Ontario Sports News

‘That is nuts’: Fans react to controversial goaltender interference call in Stars-Avalanche

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 23:44

Does anyone really know what goaltender interference is anymore?

After a post-season that has seen a number of controversial goaltender interference reviews, there was yet another one in overtime of Game 6 between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche.

Stars forward Mason Marchment appeared to send his team to the Western Conference Final when he wired the OT winner past Avalanche goaltender Alexander Georgiev.

But the officials immediately waved off the goal due to goaltender interference by Stars forward Matt Duchene.

Duchene appeared to be outside the crease and only made contact with Georgiev when he was bumped by Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar.

But after a league-initiated review, the call on the ice stood and the game continued.

Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Situation Review upheld the call because “Duchene impaired Alexander Georgiev’s ability to play his position in the crease prior to the puck entering the Colorado net.”

The decision was made in accordance with part one of Rule 69.1 of the NHL Rulebook: “Goals should be disallowed only if: an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal.”

In these playoffs, the league seems to be favouring the initial call on the ice, as now five of six goaltender interference calls this post-season have been upheld.

Duchene would end up getting the last laugh, as he potted the series winner in double OT and had many fans screaming “puck don’t lie.”

But even with the win, most fans were still left confused as to why the first goal did not count.

Here are some of the best reactions to the game-altering call.

Marchment’s goal in OT waved off due to goalie interference

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 23:18

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Categories: Canada Sports News, Ontario Sports News, Pro Sports News

PGA Championship (May 17 – home)

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:44

Categories: Canada Sports News, Ontario Sports News, Pro Sports News

Playoff Takeaways: Panthers punch ticket to Eastern Conference Final once again

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:41

The Florida Panthers are taking great strides toward burying their awful playoff past.

With a 2-1 road victory in Boston on Friday night, the Panthers are making their second consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Final.

In their third year of existence, the Cats made an unlikely run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final. Then, for two decades, they failed to win a single post-season series.

Now, Florida exemplifies the type of grit, skill and determination required to be a repeat participant in the NHL’s final four.

Game 6 of this second-round series seemed destined to end in overtime, until Panthers D-man Gustav Forsling jumped up and whacked home a rebound chance against Bruins brick wall Jeremy Swayman with just 1:33 to go in the third period.

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Somehow, this was Florida’s six straight post-season victory in Boston, having won three in Round 1 last year and three more in this 2024 re-match. The Panthers beat the Bruins en route to the 1996 Cup Final and their big upset of Boston last year catapulted them to the 2023 Final.

Is this win a harbinger of another run to the showdown series? That’s still to be determined, but until the Cats and New York Rangers sort that out, here are some things to take away from Florida’s series-clinching win in Beantown.

Sergei Saves

Everyone expected the Bruins to come out flying, fighting for their playoff lives on home ice. Sure enough, Boston grabbed the lead in the first period when Pavel Zacha — in his 25th post-season contest — scored his first-ever playoff goal, beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a nice power move to the backhand on a breakaway.

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After that, Bob slammed the door shut.

The Bruins had numerous opportunities to get another puck or two past Bobrovsky in this contest, but the veteran Russian wouldn’t let anything by. Bobrovsky saved his best play for the final two games of this series, posting a .941 save percentage over Games 5 and 6 of the set.

A-plus for Anton

Anton Lundell was an NHL sophomore last year, when the Cats made the Cup Final. He was an important player on the squad, but didn’t exactly have a prolific spring with 10 points in 21 contests.

Still, the heady Finn surely learned a thing or two about playing at the most important time of year and this time out he’s proving to be one of Florida’s most important skaters. Lundell factored in to both of his team’s goals’ on Friday, netting the equalizer just past the midway point of the contest and drawing an assist on Forsling’s late game-winner.

On his own tally, Lundell was lurking in the high slot when Boston failed to gather a loose puck and he basically walked in and blasted a shot past Swayman.

On Forsling’s goal, Lundell put the initial shot in on Swayman, who kicked out a rebound the Florida D-man was able to jump on and swat home.

Lundell, 22, now has nine points in 11 post-season outings this spring. Not bad at all from a third-line centre who’s proving his worth for Florida as it tries to make a second straight Final.

Bark and bite

The end of each round inevitably leads to discussions about who the leading candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy are. And, when it comes to second season MVP candidates, few guys have the jump on Aleksander Barkov.

The Panthers captain was his usual dominant self against Boston in Game 6, using his big frame to create offence and smother opponents in the defensive zone. Cats fans had to be holding their breath when Barkov left late in the contest with an apparent hand injury, but he returned for the most critical moments of the contest and helped Florida hold of the B’s and push through to the next round.

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Too much to believe

It can be hard to keep your head during the high-stakes action of playoff hockey, but the Bruins have taken brain cramps to a whole new level during this second season with their inability to change cleanly on the fly.

For the seventh time in 13 outings, Boston was nailed for a too-many-men on the ice penalty in Game 6 versus Florida. It came in the third period with the game knotted 1-1. Yes, the Bruins were able to kill the call, but it took them off the attack for two minutes at a critical juncture of the game and had to have coach Jim Montgomery wondering why his club has had so much trouble executing such a routine element of the game this spring.

All East roads run through Florida

The Panthers’ return trip to the final four not only represents a big step for their team, it’s also extends an impressive run by their state. Two NHL teams operate out of Florida and we’re now on a five-year run of either the Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning appearing in the Eastern Conference Final. (Okay, it wasn’t technically the Eastern Conference Final in the pandemic-altered 2021 season, but you get the point).

