 13 contests. GOING TO PLAY OUTSIDE Today’s game marks Buffalo’s third appearance in an outdoor game as a franchise (2008 Winter Classic vs. Pittsburgh at Ralph Wilson Stadium; 2018 Winter Classic vs. NY Rangers at Citi Field). The Sabres will become 12th team in NHL history to play in at least three regular-season outdoor games and the fourth to have three appearances as the designated home team. Buffalo is the first U.S.-based team to appear in a Heritage Classic. Buffalo has earned a point in each of its previous two outdoor games. Craig Anderson has won both of his previous two outdoor games: the 2014 Heritage Classic at BC Place (29 saves w/ OTT) and NHL100 Classic at Lansdowne Park (28 saves w/ OTT). Only Henrik Lundqvist (4-0-0) has more career outdoor wins among NHL netminders. Kyle Okposo has appeared in two outdoor games in his career, including the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field vs. the NY Rangers, where he recorded two assists. Seven Sabres have previously appeared in an NHL outdoor game: Craig Anderson (2-0-0 in 2 GP), Kyle Okposo (0+2 in 2 GP), Robert Hagg (2 GP), Vinnie Hinostroza (2 GP), Alex Tuch (1+0 in 1 GP), Anders Bjork (1 GP) and Zemgus Girgensons (1 GP). HOME AWAY FROM HOME The Sabres are playing a regular-season home game away from the team’s home arena for the ninth time in franchise history today. Buffalo is 1-4-3 in the eight previous games, with the lone win coming against the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki, Finland as part of the 2011 NHL Premiere. TAKING IT TO TORONTO Rasmus Dahlin has eight points (2+6) in eight career games against the Maple Leafs and currently holds a five-game point streak against Toronto, registering six points (2+3) in the five contests. Dahlin has registered a plus-2 rating in each of his last three games against Toronto. Kyle Okposo has six points (3+3) in his last five games against Toronto, including at least a point in each of the last four meetings. Okposo has tallied three points (1+2) and holds a plus-3 rating in two games against Toronto this season. Jeff Skinner has five points (3+2) in two games against Toronto this season, recording multi-point performances in both contests. Victor Olofsson has five points (3+2) in five career games against the Maple Leafs, including at least a point in each of the last three games. Mark Pysyk has seven points (4+3) and holds a plus-9 rating in his last six games against Toronto.
Pysyk recorded a hat trick on Feb. 3, 2020 at Toronto as a member of the Florida Panthers. Tage Thompson has three points (2+1) in two games against Toronto this season. In 34 career games (33 starts) against Toronto, Craig Anderson holds a record of 18-9-4, along with a .918 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average. Sabres Regular-Season Home Games Away From Home Arena Season Date Opponent Result City 1992-93 March 3, 1993 Vancouver 5-2 loss Hamilton, Ontario 1993-94 Nov. 3, 1993 Pittsburgh 6-2 loss Sacramento, California 2003-04 Nov. 12, 2003 New Jersey 2-2 tie Rochester, New York 2005-06 Oct. 26, 2005 Washington 3-2 loss Rochester, New York 2007-08 Jan. 1, 2008 Pittsburgh 2-1 loss (SO) Orchard Park, New York 2011-12 Oct. 7, 2011 Anaheim 4-1 win Helsinki, Finland 2017-18 Jan. 1, 2018 NY Rangers 3-2 loss (OT) Queens, New York 2019-20 Nov. 8, 2019 Tampa Bay 3-2 loss Stockholm, Sweden
Pysyk recorded a hat trick on Feb. 3, 2020 at Toronto as a member of the Florida Panthers. WHAT’S THE SKINNY? Jeff Skinner has recorded 23 goals this season, marking the eighth 20-goal season of his 12-year NHL career. Since Jan. 13, Skinner has recorded 22 points (12+10) in 24 games played, including 13 points (7+6) in his last 14 games. Entering play Saturday, Skinner was tied for 14th in the NHL with 20 even-strength goals this season. Since he entered the league in 2010-11, Skinner ranked 14th among all NHL skaters with 288 goals and was sixth in the league during that span with 231 even-strength tallies going into Saturday’s games. Among all players to have played at least 10 career games for the Sabres, Skinner ranks eighth with .287 even-strength goals per game (72 EVG in 251 GP). SETTING THE PACE A number of Sabres players are on pace for or have already established new career highs in goals, assists and points this season. With two goals on Nov. 26 in Buffalo’s 20th game of the season, Tage Thompson set a new single-season career high in goals (10) and points (15). His previous career highs of eight goals and 14 points came in 38 games during the 2020-21 season. Dylan Cozens has already eclipsed his 2020-21 totals in goals (4), assists (9) and points (13). Cozens established new career highs in goals (5 goals in 21 GP), assists (10 assists in 38 GP) and points (14 points in 23 GP) in fewer games than the 41 contests he played in as a rookie. Kyle Okposo is on pace for 22 goals and 49 points this season, which would be Okposo’s highest totals since he registered 22 goals and 64 points in his last season as a member of the New York Islanders in 2015-16. Rasmus Dahlin is on pace for 11 goals, 41 assists and 52 points, all of which would surpass his previous career-high marks. Despite missing 22 games this season, Henri Jokiharju is on pace for five goals, 16 assists and 21 points, all of which would be new career highs. HEY NOW, YOU’RE A DAHL-STAR Rasmus Dahlin currently leads the Sabres in assists (29) and is third on the team in points (37). Dahlin’s 15 power-play points are also good for the team lead. Since Nov. 21, 2021, Dahlin was tied for 11th among NHL defensemen in scoring entering play Saturday, tallying 29 points (6+23) during that span. In less than four full seasons, Dahlin is already climbing up Buffalo’s record books. Among all Sabres defensemen in franchise history, Dahlin ranks… 17th in goals (26), one away from matching Richie Dunn for 16th all-time 14th in assists (118) 16th in points (144), one away from tying Dmitri Kalinin for 15th all-time 14th in power-play goals (10), two shy of moving into a five-way tie for 10th all-time Eighth in power-play points (65) Among Sabres defensemen to play at least 82 games for the franchise, Dahlin ranks fifth in both assists per game (0.46) and points per game (0.57) and 11th in goals per game (0.10). Including this season, Dahlin owns two of the three most productive seasons by a Sabres defenseman in the last 25 years (dating back to 1996-97). Brian Campbell, .683 P/GP (2008-09) Rasmus Dahlin, .678 P/GP (2019-20) Rasmus Dahlin, .650 P/GP (2021-22) SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS Hits: Hayden (94), Hagg (87), Dahlin (77) Blocked Shots: Hagg (88), Pysyk (81), Dahlin (66) Shots: Thompson (183), Skinner (182), Okposo (129) SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 5-4-1 (11), 29/27, 7/27, 25/28 11-20: 3-6-1: (7), 28/40, 4/26, 17/26 21-30: 2-5-3: (7), 24/36, 3/23, 18/21 31-40: 2-6-2 (6), 23/35, 6/30, 20/31 41-50: 4-5-1 (9), 30/36, 7/31, 24/30 51-60: 3-6-0 (6), 22/35, 5/24, 15/20 OVERTIME RESULTS (1-7; 127-145 all-time) Oct. 23 at NJD: L, 2-1 (GWG-Zacha) Oct. 28 at ANA: W, 4-3 (GWG-Asplund) Nov. 6 vs. DET: L, 4-3 (GWG-Seider) Nov. 27 at DET: L, 3-2 (GWG-Raymond) Dec. 17 at PIT: L, 3-2 (GWG-Carter) Jan. 1 at BOS: L, 4-3 (GWG-Coyle) Jan. 17 vs. DET, L, 3-2 (GWG-Larkin) Feb. 10 vs. CBJ, L, 4-3 (GWG-Voracek) SHOOTOUT RESULTS (2-1; 83-75 all-time) Oct. 16 vs. ARI: W, 2-1 (GDG-Ruotsalainen) Dec. 11 vs. WSH: L, 3-2 (GDG-Oshie) Dec. 16 at MIN: W, 3-2 (GDG-Thompson) RECENT MILESTONES Craig Anderson won his 300th career NHL game on March 10 vs. Vegas Tage Thompson played in his 200th career NHL game on March 10 vs. Vega
GAME #67 – TORONTO RAPTORS (36-30) at DENVER NUGGETS (40-27) SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2022 – 9 P.M. (ET) – BALL ARENA TV: TSN – RADIO: TSN 1050 TORONTO
INJURY REPORT AT 5:30 P.M.
TOR@DEN
Denver Nuggets
Barton, Will Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Ankle; Sprain Cancar, Vlatko Out Injury/Illness – Right Foot; Surgery Gordon, Aaron Questionable Injury/Illness – Right Foot; Soreness Hyland, Bones Probable Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Soreness Murray, Jamal Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Injury Recovery Nnaji, Zeke Questionable Injury/Illness – Bilateral Knee; Soreness Porter Jr., Michael Out Injury/Illness – Lumbar Spine; Surgery
Toronto Raptors
Anunoby, OG Out Injury/Illness – Right Hand; Ring finger fracture Bonga, Isaac Out G League – On Assignment Champagnie, Justin Out G League – Two-Way Flynn, Malachi Out Injury/Illness – Left Hamstring; Strain Johnson, David Out G League – Two-Way VanVleet, Fred Questionable Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Soreness
• The Toronto Raptors (36-30) continue a six-game road trip (March 6-16) with the second game of a backto-back set Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. The Raptors have won two in a row and are now 4-5 since the All-Star break. • Pascal Siakam recorded his team-leading 21st double-double of the season with 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in 41 minutes Friday against the Suns. Siakam has now scored 20+ points in five straight games (Mar. 3-11). He is averaging 26.2 points and shooting 50 percent (48-96) from the field, including .412 (7-17) from beyond the arc, during this stretch. • Despite missing 12 games this season, Fred VanVleet (213) currently ranks third in the NBA in three-point field goals – behind only Stephen Curry (275) and Buddy Hield (217). VanVleet needs 25 threes in the final 16 games to surpass Kyle Lowry’s single-season franchise record of 238 three-pointers set during the 2017-18 campaign. VanVleet has made five-or-more threes in 19 games this season. • Pascal Siakam is averaging 21.6 points, and career bests of 8.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists, in 53 games this season. Siakam is one of just seven players in the NBA averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Dejounte Murray and Julius Randle. No Raptor has averaged 20-8-5 over the course of an entire season. • Scottie Barnes finished with 15 points, six rebounds and a season high-tying five steals in 37 minutes Friday at Phoenix. Barnes recorded five steals in a game for the third time this season – the most by a rookie since Lonzo Ball and Ben Simmons both did it three times in 2017-18. • Toronto outrebounded the Suns 48-40, including 12-5 on the offensive glass, Friday night. The Raptors (13.1) currently rank second in the NBA in offensive rebounds. Toronto is +24 (81-57) on the offensive glass through six games in March and has collected a league-best 81 offensive boards this month. • Gary Trent Jr. tied a season high with 42 points (13-21 FG, 8-11 3PT, 8-8 FT) – two shy of his career high in Friday’s victory at Phoenix. Trent Jr. also matched his career best with eight rebounds. GARY TRENT JR. – SEASON SPLITS GAMES PPG FG% 3PT% 30-POINT GAMES ROAD 29 21.0 .441 .412 7 HOME 28 15.5 .389 .346 2 • Scottie Barnes was named Eastern Conference rookie of the month for February after averaging 15.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 31.8 minutes in 12 games last month. Barnes is the 11th player in franchise history to earn the honour. F – SCOTTIE BARNES #4
MIN: 35.4 REB: 7.6 AST: 3.2 STL: 1.2 TO: 1.9 BLK: 0.8 PTS: 15.0 • Recorded 15 points, six rebounds and a season high-tying five steals in 37 minutes Mar. 11 at Phoenix. • Ranks third among rookies in rebounds (7.6), fourth in scoring (15.0) and first in minutes (35.4). • Has scored 20+ points 14 times – most by a Raptors rookie since Vince Carter (23) during the 1998-99 season. F – PASCAL SIAKAM #43
MIN: 37.6 REB: 8.4 AST: 5.1 STL: 1.3 TO: 2.7 BLK: 0.7 PTS: 21.6 • Finished with 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in 41 minutes Mar. 11 at Phoenix. • Leads the Raptors with a career-high 21 double-doubles this season. • Averaging 24.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists through six games in March. C – KHEM BIRCH #24
MIN: 18.4 REB: 4.4 AST: 1.1 STL: 0.7 TO: 0.6 BLK: 0.5 PTS: 4.6 • Contributed four points and six rebounds in 26 minutes of action Mar. 11 at Phoenix. • Has scored in double figures four times this season (Last: 11 – Mar. 1 vs. Brooklyn). • Averaging 5.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 18.7 minutes in 17 games as a starter this season. G – GARY TRENT JR. #33
MIN: 34.8 REB: 2.7 AST: 2.0 STL: 1.8 TO: 1.1 BLK: 0.3 PTS: 18.3 • Tied a season best with 42 points Mar. 11 at Phoenix; also tied a career high with eight rebounds in 40 minutes. • Ranks third in the NBA in both steals per game (1.82) and total deflections (205). • Leads the team with 104 steals this season; had 105 steals in his first three seasons (2018-21) combined. G – FRED VANVLEET #23
MIN: 38.1 REB: 4.6 AST: 6.8 STL: 1.6 TO: 2.7 BLK: 0.5 PTS: 21.3 • Tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes Mar. 11 at Phoenix. • Leads the NBA in minutes per game (38.1) – has logged 40+ minutes in 15 games. • The Raptors are 12-4 this season when VanVleet scores 25+ points.
