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Alyn McCauley gives some love to Max Domi: Leafs Morning Take

By Nick Alberga
Apr 23, 2025, 13:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 23, 2025, 13:15 EDT
For the first time since 2002, the Toronto Maple Leafs lead a playoff series 2-0.
What a game, what a night at Scotiabank Arena.
We kicked off the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take by dissecting what turned out to be a very tense Game 2. Of course, Max Domi was the OT hero after former Marlie Adam Gaudette tied things up in the third period. MASSIVE WIN.
Speaking of which, the scene will now shift to Ottawa for Game 3 and 4. Leafs Nation will travel well —that’s for sure. That said, unfortunately, I’ve learned that long-time Leafs radio voices Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph will not be making the trip. In fact, yet again, they won’t be doing any road games – on location – in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. I’m sorry, that’s just not right. It was one thing to enforce this during the pandemic, but it’s 2025. Let’s get real!
At any rate, after we ranted about that for a bit, we got into a full recap of Toronto’s massive 3-2 OT win in Game 2. Max Domi – the hometown kid – was the story. And what a story that was, especially after the so-so game he had. Domi provided the dramatics, and once again, Anthony Stolarz stole the show. The 31-year-old made 26 saves to improve to 10-0-0 in his past 10 decisions to go along with a 1.48 goals against average, 0.947 save percentage and three shutouts. He is on absolute fire. Just for good measure, we loved seeing Stolarz go full Eddie Belfour on Ridly Greig. Additionally, we discussed the officiating – in general, and also Toronto’s red-hot power play (4-for-7). It was a far from complete effort, but bottom line, they got the job done, and now, they’re just two wins away from advancing to Round 2.
Then, we got to the CRISPI HOT TAKE OF THE DAY, presented by the Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 Portable Glass Air Fryer. Producer Vick thinks Linus Ullmark is cooked and that the former Vezina Trophy winner won’t win a single game in this series. Wowzers.
Lastly, thanks to GRETA BAR YYZ, we took a trip down memory lane with former Leaf Alyn McCauley, who’s now the Assistant general manager for the Philadelphia Flyers. We got his thoughts on Max Domi’s brilliance, the importance of energy guys, and what makes Scott Laughton such a useful piece to any hockey club. McCauley had some vivid memories about playing in the Battle of Ontario back in the day.
Leafs Morning Take is hitting the road. I’ll be on the road for Game 3 and 4, so make sure you tune in for the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take, which will take place LIVE from Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.
You can subscribe to TheLeafsNation (TLN) YouTube channel HERE. Additionally, we’re available in podcast form, too —wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re at it, be sure to leave us a 5-star review!
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