Month: January 2023

A huge tribute tonight for the Toronto Maple Leafs Captain John Tavares to celebrate his 1000^th game played.  He is the 378^th player in NHL history to be so honored.  Tonight’s opponent, the Washington Capitals led by their own legend Alex Ovechkin are hanging on to the last Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.

G Matt Murray has been diagnosed with an ankle injury and won’t be back until after the All-Star break.  Joseph Woll was called up to back up Ilya Samsanov in what was his 7^th straight start.  TJ Bodie was back on the ice with partner Morgan Reilly and Wayne Simpson was in for 4^th line duty. 

After Friday night’s “stinker” against the Senators, the Leafs came out flying – crisp passes, hustle, quick exists and Sami standing up strong.  I liked the switch Coach Keefe made of Kerfoot to centre the second line and Holmberg back to the 4^th.  What a treat to have Wayne Gretzky join the broadcast briefly.  Newly re-instated Nick Backstrom scored the only goal of the period with 2:43 left to make it 1 zip.

MAN, I’m hungry for my sushi delivery !

Remember when  (just a couple of games ago) the Leafs were the number 1 team in the second period ?  Well they certainly were tonight.  Mo Reilly got his FIRST goal of the season with help from Tavares and Bunting to make it 2-1.  A lovely 2 on 1 turned to a 3 on 1 resulting in Nylander’s 28^th thanks to Sandin and Jarnkrok.  To polish things off, Pierre Engvall popped his 10^th top shelf with a nice pass from TJ Brodie.  Did the Caps look a little sluggish this stanza ?

The Leafs continued their dominance in the third as Zack Ashton Reese put the Leafs up to stay at 5-1.

HOPPER NOTES:  Appropriately, Captain Johnny was named the first star off his 2 assist, diligent performance …944 points in 1000 games – pretty impressive…the Sushi was delicious BTW (TORO in P-Dot – can’t go wrong)…congrats to Philly on their 31-7 shellacking is of the 49ers…is OVIE more of an ornament out there now  – just waiting on his dot to score ?  Surprised to hear that the Leafs lead in man games lost…I knew it’s been bad, but…is there a better Ambassador for the game of Hockey than Wayne Gretzky ?  If I’m a wheel in either political party, get that man onstage !!  My old Pal Mikey P says to me the other day “nobody likes to go out drinking with the Maple Leafs”, when I ask why, he says “Cause they go home after the first round” – Hardy Har !  CHEERS !

First of all, my apologies for my “non-report” from the Rangers game on Wednesday (weather related).

Bad news for both Toronto and Ottawa tonight as both have lost their # 1 Centres.  Austin Mathews has tweaked a knee and is out for three weeks.  The good news for the Leafs is that time period includes the All-Star break and their hiatus so actually only 6 NHL games will be lost.  Josh Norris had just returned to the Ottawa line-up recently only to have injured his shoulder again.

Somewhat surprisingly Ilya Samsanov took the Toronto crease, even though Matt Murray was scheduled to appear.  The first period ended at tied at 1 thanks to goals by the Leafs Joey Anderson and Thomas Chabot for the Senators.

23 seconds off the start of the second period Brady Tkachuk put the Senators in front off of Tim Stutzle’s second assist of the night.  The Leafs came roaring back with a net slam that led to William Nylander’s 27^th goal from Captain Johnny and Mo Reilly.  The Leafs ran in to some lazy penalties and d-zone clearance problems that led Ottawa to a 4-2 lead.  First, Derrick Brassard scored his 7^th on a PP from Claude Girioux and then Drake Batherson took advantage of a d-zone blunder to make it 4-2 at the buzzer.

Captain Brady put the game out of reach with his second – this time under the bar to extend his team lead to 48 points.   Veteran Claude Girioux put a ribbon on things with his 17^th with just over 5 minutes left to make the final 6-2.  You could see the Leafs faithful running for the exits after that one.

