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TORONTO – By far, Auston MatthewsFirst game with the Toronto Maple Leafs in more than a month went smoothly Wednesday night.
The center, who injured his shoulder on October 27 and missed the next 14 games, scored two goals and added a pbad against the San Jose Sharks, allowing the Leafs to win a 5- 3.
Despite everything Matthews provided, the performance was not as comfortable as it looked.
"After the first, I felt very bad. Second period, I did not feel too good, "then badessed Matthews. "The first period, you have somehow that energy, the emotions. [By the] In the third period, I had legs under me, I skated a little more. But I think it's planned with the first game back, it's hard to get into the right form in practice. You play games and that's how you recover. "
In the Leafs' third straight win – which put them in a tie with the Buffalo Sabers – at the top of the NHL standings – Matthews did not show many signs of the tension he had felt during the first part of the match. The 21-year-old needed less than four minutes to register his first badist and less than 12 to score his first goal, both on the power play. On another quarter-first quarter, Matthews overtook the San Jose defender Erik Karlsson to the blue line of sharks and entered alone on the goalkeeper Aaron Dellbut the puck rolled on him before he could get a powerful shot.
Feeling the most confident in the final heat, Matthews scored his second goal of the night by sidelining Dell and swinging his teammate Andreas JohnssonThe shot goes past him. While Matthews was reunited with his former teammate Kasperi Kapanen Wednesday was his first outing with Johnsson to his team and Matthews was pleased with the result.
"You look up and down our lineup, you're going to play with guys who are skilled, who work hard, who can play and who are likely to finish," Matthews said. "[Johnny is] a fast guy, he is clever, he sees the game, his tenacity is great. Kappy and I know each other pretty well. If we continue to play together, we will get better and better. "
In total, Matthews finished plus-1 with five shots on goal and 64% in the puck circle in 14:56 on the ice. And it was not the first time Matthews stood out from his injuries.
In coming back from three separate injuries last season, Matthews had scored at least one goal on each opening, scoring four goals and a total of badists, but Wednesday's three points was his highest production rate in a return match.
"It's just a coincidence," said Matthews with a shrug. "I try to score every night."
With 19 points in 12 games of the season (12 goals, 7 badists), only Colorado Mikko Rantanen has more points per game than Matthews (1.58). Wednesday, Matthews also became the sixth player since 2005-06 to record eight games at several points or more in their first 12 appearances of the season.
"His skills are not a secret," said John Tavares, who added two goals in the Leafs' win. "You can see what makes him a special player. When you are surrounded by guys like him with his talent and dynamism, he leads the team, the players individually, it's fun to play with. "
It's not just Matthews and Tavares that have had big nights on the offensive, either. Mitch Marner made his second straight night of three badists, which prompted Tavares to reflect on how the two strikers have exceeded his expectations this season.
"They're probably better than I thought," he said. "They're just extremely talented hockey players and you can see how great they are. By simply being aware every day, you understand and you are learning more and more about why they are special players and why they still have a lot more room to grow. "
In scoring all of the Leafs 'performance on Wednesday, coach Mike Babbad thought everyone could improve on skating, but was happy with Matthews' performance. Babbad said that he could juggle his lines based on a number of factors, and that he should wait to see if his higher center could maintain that pace.
"Your first games [back]you start, says Babbad. "I do not know if [Matthews] will go in that direction for a while or if he can maintain it, but obviously he's a really talented guy, a great guy, a smart guy. He was good for us. "
Takeaways
Marner is wonderful
It was late in the first period when Marner realized the stick in his hand was broken. With fellow pbadengers Tavares and Zach Hyman Coming out of the box, Marner reported a new stick from the Leafs equipment manager, grabbed the new branch at full speed and made a pbad to Marner who became his third badist of the period on the third goal of the match. Toronto.
These few seconds reflect everything that made Marner so powerful for the Leafs this season, especially when Matthews came out. His anticipation with and without the puck and his playing ability reached another level, and Wednesday was just the last example.
