Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews scored his 50th goal Wednesday night in a 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes. It is the second time he has reached the milestone in his career, having scored 60 in the 2021-22 season.

“It’s great,” Matthews said after the game. “It’s a small step in the long season, but obviously coming to play at home and playing a team that has had our number for the last couple of seasons … it was a good win, a good effort, everybody contributed. I’ll take the two points and get back at it tomorrow.”

With two goals against the Coyotes, Matthews now has 51 in the 2023-24 season, far outpacing the rest of the league. Everyone else in the top 10 has between 31 and 39, making his 12-goal lead over second place authoritative. He is currently one of four players in serious consideration for the Hart Trophy.

The Maple Leafs have taken full advantage of Matthews’ explosive season and are currently third in the Atlantic Division with a 31-16-8 record. The team is currently on pace to reach the postseason for the eighth straight year.

Matthews has been Toronto’s leading scorer every year but one since the 2016-17 season, his first in the NHL. He has led the team to the postseason with unflinching consistency but has only made it past the first round once.

“It’s still disappointing with the same result,” Matthews said of the team’s playoff struggles in 2022. “But I think there’s a lot of things that you can take — a lot of positives — from it and move forward. You can’t live in the past.”

With 22 games remaining in the regular season, Matthews has a real chance to break the Maple Leafs’ franchise record for goals in a single season for a second time. His 60 goals in the 2021-22 season stands head and shoulders above any other Toronto player since the team’s inception in 1917. His 51 at this point in the 2023-24 season could easily surpass that total.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have finally lifted their first-round curse – but the season still ends in a big disappointment and some are wondering what lies ahead now.

It turned out the chants of “We want Florida” did not age for the fans of the Original Six franchise.

Because the Leafs after winning their first playoff series this year since 2004, are going home.

The Florida Panthers, which barely squeaked into the playoffs, routed the Leafs in five games and will move on to the Eastern Conference finals to face the Carolina Hurricanes.

And it’s a major disappointment when you look at the team that’s loaded with talent from Mitch Marner to Auston Matthews.

In fact, it’s been loaded with talent since the 2016-2017 season when everyone around the league praised the Leafs and were excited about what Leafs’ future held.

However, the Leafs aren’t the new kids on the street anymore. The young stars aren’t teenagers. Matthews is 25 and Marner is 26.

This Leaf’s core only has one playoff victory in the seven years the team has been together.

It was supposed to be the turning point when the team signed star center John Tavares to a seven-year, $77 million. But instead, it’s been more of the same.

The biggest question mark is around general manager Kyle Dubas, who is completing the last year of his contract.

Will the Leafs bring him back or does he want to come back?

If he is back, will Dubas make changes?

If Dubas does return then he needs to consider firing head coach Sheldon Keefe, who was out-coached for the most part against the Panthers.

It’s not all on Keefe. He did get a solid performance out of his top players – but the depth of the team was just not good enough.

That includes defenseman Mark Giordano and center David Kampf, who both were the Leafs’ two worst players in expected goals (XGF) against the Panthers.

So Dubas or whoever is the next GM of the Leafs will need to make tough decisions going into the offseason on Keefe’s job status and changing the makeup of the roster.

But it’s also important for the Leafs not to overreact and trade a core player like Marner for draft picks without coming up with a comparable or better replacement.

The Leafs need to turn into a legit Stanley Cup contender.

The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be all in on a big cup run by trading for Ryan O’Reilly – but it won’t matter if it can’t at least get out of the first round again.

To make the trade work for the 32-year-old veteran, the organization had to get creative by involving a third party.

Because of the nature of the Leafs’ salary cap situation, the St. Louis Blues retain 50 percent, while the Minnesota Wild retain 25 percent of O’Reilly’s contract.

But the cost wasn’t cheap, as the Leafs sent a first-round and third-round pick in 2023, a 2024 second-round pick, along with forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette to the Blues.

And the Wild will get a 4th round pick in 2025.

The Leafs will only pay a little under $1.88 million for the contract of O’Reilly, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

O’Reilly’s main position is center but the trade will likely result in him moving to the wing, with John Tavares and Auston Matthews serving as the team’s top two players down the middle.

In the past several years, O’Reilly has been one of the best two-way players in the NHL.

In 2019, he won the Selke Trophy, which is awarded every year to the NHL’s best defensive forward.

However, offensively his play has slipped.

This year, O’Reilly has just 19 points in 40 games and is only on pace for 32 points this year.

In 2021-2022, O’Reilly posted 58 points in 78 games.

But the Leafs are hoping that putting him on a line with either William Nylander and Matthews or Tavares and Mitch Marner will help provide an offensive spark.

That could be huge to the Leafs’ playoff chances in the first round this year which will likely be facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, having been in three straight Stanley Cup Finals in a row.

The Leafs lost in seven games to the Lightning last year in the first round.

To make matters worse, the Leafs have qualified for the playoffs for six straight seasons but have not won a playoff series since 2004.

So the team will have to prove it but O’Reilly, who can play just about anywhere throughout the lineup including power play and penalty kill, could be a difference-maker for the Leafs.

