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Leafs week in review: Entertained
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Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
connorbromley
Feb 6, 2018, 12:40 EST
Comments
Record: 3-1-0
Well, that was a fun week. On Wednesday we destroyed the New York Islanders 5-0 in what I would argue was the best performance of the Mike Babcock era in Toronto. Travis Dermott and Justin Holl scored their first ever goals for the Buds and we put 50 shots on goal en route to victory.
Thursday night was always going to be more difficult. McElhinney got the nod in net to give Freddie a night off.
It was more difficult – the Buds won by a score of 4-0. In all seriousness though winning two back to back games by an aggregate score of 9-0 is good going. The New York teams aren’t awful either, both sides are chasing the playoffs.
I was really excited for the game in Boston on Saturday. It would give the Buds an indication of where they are compared to the hottest team in the league.
Admittedly the game was a struggle, Boston suffocated the Leafs and Patrice Bergeron showed just why he is one of the best players in the world. Both sides of the puck the Bruins were excellent. Their forecheck, corner battling and stick work was the best I have seen by any team this season. A 4-1 defeat was a bit harsh, two of the goals were PP efforts and one was an empty netter.
This week began with a visit from Babcock’s first NHL team the Anaheim Ducks. What a game! The two teams shared 11 goals and 84 shots in a game that will live long in the memory. I know Babcock likes the Leafs to be good at both ends, but as a fan I just can’t get enough of the Leafs who score 5+ goals a night.
So all in all 17 goals scored and eight conceded over a span of four games.
Stats
Name
G
A
P
Auston Matthews
3
3
6
William Nylander
2
3
5
Nazem Kadri
0
5
5
Zach Hyman
2
2
4
Jake Gardiner
0
4
4
Mitch Marner
3
0
3
Travis Dermott
1
2
3
Justin Holl
2
0
2
JVR
1
1
2
Kasperi Kapanen
1
1
2
A lot of points were scored over the course of four games. Justin Holl has two goals in two games!
Kapanen finally scored his first NHL assist. Travis Dermott scored his first goals and looks awesome. Mitch Marner decided he doesn’t want to assist anymore so has just been arrowing pucks in. Kadri had five assists!
Some good hockey was played people.
Seasonal stats
Player
G
A
P
Auston Matthews
25
18
43
William Nylander
12
29
41
Mitch Marner
10
27
37
Nazem Kadri
17
16
33
Jake Gardiner
3
30
33
JVR
20
12
32
Morgan Rielly
5
27
32
Zach Hyman
11
19
30
Tyler Bozak
8
19
27
Patrick Marleau
17
9
26
Look at that talent. So much to like about this teams forward play. Matthews should eclipse 40 goals again this season – impressive since he missed a large chunk of the season. Jake Gardiner is on pace for like 50 assists! Him and Rielly could both hit 60 points if the team continues scoring like they have this past week.
Standings
The Leafs are maybe two solid weeks from being able to stop looking behind themselves in the standings. Florida have won their last three games and have five games in hand on the Buds – so even though the gap is 17 points there is still a chance that a ridiculous hot streak from the Panthers could make the Leafs sweat.
Other than that – the four other teams in the division are hopeless.
Interestingly though – the Leafs would be top of the Metro Division (on points, at least) if they were in it. The Atlantic has the best… and worst teams in the NHL.
Conclusion
Thank the hockey gods for giving us Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner.
Coming up
This article now comes out on a Tuesday – therefore by the time I get back to writing we will have played three home games against Nashville, Ottawa and Tampa Bay. A pretty difficult week.
The way I look at it though – if we are serious about being a good team then we need to beat the best teams. And destroy the rubbish ones like Ottawa.
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