Maple Leafs Log Big Comeback on Hockey Day in Canada

[Maple Leafs 4, Senators 3]
[Pension Plan Puppets]

Everyone loves a good comeback story. The Maple Leafs trailed 3-1 in the third period. I had the thought that they were going to rally. That I should live bet them to come back and win. And then they woke up.

Auston Matthews netted his 20th goal of the 2017-2018 season on a little backhander, and cut the deficit.



Today was one of the best days of the year for the sport of hockey. It was Hockey Day in Canada presented by legendary Scotiabank.



Today is one of those days that I wish I were Canadian and grew up in the land up north as a kid loving this game since I was a baby. I wish I knew how to skate and got up early in the morning and played in a pond hockey game with snow covering the ground all around me. Then I could take my kids to a parade and then settle in to watch Sportsnet Canada, a channel I obviously don't even get here in the USA and watch hockey from morning until night.

Instead, I went to the gym and attended a neighborhood birthday party with my kids. Then I did Uber for the first time ever as a driver and made $35.

But on this day, Auston Matthews and the Leafs ended a four-game losing streak in a big way and represented.

Maple Leafs lose on New Years Eve in Las Vegas 6-3

[Golden Knights 6, Maple Leafs 3]
[NHL.com]

When the NHL schedule came out, this was one of the dates that was circled on the calendar. It was a strange Sunday afternoon tilt in Las Vegas, and the first time in history that the Maple Leafs would visit Sin City. It was also New Years Eve day.

Auston Matthews didn't disappoint in a losing effort, netting his 100th career point. Sporting News has a great feature on him that is just a few days old that talks about the evolution of his career.

Auston Matthews 16th Goal:


Matthews' 17th Goal of the season, 100th career point:


But William Karlsson was the guy who stole the show; scoring a hat trick and now with 20 goals on the season. Vegas continued their storybook inaugural season.

Maple Leafs light up Arizona Coyotes 7-4

[Maple Leafs 7, Coyotes 4]

Another winning wager on the -185 Maple Leafs (they went off at -200) and Auston Matthews netted his 15th goal of the season; his first in front of his hometown family and friends in Arizona. 

The Maple Leafs at one point actually scored two goals in :10 to make it 6-2. It was a dominating performance. They got on the board on a shorthanded goal by Zach Hyman. That's when you knew it was going to be their night. 

And although it wasn't Hockey Night - the Maple Leafs were one of just a few games which was nice - it made for a nice watch in between the Holiday Bowl between Washington State and Michigan State.

The Maple Leafs play again tomorrow night and look to keep things going.

Auston Matthews makes a Christmas Return

[Maple Leafs 3, Rangers 2]
[Pension Plan Puppets]

The great news broke this morning when everyone awoke, two days before Christmas: Auston Matthews would return from a concussion-like injury. You knew he was going to do something.

The Maple Leafs are damn good, too. They improved to 22-14-1, still breathing down the neck of the Tampa Bay Lightning and their star returned with his 14th assist to get them on the board with a goal by William Nylander. He would score the third goal of the game for the Leafs, which ended up being all the difference in the 3-2 win.

It was the 14th goal of the season for Matthews; who now has 28 points in 27 games.



The Leafs held serve at Madison Square Garden and now with Christmas break on until Wednesday, everyone has a chance to rest and get healthy.

The one where Connor McDavid bails out the Oilers

[Oilers 3, Blues 2]

[Edmonton Journal]

The Oilers trailed 2-1 with just over three minutes to go. And then Connor McPerfect showed up. 

With his 13th goal of the season, McDavid tied the game at 2-2. In what some in Edmonton are calling a Christmas Miracle on 104th Street, the Oilers won the game just a little bit later with a goal from Drake Caggiula. 

Draisatl and Lucic assisted on McDavid's big time goal. And it was the first time all season that the Oilers have won back to back home games in Edmonton. 

Suddenly it would seem, the Oilers are climbing back in things ever so quietly. Still down in the standings at 16-17-2, the oilers are at 34 points, about five back of a playoff spot. They had to have this one. 

Pre-Christmas Hockey: Oilers 7, Blue Jackets 2

[Gamebook]
[Cult of Hockey] [Columbus Dispatch]

This was the guy I bought the ticket to see, as always. And on a cold and snowy Tuesday night down at Nationwide Arena, he did not disappoint. Connor McDavid netted three assists, and created utter chaos all over the ice netting four total points. Three beautiful assists and a goal later, the Oilers had won the game 7-2. 

Sergei Bobrovsky was in for a rough night on this evening. 

Bobrovsky is definitely the Columbus Blue Jackets' star player. However he allowed five goals before the second period was through and the Jackets trailed 5-0 at the second intermission. He was pulled from there. This was the worst performance I've seen a goalie have live. 

The best there ever was. No, but seriously; Wayne Gretzky was in the house my buddy told me who was watching the game on television. Why, I'm not sure. 

I always have loved Milan Lucic. He got a goal. 

Here's the Edmonton Oilers starting lineup on the ice for the Canadian national anthem. 

Here's the beloved Leo Welsh singing the Canadian National Anthem. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets starting lineup on the ice during the anthem. 

