{allcanada} Aranda homers, drives in three as AL East-leading Rays beat Blue Jays in series opener

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TORONTO (AP) — Jonathan Aranda hit a home run and drove in three, Richie Palacios had three hits and three RBIs, and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-5 on Monday night, their 15th win in their last 17 games.

Chandler Simpson had three hits, stole two bases and scored three runs as the Rays improved their AL-best record when scoring four runs or more to 21-4. Tampa Bay has won 10 straight and 20 of 21 when scoring four or more.

Andrés Giménez hit two home runs for the Blue Jays, the first multihomer game of his career. Giménez hit a three-run drive off Drew Rasmussen in the second and added a two-run shot off Ian Seymour in the seventh.

Giménez’s homers ended Tampa Bay’s franchise-record streak of allowing three earned runs or fewer at 16 games.

Rasmussen (3-1) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings.

Hunter Bigge got five outs and Bryan Baker finished for his 11th save in 13 chances.

Aranda went 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly and was hit by a pitch.

After Aranda opened the scoring with his sacrifice fly off Kevin Gausman in the first inning, Palacios made it 3-0 with a two-out, two-run single.

Taylor Walls hit an RBI triple in the second and Aranda added an RBI hit.

Simpson stole third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Brandon Valenzuela in the fourth. Aranda made it 7-3 with a leadoff homer in the fifth.

Gausman (2-3) allowed season-highs of 10 hits and seven runs (six earned), in 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out five, reaching 2,000 for his career by fanning Hunter Feduccia to begin the fourth.

Up next

Rays LHP Shane McClanahan (4-2, 2.60 ERA) is scheduled to start on Tuesday against Blue Jays LHP Patrick Corbin (1-1, 3.60).

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{allcanada} NHL fines Canadiens' Xhekaj, Sabres' Malenstyn over Game 3 incidents

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Game 3 of the Montreal Canadiens-Buffalo Sabres series has produced some financial ramifications.

Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj and Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn were each fined over incidents in the Sunday game, the NHL announced on Monday.

Xhekaj took a $3,385.42 hit to his wallet over a play late in the third period in which he punched Sabres forward Sam Carrick amid a scrum.

Malenstyn was docked $3,515.63 over a goalie-interference play in the second period that left Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes shaken up and led to a melee around the net.

The total fines for each player were the maximum allowed under the CBA. Money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Montreal emerged with a 5-2 win to take a 2-1 lead in the second-round series. The sides renew hostilities on Tuesday (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT).

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{allcanada} Dobes continues quick rise for Canadiens in Game 3 win of Eastern 2nd Round

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MONTREAL -- Jakub Dobes fought back the tears as he pointed to his heart, then up to the crowd that was chanting his name.

Five minutes earlier, his Montreal Canadiens had finished off their most impressive showing of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Sunday. Thirteen different Canadiens recorded a point in what was a complete team effort, one that put the Canadiens up 2-1 in this best-of-7 series heading into Game 4 in Montreal on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN).

And on this special night at Bell Centre, the majority of the jubilant crowd of 20,962 weren’t about to leave right away.

Not with the newly crowned Dobes being interviewed at center ice.

“Do-bie, Do-bie, Do-bie,” they yelled with passion for the Canadiens goaltender.

On a young team that this hockey-crazed city is so embracing this spring, what’s it like to be a cult hero here, NHL.com asked him.

“I’m not a hero,” Dobes replied with the innocence of a 24-year-old rookie who didn’t become Montreal’s No. 1 goalie until January. “I’m just me. I’m just a goofy goalie who tries to stop pucks.

“Trust me, I don’t call myself a hero. I pretty much will go home, eat, watch “Game of Thrones” and go to bed. I don’t think that’s anything heroic. And when it’s time to do my job, I will do anything to win and make this franchise, these fans happy, and hopefully will win on Tuesday.”

The media scrum around him in the Canadiens dressing room did a double take.

Did Dobes just describe himself as a “goofy goalie?”

We canvassed a number of his teammates to see if that was accurate.

“That’s true,” defenseman Lane Hutson, himself one of the stars of the game with two assists, said. “He couldn’t have said it any better. But that’s pretty funny.”

