Connect with us

Published

on

TORONTO — Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery called out star forward David Pastrnak after a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night sent this first-round series to a Game 7.

Montgomery was asked if the Bruins needed more from their top skaters to avoid elimination Saturday in Boston (8 p.m. ET, ABC), and he identified Pastrnak in particular as needing to provide more to the group.

“Your best players need to be your best players this time of year,” Montgomery said. “I think the effort is tremendous. They need to come through with some big-time plays in big-time moments. [Brad] Marchand has done this throughout the series. [Pastrnak] needs to step up.”

Pastrnak has two goals and four points this postseason for a Boston team that once held a 3-1 lead in the series.

Boston got off to another sluggish start in Game 6 and was outshot 12-1 in a scoreless first period. The Bruins had opportunities in the second period to take a lead, but it was Maple Leafs winger William Nylander who broke the stalemate late in the frame to give Toronto an advantage it never relinquished.

Nylander scored again in the third period for a 2-0 lead. Boston’s Morgan Geekie scored with 0.1 seconds left in the third period to rob Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll of the shutout.

“[Toronto] had a couple looks in the first period, and their goalie made a couple saves,” Pastrnak said. “We got much better as the game went on. But we have to be much better at the start.”

Boston eventually found a rhythm later in the game, but the Maple Leafs didn’t allow much space or open ice for the Bruins to work with. Toronto was playing without star forward Auston Matthews for the second consecutive outing, and while that appeared to galvanize Toronto’s bench, the Bruins failed to match their opponents’ next-man-up mentality.

“It’s a tight game, and they were prepared to play from the first shift,” Marchand said. “We need to be better in that area. The last couple games they’ve started really hard and carried the momentum in the first period, and we have to do a better job there.”

The Bruins also were undone by their poor start in Tuesday’s Game 5 (a 2-1 overtime loss), and while Montgomery was adamant ahead of Game 6 that that wouldn’t be the case, his team did not rise to the occasion as he had hoped.

”It’s unacceptable, our start again,” Montgomery said. ”We have to find a way to start on time. Toronto, they’re starting on time. They’re getting the advantage, they’re getting the momentum. But it shouldn’t take that long [for us].”

It’s eerily familiar territory for the Bruins, who are on the cusp of history they would rather not see repeated.

The Bruins ran away with the Presidents’ Trophy last season but blew a 3-1 series lead over eighth-seeded Florida in the first round. Now Boston is grappling with similar demons against Toronto.

“We’re not living in the past,” Montgomery said. “We’re not living the future. We’re living in the present. We’re not happy with our game. We’ll get ready for Game 7 starting tomorrow.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Published

on

By

Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz accepted an invitation on Tuesday to compete in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Cruz is the fifth player to commit to the competition, held one day before the All-Star Game. The others are Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Cruz, 26, is known for having a powerful bat and regularly delivers some of the hardest-hit homers in the sport. His home run May 25 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers had an exit velocity of 122.9 mph and was the hardest hit homer in the 10-year Statcast era.

But Cruz has never hit more than 21 in a season, and that was in 2024. He’s on track to set a new high this year and has 15 in 80 games.

Cruz has 55 career homers in 324 games with the Pirates.

Cruz will be the first Pittsburgh player to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other Pirates to be part of the event were Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012) and Pedro Alvarez (2013).

Overall, Cruz is batting just .203 this season but leads the National League with 28 steals.

Among the players to turn down an invite to the eight-player field are two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers recently turned down a spot as a consideration to nagging injuries.

Top power threats Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers also are expected to skip the event.

Continue Reading

Sports

Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

Published

on

By

Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

New York Yankees All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., after making 28 starts in a row at third base, is moving back to second base starting with Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone confirmed the change on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday.

Chisholm, who is batting .245 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 steals in 59 games, has recently been bothered by soreness in his right shoulder, which he said is an issue only on throws.

He said he prefers to play second base and prepared in the offseason to exclusively play in that spot before injuries played havoc with Boone’s lineup card, starting with Chisholm’s oblique injury in May.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera went down with a season-ending ankle injury on May 12.

DJ LeMahieu manned second base while Chisholm was at third, but Boone has a better glove option in Oswald Peraza, a utility man with a stronger arm plus defensive skills across the infield.

LeMahieu, 36, is batting .266 with two home runs and 12 RBIs this season.

Continue Reading

Sports

White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

Published

on

By

White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

The Chicago White Sox reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Robert, 27, has struggled this season through career lows in batting average (.185), on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.313). Through 73 games, he has amassed just 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, eight home runs) in 285 plate appearances.

He does have 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and is just one shy of his career- high in steals.

In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned infielder Tristan Gray to Triple-A Charlotte. Gray was just recalled before Monday night’s game but did not play.

Continue Reading

Trending