This is the first face off of the night during Connor McDavid's 18:24 of total ice time. 

I got to see Connor McDavid score the 58th goal of his career, and 12th of the season:


You may recall that I also saw him score the 13th goal of his career.

This was from a friend who was sitting behind the bench. This is Coach John Tortorella's hand and lap, and his lineup card. 

Overall, one of the most satisfying games I've seen live. Connor McDavid's dominance has never been more on display for me, and his speed live is something to marvel at. Especially with center ice seats. 

Matthews bests McDavid in Edmonton

[Box Score]

Last night in the Maple Leafs 6-4 win, Auston Matthews tallied his 13th goal and 13th assist. Here is the wrister that made it 1-0 Maple Leafs:



Connor McDavid wasn't without his own theatrics. He scored his 11th goal of the season to tie the game 3-3:



Toronto is 17-9-1. Edmonton is having a much different year at 10-14-2.

Auston Matthews dominating for me on NHL18

Auston Matthews had a hat-trick in this game for me against the Colorado Avalanche, including the game winner in overtime to beat them 4-3. He's got 25 goals through 20 games in his third season. He also has 15 assists.

This was a picture of his first goal, a one-timer assisted by William Nylander. Nylander also assisted on the game winner in the fourth period overtime.

Keeping an eye on Jack Eichel

I like Jack Eichel. He's my first round pick on my fantasy hockey team. I've always liked him, in a Tyler Seguin sort of way.

Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News has a nice write-up that something is going on with Eichel right now:

Forget about an elephant in the room. This is an entire herd. Eichel is not the guy we've seen the last two years. He was invisible again for long stretches Saturday -- not getting a single shot on goal for more than 48 minutes.

Eichel has five goals in 20 games, tallying just once in his last 11. He's got a minus-9 rating for the season. Those are the numbers. Now let's move to things you can't measure.

Eichel's body language has been terrible much of season. It's a dirty little secret fans are finally figuring out that he floats off the ice far too much on the end of his shifts.

Just don't tell Housley that. The coach simply isn't dissing any of his players in public, let alone the face of the franchise. Fair enough. You can respect that. And Housley certainly knows what happened to Byslma seven months ago too.

On one second-period play, Eichel was easily stripped of the puck by Carolina's Sebastian Aho. It's the kind of lax play you've seen more from him in the first 20 games this season than in his first two years combined.

Eichel got his wish with the firing of Bylsma, and he wasn't alone in that desire either. He got his $80 million contract as well last month. He better start repaying this franchise even before he starts collecting those big bucks come July.

Best guess is Eichel winds up absolutely fine and this stretch is forgotten about. He plays again tomorrow evening, so we will be keeping an eye on his play.

It was Hockey Night, and Auston Matthews returned

The Maple Leafs went into Montreal and won 6-0, winning their sixth game in a row. It was the second time this season they have exercised their demons against the Canadiens.

They also got Auston Matthews back from an upper body injury. And boy did he make his presence felt. Below, you'll see him score goals 11 and 12.





At 14-7-0, the Maple Leafs trail just Tampa Bay (15-3-2) in the Atlantic.

The NHL18 Leafs Advance to the Stanley Cup Finals

The Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens 7-2 in game five of the conference finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers who overcame a 3-2 series deficit against the Chicago Blackhawks to advance. Auston Matthews closed out Montreal with four goals in game five.



Game one of the Stanley Cup Finals was a double overtime thriller in Edmonton. The Maple Leafs won 2-1, assaulting Cam Talbot with 70 shots. Nazem Kadri buried the game winner upper tank for the win.

Matthews scores 10th on Penalty shot, Leafs fall in Los Angeles

[Kings 5, Maple Leafs 3]

Auston Matthews now has 10 goals in 14 games to start the year. This dude is the biggest star the NHL has seen in a long time.

I watched this game for a bit loosely while playing NHL 18; and the Kings built an early 3-0 lead. The Maple Leafs struck back with goals from Matthews on the penalty shot, Morgan Rielly (assisted by Matthews), and Connor Brown on a power play. But it wasn't enough, and now the Leafs are 8-6-0 on the season, losing to the very good Kings.

Auston Matthews 9th Goal of 2017-2018

I was watching this one live. I fell asleep before the end. The Maple Leafs fell in the shark tank, 3-2.

NHL 18: Game 7, First Round Stanley Cup Playoffs: Bruins at Maple Leafs

This was a back and forth series with each teams trading blow game by game. No team won consecutive games in the series.

Get to Know Adrian Kempe

My buddy MJ is a huge Los Angeles Kings fan. Adrian Kempe is 21 years old, and the talk of the Los Angeles hockey organization right now. He recorded a hat trick the other night, and got his first career shootout goal the next game. He's going to be the talk of the Kings for a while; because it appears this youngster can really play. 

