Nation Sites
The Nation Network
The LeafsNation has no direct affiliation to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Maple Leafs’ John Tavares expands on importance of divisional wins
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Dec 9, 2025, 09:40 ESTUpdated: Dec 9, 2025, 09:34 EST
John Tavares feels the Toronto Maple Leafs are building some momentum after a stellar 2-0 victory over the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tavares played a huge role in the win, playing 17:43, adding one assist, and a plus-two rating. While he was happy with the way he played, Tavares felt the effort and compete level was where it needed to be from all of his teammates, including defenceman Morgan Rielly. Rielly opened the scoring, which turned out to be the game winner, thanks to a resilient effort on the play.
“It almost worked out better that the guy kind of caught him a little bit. He (Rielly) just stays with it, second and third effort on it, and put it in. Obviously, he’s got one of the best releases on our team, but it worked out nicely there. He was able to sell the goalie with the way the play worked out, and he stayed with it. It ended up being a huge goal.”
Toronto outhit Tampa Bay, blocked more shots, turned the puck over less often, and produced double the amount of takeaways. All in all, the hard work paid off, and the Leafs are building some momentum early on in December.
“Yeah, we just played hard, played real hard. Obviously, on both sides lots of guys can put the puck in the net, so, sometimes you expect a lot of opportunities and a high-scoring affair, but it was both teams trying to execute their game, battling really hard, and great to see ‘Beast’ (Dennis Hildeby) get his first shutout.”
The Maple Leafs will host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, in the middle of a five-game homestand. Tavares is hopeful some more practice time will help the Leafs sustain their current level of play, and allow them to elevate their game with a couple of tough opponents coming in.
“I mean, there’s no easy game in this league, but certainly with the way they’ve been playing, the quality of team that they’ve been for a long time, and again this season. Divisional games are always important, it was an excellent win tonight, and something we’ll continue to build off of. We’ve been working really hard at our game and staying with it. We haven’t had much practice time but guys have dug in really well and things are building.”
PRESENTED BY OFF THE ROSTER
Introducing Off The Roster—Toronto Sports, Unfiltered! Toronto sports fans, your new favourite conversation has arrived. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, Off The Roster dives into the city’s legendary plays, brutal trades, OG jerseys, celebrity tweets, and everything in between. Raw, fun, and totally unfiltered, this is Toronto sports like you’ve never heard it before. Tune in live every weekday morning on the Nation Network YouTube channel, or catch episodes wherever you stream podcasts. Proudly brought to you by our founding partner, PROLINE. Off The Roster—the new sound in the 6ix.
Breaking News
- Joe Pavelski reflects on Leafs hiring process after interviewing for head coach
- Risky Raddysh, goalie moves, and finding speed: Leaflets
- Marlies’ Artur Akhtyamov named MVP of Calder Cup Playoffs
- Toronto Marlies defeat Chicago Wolves to win Calder Cup for 1st time since 2018
- Maple Leafs fans share their thoughts on the Darren Raddysh sign-and-trade