But there are no excuses for the Leafs should they get knocked out once again in the first round.

One of the top NHL players on the rumor mill, Timo Meier, is drawing big interest from multiple teams including the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights.

Other clubs with “significant interest” in the San Jose Sharks forward include the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes, reports NHL Network studio analyst Kevin Weeks.

Meier when compared to other trade targets this season is one of the more interesting players available.

This is because he isn’t just a rental.

The 26-year-old, who carries a $6 million cap hit will be a restricted free agent (RFA) after the season ends.

That means should another organization try to sign him in July, the team that owns his rights would receive draft pick compensation in return if signed to an offer sheet.

Also, the acquiring team could try to agree on a long-term contract extension.

But a contender in salary cap hell might have trouble squeezing him in because his qualifying offer is $10 million.

The Sharks, which are in rebuild mode, sit 7th in the Pacific Division and could decide to trade him if they don’t see him as a fit into the long-term plan.

Since there is no real rush for the Sharks to trade the top six winger, expect the acquisition cost to be high.

Likewise, it will cost a team at least a first-round pick, a top prospect and likely more since he isn’t a rental.

Many interested clubs including the Leafs and the Hurricanes do not have enough deadline cap space to fit Meier in at the moment.

They will need to send a player back the other way and/or have salary retained on Meier’s contract.

Meier this season with the Sharks has recorded 51 points in 54 games.

The grammatically incorrect Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired two players—defenseman Mark Giordano and forward Colin Blackwell—to bolster the team for a playoff run prior to the NHL Trade Deadline.

The Leafs acquired the pair from the Kraken in exchange for two second-round picks (2022, 2023) and a third-round pick (2024), while Seattle will eat half of Giordano’s remaining deal.

To clear salary cap space, Toronto sent defenseman Travis Dermott to the Canucks for a third-round draft pick, while Vancouver sent Travis Hamonic and to Ottawa for a third-round pick.

The 38-year-old Giordano is in the final year of his contract, which carries a $6.75 million cap hit; in 55 games this year he has six goals, 17 assists, and 23 total points.

The Leafs also recently added Ilya Lyubushkin from Arizona. As of Monday morning, Toronto (39-18-5) sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 83 points.

The 15th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Rodion Amirov, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, his team, the Toronto Maple Leafs said.

The 20-year-old Russian forward signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team last April.

“I regret to inform our fans that Rodion Amirov has been diagnosed with a brain tumor,” Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said in a statement.

Amirov began the season with Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) before sustaining an injury.

“New, unrelated symptoms that required ongoing extensive investigations” developed during his injury recovery, the statement added. Amirov is undergoing treatment at a medical facility in Germany and will not play for the remainder of the season.

“Our medical staff has been involved throughout the process alongside Ufa’s and we are in direct contact with the facility on an ongoing basis to monitor his treatment and care,” the statement said.

“Rodion has the complete support of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and we will continue to ensure he receives the best care possible throughout this process.”

Having completed his first week of chemotherapy, Amirov said he “wants to stay positive, and I want people to think positively about me.

“There are many other people that have their own sicknesses or illnesses. I want to show by example that I can give people hope,” he said. “Never give up. The challenges you are given in life are for you to overcome.”

Amirov’s agent, Dan Milstein, posted on Twitter that the kid was skating three times a week and working out daily.

“In the past month, I’ve seen how [Amirov’s] even more impressive off the ice as he is on it,” Milstein said.

Joe Thornton will play the 24th season of his career after signing a one-year deal with the Florida Panthers. The 42-year-old center will earn $750,000 on the deal with no bonuses or incentives.

“I see their team on paper, I watched their team last year, I love their team, and that’s it,” Thornton said of his new team. “I love what they’re building, and I’m excited to be part of it. But everything is about ultimately winning the Stanley Cup, and the Panthers are right there, in my opinion.”

The star center is one of the highest-scoring centers of all time. He is ninth in all-time points by a center with 1,529 points, is seventh in career assists with 1,104, 14th all-time for points and only five points away from becoming 12th.

Thorton said that he was impressed by the Panthers during their playoff series with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers contacted the center weeks ago to bring him on the team.

“The energy these guys bring every day, they want to work every day, they want to get better every day,” Thornton said. “I’m just really looking forward to joining them on the journey.”

“The body feels good, the mind feels good, and I knew pretty much after the season, I started training right away and I felt good,” Thornton said. “Here we go again.”

The star center spent 15 seasons of his career with the San Jose Sharks. Last season, he spent one season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“His drive to succeed is unmistakable, and we are thrilled that he chose to sign with our club,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said.

It has been 28 years since the Montreal Canadiens made the Stanley Cup Finals. Now, they are just one win away from facing the winner of the Lightning-Islanders series. The Canadiens have a long and successful history. Montreal has 34 Stanley Cup Finals appearances and is on the verge of their 35th appearance.

On Tuesday night, the Habs stunned the Vegas Golden Knights on the road with a 4-1 win to take a commanding 3-2 series lead. Goaltender Carey Price made 26 saves to prevent the Knights’ offense from gaining momentum.

