Tip of the Tower
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Toronto Maple Leafs Make a Statement, Rout the New York Islanders, 7-1

By Chris Okrainetz

Feb 14, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Josh Leivo (32) celebrates after scoring a goal as New York Islanders forward Josh Bailey (12) looks on during the first period at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Josh Leivo (32) celebrates after scoring a goal as New York Islanders forward Josh Bailey (12) looks on during the first period at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs (25-18-11) made a statement and routed the New York Islanders (23-22-10), 7-1 on Tuesday night.

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Thoughts and Observations

  • A loss on Tuesday night would have dropped the Toronto Maple Leafs out of a playoff spot, but the team treated this like a playoff game and delivered one of their best performances of the season. You could tell this team definitely knew what was at stake, but perhaps Mike Babcock mixing up their routine and cancelling game day morning skate was a minor factor too? Whatever it was, it worked well for the Buds, as they thrashed the Islanders.
  • Frederik Andersen was outstanding and his stellar 33 save performance earned him his 100th career victory. Andersen made a couple of key saves, including a beauty cross-crease glove save on John Tavares, and this was easily his best game since the All-Star break.
    • Josh Leivo

    was excellent tonight. Albeit he only saw 9:48 of ice time, he finished the game with three points (one goal and two assists). With

    Nikita Soshnikov

    nearing a return, Leivo might not be in the lineup for long, but after his career night against the Islanders he will get another chance against Columbus.

    Things could have went south after the horrific penalty shot call against

    Matt Hunwick

    , which led to a penalty shot goal by

    Jason Chimera

    , but the Leafs persevered and were not deterred by the pathetic call.

    The crowd at the Air Canada Centre sounded lively, especially for a Tuesday night. Perhaps the bad call galvanized the fans, but this wasn’t your typical mid-week crowd at the ACC.

    Mitch Marner

    does a lot of things well on the ice, but how easy did he make it look when he picked

    Brock Nelson

    ‘s pocket to setup

    Tyler Bozak

    ‘s goal?

  • Auston Matthews is like a basset hound out there with the way he can sniff out shooting lanes. He just always seems to find a way to get into prime scoring areas and his touch around the net is phenomenal. His two goal night puts him just three goals back of Sidney Crosby for the Maurice Richard trophy race.

    • Stat of the Night

    23.5%

    This stat has more to do with the season as a whole, but the Maple Leafs now boast the top power play unit in the NHL, converting on 23.5 percent of their opportunities. Toronto went 1-for-3 on the man advantage against the Islanders, with Matthews scoring the lone power play goal, but the team has scored 39 power play goals this season and their improvement on special teams is a big reason behind their turnaround.

    What’s Next

    More from Tip of the Tower

    The Maple Leafs will play their first of two back-to-backs this week when they travel to Ohio on Wednesday night to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (35-15-5). The Leafs have struggled in the second game of a back-to-back this season and own a 4-8 record in those games.

    Luckily for the Leafs, the Blue Jackets have been struggling as of late, losing six of their last nine games and allowing an average of 3.3 goals against during that span. Sergei Bobrovsky has started the last six games for the Blue Jackets and will likely be between the pipes on Wednesday night.

    Bobrovsky has performed very well against the Leafs during his career, posting an 8-3 record with a 2.01 goals against and a .927 save percentage, as well as a pair of shutouts. He’s yet to face the Maple Leafs this season, however, so we’ll see if his strong play against Toronto continues, or if it’s just gaudy stats that were compiled against inferior Toronto teams.

    Next: Leafs Are Now 'the Hunted' in the Eastern Conference

    What did you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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