Tag: blog

By Jordan Laroche

This was a tough game for New York Ranger fans to watch as the New Jersey Devils were all over them all game. The Rangers are coming off a back-to-back against two of the league’s top teams, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, winning both in very tight contests.  The Rangers seemed to have run out of gas against the Devils.

It was the Rangers who jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox. Andrew Copp, in his first game with the Rangers since being traded by the Winnipeg Jets, gets his first point as a Ranger with an assist on Fox’s goal. Copp, Tyler Motte and Justin Braun all had big roles tonight as they were all moved up and down the lineup to find their best fit.

Copp started on the third line with Filip Chytil and Dryden Hunt but as the game went on he saw some time with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, even getting some powerplay time down the stretch. Copp looked to fit in right away with two assists on the night. As Copp moved up in the lineup, Tyler Motte took his spot on the third line and was buzzing all game, taking the puck to the net and taking the body.

Braun skated alongside Patrik Nemeth on the Rangers bottom defensive pair, which raised Rangers fan’s eyebrows. When acquiring Braun, we assumed he would be taking Nemeth’s spot on the line, but the Rangers elected to scratch rookie Braden Schneider. Schneider has been playing himself into the lineup and is deserving of a role on the team, in Schneider’s 26 NHL games he has six points and is a +2, while Nemeth has four points in 49 games and is a -9. While Schneider may have helped the Rangers tonight, it is not the reason why they lost.

It seemed everyone on the team had an off night from the forwards all the way to Hart Trophy candidate, Igor Shesterkin. Shesterkin had a hard time controlling his rebounds and was beaten on the initial shot more than once. This is only one of the few off nights Shesterkin has had in his career, but he has rebounded well in the past and Ranger fans need not worry.

This was a tough one to swallow, but the Rangers will be back Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Box Score:

1^st Period

G: Mika Zibanejad (26) A: Chris Kreider (16) Alexis Lafreniere (9)

G: Adam Fox (10) A: Mika Zibanejad (39) Andrew Copp (23)

2^nd Period

G: Ryan Graves (6) A: Jesper Bratt (40)

G: P.K. Subban (5) A: Andreas Johnsson (19) Ty Smith (13)

G: Dawson Mercer (16) A: Ryan Graves (20)

G: Tomas Tatar (12) A: Damon Severson (26) Jesper Bratt (41)

G: Yegor Sherangovich (16) A: Nico Hischer (26) Dougie Hamilton (17)

3^rd Period

G: Ryan Strome (15) A: Artemi Panarin (57) Ryan Lindgren (8)

G: Jack Hughes (20) A: Nico Hischer (27)

G: Jack Hughes (21) A: Yegor Sherangovich (19) P.K. Subban (16)

G: Chris Kreider (42) A: Andrew Copp (24) Adam Fox (54)

 By Neil Becker

 Once again Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren was the story.

 Two days following a successful Leafs debut which saw him make 35 saves in a 4-0   shutout at Scotiabank Arena against the Dallas Stars, Kallgren showed that it was no fluke.

Kallgren might not have gotten a shutout but he was solid on Thursday night where he made over 30 saves in a 3-2 win at Scotiabank Arena against the Carolina Hurricanes.

In stating the obvious, this was a big win for the Leafs who played a Hurricanes team that is among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

Toronto, who are 4-1-1 in their past six games were playing without superstar forward Auston Matthews who was sitting out the second of a two-game suspension.

Kallgren, who is only 25 years old was tested early and often in the first period as he was perfect in saving all 14 Hurricanes shots.

Meanwhile, the Leafs gave him some breathing room when forward Ilya Mikheyev scored his second in two games and 12^th of the season which with a little under five minutes remaining in the first had Toronto out in front by a 1-0 score.

Almost five minutes into the second, the Leafs got a big insurance goal from forward Mitch Marner who received a breakout stretch pass from defenceman Timothy Liljegren before skating on a 2 on 1 break and scoring what was his 24^th goal to double the lead.

The Hurricanes, who are currently four- points up on Toronto snapped Kallgren’s shutout string as defenceman Ethan Bear grabbed a loose puck and just past the four-minute mark wristed it between Kallgren’s legs which cut the deficit to one.

Shortly afterwards the Leafs re-gained that two-goal lead as forward Ondrej Kase on a two on one break scored his 12^th goal at the 7:20 mark off a perfect feed from William Nylander.

