Last Thursday night, a thunderous cheer erupted from the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room. They were not cheering because they had just defeated former coach Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils, but it was all for Dennis Hildeby. Rookie goalie Hildeby had made the biggest impact in winning the Devils.  When questioned about the cheers honoring him after he led his team to a 4-2 win against the Devils, in his first NHL game, Hildeby smiled.  “It was good. There was a lot of noise,” he said. “Just trying to get in my seat. “Honestly, it’s a good feeling. Better than quiet.” This was a turn out that few people would be able to predict. Heading into the match, the results were straightforward.  If the Maple Leafs were victorious, it would be because of stars like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marne, two players Keefe depended on when he was coach from 2019-24, a time when the team went 212-97-40 during the regular season.  New Jersey winning would have been the perfect revenge for Keefe, who Toronto fired on May 9, after they failed to win a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the fourth time in his five campaigns.  Instead, in a surprising turn of events, Hildeby ruined Sheldon’s chances at a lick back with a strong 23-save delivery that left the crowd at Prudential Center disappointed in the Devils’ home opener.  The rookie goalie was a backup last season when Keefe was still coach but he never featured in an NHL match.  “I was in their meetings and watched a few clips of him with them,” Keefe said. “They were excited about him, and they were even more excited when he was still available and we took him.” Toronto drafted him from Järfälla, Sweden, in the fourth round (No. 122) in 2022, then watched him grow. In 41 matches with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League last campaign, Hildeby was 21-11-7 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.  When No. 1 goalie Joseph Woll complained of lower-body tightness after practice on Tuesday, Hildeby was called up on an emergency basis to back up Anthony Stolarz, who started the Maple Leafs’ season-opening 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. On Thursday, it was time for Hildeby to make his NHL debut. He said he only texted his euphoric parents over in Sweden rather than talk to them because it would have “messed up my head.” Judging by his performance, his plan worked. “Honestly, there were a lot of emotions for me to handle,” Hildeby said about being told on Wednesday that he’d be starting. “Try to make it just another game and enjoy it as much as possible. But it was a little back and forth trying to handle it, not getting too emotional.” Hildeby’s teams certainly were when discussing his performance. Forward Steven Lorentz took it a step further, describing him as “The Beast.” Keefe had a slightly different opinion about the goaltender.  “Big guy,” he said. “The puck hits him a lot. An awful lot.” It definitely did on that night, much to Keefe’s dismay. As for playing his former team for the first time, one thing was clear for him. “No emotions for me in the game,” Keefe said. “It’s a little odd standing back there and the colors. I’m still adjusting to the red, and the blue-and-white is back again. “We are just trying to build our game. The opponent had a big say in the game tonight but that was nowhere good enough.” The most frustrating part was that New Jersey held Matthews, Marner and William Nylander off the score sheet and still lost, ruining Keefe’s night. “I think we wanted that for him and it hurts even more not to be able to do it,” Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton said. Especially when a kid making his NHL debut proved to be the spoiler.

Lane Thomas ensured the Cleveland Guardians will stay in the running for MLB championship, with a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday. He turned on the first pitch from Skubal and sent it over the 19-foot wall in left-center field, ushering in the sixth postseason grand slam in Cleveland history.  For the first time since 2016, the Guardians will return to the American League Championship Series. They left for New York on Saturday to get ready for a clash against the Yankees which will start Monday at the Yankee Stadium.  “You dream of at-bats like that as a little kid,” Thomas said, “and to do it at this stage, in this game and to come through for the guys in the clubhouse, it feels awesome.” Cleveland wanted their star to feel the love as he concluded third base. This was not just the seventh grand slam in a “winner-take-all postseason” match in league history. This was when the Guardians knew they were going to the ALCS. And it was thanks to the offensive player they drafted at the Trade Deadline. “After a game like that, you’re fired up,” Thomas said. “You’re ready to run through a wall.” Thomas deserved this moment. It wasn’t always apparent that this was the player he would become with the Guardians. In his first 29 matches at Cleveland, he hit .177 with a .484 OPS. In his 30th match, he hit a home run at Kansas City that may have been the first indicator of a change in his batting. But when Thomas came in the next morning, he didn’t make the starting lineup. He asked Stephen Vogt why.  “I just said, ‘Lane, look, here’s what we’ve got. We’ve got guys that can hit righties,’” Vogt recounted. “ We had a really good conversation and I challenged him. … And then he steps up, and I can’t take him out of the lineup. And that’s what big-time players do. They step up and they get it done.” Immediately after the conversation with Vogt, Thomas got an eight-game hitting streak. He brought more firepower that sent his team into the playoffs. Lane hit a huge blast in Game I against Detroit that secured the Guardians a victory. He was the star of the show in Game 5 when the offense could not reach Skubal. It was not until Thomas stepped up the plate, seeking a fastball, and hit a grand slam that the offense came alive.