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In this edition of 32 Thoughts the Car Cast, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman look back at an entertaining Game 2 between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators. Friedman expands on the Thatcher Demko injury, delve into the Avs 5-2 win over the Jets in Game 2 and the other storylines from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

TORONTO — Mitch Marner has been fine through the first 120 minutes of the Toronto Maple Leafs–Boston Bruins series.

But the star winger is neither paid nor expected to simply hold his own.

The city wants him to wow, to produce, to make us rewatch that highlight once more.

That hasn’t happened — yet.

Marner hasn’t registered a point in three straight playoff games, dating back to last season’s do-or-die date versus Florida; he’s gone pointless in six of his past eight.

Over the course of his career, the 26-year-old’s post-season production is respectable: 47 points in 52 games, tied with Auston Matthews. (One has more goals, though.)

But with Marner’s worst clips getting isolated and shared, and Matthews dominating (mostly) alongside a new setup man in Max Domi, the spotlight has shifted to No. 16 — on the ice for both goals against Monday.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1: Maple Leafs vs. Bruins

Keep up with the latest as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins renew their Original Six rivalry in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Sheldon Keefe’s Spidey senses must be tingling; he feels some Marner scrutiny coming.

(And, it has arrived already, most notably via Wednesday’s Toronto Sun cover story and artwork.)

The coach took a reporter’s post-game question about Matthews Monday and decided to heap some praise on Marner as well.

“I loved a lot about our game here tonight, all the way through the lineup,” Keefe said. “This is a night here where Mitch Marner, I thought he’s all over the game too. He’s making plays offensively for us at different times. Great defensive plays. He’s playing almost every shift against [David] Pastrnak and doing a really good job helping us there [and on] the penalty kill.”

Keefe’s plan going into the series was to frequently form a stacked offensive second line of William Nylander, John Tavares, and Marner. But with Nylander mysteriously injured, rookie Matthews Knies has been running the left flank.

“I got no issues with that line. They’re doing a good job. I just watched a bunch of forechecks this morning. Those guys are really working and competing and creating lots of pressure up-ice,” Keefe said Tuesday, choosing the carrot over the stick.

Marner has helped tilt the ice during his three minutes’ of bump-up O-zone shifts alongside Matthews in this series, but the Knies–Tavares–Marner unit ranks last among all Leafs lines in shot-attempt share (43.5 per cent) over its 16 minutes together at 5-on-5.

“Those guys are taking on some tough responsibility playing against Pastrnak and have done a really good job of it,” Keefe explained. “One mistake on the faceoff last night. But aside from that, I’ve liked what we’ve gotten from that line. Each line’s not going to roll each night offensively. Their time will come in the series.”

A standout performance during this week’s homestand, and Marner’s critics go quiet. He’s dynamic enough to break a game himself. 

More doughnuts on the stat sheet, however, and the volume gets cranked.

Series shifts to Toronto, pressure shifts to Boston

By earning a split in Boston and rallying from two deficits inside enemy territory in Game 2, the Maple Leafs have snatched momentum in a series we expect to teetertotter more than once. 

Needing to seize back home ice, it’s now up to the Bruins to respond.

Remember: The B’s are coming off consecutive first-round exits.

Has a seed of doubt been planted, knowing Nylander may still be an option?

“I didn’t think our urgency was where it needed to be,” Jim Montgomery said. “I didn’t think we won enough wall battles to be able to get out of our end successfully.”

The visiting coach is challenging his players to win more battles low in both zones to quicken their exits, pressure Ilya Samsonov’s crease, and create more Grade-A looks.

At five-on-five, the series is tied in scoring (3-3), yet Toronto holds a noticeable edge in scoring chances (58-27) and high-danger chances (25-13), per NaturalStatTrick.com.

“We’re not fast enough. We’re slow in transition,” Montgomery said. “Toronto didn’t give us many odd-man rushes.

“Our goaltenders have been up to the task. Just offensively, it’s just not there.”

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Both sides sound convinced they’re in for a long, tight tilt. 

“This is the way it’s gonna be: It’s gonna be tough. It’s two really good teams. We believe in our group; we know we have a good team. We know what we’re up against here,” Keefe said. 

“They’re one shot, one win away from finishing second overall in the league. And a few weeks ago, we thought they were gonna make a push for the Presidents’ Trophy. I think it’s a really good team that we’ve got a ton of respect for. And they demand a lot of us. I thought our guys were right there with them [in Game 2]. And we’re gonna have to stand in there and keep pushing when we get on home ice.

