LEAF NOTES: First goal in a Game 7 will be followed closely
'That first goal is huge, but we're not thinking about it,' he insisted Sunday morning. 'We're here to play our game and as long as we stick to what's working for us then we're in good hands.
'We believe in our system. It's a three-period, 60-minute game, which could be potentially longer, but if we do a good job finishing our checks, wearing the other team down, mistakes happen and we have the skill to capitalize on those.'
Scott Laughton, who last played a Game 7 in 2020 at Scotiabank Arena during the COVID bubble when this Philadelphia Flyers lost to the New York Islanders, said the Leafs shouldn't be nervous after winning what amounted to a Game 7 on Friday.
'You can feel the energy in here this morning,' Laughton said. 'Whether we score first or not, stay patient.'
Other tidbits from NHL Stats on Game 7 before Sunday include the home team having a record of 118-82 and 52 per cent are one-goal results. Of the 50 Game 7's that required overtime, the home side held a 27-23 advantage.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edmonton Journal
11 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Matheson: Former Oiler Matt Benning rolling with the punches in Toronto
Article content Matt Benning is long past sweating the large stuff, like in his second season with the Edmonton Oilers when he says worry at some of his body of work caused him to lose some hair. Article content So, after his first extended season in the AHL last winter with the Maple Leafs organization after they got him and two draft picks from San Jose for Swedish D Timothy Liljegren in late October, 2024, the 31-year-old defenceman will roll with the punches when Toronto's training camp opens next month. Article content Article content Benning knows the score, this son of another NHL defenceman Brian, the grandson of his late decorated amateur hockey scout Elmer, charged with finding kids who might be able to play in the best league in the world. Matt has played close to 500 NHL games as a sixth-round draft pick in 2012—only one player, Connor Brown, from that draft class has played in more games (601) as a sixth-rounder. He has bucked fairly large odds, this former Spruce Grove Saints D, to have gotten this far. Article content He's only just turned 31 in May, so far from old but he is on his fourth team after Edmonton, Nashville and San Jose. He has played just 21 NHL games the past two seasons with his hip surgery to repair a torn labrum with the Sharks and his trade to the Leafs. He's played 464 games in the NHL and teams always covet veteran D, but the Leafs never gave him a sniff last season, burying all but $100,000 of his $1.25 million contract in the AHL after the trade of Liljegren. Article content Article content Until last season, he had only played five games in the minors for Bakersfield, coming out of Northeastern University in Boston, and making the Oilers as a free-agent in 2016. He's long been a grinder, but he has to prove he's still an NHLer as he skates at Perry Pearn's annual 3-on-3 late summer pro camp here. Article content Article content 'I was fine with it (AHL last season). I was excited to play more, find my game again after my big (hip) injury. Individually, if I felt I could be in the NHL again, then it was the right move to be down there,' said Benning, who was a starter pretty much for all of his 248 league games as an Oiler and 16 more in the playoffs. Article content 'I still think I'm an NHL defenceman' Article content He's a defenceman, in a lot of ways mirroring the career of Oilers' Troy Stecher, both right-shot D, more defenders than point-producers. The dogged, undrafted Stecher is maybe faster but he's smaller than Benning.
Canada News.Net
a day ago
- Canada News.Net
Shane Bieber to start for Blue Jays on Friday in Miami
(Photo credit: Lisa Scalfaro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Starting pitcher Shane Bieber, who won the 2020 Cy Young Award, is slated to make his debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, manager John Schneider informed the assembled media before his team's series with the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. The Blue Jays will remain on the road and will take on the Miami Marlins on Friday. 'You can allow yourself to get pretty excited when you're adding a guy of that caliber,' Schneider said. 'Once you get to know him, he's the definition of a pro. He fits right in with the guys that we have already in our rotation. He's really, really smart. He understands what he's good at and what he's trying to do. He's confident right now.' The Blue Jays acquired the 30-year-old right-hander from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline on July 31 in exchange for minor league pitcher Khal Stephen. Bieber has not pitched in the major leagues since April 2, 2024. He threw six scoreless innings against Seattle but reported right elbow discomfort after the game. Four days later, the Guardians announced that he would undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Bieber returned to the mound on May 31, 2025, with the Guardians' rookie-ball affiliate in the Arizona Complex League. He has made seven starts for Cleveland and Toronto minor league squads, recording a 1.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, fanning 37 batters, while walking only two in 29 innings of work. In seven seasons with Cleveland, Bieber owned a record of 62-32, with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He won the Cy Young Award in 2020, when the season was truncated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bieber posted an 8-1 record with a league-best 1.63 ERA. He struck out an MLB-best 122 batters in 77 1/3 innings. Bieber is joining a strong rotation which currently features Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt.
Edmonton Journal
a day ago
- Edmonton Journal
Oilers notebook: Keith Acton fondly recalls 'resilient' Mark Kirton who died after fight with ALS
Former Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup winner and associate coach Keith Acton fondly remembers his friend and ex-NHL forward Mark Kirton, who fought the bravest of fights with ALS before dying Sunday in Ontario. Article content 'It's so sad…he really dedicated himself in every way to generate resources to fight this for others, you know, coming down the pipe, making people aware (ALS),' said Acton, who played three years of OHL junior hockey in Peterborough with Kirton, who was diagnosed with the awful disease in 2018 and died at 67. Article content Article content 'He gave a message on video for (former NHL goalie and TV broadcaster) Greg Millen's funeral (April). Mark was always thinking of others. He was a good player, a good person and so resilient,' said Acton, who was successfully treated for testicular cancer when a Maple Leafs' assistant coach to Pat Quinn. Article content Article content No disrespect to Kirton's 266 NHL game career after being a second-round Toronto draft pick in 1978—it's not easy making the best league in the world—but he got more interest for his ALS battle and raising money to draw awareness to the insidious disease. He founded ALS Action Canada with PALS (Patients with ALS), a patient-led alternative to find a cure in 2020. Article content Article content Article content Five years is usually the high bar with people with ALS and Kirton lived seven. In December, 2023, after Kirton spearheaded the effort, the seven Canadian teams got together to help raise funds and reached $1 million. Article content Article content 'He was a dedicated hockey player who loved the game but his dedication to this (ALS) was a whole other level,' said Acton, who won a Cup ring here in 1988, and later was on Dallas Eakins' staff, along with owning a Boston Pizza franchise for about 20 years in Stouffville, Ont. and currently on city council there. Article content Kirton and Acton played three years together in Peterborough, the first season for Roger Neilson, who later would coach the Leafs and Canucks. Acton would go on to play 1,023 NHL games, and Kirton had stops with Toronto, Detroit and Vancouver, becoming an NHL role player, lessons learned from Neilson. Article content 'Mark was strong for his size and he did the basics…he was a Roger (Neilson) kind of player, disciplined and dedicated the defensive side of the game. Good on face-offs, a good penalty-killer and he could score. He wasn't flash and dash but he was a very serviceable player. I'm sure Roger was instrumental in Mark being drafted to the Leafs because, and deservedly so, Roger held Mark in high regard,' said Acton.