INJURY REPORT OG Anunoby (Right Hand; Ring Finger – Fracture) – Out Isaac Bonga (G League – On Assignment) – Out Justin Champagnie (G League – Two-Way) – Out Malachi Flynn (Left Hamstring; Strain) – Out David Johnson (G League – Two-Way) – Out UPDATED: Mar. 12, 2022
2021-22 RECORDS W-L EAST WEST OVERALL 36-30 23-19 13-11 HOME 17-15 11-9 6-6 AWAY 19-15 12-10 7-5 OVERTIME 2-1 2-1 0-0
NEXT GAME DETAILS Opponent: Los Angeles Lakers Date: Monday, March 14 Tip-Off: 10:30 p.m. (ET) Venue: Crypto.com Arena Television: Sportsnet Radio: Sportsnet 590 The FAN SERIES RECAP VS. LOS ANGELES OVERALL HOME ROAD 2020-21 1-1 0-1 1-0 ALL-TIME 20-29 11-14 9-15 STREAKS Won 1 Lost 1 Won 6 LAST WIN: May 2, 2021 (121-114) LAST ROAD WIN: May 2, 2021 (121-114) LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: +33 (Dec. 2, 2016) LARGEST MARGIN OF DEFEAT: -20 (Jan. 6, 2002) LAST TIME VS. LOS ANGELES GAME 65 – MAY 2, 2021 TORONTO 121, LA LAKERS 114 LOS ANGELES – Kyle Lowry had 37 points and 11 assists, Pascal Siakam had 39 points and 13 rebounds and the short-handed Toronto Raptors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 121-114 … LeBron James had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists before going back to the locker room with 6:42 to play … It was the second game back for James after missing 20 because of a sprained right ankle … Toronto ended a three-game losing streak despite not having Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher and Gary Trent Jr. available because of injuries or to rest … DeAndre’ Bembry had 14 points off the bench and the Raptors led by as many as 21 … Kyle Kuzma had 24 points for Los Angeles, Anthony Davis chipped in with 12 and Andre Drummond had 19 points and 11 rebounds … After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, the Raptors led 72-59 at the half after blitzing the Lakers for 40 points in the second … A rampaging Lowry had 13, including the final seven points for Toronto going into the locker room, and Bembry chipped in with 11 … The Lakers got back within 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but Lowry responded with a personal 8-2 run … Lowry was 8 for 13 from 3-point range and 12 for 20 overall …Kuzma hit a 3 with 58.8 seconds to play to cut Toronto’s lead to six before Bembry and Siakam hit free throws to seal it. 1 2 3 4 TOT TORONTO 32 40 27 22 121 LA LAKERS 38 21 25 30 114 GAME 66 – MARCH 11, 2022 TORONTO 117, PHOENIX 112 PHOENIX — Gary Trent Jr. scored 42 points and the Toronto Raptors held off the Phoenix Suns, beating the NBA’s leading team 117-112 … Trent was 8 from 11 from 3-point range and 13 of 21 from the floor … He fell just short of his career high of 44 points set last season … He also had eight rebounds … Pascal Siakam added 25 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, and Scottie Barnes had 15 points … The Raptors improved to 36- 30, winning two straight after dropping three in a row … That coincides with the return of Fred VanVleet, who missed five games with a knee injury … VanVleet had 10 points and eight rebounds … Cameron Payne had 24 points for the Suns, and Devin Booker had 22 … Booker missed two 3-point attempts in the final minute and was held to three points in the fourth quarter … Mikael Bridges scored 18 points for Phoenix, DeAndre Ayton had 16 and Jae Crowder 13 … The Suns fell to 53-14 … Toronto opened up a 96-82 lead through three quarters … But the Suns rallied with a 20-6 run to tie it at 102 with 4:36 remaining … With 3:27 left in the third quarter, Booker fouled Precious Achiuwa on a drive to the basket … Booker was assessed a flagrant foul (penalty one) … Achiuwa made two free throws and Fred VanVleet made a 3-pointer to give Toronto its biggest lead to that point at 83-71 … The Raptors led by 16 in the period. 1 2 3 4 TOT TORONTO 30 26 40 21 117 PHOENIX 24 28 30 30 112
NUGGETS LAST GAME STARTERS POS. NO. PLAYER PPG RPG APG NOTABLES F 50 Aaron Gordon 6-8, 235 14.5 5.7 2.5 Tallied 28 points (9-17 FG’s, 10-15 FT’s), 8 rebounds and 2 assists in 43 minutes vs. NOP on 3/6 … Has scored 15+ points in 7 of the last 18 games. F 32 Jeff Green 6-8 235 10.4 3.2 1.3 Posted 11 points (3-5 FG’s, 5-5 FT’s), 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 29 minutes vs. GSW on 3/10 … Has scored 14+ points in 7 of the last 20 games. C 15 Nikola Jokić 7-0, 284 26.1 13.9 8.1 Registered 23 points (9-21 FG’s), 12 rebounds and 9 assists vs. GSW on 3/10 … Had a triple double in 11 of the last 25 games … 7th all-time with 75 career triple doubles. G 25
Austin Rivers 6-4, 200 6.2 1.7 1.2 Tallied 15 points (6-12 FGs, 2-6 3FGs), 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds vs. GSW on 3/7 vs. GSW … Shooting .332 from three this season (63-190). G 11 Monte Morris 6-2, 183 13.0 3.0 4.3 Posted 19 points (8-14 FG’s, 3-5 3 FG’s), 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 30 minutes vs. GSW on 3/10 … Shooting 41.8% from three over his last 12 games. DENVER NUGGETS STAFF Head Coach: Michael Malone (Loyola-MD) Assistant Coaches: David Adelman (Portland), Jordi Fernandez (Inefc Lleida), Popeye Jones (Murray State), Ryan Bowen (Iowa), Charles Klask (Michigan State), John Beckett (Eckerd College), Ognjen Stojakovic; Player Development: Stephen Graham (Oklahoma State), Boniface N’Dong Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Andrew Munson (Iowa) Assistant Video Coordinator: Conor Griffin (Washington) Video Room Associate: Jordan Bickerstaff (Whittier College) VP of Sports Medicine: Steve Short (Dayton) Head Athletic Trainer: Dan Shimensky (Utah) Associate Head Athletic Trainer: Jason Miller (Iowa) Director of Performance/Head Strength and Conditioning Coach: Felipe Eichenberger (N.W. Oklahoma State University) Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: Claus Antunes de Souza (Tulsa) Director of Sport Science/Physical Therapist: Matt Tuttle (Syracuse). NUGGETS 2021-22 RECORDS RECORD HOME ROAD OT OVERALL: 40-27 20-12 20-15 3-0 OVERALL: Loss 1 WESTERN: 25-19 12-7 13-12 3-0 HOME: Loss 1 EASTERN: 15-8 8-5 7-3 — ROAD: Won 5 PLAYER STATUS JAMAL MURRAY – LEFT KNEE INJURY RECOVERY. OUT. MICHAEL PORTER JR. – LUMBAR SPINE SURGERY. OUT. VLATKO CANCAR – RIGHT FOOT SURGERY. OUT. WILL BARTON – LEFT ANKLE SPRAIN. QUESTIONABLE. ZEKE NNAJI – BILATERAL KNEE SORENESS. QUESTIONABLE. AARON GORDON – RIGHT FOOT SORENESS. QUESTIONABLE. BONES HYLAND – RIGHT KNEE SORENESS. PROBABLE. ON THE AIR Tonight’s game will be televised on Altitude with Chris Marlowe and Scott Hastings on the call. Jason Kosmicki, the voice of the Nuggets will call the game on Altitude Radio 92.5. RECENT TRANSACTIONS 2/25/22: Signed DeMarcus Cousins for the remainder for the season … 1/21/22: Signed DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract … 1/19/22: Acquired Bryn Forbes via three team trade with Boston and San Antonio in exchange for Bol Bol and P.J. Dozier … 1/19/22: Waived James Ennis III … 1/10/22: Signed James Ennis III to a 10-day contract … 1/10/22: Waived Carlik Jones and Rayjon Tucker … 1/1/22: Signed Carlik Jones to a 10-day contract … 12/31/21: Signed Rajon Tucker to a 10-day contract … 12/30/21: Signed Davon Reed to Exhibit 10 contract … 12/4/21: Signed Davon Reed to Exhibit 10 contract … 11/23/21: Recalled Vlatko Cancar from the G League … 11/18/21: Assigned Vlatko Cancar to the G League … 11/17/21: Recalled Petr Cornelie from the G League … 10/16/21: Waived Nik Stauskas … 10/15/21: Waived Davon Reed, Tarik Black and Giorgi Bezhanishvili … 10/11/21: Signed Giorgi Bezhanishvili … 10/11/21: Waived Matt Ryan … 9/29/21: Signed Michael Porter Jr. to a contract extension … 9/28/21: Re-signed Aaron Gordon … 9/18/21: Signed Petr Cornelie to a two-way contract … 8/31/21: Signed Austin Rivers … 8/18/21: Re-Signed JaMychal Green … 8/11/21: Signed Jeff Green … 8/11/21: Re-signed Will Barton … 8/4/21: Drafted Bones Hyland.
