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By Neil Becker

It was quite the scene for rookie Swedish goaltender Erik Kallgren who received quite the rousing ovation.

Kallgren, who was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes 183^rd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, was a recent emergency call-up from the Toronto Marlies to the Toronto Maple Leafs after starter Jack Campbell suffered a rib injury.

The Leafs, who for weeks have been struggling in goal had back-up Petr Mrazek in goal on Thursday night at home in a game where he struggled and after allowing four goals on 12 shots was pulled in the second period of what was an eventual 5-4 overtime loss against the Arizona Coyotes.

Toronto, who has one of the NHL’s most potent offenses, found themselves at Scotiabank Arena trailing by a 4-1 score in the third when their offense erupted for three straight goals less than five minutes apart. Nothing was settled until overtime when the Coyotes scored on a controversial play.

Auston Matthews, who increased his league-leading goal total to 44 looked like and argued afterward that on the winning goal, he was when backchecking was being interfered with. He questioned the official but to no prevail as the overtime winner scored by defenceman Jakob Chychrun at the 2:17 mark counted.

The real hero on this night was Kallgren who including overtime finished up with 10 saves on 11 shots plus a few ovations from the Scotiabank Arena faithful.  

It’s no secret that with the inconsistent play of both Campbell and Mrazek, there have been all sorts of questions among media and fans about whether the goaltending is good enough for a long playoff run. As the March 21^st trade deadline gets closer, various names such as Brayden Holtby and Marc-Andre Fleury have been rumored about possibly coming to Toronto.

Another chapter was written in the Leafs goalie controversy with the strong play of Kallgren who made a strong case in possibly starting the March 13^th Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.

Arizona, who came into Thursday night’s game on a three-game winning streak scored consecutive first period goals with the first being from former Leafs forward Alex Galchenyuk who at the 2:09 mark scored off a sloppy rebound from Mrazek. A little over two minutes later they doubled the lead as Chychrun his first of two on a dribbler of a shot which got past the prone goalie.

During the second period Arizona, who was coming off a 9-2 road win against the Detroit Red Wings, struck a little over a minute in as Travis Boyd scored his 12^th of the season when his shot from in close deflected off of Leafs defenceman Timothy Liljegren and into the net.

Looking for some payback after dropping back on January 10^th a 2-1 decision in Arizona, the Leafs got some momentum when at the 4:55 mark forward Pierre Engvall cashed in with his 10^th goal on a rebound which cut the Leafs deficit to 3-1.

That Leafs momentum boost didn’t last long as the Coyotes came back a little over seven minutes later when Christian Fischer scored his fifth of the season to not only restore the Coyotes’ three-goal lead but also chasing Mrazek from the game.

Toronto’s offense came alive in the third when they struck for three straight goals starting with Alex Kerfoot notching his 10^th at the 3:39 mark and followed by Matthews with his 44^th and William Nylander with his 23^rd which came at 8:17 and made it a brand- new game.

After Matthews scored, he pointed to the net as play went on until a few seconds later the horn sounded to signify that yes it was a goal.

Eventually, the game went into overtime where Kallgren showed his quickness in making his best save of the night which came off of Coyotes defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere. The Coyotes would end up having the last laugh as Chychrun would score his second and send the Coyotes to their fourth win in a row.  goal

As mentioned above, the Leafs next game will be on Sunday when they will be taking it outside at Tim Hortons Field where they will be facing off at 4 p.m. against the Buffalo Sabres in the much anticipated Tim Hortons Heritage Classic.