In fact, dating back to 2018, the Lighting (four times) or Panthers (twice) have now been final four participants in six of seven years.

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Siakam scores 25, helps Pacers force Game 7 vs. Knicks

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:39

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle challenged his team to play more physically and more tenaciously Friday night.

His desperate team responded with one of its most inspired performances all season.

Pascal Siakam finished with 25 points and seven rebounds, Myles Turner added 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Pacers turned the tables on the New York Knicks with a 116-103 victory to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at 3-3.

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The decisive Game 7 will be played Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

“I thought Game 5 was our least aggressive game in the playoffs,” Carlisle said. “We played hard tonight, which was a must. They came out really hard tonight, which was evident, but we moved the ball better, we got more rebounds and that’s obviously been a big part in this series.”

Indiana had two days to figure out how to contend with the Knicks’ hustle plays and their strength on the glass, two things that led to Tuesday’s 30-point blowout in Game 5 and put the Pacers on the brink of elimination.

This time, the Pacers held a 47-35 rebounding edge and even had a slight 14-13 advantage on the offensive end. And they had balanced scoring, too, which spread out the Knicks defence.

Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard each scored 15 points, with Nembhard pulling down six rebounds and dishing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as Indiana kept its perfect post-season home record intact at 6-0, in front of a raucous sellout crowd that helped re-energize the Pacers during key moments.

“We knew they were going to play hard coming off the last game, and that’s what it’s about,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We’re just going to have to play a lot better.”

Even Jalen Brunson, the all-star who has been the league’s top post-season scorer. Yes, he finished with 31 points and five assists while shooting 11 of 26 from the field, but that came after he missed his final 11 shots in the first half.

Deuce McBride added 20 points and Donte DiVincenzo had 17, but the short-handed Knicks may have suffered yet another blow when Josh Hart left in the fourth quarter with what the Knicks called abdominal soreness.

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“I expect him to play,” Brunson said when asked about Hart. “It’s Game 7.”

The good news for the Knicks is they don’t have to return to Indiana, where they’ve lost nine straight playoff games. Instead, they’re heading back to the Garden against a group of many players making their first playoff appearances or playing key roles for the first time in the post-season.

And now, they’ll be playing on national television on the league’s biggest stage.

“It’s exciting,” Haliburton said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. I think we realize it’s time to empty the clip. We are ready to go from start to finish.”

The Pacers sure looked like it Friday as they repeatedly won races to loose balls and turned them into quick points, taking a 42-41 lead on Haliburton’s second 3-pointer of the game. The ensuing 16-7 run helped the Pacers take a 61-51 halftime lead and they never trailed again.

Brunson rebounded in the second half, getting the Knicks within 61-56 after making two baskets and a free throw, but after a timeout, Nembhard and Haliburton answered with consecutive threes and the Pacers rebuilt an 11-point margin.

The Knicks never really recovered, losing for the third time in four games and leaving them one win away from reaching their first conference final since 2000. Indiana hasn’t played in the conference finals since 2014.

And after playing three games to single-digit margins, the last three to double-digit margins and the home team winning all six, they’ll square off again Sunday — in a win-or-go-home scenario.

“It’s the ultimate game and it’s a great opportunity,” Carlisle said. “Other than Pascal and maybe James Johnson, I’m not sure if any of our guys have been in a Game 7. But this team has been through a lot of new experiences in the last 3 1/2 weeks and this will be another new experience. So we’ll do everything possible to get them ready.”

New York again played without four key players because of injuries — forwards OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic and Julius Randle, and backup centre Mitchell Robinson. Only Anunoby, who injured his left hamstring in the second half of Game 2 and hasn’t played since appears to have a chance to return Sunday.

Thibodeau said Anunoby continues to do “light work” as he tries to recover. He said Anunoby was considered day-to-day.

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Avalanche’s Rantanen snipes top corner to beat Oettinger

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:33

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Categories: Canada Sports News, Ontario Sports News, Pro Sports News

MLB Roundup: Zack Wheeler stays hot to lift Phillies over Nationals

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:23

PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler struck out six over 7 1/3 innings and Philadelphia continued their scorching start with a victory over Washington.

The Phillies needed just 2 hours and 15 minutes in front of another jam-packed crowd of 44,507 to improve to 32-14, the best record in baseball.

Wheeler (5-3) received a rousing standing ovation when he was lifted with one out in the eighth inning. He allowed two runs and threw 104 pitches to win his fifth straight decision. Wheeler improbably went 0-3 over his first four starts — and the Phillies lost all four games — before he resumed his spot as one of the best pitchers in baseball.

The right-hander has been outshined at times this season by lefty Ranger Suárez and his 8-0 record, but there’s still no other pitcher the Phillies want on the bump for a big game.

Wheeler had his seventh quality start of the season and his 71st with the Phillies. He is tied with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole for the most quality starts in the major leagues since 2020. Wheeler has a 1.62 ERA with 525 strikeouts in 477 2/3 innings over that span.

PIRATES 9, CUBS 3

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CHICAGO — Paul Skenes struck out 11 over six no-hit innings in his second major league start, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3 on Friday.

Skenes allowed just one baserunner — Michael Busch on a full-count, fifth-inning walk on the eighth pitch of the plate appearance — in an utterly dominant performance. After pitching through some nerves in his big league debut against the Cubs last weekend, he looked quite comfortable on a picturesque day at Wrigley Field.

