X75 Productions

Category: Toronto Maple Leafs

  • The Matthews Effect

    The Matthews Effect

    https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/status/1056339487368904704

     

    As we’ve all come to hear the last few days Leafs star centremen Auston Matthews hurt his shoulder at the beginning of the 2nd period, in what would become a comeback win for Toronto(Video above). The Leafs found out the next day that their star centre would be out 4 weeks, and oh boy did LeafsNation begin to cry. The Chatter of William Nylander has already begun, but GM Kyle Dubas stated “The injury changes nothing”. I believe Dubas is right.  The Leafs showed they can score still without Matthews in a comeback win over the Winnipeg Jets, the same night of Matthews injury. Scoring goals 3 goals in the 3rd period and 2 in less than a minute to seal the game. Monday night the Leafs were flat, but because of Matthews injury we act like the team is doomed.

     

    Last season the Leafs went through a very difficult stretch without Matthews and put up a very decent 11-7-2 record without Matthews. Now let me explain something, the Leafs are 100x more prepared for the injury this season then they were last season. Last year Patrick Marleau, William Nylander and Nazem Kadri all split the top 2 center duties, with Kadri and Marleau getting the majority of the duties, due to their defensive abilities. That didn’t sound promising at all. This season one of the top centers in the NHL in John Tavares will take on the number one role with Nazem Kadri easily fitting back into his role last season in the number 2 slot. Kasperi Kapanen’s speed, and scoring ability will be put to the test, which I think Kapanen will have no problem taking on the role. People need to remember the reason why the Leafs went out and signed John Tavares was for situations just like this. Situations like these are where Tavares shined, his whole career his played in New York making wingers that just weren’t on his level look better and on top of that when it came to game time Tavares always had a little extra in the tank.

     

    Let me offer you 5 reasons why the Leafs will miss Matthews, but be just fine.

    1. John Tavares – As I mentioned before the Leafs went out and got a player of Tavares caliber to ensure that they were a deep team at the most important position in hockey. Now with the injury the depth will pay off.
    2. Kasperi Kapanen – In the last couple years Kapanen would pour it on for a few games and take his foot off the gas pedal. This season he looks like he’s not giving his spot up on this Leafs roster or in the lineup. What Kapanen brings to the table is a fantastic 2-way game, absolutely off the charts speed and was looks to be a revamped shot. But the one thing that Mike Babcock has praised Kapanen for is his willingness to engage even when he’s not scoring. Babcock has said he was always noticeable and never gives up on a puck.
    3. Zach Hyman – This may be a bit weird for some people to see as a reason why the Leafs will be fine without Auston Matthews but let me explain. Hyman is your prototype power forward but with a lot more speed. Hyman will help Tavares get the puck quicker and allow him to do what he was signed to do. Score! People often underestimate the value of Hyman but ask the players who have played with him the few years, mainly Matthews, Nylander, Tavares and Marner what he brings to that lineup.
    4. Frederik Andersen – The guy is going to win you some games, in fact probably steal you a few. Let Anderson do his job, because he’s one of the best at it.
    5. Mitch Marner – I think this is the biggest reason. Marner has proven he can drive his own line and has the most amazing vision I’ve seen since Joe Thornton is his prime and even dating back to Ron Francis and Adam Oates. Just take a few games and watch him. The IQ is so high, the vision is off the charts, and his defence is starting to round together. What I love about Mitch Marner is he’s relentless. Always go go go.

    Will Auston Matthews injury hurt Toronto was never in question, the answer to that is YES EMPHATICALLY! But around Toronto it sounds like the world is coming to a slow crash in Leaf Land, which is so far from the truth. To call Auston Matthews injury a crash and burn to the Maple Leafs is an offence to all the other talented players on this roster.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live tonight at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • 10/27/2018 –Toronto Maple Leafs vs Winnipeg Jets

    10/27/2018 –Toronto Maple Leafs vs Winnipeg Jets

     

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs (7-3-0 16pts) v Winnipeg Jets (6-2-1 13pts)

     

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – Patrick Marleau

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares– Zach Hyman

    Pars Lindholm – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Martin Marincin – Igor Ozhiganov

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

    Scratched: Andreas Johnsson, Justin Holl & Travis Dermott

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    Winnipeg:

