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Hendrick: Matthews is on a Legends Row trajectory
Long-time Maple Leafs team reporter Paul Hendrick sees MVP potential in Auston Matthews should he remain healthy through the remainder of the season.
Long-time Maple Leafs team reporter Paul Hendrick sees MVP potential in Auston Matthews should he remain healthy through the remainder of the season.
After thrashing the Oilers three games in a row in Edmonton, Toronto struggled in Vancouver, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Canucks on Saturday.
Capitals forward Tom Wilson will sit for 7 games after a high, dangerous hit sent Bruins blueliner Brandon Carlo to the hospital.
Watching Rasmus Ristolainen race Mat Barzal to a loose puck and then try to defend him 1-on-1 must be pure nightmare fuel for Sabres fans.
Follow all the action from UFC 259 as three title fights headline the 15-fight card at Apex in Las Vegas.
It’s an exciting week ahead in the Premier League as the battle for Champions League qualification spots heats up.
This NHL season has gone all-in on complete and utter weirdness.
Adam Silver said the NBA will not mandate players receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Receiving $100 million appears to have done very little to change Trevor Bauer.
Jake Odorizzi is coming off an injury-riddled 2020 season.
Adam Silver is playing the strict dean in Atlanta this weekend.
Mark Pavelich had been committed to a mental health treatment center after assaulting a friend in 2019.
Kevin De Bruyne has won every domestic honour on offer with Manchester City but Europe's biggest prize still eludes the Belgian midfielder maestro.
LOS ANGELES — Adrian Kempe scored 1:45 into overtime, Anze Kopitar had two goals and an assist and the Los Angeles Kings rallied for a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Kempe scored off a pass from Gabriel Vilardi to cap a 3-on-1 rush and end a four-game losing streak after trailing by three goals in the first period. Matt Luff scored and Jonathan Quick made 22 saves for the Kings, who had not overcome a three-goal deficit to win since Dec. 18, 2014. David Perron had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who snapped a four-game winning streak. Jordan Binnington made 30 saves. The opening period looked as if it would encapsulate how the Blues and Kings had been trending in opposite directions. St. Louis came into the game with the NHL’s best road record, while Los Angeles had been in free fall since a six-game winning streak made their stated goal of reaching the playoffs seem possible. But the Kings fought back, starting with Kopitar’s goal at 13:08 of the first. He scored on the power play at 18:09 of the second and set up Matt Luff’s goal to tie it 3-3 with 10.5 seconds left in the period. Picking up where they left off Friday after rallying for a 3-2 overtime win, the Blues blitzed the Kings with three goals in 11:05 of the first period. Perron scored on a one-timer from the left circle after he and Brayden Schenn caught the Kings in transition 25 seconds into the game. Los Angeles has allowed the opening goal in 15 of its 23 games this season. Nathan Walker made it 2-0 at 4:38, finding himself alone at the right post for a tap in from Sammy Blais off another St. Louis rush. Ryan O’Reilly then scored on the power play. Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko was a minus-2 and played 15:51 in his first regular-season game since Oct. 24, 2019, when he dislocated his left shoulder against the Kings. Tarasenko returned to play in two seeding games and two playoff games when the NHL season restarted before aggravating the injury, leading to surgery last August. It was the third surgery on his shoulder since April 2018 for the five-time 30-goal scorer. ON A ROLL Perron scored three goals in the two games against Los Angeles, extending his point streak to six games in the process. He has four goals and three assists in that span. Schenn had two assists, giving him two goals and four helpers during a five-game point streak. OUT OF ACTION Blues centre Oskar Sundqvist did not play after sustaining an undisclosed injury on Friday. UP NEXT Blues: Wrap up their road trip against the San Jose Sharks on Monday. Kings: Visit the Anaheim Ducks on Monday for the first of a two-game set. ___ More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Dan Greenspan, The Associated Press
The Switzers are going through a terrifying situation right now.