Skenes (1-0), who turns 22 on May 29, struck out his first seven batters, including the side in the first on pitches of at least 100 mph. He struck out Mike Tauchman on a 100 mph fastball on his 100th and final pitch — his 12th to reach triple digits.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft became the third rookie with seven strikeouts to start a game, joining Jacob deGrom on Sept. 15, 2014, and Jim Deshaies on Sept. 23, 1986. He also became the first rookie with an outing of at least six no-hit innings and 10-plus strikeouts since Chris Heston threw a no-hitter for San Francisco against the New York Mets on June 9, 2015.

Andrew McCutchen and Jared Triolo homered for Pittsburgh, which held on for a 5-4 victory in the opener of the four-game series on Thursday night. Triolo and Yasmani Grandal each had two hits and three RBIs.

RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 3

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TORONTO — Tyler Alexander took a perfect game bid into the eighth inning before Danny Jansen blooped an opposite-field, one-out single, and Tampa Bay hung on to beat Toronto.

Richie Palacios hit a two-run home run as the Rays built a 4-0 lead and hung on for their 10th win in 14 games.

Alexander (2-2) retired his first 22 batters before Jansen hit a 1-0 changeup near the low, outside corner off the end of his bat. The ball landed cleanly 206 feet from the plate, between right fielder Josh Lowe and Palacios at second.

The single came on Alexander’s 97th pitch. Davis Schneider homered two pitches later, cutting Toronto’s deficit to 4-2, and Daulton Varsho singled on Alexander’s 105th and final pitch, three more than Alexander’s previous career high.

Manuel Rodríguez replaced Alexander (2-2) and pinch hitter Daniel Vogelbach reached on a fielder’s choice, with Varsho advancing to third on Díaz’s errant throw.

Pinch-hitter Cavan Biggio pulled Toronto within a run with an RBI single off Manuel Rodríguez, and George Springer grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Pete Fairbanks pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in five chances.

ORIOLES 9, MARINERS 2

BALTIMORE — Gunnar Henderson’s fourth leadoff homer of the season sparked a five-run first inning that backed an effective pitching performance by John Means and carried Baltimore past Seattle.

After Henderson’s 13th home run — tied for the major league lead — Baltimore’s next five batters reached base against Bryce Miller (3-4). A throwing error by shortstop Dylan Moore let in a run and Colton Cowser followed a walk with a two-run double down the right-field line.

The first out was a sacrifice fly by Jordan Westburg that capped the outburst.

In his previous start against Seattle, Means threw a no-hitter on May 5, 2021. In this one, Moore doubled on the first pitch of the game and scored on a single by Mitch Garver.

But Means (2-0) settled down in his third start since opening the season on the injured list with a left forearm strain. The left-hander allowed two runs and six hits, walked none and struck out four over six innings.

By winning the opener of the three-game set, the Orioles are assured of completing their 106th consecutive regular-season series without being swept. That’s the third-longest streak in major league history, behind only the 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals (124) and 1906-09 Chicago Cubs (115).

MARLINS 8, METS 0

MIAMI — Jesús Luzardo and three relievers combined on Miami’s third consecutive shutout, a win over New York.

Miami pitchers extended their scoreless innings streak to 28, three short of the franchise record in April 2004.

Luzardo (1-3) scattered five hits and struck out seven over six innings, ending an 0-4 skid over eight starts since beating Milwaukee on Sept. 17. Anthony Bender, Burch Smith and Anthony Maldonado followed with an inning each.

New York dropped to 20-24, losing for the sixth time in eight games and falling four games under .500 for the first time since a 1-5 start. The Mets have been shut out five times.

Nick Fortes homered and had two singles while Josh Bell doubled and singled for the Marlins, who won their second series opener this season.

GUARDIANS 3, TWINS 2

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CLEVELAND — José Ramírez homered with two outs in the eighth inning, sending Cleveland to a win over Minnesota in a game featuring the first infield shift violation this season.

Ramírez connected for his 10th homer on a 2-1 pitch from Jhoan Duran (0-1), driving it into the seats in right field to delight a Progressive Field crowd that came out to see Cleveland’s new uniforms and fireworks.

It was the 226th career homer for Ramírez, moving him into a tie for fourth in club history with Hall of Famer Earl Averill. Only Jim Thome (337), Albert Belle (242) and Manny Ramirez (236) have more.

Ramírez’s homer also came after the Twins won a video challenge to wipe out a stolen base at second.

Tim Herrin (2-0), who allowed the Twins to tie it in the eighth, got the win. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 13th save.

Guardians starter Triston McKenzie allowed just two hits — one a homer — in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander also got three double plays and a nice diving catch by centre-fielder Tyler Freeman to start the game.

YANKEES 4, WHITE SOX 2

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NEW YORK — Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton homered, Nestor Cortes won for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks and New York beat Chicago for their fifth straight victory.

Alex Verdugo and Stanton hit consecutive RBI doubles off starter Mike Clevinger (0-2) in the fourth inning to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead. New York equalled its longest winning streak this season and has won 11 of 13 overall, moving 16 games above .500 for the first time since finishing 99-63 in 2022.

Caleb Ferguson pitched out of an eighth-inning jam to preserve a two-run lead and Clay Holmes worked a hitless ninth for his AL-best 13th save. The closer has not allowed an earned run in 19 appearances this year.

