Maple Leafs get top marks for perseverance in beating Kings

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Character victory can appear at any time of a season.

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For the Maple Leafs, in 2024-25, there is no 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.

The harvest we get from the victory that puts the leaves in the first place in the Atlantic division, with both the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Chargers leading by one point:

Return to King

Consider the Kings’ home record – Entering the game, they lost only three times in 33 games in their own buildings. They lost only seven times at home.

But, leaves know one or two things about elasticity.

Entering the third inning, down 1-0, falling behind for the eighth time this season, two periods behind. In this case, these eight wins tied for the most with Las Vegas.

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“We’re patient,” Captain Auston Matthews told Los Angeles media. “We continued to push, continued to work, found ways to tie the game up, and then the special team played a big role.

“(Team Defense) is a complete five plus goalkeeper. It takes everyone there, everyone has to be on the same page. That’s the key to the third phase.”

After they were trapped at five to five to 40 minutes time and time again, the Leafs played in the special team as third.

Matthews was not frustrated after checking King’s Phillip Danault all night. Matthews scored his second career in the NHL in 55 seconds, beating goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper, who beat goalkeeper with a low shot after Kuemper blocked him into the game.

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Matthews also got an assist and recorded 8 of Leaf’s 26 goals. He won 14 of 20 standoffs.

If you take role models, Matthews did this on Saturday night.

He has some help.

Tavarez is great

John Tavares has a month he won’t forget. There were two goals, and he had 13 goals in March – he had the most goals in any month in the NHL – and the total could be increased when the Leafs visited Anaheim Ducks on Sunday to end their three games across California.

Tavares scored five straight games for the second time in his NHL career. He did this as a New York Islander from February 7 to 16, 2013.

Tavares – Matthews scored in the penalty box, and he beat Matthews at 12:04 in the third inning to target Kuemper’s rebound. Tavares’ eighth win goal of the season tied for the Leaf lead with William Nylander.

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It represents another gap in the best power game in the NHL since January 15. The Leafs have entered the game with a 38.2% success rate since mid-January, hoping to maintain a cut in their final nine games and the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Tavares secured Leafs’ 21st road victory when he entered an empty Kings net with one minute and 25 seconds left.

Tavares has 35 goals, the fifth place in his 16 NHL seasons. At the age of 34, Tavares could score the second best goal-scoring season in the NHL. His high was 47 years old, finished with the Leafs in 2018-19, but his next highest total was 38 goals, completed with the Islanders in 2014-15. He has a lot of time to pass 38, it doesn’t matter to hit 40.

“He’s been great to us all year round, but especially since four countries, he (he) has a little more popularity in his footsteps,” Matthews said. “He’s a big player.”

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Stolarz curing

Perhaps the debate over who should be the starting goalkeeper of Leaf, the playoffs start doesn’t actually boil down to its final game at home against the Detroit Red Wings on April 17.

Anthony Stolarz made a great performance with 36 saves in a row.

We can point to the six stops he stopped on Saturday, but in the first shift of this period, it was Kings captain Anze Kopitar.

If Stolarz doesn’t stop Kopitar in the pointed range, then Los Angeles will lead 2-0. Instead, Matthews scored less than a minute later, tied up the game and brought Leafs into full rally mode.

Joseph Woll’s 48-hour night was 48 hours after a bad 6-5 shootout against the San Jose Sharks.

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There is no reason to start Stolarz in Anaheim on Sunday. It doesn’t make sense to put more work on his shoulders when Wall should be fresh and hopes to bounce back from what happened in San Jose.

We know that: Whatever happens on Sunday, Straldz should definitely be in the Leafs game against his former team, The Panthers, Wednesday night.

Stolarz’s season started well and was returning to form at the end. He returned to the internal track to start his first game of the playoffs.

communicate

As we mentioned, Matthews kept an eye on him closely. Tavares id. He used Kopitar as a showdown for most of the game.

However, all praise Ye Zi for his restraints on five to five to five to five to five to kings.

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This is a playoff game in many ways. The King gave Leaves no space through the neutral zone, and as a result, Toronto did not get a ton of Cooper. Los Angeles scored five-on-five goals and scored 29-15.

Ye Zi’s defensive efforts are obvious, however. Identification is crucial. They did not disappear. This is the method they need in late April and beyond.

“There is no panic in the game,” Tavarez said. “You feel like there isn’t a lot to do, especially when you get halfway through, we’re creating some look, but we’re not under some pressure.

“Just stay there and don’t feel frustrated or discouraged. I like the attitude in the room for two periods. I think Matthews is very great, did some big games and was a huge goal to tie it up.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @ @koshtorontosun

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