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Toronto Maple Leafs Rookies Leave Memorable Mark on Joe Louis Arena with 5-4 Win

ByChris Okrainetz|
Apr 1, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) receives congratulations from teammates after scoring in the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Toronto won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 1, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) receives congratulations from teammates after scoring in the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Toronto won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Maple Leafs’ (38-24-15) rookies stole the spotlight on Saturday night and led Toronto to a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings (31-35-12) in their final appearance at Joe Louis Arena.

Thoughts and Observations

  • After the Boston Bruins notched a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon, the Toronto Maple Leafs responded with a thrilling 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The victory puts Toronto back atop the Boston Bruins and gives them a tie for second place in the Atlantic division with the Ottawa Senators, who lost to the Winnipeg Jets. Parlay that with both the Lightning and Hurricanes losing and Toronto is now in an excellent spot to secure a playoff berth.
  • Auston Matthews was sensational. He scored his 37th and 38th goal of the season, played well on both ends of the ice and even broke a few more records in the process, which I’ll get into more below.

    • The Leafs were sluggish in the first period, but

    Frederik Andersen

    bailed them out with a couple of big saves and held the Red Wings to only one goal.

    Freddy was steady

    throughout this game and — aside from

    Mike Green

    ‘s goal late in the third period when he couldn’t find the puck — continues to be one of the Leafs most consistent players.

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  • Whatever Mike Babcock said during the first intermission worked. Toronto was a completely different team in the second period and the rookie trio of Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander were the ones leading the charge. After seeing each player score a goal in the same period, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with excitement about this team’s future. Don’t get me wrong, this season has been awesome and a playoff appearance would be icing on the cake, but when I think about how young this team, I can’t help but imagine what’s in store over the next two-to-five years.
  • Back to Andersen for a second. Opposing teams continue to try to create traffic in front the Great Dane, which is understandable and a part of hockey, but he seems to be getting bumped into more frequently. You can bet the traffic in front of his net will ramp up if the Leafs make the postseason, but the number of hits he’s taking will need to decrease if they plan on making a run. Kudos to Tyler Bozak for standing up for Andersen in the third period.

    • Matthews first goal of the game where he snuck it past

    Jimmy Howard

    on the short side will likely be the highlight of the night, but

    Connor Carrick

    ‘s bullet of a pass from behind the Leafs’ net onto a streaking Mitch Marner’s tape should be a close second. It was an alert, heads up play by Carrick and the finish by Marner wasn’t too shabby either. Here’s another look:

    With Saturday’s 5-4 victory the Leafs completed the season sweep of the Red Wings. Although he has a soft spot in his heart for Detroit, you can bet Babcock is happy to go 4-0 against his old team.

    Having witnessed an octopus being throw onto the ice at Joe Louis Arena you can’t help but get excited, especially when you think of Al Sobotka twirling it above his head. But I can’t say I’ve ever thought of it from Andersen’s perspective.

    The Leafs have matched their highest point total in the salary cap era and have five games remaining.

    Alright, let’s get into some Matthews related stats. It was quite a night for the Leafs’ phenom.

    And here’s another record.

    And another one.

    And one more for good measure.

    Stat of the Night

    3-16-3

    Here’s an odd stat. For whatever reason, the Leafs have been dreadful when trailing after 20 minutes of play this season. Toronto found themselves down 1-0 after the first period on Saturday, but they battled back for a win and improved their record to 3-16-3 when trailing after the first period.

    What’s Next

    The Maple Leafs will play their final road game of the regular season on Monday night when they travel to the KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres. Based on the turnout we saw the last time Toronto played in Buffalo, I don’t think we can call this a true road game for the Leafs.

    However, the Leafs are 26-69-8 in games played in Western New York and they were thumped 5-2 by the Sabres on March 25th, so Toronto will definitely have their work cut out for them on Monday night.

    Next: Steady Freddie Leading Leafs to the Playoffs

    What did you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below

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