Toronto Blue Jays suffer their third straight late-inning loss behind Connor Wong’s career night

Don’t know about you, but losing games late are not fun. The Blue Jays lost their third consecutive game – all three coming at the mercy of an opponent’s run(s) in the 8th inning or later – with a 7-6 defeat to the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night.

Connor Wong homered off of Erik Swanson in the bottom of the 8th to put the Sox ahead for good, the seventh run that the bullpen has allowed in the last three games. The Red Sox now have clinched at least a split of the four-game series.
Blue Jays Nation’s Player of the Game: Daulton Varsho
Varsho had one of his best games as a Blue Jay, going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run that broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning. Varsho’s other hit was a double in the fourth inning that served as Toronto’s first hit of the game. Tonight was Varsho’s first multi-hit game since April 12th against Detroit.
Things worth mentioning
The night of Connor Wong: Wong was one of the pieces acquired in the Mookie Betts trade, and he had undoubtedly the best game of his career tonight. Wong had a Wendy’s special, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double, and a single. Wong had everything going for him in a multitude of ways; the two home runs he had …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

10 observations from the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2022-23 season

10 observations from the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2022-23 season

With the excruciatingly low 82 game season behind us and the games that matter about to begin, it seems only right to look back and see what we can take away from this marathon back to the place we were in at exactly this time last season. Waiting to see if the Leafs can defeat the most recently dominant playoff team in the league in the first round of the playoffs.
The Leafs ran a lot of it back this year but to say that the changes to the Leafs as well as the changes to the Lightning won’t have an impact in the next few days won’t matter is a lie. I mean the Leafs have all-new goaltending, a legitimate third line center option, and six new players from the trade deadline alone. They are very much the same but also different. Here are ten observations from the Leafs season and how they could be impactful in the playoffs.
1. Sheldon Keefe is less set in his ways
To say that Sheldon Keefe is quick to adapt and doesn’t have his set plan that he will go back to on a regular basis is a lie, but he has become a lot more willing to try new things …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Woll breaks record, Abruzzese clicking, Johnstone’s first, and Toronto’s All-Stars: Marlies Weekly

Woll breaks record, Abruzzese clicking, Johnstone’s first, and Toronto’s All-Stars: Marlies Weekly

Another week, another stretch of games won by the Marlies in what has been a remarkable season to date.
Toronto had four games scheduled throughout the last week, though they only played three. On Friday night, while the Marlies were facing the Manitoba Moose, a fan experienced a medical emergency at the end of the first period.
Both teams — and the AHL — agreed to suspend the game when it was 1-1 after the opening frame. The AHL said the game will be completed at a later date though they haven’t specified when that might be just yet.
The other three games that the Marlies played this week went very well. Matter of fact, Toronto won every one of them.
They defeated Laval 4-2 last Sunday, then beat the Manitoba Moose 3-2 on Wednesday, and after their game was suspended on Friday, the Marlies bussed to Rochester and won their game against the Amerks on Saturday, 7-5.
Joseph Woll played in all three wins this week and has since broke the Marlies record for most consecutive wins in a season. And after defeating Rochester on Saturday, the 24-year-old is now undefeated in 10-straight games this season while holding a .926 save percentage.
READ MORE: ‘He’s never out of the play’: Joseph Woll ties Marlies record and could break it w …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost four consecutive games against the Arizona Coyotes

The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost four consecutive games against the Arizona Coyotes

The Toronto Maple Leafs played four games against the Arizona Coyotes in the 2022 calendar year. They lost all four.

With their 6–3 win over Toronto on Thursday, Arizona completed its second consecutive series sweep of the Maple Leafs. They defeated the Maple Leafs 2–1 and 5–4 in 2021–22 and previously won 4–2 in Toronto earlier this season.
The Coyotes didn’t even need their two top forwards to chip in to defeat the Maple Leafs last night. Despite both Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz being held off the board, the Coyotes battled back from 2–1 and 3–2 deficits to win by a 6–3 score.
Vince Vaughn and Michael Phelps were among the fans in the sellout crowd at Mullett Arena for the Maple Leafs’ first-ever game in Tempe, AZ. The Coyotes celebrated the occasion by handing out free jerseys to every fan in attendance. And both teams put on a good show.
The game marked the return of defenceman Morgan Rielly to the Maple Leafs’ lineup, and he showed both good and bad signs in his first game since late November. He was on the ice when Pontus Holmberg scored Toronto’s first goal of the game, but he was also caught pinching in a tough …

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Author: Mike Gould / The Leafs Nation

Raptors fans react to Pascal Siakam’s 52-point night vs. Knicks at MSG

Raptors fans react to Pascal Siakam’s 52-point night vs. Knicks at MSG

Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors had won just two games in December and lost six straight before their duel against Julius Randle and the white-hot New York Knicks, meaning that the odds were very clearly stacked against them. The Raptors needed a win, as the team’s season remains in dire straits. While the Raptors […]
Raptors fans react to Pascal Siakam’s 52-point night vs. Knicks at MSG – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Raptors fans, NBA Twitter react to dominant Pascal Siakam return

Raptors fans, NBA Twitter react to dominant Pascal Siakam return

The Toronto Raptors went 5-5 in their past 10 games, but that was due to the absence of Pascal Siakam. His groin injury kept him out for the better part of three weeks, though that exile finally ended in a Monday night showdown against a very good Cleveland Cavaliers team. Siakam was not eased back […]
Raptors fans, NBA Twitter react to dominant Pascal Siakam return – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Maple Leafs dominate Penguins on Hockey Night: Leafs Rundown

