The Leafs outshot the Canadiens 42-24, and the visitors had few answers for the Leafs best players in their own zone. But if you were in attendance on Wednesday night, you probably won’t debate the entertainment value he provides. You can debate what kind of impact he’s going to have on the Leafs’ scoring chances, sure. Reaves then tried to jack up the crowd by waving his hands in the air en route to the penalty box.Īnd, yes, the entire Leafs bench was standing in approval as well. Midway through his first period as a Leaf, Reaves willingly dropped the gloves with Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj in a quick but spirited tilt. Acquired to bring some noise off the ice and physicality on it, the brash heavyweight proudly tapped his bicep when he was introduced as a Maple Leaf for the first time, to the delight of the crowd. We're in style /vwPZvCI3PJģ00 CAREER GOALS □ /AajKlxqKYd And I probably shouldn’t be able to! Each is as dangerous as they come in the NHL and if both play the way they did from the second period onward all season, we’re going to be hearing the Leafs new goal song a lot. I personally can’t pick which of Nylander or Matthews’ shots to get the Leafs back in the game were better. Kid Cudi doesn’t exactly have plenty of connections to Toronto (Though Drake makes an appearance in the official music video) and as I’ve previously written, it feels like an easy opportunity for the Leafs to honour the great music in the city by choosing a local artist.Įither way, good on the Leafs for making a change. I could stand to lose the opening three seconds or so of pointless drums, but once “Pursuit of Happiness” did blast off, it filled the arena in a way that “Dreams” didn’t always do. It doesn’t pop with an iconic opening riff like “You Make My Dreams” did, but it does feel more reflective of a younger crowd. The title alone makes some sense given the Leafs enduring pursuit of a Stanley Cup, right? But “Pursuit of Happiness” features a vibey, atmospheric start that takes a few seconds to build, making for some confused faces around Scotiabank Arena. It’s “Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki remix)” by rapper Kid Cudi. So it took two periods for fans to finally hear, but the Leafs have a new goal song after five seasons of “You Make My Dreams” by Hall & Oates. The line of Tavares- William Nylander– Max Domi didn’t exactly have a banner night defensively, but still: Add it all up and those questions about the blue line probably aren’t going anywhere, for now. You could make the case that John Klingberg didn’t handle the ensuing odd-man rush as well as he could have, sure.Īnd then there was Timothy Liljegren’s giveaway inside his own zone ahead of the Canadiens’ fifth goal. Then there was Jake McCabe’s pinch high up the ice ahead of the Canadiens’ second goal. It’s just that the Leafs aren’t rich with defensive blueliners and need Brodie to be at his best all season. Does that mean the 33-year-old’s game is in decline? Hardly. During a less-than-ideal playoff run, Brodie didn’t always look like the picture of reliability. The defenceman fell near the blue line in possession and coughed up the puck to Canadiens centre Jake Evans who scored on a breakaway.īrodie was acquired by the Leafs to be a stable presence alongside Morgan Rielly and for nearly the entirety of his tenure in Toronto, he has been. Brodie will want to forget the opening few minutes of the season. There were a few tough looks from a Leafs blue line that was already a question mark to start the season. His game-tying goal with a little over a minute left in regulation was a reminder that despite what some recent public lists ranking the best players in the league might suggest, Matthews is undoubtedly one of the very best players on the planet. He’s now scored 26 goals in 32 career games against the Canadiens. ![]() Matthews scored goals number 300, 301 and 302 in his career. He finished in the positive in possession metrics, which isn’t bad either. The man just turned 40 and he still summoned the energy to take a flying leap into a heated scuffle between the two teams. ![]() ![]() Typical stuff from the captain: Three assists, two of which were secondary and came on the power play. I thought Matthews’ puck movement was incredibly decisive throughout his 24:32 TOI. He’s a big game player, as if there was any doubt. The hats came down late in the game as Matthews netted the eighth hat trick of his career.
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