STARTING TO ROLL…. The Nuggets are starting to find their stride as the season ramps up and playoff positioning begins. Denver took down Sacramento Kings 106-100 on the road on 3/9, winning their third game in four nights and it marked their 10th win in the last 11 games. In those 11 games, the Nuggets are averaging 119.4 points on 49.3% shooting, 28.7 assists per game, 26.9 free throw attempts a game and have a +7.0-score differential. If you go back further, to January 23rd, the Nuggets are 17-5 which marks the third best record in the NBA in that span (Celtics 17-3, Suns 16-4). THREE POINT KING THRILL Will Barton is the longest tenured Nugget on the roster, spending eight seasons in Denver and he has certainly left his mark on the franchise. Barton has gone from a second-round draft pick who was knocked for his jumper to becoming the Nuggets all-time leader in three-point field goals. Barton is just the second player in team history to eclipse 700+ threes in a career. VINTAGE COUSINS The Nuggets were without Nikola Jokic due to a non-covid illness for their home matchup against the Houston Rockets on 3/4 and DeMarcus Cousins stepped in and played his best game in a Nuggets uniform. Boogie posted a season-high 31 points (10-14 FG, 3-4 3FG, 8-9 FT), nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in just 24 minutes, leading the Nuggets to a 116-101 win. His 31 points in 24 minutes, were the fewest minutes in a 30+ point game in Nuggets NBA franchise history and the third fewest minutes played in a 30+ point game in his career. Some other highlights from his big night: • Third career game recording 30 points in 35 minutes or fewer, matching Freeman Williams for the most such games in the shot clock era (since 1954-55). • 11th career game with 31+ points, 9+ rebounds, 4+ assists and 3+ steals. • Scored 30+ points for the first time since 1/22/18 vs. CHI. • Made a season-high 10 FGs and a season-high three 3FGs. BOOGIE ON DOWN DeMarcus Cousins time with the Nuggets has become exactly what the team was looking for to help solidify their second unit. The big man signed for the remainder of the season on 2/25 and then dominated the Trail Blazers bench on 2/27, finishing with 19 points on 7-10 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists and one steal in just 18 minutes, helping the Nuggets win 124-92. He is the only NBA player in the last 35 seasons to post those numbers while playing 20 minutes or less. Additionally, the Nuggets have won 11 of 12 games when Cousins sees the court to begin his stint in Denver. In those 12 games for Denver, he is averaging 9.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 14.6 minutes per game. MR. 300 The Nuggets and the city of Denver are lucky to have Michael Malone. Malone has helped lead the Nuggets ascension in the Western Conference since taking over in the 2016 and the wins have piled up. With their 128-110 victory over the Sacramento Kings on 2/24, Coach Malone won his 300th game as the Head Coach of the Denver Nuggets, becoming only the third coach in franchise history to have at least 300 wins. REBOUNDING = SUCCESS The Nuggets returned home to Ball Arena in their final home game before the All-Star break and they didn’t disappoint the home fans, beating the Orlando Magic 121-111. Denver had all five starters score in double figures, winning 28 of the last 32 games when that has occurred. The Nuggets also outrebounded the Magic 52-42, moving to 22-8 on the season when they outrebound an opponent. The 52 total rebounds were significant, as it marked the fifth straight game the Nuggets have grabbed 50+ rebounds (4-1). It is the longest streak with 50+ boards since April 1991 and the second longest all-time in franchise history (six games in a row, done November 1976). TRAVELING DEFENSE The Nuggets have played a Western Conference leading 31 road games as of 2/12 and they added to their win total, taking down the Toronto Raptors 110-109 on February 12th . The Nuggets defense held strong in the second half allowing 52 points including a game sealing Nikola Jokić block as time expired. For the game, they held the Raptors to 48.9% shooting from the field. Denver is quietly building an impressive road streak, the win against the Raptors marked the 17th road game in which the Nuggets have held their opponent to under 50% shooting from the field. It marks the second longest streak in franchise history, with the longest stretching 37 games done from 11/30/93-11/11/94. TALE OF TWO HALVES The Nuggets snapped their three-game losing streak with a 124-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on 2/6. The story of the game was how the Nuggets flipped in the second half and looked like a new team from the first half. After allowing 75 points in the first half, Denver held Brooklyn to just 29 points in the second half. It was a season-low allowed by Denver in the second half and the first time doing so since 12/9/13 at WAS. It also marked the 11th time in franchise history holding an opponent to 29 or fewer points in the second half. The Nuggets also handed out 37 assists, their second most this season, and are now 25-9 when having 25+ assists and 11- 4 when dishing out 30+ assists this season. FIVE STRAIGHT TO END JANUARY The Nuggets continued their winning ways on the road on their current six game road trip. Denver took down the Milwaukee Bucks 136-100 on 1/30, winning their fifth straight game. It also marked their fourth straight win on the road, the longest streak since winning six in a row in February/March 2021. The Nuggets made 23 threes in the game, tying for the third most made in team history and hade nine players knock down at least one 3FG. Denver is now 11-0 all time when making at least 20 threes in game. They also dished out 39 assists, the 40th time in team history with that many (just 11th since 1991, 11-0 in those game). The Nuggets end January with 11 wins, their fourth straight year with 11+ wins in January. In the first 42 years in team history, Denver had a total of 11+ wins in January only six times. NUGGETS FRANCHISE HISTORY – CAREER THREE POINT FG’S RANK/PLAYER # OF THREES
Will Barton 771
J.R. Smith 768
Jamal Murray 673 NUGGETS HEAD COACHES – ALL-TIME WINS COACH # OF WINS SEASONS
Doug Moe 432 10
George Karl 423 9
Michael Malone 303 7 CONSECUTIVE ROAD GAMES HOLDING OPP. TO UNDER 50% SHOOTING STREAK START/STREAK END # OF GAMES
11/30/93-11/11/94 37
12/11/21-2/12/22 17
11/25/00-2/3/01 17
BENCH GOES, WE GO It’s no coincidence that when the Nuggets bench plays well, that usually means good things. They did exactly that on 1/26 at BKN, helping Denver secure a 124-118 road win. The second unit accounted for 51 points, marking the fifth time this season that the bench has had 50+ points in game and the third time in last eight games. Austin Rivers led the way for the second unit, putting up a season-high 25 points on 8-11 FG’s and 7-10 3FG’s and two steals in 26 minutes. Rivers became the first Nuggets reserve since Will Barton (3/16/17) to make 7+ threes in a game and the first to do so on the road since J.R. Smith in 2010. GOING STREAKING The Nuggets finally have their first extended home stand of the season and so far, they have made the most of it. Denver has opened with three wins against the Trail Blazers Lakers and Clippers. Their shot making and ball movement has been elite, helping them achieve two impressive streaks. Denver made 23 three-pointers on 1/15 vs. LAL, the second most made threes in franchise history. The previous game vs. POR on 1/13, the Nuggets knocked down 21, marking the first time in franchise history Denver has made 20+ threes in back-to-back games and just the 28th time in NBA history a team has accomplished that feat. The Nuggets also had a season-high tying 35 assists against the Lakers, followed by 31 assists against the Clippers on 1/19, improving to 9-2 when handing out 30+ assists and 19-6 when having 25+ assists in a game. It also marked the third straight game Denver had 35+ assists, the first time doing that since December 1990. GETTING BIZZY WITH IT When Bones Hyland is playing well, that usually means the Nuggets are succeeding and that was exactly the case vs. LAL on 1/15. The rookie had the best game of his career, posting career-highs in points (27), rebounds (10), minutes played (34), field-goal attempts (15), three-point field goals (6), three-point attempts (10) and tied career-highs in steals (2), field goals (8), free throws (5) and free throw attempts (5). It also marked Hyland’s first career double-double Hyland is the only rookie in the NBA this season to post 27+ points, 10+ rebounds, 2+ assists and 2+ steals … The Nuggets are now 9-0 when Hyland scores 10+ points. Finally, Bones joins Will Barton and Wilson Chandler as just the third Nugget to come off the bench and post 27+ points with 6+ made three-pointers. SECOND UNIT STEPS UP The Nuggets bench hasn’t been a strong suit for Denver this season with lineups being interchanged often due to injuries or COVID protocols. However, the bench was fantastic on 1/13 vs. Portland helping the Nuggets cruise to a 140-108 home victory. The 140 points marked a season-high and it was the first time scoring 140+ points in a non-overtime game since scoring 146 vs. the Pelicans on 11/17/17. The bench was led by Facundo Campazzo who posted 18 points (7-10 FG, 3-6 3FG), a season-high tying 12 assists and four steals in 27 minutes for his second double-double of the year. Campazzo became just the fifth reserve in the NBA since 1980-81 to have 18+ points, 12+ assists and 4+ steals, joining Mike Gale, Clyde Drexler, Brevin Knight and Jrue Holiday. The other strong performance from the second unit came from Bones Hyland who posted 17 points (6-12 FG, 5-8 3FG), four rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes Bones has proven to be a key to the Nuggets success as they are now 8-0 this season when Bones scores 10+ points. YEAH BABBYYYYY Austin Rivers tenure in Oklahoma City years ago was minimal, as he never suited up for the Thunder after being included in a trade and later waived. But Rivers had his best game of the season at OKC on 1/9. He helped the Nuggets win 99-95, as he posted a season-high 22 points (8-13 FG’s, 6-9 3FG’s), a season-high tying five rebounds and one assist in 30 minutes. It was the fifth time this season a reserve has scored 20+ for the Nuggets (done by five different players). Rivers was on fire from long distance, connecting on six threes, making at least one each quarter. Denver is now 35-7 all time when a bench player makes six or more threes in game. FACUNDO THE MAGICIAN The pride of Cordoba, Argentina saw his second start of the season at Houston on 1/1 due to a COVID depleted team. Campazzo dazzled on the court all night, leading the Nuggets in multiple categories, helping them win 124-111 for their third straight road victory. Campazzo finished with a career-high 22 points (7-11 FG’s, 3-5 3FG’s), a careerhigh tying 12 assists, a career-high tying five steals and four rebounds in 34 minutes. He had an historic night, becoming the first Nuggets guard with 22+ points, 10+ assists and 5+ steals in a game since Allen Iverson in 2008. FACU/MONTE MAGIC Facundo Campazzo and Monte Morris have both stepped up when the Nuggets have needed them. They are a big reason why Denver has been able to stay afloat early in the season while getting hit with a serious injury bug. Campazzo and Morris helped lead the Nuggets to a 133-115 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks on 12/17. Denver had a season-high 35 assists and had six players score in double figures. MATINEE AT THE MECCA The Nuggets seven game road trip rolled along with an afternoon contest against the New York Knicks on 12/4. Denver got their second win of the trip, in blowout fashion, winning wire-to-wire 113-99. It marked the 13th win in the last 14 meetings against the Knicks. The Nuggets were led by Nikola Jokić who had 32 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in just 27 minutes, the Joker helped put the game away by having a 15-point third quarter. The bench unit was led by Zeke Nnaji’s career night, who finished with a career-high 21 points (7-13 FG’s, 5-9 3FG’s), eight rebounds and two steals in a career-high 34 minutes. Denver made 20 three’s in the game, tying for the fifth most in Nuggets history, with all nine players who attempted one making at least one. BACK ON TRACK The Nuggets went through one of their roughest patches in recent years, losing six straight games but quickly put a stop to that streak in South Beach on 11/29. Nikola Jokić returned to action after missing four games due to right wrist sprain and it made all the difference, leading the Nugget to a 120-111 win. It was a balanced scoring attack for Denver as seven players scored 10+ points. But the big man led the way, posting 24 points on 9-14 shooting, 15 rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes. The Nuggets are now 47-10 all time when the Joker gets 15+ rebounds. Jokić has four games this season with 24+ points, 15+ rebounds and 7+ assists, while the rest of the NBA have combined for four such games
2021-22 Matchups vs. Arizona: Second of Two 2021-22 Record vs. Arizona: 0-1-0 Toronto Season Record: 37-16-4 Toronto Home Record: 20-7-1 TV: Sportsnet RADIO: TSN 1050
RECENT TRANSACTIONS March 10, 2022 Goaltender Erik Källgren has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis. March 8, 2022 Defenceman Mac Hollowell has been loaned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). March 4, 2022 Defenceman Mac Hollowell has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 25, 2022 Forward Nick Robertson has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME
Score: Toronto 6 vs. Seattle 4 Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 TOR Goals: Matthews (3x), Tavares, Nylander, Marner SEA Goals: Soucy, Wennberg, Blackwell, Schwartz TOR Goaltender: Campbell, 26/30, .867 SV% SEA Goaltender: Grubauer, 26/31, .839 SV% TOR Power Play: 3-for-6 TOR Penalty Kill: 3-for-3 Team Notes:
Auston Matthews scored three goals in Toronto’s win against Seattle marking his third hat trick of the season and sixth of his NHL career. With his three-goal performance, Matthews continues to lead the league in goals with 43.
Ilya Lyubushkin recorded a season-high seven hits in Tuesday’s game (his single-game career-high is eight hits).
The Maple Leafs recorded three power play goals in Tuesday’s win. This is the second time this season that the Maple Leafs have recorded three power play goals during a game (the first occasion dating back to January 26, 2022 vs. ANA). Toronto currently leads the league with a power play percentage of 29.9%.
