Welcome Back Auston Matthews

Auston Matthews, (no. 34) got three points last night.

What a night for Toronto Maple Leaf's Auston Matthews.

Out since October 27th with an injury, Matthews had three points in a 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks last night.

Matthews assisted on a power play goal by John Tavares at 3:38 of the first period.

Tied 1-1, Matthews put Toronto ahead 2-1 at 11:19 on the man advantage.

The Leafs went up by two goals at 19:42 when Tavares scored again.

Toronto went up 4-1 when Patrick Marleau scored at 1:53 of the second period.

Joe Pavelski made it 4-2 when he scored on the power play at 4:18.

The Leafs slacked off a bit in the third period.

Leaf's goalie, Frederik Andersen, stopped the Sharks from scoring in the third.

Andersen stopped 38 shots last night.

At 10:19, Matthews scored his second goal to put Toronto ahead by three goals again.

The Sharks score another goal at 18:02, but that was it.

Logan Couture had two assists last night.

     (Top) Mitch Marner had three assists last night.

Toronto's Mitch Marner continues his hot streak.  He had another three assists last night.

Toronto heads to Minnesota to face the Wild on Saturday night. 

Preview: Sharks Verses Leafs

Tonight 7:30 p.m. EST.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to get a huge boost to their offense tonight.

It was confirmed today that Auston Matthews is healthy enough to play in tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks.

This means that both teams don't have significant injuries now.

The Sharks have a healthy roster.

Unfortunately, San Jose have lost their last two games and are 6-5-2 for the month of November.

Also, the Shark's defense is really questionable.

The odds favor the Leaf in this match up.

Marner Shines Again For The Leafs

Mitch Marner, (Top), shined again last night with three assists.

I have to say.  I'm really impressed with Toronto Maple Leaf's Mitch Marner.

Marner is having a really good year.

Last night in a 4-2 Leaf's win over the Boston Bruins, Marner had three assists.

Marner's patience with the puck is unbelievable.  He's not afraid to wait for the right time to pass the puck.

I have to mention Toronto's rookie, Igor Ozhiganov.  He scored his first ever NHL goal last night to put the Leafs ahead 2-1 in the second period.

Boston's David Pastrnak continues to have a good season.

Pastrnk scored two goals last night.

Pastrnak's teammate, Brad Marchand, had two assists last night.

Toronto's goalie, Frederik Andersen, stopped 38 shots last night.

Toronto hosts the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night.

There's a good possibility that Auston Matthews is going to return to the lineup for tomorrow's game.

That definitely is going to boost Toronto's offense. 

Preview: Bruins Verses Leafs

Tonight 7 p.m. EST.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins are both even.

Boston, however, basically just relies on the JFK line.

Boston's goalie, Jaroslav Halak, however, has had success against the Leafs in his career.

Leaf's forward, Nazem Kadri needs to step it up offensively tonight in order for his team to win, but it won't be simple.

Kadri has had trouble scoring this season.

Injuries:

Boston

Brandon Cario - Upper Body,

Charlie McAvoy - Concussion,

Trent Frederic - Day To Day - Upper Body,

Urbco Vaskanainen - Concussion,

Zdeno Chara - Knee,

Patrice Bergeron - Ribs.

Toronto

No Changes. 

Johnsson Scores Hat Trick In Shut Out

Andreas Johnsson (Top) scored hat trick in a 6-0 romp over Philadelphia on Saturday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs definitely solved their defensive problem on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.  

Last week, the Leafs were giving up the first two goals of the game within 10 minutes of the opening period.

On Saturday, it was a different story.

The Leafs jumped out ahead 4-0, chasing Flyers goalie, Calvin Pickard, out of the game.

Andreas Johnsson scored a hat trick in the first period.

Leaf's goalie, Garret Sparks, stopped 41 shots and recorded his second NHL career shut out.

Mitch Marner had two assists in Saturday's game.

Toronto hosts the Boston Bruins tonight.

Preview: Flyers Verses Leafs

Tonight 7 p.m.

I didn't look up the statistics for this match up.

I've seen both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers play this week.

There's a disturbing trend going on with the Leafs lately.

The team have been going down 2-0 within the first 10 minutes of the game.

That has to stop.

In order for the Leafs to beat the Flyers tonight, they've got to strike first offensively.

As for the Flyers, Philadelphia is not a team to take too lightly.