HOPPER NOTES:  Obviously, this was not the Leafs finest hour…the Senators played like a team – Toronto not so much…my ole’ pal Glennie who now works for the Belleville Senators, tells me to keep an eye out for Ridley Greig a Senators prospect that gets top line minutes (@ centre) in Belleville and has been called up to the big team after the hard-luck Josh Norris’ injury …he wears #17 in Ottawa and did not look out of place tonight…maybe the Leafs have already started to think about “Aruba, Bahama, C’mon pretty Momma”…was it just me, or did Sami look like he might have tweaked something “lower body” during a crazy scrum attack, mid-second period ?…that was Girioux’ 44^th point in 49 games for the Sens…that was the first 6 GA game for Sami and his first home loss…gotta feel for the guy – wasn’t expecting to play and gets a rare “off” night from his teammates…by the “last minute of play” there were more empty seats than Arizona !….did y’all miss me ?…enjoy the winter folks – it ain’t over yet – CHEERS

The playoff placings in the Eastern Conference of the NHL are starting to shape up.  The Atlantic has Boston, Toronto and Tampa and the Metropolitan has Carolina and New Jersey.  That leaves 3 positions left for post season play.  Contenders for those 3 spots would appear to be the Rangers with 57 points, Washinton 56 and the Penguins at 54.  Florida and tonight’s Leafs opponent the New York Islanders are lurking around the edges with 51 points apiece.

This will be the first of a 5 game homestand for Toronto.  Nemisis’ will include the Rangers, Senators, Capitals and arch nemesis, the Boston Bruins.  TJ Brodie will still be out, Dryden Hunt has cleared waivers and Ilya Samsonov will take his 4th consecutive spot in goal to start the busy week.

What started off to be a snoozefest developed in to a pretty good period of hockey.  There  were 8 whistles within the first 5 minutes and one legitimate chance at either end.  The only thing that stood out was the play Kyle Palmeri and the TML line of Kerfoot-Kampf-Engvall.  Then, a hockey game broke out with continual end to end opportunities.  The next whistle/break came at the 17 mark and the snow shovelling guys took barrels of excess off.  Anders Lee broke the goose egg off a loose puck tap-in with :22 seconds left to send the combatants to the room.

You wouldn’t think that moving 2 players up/down your line-up card would make much of difference.  Sheldon Keefe did just that to start the second and whoa, what a difference.  Marner moved alongside Mathews and they had a great shift to start an explosive period.  William Nylander roofed his 25^th @ 5:07.  An Anders Lee’s shortsider put the Islanders back in front.  Captain Johnny put the Leafs back even with a tip feed from Nylander that was accommodated by a quick thinking Samsonov forwarding a 2-liner up on a line change.  Calle Jarnkrok kept up his scoring pace, this time from a Holl feed up and a brilliant high overhead   from the aforementioned William Nylander.  Willy’s 4^th point of the period moved him to 399 on his career to give the Leafs a 4-2 lead.  HMMMM, you don’t think  Willy Styles was trying to send a message to the NHL All-Star selection committee do you ? 

Not much to say about the third period except that AM34 got his 25^th off a beautiful 2 zone pass from Justin Holl for his second point of the night.

HOPPER NOTES:  Johnny T had 8 shots in that second period…is Ashton Reese good enough to hold down a regular spot in April ? …I wish we still had Matt Martin on our team…Ilya Samsonov has a 9.38 SV % at home and he is now 13-0-1 @ SCOTIABANK after tonight’s 31 save performance…Mitchell Marner’s 20 point home record came to an end tonight…(I was a little surprised Keefe didn’t put him out for a late PK)…to all of you lucky ducks heading south these days…Bon Voyage

As if the Montreal Canadiens didn’t have enough troubles with poor play, high expectations and an injury list of 10+ players, the news came that top sniper Cole Caufield was done for the season after shoulder surgery.  The positive (if there were any) is that Montreal now becomes a more serious contender for the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes.  Leading the way currently are the Columbus Blue Jackets with just 28 points followed closely by the Black Hawks at 30, Anaheim with 31, Arizona at 33, San Jose 37 and Vancouver 39.  With Les Habs at 41, they’re right in it.