    Patrik Laine – Mark Scheifle – Blake Wheeler

    Kyle Connor – Bryan Little– Nikolaj Ehlers

    Andrew Copp– Adam Lowry – Brandon Tanev

    Brendan Lemieux – Jack Roslovic – Matthieu Perrault

    Josh Morissey – Jacob Trouba

    Ben Chiarot – Dustin Byfuglien

    Joe Morrow – Tyler Myers

    Connor Hellebuyck

    Laurent Brossaint

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None

     

    Gameday:

     

    First Period:

    Jets Penalty – 02:53 – Dustin Byfuglien, 2 mins for Slashing

    Leafs Penalty – 08:14 – Nazem Kadri, 2 mins for Boarding

    Jets PPG Goal  – 09:38 – Kyle Connor (6) Blake Wheeler (9) and Dustin Byfuglien (5)

    Jets Penalty – 20:00 – Tyler Myers, 2 mins for Roughing

    Leafs Penalty – 20:00 – John Tavares, 2 mins for Roughing

     

    End of 1st – TML – 0         WPG – 1

    Shots              10                      10

    Faceoffs     9/20                       11/20

    Hits               7                           13

    PP                 0/1                       1/2

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs: 

    Analysis:

    Leafs came out aggressive and looking ready to take over the game. But a questionable penalty on Kadri cost them the lead going into the 2nd period.

    Need to Do:

    Leafs need to continue being aggressive and attacking the defence of the Jets.

     

    Second Period:

    Jets Goal– 11:00 – Mark Schiefele (6), Unassisted

    Jets Penalty – 5:03 – Patrik Laine, 2 mins for Interference

     

    End of 2nd – TML – 0         WPG – 2

    Shots              19                    17

    Faceoffs       16/37            21/37

    Hits               12                    21

    PP                 0/2                   1/2

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs:

    Analysis:

    Leafs came out flat from the beginning and looked like they were just going to take the period off. Auston Matthews took a hard hit to the shoulder early in the 2nd period and didn’t return to the lineup in that period, remains to see if he will return tonight.

    Need to Do:

    Leafs better come to play in the 3rd even without Matthews, They have a huge hole to dig themselves out of.

     

    Third Period

    Leafs Goal – 06:33– Nazem Kadri (2) from Mitch Marner (10)  and Ron Hainsey (3)

    Jets Penalty – 9:31 – Jacob Trouba, 2 mins for Tripping

    Leafs Goal – 16:49– Jake Gardiner (1) from Mitch Marner (11)

    Leafs Goal – 17:15– Kasperi Kapanen (6) from John Tavares (6) and Zach Hyman (6)

     

    End of 3rd – TML – 3        WPG – 2

    Shots              31                   24

    Faceoffs     29/61                32/61

    Hits               20                       27

    PP                 0/3                    1/2

     

    Toronto:

    Analysis:

    Leafs were good for half of the first period and terrible in the 2nd, but Frederik Andersen bailed them out and kept them in the game until the 3rd. Where even without Auston Matthews the Leafs came out flying scoring 3 goals in the 3rd for the comeback win.

     

    Next Up:

    Calgary (5-5-1 11pts) vs Toronto (8-3-0 16pts)

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

     

  • 10/24/2018 – Winnipeg Jets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    10/24/2018 – Winnipeg Jets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs (6-3-0 12pts) @ St.Louis Blues (6-2-1 13pts)

    Lineups:

    Toronto:

    Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – Patrick Marleau

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares– Zach Hyman

    Pars Lindholm – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown

    Tyler Ennis – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Martin Marincin – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

     

    Scratched: Andreas Johnsson, Justin Holl & Travis Dermott

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    Winnipeg:

    Patrik Laine – Mark Scheifle – Blake Wheeler

    Kyle Connor – Bryan Little– Nikolaj Ehlers

    Andrew Copp– Adam Lowry – Brandon Tanev

    Brendan Lemieux – Jack Roslovic – Matthieu Perrault

     

    Josh Morissey – Jacob Trouba

    Ben Chiarot – Dustin Byfuglien

    Joe Morrow – Tyler Myers

     

    Connor Hellebuyck

    Laurent Brossaint

     

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None
    Gameday:

    First Period:

    Leafs Goal  – 14:38 – Kasperi Kapenan (5) Unassisted

    Jets Penalty – 16:09 – Patrik Laine, 2 mins for Slashing
    End of 1st – TML – 1         WPG – 0

    Shots              18                     14

    Faceoffs     7/20                       10/20

    Hits               2                           7

    PP                 0/1                       0/0

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs: 

    Analysis:

    Leafs came out of the gate flying and it paid off on the scoreboard as Kasperi Kapanen put another one in. Leafs outplayed the Jets in this period, out shot and out scored.