                        SCORING SUMMARY

                        1^ST Period                                               ARI vs. TOR

                        2:09          Alex Galchenyuk (5)                   1   –     0

                                        Riley Nash (3), Dysin Mayo (6)

                        4:21         Jakob Chychrum (6)                     2    –     0

                                       Phil Kessel (29), Alex Galchenyuk (9)

                         2^ND Period                                             ARI   vs. TOR

                        1:08         Travis Boyd (12)                         3    –      0

                                       Clayton Keller (31), Nick Schmaltz (22)

                        4:55        Pierre Engvall (10)                       3     –     1

                                      Alex Kerfoot (31), Timothy Liljegren (14)

                       11:57       Christian Fischer (5)                      4    –     1

                                      Lawson Crouse (12), Matias Maccelli (1)

                      3^RD. Period                                             ARI     vs.  TOR

                      3:38        Alex Kerfoot   (10)                       4      –       2

                                     T.J. Brodie (15), William Nylander (31)

                      8:07        Auston Matthews (44)                  4      –       3

                                    Michael Bunting (27)                     

                      8:17        William Nylander (23)                   4      –       4

                                    Alex Kerfoot (32)

                     2:17     OT Period  

                                 Jakob Chychrun  (7)                  ARI      vs.   TOR

                                 Matias Maccelli (2)                        5         –      4

Auston Matthews picked a perfect time to register his third hattrick of the season.

Playing on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena, Matthews scored the game’s first, goal along with two clutch third-period goals during what was a momentum-swinging 6-4 win against the expansion Seattle Kraken.  

Matthews, who now has six hattricks in his career, took another giant step towards successfully defending his hold as the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner. During this Tuesday night comeback win at Scotiabank Arena, Matthews showed a flair for the dramatics as his three goals now give him 43 on the year, which is five ahead of the runner-up in Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl.

Riding the momentum of a two-point Monday night performance in a 5-4 road win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Matthews didn’t take long 24 hours later to make his mark against the Kraken.

In quickly making that mark, Matthews put a charge into the Scotiabank Arena faithful when just over three minutes into regulation he scored the game’s all-important first goal.

He would also go on to register two third-period goals with one of them trying things up at 4-4 and the hattrick goal being scored into an open net which resulted in a celebration of hats being tossed out onto the ice.

The Leafs number one line remained scorching hot as rookie Michael Bunting produced two third-period assists while line-mate Mitch Marner had an assist along with scoring the eventual winning goal, and Matthews as mentioned earlier had the three goals.

Meanwhile, in goal, Leafs Jack Campbell who has been under so much scrutiny made 26 saves in improving to 24-9-2 on the season.

Early in the first, Toronto found themselves on the power play when a little over three minutes into regulation, they capitalized when Matthews who was parked on the left face-off dot, took a pass from William Nylander before wiring it home and giving the Leafs that all-important 1-0 lead. 

However, that lead wouldn’t last long as Seattle, a little under two minutes later replied as Carson Soucy banged home a loose puck for his seventh of the year which made it a brand- new game.

It didn’t stay tied for long as the Leafs scored consecutive goals starting with captain John Tavares who just shy of the halfway mark scored on a breakaway which was followed by Nylander who at the 5:14 mark scored his 22^nd goal which came on the power-play as they found themselves seemingly in control with a 3-1 lead.

In this momentum-swinging game Seattle showed strong resiliency as they bounced back with consecutive goals from Alex Wennberg with his seventh and two minutes and twenty-nine seconds later Colin Blackwell who shorthanded scored his eighth to once again tie things up only this time after two complete periods.

Seattle continued in the third to generate chances and were rewarded as they jumped out to what would be a temporary lead when former St. Louis Blues player Jaden Schwartz just shy of seven minutes in scored his seventh to give Seattle a 4-3 lead.

From that point, the Leafs first line once again took over as Matthews just past the nine-minute mark received quite the loud ovation after scoring his second and 42^nd of the year in tying things up at four.

Only 40 seconds later, the Leafs on another power play went ahead to stay as Marner scored his 23^rd goal of the year which turned out to be the winning goal. The biggest accomplishment for Leafs fans came when with 42 seconds left Matthews took that one giant leap towards 50 goals when he scored his 43^rd goal of the season into an open net to seal an important to two points for the Leafs.

The Leafs, who in this game went 3 for 6 on the powerplay, will next see action on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena when the red-hot Arizona Coyotes come to town with a 7 p.m. opening faceoff.

