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The Toronto Maple Leafs flew to the Honda Center on Friday with an opportunity as beautiful as the California sun.
A win in Anaheim would give the Leafs 28 points and place them in first place (to be fair, Toronto played one more game than Nashville and Tampa Bay).
By beating the Ducks 2-1 in an overtime thriller, the Leafs did it and more.
They have improved the most enviable NHL road record (9-1-0) and are banking on an incredible attacking pace (70 goals), which is all the more remarkable given the absence first players Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
But perhaps most tellingly, for the first time since December 1995 and for the second time only, Toronto swept California 3-0.
Scorching Marner, Rielly enjoys the star season
Since Matthews has fallen, all that Mitch Marner has done is to score 13 points, go third with 20 assists and prepare Morgan Rielly for Friday's winner, after a frantic 2-1 run.
With a high and perfect shot, Rielly extended her lead over the rest of the league's blue liners in both goals and points (25).
Is it safe to call the guy a # 1 defender right now?
"Mitch did a good game. All I had to do was put it away," Rielly said during the post-game TV show. "We feel good about going home."
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Valley of Death, R.I.P.
My, how fast can power change.
The Pacific Division, once the home of the murderous titans of hockey, is a disaster.
Of the eight teams that make up the group, none has won more games than defeat, and only one has a positive goal differential. It would be your Coyotes from Arizona.
Together, the California Kings, Sharks and Ducks have a score of minus 36, and fast-paced Toronto fights for weakness, beating the Golden State 12-5 and taking all six points.
A swing like this will connect the team's belief.
"Especially some of the trips on the west coast, it gives you a lot of good laughs, a lot of good stories," Tavares told reporters.
"The calm we have within the group and the confidence that no matter the situation, we are convinced that we can do what needs to be done."
Marleau is the best kind of old
Patrick Marleau's skate led John Gibson to first base after being trapped by Jucks Ducks defenseman Jucks Gardiner, reinforcing the importance of propelling the 39-year-old to the goalie.
"Every time you catch your head, it puts you a little in the driver's seat," said Tavares.
The Leafs scored the first goal in all three California games, each less than six minutes from the puck, and have yet to lose to the coveted first goal (9-0).
Marleau was criticized for his lack of production on Auston Matthews' wing until October, but he was a reliable source of secondary score in November alongside Nazem Kadri, recording a point in seven games since the calendar has rocked and thriving under the famous West Coast Departure Times.
The mild-mannered veteran his younger teammates call simply "GOAT" (not to be confused with The Gaut) is now ready for his most productive campaign of the past four years.
The return home this week has filled our hearts. pic.twitter.com/GL4tfxXbBp
– Christina Marleau (@c_marleau) November 16, 2018
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The ducks are so lame
Blame Head Coach Randy Carlyle if you wish.
But his Ducks, who dropped to 8-10-3, have now lost 123 men's games, and we have only reached a quarter of the season.
Corey Perry (knee) will not return until the snow melts, and defenseman Cam Fowler, who eats for a few minutes, was operated on the face Friday after suffering a complex fracture due to a puck in flight. Carter Rowney (upper body), Maxime Comtois (lower body), Patrick Eaves (shoulder) and Korbinian Holzer (wrist) are also set aside.
How bad is this team? They have already dressed 21 before different. Yuck.
"Sport is sometimes cruel to the human body, and we certainly have our share this year," said Carlyle during the broadcast before the game.
Forced to work with a black and blue line, Anaheim dressed Friday three D-men recruits – and this has sometimes been the case.
One wonders: where would these ducks be if Gibson was not so great?
Sparks bounces with his career performances
All back to back are not equal. Fighting the most dangerous line in hockey after 25 days of waiting is not the same as taking the 30th ranked NHL offensive (2.1 goals per game) with five days of rest.
Garret Sparks, who underwent a thorough review, was perfect for 38 minutes, stoning both Pontus Aberg and Rickard Rakell. But it was Aberg who solved the problem of saving the Leafs with a long shot away from the race over circles at half-time, which pushed the game to overtime.
(Aberg – once jokingly nicknamed "Pontus AWOL" – could not stay in Nashville or Edmonton, but now leads all Ducks with six goals, making the most of his opportunity in the top six.)
Sparks closed the door in the third period and OT, en route to a record-breaking 38 career saves, bringing his record to 3-1.
"He's trying to earn his trust in the National Hockey League," Babcock said. "As you can see, it's very different from the American League."
Friday marked a giant step.
Sparks should probably buy Jake Gardiner's lunch …
… and dinner Nikita Zaitsev
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