Right when you think John Tavares is starting to lose a step, he goes out and scores a hat trick to put him on pace for a 40-goal season at age 34.

The game had the makings of a standard early evening second half of a back-to-back early on. Recent call-up Dennis Hildeby struggled in his first NHL start since October 22, allowing three point-blank shots or goals in the first half of the game, but he tightened up and kept his team in the game when they needed it most. The Maple Leafs have had the benefit of strong goaltending keeping them in the game more often than not, so it was encouraging to see a team that’s struggled to generate offence at even-strength step up and bail out their netminder.

Tavares’ hat trick brings him up to 15 goals and 28 points in 30 games on the season, once again shredding any worries that this might be the season his legs catch up to him. He didn’t produce at the near-point-per-game rate he was used to last season, with 29 goals and 65 points in 80 games, but the fact that season was considered a “down year” for him goes to show how high the expectations are for somebody who’s been criticized for his performance as an $11-million-dollar player in the past few years of his contract. He’s continued to provide the team with a steady offensive presence in a year where the offensive issues have been vocalized.

Two players who deserve their props for how the game played out are the two players who needed goals more than anybody. Max Domi opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs for his first game in 23 games, his first goal all year, and Robertson followed up with the second goal to kickstart the onslaught of three goals in less than four minutes. From there, the Maple Leafs tightened up their defensive game and made Hildeby’s night as easy as possible, but credit where it’s due, he made some crucial saves to keep them in it.

The Maple Leafs retain first place in the Atlantic Division and now have two days off before they visit the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.

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