After disposing of a Calgary, the Leafs traveled to Michigan in what seems to be their last trip to the Joe Louis Arena. As close as the Atlantic is, the Red Wings will not make the playoffs, and their twenty-five year play-off run will end.
The Toronto Maple leafs were quick out of the starting blocks last night as Matthews backhanded a goal past Mrazek five minutes in. A classy play from a player growing daily in confidence. You don’t need a run through what happened during the game, you’ve either watched it or seen it on twitter.
Delightful Dane
Outshooting teams has been something The Leafs have enjoyed doing all season. Last night was no exception as the Leafs tallied six more shots than their American neighbors. Detroit’s goaltending woes continued; they can’t buy a save right now. Mrazek leaving the ice with a .857% and Andersen recording the first back-to-back shutouts in Leafs colours since 2013. A shutout and an assist for the Dynamite Dane. Penalties were fairly even, so no real advantage or disadvantage as neither team could convert.
Toronto Maple Leafs Need to be Cautious
I write this with a word of caution. As phenomenal as these last two games have been, the teams we’ve faced are of such a poor quality. Ken Daniels (Red Wings Commentator) was on Hockey Central @ Noon and stated that they probably wont make the play-offs and are in need of a rebuild. The problem is, he said, that they wont ‘tank’ with Zetterberg at the helm. Tonight will be a tougher test as a resurgent Flyers team has a few points to prove. You would imagine that McElhinney will get the start tonight. Leave the Wells Fargo with at least a point and Toronto are sitting pretty going into the All-Star Weekend.
Tenacious D (Puck of destiny?)
It was interesting to note that the points came from deeper into the Toronto Maple Leafs ranks last night. With only a goal coming from the first line offense and defense. It was the second and third line D-pairings that impressed for me. Marincin, Zaitsev and Hunwick all getting an assist and Polak credited with a goal. Matthews and Soshnikov also scored, technically the third and fourth line respectively.
This shows the vast improvement of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last year, they’d be lucky to match with the opening pairs and then the cracks would form down the lineup. The opposite is happening now, with Toronto using their strength in depth to expose the opposition’s weaknesses.
Tougher challenges are on the horizon, but you can only play what’s in front of you right?
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