Tonight’s visitors to the Bell Centre were the Toronto Maple Leafs and they didn’t waste any time in taking the lead just :53 seconds in. Marc Giordano made himself available on the Leafs first line rush and sure enough William Nylander passed it back for a nice under the arm snipe for the veteran d-man.  Calle Jarnkrok tapped in a wonderful feed from Connor Timmins to make it 2 Zip.  AM34 was also in on the first and his little buddy Marner assisted on the second Leafs goal.

Les Canadiens got off to a quick start in the second when Josh Anderson scored his 14^th from Suzuki and Pitlick just 1:46 in.  It didn’t stop there as Samsonov had to be excellent in surviving a 3-4 shot blitz to hold the Leafs lead to one.  Typically, the second is Toronto’s strongest period but by the end, they were out shot 19-8 by the surging Habs.  Further proof was on display as Harvey Pernard (who ?) tied things up scoring in just his 3^rd game.

It was a pretty even-Steven game in the third even though the Leafs came back to outshoot Montreal 14 to 4.  Ilya Samsonov was getting knocked around in crease a lot on the few chances the Habs did get.  A 4 on 4 turned in to a 4 on 3 to Montreal’s advantage in the last 2-3 minutes to no avail.  It was off to OT.  Brent Pitlick put in his second to win the game for the Canadiens – a guy who had been waived through the league on 2 occasions this year.

HOPPER NOTES:  A 22 point differential between team points never seems to have an effect when these two squads faceoff….it’s always good, old-fashioned hard nosed hockey…even back in the ‘80’s when the Leafs sucked the big one, they’d always show up for a game at the Forum…speaking of which, a shameless plug for Sunday night’s documentary called OFFSIDE: The Harold Ballard Story on the CBC – 8 pm I believe….it should bring back some hostile memories for Leaf fans of a certain vintage…I told you that I have been reading Bryan Trottier’s book…he never really apologizes for switching colours to play for the Americans…he only regrets having to play against his best pal Mike Bossy…had the complete pleasure of watching a U16 AAA game here in P-Dot today…my old pal Alynn Smith asked me to come out and watch her son play for the London JR Knights…look for #2, LD with B. Clark on his back – a BRIGHT future and he’s only 15 !  WOW, what a high calibre of hockey…what a bright future we (Canadians) have in our game – the skill, the breakouts, the (clean) hits, the skating and passing skill – a true hockey experience…if you get a chance to watch this calibre of hockey in your community, don’t miss out !  Alynn, BTW had been the Team Manager for the past 4-5 years…she has got to a candidate for “Hockey Mom of Year”…her son and most of his team mates have been together 7-8 years….talk about team building and the great Canadian pastime – CHEERS !

The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the “second-best” NHL team in Canada tonight at the Scotiabank Arena – as some would have you believe.  Yes, the Winnipeg Jets are off to a great start to this ‘22-33 season with the help of Head Coach Rick Bowness and a renewed self confidence of a team with a huge upside.  The Jets were coming off a disappointing 4-1 loss to les Habitants on Tuesday and you know they gotta be pissed.  Afterall, the ‘Peg is in a toe to toe battle in the Central with the Dallas Stars.  With Connor Hellybuck in goal and Norris candidate Josh Morrisey on the back end, you know the JETS are going to show up.

TJ Brodie (rib) was out again for Toronto, but Leafs Nation looked for the return of Rasmus Sandin and Ilya Samsonov in net.

Pretty good first period, however uneventful.  A couple of power plays from both sides proved nothing really.  The Leafs did not seem very crisp or assertive while the Jets, although enthusiastic, had no real finish.  Final SOG Winnipeg 16-6.

