Leafs

William Nylander scored twice as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Friday in a regular-season finale that saw both teams rest most ...

They entered Friday with the worst power play in the league and third-worst goals per game. They finished with fewer victories in a full season only three other times, two of which came in the second and third year of the club's existence. Hellebuyck got a piece of Tkachuk's shot, but the puck still went over the line. Boos reigned down as they skated off the ice. When Winnipeg went on its fourth power play eight minutes into the third, another Connor blast got blocked. Then Caufield winded a wrist shot to get Montreal up by three. Vladar stopped Wheeler close in, then leading-scorer Kyle Connor shot wide of the net. Tkachuck reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career with the eventual winning tally on a wrist shot on a power play with 3:22 left in regulation. Jordan Harris notched his first career goal from the point with the first shot of the night. Edmonton tied the game 31 seconds into the third as a Kulak blast from the point found the back of the net with with Evander Kane providing the screen in front. Playing his ninth NHL game after signing with Toronto following the conclusion of his U.S. college season in late March, Abruzzese then scored his first in the NHL on a nice deflection of a Morgan Rielly point shot with 6.7 seconds left in the period. However, Vancouver would start the scoring with 2:27 left in the opening frame when Miller blasted a shot off the crossbar and into the net for his 32nd goal and 99th point.

That's the first-round mountain for the Maple Leafs now they're locked in with the Lightning. Despite home ice advantage at Scotiabank Arena, a record team ...

“But he’s a great competitor and he’d do anything it takes to win. “I think (that painful lesson) is huge,” he said before the Boston game. Article content Article content Article content Article content

William Nylander scored twice as Toronto defeated the Boston Bruins 5-2 in a regular-season finale that saw both teams rest most of their stars. “Bizarre game ...

“We’re in a good spot to leave here and use the next two days to prepare for some important hockey.” “No matter what night it is, who you’re playing, you want to be in the lineup and make an impact.” “Back-to-back champs, one of the best teams in the league,” Nylander said of Toronto’s next opponent. “He’s not overly big or scary looking,” Rielly said with a little grin. It was a weird game that way, but the guys did a good job.” You’re trying to do well in the game, yet you’re trying not to use guys too much. “We’ve got 82 games in the books,” Keefe said. “Bizarre game to coach,” Keefe said. “It’s going to be a tough series, but it’ll be a good battle for us.” “You want to play every game you can,” Bruins centre Charlie Coyle said. “I was monitoring ice time more than I was monitoring the play on the ice to be honest. “They can be difficult games to play in,” Toronto forward Jason Spezza said of Friday. “It doesn’t have a normal feel.”

With that in mind, John Tavares will join Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Jack Campbell on the sideline for Friday's game. And the regulars in the lineup won' ...

That way when we get rolling on Monday, we're in a good head space and feeling confident." I was a centre my whole life and then started playing more wing and learning as I went and watching the older guys and picking it up." "It doesn't matter what time of the season it is, when you're playing you play the same way. "This is what you dream about as a kid ... I'm a little fired up, to say the least." "That's been my bread and butter my whole career," the 5-foot-9 Massachusetts native said. The forward avoided any serious injury and doesn't plan to take it easy on Friday. "You lay everything out there every single shift, every second that you get, because you don't know if you'll get another opportunity to even be able to even play in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I feel like maybe in a couple games I was caught in between whether it was on the forecheck or defensively with little reads. I think it's an opportunity here for all of us, all of our depth players, to prove that we're great players in this league as well and we can help our big guys out." "Our fan base is, to say the least, crazy. But, obviously, the most important thing is to get through the game healthy." "We want to get through the game healthy," Keefe stressed.

Maple Leafs beat Boston Bruins in regular-season finale, will meet Lightning in first round of the playoffs.

“We solidified ourselves after a tough start. “I didn’t put any expectations on points or wins,” Keefe said. For Tampa, captain Steven Stamkos had nine points to lead the Lightning. Ondrej Palat was next with six points. In the most recent match last Thursday, the Lightning won 8-1 in a laugher at home. Sheldon did a great job all year of keeping us on task, game to game, week to week. The Leafs finished with a record of 54-21-7 for 115 points. Article content “It’s a massive challenge, it goes without saying,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. Game 1 of the best-of-seven will be in Toronto on Monday. Article content Article content Article content

It's been a long time coming, but we are finally at the point where the Maple Leafs can begin righting the wrongs of last season. Sheldon Keefe let it slip ...

The downside is the later start for the Leafs, the upside is there will probably be hockey you can watch instead of intermission panels in the first round. Interestingly enough the Leafs manage to go the entire round without either a back to back or a two day off section in the schedule. It’s been a long time coming, but we are finally at the point where the Maple Leafs can begin righting the wrongs of last season.