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Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews reaches one-hundred-point plateau in win vs. Washington Capitals

Written by SFDI on April 17, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

By Neil Becker

This has truly been a breakthrough season for Toronto Maple Leafs young superstar Auston Matthews.

As all Leafs fans know, earlier this month at American Airlines Center against the Dallas Stars, Matthews broke the franchise record for most goals when he scored his 55^th and 56^th goals in a 4-3 overtime win. This 24-year-old who scored his 56^th in overtime to win it, shattered a 40- year record set by Rick Vaive in 1981-82 when he scored 54.

On Thursday night in a 7-3 win at Scotiabank Arena against the Washington Capitals, Matthews also scored his 100^th point and became only the third player in franchise history to reach the 100- point plateau in a season. The other two were Darryl Sittler and Doug Gilmour. Sittler scored exactly 100 points in the 1977/78 campaign while Gilmour scored 127 points in the 1992-93 season and 111 points the following year.

Looking to bounce back after a flat performance two nights earlier in a 5-2 home loss against the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto gave the 18,466 in attendance lots to cheer about starting with forward Michael Bunting who broke a 17- game scoring drought when at the 4:37 mark of the first period, he scored his 21^st. goal. Getting the secondary assist on the goal was Matthew’s with his 100th point of the year.

Toronto, who outshot the Capitals by an 11-4 first period margin, grabbed a two-goal lead when with less than seven minutes remaining, forward Pierre Engvall made a pass to a streaking William Nylander who with two Capitals in hot pursuit, blasted the puck stick side for a 2-0 lead.

Leafs fans received a huge scare when with less than five minutes remaining in the first period, Capitals forward Tom Wilson was skating in on the for-check and ended up crashing into goalie Jack Campbell. Campbell’s mask went flying off but he would stay in the game.

In the second period, Washington grabbed some momentum when a little past the halfway mark defenceman John Carlson scored his 15^th of the year to make it a one-goal game.

That momentum wouldn’t last long as Toronto would go on a run that would see them take control by scoring four straight goals in just over a six-minute span.

Starting things off was defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin who at the 10:19 mark of the second scored his first as a Leaf. It only took 18 seconds for the Leafs to strike again as Nylander scored his second of the game and 30th of the season to not only give the Leafs a 4-1 lead but also chase Capitals starting goalie Ilya Samsonov from the nets.

The Leafs took full control when they added two more goals from forward Ilya Mikheyev with his 16^th of the season followed less than two minutes later at the 16:25 mark by Bunting with his second and 22^nd of the year for a commanding 6-1 lead.

Washington would get one back when with only 53 seconds left in the second Wilson scored his 24^th goal.

A little over a minute into the third Toronto regained that five-goal lead as Mikheyev scored his second of the game and 17^th of the season.

Rounding out the scoring with 8:02 remaining in regulation was Capitals Nic Dowd who scored his ninth of the year in what was a 7-3 Leafs win.

Toronto, who are four points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning for second in the Atlantic Division have only eight regular-season games remaining until playoffs.

The Leafs next see action on Saturday night with a 7 p.m. puck-drop at Canadian Tire Centre against the Ottawa Senators.

SCORING SUMMARY

1^ST. PERIOD WSH – TOR

4:37 Michael Bunting (21) 0 – 1

Mitchell Marner (60), Auston Matthews (42)

13:45 William Nylander (29) 0 – 2

Pierre Engvall (16), Jake Muzzin (11)

2nd. PERIOD WSH – TOR

10:06 John Carlson (15) 1 – 2

10:19 Ilya Lyubushkin (1) 1 – 3

Morgan Rielly (54), John Tavares (44)

10:37 William Nylander (30) 1 – 4

Morgan Rielly (55)

14:44 Ilya Mikheyev (16) 1 – 5

Auston Matthews (43), John Tavares (45)

16:25 Michael Bunting (22) 1 – 6

Pierre Engvall (17)

19:07 Tom Wilson (24) 2 – 6

Lars Eller (16), John Carlson (51)

3rd. Period WSH – TOR

1:27 Ilya Mikheyev (17) 2 – 7

Ilya Lyubushkin (11), John Tavares (46)

11:58 Nic Dowd (9) 3 – 7

Trevor Van Riemsdyk (15), Johan Larsson (12)

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Buffalo Sabres defeat Toronto Maple Leafs for third time this season

Written by SFDI on April 13, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

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By Neil Becker

You can bet that the Toronto Maple Leafs are happy to see the last of the Buffalo Sabres.

For whatever reason, the Sabres have had the Leafs number this year by defeating them in three out of four games and outscoring them by a 19-10 count.

Looking to ride the momentum of their Saturday night 3-2 win at home against the Montreal Canadiens, the Leafs were back at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night wherein that fourth and final meeting against Buffalo, they dropped a 5-2 decision.

The Leafs had backup goalie Erik Kallgren in net who made 23 saves while Buffalo had Craig Anderson who was also stellar in a 23 save performance.

Buffalo took a 1-0 lead when on the power-play veteran forward Kyle Okposo scored at 7:25 of the first period on a perfect shot just under the crossbar.