Did I say boring ?  No, Austin Mathews scored just 8 seconds in thanks to a faceoff win and “punt from Bunts”.  AM34 walked right on in and went five-hole for the game’s first goal.  Could this be a renaissance for #34 ?  He went top-blocker to score his 24^th to keep his 7 game point streak alive and lift the Leafs to a 2-0 lead, after another Bunting assist.  Not to be out done, Mitchell Marner kept his home point streak alive – a brilliant shorty – to make it 3-0.

The Leafs took a dumb too many men right off the hop in the third period.  To make things worse, Marc Giordano put them down x 2.  To no one’s surprise, Connor put in a beauty to bring the game back within reach for the ’Peg.  And, they weren’t done there.  They peppered the Leafs throughout the third, out shooting TML 2 to 1 by this point.  Bowness pulled Hellybuck at the 3 minute mark and old guy Giordano placed a 175 footer right in the middle to secure the 4-1 victory.

HOPPER NOTES:  2 or 3 sources have laid out the concept of a “Home” goalie and “Road” goalie for the playoffs…Samsonov is at 12-0-1 at home after tonight…hmmmmm…so glad to see Kerfoot “dancing” out there again…Cole Perfetti, a nice Whitby boy, had 2 dozen fans in his corner tonight…Kerfoot is useful, Engvall is not…that Winnipeg team, with all its stars: Scheflie, Wheeler, Connor, Ehlers, Morrisey, Pionk will make some noise in the west playoffs …CHEERS !  Baseball training camp is not far off !

Leaf fans got to see the Florida Panthers for the first time this season tonight.  No, this is not the same Panthers team that won the President’s Trophy last year.  This new version got off to a slow start, ran in to injury problems and had a few new faces to introduce – like new Head Coach Paul Maurice and new top scorer Mathew Tkachuck.  They sport a 21-20-4 record, 11 points out of the playoffs and have won 2 in a row.  Goalie Bobrov was in for his 5^th game in a row.

The Leafs are coming off a 2 game losing string sporting a 26-11-7 and put Matt Murray in net  for his 2 nd consecutive game.  Nylander was back with AM34 and Bobby McMann drew in.

Former Leaf draft pick Verhague opened the scoring with an upstairs glove roof.  Yet to be anointed Dryden Hunt scored his first from Morgan Reilly just :48 seconds later.  While Toronto was trying to score on their third PP in a row, Anton Ludell converted a nice rebound off Barkov for the shorty and a 2-1 lead.  Florida seemed to have the edge along the boards despite being out shot by Tranna.  The always useful Alex Kerfoot scored his 9^th thanks to Jarnkrok and Liligrean, before Josh Mahura surprised just about everybody with another high glove snipe to end the period 3-2 FLA.

Leafs Nation was a little shocked to be down early in the second when Captain Barkov scored to put the Panthers up 4 to 2 less than 2 minutes in.  That also led to a bench warming for Murray (4 goals allowed on 8 shots).  Toronto never showed any signs of give throughout and some late period nastiness led to my boy (coached him in TIMBITS in the 90’s) Nick Cousins to bring on some hate.  This altercation behind the Leafs net resulted in Mathews and Bunting in the cooler as well as Cousins and his pal in the box.  Not long after my formerly favorite Panther, Radim Gudas took Engvall out at the knees.  When Ashton-Reese came to challenge that, Gudas turtled causing Ashton-Reese a trip to the box.  With only 2 seconds left, Mathews converted a typical snipe from Nylander and Marner to make the upcoming 3^rd even more interesting.  BTW, that was Mitchell’s 19^th consecutive home point, eliminating another record from the great Daryl Sittler.

The third played out as anticipated.  End to end – crowd totally engaged.  Willy Nye got his first in 6 games to tie things up.  4-4 – that stood up until overtime when – SURPRISE – Nylander won it all with his 24th to end the night with 2g 1a.  Great game !