“We gotta get back home and prepare for their pushback.”

It’s coming.

The Bruins have not performed to their level in either third period, while this edgier version of the Maple Leafs is forechecking with numbers and matching the B’s competitive reputation.

“Just gotta win battles. They’re competing hard,” captain Brad Marchand told reporters. “They’re playing a really good playoff-type game right now. You knew they would. They’re built different than in past years. They’re playing a lot more physical. Very committed to forechecking. Playing very tight defensively. So, you gotta get them credit. They’re one of the top teams for a reason.

“They’re a tough team to play right now, and we’re seeing it. Even in the first game, it was a different game than the [5-1] score. We have to continue to be better.”

The Bert and Brad Show

During his stint as a Bruin last spring, Tyler Bertuzzi learned that Marchand was actually a good guy.

Well, that friendship appears on hold, as Marchand did a fine job selling a retaliatory slash to the back of his knee.

The frenemies engaged in a spirited chat after the Game 2 buzzer. 

Asked what was discussed, Bertuzzi kept things cordial: “It’s between me and Brad.”

One-Timers: No update on Nylander and his undisclosed injury. He remains “a possibility” for Game 3, per Keefe. … With Andrew Peeke leaving Game 2 injured and his status week-to-week, Boston recalled defenceman Mason Lohrei from AHL Providence. Lohrei skated in half of the NHL club’s regular-season games, putting up 13 points. The Bruins could also slot in Parker Wotherspoon. … D-man Derek Forbort (day to day) traveled with the Bruins but will not play Game 3. … Matthew Knies on how to beat Jeremy Swayman, the only undefeated goalie to appear in the series and Wednesday’s expected starter: “Live inside the paint. Kinda make life hell for him around the net.”

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SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres faced a daunting task during the off-season after a disappointing 82-80 finish in 2023. First, they needed to backfill for a free-agent class that included Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, All-Star closer Josh Hader and reliable starter Seth Lugo. Then, they decided to trade generational talent Juan Soto, after paying such a high price to get him from the Washington Nationals two summers ago, ahead of his $31-million walk year. And then they had to remain competitive in the suddenly deep National League West, all while cutting payroll.

“We’ve had some really talented rosters the last few years,” says general manager A.J. Preller. “But you always have to be able to adjust and adapt.”

Adjust and adapt he did, and the way the relentless Preller cleverly remade his roster offers an interesting case study for the Toronto Blue Jays, who with 17 players eligible for free agency over the next two winters, will soon be contemplating similarly difficult choices.

No move the Padres made was bigger than the deal that sent Soto and centre-fielder Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees for right-handers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez and Jhony Brito, plus catcher Kyle Higashioka. But in bookending that blockbuster with a late-spring stunner — using Thorpe as the centre-piece of a package sent to the Chicago White Sox for Dylan Cease — Preller demonstrated how creatively he operated on parallel tracks simultaneously.

“This was more like a revamp or a reload,” Preller explains during an interview. “Two years ago we went to the NLCS without Fernando Tatis Jr. and without Xander Bogaerts. Soto was obviously a part of that team. But in ’20, we won a playoff series, as well. So there are different ways to do it and the guys here understand that. There’s a really good talent base even without Soto or Hader or Snell.”

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Now, it’s hard to argue that a team is better off without players of that calibre. But in turning Soto into four inexpensive arms, highlighted by the dominant King, with extended periods of control, the Padres restocked their pitching staff and extended their window while paring down their luxury tax payroll of roughly $280 million to about $226 million, per FanGraphs.

With Tatis, Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim already in place, the Padres had enough offence remaining to still be productive despite Soto’s loss. And the graduations of prospects Jackson Merrill and just-promoted Graham Pauley may potentially lengthen the lineup while providing some needed payroll efficiency.

Still, key to the entire reallocation of assets was getting a strong return for Soto and right now, it looks like the Padres did. King joins Cease, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish to form a strong rotation. Vasquez stepped in to cover a start Saturday while Darvish deals with neck tightness. Brito is pitching in the Padres bullpen while Thorpe helped begat Cease.

Preller said the Padres weren’t necessarily looking for so much near-term help for Soto and didn’t have specific targets for a return in mind. Still, some teams who pursued the superstar, like the Blue Jays, felt once King was on the table there was no beating the Yankees.