A little over two minutes into the second period Toronto got a fortunate bounce after Leafs forward William Nylander’s shot on goal went wide. The puck hit the boards behind the Sabres net and bounced in front right to defenceman Timothy Liljegren who scored his fourth goal to make it a new game.

Actually, Liljegren shot the puck and it hit Anderson’s pad then rebounded into the net.

Buffalo’s leading scorer Tage Thompson would continue with his career season as he received a pass from Alex Tuch before scoring his 33^rd goal and Buffalo’s second power-play goal of the game to give them a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes of regulation.

The eventual turning point came when starting at 4:09 of the third the Sabres scored two goals in less than two minutes starting with forward Jeff Skinner who from the slot scored his 31^stgoal on a shot blocker side. Following Skinner was defenceman Rasmus Dahlin who scored his 10^th which gave them a 4-1 lead.

At the 8:55 mark, Toronto made things interesting when forward Alex Kerfoot, who was parked in the slot scored his 13^th on a shot which Anderson got a piece of before the puck trickled in.

Toronto would pull the goalie but the strategy backfired as Sabres forward Rasmus Asplund scored with only 2:18 remaining into an open net to cement the win.

Morgan Rielly assisted on both goals for the Leafs and Matthews 16 game point streak, where he totaled 21 goals and 31 points, and came to an end.

Heading into the regular season’s final 9 games, the two questions are whether Auston Matthews can reach the 60- goal plateau and whether his linemate Mitch Marner can reach the 100- point plateau. Currently, Matthews has 58 goals and Marner has totaled 90 points.

More than likely Toronto will finish second in the Atlantic Division as they find themselves trailing division-leading Florida Panthers by 10 points while the Tampa Bay Lightning are four points behind the Leafs.

The Leafs next see action on Thursday night with a 7 p.m. starting face-off time at Scotiabank Arena against the Washington Capitals.

SCORING SUMMARY

1^ST. Period BUF- TOR

PPG-Kyle Okposo (19) 1 – 0

Victor Olofsson (22), Rasmus Dahlin (36)

2^nd. Period BUF- TOR

2:09 Timothy Liljegren (4) 1 – 1

William Nylander (41), Morgan Rielly (52)

9:11 PPG- Tage Thompson (33) 2 – 1

Alex Tuch (24), Henri Jokiharju (13)

3^rd. Period BUF – TOR

4:09 Jeff Skinner (31) 3 – 1

Alex Tuch (25)

5:43 Rasmus Dahlin (10) 4 – 1

Victor Olofsson (23), Rasmus Asplund (19)

8:53 Alexander Kerfoot (13) 4 – 2

Morgan Rielly (53), Pierre Engvall (15)

17:42 EN- Rasmus Asplund (7) 5 – 2

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Auston Matthews is the Real Deal

Written by SFDI on April 10, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

Feb 13, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) prepares for a faceoff against Dallas Stars in the second period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Auston Matthews is certainly the real deal. I have been one of his biggest critics, mostly off the ice and if he can lead the Leafs to the second round but right now, I bow down to his scoring ability. He just doesn’t score goals, he creates history. Matthews now has set the record for most goals by a U.S.-born player in a season. Jimmy Carson (1987-88) and Kevin Stevens (1992-93) had held the record at 55. He also continues to lead the NHL in goals and is on track to win the second consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy of his career.

With his latest feats and dominate performances there is a lot of noise about the Hart Trophy too. Most people have been ready to give it to New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin but Matthews now has to be the favorite. He has helped raise the game of the Toronto Maple Leafs and have them firmly in second place in the Eastern Division. With 11 games left, he will certainly hit 60 but is 65 or even 70 a reality? After these final games are done and the awards are anointed, can he get this team, along with his partner Mitch Marner, past the first round…..the Boston Bruins may have something to say about this.

by Kerry Goulet

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The 3’s Are Going Down Under

Written by SFDI on April 4, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

Toronto, Canada – Kerry Goulet, Host of Gouche Live on the Hockey News Network and Global Director of the Ice Hockey Classic and StopConcussions has teamed with former NHL players Keith Primeau and Kyle Quincey to create the coolest and fastest sport on ice, the 3’s.

The Ice Hockey Classic has been a staple in Australia and New Zealand since 2011 and now the pandemic has helped creat a new version of the game….The Ice Hockey 3’s!

The “3’s” is designed to deliver ice hockey like it has never before done before. The NHL adopted 3 on 3 overtime in 2015 to increase the excitement of the game and show fans the speed, the skill, the score of the game and it delivered! This part of a traditional game has become the most exciting part outside of playoff hockey.

The game will utilize the full ice surface and teams will be made up of an eleven-man rosters (9 skaters and 1 goaltender). The end-to-end action created by the speed and skill of the players will be second to none. Rugby developed the Rugby Sevens to speed up the game and add another element to it, creating a more fan engagement and exciting pace. Ice Hockey is already a high paced game and the “3’s” will elevate it to the next level.