HOPPER NOTES:  My grand daughter IZZY was at her first Leafs game tonight and what a beauty to witness ! …who would you have as your senior citizen:  Marc Giordano and Eric Stall ? …my pal Roddy warned me about high glove side with Matt Murray – hope he’s wrong…was Tkachuk on the ice tonight ? …guys I’d like on my team:  Alexander Barkov, a Selke and Lady Byng winner…you only have one life to live – live it well – CHEERS !

Who knew that an apparent end to the Boston Bruins dominance would actually end up as maybe their best regular season ever ?  Pre-season prognosticators (like me) seemed to agree that without Marchand and McAvoy, an unproven goaltending tandem and that long in the tooth veterans like Bergeron and Krejci just wouldn’t keep up with younger, star-studded teams.

At the hallway point of the NHL season the Bruins have a 9 point advantage over the Leafs and a 15 point lead on their other Atlantic division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Tonight’s contest saw Auston Mathews back in his regular role, Murray in net, Holmberg and McMann off with sickness and Connor Timmins back in to fill for TJ Brodie.

WOW, what a huge save by Murray less than 2 minutes in off Brad Marchant.  Spectacular !  This was followed shortly by just a great, 50 second, old-time scrap between Wayne Simmonds and Nick Foligno…and away we go !  Michael Bunting ended his drought with a superb net snipe from Tavares and Marner on a 5 forward PP.  The Leafs looked pretty sharp at this point, winning board battles and the like.  As is often the case, a great chance at one end leads to a goal in the opposite.  Marchant sent a beauty to Patrice Bergeron to tie things up 1-1 to end the period.

Pierre Engvall, perhaps knowing he’ll soon be shipped elsewhere, made an individual rush early in the second to tie things up.  Not long after, David Pasternak intercepted a risky D to D pass across the blueline to break in alone and score his 33^rd to tie it right back up.  The Leafs started to look rather ragged at this point and at the end AJ Grier went 5 hole to put the Bruins up 3-2.  The Boston squad became even more aggressive as the period went on resulting in a brutal shoulder check to Liligren into the boards that sent him to the room.  Some of that hostility may have carried over to a rather unpleasant exchange between the 2 clubs as the buzzer blasted.  A “hate-on” in the making ?

Austin Mathews did double duty to start the third – first he “bunted” one out of danger in his own end and then followed the play to eventually score the tying goal from Bunting and Marner at 3:17.  The Leafs came out fired up and a near miss by Bunting could have easily salted it away.  BUT, as always the Bruins came out of nowhere to have a guy named Grizuck knuckle the winner in.  4-3 Boston.

HOOPER NOTES:  I apologize for my earlier comment “times up” for Wayne Simmonds…a guy you need on your team…that Bergeron line dominates play 80-90 % of the time…Aex Kerfoot looked pretty good as the 4^th line centre -further enhancing his “Swiss Army Knife” rep…fabulous goaltending at both ends tonight ! …will flipping Marner and Nylander be a strategic decision or permanent ? …hey, close game “whata ya goin’ t’do ?…Enjoy your life !

The Detroit Red Wings haven’t beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in 9 straight games.  Their rebuilding program started with some promise but has come back to earth since mid-November.  They have been 6 years out of the playoffs and Stevie Y and the Illitches have got to be a little restless.

For tonight’s game in Detroit, the Leafs, were again without Austin Mathews (sick) and TJ Brodie.  In their place, Alex Kerfoot moved in to centre the Nylander/Bunting line, Wayne Simmonds drew in for Dryden Hunt and Jordan Benn replaced Connor Timmins.  Ilya Samsanov was in goal after a spectacular effort the night before by Matt Murray.

Is there such a thing as “Bus Legs” in the NHL ?  Because it sure looked like the Leafs had them tonight.  Detroit was dominant in all facets having been home waiting. Lucas Raymond got the Wings started with his 12^th from a nice Dylan (gottem’ in the pool) Larkin.  This was after Marlie call-up Bobby McMann had his first potential goal called off on a bull-shit “kicking action” goal earlier.

A far more entertaining second period allowed Tony Fabbri to pop a PPG to put the wings out front by 2. What was essentially an “own goal” helped the Leafs get back in it when Larkin mistakenly tipped in a Rasmus Sandin pass to tighten things up 2-1. Samsanov had made at least 2 spectacular saves to keep the Leafs in this thing !

Just as Toronto took over the SOG stat in the third, Detroit seemed to come roaring back as if to say “not tonight”.  Back and forth they went, but the Wings always seemed to have the answer.  One empty net goal, followed by a line rush goal late and it was all over but the cryin’.  Red Wings 4, Leafs 1.

HOPPER NOTES: In no way was this a loss to be shouldered by Ilya Samsanov, he made the key saves when needed…the only thing I would say about Ilya, is he needs to stop “helping” his team mates with the puck behind the net…I don’t really like to see Mo Reilly on the right side, it’s just not natural to him…my post game whine would be about poor Bobby McMann…he wasn’t trying to kick it in, he was only trying to get it up to his stick so he could shoot it in ! …guys I’d like on my team: Lucas Raymond…I’m afraid that Wayne Simmonds time has come and gone…really, is Michael Bunting’s act up ?  He needs to shut the FU when challenging officials (it gets old Bunts !)…end of the day, the Leafs miss their Superstar Ausin Matthews)…a shout out to my big sister Carol tonight who is on a long battle…love you Sis !

OK, Roman Josi, Goalie Juuse Saros, Ryan McDonagh, Matt Duchene and Peter Forsberg – yeah I’ve heard of some of the Nashville Predator players.  And yeah, David Poile continues to ice a competitive team.  Before tonight’s tilt with the Toronto Maple Leafs, they sported a 19-14-6 record, 1 point out of the last Wild Card spot in the West with 3 games in hand on Edmonton.  They are surrounded by St. Louis, Calgary and Colorado in that same race.

Thanks to a keen pre-game notice from my # 1 source, the Toronto Maple Leafs were without Auston Mathews meaning Willy Nylander moved to centre, Pierre Engvall moved up to the number one line and newcomer, 26 year old  Bobby McMann got his first shot in the “bigs”.

Can you say “Goalie Battle” ?  That is appeared to be what we had in store for this evening, if the first period was any indication.  5’11” Saros (too small for the NHL?), was spectacular.  His .948 sv % average shone after coming off a shutout in Ottawa and 60+ save performance in Carolina last week.  The Leafs tested him early and often.  Matt Murray was equal to the task, with a spectacular series of saves where he “snow angelled” a conflict and made 3 saves in the process.  Captain Johhny finally scored with 3:06 left off a great Nylander feed when he lifted a deft back hander from in close for his 20^th.  That was also JT’s 5^th in his last 4 and his 7^th first goal of the game for the season.  Final SOG – TML 15 / PREDS 10.

Things changed quickly as the second period began.  Peter Forsberg scored his 8^th in 8 games on beauty toe drag just 1:46 in.  Shots and chances were down this stanza as the checking tightened up on both sides.  Nashville has a heavy team and they like to utilize it where possible.

Remember that “Goalie Battle” comment from paragraph 3 ?  So be it !  What a display by the guys with the pillows on their legs – what a showing.  A combined .966 sv %, 35 to 30 SOG.  Hard to choose who was better.  If not for an errant stick up Morgan Reilly’s nose to cause a 4 minute penalty, they could still be playing.  Turns out, Mitch Marner slapped in a clever pass from Nylander on the ensuing PP to give the Leafs all they needed.  That was Mitchell’s 18^th home game point in a row BTW, tying him with the legend known as Daryl Sittler.