The Padres’ general approach to such deals is “getting the most talent you can get overall and worrying about how the pieces fit a little bit after that.” With certain teams, “the focus would have been on maybe one elite-level prospect or somebody like that,” rather than the broader package they ended up with.

“With the Yankees deal, we felt like we got some real quality and some quantity,” says Preller. “King was obviously a real piece of the deal but each one of those guys had real value for us. If you’re going to replace Juan Soto, you’ve got to do it on a lot of different fronts. Hopefully that deal on the pitching side and (Higashioka) from a defensive side can make us a better team this year.”

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Reallocating expiring assets is one approach available to the Blue Jays as they face two straight falls with potential for major talent drains, beginning with Danny Jansen, Yusei Kikuchi, Yimi Garcia, Justin Turner, Kevin Kiermaier, Trevor Richards and Daniel Vogelbach this November. And if they aren’t signed to contract extensions, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Jordan Romano headline a group of 10 players eligible for free agency after the 2025 season.

That’s 65 per cent of the roster coming due, a pivot point requiring some combination of re-signings, internal replacements, free-agent additions and trade acquisitions to extend the current competitive window. Players under contractual control beyond 2025 include Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Yariel Rodriguez, George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, Alek Manoah and Nate Pearson.

So major decisions are coming and the Blue Jays will have to pick a lane, just the way the Padres did.

Preller exhausted the opportunity to win with Snell, Hader, Lugo and others through 2023 before letting them walk. He then turned one year of Soto into two seasons of King, six seasons of Vasquez and Brito and one season of Higashioka. And finally he reallocated some of the money that freed up and some of the prospect depth that helped build to trade for two seasons of Cease, while also signing secondary contributors like lefties Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui and promoting from within.

“It really just comes down to having talented players with good makeup,” says Preller. “When you have that both for yourself in bringing guys through the system or getting guys to the big-league level, that plays. Or it gives you options and possibilities. When we decided to make the deal (for Cease) at the end of spring training, it wasn’t easy moving Drew Thorpe. We think he’s going to be a really good big-league pitcher. But we also understand Dylan Cease is one of the better pitchers in the league and for the next couple of years, maybe longer, is going to help us here. So at least you have that flexibility and those options to make those calls.”

The types of calls on the horizon for the Blue Jays.

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1. Why 2024 Could Be End of an Era for Ángel Hernández and Bad MLB Umpires  Bleacher Report
2. Aaron Boone's ejection, Baltimore Orioles successfully tanked & answering listener emails  Yahoo Sports
3. Aaron Boone OK with MLB stance after Hunter Wendelstedt ejection  NorthJersey.com
4. New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone ejected after apparent case of mistaken identity and spat with umpire  CNN
5. Yankees' Aaron Boone ejected five pitches into game vs. Athletics  ESPN

Buccaneers relish opportunity to build through NFL draft  ESPNView Full Coverage on Google News

1. NASCAR driver Erik Jones suffers broken back in brutal Talladega crash  Fox News
2. Erik Jones to miss Dover Cup race; Corey Heim to drive No. 43 Toyota  NASCAR
3. Jones to miss Dover race because of broken lower vertebra  ESPN
4. NASCAR taking Erik Jones' car to Research and Development Center for further inspection  On3.com
5. Erik Jones to miss time after fracturing back in crash at Talladega  CBS Sports

1. NBA Analyst looks like a prophet after doubted Mavericks-Clippers take comes true  The Smoking Cuban
2. With Kawhi Leonard back in the fold, the Clippers are all out of excuses  FOX Sports
3. Clippers' Kawhi Leonard returns for Game 2 vs. Mavericks  NBA.com
4. Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard returning from 9-game absence for Game 2 vs. Mavericks  Yahoo Sports
5. Lue, Clippers still don't know Leonard's status for Round 1  ESPN

1. José Ramírez ditches spotlight after another standout performance: Guardians breakfast  cleveland.com
2. Guardians 4-1 Red Sox (Apr 23, 2024) Game Recap  ESPN
3. Red Sox vs Guardians Prediction and Picks for April 24 2024  Winners and Whiners
4. Red Sox at Guardians: Lineups for April 23, 2024  The Boston Globe
5. José Ramírez homers as Guardians continue scorching start with 4-1 win over Red Sox  Boston.com