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Red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs victorious against the San Jose Sharks

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By Neil Becker

Rookie Toronto Maple Leafs backup Joseph Woll is proving to be a solid NHL goaltender.

Coming off a 20 save performance in shutting out the New York Islanders, Woll was once again money as he made 34 saves in leading the Leafs to a Friday night 4-1 road win against the San Jose Sharks.

The Leafs, who have started their three game California road swing with wins against the Los Angeles Kings and now the Sharks, have been simply dominant this month as they have posted an 11-3 record in November.  Sporting an impressive 15-6-1 overall record, Toronto has now pulled into a tie with the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Looking to get payback for a 5-3 October loss to San Jose at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto’s offence was led this time around by two- point performances from forwards William Nylander and John Tavares.

Toronto, who have now won eight of their last nine didn’t waste time getting on the board as Nylander opened the scoring with his eighth goal 32 seconds into regulation on former Leafs goalie James Reimer.

San Jose, who came into Friday nights action sporting an impressive 5-3-1 home record, didn’t waste time in making it a brand- new game as veteran forward Nick Bonino scored his second of the season at the 4:44 mark to make it a brand- new game.

However, things didn’t stay tied for long as Wayne Simmons, who has been snake bit for a lot of the year, scored his second of the season 5:16 into the first on a text book deflection which put the Leafs ahead 2-1 heading to the second.

Showing that killer instinct the Leafs fired 11 second period shots and took control on the scoreboard as Austin Matthews scored 4:57 in with his ninth goal. Generating all sorts of chances, Toronto was once again rewarded when less than six minutes Tavares rounded out the scoring with his 10th which came on the power play.

The red-hot Leafs will be looking to complete the three game California road swing sweep on Sunday night with an 8 p.m. puck drop against the Anaheim Ducks.

 

Game Summary

First Period

0;32 William Nylander (8), John Tavares (10), Morgan Rielly (11)      Tor 1   San Jose 0

4;44 Nick Bonino (2), Noah Gregor (1), Erik Karlsson (8),                    Tor 1  San Jose 1

5:16   Wayne Simmons (2), David Kampf (4), Nick Ritchie (4),            Tor 2 San Jose 1

 

Second Period

4:57 Austin Matthews (9), Michael Bunting (7), Timothy Liljegren   Tor 3 San Jose 1

10:44 PPG John Tavares (10), William Nylander (11), Mitch Marner (12) Tor 4 San Jose 1

Third Period

 No Scoring 

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Igor Shesterkin’s strong play continues as the New York Rangers get by the Boston Bruins

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By Jordan Laroche

The New York Rangers survive a strong early surge by the Boston Bruins to win 5-2.

Both teams came into this Thanksgiving Special strong, the Rangers having won four of their last five, and the Bruins winning three of their last five.

The Bruins opened the scoring Friday afternoon with Craig Smith forcing a turnover at the Rangers blueline and burying it past Igor Shesterkin. Boston seemed to have all the momentum before Ryan Strome got open in the slot and putting it past Jeremy Swayman off a nifty feed from Artemi Panarin.

But as the second period commenced, it was more of the same as Boston held a 23-9 shot advantage halfway through the period. Patrice Bergeron capitalized on a wide-open tip in, in front of the net as it looked like Boston was taking a hold of the game. The Rangers seemed to have flipped a switch after the goal as Dryden Hunt scored his second of the year off a juicy rebound from Swayman’s left pad.

The Rangers continued to battle back as they clawed back in the shot count finishing the period with 24 shots to Boston’s 29.

The Ranger’s persistence came through in the third period as it seemed they outlasted the Bruins as Artemi Panarin was found open in front of the net by Julien Gauthier. Gauthier has been having a recent coming out party, he has seemed to have earned a more permanent spot in the lineup and taken his game to a new level after being a regular scratch earlier this season.

Alexis Lafreniere was the benefactor of another strong play by Gauthier as he beat Jakub Zboril to a loose puck in the neutral zone creating a two on one for him and Lafreniere. But Boston wasn’t going away, after Panarin’s goal they would have the next four shots on net and continued to keep the Rangers in their own end. Igor Shesterkin would make a series of saves to close out the game before Jacob Trouba scored on the empty net.

