Auston Matthews hit the nail on the head late on Tuesday night.
Sports
KOSHAN: Maple Leafs, now home for a stretch, deked through trip with durability
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Consider that the Leafs are 13-2-2 in games following a loss in regulation. Just twice this season they’ve lost in regulation in consecutive games.
Consistency has been key, and yes, we can all point to it being the regular season and not the playoffs, but would you rather have the opposite or something less? Of course not.
The Leafs, who had a well-earned day off on Wednesday, aren’t a team that stumbles and can’t get up.
With 18 games remaining, there is plenty of time for Keefe to get it all right, though it is unfortunate he won’t have centre Ryan O’Reilly until, probably, the last handful of games before the playoffs.
OIL COUNTRY
Speaking of teams on long trips, Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers will be finishing one when they pull into town to play the Leafs on Saturday.
The Oilers started a week-long journey with a loss in Winnipeg, followed by a win in Buffalo. On Thursday, they will visit the Boston Bruins.
As the Leafs begin a four-game home stand, Matt Murray will get the start in net against the Oilers, barring anything unforeseen in practice.
Samsonov has provided his Leafs teammates with a chance to win just about every time it has been required. Murray’s wealth of experience is seen as a factor when the Leafs’ post-season starter is debated. Let’s see it on display as the final stretch continues.
WINNING FORMULA
Matthews’ goal in New Jersey was the 51st game-winner of his career, putting him fourth on the Leafs’ franchise list, one more than Ron Ellis.
It’s the number of games played, in comparison to those ahead of him, that further crystallizes Matthews’ value. It’s quite impressive, how quickly Matthews moved into the top four.
Sundin played in 981 games for Toronto; Keon played in 1,062. Mahovlich skated in 720 games for the Leafs, Ellis in 1,034.
Matthews is nowhere near any of them, coming in at 464 games played.
Among current Leafs, William Nylander is next with 32 game-winners, enough for 14th on the franchise list.
LOOSE LEAFS
Jake McCabe’s play in the final minute in New Jersey, including a block just before time expired, was instrumental. If O’Reilly is the most important player general manager Kyle Dubas acquired prior to the trade deadline (and we think he is), McCabe is not far off. He’s a stabilizer and knows when to get physically involved. Even better, he’s under contract for the next two seasons at just $ 2 million US against the salary cap … Morgan Rielly and Pontus Holmberg share a birthday on Thursday. Rielly turns 29, Holmberg 24 … The last word goes to Samsonov, who knows how valuable he has been. “Right now I feel good,” Samsonov said after beating the Devils. “I think about playoff time, need to get ready for playoff and feel perfect, not injuries, not nothing.”
Sports
Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list
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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.
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
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.”
Sports
Senators score 5 in 1st, cruise past Sabres
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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.”
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.”
Sports
Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca
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