NEXT GAME Date: Sunday, March 13, 2022 Opponent: at Buffalo Sabres Time: 4:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio) INJURY REPORT
Jake Muzzin Concussion
Jack Campbell Ribs
ALL-TIME VS. ARIZONA COYOTES: First Matchup between Clubs: November 10, 1979 (Toronto 8 at Winnipeg 4) All-Time Record: 39-54-8-2 (103 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 22-27-2-2 (53 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 17-27-6-0 (50 Games) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: February 11, 2020 (Toronto 3 vs. Arizona 2) Record in Last Five Games: 2-3-0 Record in Last 10 Games: 4-5-1
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. ARIZONA COYOTES: Games Played: Kyle Clifford (49), Wayne Simmonds (36), TJ Brodie (34) Goals: Jason Spezza (9), Wayne Simmonds (9), John Tavares (9), Jake Muzzin (6), TJ Brodie (6) Assists: Jason Spezza (12), Jake Muzzin (12), TJ Brodie (10) Points: Jason Spezza (21), Jake Muzzin (18), Wayne Simmonds (17) Penalty Minutes: Kyle Clifford (53), Jake Muzzin (38), Simmonds (28)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 46/154 (29.9%) Power Play Goal Leader: 13 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 23 – Matthews (13G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 134/160 (83.8%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Thursday games 8th of 13 (9 home, 4 road) Back-to-Backs played 9 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 5-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 4-4-1 March games 5th of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie Two points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Six assists away from his 300th career NHL assist
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, March 5, 2022 vs. VAN Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
ARIZONA COYOTES LAST GAME Coyotes 9, Red Wings 2 – March 8, 2022 – Little Caesars Arena ARI Goals: Boyd (11), Ritchie (4, 5), Chychrun (4, 5), Schmaltz (15, 16), Fischer (4), Keller (24) DET Goals: Fabbri (17), Vrana (1) ARI Goalie: Vejmelka – 26 svs on 28 shots DET Goalie: Nedeljkovic (L) – 20 svs on 27 shots | Greiss – 1 sv on 3 shots PP: 0-1 PK: 2-4 Notes: ARI won its season-high 3rd straight game…Was team’s 4th straight W over DET…9 goals is the most the Coyotes have scored in a game since relocating from Winnipeg… ARI became the 3rd team (4th instance) this season to score 9+ goals in a game…ARI won by 7+ goals in game for first time since 12/30/06 vs SJ (8-0 W) and first time ever on the road since relocating from Winnipeg… Tue was 2nd time ever the franchise potted 8+ goals in back-to-back games…Last 2 ARI games mark the first NHL club since the 1995-96 Penguins (March 24-26, 1996) to score 8+ goals in back-to-back and first NHL club to score 17+ goals in 2-gm span since ’95-’96 Avs (Dec. 3-5, 1995 (18g)…ARI now has 3 gms of 7+ goals this season, their most since 1999-00…ARI enjoyed 3 different multi-goal scorers (Nick Schmaltz, Jakob Chychrun, Nick Ritchie) in a game for first time since 2/23/01 at BUF (Roenick, Ylonen, Doan)…Chychrun’s 3 pts tied his career-high…Barrett Hayton notched first career multi-assist game… ARI began a month 3-0- 0 for first time since April of 2021 MAN GAMES LOST (Name/Roster Status/Injury Type/Games Missed/Last Game Played) Antoine Roussel…Week-to-Week…Lower-Body (1 / 3/5) Liam O’Brien…Week-to-Week…Upper-Body (4 / 2/25) Andrew Ladd…IR…Lower-Body (6 / 2/20) Johan Larsson…IR…Lower-Body (15 / 1/25) Jay Beagle…IR…Lower-Body (29 / 12/11) Dmitrij Jaskin…IR…Lower-Body…(41 / 11/13) Conor Timmins…IR…Lower-Body…(50 / 10/25) Total man games lost: 352 games C. Hutton (44), J. Beagle (35), J. Larsson (25), R. Dzingel (21), N. Schmaltz (19), K. Capobianco (17), B. Hayton (16), A. Galchenyuk (15), A. Ladd (12), J. Chychrun (11), C. Fischer (8), A. Stralman (8), S. Wedgewood (7), L. O’Brien (6), A. Roussel (5), C. Dineen (4), D. Mayo (4), L. Crouse (1), M. Maccelli (1), T. Boyd (1), I. Lyubushkin (1) RECENT TRANSACTIONS -3/7 – Recalled F Hudson Fasching from Tucson (AHL) UPCOMING SCHEDULE YOTES &LEAFS -Tonight is the second of two ARI-TOR games this season -Arizona captured the first meeting 2-1 on 1/12 behind a 45-sv performance from Karel Vejmelka -Tonight is ARI’s first game at Scotiabank Arena since 2/11/20 (3-2 L, OT) -The last time ARI won in Toronto was 1/20/19 (4-2 W) Arizona Coyotes: Media Notes DATE TIME (AZ) OPPONENT VENUE TV RADIO Sat, Mar. 12 5pm at BOS TD Garden Bally Sports Arizona 98.7 FM Mon, Mar. 14 4:30pm at OTT Canadian Tire Centre Bally Sports Arizona 620 AM Tue, Mar. 15 4pm at MTL Bell Centre Bally Sports Arizona Extra TBD -The Coyotes franchise is 56-37-8-2 all-time against the Maple Leafs -The Coyotes enter tonight having taken at least a point in their last 10 road games against the Maple Leafs dating back to 1/14/06. It’s the 2nd longest road point streak the Coyotes/Jets franchise has ever produced against the Maple Leafs and tied for the 3rd-longest the franchise has rattled off against any opponent Longest road point streaks against opponent, franchise history: -Additionally, the Coyotes active road point streak against TOR is the 5th-longest an NHL franchise has ever strung together against the Leafs: SCORING NOTABLES AGAINST THE MAPLE LEAFS Andrew Ladd…10-13-23…34 career GP Alex Galchenyuk…8-9-17…28 career GP Shayne Gostisbehere…5-7-12…16 career GP Nick Schmaltz…1-4-5…7 career GP Career Leaders Goals (Ladd, 10)…Assists (Ladd, 13)…Points (Ladd, 23) Career Leaders Among Defensemen Goals (Gostisbehere, 5)…Assists (Gostisbehere 7)…Points (Gostisbehere, 12) IN THE NICK OF TIME -Nick Schmaltz on Tue picked up right where he left off from Sat’s 7-pt showing by tallying 4 pts (2-2-4) in ARI’s 9-2 rout of DET -The forward has 11 pts (4-7-11) in his last 2 GP, which is the most ever over a pair of contests by a player in Coyotes/Jets franchise history -Since 1986-87, only Bernie Nicholls (4-8-12 from Dec. 1-3, 1988) and Mario Lemieux (5-7-12 from Oct. 15-18, 1988) have registered more points in a span of 2 NHL games (source: NHL Stats &Info). The last NHLer to tally 11+ pts in back-to-back games was Sam Gagner’s 11 from Feb. 2-4, 2012 -Schmaltz’s hot streak includes runs of 30 points (15-15-30) in his last 20 GP dating back to 1/17 and 21 points (11-10-21) in his last 10 GP dating back to 2/9 -Since Feb. 9, Schmaltz ranks among NHL-leaders in goals (T-4th), points (T-5th) and leads the League in points per game (2.10) KELLER INSTINCT -Clayton Keller followed up his 4-pt Saturday with a 3-pt game (1-2-3) at DET (3/8). He enters tonight with 24-30-54 in 56 GP, approx a 35-44-79 pace in 82-game season -He carries a 3-gm point streak, posting 3-5-8 in that span -He’s been held off the scoresheet twice in his last 17 GP, notching 24 pts (10-14-24) in that run since 1/22 TEAM OPPONENT ROAD POINT STREAK RECORD DATES PHX/ARI Edmonton 15 13-0-2 1/5/10 – 11/27/16 WIN (’79) Toronto 11 10-0-1 1/7/81 – 10/19/85 PHX/ARI Toronto 10 8-0-2 1/14/06 – present PHX Calgary 10 8-0-2 12/29/97 – 1/23/03 TEAM ROAD POINT STREAK AT TOR RECORD DATES BOS 13 10-0-3 3/26/77 – 11/21/81 WIN (’79) 11 10-0-1 1/7/81 – 10/19/85 MNS 11 9-0-2 10/16/85 – 1/6/88 STL 11 9-0-2 4/1/98 – 3/7/15 ARI/PHX 10 8-0-2 1/14/06 – present • • • • • • • • • • -Keller’s goal on 3/8 was his 24th of the season to set a new single-season career-high -The 24th marker was his 20th at even-strength. The last Coyote to post 20+ EVG in a season was Radim Vrbata (25) in 2011-12 -The winger also reached 30 assists this yr, marking the third time in his career he’s reached that benchmark (2017-18 (42), 2018-19 (33))
Keller has 48 pts (21-27-48) in his last 40 GP after beginning the yr with 6 pts (3-3-6) in his first 16 GP…Since Nov. 18 (40 GP), Keller ranks among League-leaders in goals (T-12th), EVG (19, 3rd) and EVP (42, 5th) CHYCHA CHYCHA BOOM BOOM -Jakob Chychrun had a 3-pt showing (2-1-3) last time out at DET. It was his 5th career multi-goal game and he cleared 50 career goals in the process -Chychrun is the fourth defenseman to record 5+ multi-goal games with the franchise -His 51 career goals rank 9th in franchise history among d-men -The Boca Raton, Fla. native enters Thursday with 8 pts (3-5-8) in his last 5 GP, tied for the 2nd most among NHL blueliners since 2/25 (Makar (12), Toews (8)) KEY CONNECTIONS Ex-Coyotes Ilya Lyubushkin (2018-22) Michael Bunting (2018-19, 2020-21) Ex-Maple Leafs Corey Schwab (2001-02) Phil Housley (2002-03) Anton Stralman (2007-09) Phil Kessel (2009-15) Alex Galchenyuk (2020-21) Travis Boyd (2020-21) Riley Nash (2021 Playoffs) Nick Ritchie (2021-22) Travis Boyd played with Justin Holl at the University of Minnesota from 2011-14 Lawson Crouse represented Team Canada with Mitch Marner and Travis Dermott at the 2016 WJC Hudson Fasching represented Team USA with Auston Matthews at the 2015 WJC…Played with Justin Holl at the Univ. of Minnesota in 2013-14 Christian Fischer was teammates with Auston Matthews at the USNTDP from 2013-15 Alex Galchenyuk skated with with Manny Malhotra in Montreal in 2014-15 Shayne Gostisbehere played with Wayne Simmonds (2014-19) and Petr Mrazek (2017-18) in Philadelphia Barrett Hayton played with Rasmus Sandin on the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds in 2017-18 Clayton Keller won a gold medal with Auston Matthews at the 2015 U18 World Championship
Nick Schmaltz represented Team USA with Auston Matthews at the 2015-16 World Junior Championships, capturing Bronze in 2016…Played with David Kampf in Chicago from 2017-19 MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player…Needs…Milestone) Clayton Keller…8 goals from…100 career NHL goals Clayton Keller…3 points from…250 career NHL points Phil Kessel…3 goals from…400 career NHL goals Phil Kessel…1 multi-assist game from…100 career NHL multi-assist games Nick Schmaltz…2 assists from…150 career assists Nick Schmaltz…One multi-point game from…50 career multi-point games 2021-22 REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS Blocked shots: Mayo (92) Hits: Crouse (158) Takeaways: Keller (55) Shots: Keller (158) TOI/G: Chychrun (23:24) YOTES COACH’S CHALLENGE 2021-22: 1-for-2, 50% Last Challenge: (L) Nov. 12, 2022 – Original Call Confirmed; ARI requested a Coach’s Challenge for a Missed Game Stoppage Event to further examine if an ARI player touched the puck during the delayed penalty, which was prior to when the puck exited the attacking zone before CHI’s Alex DeBrincat’s goal Interference Challenge Rate: 1-for-1 (100%) Offsides Challenge Rate: 0-for-0 (-) Miscellaneous Challenge Rate: 0-for-1 (0%) 2021-22 OVERTIME RESULTS: (3-0-5) Last overtime win: 12/17/21 at ANA (W, 6-5, GWG – C. Keller) Last overtime loss: 5/1/21 vs. VGK (L, 3-2, GWG – J. Marchessault) Last overtime that led to shootout: 2/1/22 at COL
2021-22 SHOOTOUT RESULTS: (1-4) Last shootout win: 2/1/22 at COL (W, 3-2, GDG – A. Galchenyuk) Last shootout loss: 1/14/22 at COL (L, 4-3, GDG – N. Kadri) CAREER OT POINT CHART PLAYER NAME GOALS ASSISTS POINTS Phil Kessel 11 15 26 Loui Eriksson 9 7 16 Shayne Gostisbehere 6 9 15 Andrew Ladd 5 6 11 Alex Galchenyuk 6 5 11 Clayton Keller 4 6 10 Anton Stralman 0 6 6 Nick Schmaltz 1 5 6 Jakob Chychrun 1 3 4 Christian Fischer 2 1 3 Riley Nash 0 3 3 Johan Larsson 0 2 2 Kyle Capobianco 1 0 1 Travis Boyd 0 1 1 COYOTES RECORD ON… 1-Day Rest: 7-10-3 2-Days Rest: 4-10-0 3+ Days Rest: 2-7-1 First Game of Back-to-Back: 3-8-1 Second Game of Back-to-Back: 4-8-0 COYOTES PROSPECT WATCH John Farinacci (3rd round, 76th overall in 2019) completed the regular season with 15 pts (8-7-15) in 25 GP for Harvard (NCAA) as the team gears up for the ECAC Tourney beginning 3/11
Abbotsford: N. Juulsen (3) PP (S. Dries, N. Petan), J. Lukosevicius (7) PP (P. DiGiuseppe, D. Stephens), V. Arseneau (6) PP (N. Petan, W. Lockwood) Goaltender: S. Martin (21/21) W
The Marlies are 23-14-3-1 in games with a start-time before noon.
Toronto went 3-for-6 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play. Toronto is 6-10-2-1 when not scoring on the power play and 12-10-2-1 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
Abbotsford had a 30-21 edge in shots in all situations. Joseph Blandisi and Curtis Douglas led the Marlies with three shots on goal. Toronto is 16-14-2-1 when outshot by their opponents.
The Marlies are 0-2-0-0 against Pacific Division opponents and are 0-2-0-0 against the Canucks.
RECORD WHEN
Not scoring first 6-15-2-0 Trailing after 1 6-14-1-0 Trailing after 2 2-14-1-0 At home 12-10-2-1 March 1-4-0-0 Wednesday 4-6-0-1
When we’re playing on our toes and we’re playing with pace and all five guys on the ice are playing with a purpose and a plan, we’re typically not taking penalties. When we’re reaching, when we’re falling behind, our structure is not in place, it puts us in tough spots. I mean you can always argue the bounces, when refs may be calling things that you don’t think are penalties and it goes back and forth for all teams throughout the whole season. We’re hitting a rough patch here, but we just got to stay off the refs, we’ve got to take care of ourselves, take ownership of our play and make sure we stay out of the box.