After a lot of tinkering with their third line, Gerard Gallant seems to have found a group that can generate offense consistently and keep possession. Alexis Lafreniere-Filip Chytil-Julien Gauthier are all quick players with a lot of skill and seem to have good chemistry playing together.

Box Score:

1st period

Craig Smith (2)

Ryan Strome (3) – Artemi Panarin (16) Dryden Hunt (2)

2nd period

Patrice Bergeron (8) – Matt Gryzelcyk (3) Brad Marchand (14)

Dryden Hunt (2) – Ryan Lindgren (2) Adam Fox (16)

3rd period

Aertemi Panarin (5) – Julien Gauthier (2) Ryan Strome (11)

Alexis Lafreniere (5) – Julien Gauthier (3) Adam Fox (17)

Jacob Trouba (3)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs offence overpowers the Los Angeles Kings

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By Neil Becker

 

The Toronto Maple Leafs offence showed just how explosive it can be.

Setting a tone for their three game California road swing, the Leafs erupted with four second period goals as they cruised to a 6-2 win on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.

In giving the many Leafs fans, including singer Justin Bieber lots to cheer about, the offence saw forwards John Tavares, Austin Matthew along with fourth liner Pierre Engvall have two point performances.

Leafs management had to be especially happy for Engvall’s goal as it was his first since opening night back in October against the Montreal Canadiens. It was also his first multi-point game in his career.

Toronto, who back on November 8th dropped a 5-1 home decision against the Kings, got another solid performance from starting goalie and former Los Angeles King, Jack Campbell who stopped 30 shots.

Early in regulation Toronto generated several scoring opportunities and were rewarded when forward Alex Kerfoot scored inside of five minutes for a 1-0 lead. Overall, the Leafs had 15 first period shots but couldn’t build on that lead.

Los Angeles, who have now dropped their first four of a seven game homestand, capitalized with an early second period power play goal to temporarily tie things up.

The game’s turning point came shortly afterwards when starting at the 3:19 mark, Toronto’s offence struck for four straight goals in just over a 12- minute span to break things open. Scoring first was Engvall followed by Tavares, Matthews and at the 15:36 mark, Jason Spezza on the power play to make it a 5-1 game.

Toronto’s offence was once again rewarded as Michael Bunting capitalized with his 5th, as Toronto would go on to start that three game California road swing with a big two points.

The Leafs next game is Friday, November 26th against the San Jose Sharks with puck drop scheduled for 10:30 p.m.  

   SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD

4:30 Alexander Kerfoot (3) Ondrej Kase (3), Wayne Simmons (4) 1-0 Toronto over LA

 

SECOND PERIOD

 1:21 PPG- Viktor Arvidsson (3) Sean Durzi (1st), Anze Kopitar (10)     Toronto 1 LA 1

 3 :19   Pierre Engvall (2) Wayne Simmons (5), Rasmus Sandin (5) Toronto 2 LA 1

 5:26    John Tavares (9) William Nylander (10), T.J. Brodie (4)            Toronto 3 LA 1

  13:16 Austin Matthews (8), John Tavares (9), T.J. Brodie (5)           Toronto 4 LA 1

  15 :36 PPG Jason Spezza (4) Rasmus Sandin (6), Pierre Engvall (4)    Toronto 5 LA 1

 

THIRD PERIOD

 3:59 Michael Bunting (5) Rasmus Sandin (7), Austin Matthews (9)   Toronto 6 LA 1

  16:07 PPG Sean Durzi (1) Viktor Arvidsson (4), Adrian Kempe (5)      Toronto 6 LA 2

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Two goals by the fourth line elevate the New York Rangers past the New York Islanders

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By Jordan Laroche

The New York Rangers went up against a different New York Islanders team that has seven players in COVID protocol. Leading scorer Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, and Ross Johnston and defensemen Adam Pelech and Andy Greene were all unable to play tonight due to an outbreak in the organization.

The game was a tight battle in the first period with each team registering eight shots on net, a usual scene for when the two rivals play.

However, it only took 30 seconds into the second period for Chris Krieder to score a, you guessed it, powerplay goal. This ties him with Leon Draisatl for the most powerplay goals this year with nine, he has also recorded nine of the 12 powerplay goals for the Rangers this season. The Rangers would score with just under five minutes to go in the second period as Kevin Rooney would put in Barclay Goodrow’s rebound on an odd-man rush.

