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Toronto Maple Leafs Dominate Detroit Red Wings, 4-0

By Chris Okrainetz

Jan 25, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Roman Polak (46) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Roman Polak (46) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs (23-14-9) dominated the Detroit Red Wings (20-20-9) on Wednesday night at Joe Louis Arena en route to a 4-0 victory.

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Thoughts and Observations

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are now 9-0-2 in their last 11 road games and are 35-for-37 on the penalty kill during that stretch. The last time the Leafs lost on the road in regulation was on November 30th when they lost to the Calgary Flames, 3-0.
  • Auston Matthews dominated this game tonight. He posted a 54.55 CF%, which mostly came against Henrik Zetterberg‘s line, and his line created prime opportunities throughout the night.

    • This game went back-and-forth for a bit, but the Leafs pulled away early in the third period and eventually put the game out of reach.

    One thing the Leafs were able to do a lot of against the Wings was pass the puck through the shooting lanes. It allowed them to get pucks to the net and control the pace of play when they entered the Wings’ zone.

  • Talk about a total team effort tonight. All four lines scored for the Leafs tonight and Frederik Andersen even picked up an assist on Nikita Soshnikov‘s goal.

    • In his 600th career game,

    Roman Polak

    scored his 22nd career goal when he fired a slap shot towards the Red Wings net and he got a fortunate bounce off Detroit defenceman

    Jonathan Ericsson

    .

    How hot is

    Nazem Kadri

    right now? After picking up an assist in this game, he now has 13 points (seven goals and six assists) in his last 10 games. He also made a great defensive play in this game, too.

    I guess his cat has inspired him

    .

  • The defence played very well in this game. Nikita Zaitsev put together another impressive performance and has stepped up with Morgan Rielly out of the lineup. The first two games without Rielly were a bit of a struggle, but I’d say they’ve figured things out the last two games and Wednesday’s performance against Detroit was their best yet.

    • Freddy’s been dialed in recently:

    Playoffs?

    Stat of the Night

    22

    The Leafs have now scored four or more goals in 22 of their 46 games this season. Only the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers have posted more four goal games than the Leafs this season, as they both sit atop the league with 23 four goal games.

    What’s Next

    The Maple Leafs will play their final game before the All-Star break on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers (23-19-6) at the Wells Fargo Center. Both the Leafs and Flyers will be playing the second game of a back-to-back on Thursday. The Flyers are 7-5 in this situation, while the Leafs are 3-7.

    More from Toronto Maple Leafs

    With Andersen and Steve Mason in net on Wednesday night, it could be a battle of the backups in Philly with Curtis McElhinney and Michal Neuvirth between the pipes. McElhinney won his only start for the Leafs on January 14th when he beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-2, while Neuvirth is 2-2 since returning from a lower-body injury on January 7th and has posted a 3.04 goal against and a .907 save percentage in five games.

    The Leafs are on an absolute tear recently, posting a 12-3-4 record since losing to the Colorado Avalanche on December 11th, and could enter the All-Star break with 57 points if they can beat the Flyers, which would have them sitting pretty in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

    Next: Leafs Trade Speculation Starting to Heat Up

    What did you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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