The Flyers shut out the New York Rangers yesterday afternoon 4-0.

Flyer's goalie, Calvin Pickard, was fantastic in net yesterday.

Injuries:

Philadelphia

Samual Morin - Injured Reserved (IR.) - Knee,

Michael Raffl - Lower Body,

Corban Knight - Collarbone,

Pascal Leberge - IR. - Hip,

Michael Neuvirth - Undisclosed,

Brian Elliott - Out - Lower Body.

Toronto

No Changes.

Atkinson Scores Short Handed Goal Last Night In Win

(left) Cam Atkinson scored a short handed goal in Columbus win.

I'm not going to run down the play by play of the Toronto Maple Leafs/Columbus Blue Jackets game last night.

There's nothing really to say about the Leafs lately, but terrible.

Three games in a row, including, last night, Toronto immediately has given up two goals within the first 10 minutes of the game.

Last night, Josh Anderson scored the first two goals of the game in a 4-2 Columbus's victory.

(Above) Josh Anderson

 What's worse, Cam Atkinson scored a short handed goal just after the Leafs tied the game 2-2.

The Leafs didn't recover after that.

Toronto hosts the Philadelphia Flyers tonight.

Canes Ends Leaf's Winning Streak In Full Force

(left) Jordan Staal had two assists in last night's 5-2 Carolina win.

I'm still scratching my head on why the Toronto Maple Leafs put former backup goalie, Curtis McElhinney on waivers earlier this season.

McElhinney proved last night that he belongs in the NHL as he helped the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 win against Toronto.

The Hurricanes wasted no time as the team went ahead 2-0 in the first period with goals by Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Justin Williams.
Toronto was outplayed by the 'Canes last night.

Goals by John Tavares and Kasperi Kapanen were the bright spots for the Leafs last night.  Nothing else.

The Hurricanes seemed to have full control of the game.

Hurricane's captain, Jordan Staal, had two assists last night.  His teammate, McElhinney, stopped 30 shots.

McElhinney's counter part, Frederik Andersen, stopped 40 shots last night.

The Leafs now head home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! to my American readers.

Preview: Leafs Verses Hurricanes

Tonight 7 p.m. EST.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a team tonight similar to the Anaheim Ducks.

The Carolina Hurricanes have a mediocre 9-8-3 record this season.

This doesn't mean it is a guaranteed win for the Buds.

The Leafs barely defeated the Ducks last week.  Toronto won in overtime 2-1.

In the special teams department, the Leafs have the advantage.

On the power play, the Leafs have a percentage of 25.9.  The Hurricanes, 15.5.

On the penalty kill - Leafs - 82.1.  Hurricanes - 73.8

The Leafs have also won four in a row and has won seven of their last 10 games.

Injuries:

Carolina

Victor Rask - Injured Reserve - Hand,

Petr Mrazk - Day To Day - Upper Body,

Valentin Zykov - Day To Day - Undisclosed.

Brett Pearce - Day To Day - Lower Body.

Toronto

No Changes.

Hyman Scores Winner in 4-2 Leaf's Victory

(Above) Zach Hyman scores winner in 4-2 victory over Columbus last night.

Zach Hyman was the hero for the Toronto Maples Leafs last night.

15:38 into the third period, Hyman put the Leafs ahead 3-2 over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Hyman then scored an empty netter at 18:59.

The game was fast paced.

Toronto started out good in the first period, but goals by Cam Atkinsen and Pierre-Luc Dubois put the Leafs behind 2-0.

Toronto, however, didn't give up.

At 13:01 of the second period, Toronto's Tyler Ennis scored.

John Tavares tied the game at 17:20.

Leaf's goalie, Fredrik Andersen, had another stellar night in net, stopping 37 shots.

Atkinsen and Dubois had two points last night.

Toronto's Ron Hainsey and Mitch Marner had two assists.

Tavares finished the night with a goal and an assist.

Toronto travels to Carolina to face the Hurricanes tomorrow night.

Preview: Blue Jackets Verses Leafs

Tonight 7 p.m. EST.

Honestly, I feel the Toronto Maple Leafs ought of played better against the Anaheim Ducks, a mediocre team, on Friday.

A 2-1 overtime win wasn't good enough.

The Leafs had the ability to score more goals.

As for tonight's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, look for a fast paced game.

Columbus is not the Ducks.  The Blue Jackets are by far a better team, however, Toronto has huge advantage in goal differential.

