After what seemed like a slow start last night the Maple Leafs got injected with some much needed energy come second period. It was as if a switch went off and Babcock flicked it during intermission.

The Leafs came out flying. Dubnyk who held the fort after 20 minutes of play was shelled in the second with a number of high quality scoring chances. The boys in the blue and white had the puck most of the period and in the offensive zone for the jist of it. It was an excellent possession type hockey which is what Babcock thrives for. You can bet he was pleased with not only the effort he saw in the period but what turned into a quality shutdown period in the third. The Wild managed to score in the closing minutes to make it a 4-2 game but it was well over before this point. If only the Leafs had this figured out before they blew that game versus Montreal. Lesson learned? Let’s hope.

Back to back night’s means we’re going to see Hutchinson between the pipes tonight. Leafs will be in tough against Washington after just playing last night, but I believe this offense is just starting to heat up. The Caps will be dressing Samsonov tonight and he’s one hell of a goaltending prospect just beginning his journey into the NHL. He too will be in tough tonight with this high octane offensive juggernaut the Leafs have to offer.

We all know Matthews has been burying on command since game one. It’s great to see Tavares and Marner starting to heat up as the boy’s feet are getting wet and they are starting to gel/see each other out there. I’m a firm believe that Zach Hyman’s return will help the Leafs in many ways. He’s an amazing penalty killer and his prowess to dig the puck out of the corners in both zones is unheard of. Hyman truly is an asset to this Leafs team and once he’s back in business I see big things happening as all of our lines get stronger. Hyman has try hard syndrome, perhaps Gary Roberts was his favorite player growing up because he’s hungry out there; just like big Gary. Only different is Hyman doesn’t destroy people from time to time like Roberts did. Times have changed; for the better really.

Nothing against Kapanen, but when Hyman returns I think we see Kapanen shifted down to the third line and he will face lesser skilled opponents and we just may see him shine with a new line combination. Babcock will have some options to toggle with so it should be interesting to see how it all unfolds when Zach returns to the lineup.

Let’s see if the Leafs can’t get a winning streak started tonight with their third in a row against Ovechkin and the Capitals. I’d like to see the bird man (Kuznetsov) get a taste of Muzzin’s shoulder as I still remember his actions from the playoffs just a couple years ago.

Team stats after seven games:

Mitchell Marner: 3g 6a – 24 shots
Morgan Rielly: 0g 9a – 19 shots
Auston Matthews: 7g 1a – 32 shots
John Tavares: 2g 4a – 10 shots
William Nylander: 2g 3a – 19 shots
Ilya Mikheyev: 2g 3a – 14 shots

A bunch of others 3-4 point players. One thing to note here is Tavares total shot count. I’d like to see the Captain fire the puck a bit more, and that a kid Mikheyev! That’s my sum up!

Go Leafs Go!

Thanks for reading.

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