Andrew Vaughn had two RBI singles and leadoff batter Tommy Pham finished with three hits for the White Sox (14-31) in a matchup between the top and bottom teams in the American League.

With a runner on, Pham took a called third strike to end it. Chicago had won two in a row and six of eight.

PADRES 3, BRAVES 1

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ATLANTA — Matt Waldron struck out a career-high 10 and San Diego bounced back after being swept in their last series with a win over Atlanta.

Waldron (2-5) gave up one run, five hits and walked two in 5 2/3 innings.

Jurickson Profar was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored and Jake Cronenworth was 3 for 5 with an RBI for the Padres, who totaled 13 hits (all singles).

Max Fried (3-2), who was coming off a six-inning, no-hit performance against the Mets, was touched for nine hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two in 88 pitches.

Jeremiah Estrada recorded his first save of the season with a perfect, three-strikeout ninth after the Padres used closer Robert Suarez in the eighth against the heart of the Braves order. The Braves struck out a season-high 18 times.

The Braves threatened in the eighth after a Chadwick Tromp double put runners at second and third with two outs. Suarez struck out Michael Harris II to end the threat.

ROYALS 6, ATHLETICS 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cole Ragans allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings, Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia homered and Kansas City beat Oakland to extend their losing streak to a season-high six.

Ragans (3-3) walked two and struck out seven, rebounding from a 9-3 loss at the Los Angeles Angels when he allowed seven runs and eight hits. He has three scoreless starts of at least six innings this season.

Chris Stratton and Matt Sauers finished the four-hitter, the ninth time Oakland has been held to four hits or fewer.

Oakland has been outscored 36-6 during its losing streak, which dropped the A’s to 19-28.

Kansas City went ahead in the first when Salvador Perez hit a two-out, run-scoring infield single. Perez was called out by first base umpire Ryan Additon, but a video review ruled Perez beat the throw from third baseman Brett Harris.

Massey hit a two-run homer off Austin Adams and Maikel Garcia a three-run drive against Brandon Bielak in a five-run sixth.

ASTROS 5, BREWERS 4

HOUSTON — Jake Meyers hit a two-run homer and Jeremy Peña’s three-run shot in the fifth inning gave Houston a victory over Milwaukee to extend their season-long winning streak to six games.

Houston trailed by 2 when Victor Caratini singled to start the fifth, Jose Altuve singled on an infield grounder and Peña sent a slider from Freddy Peralta into the left-field seats for a 5-4 lead.

Hunter Brown (1-4) yielded four runs and four hits while walking three in five innings for his first win since Sept. 13. He had been 0-6 in his last nine starts.

Milwaukee had runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh, but Rafael Montero struck out William Contreras to end the threat.

The Brewers had two on with two outs again in the eighth but came up empty when Bryan Abreu struck out Sal Frelick.

ANGLES 9, RANGERS 3

ARLINGTON, Texas — Zach Neto and Taylor Ward homered, Tyler Anderson pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and Los Angeles beat Texas to give Ron Washington a victory in his first game as a visiting manager in Texas.

Neto snapped a 1-all tie and put the Angels ahead to stay with his two-run homer in the fourth, a 405-foot drive to right field for his fifth of the season.

Anderson (4-4) struck out four and walked two.

Washington is the winningest manager in Rangers’ history with his 664 wins from 2007-14, and took them to their first two World Series in 2010 and 2011. He is in the first season with the Angels (17-28), his first managerial job since Texas.

Jonah Heim and Marcus Semien went deep for Texas, which has lost seven of its last nine games.

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Panthers’ Tkachuk on Barkov: ‘He’s the best player in the world’

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:08

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov may not be nominated for this year’s Hart Trophy, but he’s still getting Matthew Tkachuk‘s vote.

After the Panthers eliminated the Boston Bruins with a 2-1 win in Game 6, Tkachuk had some high praise for Florida’s leader.

“I don’t really have the words for what he’s doing for our team right now,” Tkachuk said post-game. “He’s playing the best hockey in the world right now. He’s the best player in the world right now.”

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Barkov was held without a point in Game 6, but he made his presence felt in other ways.

The Panthers captain put his body on the line and made a goal-saving block with his hand with the game tied 1-1 in the third. He had to briefly leave the ice but would return to help the Panthers close out the game after a late Gustav Forsling goal put them up 2-1.

“He’s scored all the goals, he’s made all the plays, he’s had the puck the whole series,” Tkachuk said. “But I think that shot block shows the completion of his game. The goal saved the game.”

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In 11 games this post-season, Barkov has recorded five goals and eight assists for 13 points and helped the Panthers reach the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight year.

The Panthers will need more of the same from Barkov if they hope to down the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers in Round 3.

But clearly, Tkachuk is confident they will have the best player in the series.

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Knicks’ Josh Hart exits Game 6 vs. Pacers with abdominal injury

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:07

For once, Josh Hart won’t log over 40 minutes in a playoff game.

The New York Knicks wing was forced to exit Game 6 against the Pacers after suffering an abdominal injury, the team announced Friday.

Hart, 29, had been in pain for most of the game, with coach Tom Thibodeau saying early on in a sideline interview with ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth that he’s a tough guy and “he’ll get through it.“

Throughout the game, the wing was wincing in pain, even going so far as to sub himself out in the third quarter to try to deal with the injury. He would eventually leave the game at the 9:53 mark in the fourth and stay on the bench for a minute before heading to the team’s locker room. The Knicks ruled him out soon after.