    Need to Do:

    Continue to attack the defence of the Jets and directing everything towards the net

    Second Period:

    Leafs Goal– 2:25 – Tyler Ennis (1), from Josh Leivo (2)

    Leafs Penalty – 3:49 – Kasperi Kapanen, 2 mins for Slashing

    Leafs Goal– 11:43 – Nazem Kadri (1), from Connor Brown  (3) and Nikita Zaitsev (2)
    End of 2nd – TML – 3         WPG – 0

    Shots              11                    4

    Faceoffs       20/40            20/40

    Hits               5                     14

    PP                 0/1                   0/1


    Toronto Maple Leafs:

    Analysis:

    Leafs totally dominated this period, the Jets seemed sluggish and Leafs made them pay for it. Kadri got his first of the season was huge for Toronto in this period.

    Need to Do:

    Don’t get ahead of yourself with the 3 goal lead in the 3rd. The Jets can really score don’t give them room.

    Third Period

    Jets Goal – 04:57– Nikolaj Ehlers (1) from Jacob Trouba (6)  and Blake Wheeler (6)

    Leafs Penalty – 5:25 – Connor Brown, 2 mins for Hooking

    Jets PPG Goal – 06:28– Mark Scheifele (5) from Blake Wheeler (7)  and Kyle Connor (5)

    Leafs Goal – 08:28– John Tavares (7) from Mitch Marner (9)  and Pars Lindholm (2)

    Leafs Penalty – 9:46 – Igor Ozhiganov, 2 mins for Hooking

     

    End of 3rd – TML – 4        WPG – 2

    Shots              39                   40

    Faceoffs     29/64                35/64

    Hits               8                       21

    PP                 0/1                    1/3

     

    Toronto:

    Analysis:

    Probably the Leafs best game defensively. Third looked a little shaky but that’s why you have Andersen and why you went out to get a guy like Tavares.

    Next Up:

    Toronto (7-3-0 14pts) vs Winnipeg (6-3-1 13pts)

     

    You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Winnipeg Jets

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Winnipeg Jets

     

    Time: Wednesday, October 24th 2018

    Toronto: 6-3-0 for 12 points

    Winnipeg: 6-2-1 for 13 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg meet in a Wednesday matchup. 2 teams with 6 wins and both having offences that can score lots of goals. The problem this year for the Jets has been the goaltending of Connor Hellebuyck. After having a phenomenal season last year he seems to have come out a little flat in the 2019 season. While the Leafs look to kick start the offence that has been sleeping for the last 2 games.

    Look for Auston Matthews to be more aggressive tonight, but also look for Dustin Byfuglien to be extra physical.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Auston Matthews – 16 points (10 goals 6 assists) 53% on Face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 14 points (4 goals 10 assists)
    John Tavares – 11 points (6 goals 5 assists) 49% on face-offs
    Mitch Marner – 12 points (4 goals 8 assists)

    Mark Scheifle –9 points (4 goals 5 assists) 47% faceoffs
    Kyle Connor– 8 points (4 goal 4 assists)
    Blake Wheeler– 7 points (2 goal 5 assist)
    Josh Morrisey– 7 points (1 goal 6 assists)

    Frederik Andersen
    4-3-0 2.75GAA .910SV%

    Connor Hellebuyck
    4-2-1 2.84GAA .909SV%

    Lineups & Injuries

    Toronto:

    Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – Patrick Marleau
    Mitch Marner – John Tavares– Zach Hyman
    Pars Lindholm – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
    Andreas Johnsson – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey
    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev
    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    Scratched: Tyler Ennis, Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

    Winnipeg:

    Patrik Laine – Mark Scheifle – Blake Wheeler
    Kyle Connor – Bryan Little– Nikolaj Ehlers
    Andrew Copp– Adam Lowry – Brandon Tanev
    Brendan Lemieux – Jack Roslovic – Matthieu Perrault

    Josh Morissey – Jacob Trouba
    Ben Chiarot – Dustin Byfuglien
    Joe Morrow – Tyler Myers

    Connor Hellebuyck
    Laurent Brossaint

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: None

    Suspension: None

    4 Keys to Winning against Winnipeg:

    1. Stay Out of the Box
      1. The Jets own the 4th best Powerplay in the league, they will burn you.
    2. Win faceoffs
      1. Winnipeg is not a great faceoff team. Win more faceoffs the more time you will have with the puck.
    3. Kadri
      1. Something has got to give with Nazem Kadri, so far he has been held goal-less this season and he is what drives that 3rd Need to find a way to get him going.
    4. Force the Jets to take penalties
      1. 2nd best powerplay in the league and with the offence seemingly drying up over the past 2 games, this is the perfect place to kick start it.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live today at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

     

  • Will the real Maple Leafs please stand up!

    Will the real Maple Leafs please stand up!

    maple-leafs-blackhawks-hockey
    Image by Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press via CBC Sports

    The Toronto Maple Leafs came into the season with some real hype. Most inside the hockey world said this team had a real chance of taking home the cup with the signing of John Tavares, while others said Auston Matthews had improved his shooting ability (which most would already rate as top notch) and had a chip on shoulder. Mitch Marner looked stronger and the young defensive core and core youth were a year old and ready to take another big step forward. The only thing that was looming over the Maple Leafs was the holdout of William Nylander.

    The William Nylander holdout didn’t seem to bother the Leafs out of the gate as they started the season 6-1, While Auston Matthews (16 points), Morgan Rielly (13 points), Mitch Marner (11 points) & John Tavaras (11 points) all were top 5 in points. Youngster Kasperi Kapanen, had been trying to prove to Mike Babcock that he was a top 6 forward and he got his chance with no William Nylander. Kapanen didn’t look back putting together 8 points in 7 games. The team looked like it was destined to be a high scoring juggernaught with good goaltending and mediocre defence.

    defense-wins-championships
    Image by Matthew Gamber via Tacticsplatform.com

    Now before anyone says the typical hockey phrase “You can’t win in the playoffs without defence”, let me tell you that it’s not true. Just ask the Washington Capitals and The Pittsburgh Penguins. Now each one of those teams had their defensive anchor, Washington has John Carlson and Pittsburgh has Kris Letang. But after that it’s a lot of depth, Washington has Michal Kempny, Brooks Orpik, Dmitriy Orlov, Madison Bowey (will be a stud), Matt Niskanen and Christian Djoos. While Pittsburgh defence from their Stanley Cup run was even less then that, Olli Maatta, Brian Dumoulin, Ron Hainsey, Mark Streit, Trevor Daley and Ian Cole and Justin Schultz. In fact Pittsburgh played most of both Stanley Cup wins without Kris Letang. Meanwhile other teams such as the Los Angeles Kings have Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez and Dion Phaneuf in their top 4, or St. Louis with Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko, Jay Bouwmeester, Vince Dunn and Joel Edmundson are struggling to keep their heads above water and maybe the most insane of all San Jose with Brent Burns, Justin Braun, Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic sitting at 4-3-1. Today’s game is much different, Los Angeles used to win by playing the style they’re playing now they’ve had to forfeit some defence for offence in the form of Ilya Kovalchuk.

    Back to what I was saying about the Maple Leafs. Toronto were displaying the high-octane offence through 7 games. There was no game they were out of and no problem they couldn’t score there way out of. But Game 8 rolled around the Leafs were playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in Toronto. Toronto fired 38 shots at Penguins goaltender Matt Murray and he stood tall to every shot. Toronto played a good game but made one mistake and ran into a hot goaltender. Leaf Nation had no reason to worry, well that was until Saturday Night at the St. Louis Blues. The offence was flat, they stayed on the perimeter and by the time the 3rd had comes around it was 3-0 St. Louis and the Leafs had mustered a whopping 8 shots. Morgan Rielly scored in the 3rd but it was the only glimpse of offence and it lasted all of a minute.