CALGARY — When Wayne Middaugh first joined Glenn Howard's team as a fifth, a utilityman role was planned: a veteran backup who could help strategize, provide guidance and have a little playing time mixed in. It turns out he'll be much more than a traditional alternate at the Canadian men's curling championship. With Howard still nursing sore ribs after a recent snowmobile accident, Middaugh has been thrust into the skip role for the Ontario-based Wild Card Three team. In his first competitive game in over five years, the Canadian Curling Hall of Famer delivered on Saturday at the WinSport Arena. Middaugh made clutch draws on demand in a 9-5 win over Greg Skauge of the Northwest Territories in the opening game for both teams. "This is the difference between Wayne Middaugh and anybody else," Howard said. "He hasn't played in a competitive game in five years and yet he goes out there and draws to the four-foot (ring) when he needs to. "That's what we expected and that's what we got from him today." Middaugh threw at 85 per cent in his first Tim Hortons Brier appearance since 2013. With Howard watching from the bench, his good friend led teammates Tim March, Scott Howard and David Mathers to victory. "It's awesome, it's unbelievable," Middaugh said. "You play your whole life as a kid to get to play in the Brier and here I am. I don't know how I got here but here I am." A broken leg derailed Middaugh’s competitive playing career in 2016 when he was Howard's vice. Middaugh, who has won Brier and world titles at three different positions, later turned to coaching. He still plays regular local league games with Howard. Elsewhere in Draw 2 action, New Brunswick's James Grattan defeated Mike McEwen's Wild Card One 6-3, Northern Ontario's Brad Jacobs dumped Yukon's Dustin Mikkelsen 11-3 and Alberta's Brendan Bottcher dropped a 5-4 decision to Manitoba's Jason Gunnlaugson. Two of the event favourites were pushed hard in the afternoon draw. Wild Card Two's Kevin Koe edged Greg Smith of Newfoundland and Labrador 7-6 and Canada's Brad Gushue scored three in the ninth end of an 11-7 victory over Quebec's Michael Fournier. "There's going to be misses," Gushue said. "We're just trying to get something out of every shot. I think that's the goal that we have." The Alberta-based Koe, who's hoping to win a record fifth career Brier title as skip, improved to 2-0. "We've been fooled a bit but I love where we're at," he said. "I think we're going to keep getting better, which is good, which we'll need to do." Ontario's John Epping doubled Matt Dunstone of Saskatchewan 6-3 and Nova Scotia's Scott McDonald defeated Eddie MacKenzie of Prince Edward Island 11-4. British Columbia's Steve Laycock opened with a 7-5 loss to New Brunswick in the night draw. Alberta rebounded with a 13-5 rout of the N.W.T. and Manitoba topped Yukon 9-5. McEwen and his Manitoba-based team stole two points in the eighth end and added a single in the 10th for an 8-5 victory over Northern Ontario. Three more draws are scheduled for Sunday at the Markin MacPhail Centre. The preliminary round continues through Thursday night. The top four teams in each nine-team pool will advance to the two-day championship round starting Friday. A three-team playoff is set for March 14. The champion will represent Canada at the world men's curling championship next month at the same venue. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2021. Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter. The Canadian Press
Boston Bruins defenceman Brandon Carlo was released from the hospital Saturday after spending the night following a head hit from Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson. Later Saturday, Wilson was suspended for seven games by the NHL without pay after an Zoom hearing to discuss the incident. Wilson is one of the league’s most penalized and suspended players, but he is not considered a repeat offender because his last suspension was more than 18 months ago. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Carlo was back home and did not attend practice. Carlo left Friday night's game against the Capitals after Wilson hit him late in the first period, smashing his head into the glass with his hands and stick. Cassidy called the hit “predatory”; Washington coach Peter Laviolette said he thought it was a legal hit. No penalty was called. Boston's Trent Frederic and Jarred Tinordi both fought Wilson later in the game, which the Bruins won 5-1. The suspension will cost Wilson $311,782. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
DALLAS — Joe Pavelski scored his NHL-leading ninth power-play goal and the Dallas Stars tallied twice in the opening period for the first time this season, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-0 on Saturday night for only their second win in the past 12 games. The 36-year-old Pavelski scored 45 seconds after Jason Dickinson poked a loose puck under the left leg of Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Stars rookie goalie Jake Oettinger made 21 saves in his first career shutout, coming in his seventh start. Columbus coach John Tortorella challenged the initial goal, claiming goalie interference. Dickinson's score stood after the challenge was denied on replay review, resulting in the delay of game penalty that gave the Stars a man advantage. Dallas (7-8-4) dropped its previous four games. Before getting two goals in the third period of a 3-2 loss to Columbus on Thursday, the Stars had gone scoreless for 189 minutes, 46 seconds. They had won only one other time since a 6-3 victory at Columbus on Feb. 2. That span of 9 1/2 periods without a goal included consecutive shutout losses to Tampa Bay in the first two meetings this season against the team the Stars lost to in the Stanley Cup Final last September. The Blue Jackets (10-11-5) missed a chance for their first three-game winning streak this year. Korpisalo stopped 18 shots before getting pulled midway through the third period after Roope Hintz scored with some nifty skating and a backhand to make it 4-0. Radek Faksa added a short-handed goal in the final minute against Veini Vehvilainen. Hintz was the only player with multiple points, as he had the primary assist on the early power-play goal. Pavelski's 11th goal overall came 3:09 into the game. Stars defenceman Miro Heiskanen scored for the second game in a row after coming up empty in his first 17. He gathered a puck that ricocheted off the side boards in the second period and snapped a wrist shot from about 37 feet for a 3-0 lead. GETTING CHIPPY Things got chippy between the teams as the game progressed, with players scuffling through several stoppages in play. There were no penalties for such discretions until Stars captain Jamie Benn and Columbus centre Max Domi both got 10-minute misconduct penalties midway through the third period. HURTING HINTZ Hintz is dealing with a lingering lower-body issue, and played for only the third time in six games. Even after he went through the morning skate, coach Rick Bowness called Hintz a game-time decision — and said that will likely be the case throughout the season. Hintz didn't play Thursday after going through the morning skate. WHAT’S NEXT Columbus plays four home games in a row, with the first of two against Florida on Tuesday night before hosting the Stars twice next weekend. Dallas is home Sunday night to play Nashville, making up the first of two home games against the Predators that were postponed because of extreme winter weather and widespread power issues in North Texas last month. ___ More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
Arriola was 17 years old when he posted the tweets.
