Leafs still struggle in the first period
It’s great that the Leafs say they know what to expect from teams such as the Vegas Golden Knights, who blitzed them for three early goals on Sunday. Now to do something about it before Tampa Bay does likewise Tuesday night.
“We have to be ready for that, it was kind of another slow start for us,” said Auston Matthews after the 6-3 loss Sunday. “All that matters is starting on time.”
Why does this alarm clock issue keep repeating itself ?
“I don’t know really, I think it’s all a matter of a will to start on time, to start right. It’s definitely something we need to sit down as a team and figure out. Because every time we start out slow, we get our legs in the second and third period and end up playing pretty well. But when we start well and we’re skating through the neutral zone, we seem to win all those games.”
Every time we start out slow, we get our legs in the second and third period and end up playing pretty well. But when we start well and we’re skating through the neutral zone, we seem to win all those games.” Auston Matthews
Moving up the list
Matthews reached 100 points on Sunday in his 112th game, the fastest since Nikolai Borschevsky hit the century mark in 106 games between 1992-94. Only 145 other members of the Leafs, St. Patricks and Arenas have 100 or more points from a roster of skaters that numbers almost 900 back to 1917.
Matthews is currently tied at 100 points with Jim Pappin, Larry Murphy and Frank (Buzz) Boll, one behind Regis (Pep) Kelly, Pavel Kubina and Jamie Macoun.
“It’s fun to play with him and to watch him grow,” said winger James van Riemsdyk. “As good a player as he is, he’s a really good guy and good teammate. We’re happy to have him on our team and happy to see him be successful.”
Gallant goalies
There was a nice bit of sportsmanship on display in Sunday afternoon’s warmup as Calvin Pickard of the Leafs and Malcolm Subban of the Knights were stretching. They reached across the centre line to tap blockers and chatted a bit, after
awkwardness earlier this year when Pickard didn’t play well in exhibition games for the Knights and was traded to Toronto, while Subban was installed as Marc-Andre Fleury’s back-up.
Fleury, meanwhile, showed on Saturday why he’s such a hit in Vegas. The kids among a few hundred fans who jammed their practice rink had gathered behind him, hoping a puck or two lodged in the protective netting above the glass would shake loose and drop. Noticing them, Fleury took a run at the glass with his shoulder and popped the discs loose.
Loose Leafs
Another 19 takeaways by the Knights on Sunday, increasing their league lead to 441 ... Martin Marincin was charged with two off Toronto’s five giveaways, but one of his passes struck the referee’s skate and went to William Karlsson ... Vegas fans knew to toss their hats on the ice when Karlsson recorded the franchise’s first hat trick, a couple of plastic Happy New Year top hats also reaching the ice. In 1992, when the Tampa Bay Lightning started up at old Expo Hall and registered their first home hat trick, building security were in the process of detaining and ejecting a man who threw his hat on the ice, unaware off the threegoal tradition. A Lightning employee rushed to his aid. lhornby@postmedia.com