UPCOMING GAMES: *All times Eastern Standard Time
March 11 at Utica – 7:00 p.m. March 12 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m. March 17 vs. Hershey – 1:30 p.m. March 19 vs. Chicago – 4:00 p.m. March 20 vs. Chicago – 4:00 p.m.
Auston Matthews scored on a Toronto power play opportunity at 3:18 of the first period. Matthews recorded his second goal of the game at 9:03 of the third period and his third at 19:18 of the third period. Matthews has posted 43 goals this season. Matthews has registered seven points through his last three games (6G, 1A).
John Tavares scored for the Maple Leafs at 9:55 of the first period. Tavares recorded his 19th goal of the season. Tavares also recorded the primary assist on Marner’s power play goal. Tavares registered his 35th assist of the season.
William Nylander scored on a Maple Leafs power play opportunity at 5:14 of the second period. Nylander recorded his 22nd goal of the season. Nylander also posted the primary assist on Matthews’ first goal of the game. Nylander registered his 30th assist of the season.
Mitch Marner scored on a Toronto power play opportunity at 9:43 of the third period. Marner recorded his 23rd goal of the season. Marner also posted the secondary assist on Matthews’ second goal of the game. Marner notched his 39th assist of the season. Marner is currently on an eight-game point streak where he has recorded 17 points (6G, 11A).
Morgan Rielly recorded the secondary assist on Matthews’ first goal of the game. Rielly posted his 40th assist of the season.
Pierre Engvall registered the primary assist on Tavares’ goal. Engvall posted his 12th assist of the season. Engvall has registered an assist in consecutive games.
TJ Brodie recorded the secondary assist on Tavares’ goal and the primary assist on Nylander’s goal. Brodie has recorded 14 assists this season. Brodie has posted a multi-assist outing in backto-back games.
Ondřej Kaše recorded the secondary assist on Nylander’s goal. Kaše posted his 13th assist of the season.
Michael Bunting posted the primary assist on Matthews’ second goal of the game and the secondary assist on Matthews’ third goal of the game. Bunting has recorded 27 assists this season. Bunting is currently on a six-game point where he has posted 12 points (3G, 9A).
Timothy Liljegren registered the primary assist on Matthews’ third goal of the game. Liljegren recorded his 13th assist of the season. Liljegren has recorded an assist in three-consecutive games, the first time in his NHL career to do so. GOALTENDER NOTES
Jack Campbell stopped 26 of 30 shots in tonight’s win. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Maple Leafs were 3-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill tonight.
This is the second time this season that the Maple Leafs have recorded three power play goals during a game (the first occasion dating back to January 26, 2022 vs. ANA). Toronto currently leads the league with a power play percentage of 29.9%.
Toronto allowed just their second shorthanded goal of the season. The Maple Leafs are tied for first in the league with the fewest shorthanded goals against. OF NOTE…
Auston Matthews scored three goals during tonight’s game marking his third hat trick of the season and sixth of his NHL career. With his three-goal performance, Matthews continues to lead the league in goals with 43.
Ilya Lyubushkin recorded a season-high seven hits during tonight’s game (his single-game careerhigh is eight).
Auston Matthews was on the ice for a team-high 21 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
Mitch Marner finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 75.00 percent (18 for, 6 against). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL SEATTLE 11 (11) 10 (6) 9 (7) 30 (24) TORONTO 11 (10) 11 (4) 10 (6) 32 (20) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL SEATTLE 14 (14) 20 (13) 13 (10) 47 (37) TORONTO 23 (22) 20 (9) 18 (13) 61 (44) ON HOME ICE
The Maple Leafs are 19-7-1 at home this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 2-0-0-0 in two games against the Seattle Kraken and 1-0-0-0 in one game played in Toronto.
Toronto is 17-8-2 against the Western Conference this season and 11-5-0 against the Pacific Division this season. RECORD WHEN…
Toronto is 25-4-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 23-2-2 when leading after one period and 6-2-2 when tied after two periods.
Toronto is 22-11-3 when outshooting their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 7-0-1 in Tuesday games and 4-4-1 in the second game of a back-to-back. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 4 (Matthews) Shot Attempts 8 (Matthews) Faceoff Wins 12 (Matthews) Faceoff Win Percentage 67% (Matthews – 12 won, 6 lost) Hits 7 (Lyubushkin) Blocked Shots 3 (Brodie) Takeaways 2 (Rielly) TOI 24:24 (Brodie) Power Play TOI 4:14 (Nylander) Shorthanded TOI 2:42 (Holl) Shifts 28 (Brodie) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 75.00% (Marner – 18 for, 6 against) UPCOMING GAMES: March 10 Leafs vs. Arizona Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 13 Leafs at Buffalo Tim Hortons Field 4:00 pm ET March 15 Leafs vs. Dallas Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 17 Leafs vs. Carolina Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 19 Leafs at Nashville Bridgestone Arena 7:00 pm ET March 23 Leafs vs. New Jersey Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET
POSTGAME QUOTES: AUSTON MATTHEWS On the team’s resiliency after giving up the lead: “Obviously it’s not a position that we like to be in. Especially over the course of the last couple weeks but we pulled out the two points and just the resiliency and poise of the group to just keep playing even when the momentum switches and I think we’d really just like to be more consistent throughout the 60 minutes, especially in that second period. Obviously some things for us to clean up but I just think the resiliency of the team is to stick with it and continue to play and some good goals.” MITCH MARNER On tonight’s game: “Obviously we don’t want to give up that lead, we’ve been doing it too much lately but kind of from that 10-minute point on in the third to the end I thought we did a great job of maintaining that neutral zone and making it hard to get through us. I thought we were breaking out cleanly and breaking the puck up the ice and making it kind of ugly for them to try and create anything there in that last 10.” On tonight’s powerplay: “A lot of puck movement, guys moving to the net and getting shots through and we were getting results off of it.” MICHAEL BUNTING On the team’s response after losing the lead: “I thought our team played great, obviously we can’t be giving up leads like that again and they took the lead but I thought we responded pretty well and our line had a good tying goal and then Mitch right away on the powerplay scored a really nice one. I thought we responded pretty well tonight.” On the team’s ability to come back in games: “As a team we don’t want to be giving up leads like that but we have faith in one another and we have the offensive power through all four lines to come back. We always believe in ourselves no matter what the score is we believe that we can come back and that’s huge for us.” JACK CAMPBELL On tonight’s win: “It was great, we got two points and the team played well. Happy for Simmer, we got the win for him.” On how he felt in net tonight: “Stevie [Briere] came up with a good game plan, it doesn’t change much from the rest of the year but I just executed it better tonight. I gave up four but I’m not going to beat myself up too hard tonight. I’m going to look at it and keep working on some details, but I felt much better, and the team played great in front of me.”
RECENT TRANSACTIONS March 4, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled defenceman Mac Hollowell from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 25, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 24, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 5 at Columbus 4 Date: Monday, March 7, 2022 TOR Goals: Mikheyev, Marner, Matthews, Kerfoot, Bunting CBJ Goals: Kuraly, Bjorkstrand, Roslovic, Laine TOR Goaltender: Mrazek, 31/35, .886 SV% CBJ Goaltender: Merzlikins, 28/33, .848 SV% TOR Power Play: 0-for-1 TOR Penalty Kill: 2-for-3 Team Notes:
Auston Matthews recorded his 40th goal of the season during Monday’s game. He is the first player this season to reach the 40-goal mark. Matthews has recorded the fourth 40-goal season of his NHL career; he is only the second player in Maple Leafs franchise history to do so alongside Darryl Sittler.
With his game-winning goal on Monday, Michael Bunting became the first rookie to reach the 20-goal mark this season.
TJ Brodie recorded his second multi-assist game of the season (2A).
NEXT GAME Date: Thursday, March 10, 2022 Opponent: vs. Arizona Coyotes Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), TSN 1050 (Radio) INJURY REPORT
Ondrej Kaše Day-to-Day Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN: First Matchup between Clubs: February 14, 2022 (Toronto 6 at Seattle 2) All-Time Record: 1-0-0-0 (1 Game) All-Time Record at Home: N/A All-Time Record on the Road: 1-0-0-0 (1 Game) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: N/A Record in Last Five Games: 1-0-0 Record in Last 10 Games: 1-0-0
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN: Games Played: Ilya Lyubushkin (2), 18 skaters tied at (1) Goals: Jake Muzzin (1), Alexander Kerfoot (1), Mitch Marner (1), Ondej Kaše (1), Michael Bunting (1), David Kämpf (1) Assists: Mitch Marner (2), Auston Matthews (2), Timothy Liljegren (2), Ilya Lyubushkin (2), William Nylander (2) Points: Mitch Marner (3), Auston Matthews (2), Timothy Liljegren (2), Ilya Lyubushkin (2), Michael Bunting (2), William Nylander (2) Penalty Minutes: Justin Holl (2), Jake Muzzin (2), Mitch Marner (2), David Kämpf (2)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 43/148 (29.1%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 131/157 (83.4%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Tuesday games 8th of 14 (8 home, 6 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 5-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 March games 4th of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie Four points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Seven assists away from his 300th career NHL assist
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, March 5 vs. VAN Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT l (July 2) 2021-22 TEAM LEADERS
CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 40 – Matthews HITS 97 – Simmonds ASSISTS 39 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 78 – Brodie POINTS 72 – Matthews (40G, 32A) TAKEAWAYS 60 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) TOI PER GAME 24:04 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) PP TOI PER GAME 2:53 – Marner, Matthews PIMs 51 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:41 – Muzzin SHOTS 239 – Matthews WINS 23 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.5% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 2.61 – Campbell SHOT ATTEMPTS% 59.03% – Matthews SAVE PERCENTAGE .915 – Campbell
KRAKEN
LAST GAME Sunday, March 6 Seattle 2 at Carolina 3 Goals: Wennberg, Jarnkrok Goalie: Grubauer (30 saves/33 shots) PP: 1/3; PK: 1/3; Shots: Carolina 33 – Seattle 30 CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 199) Brandon Tanev (ACL; IR) – 28 games Karson Kuhlman (upper body; IR) – 14 games TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS March 3: Reassigned F Kole Lind to Charlotte (AHL) March 5: Activated F Jared McCann and F Jaden Schwartz off IR; Placed F Austin Czarnik on waivers March 6: F Austin Czarnik claimed off waivers by NYI UPCOMING GAMES Thursday, March 10: Seattle at Ottawa 4 p.m. Saturday, March 12: Seattle at Montreal, 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 16: Tampa Bay at Seattle, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 19: Detroit at Seattle, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 22: Seattle at Arizona, 7 p.m. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW Tonight’s game will mark the ninth of 13 games the Kraken will play against Original Six teams this season. They will play the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs twice each this season and the Chicago Blackhawks three times. Jared McCann is the only former Maple Leaf on the Kraken’s roster. However, McCann was a member of the Maple Leafs organization for only four days – he was traded from Pittsburgh to Toronto on July 17, 2021 and then selected by Seattle in the Expansion Draft of July, 2021. Kraken Head Coach Dave Hakstol and assistant coach Paul McFarland both previously worked as assistant coaches for the Maple Leafs. General Manager Ron Francis and assistant general manager Ricky Olczyk both also have ties to Toronto – Francis played for the Maple Leafs for part of the 2003-04 season and Olczyk worked as a scout for the team during the 2018-19 season. An assist tonight would give Adam Larsson assists in three consecutive games for the first time since he had five assists in three games from Feb. 20 to 23, 2015. The Kraken have recorded at least 30 shots in their last four games played, a season high. Kraken captain Mark Giordano became the 364th player in NHL history to skate in 1,000 NHL games in the Kraken’s game on March 5 at Washington. Marcus Johansson enters tonight’s game two points shy of tallying 400 NHL points. There are currently only 11 skaters from the 2009 NHL Draft class and 12 active Swedish players to have 400 points. Jordan Eberle recorded an assist in the Kraken’s game on Feb. 21 for his 30th point of the season. Eberle has scored at least 30 points in each of his 12 NHL seasons. HOT AGAINST TORONTO Mason Appleton has four points (one goal, three assists) in his last four games against the Maple Leafs. Jordan Eberle has 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 20 career games against Toronto. Jaden Schwartz has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 11 career games against the Maple Leafs. Toronto is one of five teams (Boston, Buffalo, Edmonton, Washington) that Schwartz has averaged a point-per-game or better against in his career. Alex Wennberg has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last five games in Toronto.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • WHAT MCCANN’T HE DO? Jared McCann enters tonight’s game leading the Kraken in goals (21), points (33), even-strength goals (14), power-play goals (seven), power-play points (12) and multi-point games (eight). His 33 points are just two shy of matching his career high of 35 that he had in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. McCann scored his 20th goal of the season in the Kraken’s game on Feb. 14 vs. Toronto, setting a new career high. The goal also tied his career high in power-play goals (seven) that he first set during the 2020-21 season. McCann’s 21 goals are the most among players who are in their first year with a new team. McCann’s two-point performance (one goal, one assist) against the New York Islanders on Feb. 2 was his eighth multi-point game of the year, which leads all Kraken skaters. Despite only playing in 47 games this season, McCann’s eight multi-point games the most in his career. He previously had a career-high seven multipoint games during the 2018-19 season. McCann tallied his 100th NHL assist on Feb. 2 against the New York Islanders, becoming the 14th skater from the 2014 draft class to reach this milestone. He is on pace to finish the year with 49 points (31 goals, 18 assists), which would set a new career high. HE CALM SO I ADD HIM TO THE CALLE Calle Jarnkrok had two points (one goal, one assist) in the Kraken’s last game on March 6 at Carolina, marking his fifth multi-point game of the season. Despite only playing in 46 games this season, Jarnkrok is only one multi-point game shy of tying his career high of six that he set during the 2016-17 season and then matched in both 2017-18 and 2019-20. Jarnkrok’s goal on Feb. 9 at Calgary was his 10th of the year. It is the seventh-consecutive season that he has scored double-digit goals. He enters tonight’s game one power-play goal shy of matching his career high (three). Since Dec. 1, Jarnkrok has recorded 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 32 games played, which leads all Kraken skaters. With 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 46 games this season, the 30-year-old is on pace to finish the year with 18 goals, 20 assists and 38 points, all of which would set new career highs. His 12 goals this season are tied with Yanni Gourde for the third-most on the team. BLACKWELL’S BACK, ALRIGHT! Colin Blackwell has tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the Kraken’s last three games, including scoring his first game-winning goal of the season in Seattle’s win over Nashville on March 2. Blackwell’s game-winner on March 2 was also the first shorthanded goal in his career. Since Feb. 24, Blackwell and linemates Mason Appleton and Yanni Gourde have played 52:40 at five-on-five together. During that span, the duo has outshot their opponents 25-23 and outscored them 2-1.* With 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 34 games this season, the 28-year-old is on pace to tie his career highs in goals (12), assists (10) and points (22). *According to Natural Stat Trick SETTING THE PACE Fifty-eight games into the season, five Kraken skaters are on pace to set new career highs in scoring: Ryan Donato, Calle Jarnkrok, Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak and Carson Soucy. Colin Blackwell (22) and Adam Larsson (24) are both one pace to tie their respective career highs in points. Morgan Geekie has already set new career highs in goals (four), assists (10) and points (14) this season. He is on pace to finish the year with six goals, 15 assists and 21 points.