He finished the game with five points, eight rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes.

Coming into this game, Hart had averaged 43.6 minutes per game, the second-highest mark behind Tyrese Maxey. His 480 total minutes are the most in the playoffs so far.

The Knicks have been hampered by injuries in these playoffs, with Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic out for the remainder of the season. OG Anunoby is also out with an injury but his return date remains unclear.

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Sun score 15 straight points in fourth quarter to pull away from Mystics

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:05

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — DeWanna Bonner had 22 points and six of Connecticut’s 14 steals, DiJonai Carrington added 21 points and the Sun used a big fourth quarter to beat the Washington Mystics 84-77 on Friday night.

Connecticut has won 10 of the last 11 regular-season meetings with Washington.

Connecticut trailed 62-56 with 8:18 left in the fourth quarter before scoring the next 15 points to take a 71-62 lead. The Sun finished with 32 points in quarter after scoring just 36 in the first half.

Julie Vanloo, a 31-year-old rookie, completed a three-point play with 1:50 left to get Washington within 75-72 but Tyasha Harris answered with a basket and free throw at the other end.

Bonner grabbed an offensive rebound and made a shot in the paint with 27.1 seconds left for an 82-75 lead and she added two free throws on Connecticut’s next possession to seal it.

Alyssa Thomas, coming off her ninth regular season triple-double of her career, finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for Connecticut (2-0). Thomas and Carrington combined to make 14 straight free throws as Connecticut went 24 of 26. Bonner, who moved into fifth all-time in scoring in WNBA history on Tuesday, was 9 of 19 from the field including 0 of 6 from distance.

Karlie Samuelson led Washington (0-2) with 18 points. Vanloo finished with 12 points and eight assists, and Shakira Austin had 10 points and nine rebounds. Brittney Sykes was helped off the court in the first half with an apparent left ankle injury and she did not return.

Samuelson made all five of her shots in the first half, including her fourth 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining before halftime to tie it at 36-all. The four 3-pointers tied her career-high for an entire game. Connecticut was just 2 of 13 from distance in the first half and finished 2 of 20.

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Makar at centre of scrum between Avalanche and Stars

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 21:01

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With Blue Jays in need of offence, Joey Votto poised for return to minor-league games

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 20:51

TORONTO — Remember back in spring training when the Blue Jays signed Joey Votto to a minor-league deal? It was a move that had all the makings of a feel-good story.

Here was a 40-year-old potential future Hall-of-Famer fighting tooth and nail for his spot on a major-league roster. Succeed and this local Toronto boy would get the chance to come home to play for the team he grew up watching. Fail and his career could fall into uncertainty.

It’s the kind of drama you find in a Hollywood script.

Votto added to the story in his first spring training at-bat for the Blue Jays, homering on the very first pitch he saw from Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler.

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Just as quickly, though, the Joey Votto Comeback was paused. Minutes after his epic home run, Votto stepped on a bat in the dugout and rolled his right ankle.

The slugger told media after the game he didn’t expect his ankle to be an issue and hoped to be “back real soon.” However, Friday marked exactly two months since that injury, and Votto has yet to return. His status and recovery timeline have been somewhat of a mystery, with the slugger seemingly making little progress at the Blue Jays’ player development complex in Dunedin, Fla.

That has apparently changed, though, with Blue Jays manager John Schneider revealing before Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre that Votto has been taking live batting practice and running the bases this week. The hope is that Votto can make his way into game action soon, likely in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.

“He’s fine with doing it anywhere as long as pitchers are throwing strikes,” Schneider said. “So, it’ll probably be [Complex League] before he goes anywhere else.”

At the Letters

Ben Nicholson-Smith is Sportsnet’s baseball editor. Arden Zwelling is a senior writer. Together, they bring you the most in-depth Blue Jays podcast in the league, covering off all the latest news with opinion and analysis, as well as interviews with other insiders and team members.

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Schneider acknowledged that Votto prefers to take things slow to ensure he’s putting himself in the best position to succeed.

“He was pretty adamant about being 100 per cent physically before he really stepped on the gas,” said the manager. “So, I think, out of fairness to him, [he expressed] that even when he came in, before he got hurt. It was just like, ‘I want to make sure that I’m really ready before I go.’”

The Blue Jays are a team that could desperately use all the offensive help it can get. The club’s 155 runs scored are just ahead of the MLB-worst Chicago White Sox (130). Additionally, the Blue Jays entered play on Friday ranking 24th in OPS (.661) and 26th in home runs (36).

Votto is among the best hitters of his generation. He’s blasted 356 home runs over a career that’s spanned 17 seasons while slashing .294/.409/.511 and producing 64.5 wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference.

Votto missed the first two-and-a-half months of the 2023 campaign while recovering from left shoulder surgery. He returned on June 19 and posted a .747 OPS with 14 home runs in 65 games the rest of the way.

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That type of production would certainly help the Blue Jays, and it stands to reason that Votto could be a replacement for slugger Daniel Vogelbach, who owns a .395 OPS this year, on the major-league roster. Both are left-handed hitters best suited either as DHs or as pinch-hitting options off the bench and because of their similar skillsets, it would seem redundant to keep both.

Nonetheless, the Blue Jays won’t need to make that decision until Votto shows more progress. That will take some time and, to his credit, Votto has expressed a willingness to play anywhere as he works his way back to the majors.

“Baseball is the same everywhere,” Votta said during spring training. “I’m grateful that it’s here in Toronto. Buffalo. Extended spring training. New Hampshire. Dunedin, Florida State League. I’m down for whatever.”

