Hey man I just got back from a trip to Toronto at the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In fact, my last day in Toronto the Maple Leafs were playing the Lightning in round one. I saw fans in the afternoon walking around the city. I fell asleep at my Burlington, Ontario hotel watching Connor McDavid play the Kings. I got a real feel for the culture of Hockey, because I was in it. I’ve been watching a ton of the Seattle Kraken and the Edmonton Oilers’ respective series.
Moving forward I will follow the Oilers, Kraken, and Canadiens. I like Matty Beniers, Mcdavid, and Cole Caufield.
There's something I really like about Montreal Canadiens center Jesperi Kotkaniemi. On this Saturday night Hockey Night in Montreal, he sent a tremendous hockey game to a game seven with a game-winning overtime wrist shot that gave Montreal an unlikely 3-2 win over the -190 Maple Leafs in a game that oddsmakers thought they should have won handily.
It was his 7th career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal. While he hasn't recorded an assist, there's something to be said for his prowess to find the net in these crucial playoff games in 15 career games and not yet 21 years of age.
Also in this game that I watched on NBC Sports, Tyler Toffoli and Corey Perry scored for the Habs. Surely they lose game 7 right?
The Canadiens are nothing if not pesky, and now the Maple Leafs look to avoid a game seven choke with seemingly all the pressure on them against a team playing with house money. It will be a Monday night thriller on Memorial Day.
I've always been a fan of the Canadian teams in hockey. However, I think moving forward my USA team is going to be the New York Rangers led by Alexis Lafreniere.
Although the Rangers aren't part of this playoff field, I think a year from right now they certainly will be. I got caught up on their history and until today I wasn't aware of the rebuild letter from 2018.
Obviously it was a huge break for the Rangers to win the lottery in 2020 with just a 12.5% chance. Now, pairing Lafreniere with Kappo Kakko should prove to be a championship line for years to come.
There have been a lot of comps made to John LeClair, and some say that Lafreniere will end up being a version of Jamie Benn. Others have speculated that he's Sidney Crosby as a winger.
Nonetheless, I finally have a USA team that I will have some rooting interest in, one with a rich history and tradition that plays at Madison Square Garden.
In what was likely a frigid Thursday night up in Montreal, the Canadiens lost 4-2.
Before they fell behind, Jesperi Kotkaniemi put them up 2-0 with this beautiful goal. It was his sixth of the season, and fourth since his return from injury.
Phillip Danault netted his 11th of the season for the first scoring of the game.
Connor McDavid netted an assist for his 70th point of the season already. Montreal entered this game as -130 favorites somehow, and still left as losers and are without a win in seven straight contests.
Finally, Jesperi Kotkaniemi is going again. Indeed, he scored his third goal of the season at Centre Bell in Montreal on Thanksgiving night. Here's a look, and man was I happy to see this.
It would end up Kotkaniemi's only shot - he also added an assist(!) - in a nice 13:42 of ice time. It's a start on a little streak for the kid, who hopefully ends up the cornerstone in a few years.
The Habs are a mess right now. Coming off an 8-1 loss to the Bruins, this loss marks their sixth straight of the year. After a promising start, they're now a very mediocre 11-9-5.
It's nice to see Kotkaniemi outshine Jack Hughes on home ice.
Imports Dragon has pulled out all the stops for their local star, 19-year old Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The star Centre is one of just three players in the NHL who was born in 2000. Now, he has one of the most coveted figures in the history of the line. You cannot order this figure in the United States. Furthermore, the only way to get it is to go to the Bell Centre in Montreal; or your local Jean Coutu if you're in Montreal directly.
I've had several Montreal natives searching for me to get this figure and they're not easy to come by.
Finally, when I find a way to land this figure I will definitely report back. It's cool to have a great young player in a city like Montreal. That's one of my hockey bucket lists, to see this team play in Montreal; and I've felt that way since reading The Game by Ken Dryden.
Moreover, the Canadiens got their first win tonight; beating up the St. Louis Blues 6-3 in regulation in Montreal. It was a nice upset, and I picked off the Canadiens for a nice bet here. It all feels pretty fateful, with the figure being released.