•Ryan Donato (16), Calle Jarnkrok (18), Adam Larsson (six), Jared McCann (31) and Carson Soucy (10) are all on pace to set new career highs in goals. Colin Blackwell (12) and Haydn Fleury (four) are on pace to match their career highs in goals. Mason Appleton (14), Calle Jarnkrok (20) and Jamie Oleksiak (18) are on pace to set new career highs in assists. Oleksiak tied his career high with his 12th assist of the season in the Kraken’s game on March 5 at Washington. Adam Larsson and Alex Wennberg remain the only two skaters to appear in every game this season. CHEERS TO BENIERS Matty Beniers and the #2 Michigan Wolverines will advance to the Big Ten Tournament Semi Finals after their two-game sweep of #7 Michigan State. Beniers scored the tying goal in the first period of the teams’ first matchup on March 2, an eventual 4-1 Michigan win. The sophomore went eight-for-14 at the faceoff dot and was a plus-4 in the Wolverines 8-0 rout of the Spartans on March 5. The Wolverines will next take the ice on Saturday, March 12 against Notre Dame in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Beniers had two goals and one assist in four regular-season games against the Fighting Irish this season. Beniers finished the regular season with 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 30 games, which led all Michigan skaters and ranked 12th in the NCAA. KRAKEN REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS Hits: Lauzon (165), Larsson (127), Oleksiak (124) Blocked Shots: Larsson (103), Giordano (93), H. Fleury (55) Shots: McCann (135), Eberle (119), Giordano (114) KRAKEN’S RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 3-6-1 (7), 25/33, 3/32, 20/23 11-20: 3-7-0 (6), 29/39, 7/27, 16/21 21-30: 4-4-2 (10), 30/35, 4/21, 16/21 31-40: 2-7-1 (5), 21/36, 5/29, 27/35 41-50: 4-6-0 (8), 27/33, 4/33, 16/25 51-60: 1-7-0 (2), 16/31, 1/16, 16/22 OVERTIME RESULTS (1-4) Oct. 16, 2021 at Columbus: Laine Dec. 11, 2021 vs. Columbus: Bean Dec. 29, 2021 vs. Philadelphia: Provorov Jan. 27, 2022 at Pittsburgh: Larsson Feb. 24, 2022 vs. Boston: DeBrusk SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-1) Dec. 1, 2021 at Detroit: Erne Jan. 17, 2022 vs. Chicago: Donato MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone) Games Played Jaden Schwartz … 9 games … 600 career games Goals Yanni Gourde … 8 goals … 100 career goals Assists Alex Wennberg … 8 assists … 200 career assists Points Ryan Donato … 4 points … 100 career points Marcus Johansson … 2 points … 400 career points RECENT MILESTONES Jared McCann … 400th NHL game … Feb. 21, 2022 at VAN Mark Giordano … 1,000th NHL game … March, 2022 at WS
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (36-16-4 – 76 Points) at COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (28-26-3 – 59 Points) MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022 1 2 3 FINAL TORONTO 3 0 2 5 COLUMBUS 0 2 2 4
SCORING NOTES
Ilya Mikheyev scored for Toronto at 8:06 of the first period. Mikheyev recorded his 10th goal of the season.
Mitch Marner scored for the Maple Leafs at 14:01 of the first period. Marner recorded his 22nd goal of the season. Marner also registered the primary assist on Matthews’ goal. Marner posted his 38th assist of the season. Marner is currently on a seven-game point streak where he has recorded 15 points (5G, 10A).
Auston Matthews scored for Toronto at 17:06 of the first period. Matthews posted his 40th goal of the season. Matthews has scored in back-to-back games (3G). Matthews also recorded the primary assist on Bunting’s goal. Matthews registered his 32nd assist of the season.
Alexander Kerfoot scored for the Maple Leafs at 4:19 of the third period. Kerfoot posted his ninth goal of the season.
Michael Bunting scored the game-winning goal for Toronto at 11:21 of the third period. Bunting recorded his 20th goal of the season. Bunting also posted the primary assist on Marner’s goal. Bunting registered his 25th assist of the season. Bunting is currently on a five-game point streak where he has posted 10 points (3G, 7A).
Pierre Engvall posted the primary assist on Mikheyev’s goal. Engvall registered his 11th assist of the season.
David Kämpf recorded the secondary assist on Mikheyev’s goal. Kämpf posted his 13th assist of the season.
Timothy Liljegren recorded the secondary assist on Marner’s goal. Liljegren posted his 12th assist of the season. Liljegren has posted an assist in back-to-back games.
TJ Brodie registered the secondary assist on Matthews’ goal and the secondary assist on Bunting’s goal. Brodie has recorded 12 assists this season.
Jason Spezza posted the primary assist on Kerfoot’s goal. Spezza recorded his 10th assist of the season.
Wayne Simmonds registered the secondary assist on Kerfoot’s goal. Simmonds posted his 10th assist of the season. GOALTENDER NOTES
Petr Mrázek stopped 31 of 35 shots in tonight’s win. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Maple Leafs were 0-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill tonight. OF NOTE…
Auston Matthews recorded his 40th goal of the season during tonight’s game. He is the first player this season to reach the 40-goal mark. Matthews has recorded the fourth 40-goal season of his NHL career; he is only the second player in Maple Leafs franchise history to do so alongside Darryl Sittler.
With his goal tonight, Michael Bunting became the first rookie to reach the 20-goal mark this season.
Per NHL Stats, Mitch Marner became the fifth active player to start their career with at least six 60- point seasons. He joined Alex Ovechkin (7 from 2005-06 to 2011-12), Auston Matthews (6 from 2016- 17 to present), Anze Kopitar (6 from 2006-07 to 2011-12) and Sidney Crosby (6 from 2005-06 to 2010-11).
TJ Brodie recorded his second multi-assist game of the season (2A).
Timothy Liljegren was on the ice for a team-high 26 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
David Kämpf finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 77.78 percent (14 for, 4 against). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL TORONTO 13 (12) 13 (13) 7 (7) 33 (32) COLUMBUS 5 (3) 14 (13) 16 (11) 35 (27) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL TORONTO 31 (27) 21 (21) 13 (13) 65 (61) COLUMBUS 10 (7) 25 (24) 27 (18) 62 (49) ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Maple Leafs are 17-9-3 on the road this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 16-11-1-5 in 33 games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and 9-5-0-2 in 16 games played in Columbus.
Toronto is 20-8-2 against the Eastern Conference this season and 11-4-2 against the Metropolitan Division this season. RECORD WHEN…
Toronto is 24-4-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 22-2-2 when leading after one period and 27-1-2 when leading after two periods.
Toronto is 14-5-1 when outshot by their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 5-3-1 in Monday games and 5-3-1 in the first game of a back-to-back. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 7 (Matthews) Shot Attempts 11 (Matthews, Tavares) Faceoff Wins 11 (Tavares) Faceoff Win Percentage 65% (Tavares – 11 won, 6 lost) Hits 1 (Holl, Kerfoot, Marner, Matthews, Rielly, Lyubushkin, Bunting, Robertson, Tavares) Blocked Shots 4 (Lyubushkin) Takeaways 1 (Spezza, Simmonds, Engvall, Kämpf) TOI 25:06 (Brodie) Power Play TOI 1:09 (Marner, Matthews, Rielly, Nylander, Tavares) Shorthanded TOI 4:25 (Kämpf) Shifts 29 (Rielly, Brodie) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 77.78% (Kämpf – 14 for, 4 against) UPCOMING GAMES: March 8 Leafs vs. Seattle Scotiabank Arena 7:30 pm ET March 10 Leafs vs. Arizona Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 13 Leafs at Buffalo Tim Hortons Field 4:00 pm ET March 15 Leafs vs. Dallas Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 17 Leafs vs. Carolina Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 19 Leafs at Nashville Bridgestone Arena 7:00 pm ET Stats reflect official NHL stats at the time of distribution. Please consult official NHL game sheets (links above) to confirm no statistical changes were made. For Maple Leafs notes, transcripts, audio clips and media guides, please visit MapleLeafs.com/pressbox. POSTGAME QUOTES: HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE On tonight’s game: “I liked a lot about our game. Obviously don’t like the start of the second period, that goal they scored early in the second that’s a real downer on the game for me that piece but obviously the first period was as good as we could ask for. You want to follow that up and keep building on it but we weren’t able to do that so that was the disappointing part of the game. But when you look at it we outscored them five-to-one on even strength, they score a four-on-four goal, power play goal and one with their goalie out so five at even strength. We probably could have had two or three in the second period there pucks laying on the goal line a couple times, we had a couple two-on-ones. I thought we actually out chanced them in the second period despite them carrying the play a little bit against us so the fact that we weren’t able to get the fourth goal I thought was significant in the second period. And then take a penalty and they get one to even it up but loved how our guys were calm and went out there and made plays to get us our lead back.” AUSTON MATTHEWS On tonight’s win: “Yeah it’s a big win for us. Obviously after dropping a couple, I think we felt like we did a lot of really good things on Saturday, so I think the start that we had was really positive. Obviously letting them back in the game but I thought our bench and team as a whole just stayed poised and confident and we just kept playing and scored a couple big goals to give ourselves a lead.” On the mood on the bench when Columbus tied the game: “I think the mood is just go out and win your next shift and just keep playing. Obviously nothing that we change after that, just keep playing ,everybody together, make sure structure wise that we are doing the right things and just a really, really nice all around play by Spezza, Simmonds and Kerfoot to give us that fourth goal and then just a little insurance on the fifth one too so just keep playing and stay calm and confident.” MICHAEL BUNTING On his season so far: “I think our lines mesh pretty well. We’ve built some good chemistry and I’ve had a little bit of success offensively and I’m just trying to keep rolling with it and just trying to stick to my game and stick to what’s working and right now it’s working so I don’t want to change anything up but it’s been so much fun playing with Mitch and Matthews both are great players to play with.” On Matthews’ offensive play this season: “Some of the stuff he does I just kind of giggle to myself mid-game because it’s pretty remarkable and he’s such an exceptional player. He’s fun to play with, you never know what he’s going to pull out, even last game when he tried the Michigan, he’s so quick and it’s too bad it didn’t go in but he’s a fun player to play with and he’s one of the best or the best in the league.” PETR MRÁZEK On tonight’s game: “A win is a win, that’s what matters the most. That’s what we came here for and that’s what we’re taking home so I’m happy with that.” On his mindset when Columbus tied the game in the third period: “Just regroup. We gave them an early power play in the third period where they tied the game and we did a really good job after that scoring two goals and getting the lead back
2021-22 Matchups vs. Columbus: Third of Three 2021-22 Record vs. Columbus: 1-0-1 Toronto Season Record: 35-16-4 Toronto Road Record: 16-9-3 TV: Sportsnet RADIO: Sportsnet 590
RECENT TRANSACTIONS March 4, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled defenceman Mac Hollowell from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 25, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 24, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 4 vs. Vancouver 6 Date: Saturday, March 5, 2022 TOR Goals: Tavares, Robertson, Matthews (2x) VAN Goals: Miller, Hamonic, Boeser, Pearson, Chiasson, Motte TOR Goaltender: Campbell, 23/28, .821 SV% VAN Goaltender: Demko, 34/38, .895 SV% TOR Power Play: 1-for-2 TOR Penalty Kill: 1-for-2 Team Notes: – Wayne Simmonds skated in his 1,000th career NHL game.