MONTREAL — Jets captain Blake Wheeler's plan after Saturday's 7-1 blowout loss to the Montreal Canadiens was short and simple. "I think you just take a shower, get on the plane and get the heck out of town," he said. Form was turned on its head at the Bell Centre as Montreal finally found a way to get past the Jets. Montreal (11-6-6) was coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Winnipeg and had won just one of its last seven — a stretch that included three losses (two in overtime) to the Jets. Winnipeg (15-8-1) had won two straight and six of its last seven. But that form was not on display Saturday. "We had a tough night here. We've got an entire hockey team that has a minus on them," said Jets coach Paul Maurice. "Both goalies played, so at the very least it was well spread out." "That's certainly not the definition of our team, so we'll move on and get ready for the next one," he added. The Jets, on a five-game road trip, open a three-game series in Toronto on Tuesday. After Josh Anderson gave the Habs a 1-0 first-period lead, Brendan Gallagher scored twice in a four-goal second-period surge. Tyler Toffoli, Joel Armia, Paul Byron and Jeff Petry also scored for Montreal. Gallagher (two goals and an assist) and Tomas Tatar (three assists) each had three-point nights. Saturday's game was the fifth under interim Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme, who is now 2-1-2 at the helm. Four of the games were against Winnipeg. "I was really happy for them," Ducharme said of his players. "They put in so much. Those guys care a lot ... It won't be like that every night, but to be rewarded like our players go rewarded tonight, I think it's good for them because they put in the work." Winnipeg outshot Montreal 29-28, with a 12-7 edge in the third. Trailing 7-0, Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault finally beat Carey Price with a power-play goal at 11:14 of the third. "He looked really set and ready to receive everything coming at him," Ducharme said of Price. "He's working on his game and he's been for a while now," he added. "When you have a goalie that talented, that is willing to work on his game like he does, I mean obviously at one point you know it's going to turn around." The Canadiens fired director of goaltending Stephane Waite on Tuesday, replacing him with Sean Burke. At the other end, Connor Hellebuyck was pulled in the second period after the Habs' fourth goal. He stopped 15 of 19 shots. "It was just one of those nights where the puck was bouncing all over for us and wasn't settling for us and it was settling for them," Hellebuyck said. Returning after a three-game absence due to a lower-body injury. Anderson started on a line with Toffoli and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Anderson took advantage of a fortuitous bounce after Kotkaniemi, fighting for the puck in the Winnipeg end, fired the puck into the corner. Hellebuyck went behind the goal to corral the puck but it hit the entrance used by the ice cleaner and bounced back in front of goal. Anderson, Johnny-on-the-spot, knocked it into the empty net past defenceman Nathan Beaulieu at 15:29 for his 10th of the season. "Throughout the season there's going to be nights like that," Wheeler said of the ill fortune. "More often than not, the bounces are going to even out. Tonight they didn't. "But then again, you've got to give them credit. They were a desperate team. They're trying to get on a roll here and they made their opportunities count." After Kotkaniemi won a faceoff in the Winnipeg end, Jets defenceman Tucker Poolman had a chance to clear but only sent the puck to the blue line. Shea Weber poked it back towards the slot where Toffoli's high wrist shot beat Hellebuyck for his 15th of the season at 7:03 of the second. Failure to clear the puck cost Winnipeg again less than four minutes later with Gallagher knocking Phillip Danault's no-look cross-ice pass into a gaping net. Gallagher, left alone on Hellebuyck's doorstep, then made it 4-0 at 14:25 with his 10th of the season after the Habs hemmed the Jets in their own zone. Laurent Brossoit took over in the Winnipeg goal and was promptly beaten by Armia's low wrist shot at 16:05 after a Montreal rush up the ice that drew hardly a challenge. Byron made it 6-0 at 4:20 of the third, backhanding a fat rebound home after Brossoit failed to handle a long-distance shot from Jake Evans. Seconds earlier Jets forward Trevor Lewis was hit on the hand by a Nate Thompson shot. Petry added to the Jets' pain at 8:20 with a wrist shot through traffic from the blue line. Montreal starts a six-game road trip Monday with the first of two straight in Vancouver. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2021 The Canadian Press