Carolina would get one back as forward Vincent Trocheck scored with only 3.6 seconds remaining but it wasn’t enough as the Leafs grabbed two important points.

Heading into the final 20 games, Toronto now sits only five points behind the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Toronto will next see action on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena with a 7 p.m. opening faceoff against the Nashville Predators.

              SCORING SUMMARY

                     1^st. Period                                 CAR-TOR

                     15:48       Ilya Mikheyev (12)        0  –  1

                                     Justin Holl (12)

                     2^nd. Period                                     CAR- TOR

                     4:39         Mitch Marner (24)              0 –  2

                                   John Tavares (38), Timothy Liljegren (16)

                    3^rd. Period                                       CAR- TOR

                     4:09         Ethan Bear (4)                   1  –   2

                                    Jesper Fast (12), Jaccob Slavin (27)

                      7:20        Ondrej Kase (14)                1  –   3

                                    William Nylander (34), Alex Kerfoot (34)

                      19:56       Vincent Trocheck (16)        2  –   3

                                    Andrei Svechnikov (30), Jacob Slavin (28)   

By Neil Becker

Perhaps rookie Erik Kallgren is an answer to the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending issues.

Okay, maybe it’s a tad premature and not fair to anoint him as the savior, but so far, the 25- year-old has definitely opened eyes among Leafs fans and management.

Kallgren, who last spring inked a two-year two-way contract with the Leafs, made history on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena when he made 35 saves in a 4-0 shutout win against the Dallas Stars.

What made this so historic was that Kallgren became only the fourth goalie to earn a shutout in their debut start as a Leaf. Prior to this start, Leafs Nation got their first look at him when back on March 10^th at Scotiabank Arena, he relieved starter Petr Mrazek in the second period against the Arizona Coyotes and made a solid impression by stopping 11 of 12 shots in what turned out to be a 5-4 overtime loss.

Leafs starter Jack Campbell is sidelined for a couple of weeks with a rib injury which resulted in Kallgren getting called up from the Marlies and being presented with this opportunity.

The Leafs, who were still without an injured Jake Muzzin and had Wayne Simmonds sitting out, were also missing star forward Auston Matthews who was serving his first of a two-game suspension for his cross check to the head area of Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin at the Heritage Classic.

Having lost consecutive games to non-playoff teams, Toronto were led offensively against Dallas by captain John Tavares, along with fellow forward Mitch Marner and defenceman Morgan Rielly who all had two-point games.

Giving Toronto an early first-period momentum boost was blue-chip defenceman Rasmus Sandin who showcased his accurate shot. Positioned left of the Stars goal crease, Sandin received a pass from Marner and at the 7:22 mark, released an accurate backhand which went over the Stars goalie’s glove for his fifth goal this season.

Meanwhile, Kallgren received numerous ovations as he made a solid opening period impression by turning away 13 shots. Toronto would double their lead after one as captain John Tavares showed his hand-eye coordination by neatly deflecting a William Nylander blast for his 20^th goal which came with under nine minutes remaining in the first.

Following a scoreless second period, the Leafs wasted no time in capitalizing on an early third-period power play as forward Ondrej Kase released a textbook one-timer from a pass by Rielly for his 13^th goal which made it 3-0 less than a minute into the third.

The fourth and final Leaf goal was scored with less than a minute remaining into an open net by forward Ilya Mikheyev with his 11^th in what was a crucial two points for the Leafs.

Toronto won’t have much time to rest as they next play on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena with a scheduled 7 p.m. opening face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes.

By Neil Becker

Following the Toronto Maple Leafs Heritage Classic game against the Buffalo Sabres, a topic of much debate was not surprisingly Auston Matthews.

Usually, after games fans and media are buzzing about Matthew’s multi-goal performances but on this particular Sunday afternoon at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton, the talk following a 5-2 loss was about his third-period cross-check to the head of Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin which earned the star a hearing on Monday.

Prior to that exchange with Dahlin by the Sabres net, Matthews was once again money as he scored in the second period his league-leading 45^th goal, which was followed by some MVP chants from Leafs fans in attendance as they enjoyed what would be a temporary 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately for the die-hard Leafs fans braving the elements, there wasn’t much to cheer about afterwards as Buffalo from that point on shut out the Leafs explosive offense while scoring four of their own to pull out the 5-2 win in front of approximately 26,119 enthusiastic freezing fans.