This summer in North America a group known as 3ICE, headed up by EJ Johnson, son of former hockey goalie Ed Johnson and Hockey Hall of Famer, Craig Patrick have confirmed a three-on-three pro league starting June 18, 2022 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. It will have six teams for its inaugural season and feature HHOF coaches, present and former NHL players and players from all leagues.

“What will be the most exciting part of this series is going to be the skill, the speed, the creativity, the tic-tac-toe passing and goal scoring. We will make it a celebration of the game and create a totally fan experience throughout the event. There will be a fan festival, interactive games, meet and greets and after parties at all venues.” Expresses Goulet. “After two years of being restricted we want every minute to be action packed and truly enjoyable.”

The specific details are still in the planning stage but the games will have no penalties, just penalty shots, no long intermissions just a flood, no breaks between games, just action and the true Americana sporting atmosphere!

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Toronto Maple Leafs earn costly victory against division rivals Boston Bruins

Written by SFDI on March 30, 2022. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

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By Neil Becker

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a loud statement on Tuesday night by taking over sole procession of the third spot in the Atlantic Division.

Riding the momentum of a Sunday night 5-2 win at Scotiabank Arena against the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers, the Leafs were facing another big challenge.

In what could easily be a preview to a first-round playoff matchup, the Leafs were at TD Garden on Tuesday where they were taking on a red-hot Bruins team who were riding a four-game winning streak. Toronto’s offense proved too much for Boston as they got two-point performances from Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, and John Tavares in a 6-4 win.

With the win, Toronto has now with only 16 regular-season games remaining moved two points ahead of Boston in the Atlantic Division and only one point behind the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning for second.

A positive for Leafs fans besides the two points was forward Auston Matthews who continued his march towards 50 by scoring and re-taking the NHL goal lead with his 49th which came in the second period on the power play.

Also playing a solid game was forward Colin Blackwell who scored his first goal since coming over to Toronto from the Seattle Kraken at the NHL trade deadline.

On this night, the Leafs didn’t escape unscathed as starting goalie Petr Mrazek was injured early in the first and a couple of defencemen in Justin Holl and Lya Lyubushkin were hurt.

Looking for that fast start, Toronto opened the scoring when a little past the five-minute mark Blackwell scored his ninth goal which came on a redirection off a Jason Spezza pass.

That lead wouldn’t last long as Boston responded 50 seconds later as forward David Pastrnak on the power play scored his 38th goal on his signature one-timer to tie things up.

The turning point came halfway through the first period when the Leafs offense caught fire.

Showing why they should be looked upon as Stanley Cup contenders, the Leafs pulled ahead on two more first-period goals from defenceman Morgan Rielly with this eighth at the 9:43 mark followed by forward Alex Kerfoot who with less than two minutes remaining scored his eleventh on a breakaway.

Continuing to take control, the Leafs outshot Boston by a 14-9 record period count and increased their lead as Marner scored his 28th at 8:28 followed by goals from Matthews with his 49th on the Power Play and David Kampf with his ninth at 16:47.

The Bruins put a scare into the Leafs as they got a late second-period goal from Jake DeBrusk with his 17th followed by two more in the third from forwards Curtis Lazar at the 13:02 mark and Taylor Hall who rounded out the scoring at 17:38 with his 15th goal.

Note- Leafs backup goalie Erik Kallgren came into the game at 7:44 of the first for an injured Mrazek. The rookie made 26 saves on 29 shots.

The Leafs will be off until Thursday, March 31st. when they are back at Scotiabank Arena for a 7 p.m. face-off against the Winnipeg Jets. This will be a challenging game for the Leafs as Winnipeg is playing desperate hockey looking to get back into the playoff picture.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st. Period TOR-BOS

5:09 Colin Blackwell (9) 1 – 0

Jason Spezza (11)

5:59 PPG David Pastrnak (38) 1 – 1

Patrice Bergeron (30), Charlie McAvoy (35)

9:43 Morgan Rielly (8) 2 – 1

William Nylander 36), John Tavares (40)

18:44 Alex Kerfoot (11) 3 – 1

2nd. Period TOR – BOS

8:28 Mitch Marner (28) 4 – 1

Auston Matthews (36). Michael Bunting (31)

16:00 PPG Auston Matthews (49) 5 – 1

John Tavares (41), Mitch Marner (48)

16:47 David Kampf (9) 6 – 1

Morgan Rielly (46)

18:19 Jake DeBrusk (17) 6 – 2

Charlie McAvoy (36), Brad Marchand (38)

3 rd. Period TOR – BOS

13:02 Curtis Lazar (7) 6 – 3

Connor Clifton (6), Tomas Nosek (12)

17:38 Taylor Hall (15) 6 – 4

David Pastrnak (30), Derek Forbort (7)

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Tag: blog

Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews reaches one-hundred-point plateau in win vs. Washington Capitals

Buffalo Sabres defeat Toronto Maple Leafs for third time this season

Auston Matthews is the Real Deal

The 3’s Are Going Down Under

Toronto Maple Leafs earn costly victory against division rivals Boston Bruins