Nick Robertson recorded the first regular-season goal of his NHL career. Robertson scored his first career NHL goal in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers on August 6th against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
John Tavares tied a season-high 17 face-off wins on Saturday. Tavares leads the Maple Leafs with a 61.4 face-off win percentage.
Auston Matthews recorded two goals during Saturday’s game. Matthews regained sole possession of first place among league goals leaders with 39.
NEXT GAME Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 Opponent: vs. Seattle Kraken Time: 7:30 pm ET Broadcast Information: TSN4 (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio) INJURY REPORT
Ondrej Kaše Day-to-Day Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: First Matchup between Clubs: February 14, 2001 (Toronto 2 vs. Columbus 2) All-Time Record: 15-11-1-5 (32 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 7-6-1-3 (17 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 8-5-0-2 (15 Games) Last Road Win vs. Opponent: October 4, 2019 (Toronto 4 at Columbus 1) Record in Last Five Games: 3-0-2 Record in Last 10 Games: 5-2-3
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Games Played: Wayne Simmonds (42), John Tavares (29), Jason Spezza (23) Goals: John Tavares (15), Wayne Simmonds (10), Auston Matthews (6) Assists: John Tavares (20), Morgan Rielly (13), Jason Spezza (8), Mitch Marner (8) Points: John Tavares (35), Wayne Simmonds (17), Morgan Rielly (14) Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (40), Kyle Clifford (23), John Tavares (16)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 43/147 (29.3%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 129/154 (83.8%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Monday games 9th of 10 (3 home, 7 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 4-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 March games 3rd of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie Six points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Eight assists away from his 300th career NHL assist.
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, March 5, 2022 vs. VAN Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
2021-22 TEAM LEADERS CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 39 – Matthews HITS 97 – Simmonds ASSISTS 39 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 76 – Brodie POINTS 70 – Matthews (39G, 31A) TAKEAWAYS 60 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) TOI PER GAME 24:08 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) PP TOI PER GAME 2:56 – Marner PIMs 51 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:41 – Muzzin SHOTS 232 – Matthews WINS 23 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.4% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 2.61 – Campbell SHOT ATTEMPTS% 58.95% – Matthews SAVE PERCENTAGE .915 – Campbell
BLUE JACKETS
THE LAST GAME: MAR. 5, 2022 – CBJ 4 vs. BOS 5 (SO) CBJ Goal Scorers: Nyquist (14), Gavrikov (3), PP – Werenski (9), PP – Voracek (3) BOS Goal Scorers: DeBrusk (15), Haula (8), Smith (10), PP – Bergeron (16), SO – Pastrnak Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (28/32; 63:33); BOS– Swayman (20/24; 64:57) CBJ PP: 2/3; PK: 1/2 | Shots: CBJ: 24 / BOS: 32 3 Stars: 1. Pastrnak, BOS; 2. Voracek, CBJ; 3. Bergeron, BOS Noteworthy: CBJ fell in the shootout for the 2nd time this season and 3rd time after reg. (9-1-2)… CBJ scored game-tying goal with 2.8 seconds left – 2nd latest tying goal in club history (3/7/08; 59:59)… Laine recorded team-leading 13th multi-point game of campaign with 2 assists… Voracek tallied 10th multi-point effort of season (1-1-2)… Domi skated in 100th career CBJ game. OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT Tarasov (hip); Placed on Injured Reserve (1/4); out for season (26 games) Texier (fractured finger); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 1/26); 4 weeks (16 games) Bean (groin strain); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 1/30); 4 weeks (14 games) Robinson (MCL strain right knee); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 1/31); 6 weeks (13 games) Korpisalo (lower body); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 2/15); day-to-day (9 games) Boqvist (upper body); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 2/27); day-to-day (3 games) TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 229 RECENT TRANSACTIONS Mar. 5 Assigned Christiansen to Cleveland (AHL) Mar. 4 Placed Boqvist on IR retroactive to 2/27 Feb. 28 Added Christiansen to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL) Feb. 26 Assigned Christiansen to Cleveland (AHL) Feb. 25 Activated Merzlikins off IR and assigned Greaves to Cleveland (AHL) AGAINST THE MAPLE LEAFS 2021-22 Series: 1-1-0 (1-0-0 vs. TOR) 2020-21 Series: Did Not Play 2019-20 Series: 1-1-0 (0-1-0 vs. TOR) All-Time Series: 16-15-1-0 (7-8-0-0 vs. TOR) Last 10 (Overall | Home): 5-5-0 | 5-5-0 All-Time GF/GA: 94/99 All-Time SF/SA: 1,001/978 All-Time PP: 19-of-102 All-Time PK: 79-of-96 THE LAST GAME VS TOR: FEB. 22, 2022 – CBJ 4 vs TOR 3 (OT) CBJ Goal Scorers: Laine (17), PP – Boqvist (10), Gaunce (3), OT – Laine (18) TOR Goal Scorers: Bunting (17), Matthews (34), Spezza (10) Goalies: CBJ – Berube (39/42; 60:20); TOR– Campbell (26/30; 59:50) CBJ PP: 1/2; PK: 3/3 | Shots: CBJ: 30 / TOR: 42 3 Stars: 1. Laine, CBJ; 2. Berube, CBJ; 3. Gaunce, CBJ Noteworthy: CBJ won 3rd-straight game… CBJ came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficit… Berube notched 1st career NHL point (assist)… Gaunce scored in 2nd-straight game (2-2-4)… Jenner recorded assist in new career-high 4th-straight game (2-5-7)… Laine recorded 5th multi-goal game of the season (2- 0-2), including GWG 20 seconds into OT, giving him points in 10-straight (12-8-20)… Werenski stretched points-streak to 6 games with 2 assists (2-6-8). SEASON SERIES LEFT: Series complete.
CBJ/TOR CONNECTIONS CBJ: McRae (Beaverton), who played in four games for TOR (1983-85), served as GM of London Knights from 2014-16)… Legace (Toronto), Danforth (Oshawa), Gaunce (Sudbury) and Jenner (Dorchester) were all born in Ontario. NOTED (Team Highlights vs. TOR) The teams met in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifying Round with the Blue Jackets winning the series 3-2… CBJ are 9-6-0 since 1/13/16, but TOR has earned victories in 5 of the last 8 meetings since 2/14/18… Winning team has scored 3+ goals in 19-straight games and 4-plus in each of the last 8 meetings… CBJ have both shutouts (MR: Bobrovsky, 4/8/15) in all-time series… Most goals scored vs. TOR: 5 – 3x (MR: 2/15/17)… Most goals allowed vs. TOR: 6 – 2x (MR: 10/16/15). NOTED (Player Highlights vs. TOR) Berube notched 1st career NHL point (assist) on 2/22/22… Carlsson posted 1st NHL point (assist) on 4/9/17 at TOR… Domi tallied 100th NHL career assist on 10/3/18 at TOR… Voracek played 500th NHL game on 1/31/15 vs. TOR. HOW THE JACKETS WERE BUILT (Active: 21, Injured Reserve: 6) Drafted (13): Bemstrom, Bjorkstrand, Carlsson, Chinakhov, Gavrikov, Jenner, Korpisalo (IR), Merzlikins, Peeke, Sillinger, Tarasov (IR), Texier (IR), Werenski Trade (6): Bean (IR), Boqvist (IR), Domi, Laine, Roslovic, Voracek Free Agent (8): Bayreuther, Berube, Danforth, Gaunce, Kukan, Kuraly, Nyquist, Robinson (IR) BLUE JACKETS NOTES HONORING NASH Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets’ all-time leader in goals, assists, points and games played, became the first player in CBJ history to have his number retired when his number “61” was lifted to the rafters at Nationwide Arena prior to Saturday’s game vs. Boston. The former captain, who finished his NHL career with the Bruins in 2017-18, registered 289-258-547 in 674 games and appeared in five All-Star games as a Blue Jacket from 2002-12. HOME AT NATIONWIDE The Blue Jackets picked up a point for the third consecutive game with a 5-4 shootout loss to Boston on Saturday. The team picked up a point in both games of a back-to-back set vs. the Kings and Bruins. The club closes out its five-game homestand on Monday vs Toronto. It’s part of a stretch of 9-of11 contests played at Nationwide Arena from Feb. 27-Mar. 19. CBJ moved to 10-4-2 in their last 16 games and rank second-T in the NHL in wins and third-T in points since Jan. 27. COMEBACK JACKETS The Blue Jackets have earned their victories this season with the club coming back at some point in the game in 18 of their 28 wins, including eight of their last ten victories. The 18 comeback victories are tied for the most in the NHL (COL, NYR & TBL). The club leads the league with seven wins when trailing heading into the third period. Columbus also has five multi-goal comeback wins this season (Nov. 3 at COL, Nov. 15 vs. DET, Jan. 27 vs. NYR, Feb. 8 at WSH and Feb. 10 at BUF). PUTTING PUCKS IN THE NET Columbus has been able to fill the back of the net this season, averaging 3.27 goals-per-game through 56 contests (9th in NHL). The club ranks third in the NHL in goals-per-game since Jan. 27 (4.06 avg), trailing only Florida (4.33) and Toronto (4.31). Columbus has scored three-plus goals in 34 of its contests (includes SO goals). The club is 23-3-1 when scoring four goals or more in a contest this season, recording four-plus goals in six of the last nine games. CBJ, who averaged 2.39 goals-a-game in 2020-21, have twice finished a campaign averaging better than three goals a game (club record 3.12 avg. in 2018-19 and 3.01 avg. in 2016-17). LAINE HOT STREAK Patrik Laine notched his team-leading 13th multi-point effort of the season and stretched his points streak to three-straight games (2-3-5) with two assists on Saturday. The forward leads the NHL in goals and GWG (tied) and ranks third in points since Jan. 27 with 15-11-26 and four GWG in 16 contests, recording points in 14 of those outings. He also leads the League in overtime winners (3, tied) and ranks third-T in game-winners (7) this season. JENNERATING RESULTS Boone Jenner has posted 5-9-14 in the last 13 games and 11-13-24 with six multi-point efforts in the last 24 contests. The 28-year-old captain leads the club in goals, points and PPG with 23-21-44 and 8 PPG in 56 appearances. He is on pace to set single-season career highs in both goals and points (30-19-49 in 82 GP in 2015-16). His 144 career goals are the third-most in club history, trailing only Rick Nash (289) and Atkinson (213). UPCOMING MILESTONES •Bemstrom is 7 games from 100 for his NHL career •Domi is 1 goal from 100 for his NHL career •Kuraly is 11 points from 100 for his NHL career •Merzlikins is 3 games from 100 for his NHL career •Werenski (74-149-223, 384 GP) is 1 point from surpassing Seth Jones (50-173-223, 381 GP) for the most in CBJ history among blueliners 2021-22 TEAM QUICK HITS •CBJ are 9-1-2 in OT/SO this season (3-1 in SO) with the club ranking 2nd the NHL in W% (.750) and 2 off the League-lead in wins •CBJ rank 2nd in the NHL in goals (33) and 11th-T in the NHL in points (126) by defensemen •CBJ are 3-0-0 when their game has been on ESPN+/Hulu this season (6-0 W at CAR on 1/13, 6-3 W at FLA on 2/24 and 4-3 W vs NJD on 3/1) •CBJ are 3-1-0 in Mon. games this season 2021-22 PLAYER QUICK HITS •Bjorkstrand has recorded points in 4-straight games (3-1-4) and has points in 10 of last 13 games (7-4-11) •Danforth picked up his 5th goal of the season on Fri., recording 4 of his 5 goals in his last 10 games played •Gavrikov, who notched a goal on Sat. and has points in 2-straight (1-1-2), has already set single-season career highs in assists and points (3-22-25, 54 GP) •Kuraly is on pace to set single-season career highs with 8-13-21 in 55 GP •Nyquist has 4-7-11 in last 16 games and 10-12-22 with 7 multi-point outings in 29 games since 12/16 •Peeke has played 21-plus minutes in each of the last 22 games since 1/13 (avg. 24:54, 19th in NHL), including a career-high 29:09 vs. NJD on 3/1 •Voracek notched his 10th multi-point effort on Sat. (1-1-2), including the game-tying goal with 2.8 seconds left in regulation; has 1-9-10 in the last 9 appearances, ranks 3rd in the NHL in primary assists (30) and leads the club in assists (39) •Voracek averaging .72 A/GP – 2nd highest avg. in CBJ history, trails only Panarin .75 A/GP (2018-19; 59 assists, 79 GP) •Werenski notched his 9th goal of season on Sat. and has 3-10-13 in his last 14 games CBJ 2021-22 TEAM GAME HIGHS GOALS: 8 (10/14 vs ARI)… GOALS AGAINST: 9 (1/15 at FLA)… PPG: 2 – 5x (MR: 3/5 vs BOS)… PPGA: 3 – 2x (MR: 1/4 vs TBL)… SHOTS: 46 (11/18 at ARI)… SHOTS AGAINST: 62 (1/26 vs CGY)… PIM: 22 (10/14 vs ARI)… HITS: 43 (2/24 at FLA)… FOW: 44 (3/1 vs NJD)… BKS: 24 (3/1 vs NJD) CBJ 2021-22 PLAYER SEASON HIGHS GOALS: 3, Laine (2/17 at CHI)… ASSISTS: 3 – 2x, Werenski (MR:1/27 vs NYR)… POINTS: 4, Bjorkstrand (10/14 vs ARI)… HITS: 9, Kuraly (10/16 vs SEA)… PLUS/MINUS RATING: +4 – 3x, MR: Gavrikov (1/13 at CAR)… SOG: 10, Werenski (11/6 vs COL)… TOI: 33:03 – Werenski (10/31 at NJD)… SAVES: 56, Merzlikins (1/26 vs CGY, 62 shots
GAME #64 – TORONTO RAPTORS (34-29) at CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (36-27) SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2022 – 7:30 P.M. (ET) – ROCKET MORTGAGE FIELDHOUSE TV: SPORTSNET / ESPN – RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN
INJURY REPORT AT 5:30 P.M.