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Bruins and Panthers exchange handshakes after six-game series

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 20:33

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No simple answer to Blue Jays’ offensive woes as Rays become latest to silence bats

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 20:18

TORONTO – Statcast’s newly public bat-tracking data dropped at the beginning of the week and right there at the very bottom of the majors in average bat speed were the Toronto Blue Jays.

The numbers weren’t entirely surprising given how closely they corresponded to their ongoing offensive struggles – last in average exit velocity, tied for the third-fewest home runs and with the fifth-lowest slugging percentage entering Friday.

Still, the objective data starkly demonstrating why the Blue Jays don’t do enough damage at the plate helps reframe the public conversation about their offensive woes. They don’t get their best swings off often enough, that’s an issue, and correcting that isn’t simply a matter of just swinging harder.

“No, it’s not – that’d be great if it was,” explained assistant hitting coach Matt Hague. “It’s kind of a slippery slope. It’s at what cost? What are you sacrificing? If you were to talk to each player, they would probably say something around that same thing. Bat speed is important, but it’s also a function of other things.”

For a team that spent the off-season trying to address the offensive shortcomings of 2023 that were deemed to be an outlier, that’s a bad place to be past the quarter-mark of the new season. The Blue Jays fell deeper into the muck Friday, when lefty Tyler Alexander was perfect through the first 22 batters before surrendering a one-out single to Danny Jansen and a two-run homer to Davis Schneider during a three-run eighth inning rally, too little, too late in a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

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At 19-24, they dropped five games below .500 for the first time this year and while there’s ample runway remaining, they’ve yet to play with the consistency needed to emerge from the hole they’ve dug.

“It’s a long season, it’s not really so-called time to worry in that aspect of it. It’s more so just the urgency to fix things now,” said Chris Bassitt, who threw five shutout innings before allowing three runs in the sixth. “There’s obviously a point in the season where you look at it, and you’re like, we’ve got to make changes, whatever it may be. I’m not saying that right now’s the time to do that. We’ve just got to play better.”

That starts at the plate, where the bat-speed data is not new to the Blue Jays or other clubs, who have had the information for a few years now. During that time, they went from an offence that in 2021 was third in the majors in runs and in 2022 was fourth, to one that in 2023 was 14th and this year 29th.

An area of focus the past three years has been on “swing decisions,” said manager John Schneider, “and if you look up, I think we’re top five in baseball in terms of what we’re swinging at and on the lower end of what we’re doing with those pitches. (Hitting the ball harder) is where our focus has shifted to before the year started. So just waiting for that to hopefully even out a little bit.”

Easier said than done, of course, since actions in the batter’s box are always about trade-offs. Harder swings can mean less contact, an area where the Blue Jays have markedly improved, so “when you are hitting the ball hard at the expense of probably striking out, how do you make yourself swing at better pitches and still hit the ball hard?” said Schneider. “I think we’ve kind of tackled that. And in doing so, I’m not in a hitter’s mind, but does that affect the intent with which they’re swinging? That’s kind of where we’ve landed this year, really. And just making sure that they understand, yes, you’re swinging at good pitches, don’t be afraid to turn it loose. And get the best out of whatever your best is.”

In that way, bat speed is only part of the story, even if it is a key part of the total picture.

Hague likes to think of bat speed as a threshold that combines with swing path and depth of path to create a player’s so-called ‘A’ swing. The goal, of course, is for hitters to use that as often as possible, but there are layers around deployment.

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“Like, do we get our A swings off after off-speed misses below the zone? Do you get your A swing off on the next fastball? Off-speed can blend into fastball timing, for instance,” said Hague. “Let’s say a hitter’s best bat speed is one where the barrel works really vertical. That’ll be good against a sinker guy but terrible against a four-seam guy. In theory having adjustable hitters, hitters that can adjust but have still decent bat speed, that’s kind of the sweet spot you want to go in. And there is a time and place for a guy just to let it eat on certain pitchers.

“So it’s like this fun balance, an assessment of what does it sacrifice when we do get our A swings off, what’s the tendency (of the pitcher) and trying to match that up,” he continued. “And right now we’re honing down on making sure we’re getting more of our A swings off. Where our barrel speeds are right now, we can’t run from it. It’s bottom of the league. … But what does it sacrifice to be able to achieve that?”

Somewhere in that murky grey lies the answer to the Blue Jays’ offensive issues.

Some of it is no doubt personnel-related – in 2021, for instance, their lineup included Marcus Semien, Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – but there still should be more production in the current lineup than they’ve shown.

The Blue Jays are trying to use their game planning to unlock the missing pop, trying to get their best swings off in advantage counts, with some of the contact-oriented swings coming with two strikes.

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“A lot of it is them understanding like, hey, this is a guy you can go take your normal swing off, or this is a guy where you might have to be a little different from what your swing path is,” said Hague. “The tough part is trying to navigate those without ever sacrificing intent and that’s what we’re really trying to hone down on right now with the team.”

Mindset is part of it, too.

Bo Bichette, who had two more hard-hit balls on an 0-for-4 night, ranks 164th in the majors with an average bat speed of 70.3 m.p.h., but in terms of the number of balls he’s squared up, he ranks 37th at 69 despite a quiet start to the season.