SCORING SUMMARY

1^st. Period                                                                  SEA  –   TOR

3:18 PPG- Auston Matthews (41)                             0   –      1

William Nylander (30), Morgan Rielly (40)            

5:21 Carson Soucy (7)                                                 1  –       1

Mason Appleton (10), Colin Blackwell (7)

9:55 John Tavares (19)                                                1   –       2

Pierre Engvall (12), T.J. Brodie (13)                         

2^nd. Period                                                                SEA  –      TOR

5 :14 PPG William Nylander (22)                               1    –       3

T.J. Brodie (14), Ondrej Kase (13)

9 :20 Alex Wennberg (7)                                              2   –       3

Marcus Johansson (15), Jordan Eberle (18)

11 :49 SHG- Colin Blackwell (8)                                   3   –       3

Yanni Gourde (21)

3rd. Period                                                              SEA      –    TOR

5 :57  Jaden Schwartz (7)                                             4     –  3

Jeremy Lauzon (5), Calle Jarnkrok (14)

9 :03   Auston Matthews (42)                                      4  –    4

Michael Bunting (26), Mitch Marner (39)

9:43 PPG- Mitchell Marner (23)                                   4 –    5

John Tavares (35)

19:18 EN-Auston Matthews (43)                                  4 –   6

 Timothy Liljegren (13)

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By Jordan Laroche

Igor Shesterkin has been the backbone of this New York Rangers team this season, without him they are likely out of a playoff spot. Whether you follow advanced stats or not, Shesterkin leads NHL goalies in just about every statistical category including Save Percentage, Goals Against Average, Goals Saved Above Average and Goals Saved Above Expected.

Shesterkin has become a Hart Trophy candidate in recent weeks and Sunday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets improved his case. Shesterkin made 45 saves on 46 shots improving his record to 10-0-0 when making 40 saves or more. Shesterkin stole the show in Winnipeg, taking two points from a Jets team who is in dire need of wins.

This has been a weird season for the Jets, coming out of the gates hot, they have since struggled to win games. Now eight points out of a playoff spot the Jets will have some work to do in what could prove to be a tough stretch of upcoming games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Although the Rangers were outshot 46-22 it felt like they had control the entire game. A big reason for that was they jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Barclay Goodrow and Chris Kreider. Kreider continues his impressive season as he closes in on several Ranger records including single-season record in goals, PP goals, and can be the first Rangers draft pick with 60 points.

Nikolaj Ehlers has been one of the few bright spots for the Jets this season and scored his 14^th of the season Sunday night. Ehlers has missed some time this season only appearing in 36 games this season and will be a key piece for this team as they march towards the playoffs.

Two more Ranger goals by Kreider and Jacob Trouba in the third period would ice the game for the Blueshirts which will tie the Pittsburgh Penguins for second in the Metropolitan Division at 77 points. The Rangers will continue their road trip with games against the Minnesota Wild, the St. Louis Blues, and the Dallas Stars before returning home on the 15^th.

Box Score

1^st Period

G: Barclay Goodrow (12) A: Jacob Trouba (19) Filip Chytil (8)

G: Chris Kreider (37) A: Artemi Panarin (45) Adam Fox (48)

2^nd Period

G: Nikolaj Ehlers (14) A: Andrew Copp (19) Neal Pionk (23)

3^rd Period

G: Chris Kreider (38) A: Mika Zibanejad (36) Alexis Lafreniere (5)

G: Jacob Trouba (9) A: Artemi Panarin (46)

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By Neil Becker

The day after getting a vote of confidence from his general manager Kyle Dubas, Toronto Maple Leafs starting goalie Jack Campbell did nothing to silence his critics.

Campbell, who on February 27^th, was pulled in the third after surrendering five goals on 25 shots in a wild 10-7 road win against the Detroit Red Wings, had a chance at redemption on Saturday night but couldn’t make that strong statement in what was a 6-4 loss at Scotiabank Arena against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Leafs, who on Wednesday, March 2^nd. dropped a 5-1 home decision against the Buffalo Sabres, had on Saturday night 17,534 fans at Scotiabank Area in what was a special night for fourth-line forward Wayne Simmonds who was honored before playing Vancouver in what was his 1,000^th NHL game.