The kid only saw 11:31 of ice time tonight (Game Summary), but it's nice to have him getting experience with a group like Jonathan Drouin, Shea Weber, Brendan Gallagher, Max Domi, and Tatar.
Coming off a 44-30-8 season, it's going to be interesting to see this team take shape and become one of the top teams in the NHL again. I can't wait to get ahold of this figure.
Incredible game in Boston tonight in the 2-2 series between the Maple Leafs and Bruins, and I watched every second.
Matthews broke a scoreless tie with his fourth goal of the series. Honestly, this could be the Maple Leafs year, as the number one seed is bounced on both sides (Calgary went down 5-1 tonight in Alberta to the Avs).
This is the first time in NHL history that both number one seeds have been eliminated in the opening round of the NHL playoffs.
Toronto will now be tasked with closing it out in Toronto on Easter Sunday. WOW.
Mine and my ex's team got back on track tonight coming back from a 3-0 deficit in Toronto. It was against her dad's team. I spent two games recently in Canada.
It was a storybook beginning for the John Tavares/Auston Matthews era, right in Toronto on Opening Night.
Auston Matthews got on the board twice, including the game winner. Here are his two goals:
Power Play, Goal #1 of 2018-2019:
Overtime Game-Winner, Goal #2:
Matthews has 76 career goals now, and although he began opening night on the Leafs second line; he's going to be knocking on the door of 100 soon enough. I think he wins the Rocket Richard trophy in goal scoring this year, and the Leafs are finally in a Stanley Cup Final.
I thought this was a great image from Imports Dragon figures. And a perfect figure. I need to get this figure graded. It's an all-timer hockey collectible.
Oh and here's the game where he lit the lamp four times and had an apple in Edmonton.
https://youtu.be/Xd-B92lydcs
41 goals, 67 assists and 108 points in his 2017-2018 campaign. Mr. Ross Trophy.
On a night where a terrorist attack happened in Toronto, on a night where the Columbus Blue Jackets were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in game six here in Columbus. The Toronto Maple Leafs played game six in their city like their lives were on the line. These guys sacrificed so much to force a game seven for their city, overcoming all odds and trying to advance in a series they trailed 2-0 and 3-1.
The Maple Leafs entered as underdogs, but I saw a team play as a team. Frederick Andersen several times was out of position, only to have a Toronto skater make the save for him. Andersen made so many improbable saves on his own. He stopped 32 of 33 shots. Boston took the lead 1-0, but Toronto charged back from there and wouldn't be denied.
Auston Matthews had an assist waved off for goalie interference on the Leafs. But this team is gutty. They'll look to him Wednesday night to do something he's never done before in his career. The biggest goal in the biggest moment wins and advances. One of these tremendous teams has to go home.
The winner Wednesday night gets to face the #1 seed Lightning.
Game three was an absolute dream of a game for the Maple Leafs. I'm not sure if it's the apex of the entire season or not at this point.
So I'm trying to savor as much as I can of it before Thursday night arrives. The Leafs are installed as early -115 to -110 slight favorites over the Bruins. They went off at -105 the other night, so they have appeared to at least halt the Bruin momentum for the time being in the eyes of oddsmakers.
Great read here at Yahoo! about Auston Matthews answering the bell in game three with the biggest goal of the year.
My team really did it. I watched the entire game. The Maple Leafs will not be swept in futility as it looked in games one and two in Boston. My favorite player rose at the big moment and scored the biggest goal of the game to give his team the final lead.
This was an incredible game. The Leafs are very much alive; for now. Trying to hang on until Nazem Kadri returns from suspension and extend this series out long.
Here's a look at Auston Matthews' first goal of these playoffs, a beautiful snipe that gave the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead. A lead that would hold up (Patrick Marleau later scored his second goal of the game to make it 4-2).
Frederick Andersen stood on his head for several saves to keep this a 3-2 game. These teams really played hard, and fast paced. Zdeno Chara scored an incredible goal to make it 2-2. This was action packed for three periods. The Toronto crowd was outstanding from the anthem to the final whistle.
It was a Monday night in Toronto, and all was safe and well for a night. The Maple Leafs extended the season against the seemingly unstoppable Bruins; for at least a game.