    So, the question lies who are the real Toronto Maple Leafs? Is this a team who will be inconsistent offensively all season long? Or will they continue to outscore all their defensive problems?
    I think the honest is a little of both.  Toronto has too many offensive weapons to completely drop off offensively, but they will have games where the scoring touch is gone, where they become the Alexei Kovalev or Alexander Semin’s of the NHL. If you don’t get that analogy Kovalev was widely consider one of the most talented but inconsistent players in the NHL and Semin could score on a dime but battled inconsistency his whole career, was scared of the corners and the traffic. The defence is young with the exception of Ron Hainsey, who in his late 30’s is playing over 23 minutes a game.  Morgan Rielly’s game has involved a lot and brings everything expected of him. Igor Ozhiganov and Travis Dermott have looked good this year and will continue to mature as the season goes on. Jake Gardiner’s game started the season slow but he has looked more like himself in the last few games, while Nikita Zaitsev’s game looks like it’s forming back into what it was in his rookie season. The defence is a work in progress right now but let them develop. Travis Dermott is looking like a top 4 defencemen, in fact the times that Babcock has moved him with Morgan Rielly he hasn’t looked out of place at all. The Leafs will average 4 goals a game and boast one of/if not the top powerplays in the league. I think the defence will tighten up over the season. But some games they will look like they did against St. Louis last night, an AHL team.

    kovalev-78533710-1           220px-Alexander_Semin_2011-05-01
    Image by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images via The Hockey News            Image by Getty Images via The Hockey News

    Some will scream for William Nylander, I’d say that it would be an enormous mistake for the Leafs to pay him anything more than he’s worth and Nylander isn’t worth 8.5 million a season for the next 7 years. Kapanen hasn’t looked out of place with Matthews. He’s insanely fast, plays a solid 2-way game and is not afraid to do the dirty work in the corners. I’d say we have a trading chip with Nylander and we need defence, it’s time the Maple Leafs use that to their advantage.

    c64e40b8dc5446c5522b67050a026e31
    Image by AP Photo/Molly Riley via Yahoo Sports

     

    You can watch TXHT Live today at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • 10/20/2018 – St.Louis Blues vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

    St. Louis Blues (1-3-2 6pts) v. Toronto Maple Leafs (6-2-0 12pts)

     

    Lineups:

    Toronto Maple Leafs:

    Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – Patrick Marleau

    Mitch Marner – John Tavares– Zach Hyman

    Pars Lindholm – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown

    Andreas Johnsson – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

     

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey

    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev

    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

     

    Frederik Andersen

    Garrett Sparks

    Scratched: Tyler Ennis, Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    St. Louis Blues:

    Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarsenko

    Zachary Sanford – Ryan O’Rielly– David Perron

    Patrick Maroon– Tyler Bozak – Alex Steen

    Samuel Blais – Ivan Barbashev – Jordan Kyrou

     

    Vince Dunn – Alex Pietrangelo

    Joel Edmundson – Robert Bortuzzo

    Colton Parayko – Jordan Schmaltz

     

    Jake Allen

    Chad Johnson

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Carl Gunnarsson (Torn ACL), Robby Fabbri (Groin)

    Suspension: None

     

    First Period:

    Leafs Penalty – 17:13 – Ron Hainsey, 2 mins for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – TML – 0         STL – 0

    Shots              4                     6

    Faceoffs     8/17               9/17

    Hits               6                     8

    PP                 0/0                   0/1

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs: 

    Analysis:

    Leafs didn’t get any offence going and looked liked they were just floating around. Morgan Rielly was noticeably bad in that first period, trying to be too fancy rather then getting the offence up the ice.

    Need to Do:

    Get the offence flowing. Stop Standing still.

     

    St. Louis Blues:

    Analysis:

    Blues had a lot of defensive lapses and although Toronto was held to relatively few shots, there were a lot of high quality chances.