Maple Leafs dominate Penguins on Hockey Night: Leafs Rundown

It feels like games against the Penguins are always slightly cursed, but this one worked out pretty well. The Leafs kept the pressure on the Penguins, earning a 4-1 win.
From that first early goal on, the Leafs were healthily in charge of this game. Here are some thoughts on the game.
Behind The Net
No, not the ancient, now defunct stats website. This is to do with the success Toronto had tonight forcing the Penguins defenders to face the wrong way. Twice they capitalized with a pass behind them that scored on Casey DeSmith. First on goal #2 by Pontus Holmberg, and again on goal #3 by William Nylander:

PONTUS HOLMBERG 🚨
WHAT A SHOT! TOP CORNER! pic.twitter.com/T3x8A8IOAQ
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) November 27, 2022

WILLIAM NYLANDER 🚨
IT’S 3-0! pic.twitter.com/UP2bygPzcb
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) November 27, 2022

Källgren performance
The Swedish 3rd string goalie has been filling in with the Leafs a lot this season, with injuries to both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov. It’s not often that the 3rd stringer has the most starts, 2 months into the season, but with his 9th start for the Maple Leafs tonight, Källgren has that strange honour.
The netminder has only had 2 “quality starts”, plus a third excellent performance in relief against Boston; the remainder have been well below average. This 1-goal-against performance Pittsburgh is definitely a boon to his season stats. He did only face [SHOTS HOW MANY???] in this one, but this is an undeniable success.
No defenders, no problem
With 3 of the Leafs’ apparent top 4 defenders out on injured reserve at the moment, it would be expected that the team would struggle defensively. And certainly, the team’s shooting stats have taken a hit in that regard. In the last 2 games, the Leafs allowed a lot more even strength shot attempts against than normal, ~63 per 60 minutes, versus ~53 per 60 minutes for the previous 20 games. That’s a small sample to be sure …

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Author: Ryan Hobart / The Leafs Nation

Some way too early training camp analysis: Leaflets

The Leafs have played two preseason games in a split squad series, so now seems like as good a time as any to start talking in absolutes about who sucks and who should be on Tavares’ wing, right?
No. Okay, well, I’ll do my best to get through this post without reading anything into the games played and instead focus more on what’s to come and what we can potentially takeaway from the camp as a whole so far.
Cuts without actual cuts

Keefe sees today as “the end of training camp” with a day off tomorrow, new practice assignments and emphasis on regular season prep starting Monday.
— Lance Hornby (@sunhornby) September 25, 2022

This was one of the more interesting quotes following the preseason games, and should give us a good understanding of the direction the Leafs are going in. Keefe followed up that cuts weren’t imminent, and that makes sense as well. The AHL camps aren’t open yet, and it’s still nice to have some tryhards around to work the likely roster players against.
I’d suspect we see two very different groups for the Leafs in camp tomorrow, one that mirrors what we’ve seen from the Leafs in previous camps. We’ll see the players likely bound for the Leafs top six put together and paired with more defensively minded players bound for the Marlies, and in the second group, we’ll see the third and fourth line locks put with the offensively skilled AHL group.
The preliminary days of camp likely helped connect the dots that Jarnkrok should be playing with the top six group, Malgin should be put in a spot where he can best compete for an NHL job, …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

A big strike zone helped Martin Perez carve up the Blue Jays on Sunday

Winning the first two games of the series was an absolute must for the Blue Jays. John Schneider had planned for a bullpen day on Sunday, and the Blue Jays were facing Martin Perez, the Rangers’ ace in the series finale.

Toronto couldn’t overcome the above, as they fell to Texas 4-1 and failed to sweep the series.
Perez was dealing, which should come as no surprise since he has been having a career season with the Rangers. He was a hot topic at the trade deadline, as he was a name that floated around trade talks with a few teams including the Blue Jays. Perez threw six innings, giving up six hits, one run, two walks, and striking out seven.
Perez was solid, but he also got a few beneficial calls from home plate umpire Rob Drake. Multiple Blue Jays hitters were displeased with Drake’s strike zone, mainly Bo Bichette. Bichette went 1-for-4 on the day, but in all three of his at-bats resulting in outs, he took issue with at least one of Drake’s calls. This included his strikeout looking in the top of the 3rd, in which Bichette stopped to have a back-and-forth with Drake explaining that he felt differently about Drake’s Doug Eddings-esque strike zone. Bo was …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation

Cubs withstand Blue Jays rally, take series finale 7-5

Although the Jays took the first two games of this series against the Cubs, it was clear that Chicago wasn’t going to be an easy out. Both games required Toronto to come back from early deficits, and tonight, the early deficit was a little too much to handle. Chicago jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and never trailed to avoid the sweep in a 7-5 win.
It was another rough go for Mitch White, who allowed 6 runs over 4 and 2/3 innings, elevating his ERA to 4.67. White ran into trouble early on, as Cubs batters forced deep pitch counts. White threw 70 pitches in the first three innings, and similar to his other starts with the Blue Jays, had a lot of traffic on the bases.
The Cubs countered with a bullpen game, throwing a total of seven pitchers at the Blue Jays offense. Although the Jays were able to have a little bit of a rally, the likes of Manuel Rodriguez, Mark Leiter Jr., Michael Rucker and others kept the Blue Jays from ever taking the lead. Three of the Blue Jays top 5 batters in the order – George Springer, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Bo Bichette, combined to go 0-12 on the night.
…

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation