Well, Leafs Nation wanted to see if the Toronto Maple Leafs were really in a renaissance or was that two game streak just an epiphany. Sure, they added Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford after being waived and even worse, passing the wire. They had to shake off the early season second guessing that the media frenzy had created. But Captain Johnny is off to a great start, new goalie Ilya Samsonov is 4 and 0 and Coach Keefe decided to re-insert the so far disappointing Pierre Engvall back on to the third line.
With all the coaching merry-go-round from this past summer, I kind of forgot Bruce Cassidy ended up in Vegas. This should help the Golden Knights with systems and defence. The big headline for tonight’s contest is that former Leaf Phil Kessel is about to tie Keith Yandle’s iron man record of 989 consecutive games. Now, who amongst us (from say 5 years ago) would have ever guessed that !?! Next Question will “promise land” Jack Eichel ever start to contribute significantly ?
The game started as most would have suspected from a couple of 4 and 2 teams- FAST ! That was all nixed with another too many men call against Toronto. On the ensuing sequence, the new iron man scored what most thought was his 400th goal. A reviewable play negated that on an offside call. Almost immediately, Las Vegas assured the home town crowd what was meant to be with a Nick Roy goal. (BTW, Kessel got an assist). The Leafs floundered a bit after that but then around the 7 minute mark they started hitting and playing much more assertive hockey. The Mathews line pinned the Knights in their own zone for close to 2 minutes and were oh so close to tying things up. 1 zip Vegas after one.
A real good hockey game continued into the second. Marner post, great saves at either end. The shot attempts were 30-30 about halfway through, but much the same as we saw in the first, the Leafs seemed to find a new gear in the back half of the second. William Nylander scored his team leading 4th goal after to some hard work from linemates Tavares and Robertson. This game wasn’t over yet.
Like the start of periods one and two, the Golden Knights came out smokin’ hot. Within the first minute, Chandler Stevens had staked his team to a 2-1 lead. By the 11-minute mark, a bad Leafs change and poor coverage by Victor Mete pretty much decided this one as former Leaf Amodeo scored some insurance, despite Samsonov’s steady play. Keefe pulled his goalie with 3:30 left. Bunting took his regular dive to add to the drama at 6 on 4 to no avail. 3-1 Vegas.
HOPPER NOTES: A couple of significant revelations from today’s press scrums: will Carey Price ever play another NHL game ? … Winnipeg Coach Rick Bowness tried to shake off a serious (dizziness) health reaction during today’s presser…the Leafs lost to abetter team on this night…Phil Kessel needs to complete an injury free appearance on Thursday in San Jose to take over the Iron Man lead (who knew ?) …the Jeff Chechryn to the Leafs for Nicky Bobby rumour ? Not so much – thanks to my favorite cub reporter in the world though ! …can anyone explain the complete melt down in Vancouver ? …I kinda don’t mind Jarenkrock on the third line – LW neighbour (Engvall) could learn a thing or two…while I’m at it, Kerfoot was a bit of a no show too…the crowd seemed about 50/50…the Leafs have just GOT to get Mitchy going !…boy, I sure hope Justin Holl’s Mum doesn’t go on the Intranet….I think Bunting’s time of drawing penalties is up…glad to see Johnny T come back with 5 minutes left after shaking off that bullet to the knee…Guy’s I wish I had on my team ? Shea Theodore….I think I might take Thursday (San Jose) off….cheers !