     

    Second Period:

    Blues Penalty – 01:22 – Brayden Schenn, 2 mins for Interference

    Blues Goal– 4:45 – Robert Bortuzzo (1), from David Perron (2)

    Blues Goal– 13:05 – Zach Sanford (1), from David Perron (3) and Alex Pietrangelo (1)

    Leafs Penalty – 14:33 – Nazem Kadri, 2 mins for Tripping

    Blues Goal– 16:37 – Ryan O’Reilly (1), from Vladimir Tarasenko (4) and Patrick Maroon (4)

    Blues Penalty – 19:31 – Alexander Steen, 2 mins for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – TML – 0          STL – 3

    Shots              9                    13

    Faceoffs       16/34             18/34

    Hits               15                     25

    PP                 0/2                    0/2

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs:

    Analysis:

    Leafs looked sluggish and lack and offensive flair. This is looking to be a long game for Leafs are the Blues dominated the whole period. Once again the defence looking really bad, but give credit to the blues on being aggressive on the defence.

    Need to Do:

    Get the puck out of the zone quick and up the ice. Prolonged puck control in the zone and big guns needs to show up.

     

    St. Louis Blues:

    Analysis:

    Blues really clamped down defensively and did not make any unnecessary pinches in their offensive zone. This safe play led to lock down defense and some goal scoring

     

    Third Period:

    Leafs Goal – 04:22– Morgan Rielly (4) from Mitch Marner (8)  and Jake Gardiner (6)

    Leafs Penalty – 9:03 – Par Lindholm, 2 mins for Holding

    Blues Penalty – 12:41 – Brayden Schenn, 2 mins for Tripping

    Leafs Penalty – 14:34 – Andreas Johnsson, 2 mins for Holding the Stick

    Blues Penalty – 16:55 – Jaden Schwartz, 2 mins for Hooking

    Blues SHG EN Goal – 18:17– Ivan Barbashev (1) from Ryan O’Reilly (6)

     

    End of 3rd – TML – 1         STL – 4

    Shots              23                   25

    Faceoffs     28/60                32/60

    Hits               22                     33

    PP                 0/4                    0/4

     

    Toronto:

    Analysis:

    Terrible game from the Leafs, no urgency to their game. Matthews was a ghost, along with Taveras and Marner until the 3rd period. Andersen held them close with some great saves. But in the end Jake Allen held the fort and blues played a perfect game.

     

    St. Louis:

    Analysis:

    Jake Allen really stood on his head. While the blues played well defensively, Toronto really showed their firepower, controlling possession and getting some great scoring chances.

    Ultimately this was the blues best game of the season against a top team. The key in the future will be keeping up this level of discipline and focus

     

    Next Up:

    Toronto (6-3-0 12pts) at Winnipeg (5-2-1 11pts)

    St.Louis (2-3-2 6pts) at Winnipeg (5-2-1 11pts)

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

     

  • Gameday Preview: St. Louis Blues vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    Gameday Preview: St. Louis Blues vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

    Time: Saturday, October 20th 2018
    Toronto: 6-2-0 for 12 points
    St.Louis: 1-3-2 for 4 points
    The Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues meet on Saturday for a match of two teams going in totally different directions. The Leafs are coming off only their 2nd loss of the season in a game that if Matt Murray didn’t play so well the outcome could have been different. While the Blues have only amount 1 win so far this year and have not played very well despite probably having one of the better defence cores in the league.
    This will be a pivotal game for the Leafs, The Blues will not be underestimated so expect this to be a game from the beginning.
    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup
    Auston Matthews – 14 points (10 goals 6 assists) 53% on Face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 13 points (3 goals 10 assists)
    John Tavares – 11 points (6 goals 5 assists) 49% on face-offs
    Mitch Marner – 11 points (4 goals 7 assists)
    Brayden Schenn –6 points (3 goals 3 assists)
    David Perron– 5 points (4 goals 1 assist)
    Alex Steen– 5 points (2 goals 3 assist)
    Vladimir Tarsenko– 5points (2 goals 3 assists)
    Ryan O’Rielly – 5 points (5 assists)
    Frederik Andersen 4-2-0 2.70GAA .914SV%
    Jake Allen 1-2-2 3.91GAA .877SV%
    Lineups & Injuries
    Toronto Maple Leafs:
    Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – Patrick Marleau
    Mitch Marner – John Tavares– Zach Hyman
    Pars Lindholm – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
    Andreas Johnsson – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

