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Game #1 Review: Toronto Maple Leafs 5 vs. Montreal Canadiens 4 (OT) – Maple Leafs Hot Stove

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Leafs hockey is back, baby.

1.  This was an opener that had a bit of everything going on; nine goals total, multiple deficits overcome by the Leafs — 1-0, 3-1 down, 4-3 down — a message-sending fight by Wayne Simmonds in his debut, budding hatred (Simmonds, Chariot, Anderson, even Matthews — on Chariot — and Weber all got heated). There were lots of power plays both ways in the first 40 minutes, followed by a progressively sloppy track meet in the third, followed by 3-on-3 OT at its wildest and sloppiest. Couldn’t have asked for a more entertaining first night back.

2.  Feels ungrateful to be anything but positive and upbeat about the return of hockey, so apologies for the brief downer note: Sorely missed the SBA reactions to the Thornton introduction, the Simmonds introduction (and fight), and the comeback efforts. Soon, we can only hope.

3.  You can debate if the fight played a direct role in the comeback, but I don’t think you can dispute that this was a needed aspect of improving team culture: a Leaf who, sensing a game might be getting away, plants himself hard in front of the opposition net, draws the fight, ends the fight with a few bombs, and sends a message directly to the bench that we don’t roll over and go quietly into the night, especially not in a home opener.

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After a slow start to the game, Wayne Simmonds got his footing and established more of a presence on the forecheck in the second period as well.

4.  Not sure what the expectation could reasonably be as far as preparation and structure in such a unique regular-season opening set of circumstances, but the Leafs weren’t the more prepared team through 35 minutes, to be sure. A flurry of penalties, including a too-many-men call, multiple breakaways against on a single second-period PK — one off a horrendous line change (by Jake Muzzin in particular) for the 3-1 Tomas Tatar goal — and some poor sort-outs off lost defensive zone draws, the execution wasn’t what you would call sharp.

Keefe after the game: “First game at that tempo, it was an emotional comeback win… I’m not going to be nitpicky. We’ll look to get better every day.” Fair enough for now.

5.  Those paid to be the difference makers were the difference-makers for the Leafs, as their game-breakers up front took over in the final 30 minutes — specifically Tavares (1g,  2a), Nylander (2g, 1a), and Matthews (1a, 7 SOG). Starting with the captain, getting beat by Josh Anderson while covering for a Zach Bogosian pinch aside, John Tavares got the ball rolling for the Leafs with a faceoff win and goalie screen for the 1-1 Nylander goal. He was really determined at the net-front all game, including for his 3-3 tying goal on the doorstep on the power play, he finished checks, made good decisions with the puck throughout the night, and his skating legs looked refreshed. I’ve been betting on a Tavares bounce-back year this season — great start in that regard.

6.  Lots of cement legs and doubled over players late on, but Auston Matthews looked like he could’ve played another 10 min TOI. Don’t think 18 minutes through two periods is exactly where you want him every night, but his conditioning (down 10 pounds) looks excellent on top of everything else about his game. Saw some talk out there — including on the broadcast tonight — that Phil Danault has an ability to keep a lid on Matthews; Matthews owned 77% of the possession in that matchup.

7.  For those who don’t remember the kind of goal-scoring form William Nylander was in last season after his just-okay first 10 games: He now has 29 goals in his last 52 regular-season appearances. The heads-up patience on his 3-2 goal, exploiting the time and space available until he picked his spot, made scoring goals in the NHL look deceptively easy. He was the player on the ice on many of his shifts tonight: heavy on his stick, winning back pucks, and the puck was flying off his stick with minimal wind-up.

8.  The result was more about the brilliant individual performances for the Leafs, and the play of the big duos up front (Tavares – Nylander, Matthews – Marner) than any three-man line you felt like was really gelling and rolling as a unit.