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“I would always try to figure out how to get your best swing off,” he said. “Obviously if you’re swinging as hard as you can and you’re missing every ball in BP, that’s probably not the way to go. For me personally, when I don’t hit well, I’m (just trying to make contact), which isn’t always the best recipe. If you’re always focused on (making contact) you aren’t necessarily getting all of your talent out there.”

And when even the intent is right, the feel and mechanics play into producing the best bat speed, too.

“Just making sure I’m on time,” Davis Schneider, second on the Blue Jays with five homers, said of his keys for using his A swing. “You can have a good swing, but if you’re not on time, then you’re not going to put a good barrel on it.”

Too often this season and last, the Blue Jays haven’t put enough good barrels on the ball, which is why they are where they are. Correcting that isn’t only a matter of swinging harder, it’s a matter of swinging better, too.

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Assassin-like Heise leads Minnesota over Toronto, to PWHL final

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 19:27

TORONTO — Taylor Heise isn’t sure what the title of Minnesota’s winning song is, the one they blast in the dressing room after victories, but the author of the game-winner that led her team to the PWHL championship final knows the gist of the tune.

“I just know it says ‘win, win, win, win,’ and then it has a bad word, and then it’s everything else: ‘Win, win, win,’” a grinning Heise said Friday night, after Minnesota earned a third straight victory against Toronto to complete a reverse sweep, to finish off one hell of a comeback, so they could hear that tune again.

“So, just sing about winning,” Heise added, dancing a little in her chair to underscore the point. “Winning’s fun, and winning as a team is somethin’ indescribable, especially when you have everyone in the locker room jumping around, singing, we’ve got our coaches coming in, dancing and stuff, so it’s extremely fun.”

Minnesota head coach Ken Klee made it clear that he wasn’t dancing, but he was feeling good when Game 5 was over and done with Friday night. He won a Game 7 while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs 20 years ago, and said being behind the bench was a lot more nerve-racking than playing himself.

In front of a raucous and sold-out Toronto crowd, the fourth-seeded Minnesota underdogs earned a 4-1 win (with two empty-netters) to take Game 5 in a series that top-seeded Toronto led 2-0, before dropping three straight.

Minnesota will play Boston for the inaugural Walter Cup in a best-of-five championship series that opens on Sunday in Boston.

The goal that got Minnesota there was assassin-like. Heise, the No. 1 draft pick ahead of this season, broke a 1-1 tie nearly halfway through the third period on the power-play when she labelled an absolute rocket of a wrister into the top corner. A bullet that beat Toronto netminder Kristen Campbell, glove-side.

Klee told Heise that was the best she’d played “in quite a while.” Friday marked her first and second goals of the series. “And she just had a different energy, a different attention to detail, a different energy to her game,” Klee said. “When she stopped and started she was on it, you could tell. I mean, I got people watching our line and said, ‘That’s the best game I’ve seen Taylor Heise play,’ and I said, ‘I agree. I already told her.’”

Top-seeded Toronto, who earned the right to select their playoff opponent (they picked No. 4 seed Minnesota over No. 3 seed Boston) is done for the season.

Toronto defender Renata Fast took a deep breath as she sat down in front of reporters post-game. Captain Blayre Turnbull had glossy eyes and fought back tears.

“It stings a lot right now,” said Fast, the agile defender who had a team-leading five shots on net in Game 5.

“I think the way that we battled and competed tonight, I really thought that we could pull out a win, but it’s tough to feel that way and come up short,” Turnbull added. The captain was one of the best players on the ice Friday, at both ends.

This Toronto crowd wanted it badly for their team, and they were amped all game, waving towels, yelling “Let’s go T-O!” Every time Campbell (nickname: “Soupy”) made a save, a booming “Soouuuup!” rang out in the crowd. Fans wore nurse hats for star forward Sarah Nurse, and sat behind a sign for rookie of the year candidate Emma Maltais that read “Welcome to EMMA NATION Buckle Up!”

During the singing of the Canadian national anthem, the big screen flashed to a grinning Natalie Spooner and fans lost it, mid-anthem. The league’s leading scorer, Spooner suffered a season-ending knee injury in Game 3 and Toronto wasn’t able to win a game since she left the lineup, though coach Troy Ryan pointed out that wasn’t why his team couldn’t get it done and earn that third win.

It was scoreless through the first period, and then this game blew open unlike any other in this series, which had featured shutouts in all four previous games.

Nearly mid-way through the second, Minnesota struck on the power play, when Kelly Pannek hit the post and Denisa Křížová fired the rebound into a wide-open net. The arena went quiet for a minute or so, and then fans stood and waved their towels, rallying their team.

Seconds after that, the crowd absolutely exploded. Just 38 seconds after Minnesota scored, Toronto tied things up when Victoria Bach saucered a pass over a defender’s stick to hit Rebecca Leslie, who was charging toward the net and deflected the puck home. But that was the lone puck they could get past Maddie Rooney, who made 27 saves for the win.

“She’s definitely been our backbone for the team and I think she’s bailed us out when we needed it,” said Minnesota forward Grace Zumwinkle, a rookie of the year candidate. “And I think it allows us to play a lot more confident in front of her.”

Heise fired that bullet of a winner, Minnesota’s second of the night and second on the power play, with just under 12 minutes to go in the third.

Toronto fans didn’t lose an ounce of enthusiasm, and even busted out some “Ref you suck!” chants with three minutes to go in the third, after Turnbull took a hit.

Sophia Kunin added the dagger empty-netter, and then Heise put another into the open goal for her second of the game. The 24-year-old Minnesotan was named the game’s first star.