    Morgan Rielly – Ron Hainsey
    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev
    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    Scratched: Tyler Ennis, Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

     

    St. Louis Blues:
    Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarsenko
    Zachary Sanford – Ryan O’Rielly– David Perron
    Patrick Maroon– Tyler Bozak – Alex Steen
    Samuel Blais – Ivan Barbashev – Jordan Kyrou

    Vince Dunn – Alex Pietrangelo
    Joel Edmundson – Robert Bortuzzo
    Colton Parayko – Jordan Schmaltz

    Jake Allen
    Chad Johnson

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Carl Gunnarsson (Torn ACL), Robby Fabbri (Groin)

    Suspension: None

     

    3 Keys to Winning against St. Louis:

    1. SHOOT
      a. Jake Allen has been horrible all season, just take shots and see what happens.
    2. Cover the points
      a. St. Louis plays a very aggressive puck possession that opens the point men up. They have some big shots from the point.
    3. Force the St.bLouis to take penalties.
      a. St. Louis penalty kill sits at an atrocious 78% on the year. Leafs need to take advantage of that

     

    You can watch TXHT Live this Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Gameday Preview:  Pittsburgh Penguins vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    Gameday Preview:  Pittsburgh Penguins vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

    Time: Thursday, October 18th 2018

    Toronto: 6-1-0 for 12 points

    Pittsburgh: 2-1-2 for 5 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins meet in a matchup with Sidney Crosby and Auston Matthews being at the forefront. Two of the most prolific players in the game today. The Leafs come in riding a 5 game win streak and looking to continue to prove the doubters that they are really this good. While the Penguins come in losing in Overtime to Vancouver 3-2. Losing Justin Schultz for 4 months is a huge hit to the Penguins blue line and Vancouver took advantage of that.

    This will be another big challenge for the Leafs as the Penguins have proven they know how to win despite injuries.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Auston Matthews – 14 points (10 goals 6 assists) 53% on Face-offs
    Morgan Rielly – 13 points (3 goals 10 assists)
    John Tavares – 11 points (6 goals 5 assists) 49% on face-offs
    Mitch Marner – 11 points (4 goals 7 assists)

    Evgeni Malkin –9 points (1 goals 8 assists)
    Phil Kessel– 8 points (4 goal 4 assists)
    Kris Letang– 6 points (3 goal 3 assist)
    Jake Guentzel– 4points (4 goals)

    Frederik Andersen
    4-1-0 3.02GAA .899SV%

    Matt Murray
    1-1-0 5.45GAA .831SV%

    Lineups & Injuries

    Toronto:

    Kasperi Kapanen – Auston Matthews – Patrick Marleau
    Mitch Marner – John Tavares– Zach Hyman
    Pars Lindholm – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
    Andreas Johnsson – Frederik Gauthier – Josh Leivo

    Morgan Rielly  – Ron Hainsey
    Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev
    Travis Dermott – Igor Ozhiganov

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    Scratched: Tyler Ennis, Justin Holl & Martin Marincin

    Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back)

    Suspension: None

    Pittsburgh:

    Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Derick Brassard
    Carl Hagelin – Evgeni Malkin – Phil Kessel
    Patric Hornqvist– Riley Sheahan – Bryan Rust
    Dominik Simon – Matt Cullen – Daniel Sprong

    Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang
    Jack Johnson – Jamie Oleksiuk
    Olli Maatta – Juuso Riikola

    Matt Murray
    Casey DeSmith

    Scratched: None

    Injuries: Justin Schultz (LTIR)

    Suspension: None

    4 Keys to Winning against Pittsburgh:

    1. Attack the Defence
      1. With Justin Schultz out for 4 months the Leafs must attack the defence and force them to make plays quick.
    2. Win faceoffs
      1. Puck possession is the Penguins game style. Win the faceoffs control the game.
    3. Fourth line
      1. Gauthier, Leivo and Johnsson have been a fantastic 4th line since being put together. They must continue to dominate especially against a pretty young 4th line in Pittsburgh.
    4. Force the Penguins to take a Penalties
      1. Let the Power-Play do it’s job.

     

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • TXHT – 10/16/2018

     

    Join Michael as he breaks down the past week for the Washington Capitals, NHL, and NWHL.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.