There is a lot to sort out here, still, and it’s too early to make too many firm evaluations. My premature feel on it is that Zach Hyman is going to work his way to L1 more or less full time — already is periodically throughout the game, as expected, but too much of what he generates off the forecheck is probably wasted on that line — Ilya Mikheyev should find a place next to Tavares and Nylander, Nick Robertson isn’t going to be held out by Jimmy Vesey and Alex Barbanov for very long at LW (either that, or Alex Kerfoot shifts over), and the big unit on the PP will return more or less full time. I thought Jumbo kept up fine in over 17 minutes of ice time in a track-meet of a 60 minutes, but they’re likely going to have to build a third line that Thornton can thrive on for a 13-15 minute workload, one that can establish a bit of a slower cycle identity.

The evaluation period is only just beginning at the bottom of the roster, too, with Alex Barabanov hardly a factor at 5 minutes a change, Zach Bogosian limited to 10 minutes after a couple of bad penalties, and Travis Dermott second-best in too many puck battles (12:34 TOI).

9.  Morgan Rielly was vibrant offensively and the OT hero after a regulation performance that had its fair share of adventurous moments. I’m no less optimistic on the pairing through one game. TJ Brodie looks like he’s going to provide a steadying presence that should really benefit Rielly’s game more nights than not — good feet and stick positioning, dependable decision making with the puck, situationally aware in the d-zone.

It was adventurous at times, as mentioned, but we’re always fair here: Rielly’s defensive play on the Montreal 2 on 1 late in the second period on the Leafs’ power play — a chance to break the Leafs’ backs with a shorthanded goal against — was an unsung play in the flow of the game. The sweep check to take away the shot and pass was textbook, and it’s something he’s improved on in recent seasons. That set the stage for the 3-3.

10.  This game reminded me of a lot of 2019-20 Frederik Andersen performances in this sense: Was there any one goal that hung squarely on his shoulders? No. Do you wish there was an extra save in there somewhere along the way? Yes. The Leafs gave him the run support, though, and the breakaway saves on Drouin in regulation and Danault in OT were game-savers.


Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts


Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens


Game Highlights

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list – CBC.ca

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.” 

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

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That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout. 

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign. 

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League. 

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. 

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford. 

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said. 

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday. 

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13. 

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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Senators score 5 in 1st, cruise past Sabres – NHL.com

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“I thought that we were ready to go,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “We got some pucks at the net, we got people at the net. Took advantage of our opportunities and, I think, built a nice lead. And then I thought, in the third period, we continued again. Our goaltending was good. Made some key saves. But I thought we shut them down in the third period good.”

Shane Pinto had a goal and three assists, and Brady Tkachuk, Boris Katchouk, Jakob Chychrun and Drake Batherson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (31-36-4), who have won three in a row. Korpisalo made 34 saves.

“If you want to win, you need balance,” Pinto said. “And we had that tonight and it’s going to be big for the back-to-back tomorrow (against the Chicago Blackhawks) to have that same thing. So, going to need all the guys on board.”

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JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton scored for the Sabres (34-34-5), who have lost four of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on nine shots before he was replaced by Devon Levi, who made 31 saves in relief.

“We wanted, I guess, to play as individuals,” Clifton said. “I’m disappointed we let ‘Upie’ down, he’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s kept us in so many games, and just to not show up and play that careless style, give them freebies all over the place. … Yeah, obviously, the first 20 really dictated the rest of the game.”

Artem Zub gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period. He stuffed in a loose puck on the goal line after Katchouk’s shot was redirected by Mark Kastelic between Luukkonen’s pads.

Katchouk made it 2-0 at 4:56, tipping Parker Kelly’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle past Luukkonen.

“It’s keeping the consistency with good effort, right habits,” Katchouk said. “The small things matter so much in this game. And obviously, it worked out tonight with the tip. But kudos to my linemates. ‘Kels’ and ‘Kassy,’ they worked hard to get the puck as well. Those two battle hard every night as well. We feed off each other, and it’s good to play with them.”

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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