Minnesota’s celebration on the ice began right after the buzzer, but even as they celebrated, Toronto fans stood and waved their towels and cheered and clapped in appreciation of their team.

The only time Turnbull smiled in her post-game press conference was when she talked about those fans, who she recognized were cheering when the game was nearly over, even through the sadness she felt, knowing that her team wasn’t coming back.

“And then you feel a lot of gratitude for the fans, for the support that we got here in Toronto. I think it was unbelievable all season, regardless of what rink we played in, our fans showed up and cheered us on,” Turnbull said. “And to hear them support us throughout the duration of that game, especially at the end when it wasn’t looking good, it meant a lot to us.”

This Minnesota team played with a chip on their shoulder, knowing Toronto had decided to play them in the first round of the playoffs.

“Obviously they thought that they were going to beat us in the series, and I think coming in and winning two games, I think they were pretty confident with that…For us, we’re never going to give up. We are from the State of Hockey,” Heise said. “We had the belief in ourselves and honestly, I don’t think anyone else did, especially by the way we ended [the season] and then the way the series started, the reverse sweep. I’m just really proud of our group and I’m excited to go to Boston with them.”

And so the final is set: Boston vs. Minnesota to determine the first-ever PWHL champions.

“I think we’re going to relish in the fact that we kind of came out and we kicked some ass today and did a really good job in this series,” Heise said.

“If we focus on what we can do, we’re going to come out and we’re going to shock Boston, we’re going to shock, you know, even ourselves, I think sometimes, because I think we have more potential than we can even imagine right now.”

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Adam Svensson leads Canadian contingent at PGA Championship as three expected to make cut

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 19:15

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Canadian contingent at the PGA Championship will likely be reduced to three for the weekend.

Adam Svensson, at 3 under, leads the way while Adam Hadwin (2 under) and Corey Conners (1 under) will also make the cut.

Play was suspended at 8:41 p.m. ET due to darkness after a one-hour, 20-minute delay in the morning. The cut was at 1 under when play was called for the day.

Svensson made 12 straight pars to start his second round and added two late birdies to get into red figures for the day. He finished his day tied for 41st, nine back of the lead.

Svensson told Sportsnet he was hitting the ball well, but he struggled with a cold putter on Friday and with the slow pace of play.

“Had a nice couple birdies coming in, but it was kind of a slow day and struggled there,” Svensson said. “Couple putts that I missed. The first three or four holes I could have been a few under par but I came out even.

“I’m just happy I got this round over with.”

Svensson said although just making the cut is not where he wanted to be, playing all four rounds at a major means “you’re playing well.”

Hadwin, meanwhile, had a “nice round” going and was 2 under after he made the turn. He made three bogeys in his final four holes, however, including a three putt on the par-4 9th.

“Drove it really well, hit a lot of fairways, hit good shots on par-3s. Gave myself a bunch of looks early. I didn’t capitalize and made a few mistakes coming in which really puts a sour taste on what could have been a pretty decent round,” Hadwin said.

Hadwin and Conners are battling it out for the second spot on the Canadian Olympic team behind Nick Taylor. A good weekend from either of them could mean a climb up the standings.

“I’m too far back to make a run at the tournament, but two good rounds on the weekend will be a good finish in a big event,” Hadwin said.

Taylor finished at 1 over, finishing his last hole after the horn blew and making par on 18 to miss the cut.

Taylor Pendrith, who won his first PGA Tour title two weeks ago and backed that up with a tie for 10th last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, finished at 1 over and will miss the cut.

Mackenzie Hughes, despite a 1-under 70 on Friday, will also miss the cut. He was 2 over after 36 holes.

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Hughes teed off at the same time Scottie Scheffler arrived at the driving range after his early-morning arrest and said he was “impressed but not surprised” to see Scheffler shoot a 5-under 66.

“You’re arrested in the morning and you go out and shoot a couple under in the afternoon. To me, it’s wild,” Hughes said. “He’s on a Tiger-esque run and he just can’t be slowed down by anything. The only thing that could have slowed him down is if he was literally in the jail cell and never got out.”

Scheffler is at 9 under through two rounds and trails leader Xander Schauffele by three.

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Report: Celtics’ Porzingis expected to miss first two games of Eastern Conference Finals

SportsNets - Fri, 05/17/2024 - 18:21

The Boston Celtics received some good and bad news on Friday.

Centre Kristaps Porzingis is expected to miss the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals but there is optimism he’ll be able to return later in the series, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

Porzingis, 28, has missed the team’s last six games with a right soleus (calf) strain after suffering an injury in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Miami Heat.

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He missed the entirety of the second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but Boston made due, taking them down in five games to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third-straight year.

According to Wojnarowski, Porzingis has made some progress in his recovery from the injury and is ramping up his on-court activity in hopes that he returns for the Conference Finals.

He’s set to miss the first two games of the series, which are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday. Both games are in Boston.

The Celtics don’t yet know who they’ll be taking on in the third round, as the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are caught in a tight series, with New York leading the way 3-2 and Game 6 taking place on Friday.

Porzingis has enjoyed a solid first season in Boston after being acquired in a trade last off-season. He averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 locks while shooting 51.6 per cent from the field and 37.5 per cent from 3-point range.

In the playoffs, he is averaging 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

Al Horford, 37, has been strong in his stead, averaging 9.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks and scored 22 points in the series-clinching Game 5 win over the Cavaliers on Wednesday.

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