07:30 (ET) TOR@CLE
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeVert, Caris Doubtful Injury/Illness – Right Foot; Sprain Nembhard Jr., RJ Available G League – Two-Way Rondo, Rajon Doubtful Injury/Illness – Right Great Toe; Sprain Sexton, Collin Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Meniscal Tear Windler, Dylan Out G League – On Assignment
Toronto Raptors
Anunoby, OG Out Injury/Illness – Right Hand; Ring finger fracture Champagnie, Justin Out G League – Two-Way Flynn, Malachi Out Injury/Illness – Left Hamstring; Strain Johnson, David Out G League – Two-Way VanVleet, Fred Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Soreness Wilson, D.J. Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Soreness
• The Toronto Raptors (35-28) begin a six-game road trip (March 6-16) Sunday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers (36-27) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Raptors are 2-4 since the All-Star break – Toronto played six games in eight days (Feb. 25 – Mar. 4) for the first time since March 10-17, 2012. Rookie Scottie Barnes is averaging team highs of 18.5 and 8.3 rebounds over the last six games. Sunday marks the third of four meetings between the two teams this season – Cleveland has won the first two games. The Raptors play five in a row against Western Conference opponents starting Tuesday at San Antonio. • Pascal Siakam recorded his team-leading 20th double-double of the season with 34 points, one shy of his season-high, and 14 rebounds Mar. 4 vs. Orlando. Siakam shot 13-for-20 (.650) from the field against the Magic, while the rest of the team combined to shoot .329 (24-for-73). Siakam has now scored 30+ points eight times this season, something he did nine times in 56 games last season. • All-Star Fred VanVleet has missed four straight games (Feb. 28 – Mar. 4) with right knee soreness. The Raptors are 5-6 without VanVleet in the lineup this season. VanVleet is averaging career highs of 21.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 52 games this season, and ranks third in the NBA in three-pointers made (208) – behind only Stephen Curry (265) and Buddy Hield (211) – despite missing 11 games. • Scottie Barnes has scored 20+ points in three-of-six games since the All-Star break, including a season-high 28 points twice. Barnes has already scored 20-or-more in 13 games this season – the most by a Raptors rookie since Vince Carter scored 20+ in 23 games during the 1998-99 season. • Malachi Flynn scored a season-high 20 points and tied a season best with eight assists Mar. 4 vs. Orlando. Flynn has started the last four games (Feb. 28 – Mar. 3) in place of Fred VanVleet, and is averaging 16.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 35.6 minutes. • Pascal Siakam is averaging 21.5 points, and career bests of 8.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists, in 50 games this season. Siakam is one of just seven players in the NBA averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, James Harden, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, and Dejounte Murray. No Raptor has averaged 20-8-5 over the course of an entire season. • Precious Achiuwa has scored in double figures off the bench in four of the last six games (Feb. 25 – Mar. 3). He is averaging 13.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and is shooting .470 (31-66) from the field, including .444 (8-18) from three-point range, during this stretch. Achiuwa had consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his career with a season-high 21 points Feb. 26 at Atlanta and 20 points Feb. 28 at Brooklyn. • Scottie Barnes was named Eastern Conference rookie of the month for February after averaging 15.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 31.8 minutes in 12 games last month. Barnes is the 11th player in franchise history to earn the honour.
F – SCOTTIE BARNES #4
MIN: 35.3 REB: 7.5 AST: 3.3 STL: 1.1 TO: 2.0 BLK: 0.8 PTS: 14.9 • Finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 38 minutes Mar. 4 vs. Orlando. • Averaging a team-high 2.6 offensive rebounds; has grabbed 20 offensive boards in the last four games. • Ranks in the top-five among rookies in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and minutes. F – PASCAL SIAKAM #43
MIN: 37.5 REB: 8.5 AST: 5.0 STL: 1.3 TO: 2.8 BLK: 0.7 PTS: 21.5 • Recorded game highs of 34 points (13-20 FG) and 14 rebounds in 40 minutes Mar. 4 vs. Orlando. • Leads the Raptors with a single season career-high 20 double-doubles. • Toronto is now 6-2 this season when Siakam scores 30+ points (Last: 34 points – Mar. 4 vs. Orlando). C – KHEM BIRCH #24
MIN: 18.0 REB: 4.3 AST: 1.1 STL: 0.7 TO: 0.5 BLK: 0.5 PTS: 4.6 • Contributed one point and three rebounds in nine minutes Mar. 4 vs. Orlando. • Averaging 5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 17.7 minutes in 14 games as a starter. • Has scored in double figures four times this season (Last: 11 – Mar. 1 vs. Brooklyn). G – GARY TRENT JR. #33
MIN: 34.6 REB: 2.6 AST: 2.1 STL: 1.9 TO: 1.0 BLK: 0.3 PTS: 17.9 • Tallied four points, two rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes Mar. 4 vs. Orlando. • Has scored 20+ points in 21-of-54 games this season, something he did 15 times in 58 contests last year. • Ranks third in the NBA in steals per game (1.85) and total deflections (196). G – MALACHI FLYNN #22
MIN: 12.0 REB: 1.4 AST: 1.6 STL: 0.5 TO: 0.3 BLK: 0.1 PTS: 4.3 • Scored a season-high 20 points in 39 minutes Mar. 4 vs. Orlando; also tied a season best with eight assists. • Averaging 14.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 35.0 minutes in five starts this season. • Has scored in double figures in four straight games (Feb. 28 – Mar. 4), averaging 16.0 points during this stretch. INJURY REPORT OG Anunoby (Right Hand; Ring Finger – Fracture) – Out Justin Champagnie (G League – Two-Way) – Out Malachi Flynn (Left Hamstring; Strain) – Questionable David Johnson (G League – Two-Way) – Out Fred VanVleet (Right Knee; Soreness) – Questionable UPDATED: Mar. 6, 2022
2021-22 RECORDS W-L EAST WEST OVERALL 34-29 23-18 11-11 HOME 17-15 11-9 6-6 AWAY 17-14 12-9 5-5 OVERTIME 2-1 2-1 0-0
NEXT GAME DETAILS Opponent: San Antonio Spurs Date: Tuesday, March 9 Tip-Off: 8:30 p.m. (ET) Venue: AT&T Center Television: TSN Radio: TSN 1050 Toronto SERIES RECAP VS. SAN ANTONIO OVERALL HOME ROAD 2021-22 1-0 1-0 0-0 ALL-TIME 16-35 11-15 5-20 STREAKS Won 2 Won 2 Lost 1 LAST WIN: Jan. 4, 2022 (129-104) LAST ROAD WIN: Jan. 26, 2020 (110-106) LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: +33 (Feb. 19, 1997) LARGEST MARGIN OF DEFEAT: -28 (Jan. 3, 2017) LAST TIME VS. SAN ANTONIO GAME 34 – JANUARY 4, 2022 TORONTO 129, SAN ANTONIO 104 TORONTO — Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Raptors extended their winning streak to three by beating the Spurs 129-104 … Gary Trent Jr. scored 21 points as the Raptors evened their record at 17-17, reaching the .500 mark for the first time since they were 7-7 after a Nov. 13 home loss to Detroit … Toronto has won eight of their past 10 at home … Toronto’s OG Anunoby scored 14 points and rookie Scottie Barnes had 11 points and a career-best eight assists … Justin Champagnie scored a career-high 14 for the Raptors, who matched their season-high point total … VanVleet topped 30 points for the third straight game and fourth time in his past five … VanVleet shot 12 for 23 and matched his season highs with seven made 3 -pointers and 14 attempts from distance … He also had seven assists …. Toronto set a season high with 30 assists and shot 18 for 44 from outside the arc, matching its season best for made 3-pointers … Former Raptor Jakob Poeltl scored 19 points and Devin Vassell and rookie Josh Primo each had 15 for San Antonio who lost its fourth straight … Joe Wieskamp scored 13 points and Derrick White had 12 for the Spurs … Toronto led 30-29 after one, and extended its lead with a 14-1 run in the second … The Raptors shot 7 for 14 from 3-point range in the second quarter and led 68-53 at halftime … Toronto took a 97-81 lead to the fourth. 1 2 3 4 TOT SAN ANTONIO 29 24 28 23 104 TORONTO 30 38 29 32 129
SUN., MARCH 6, 2022 ROCKET MORTGAGE FIELDHOUSE – CLEVELAND, OH TV: ESPN/BALLY SPORTS OHIO RADIO: WTAM 1100 AM/POWER 89.1 FM WNZN 2021-22 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS GAME NOTES FOLLOW @CAVSNOTES ON TWITTER OVERALL GAME #64 HOME GAME #31 LAST GAME STARTERS PLAYER / 2021-22 REGULAR SEASON AVERAGES
10 Darius Garland G • 6-1 • 186 • Vanderbilt/USA • 3rd Season
GP/GS PPG RPG APG SPG BPG MPG 49/49 20.7 3.3 8.1 1.2 0.1 34.7 CAVS QUICK FACTS The Cavaliers return home for 1 game, taking on Toronto for the 3rd of 4 meetings this season. Cleveland is 2-0 vs. Toronto (W, 102-101 at TOR on Nov. 5, W, 144-99 vs. TOR on Dec. 26). Cleveland, the No. 1 ranked team in opponent points per game (103.3), is 10-6 at home against Toronto since 2013. The Cavs’ 45-point win over the Raptors on Dec. 26 was the franchise’s largest margin of victory since Dec. 17, 1991 vs. MIA (+68, 148-80). Milestones: EVAN MOBLEY (91 BLK) needs 9 BLK to record his 100th career block. With 9 3FG, CEDI OSMAN (491 3FG) would become the 9th player in Cavaliers history to record 500 3FG. Osman finished with 20 PTS, including 7-13 (.538) shooting from the field (3 3FGM) and 1 STL in 32 MIN off the bench on Friday night in Philadelphia. DARIUS GARLAND is averaging 28.6 PPG, 7.6 APG and 3.6 RPG while shooting 19-37 (.514) from beyond the arc in 35.2 MPG over his last 5 outings (since Feb. 9). On Friday night in Philadelphia, Garland finished with a team-high 26 PTS, a career-high 19 AST, 2 STL and 1 BLK in 43 MIN. Garland is the 2nd player in Cavs history with 26+ PTS and 19+ AST (Andre Miller, 27 PTS and 19 AST at MIL on Feb. 13, 2002). Garland has scored 25+ points in 5 straight appearances for the first time in his career and is the 1st Cavs player to accomplish that feat since Collin Sexton (7 straight 25+ PT games from March 2, 2020 to Dec. 26, 2020).
– 26 svs on 28 shots
The view from left field 