Leafs

Matthews ties Toronto Maple Leafs franchise record as Toronto tops division rival in Tampa.

The Maple Leafs played without William Nylander, who missed the game with a non-COVID-19-related illness. The Bolts Nation has high hopes for a third consecutive Stanley Cup but may have to go through Toronto in the first round to do it. Alexander Kerfoot added another with 7:35 to go in the second. Vasilevskiy came in at 35-14-4 with a .919 save percentage. The 24-year-old centre has at least one goal in 12 of the last 13 games and 47 over the last 47. “We came on this trip excited about the opportunity,” Sheldon Keefe said. “Man, it’s fun to watch him,” Campbell said. Pierre Engvall netted a 30-foot wrist shot less than two minutes after the puck drop to put Toronto ahead. At this point Toronto and Tampa Bay look similar to one another. With 13 regular-season contests left, neither is likely to catch the first-place Panthers with Bruins the only other possible combatant for either to start the post-season. He also scored twice in the second period, both times on assists from Mitch Marner. “I feel like a proud brother,” Marner, who had a goal and three assists, said.

TAMPA, Fla (AP) — Auston Matthews had three goals to tie the franchise single-season record for goals with 54, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa ...

He has a point in each of his last 13 games. Mitchell Marner had a goal and two assists, giving him 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) during a 10-game point streak. Matthews, who also had an assist and extended his goal streak to six games.

Auston Matthews a marqué ses 52e, 53e et 54e buts de la saison pour égaler un record d'équipe des Maple Leafs de Toronto et les mener à une victoire de 6-2 ...

Matthews réussit son quatrième tour du chapeau de la saison. L’Américain de 24 ans a brisé une égalité de 1-1 en début de deuxième avant de redonner les devants pour de bon aux Maple Leafs en faisant 3-2 en milieu de période. Il a porté l’avance des Leafs à 5-2 en complétant son tour du chapeau en troisième et a ajouté une passe sur le but de Mitch Marner, qui s’est fait complice des trois filets de Matthews. Les Leafs signent une cinquième victoire de suite et ce gain face aux doubles champions en titre leur permet de prendre deux points d’avance sur le Lightning au deuxième rang de la division Atlantique.

Auston Matthews scored his 54th goal on Monday, tying Rick Vaive's for most goals in a season in Maple Leafs' history.

"This is a big game for us, obviously," Matthews, said. And on the road to 50, Matthews was scoring at a blistering pace that included at least one goal in 31 of 45 games leading up to the feat. He previously scored 47 goals in 70 games the year before.

It seems like another big week for Toronto, and until they get that "x" next to their name on the standings page, I guess they'll all be big weeks.

While Abruzzese playing for the Leafs burned a year of his contract, that won’t be the same for Knies, who is still subject to the entry-level contract slide. The usage of Knies in the Leafs’ lineup will probably mirror what we’ve seen from Abruzzese. He’s likely to get a taste of the fourth line and could be a scratch the majority of the time. If Minnesota wins, they’ll be in the final, and the tournament concludes on Saturday night, so no matter what by Sunday there is a chance that Knies is on a plane to Toronto and we find out if he can be the big-bodied saviour of the Leafs’ undersized forward group. Clinching early would be nice, but the Leafs may want to battle for a better home ice advantage by going for the second spot in the division. The Leafs need some combination of four wins or Islanders losses in order to clinch a playoff spot this week. It seems like another big week for Toronto, and until they get that “x” next to their name on the standings page, I guess they’ll all be big weeks.

L'attaquant des Maple Leafs a réussi un tour du chapeau dans un gain de 6 à 2 des siens contre le Lightning de Tampa Bay, lundi au Amalie Arena.