Here's a scouting report:

Observations:

February 2017 - The 20-year old Kempe finally got into his first NHL action in mid-February, with a call-up to the Kings. Through his first six NHL games, Kempe has scored two assists and has shown some of the reasons that he is highly regarded in the Kings organization. In his first game, Kempe flashed his speed to create an excellent chance on a breakaway. However, much like his season in Ontario, with all of the positives also come some negatives, as he still will need to find more consistency to get to the next level. This is evident in the coaches decision on playing time which in the first six games has fluctuated from a high of 15:18 to a low of 8:30. In his last two games, Kempe has gotten some powerplay time, and he had an assist on the powerplay. If Kempe can build chemistry with Kopitar and find better consistency, he might start producing sooner rather than later. Philip Kamhi

October 2016 - Following a strong training camp, Kempe impressed the Kings enough to earn an extended audition with the NHL club. He got into four preseason games, and although he was scoreless, his speed was effective and he did not look out of place. He was given an opportunity on scoring lines, even playing in place of Kopitar on the top line and playing with Pearson and Toffoli. It is evident that the Kings view him as a top-six player. Having impressed Kings brass with his play in training camp and preseason, he will likely get into his first NHL games soon. Philip Kamhi

September 2016 – Things really slowed down for Kempe in the second half of his season with the Reign, he scored 20 points in his first 32 games (0.63 points per game), but only eight more in the final 23 games (0.35 points per game). You can call it inconsistency, but when he was on his game speed and skill is evident. Make no mistake, this was a young rookie (19-years old), who just came to North America and is still adjusting to the game. He will make adjustments, and is likely to develop more consistency. Look for a strong training camp from Kempe, but it's unlikely that he sees more than a cup of coffee this season (barring significant NHL injuries). Philip Kamhi

January 2016 – The 19-year-old Kempe has had a decent first half of his rookie pro season in North America. Through 32 games with the Reign, he had 20 points. Kempe also represented Sweden in the U20 WJC, where he had eight points in seven games and was awarded the Top 3 Player on Team. After returning to the Reign in January, Kempe has not produced as much as he did earlier, with only four points in 11 games. Kempe will need to dig in, but this is likely part of the learning experience. Philip Kamhi

May 2015 - While Kempe's SHL icetime almost doubled, his production didn't follow suit. His average time on ice jumped from 8:27 (2013-14) to 15:14, but his points per game barely rose (0.24 to 0.34). However, the Swede is only 19 and did enjoy an excellent WJC. The 6-2 right winger already possesses above-average NHL speed, but we'll see where his hands are at this fall in the AHL. Sheng Peng

February 2014 – Kempe has an excellent frame that moves extremely well chasing down loose pucks with an aggressive pursuit often initiating contact and engaging in puck battles with great success. His north-south style of game combines well with his strong skating stride as this power forward puts defenders on their heels with his unrelenting attack. Kempe drives the net hard and shows good puck handling ability, especially in the dirty areas of the rink. Brendan Ross


Fantasy Outlook: B-

The 2014 first-rounder is a pretty sure bet to be an NHLer but may not own high upside.

Keep an eye out for more Kempe reports; and more player profiles of the guys around hockey who catch our eye.

I (Indirectly) asked a New Jersey Devils Scout Some Questions

Here were his brief answers.






So, this scout would take Auston Matthews over Connor McDavid; which is pretty interesting. Basically he knocks McDavid's supporting cast which is easy to do right now. He scouted the 2-1 Penguins win in Pittsburgh the night before I got these answers.

Oilers win shocker over Dallas in Edmonton, 5-4!

[Oilers 5, Stars 4]

The Oilers won a shocker in Edmonton over the Stars tonight. Connor McDavid got the Oilers on the board with his 5th goal of the season.

This was after losing a 2-1 Overtime heartbreaker in Pittsburgh.

Auston Matthews' 8th Goal of 2017-2018

It was a wrister. It got the Maple Leafs on the board. The Leafs lost at home 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Senators beat Maple Leafs on Hockey Night

[Senators 6, Maple Leafs 3]
[Pension Plan Puppets]

The Maple Leafs got downed by the Senators on Hockey Night in Canada, but the bigger story was the latest odds for teams to win the Stanley Cup; with Toronto being #1 on the list at 8/1.

I'd smash that prop bet for the Ducks. Were I a gambler, of course. pic.twitter.com/b21AbaABVM

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 20, 2017

Now for the highlight of the game.

Auston Matthews 7th goal of the year:


There were some good reads on the internet in regards to Matthews over on ESPN, and Down Goes Brown.

Maple Leafs move to 6-1 with win over Red Wings

[Maple Leafs 6, Red Wings 3]

[Pension Plan Puppets]

The Maple Leafs just keep on rolling. They added goals from Nazem Kadri, Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews, Connor Brown, Morgan Rielly, and William Nylander to win the game 6-3.

Here's Auston Matthews' 6th goal of the season, and 46th of his career:


That extended the Maple Leafs lead to 3-1. Matthews didn't register a point last evening in the Maple Leafs 2-0 statement win in Washington. It was the first game this season in which he didn't record one. Tonight, he not only hit the bullseye for the goal, but added a late assist.

The Leafs are off to an excellent start:

The @MapleLeafs have won six of their first seven games in a season for the seventh time in their 100-year franchise history. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/3Dlw6Y1eZo

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 19, 2017