HOPPER NOTES:  credit Kyle Dubas with the recent depth acquisitions of Connor Timmins, Dryden Hunt and Bobby McMannn…sure they won’t be playing in next month’s all-star game, but they’re larger than Kyle usually likes and they sure seem to want to play…such a fine line between playing in the NHL or the AHL isn’t it ? …guys I’d like on my team:  Tanner Jeanott (6’ 2”, 208 pounds and loves to hit people)…Cheers everyone !!

The Philadelphia Flyers have been on a bit of heater lately, winning 4 in a row, 5 of their last 7 to earn a modest 15-17-7 record to date.  They will be looking to break a current 6 game losing streak to tonight’s visitors.  The Flyers have an 8-9-1 home record.

The Toronto Maple Leafs on the other hand have been up and down since the holiday break, giving up the first goal in their last 3 games and having suffered from some pretty mediocre goaltending from both men.  This is the last game of (#41) of their first half and they sport a very impressive 24-9-7 record.  Matt Murray got the start in goal and his objective was to improve on his sub .900 sv% from recent times.  TJ Brodie came out of the line-up and Connor Timmins came in.  Also, Wayne Simmonds subbed in on the 4^th line (a nice gesture).

The Leafs got off to the great start they’ve been missing lately with 4 shots on net before the first whistle.  Calle Jarnkrok got Toronto on the board with his 9^th after a fabulous cross ice feed from Marner halfway through the opening period.  Matt Murray made a solid save off Kevin Hayes to try to match last night’s solid win from Ilya Samsanov.  With 2:15 left, the Leafs got a 4^th line goal from Zach Aston-Reese banging in a Holmberg rebound, but just 16 seconds later Travis Knoechny put in his 21^st to extend his 6 game scoring streak.  SOG 12-11 Tranna.

Connor Timmins, a real fine addition to the Leafs defence depth, got his first career goal off a Tavares/Marner combo in the 13^th minute.  Like earlier, the Flyers struck right back just 1:49 later when tough guy Nicholas Delauries roofed a nice one for his second of the year.  Timothy Liligren had just crushed a bullet off the post and off the ensuing faceoff, got his 3^rd from Jarnkrok to put the Leafs back up 4 to 2.  Captain Johhny has been on a bit of a heater himself lately as he pumped in his 4^th in 3 games off a nice forecheck from Jarnkrok and Marner.  This didn’t really feel like a 5-2 game because the Flyers didn’t turtle and kept Toronto hemmed in their own end for a majority of the final 5 minutes of the second.

Y’know ?, there were a couple of times through the back half of tonight’s game where I wondered, who’s winning ?  Except for a brief period in the second half of the third, when the Leafs had solid shifts from all 4 lines in a row, I thought Philly had the edge in play !  Auston Mathews got his 20^th on a PP thanks to Tavares and Marner and the 3 game series sweep had its final nail.  Murray had to improve his save % with a 34 save performance and Connor Timmins seems to have been accepted into the group.  As Vic Rauter used to say, make the final Leafs 6, Flyers 2.

HOPPER NOTES:  Who needs a high priced (cap space + assets) LW when Jarnkrok (1G, 2A tonight) is playing so well ?…Coach John Tortorella hates the all-star break…who cares ?  I get so sick of his act ! …some are saying that Mathews’ goal scoring total (now @ 20) is disappointing…I think a lot are forgetting his huge upside on the defensive side of the puck…many will recall a young Steve Yzerman back in the early 90’s when he was scoring at a 60 goal, 100+ point pace…Scotty Bowman came along and convinced Stevie that there was more to hockey than just scoring, the Detroit franchise turned around and became championship calibre…guys I’d like on my team, Travis Konechney…I’m reading one of my Christmas books “All Roads Home” by Bryan Trottier and Stephen Brunt…very good so far…it has taken me a while to forgive Trottier for going to play for the Americans (on the premise of being a Native North American) during some of the Canada Cups…and, what exactly IS Ozempic ?  Cheers all – keep those comments coming !