Latest news with #Kämpf
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bell on North Wilkesboro atmosphere: 'I love that we revived this race track'
Czechs Eyeing Kämpf If Leafs Lose Game 7; Hertl Hurt Czechia still has a free forward spot on its World Championship roster and the team is apparently eyeing David Kämpf in the event the Toronto Maple Leafs lose Game 7 of their Stanley Cup second-round playoff series to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. 1:03 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Czechs Eyeing Kämpf If Leafs Lose Game 7; Hertl Hurt
Czechia still has a free forward spot on its World Championship roster and the team is apparently eyeing David Kämpf in the event the Toronto Maple Leafs lose Game 7 of their Stanley Cup second-round playoff series to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. 'David is a player we would be very interested in,' Czech assistant coach Jiří Kalous was quoted by 'If his health allows it and he wants to come, which I believe he does, we would be happy to have him.' Kämpf did not play in Game 6 on Friday, which Toronto won 2-0 to tie the series and force a seventh game. He was apparently a healthy scratch after playing Game 5 – his only playoff game so far this spring. Had Toronto lost on Friday, it's conceivable that Kämpf could have arrived in Denmark in time for Czechia's penultimate Group B game on Monday against Germany. As it now stands, he would have a tight window to make the team's last group game on Tuesday against the USA, and the quarterfinals on Thursday might be more realistic. The Czechs were hoping to fill the last forward spot with Tomáš Hertl, whose Vegas Golden Knights were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. However, an apparent shoulder injury will prevent him from joining the team. 'Due to the severity of Tomáš Hertl's injury, through which he played in the playoffs, the club is unable to release him for the World Championship,' said Czech GM Jiří Šlégr. 'He needs to undergo further examination. His physical condition is not sufficient to play for the national team.' The Czechs are dealing with injuries to forward Jakub Lauko and defenseman Tomáš Kundrátek but are hopeful to have both back in the lineup for the quarterfinals. William Karlsson Will Arrive In Sweden On Sunday: 'The Body Feels Good' His Vegas Golden Knights were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs on Wednesday, and on Friday morning, William Karlsson announced that he was heading home to Sweden to play for his country at the IIHF World Championship.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Maple Leafs lineup questions vs. Panthers: Game-time decisions loom over Game 5
TORONTO — No hyperbole here: Game 5 against the Florida Panthers is the most important game of the Maple Leafs' season and likely in the playoff careers of their stars. After squandering a 2-0 series lead, the Leafs have surrendered all the momentum in the second round. The Panthers are looking comfortable playing their nasty, punishing brand of hockey. How the Leafs — especially the core — respond could not only dictate how this series unfolds, but also the future of this roster. The NHL's most touted free agent this summer is wearing blue and white, after all. Advertisement Teams that win Game 5 of a knotted series historically have gone on to win the series most of the time. And so a Leafs win, with dominant performances from their stars, could put the team in the driver's seat to, just maybe, finally get out of the second round for the first time in a generation. A loss would see the team head back to Florida, where the Panthers have lost just two of their last eight playoff games stretching back to last year's Stanley Cup Final. And a loss would amplify questions over whether this core can win late in series. It appears the Leafs' lineup is in for a shakeup, too. It's the kind of game that will see the Leafs either rewrite or re-establish old narratives. Buckle up. ??? McCabe — Tanev Rielly — Carlo Benoit — Ekman-Larsson Woll Murray At Tuesday morning's practice, it looked like nothing much would change for Game 5. By Wednesday morning, though, it was the opposite. Change appears to be in the making for the Leafs' Game 5 lineup, almost certainly in the forward group. Some hints: The team's black aces didn't stay out for extra work at the optional morning skate as they usually would. They were called off quickly. One of those extras, David Kämpf, didn't skate at all. Neither did a usual participant, Bobby McMann. All Craig Berube would say was the Leafs had game-time decisions to make and those decisions weren't about injuries. They were coach's decisions. Change in the bottom six feels most likely with what little they've provided so far this series. Maybe that's Kämpf and/or Nick Robertson, who could provide a jolt of offence in his return to the lineup. My thought? Hook Robertson up with McMann and Max Domi and hope that line, sporadically punchy during the regular season, will pop for a goal. And bring in Kämpf for more speed and size in the middle of the fourth line, pairing him with Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz. — Siegel Advertisement Can the Leafs make the Panthers pay for penalties? The Leafs are just 2-for-15 on the power play in this series. Again and again, the top unit has missed opportunities to come through in big spots and generate momentum. In Game 4, the most dangerous player on the Leafs' three power plays was probably Sam Reinhart, a Panther, who generated a couple dangerous short-handed looks. Keys for the group in Game 5: Cleaner entries, quicker puck movement, a more direct shot-based approach, and maybe most important of all, persistence. As William Nylander told me on Tuesday, the Leafs have let one missed chance on the power play spoil their approach on subsequent opportunities. Keep an eye on Nylander in Game 5. He has yet to register a shot on the power play all series. — Siegel Will Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner produce when it matters? Considering their AAV and production through the regular season and early in playoff rounds, Auston Matthews' and Mitch Marner's late-series production has been disappointing. Through Games 5 to 7 of Matthews' playoff career: 21 GP, nine goals, five assists. Through Games 5 to 7 of Marner's playoff career: 23 GP, one goal, nine assists. Those kinds of numbers won't suffice if the Leafs want to win the best-of-three that this series has become. The Leafs need more offence in the big moments from the players who should be delivering. Game 5 against the Senators — in which the Leafs could have closed out the series and bought themselves an extra few days of rest — saw Matthews and Marner fail to log a point and go minus-4. Game 5 against the Panthers represents the best chance of their careers to change the narrative surrounding them and their playoff failures. Matthews, in particular, needs to find the back of the net. His defensive work is elite, but the best players in the world put their teams on their backs when it's needed. But Matthews, who scored 69 goals last season, has a total of zero goals in nine career playoff games against the Panthers. Every playoff game so far has felt like one of the most important of each player's career. It's time for them to recognize the stakes and produce. — Kloke Advertisement Can Craig Berube use home ice to his advantage? Games 3 and 4 saw Panthers coach Paul Maurice get the best of the matchups on home ice. He moved the team's Selke Trophy candidate duo on his top line, Aleksander Barkov and Reinhart, away from the Matthews line. Instead, that line dominated the John Tavares line. Maurice threw known Leafs killer Brad Marchand over the boards to defend the Leafs' top line and used the length and range of Seth Jones and Niko Mikkola on the blue line to limit Matthews' shooting opportunities. It worked well enough for the Panthers to even the series. But winning the Atlantic Division gives the Leafs home ice advantage. Now it's on Berube to make the most of getting last change. Whether he can be cagey and decisive enough to put Matthews, Marner and others in prime playmaking and shooting opportunities could end up determining this series. — Kloke The puck drops in Toronto at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sportsnet, CBC, TVAS and ESPN. (Photo of Nick Robertson on Tuesday: Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star via Getty Images)