Matthews, who had five shots on goal, found himself in the middle of some third-period controversy when shortly after Buffalo made it 4-2, he exchanged some vicious cross-checks in the Sabres crease with Dahlin. Frustration boiled over with Matthews who proceeded to cross-check the defenceman in the neck/head area earning him that already mentioned Monday hearing with the NHL.

The Leafs who were booed at Scotiabank Arena following a 5-1 loss on March 2^nd to the Sabres continued this chapter of their QEW rivalry with veteran Petr Mrazek in the net. Looking to redeem himself after being pulled in the last game against the Arizona Coyotes, Mrazek struggled on a couple of third-period goals as he ended up making 33 saves on 37 shots. An alarming trend has seen him surrender four goals in four straight games which won’t get you far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On this particular afternoon, the Leafs were decked out not in their traditional blue and white uniforms, but rather dark blue uniforms in paying tribute to the Toronto Arenas who played from 1917-1919 before the franchise would eventually become the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Prior to the Heritage Classic opening face-off, Team Canada Women’s hockey gold medal winners were introduced and received a huge ovation. Not surprisingly one of the biggest cheers went to Hamilton resident Sarah Nurse.

Looking for a bounce-back performance, Mrazek was perfect in the first as he made a bold statement by making 14 saves which included a pair of breakaways from Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin as it remained scoreless heading to the second period.

Leafs forward Ondrej Kase would open the scoring when 40 seconds in he banged home his 12^th goal off a rebound from a William Nylander shot for that all-important 1-0 lead.

Showing tremendous resiliency, it only took Buffalo 41 seconds to make it a new game as forward Peyton Krebs scored his fifth goal to tie things up. Assisting on that goal was Sabres forward Vinnie Hinostroza who would go on to score a couple of goals in what was a three-point game to remember.

Continuing his rapid scoring pace, Matthews, who earlier had been robbed by Sabres goalie Craig Anderson’s catching glove, came through this time when after receiving a pass from Alex Kerfoot, he beat Anderson with a wrister for his 45^th goal which at the 2:57 mark.

Toronto’s one-goal lead wouldn’t last long as the Sabres got even when Hinostroza scored his ninth and first of two which came with a little over nine minutes remaining in what would be a 2-2 game after 40 minutes of regulation.   

Anderson, who recently won his 300^th career game sure didn’t look 40 years old as he made countless strong saves as Toronto fired 18 second-period shots on goal.

Hinostroza would remain red hot as he would score his 10^th a little past the five-minute mark of the third on truth be told a weak goal that squeezed through Mrazek’s arm and the post. The fourth goal, which was Krebs second of the game, came at the 13:49 mark and was also a weak goal which after a video review stood for Buffalo.

Rounding out the scoring was Buffalo’s breakout forward Tage Thompson who with a little under two and a half -minutes remaining scored in an empty net to seal a second straight Sabres win against their rivals the Leafs.

In a weird but true stat, the Leafs who are home and cooled out to make the playoffs are in a stretch which have seen them go 2-4 against non-playoff teams.

The Leafs will next see action on Tuesday, March 15^th when they face off at Scotiabank Area at 7:00 p.m. against the Dallas Stars.

                        SCORING SUMMARY

                 1^st. Period                               TOR-BUF

                                                                  (Scoreless)

                 2^nd. Period                               TOR-BUF

                0:40  Ondrej Kase (12)              1  –   0

                William Nylander (32), John Tavares (36)

                1:22 Peyton Krebs (5)                1  –   1

                Vinnie Hinostroza (11), Robert Hagg (11)

               2:57 Auston Matthews (45)       2  –    1

             Alex Kerfoot (33), T.J. Brodie (16)

              10:53 Vinnie Hinostroza (9)         2  –     2

             Tage Thompson (20), Mattias Samuelsson (3)

                 3^rd. Period                                 TOR- BUF

               5:16 Vinnie Hinostroza (10)         2  –  3

                  13:49  Peyton Krebs (6)            2  –    4

                  Dylan Cozens (19), Kyle Okposo (20)

             17:35 EN SHG- Tage Thompson (24) 2  –  5