The UBS Arena was quiet heading into the third period, but that quickly changed as recent callup Andy Andreoff deflected a shot from the point past Igor Shesterkin. Only 20 seconds later, Kevin Rooney would score his second of the game as Ryan Reaves showed some soft hands on a beautiful feed.

Chris Krieder scored his second of the game and 15th of the year, tying him with Alex Ovechkin and Andrew Mangiapane for second in the NHL in goals. A late assist was given to Kaapo Kakko who is now on a 6 game point streak and has looked much more confident, as Ranger fan’s hopes and prays have been answered.

There is some worry for the Rangers as defenseman Ryan Lindgren took a hit to head from Jean-Gabriel Pageau sending him to the locker room. A rare sighting of Adam Fox being agitated after the hit went after Pageau, taking a penalty in the process. Lindgren returned to the bench before the end of the game.

More chaos ensued as the game went on with Alexis Lafreniere went after Pageau and Dryden Hunt tried dropping the gloves with Oliver Wahlstrom. A big criticism the Rangers had coming out of last season was the lack of grit, Gerard Gallant has changed the culture of this team and are much more aggressive in their game. This team looks like they could be a threat in the playoffs.

 

Box score:

1st period:

No goals

2nd period:

Chris Krieder (14) – Ryan Strome (10) Adam Fox (15)

Kevin Rooney (4) – Barclay Goodrow (6) Ryan Reaves (2)

3rd Period:

Andy Andreoff (1) – Otto Koivula (1) Sebastian Aho (1)

Kevin Rooney (5) – Ryan Reaves (3)

Chris Krieder (15) – Mika Zibanejad (12) Kaapo Kakko (3)

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Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll earns first NHL career shutout

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Leafs goalie Joseph Woll earns first NHL career shutout

By Neil Becker

 

Toronto Maple Leafs rookie goalie Joseph Woll couldn’t have picked a better time to get on a role.

Currently, with Leafs back -up goalie Petr Mrazek still nursing a groin injury, Woll has made a bold statement by winning his first two NHL starts.

Woll, who was called up from the Toronto Marlies in mid-November, made his NHL debut on November 13 where at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, he stopped 23 shots in what was a 5-4 win against the Sabres.

This 6’4” 203- pound goalie, who was selected by Toronto third round, 63rd overall in the 2016 entry draft, experienced another first when eight days later, he was made 20 saves to earn his first NHL shutout in what was a 3-0 win against the New York Islanders.  

The Islanders, who were playing just their second game at the brand new UBS Arena, came into action not only on a five-game losing streak but also the misfortune of having six players on the COVID-19 protocol list.

Both teams were looking to rebound after losing the night before, but it was Toronto who quickly showed that killer instinct as they not only outshot the Islanders by a 12-6 margin but also took a 1-0 lead when 3:31 into regulation, Mitch Marner scored his first of two which came shorthanded. Marner received a long pass from defenceman Jake Muzzin before skating to the Islanders net and going forehand to backhand in scoring his fifth of the season.

Marner, who in on the bubble to make Team Canada’s Olympic team, logged 19:42 of ice time and ended up +2 on the night.  

Islander’s fans continued the tradition of booing Leafs captain and of course former Islander John Tavares every time he touched the puck.  That didn’t seem to discourage Toronto’s relentless attack as they outshot New York by a 25-13 margin after 40 minutes, but still only led by a 1-0 score.

Showing that killer instinct, the Leafs were rewarded at the two-minute mark of the third when forward Ondrej Kase scored his fifth of the year which was followed at 13:29 by Marner.

Meanwhile, Leafs forward Austin Matthews had another solid game as he logged 18:15 of ice time while finishing up with six shots on goal and a +1. On defense, Morgan Rielly logged 24:37 of ice time where he had three shots on goal.

The Leafs next see action on Wednesday, November 24th when they begin a California road trip with a 10:00 p.m. puck drop at Staples Center against the Los Angeles Kings.

 

Toronto Maple Leafs 3     New York Islanders 0

Scoring Summary

 

 1st. period

3:31 SHG- Mitch Marner (5)

Jake Muzzin (5)

 

 

2nd. Period

(No Scoring)

 

3rd. Period

2:00 Ondrej Kase (5)

      David Kampf (3) N

     Nick Ritchie (3)

 

13:29 Mitch Marner (6)

         Michael Bunting (5)

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