Thoughts, Nick Suzuki?

“Yeah, that’s pretty accurate,” the Canadiens captain said with a chuckle. “He’s definitely goofy but has the type of self-confidence that you need.

“He’s a special guy, and they’ve embraced him here over the past three months. This is a town that’s always embraced their goalies so he’s doing a great job.”

The final word came from forward Cole Caufield, who was one of Montreal’s many outstanding players in the victory and ended a one-goal-in-nine-game funk by putting the Canadiens ahead 2-1 at 6:05 of the second period, a lead they would never relinquish.

“I’m glad that’s all he said,” Caufield replied, breaking into laughter.

Care to elaborate?

“He’s a funny kid,” the Canadiens forward said of Dobes’ 26-save performance. “Obviously he’s been huge for us, and saves us when we need him the most. And he’s been unbelievable throughout these playoffs and kept us in every game. So he’s going to keep it going.

“He works hard every day, and is prepared for every moment.”

The same could be said for all these Canadiens, goofy goalie and all.

They laugh at and with their goalie and, for that matter, with each other. They don’t buckle under pressure, they embrace it. With Caufield, a 51-goal scorer during the regular season, barely contributing offensively entering Game 3, they didn’t use it as an excuse and relied on depth scoring to get this deep into the second round. And when they went 26:55 without a shot in Game 7 in their first round sudden-death showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning, they still found a way to win 2-1 on an Alex Newhook third-period goal that he swatted out of the air from behind the goal line that bounced off the back off goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and into the net.

Dobes was greeted after that series victory with a shaving cream shower from his teammates. Coach Martin St. Louis’ postgame speech emulated a Leonardo DiCaprio scene from the hit movie “Wolf of Wall Street” punctuated by the phrase, “We’re not leaving!”

No, they’re not.

And with every passing day, with every game that takes them deeper into this playoff run, you can see their swagger and belief mushrooming, both on the ice and off.

Make no mistake. These aren’t just kids enjoying the ride. After seven one-goal games against Tampa Bay followed by a 4-2 loss to the Sabres in Game 1, the Canadiens have become dominant. They’ve outscored Buffalo 11-3 in the past six periods. As Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said afterwards: “They are a hell of a team.”

One that is dissecting the Sabres loosey-goosey structure and pouncing on mistakes.

“We’re just using our speed and trusting our process that we can take over a game with our whole five-man game,” Suzuki said. “They’re a team that thrives on the rush, so we try to limit those chances and forecheck them as hard as we can.”

“Right now, we are having success. And we want to keep it going.”

With a goofy goalie who's only allowed seven goals through the first three games of this series.

With a deep roster that has featured 12 different goal-scorers through 10 playoff games.

And if the Sabres can’t adjust, the beat will go on for a Canadiens team that continues to ascend.

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{allcanada} Islanders donating to open a child support center in honor of Schaefer’s late mother

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NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Islanders will donate $150,000 to create a child support center in honor of Matthew Schaefer’s late mother, Jennifer, who died of breast cancer in February 2024, the team said Monday.

The team and Northwell Health announced the creation of a place at R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital on Long Island in New Hyde Park, New York, for children to wait while a parent undergoes treatment. Following the donation from the Islanders Children’s Foundation, the center named for Jennifer is set to open in October.

Schaefer, 18, is the front-runner to be NHL rookie of the year and has been the face of the Islanders franchise since they took him with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

He has talked extensively about his mother’s battle and death and her impact on his life and hockey career. The team put a pink breast cancer ribbon on the jersey presented to Schaefer at the draft in June, and he made the moment a tribute to his mom.

“I think about my mom every day — her strength, her hope and the way she carried herself with a smile throughout her fight against cancer,” Schaefer posted on Instagram. “This work is for her and for every family walking that road. I’m dedicating my time, energy and focus to standing beside them, carrying forward the same strength and fight my mom showed every day.”

Co-owner Jon Ledecky said: “By honoring Jennifer Schaefer’s memory in this way, we are ensuring that no child has to walk through these difficult moments alone, providing them with a place of comfort, play and support when they need it the most.”

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