Speedy Leafs defeats defenseless kings



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The Maple Leafs completed a sweep of the Los Angeles Kings season on Tuesday. They then beat the home team 5-1 for their fourth win in five games. Four different scorers contributed to the win, as well as impressive team selections (three power play goals) and a goalkeeper. Frederik Andersen (22 backups). Toronto goes 12-6-0 on the season.

To take away

Players of power

The Leafs' power play weakened before Tuesday's game, scoring 3-28 in the previous six games, but Toronto jumped out of their three-game losing streak early in the first period against the Kings. .

Using his blazing speed to impose lazy penalties on slow-footed Kings, Toronto shot two offenses in quick succession and scored in two subsequent power games.

First, it was Nazem Kadri Mitch Marner let slip a sensational pbad at the end of the Leafs' first chance to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. In previous 11 games against the Kings in his career, Kadri had recorded seven badists, but no goals until Tuesday.

At the next Leafs Power Game, John Tavares deviated Morgan Rielly point of breath pbaded Peter Budaj for his 11th goal of the season, and spotted Toronto a 2-0 lead on nine shots less than seven minutes into the period. Tavares would lead all Leafs with three points in the evening (goal, two badists).

Kadri added another power play marker in the second period with a four-minute advantage, making Tuesday the twentieth two-goal game of his career. His second score was also the first time the Leafs had scored three power play goals this season, beating their previous two-goal lead in a last game played Oct. 11 against Detroit.

The Leafs finished the game 3 – 6 on the power play, but they have always been dangerous because of their opportunities and have shown a power that was lacking recently to their special teams. They now have the best power play on the road to the NHL. To that end, the Leafs' shots on goal were also strong, finishing the night at 2-on-2.

Little work, little problem for Andersen

The Kings rarely looked dangerous while testing Andersen on Tuesday, but on the few occasions they were eliminated, Andersen was present to answer the call. It was not until the second period that he was called on to make a first set of solid saves, and Andersen handled the task with good efficiency while keeping the rebounds out. It may be difficult for some goalies to feel compelled to go long without seeing a shot and playing errors in their next games, but Andersen remained optimistic and failed to accumulate 16 shots in the first two periods (and 23 in total).

The only blemish on an otherwise solid performance for the goalkeeper was a deflection goal by Adrian Kempe, precipitated by the figure of Igor Ozhiganov's business. The Russian, who is still learning English, seemed to be caught off guard after sending a puck past Andersen's net to France. Dion Phaneuf at the blue line, which made him go down again so that Kempe pbaded Andersen. The goalkeeper did not foresee the wandering pbad and did not seem to have been reset before the match, a blunder that had deprived Andersen of his free play offer.

The final total – 22 saves, 0.957 percent – marks the eighth consecutive start for Andersen where he conceded two goals or less, and the third consecutive time with a single goal. He leads all NHL goaltenders with 10 wins on the season.

Young people on the rise

It was not an easy start to the season Andreas Johnsson, who had not scored his first goal of the season before last Friday against New Jersey, suffered a drought of 10 goals. This initial marker helped Johnsson to play on a line with Par Lindholm and Connor BrownHe regained some of his touch, which was in full demonstration Tuesday when he pocketed his second goal in three games. The count was set by former teammate Johnsson, the former Toronto Marlies. Travis Dermott, who wisely exploited a two-to-one situation and fed Johnsson to Budaj. That goal, the fourth in the Leafs game, was enough to chase Budaj in favor of Cal Petersen, who debuted in the NHL.

The first weeks of Dermott's season were not much better than Johnsson's, but after a flu and a short pbad at the end of October, Dermott did the work that coach Mike Babbad needed. see and has played much better since. Johnsson's goal badist was just the second point of the season, the last to return in Toronto's opening game on Oct. 3, but featured a smarter and stronger defensive play in his last outings. . That's more what Babbad would like to see from the age of 22 than scoring points. Dermott finished the night with an equal score, while Johnsson had four shots on goal and one plus-1.

Rielly continues to roll

In the midst of what promises to be the best season of her six-year career, Rielly continued to rack up points in another strong performance on Tuesday. After scoring the first pbad on Tavares' power-over goal with a shot in the air, Rielly did her own scoring job early in the second with a confident choice behind Budaj to bolster Toronto's lead at 3-4. 1. It was Rielly's eighth goal of the season, which inspired all NHL defensemen and moved away from his career record of nine wins in 82 games during the 2015-16 campaign.

Although Rielly has always been a mobile and offensive defenseman, his game is even more confident this season, in the way he manages the puck and apparently in the way he trusts his shot. Tuesday was his seventh multi-point game in 18 competitions this season, which is only a little shy of the number of multiple-point games that Rielly had won 76 seasons ago. He finished Tuesday's plus-1 match with three shots on goal.

Kapanen needs a boost

One night when, apparently, all of the Leafs' leading scorers participated in the team's win, either through goals or aids, Kasperi Kapanen was obviously still missing from the match sheet. In the seven games since Auston Matthews wounded and Kapanen was rebadigned to the Kadri line with Patrick Marleauhe has zero goals and two badists, and he is without a point in six of those seven games.

Perhaps for the purpose of not only strengthening the previous Leafs' power play but also kicking off a Kapanen offense, he was back in Toronto's second power play unit on Tuesday, replacing Zach Hyman. He managed some good chances with the ample time these units saw in LA, but could not win any points. This is an unusual defeat for Kapanen, who has always played so well with Matthews (six goals, four badists in nine games). And Kapanen could also feel a little pressure. He was attempting all the loose pucks he could find against L.A., trying to generate breakouts or train a teammate in the area behind him, without any luck. Babbad often says the scorers of the team have to score to keep their confidence in themselves. Doing this is an important part of what Kapanen regularly brings to the Leafs.

Blue and white trends

Follow Leafs trends throughout the season

The Leafs are unbeaten this season when they scored the first goal of a match (7-0).

Next game

Toronto continues its four-game road trip to San Jose on Thursday. A flawless stay

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