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In a day recreation on Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs took house a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. Auston Matthews once more led the cost, scoring his NHL-leading forty ninth objective of the season. He additionally contributed an help. William Nylander scored a short-handed objective, and Bobby McMann added an empty-netter. Mitch Marner put up two assists, and goalie Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves for the victory.
Related: Today in Hockey History: Feb. 20
For the Blues, targets got here from Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich, with Joel Hofer stopping 25 photographs. Despite a late push from St. Louis, the Maple Leafs held onto their lead and secured the win.
Item One: Three Reasons Why the Maple Leafs Won the Game
There have been three key the reason why the Maple Leafs received the sport. First, as famous, Matthews dominated. He’s on a scalding sizzling goal-scoring streak and is only a single objective wanting the 50-goal mark. He continues to showcase his offensive on-ice management.
Second, the Maple Leafs’ particular groups have been coming via persistently. While it took the ability play a while to get on monitor earlier than Matthews scored a objective, the penalty kill took care of enterprise and even added a objective. Nylander scored an essential short-handed objective that pushed the workforce forward.
Third, once more, this cobbled-together lineup confirmed defensive resilience. Despite all the things, the Maple Leafs restricted St. Louis’ scoring alternatives and allowed goaltender Samsonov to make key saves to protect the lead.
Item Two: Ilya Samsonov Was Key to the Maple Leafs Victory
Samsonov performed a crucial function within the victory, stopping 19 of 21 photographs. Although he noticed restricted motion, he was sharp within the crease. With the win, he pushed his winning streak to four straight games. It was additionally his seventh win in eight begins.
Related: Petr Mrazek: From Maple Leafs Failure to Blackhawks Extension
Getting his numbers again to regular might be a season-long challenge; proper now, Samsonov’s stats are far beneath what he’d like. If .900 is par, he has a subpar .882 save share and three.19 goals-against common (GAA) in 24 video games. Although he’s proven regular enchancment with a .921 save share over the previous eight video games, he’s nonetheless removed from wanting good on paper. With Joseph Woll nonetheless on the shelf with an ankle harm, Samsonov will proceed to get nearly all of begins for the Maple Leafs.
Item Three: Mitch Marner Was on His Game Again
Marner continued his spectacular play with three assists. His first help got here on Matthew Knies’ objective early within the second, after which he added two extra within the third interval. No shock, he arrange Matthews’ power-play objective on a superbly executed affected person play as he held the puck behind the web till his scoring buddied circles round a then headed to the web. The cross was completely timed.
Marner additionally had a hand in McMann’s empty-netter to place the sport away. With his strong recreation, Marner prolonged his level streak to seven video games. He has additionally recorded a number of assists in his final 4 video games. On the season, the 26-year-old winger has 65 factors (on 22 targets and 43 assists) in 53 video games. He’s virtually positive to cross the 90-point mark for the third consecutive yr. Can he attain the 100-point milestone?
Item Four: Has Morgan Rielly’s Anger Fueled the Team?
It’s obvious that Morgan Rielly, who simply sat out the fourth recreation of his five-game suspension, has had an affect on his teammates. After Rielly was lately suspended for cross-checking Ottawa Senators ahead Ridly Greig in retaliation for Greig’s slapshot into an empty internet, the workforce has received all 4 video games in his absence. Perhaps the Maple Leafs are utilizing it as a rallying level.
In an interview after the sport, Knies shared his perception that Rielly’s act of defending his workforce’s honour has impressed his teammates to step up their recreation.
Related: Maple Leafs New Whipping Boy: Morgan Rielly
Knies noted, “He (Rielly) kind of defended the respect of our team, and I think we’re playing really hard now. He’s a valuable piece for us, and we’re excited he’s going to come back here soon. But we’re playing good hockey, and it’s given us a jump.”
Nylander additionally added, “We’ve answered the bell. I think Mo lit the fire in the team. We’re battling for Mo.” Now, the trick might be to not let up when Rielly returns.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs have a busy schedule, with 5 video games earlier than subsequent weekend. On Wednesday, Feb. 21, they face the Arizona Coyotes. There’s little question that Knies could have household there. The subsequent day, they transfer up the freeway to tackle the Vegas Golden Knights in a back-to-back. Then, on Saturday, Feb. 24, they head to Colorado to play the Avalanche.
Returning house, they’ve just a few days off earlier than a rematch with the Golden Knights (on Feb. 27) and the Coyotes on Leap Day (Feb. 29) at 7:00 pm.
Can the workforce transfer up within the standings? The Tampa Bay Lightning misplaced once more on Monday (4-2 to the Senators) and may be falling off tempo whereas the opposite Atlantic Division groups proceed their profitable methods.
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