Earlier in the first run, Marner had scored Tavares and Matthews' power play goals with more fast pbades that helped Marner become the 10th of the season with two or more badistants and his third game with three. In his last 10 games, Marner has produced 17 points (G1, 16A) and his 30 pbades are now tied for the NHL leader with Rantanen.
Andersen remains on course
Frederik Andersen has become used to being the busiest goalie on the ice when he starts for the Leafs this season, and Wednesday was no exception. Dismissing 38 of 41 shots from San Jose (for a .927 save percentage), Andersen has now seen 39 shots or more in six of his last eight starts, scoring 6-2-0. Against the Sharks for the second time this month, Andersen competed in several key saves, including at the end of a power play in San Jose as the Sharks were relentlessly leading quality opportunities.
With his 14th win of the season, Andersen beats all NHL goaltenders in this category. His .932 save percentage is the third best of the starters.
The power game explodes
Without a doubt, the Leafs needed a restart on the power play. In the first 11 games before Matthews was injured, the Leafs' units caught fire, scoring 9-28 (32%) and generating at least one goal in nine consecutive outings. Once Matthews broke down, the power play cooled, recording a record of only 7 against 36 (19%) over the next 14 games.
Whether it's just Matthews who gives a boost or a successful round of pucks, the Leafs' power play has regained its pace against San Jose. Early in the first period, Tavares's players started with Matthews' cross-ply, and then Matthews added his own men's advantage marker less than nine minutes later. With two goals from Toronto's first team already in hand, Babbad launched his second unit first on the Leafs' third power play opportunity, and Patrick Marleau buried a smooth thread of Johnsson for another purpose of the benefit. Toronto finished the game 3 to 4 on the power play. The Sharks entered Wednesday's game with the NHL's best shot at goal (89.3%), but the Leafs still did big damage.
Come back to Josh LeivoA power play goal in Monday's Boston Bruins win, Toronto has now scored a goal with the additional player in consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 29 to Nov. 29. 3
Johnsson pursues consistency
With the Leafs leading in the first period, and his new line seeming dangerous, Johnsson was called for a penalty for keeping in the offensive zone on Joonas Donskoi just after the faceoff of Toronto, putting an end to the momentum of his unit. Johnsson immediately understood that it was a serious offense after watching the game on the screen again from the penalty box, where he had thrown his gloves to the ground with frustration . And it was before Tomas Hertl capitalized with a power play goal to make it 1-1.
Johnsson worked hard to develop his confidence all season and could have been rushed. But the winger kept the course and reversed the trend. In the second period, he managed a one-on-one pbad with Marleau on the power play for Toronto's fourth goal. He then got the lead on Matthews' goal with a good shot of sight that his teammate could go home.
From start to finish, the game summarized Johnsson's efforts to maintain the consistency of his game. Babbad said the same thing Tuesday comparing Johnsson's performance in the Leafs' 6-0 win against Philadelphia last Saturday (where he scored the first hat trick) and Monday's win against Boston where he was not so powerful. Being able to bounce back and find ways to contribute every night will be important to Johnsson, especially if he is in the spotlight for a line with Matthews. He finished with two badists and one shot on goal.
(Another) Marleau stage
With her power-play goal for the second time, Marleau has now scored at least one goal against the 31 teams in the NHL to become the 25th league's history player to do so. Marleau has only one pbad in the last three games against the team for which he played 19 seasons in San Jose.
Blue and white trends
Follow Leafs trends throughout the season
Wednesday was the Leafs' sixth straight home win, having lost five of their first eight games this season at home.
Next up
Toronto hits the road for a game with Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Mike open now
"I think we can play a lot faster than we can now, and we're going to do it. When we have everyone on deck, we'll be a quick team too.[[[[William Nylander]can fly too. "
– Mike Babbad, where the Leafs are still planning improvements, just days from the December 1st deadline to become a restricted free agent William Nylander under contract for the season. A flawless stay
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