The Leafs are +19 and the Jackets are just +6.

Columbus defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in their last game.  Cam Atkinsen had a hat trick.

Preview: Leafs Verses Ducks

Tonight 10 p.m. EST.

The Toronto Maple Leafs ought to win tonight's game if the team plays in a dominate fashion.

The Leafs are far superior over the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks mediocre and have a dismal power play percentage, (14.3).

The Ducks are 8-9-3 overall.

Anaheim lost their last game 5-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Injuries have plagued the Ducks this season.

As for Toronto, the team defeated both the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks.

Injuries:

Anaheim

Cory Perry - Knee,

Patrick Eaves - Upper Body,

Kevin Bieska - Out - Finger, 

Korbinian Holtzer - Injured Reserve, (IR.) - Wrist,

Cam Fowler - Face,

Kevin Roy - IR. - Undisclosed,

Carter Rouney - Upper Body,

Max Comtois - Lower Body.

Toronto

No Changes

Leafs Take A Bite Out Of The Sharks

Kasperi Kapanen, (above), scored two goals in a 5-3 win over the Sharks last night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are two for two on their recent California road trip.

After defeating the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 earlier this week, Toronto defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-3 last night.

Leaf's forward,  Kasperi Kapanen, scored two goals in last night's game.

The first period was a seesaw battle with both team exchanging goals.

The Sharks were ahead 3-2 after the first period.

The next two periods was all Leafs.

Toronto scored two goals in the second period and scored a goal in the third period.

Toronto's net minder, Frederik Andersen, stopped 42 shots.

San Jose out shot the Leafs last night 45-34.

Toronto's Mitch Marner had a goal and two assists last night.

San Jose's Erik Karlsson had two assists.

Toronto is gunning for the California sweep tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.

  

Preview: Leafs Verses Sharks

Tonight 10:30 p.m. EST.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a lifetime record of 5-11-3 against the San Jose Sharks, however, both teams are even this season.

The Leafs have the advantage in scoring and goal tending.

The Leafs also have a slight advantage on the power play.

The Leaf's power play percentage is 28.8.  San Jose's is 17.7.

The Sharks, however, are better on defense.

Injuries:

San Jose

Tomas Hertl - Day to Day - Lower Body.

Toronto

Auston Matthews - Shoulder. 

Leafs Bring Down The Golden Knights

Connor Brown, (above), got two points in last night's 3-1 win over Vegas 

Despite the 3-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, the Toronto Maple Leafs were not that spectacular in last night's game.

In fact, Vegas out shot Toronto 37-21.

Toronto's goalie, Frederik Andersen was probably the hero last night.  He helped his team tremendously by stopping 36 shots.

Leaf's forward, Connor Brown, got two points last night, including, the game's opening goal in the first period.

Nine seconds into the second period, Mitch Marner put the Leafs ahead 2-0.

Vegas's Cody Eakin closed the gap at 2-1 at 11:22.

Thankfully for Toronto, Nazem Kadri scored an empty-netter at 19:25 of the third period.

The Leafs , again, were good on the penalty kill.

Vegas went 0-3 on the man advantage.

Toronto hosts the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.

Preview: Golden Knights Verses Leafs

Tonight 7 p.m EST.

The Toronto Maple Leafs got a huge win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, (Nov 3).

  

A 5-0 shut out.

The Leafs held Pittsburgh scoreless on the man advantage.  The Pens. went 0-5 on the power play on Saturday.

Tonight, the Leafs power play is  probably going to help the team against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Leafs power play is far better over the Knights.

The problem with the Leafs is that the team has a poor home record, (3-5-0).

The Golden Knights, however, probably is going to improve the Leaf's home record tonight if Toronto plays at a dominant pace.

Vegas is really struggling this season with a 6-7-1 overall record.

That's a far contrast to last season when the Knights shocked the hockey world by going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The big problem with Vegas is all the injuries the team has.

Injuries:

Vegas

Paul Stastney - Unclosed,

Clayton Stoner - Undisclosed,

Max Pacioretty - Day To Day - Upper Body,

David Clarkson - Injured Reserved - Back,

Mikhail Grabovski - Out - Concussion,

Deryk Engelland - Undisclosed,

Alex Tuch - Lower Body.

Toronto

Auston Matthews - Shoulder,

Travis Dermott - Illness, 

Ron Hainsey - Day To Day - Undisclosed.