Despite the Leafs losing, there were some positives on this night such as captain John Tavares looking up to the heavens in relief after a first-period power-play goal which snapped a 14- game scoring drought. The second-longest of his career.  

Other Leafs positives included forward Nicholas Robertson scoring his first NHL goal and of course power forward Auston Matthews scoring his 38^th and 39^th goals this season, which put him one in front of Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race.   

However, the big picture remains goaltending especially given the fact that Campbell has now given up at least four goals in his past six games.

The Canucks, who were on the last stop of a four-game road swing, got a gutsy 34 save performance from the game’s number one star in goaltender Thatcher Demko. One of his many highlight-reel saves included sliding over and robbing Leafs forward Simmonds who on his special night was absolutely robbed on an odd-man break.

Early on, Toronto found themselves playing from behind as Canucks forward J.T. Miller, who has been the subject of trade rumors, scored at 7:48 of the first for a 1-0 lead. The Leafs, who had 38 shots in regulation, got some much-need momentum when just shy of 10 minutes in, Tavares and his teammates celebrated after he successfully broke that goal drought with his 18^th of the year to make it a brand news game.

That momentum wouldn’t last long as Vancouver once again leap-frogged out front as veteran defenceman Travis Hamonic, with only 30 seconds left in the first scored which, following a Canucks power-play goal just over four minutes into the second by Brock Boeser had them enjoying a 3-1 lead.

Getting on a role was the Leafs offense as they struck for three straight goals in under a nine-minute span. Starting the rally was Robertson scoring his first regular-season career goal at 5:33 of the second, which was followed by consecutive tallies from Matthews, whose second goal, which was his league-leading 39^th coming just past the 12- minute mark and gave Toronto a 4-3 lead heading to the third.

With 27 games remaining, there is a buzz of anticipation among Leafs fans as Matthews seems a lock to hit the 50- goal plateau and quite possibly 60.

In the third period, Demko couldn’t be beat as he proved perfect in continuously frustrating Toronto shooters by stopping every single one of the 16 shots.

Vancouver, who were looking to go 3-1 on their four-game road trip, got third-period goals from Tanner Pearson with his 12^th, at the 63 seconds mark which tied things up before getting the eventual winner from forward Alex Chiasson with his sixth. The Leafs, who now found themselves trailing 5-4, pulled the goalie with a little over two minutes remaining, but the move ended up backfiring as Canucks forward Tyler Motte scored the insurance marker with 20 seconds remaining in regulation into an open net.

The Leafs would go on to lose their second in a row and now find themselves trailing the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers by five points.

Toronto will next see action on Monday, March 7th at Nationwide Arena with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

                   SCORING SUMMARY

                1^st. Period                                                   VAN  — TOR

                7:48    J.T. Miller (22)                                  1    –    0

               Tanner Pearson (15), Travis Hamonic (3)

                9:49  PPG- John Tavares (18)                        1    –     1

               Mitch Marner (35), Morgan Rielly (39)  

               19:30  Travis Hamonic (2)                              2    –       1

               Brad Hunt (8), Bo Horvat (15)             

               2^nd. Period                                                  VAN  –     TOR

               4:12  PPG- Brock Boeser (16)                        3    –      1

               J.T. Miller (41), Quinn Hughes (40)

              5:33 Nicholas Robertson (1)                           3     –      2

              William Nylander (29), John Tavares (34)

              8:52   Auston Matthews (38)                          3     –      3

             12:06  Auston Matthews        (39)                   3     –       4

             Timothy Liljegren (11), Michael Bunting (20)

              3^rd. Period                                                  VAN  –        TOR

             1:03    Tanner Pearson (12)                            4     –         4

             Tyler Myers (13), Brock Boeser (17)     

             6:55   Alex Chiasson (6)                                  5     –         4

             Bo Horvat (16), Vasily Podkoizin (6)

             19:40 EN Tyler Motte (7)                               6    –          4

             Elias Pettersson (22), Oliver Ekman Larsson (13)

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By Neil Becker