Connect with us

Published

on

Auston Matthews scored into an empty net for the 400th goal of his career in the Toronto Maple Leafs4-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

The victory clinched Toronto’s first Atlantic Division title, and also featured Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner reaching a career high with 100 points by scoring with 4:21 left in regulation.

The Maple Leafs secured the Eastern Conference’s second seed and will open the playoffs against their Ontario provincial rival, the Ottawa Senators.

Matthews, an American and a former No. 1 pick from the 2016 draft, is the sixth-fastest player to reach 400, according to ESPN Research, doing so in his 628th career game. That’s six games faster than Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s new all-time goals leader.

“It means a lot. … In the end, it’s a team accomplishment, I think. It’s a team sport. There’s a lot that goes into it,” Matthews said. “And just fortunate that it’s come off my stick a couple times.”

This is only the second time in franchise history that a Maple Leaf has scored 400 with the club, as Matthews joins Mats Sundin, who finished his Toronto tenure with 420. At some point early next season, health permitting, he should tie John LeClair (406) at No. 13 overall in all-time goals for American-born players.

Anthony Stolarz, who won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season as a backup, closed his first season in Toronto’s net with a shutout, improving to 4-0-1 against the Sabres. The 31-year-old’s previous two trips to Buffalo ended in shutouts — a 45-save outing with Florida last season, and a 25-save outing with Anaheim in December 2021.

Toronto set a single-season franchise record with 25 road wins and claimed only its third division title overall. Toronto previously won the all-Canada North Division during the COVID-19-altered 2021 season, and were also Northeast Division champs in 2000.

“I feel really confident in this group. We put in a lot of work over the season,” Matthews said. “Earning the division was a big step for us, but we just want to continue to push forward.”

Coach Craig Berube, also in his first season with the Maple Leafs, concurred with his captain.

“The buy-in is everything, and they’ve bought into it,” he said of his team. “It starts with our leadership group and it trickles down. That’s the bottom line.”

Berube won a Stanley Cup coaching the St. Louis Blues in 2019, and his postseason experience is one of the prime reasons he was hired by a club that has struggled to advance past Round 1.

“You’re always trying to work on your identity,” he said. “And that hasn’t stopped throughout the season.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Canes’ Slavin exits early vs. Flyers; status unclear

Published

on

By

Canes' Slavin exits early vs. Flyers; status unclear

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes are preparing for a long road trip with concerns about the status of defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

He missed a large portion of the third period and all of overtime in Saturday night’s 4-3 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers.

“He’s getting looked at,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We’ll know more about his status Monday. He came up a little gimpy.”

Carolina begins a six-game road trip Tuesday night at San Jose. The Hurricanes will go more than two weeks before playing again on home ice.

Slavin, 31, logged less than 4 1/2 minutes of ice time following the second period Saturday night. He was on the ice for more than 20 minutes in Carolina’s season-opening 6-3 victory over New Jersey on Thursday night.

Slavin, who didn’t play in the preseason, has appeared in more than 75 regular-season games in each of the past four seasons. He had three consecutive seasons earlier in his career when he played all 82 regular-season games.

He’s a two-time winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player. He signed an eight-year contract in the summer of 2024.

The Hurricanes beat Philadelphia on Seth Jarvis’ goal with 16.7 seconds left in overtime.

Continue Reading

Sports

Panthers’ Kulikov placed on IR, may need surgery

Published

on

By

Panthers' Kulikov placed on IR, may need surgery

Veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, a steady force on the blue line of the past two Stanley Cup title runs, will be out of the Florida Panthers’ lineup indefinitely after being placed on injured reserve.

Kulikov, 34, was injured in Florida’s second game of the season, a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday in which he played 11 shifts covering 7:47 time on the ice. After a collision with Flyers forward Bobby Brink on a second-period shift, he left the ice holding his right wrist.

The Panthers made his move to IR official on Friday, and on Saturday, after morning skate leading into his team’s 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, coach Paul Maurice told reporters that the veteran could need surgery.

Florida, off to a 3-0-0 start, is already without captain Aleksander Barkov, who underwent knee surgery last month, and forward Matthew Tkachuk, who is out until at least December with a lower-body injury.

This is Kulikov’s second tenure with the Panthers. He appeared in 70 games last season, finishing with four goals and 13 points.

Continue Reading

Sports

‘Grateful’ Sullivan wins in return to Pittsburgh

Published

on

By

'Grateful' Sullivan wins in return to Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — New York Rangers coach Mike Sullivan knew the Pittsburgh Penguins were going to play a tribute video. There has been one for each returning player that won a championship during Sullivan’s time with the Penguins.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t any less emotional in his return to Pittsburgh after parting ways with the organization in April.

“It means a lot,” Sullivan said after New York’s 6-1 win at Pittsburgh on Saturday. “I’m grateful for everything we accomplished (in Pittsburgh) during my time.”

The tribute video played at the first media timeout, honoring Sullivan for his accomplishments with the Penguins. Sullivan received a standing ovation and acknowledged the crowd with a wave to the air

Mika Zibanejad scored a short-handed goal 23 seconds after the video to give the Rangers a lead they didn’t relinquish.

Sullivan, who spent 10 seasons with the Penguins, was elevated from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League and won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with Pittsburgh in 2016-17. Sullivan, the only U.S.-born coach to win at least two Stanley Cups, is the all-time leader at Pittsburgh with 409 wins in 753 games.

“I’m so grateful to the group of players over those years that performed the way they did that allowed us to have the success that we had,” Sullivan said. “When you watch a tribute like that, which I was very appreciative of for the Penguins, they didn’t have to do that, it brings back a flood of emotions.”

Sullivan already coached against the Penguins and lost, as Dan Muse won his debut behind the bench with Pittsburgh 3-0 in Tuesday’s season opener at Madison Square Garden. Sullivan was impressed with his team’s response during a shutout at Buffalo on Thursday and again two days later with a win against the same Pittsburgh team that blanked the Rangers in the opener.

“They played a much more determined game for the last 40 minutes,” Sullivan said. “I think that shows you what we’re capable of when we play with that focus and determination.”

The Penguins and Sullivan parted ways after Pittsburgh missed the playoffs for a third straight season. Almost immediately, Sullivan landed in New York and replaced Peter Laviolette for a franchise seeking it’s first title since 1994. Sullivan is now tasked with the responsibility of providing structure and discipline to a team that unraveled on and off the ice, missing the playoffs one season after winning the Presidents Trophy and reaching the Eastern Conference Final.

Sullivan’s relentless intensity instantly ignited the Penguins. But now Pittsburgh, which hasn’t made it beyond the first round since 2018, is in the midst of an inevitable rebuild and general manager Kyle Dubas felt that it was time to go in another direction.

Now, Sullivan’s job is to turn the Rangers back into an immediate contender.

“I’m excited about the group of players we have in New York,” Sullivan said. “I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve had to work with them to this point, we have a lot of enthusiasm around our team right now and we’re excited about what we can potentially do moving forward.”

Continue Reading

Trending