“You know, it’s the oldest cliché in hockey, but the fourth one’s going to be the hardest, and we’re fortunate to have the opportunity at home, and we’ll be ready to go in Game 6,” said Eric Staal, whose second-period goal held up as the game-winner.

The Canadiens rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs and swept the Winnipeg Jets in the second round. Montreal has an opportunity to close the series out at home on Thursday night.

“I think that’s what our mindset has been this whole playoff, is getting to do what we do, regardless of what happens,” Staal said. “I don’t think we change much. We do what we do every single shift, every moment we have, every opportunity we have to try and be difference makers for our team.”

The theme remained the same for Vegas, as they continued to struggle to get past Montreal’s suffocating defense. Max Pacioretty was the lone scorer for the Golden Knights in Tuesday’s loss. Vegas can’t seem to find the offense that got them this far. Montreal has done a tremendous job limiting space and controlling the neutral zone. The Golden Knights did have 56 shot attempts, though 12 missed the target and 17 were blocked.

Marc-Andre Fleury, the league’s active leader in playoff wins (90) and games played (162), only made 22 stops in front of the Vegas home crowd of 17,969. The loss was a shock because the Golden Knights had a regular-season home record of 21-5-2.

“You can point to a lot of things, we just weren’t sharp in our execution, in our decisions and it cost us,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “We’ve got to find a way. You’ve got to find a way this time of year against the good teams, and pressure, and tension, against a good goalie. Those are the teams that end up standing at the end of the day.”

Game 6 will take place in Montreal on Thursday night.

The NHL trade deadline ended on Monday afternoon. Various teams rushed to make last-minute deals in order to either strengthen or rebuild their respective rosters. Here are some of the biggest trades that went down just ahead of the National Hockey League’s trade deadline. We take a look at a few trades from Sunday and every major move from Monday.

1) The Colorado Avalanche acquired Carl Soderberg from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for prospects Josh Dickinson and Ryder Rolston.

2) Colorado gets defender Patrik Nemeth from the Detroit Red Wings fora 2022 fourth-round pick.

3) Colorado acquires goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the San Jose Sharks for Greg Pateryn and a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Soderberg marks his return to Colorado with this trade. Soderberg previously played for the Avalanche from 2015-2019. Colorado traded him to the Arizona in 2019. The Avalanche get a veteran to bolster their team, which is currently in first place in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks gain prospects Dickinson and Rolston.

The Avalanche continues to make moves to improve their roster and gear up for a deep playoff run. The team seems to be doing this by acquiring previous franchise players. Nemeth played with Colorado when Soderberg was part of the team.

Colorado also gets a veteran goalie to help their goaltending depth and needs.

4) Detroit trades F Anthony Mantha to the Washington Capitals for F Richard Panik, F Jakub Vrana, a 2021 first-round pick and a 2022 second-round pick.

Clearly, the Red Wings are stockpiling picks and young assets while trading away their stars as they begin the rebuilding process.

5) The Capitals also acquired forward Michael Raffl from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round draft pick.

Matha, the 26-year-old forward, has produced 21 points (11 goals and 10 assists) in 42 games this season. He should be a great addition to the Capitals’ high-volume offense featuring Alex Ovechkin. Matha is the high-profile addition here, but Raffl isn’t too shabby either. He has three goals and five assists in 34 games for the Flyers this year.

“We really liked Anthony for quite a while now,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. “I like a lot of the attributes: the size (6-foot-5, 234 pounds), the skill, the shot, the scoring ability. He’s a really good skater for his size. I think it’s a player that we’ve liked and talked about a lot in our room, and we had a chance to acquire him, so we went out and got him.”

5) The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired F Nick Foligno from the Columbus Blue Jackets and F Stefan Noesan from the Sharks in a three-team deal in exchange for a 2021 first-round pick, a 2021 fourth-round pick as well as a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

6) Toronto also added goalie David Rittich from the Calgary Flames for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

7) Toronto traded a 2022 fifth-round draft pick for defender Ben Hutton from the Anaheim Ducks.

8) Toronto sent forward Alexander Barabanov to the Sharks for forward Anti Suomela.

The Maple Leafs were in a full-blown buy mode. They are attempting to make a deep postseason run, and adding Foligno will certainly take some pressure off of Auston Matthews and John Tavares. Toronto has put all their chips on the table and are going all-in on this season. It is championship or bust for the Maple Leafs.

“I felt that the group of players and coaches deserved every effort on our end, on management, to bolster the team and try to give us as great a chance as possible down the stretch in our division and into the playoffs,” Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas said. “We were excited to be able to, we believe, add the pieces that will continue to enhance our ability to be as competitive as possible as we go into the playoffs and roll from there.”

9) The Boston Bruins acquired Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Anders Bjork and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

10) The Ottawa Senators dealt Mike Reilly to the Bruins and sent Braydon Coburn to the New York Islanders. The Senators received a third-round pick and seventh-round pick in 2022 for the two players.

After signing a one-year, $8 million dollar deal before the star of the season, Hall can become a free agent at the end of the season. The 29-year-old forward has tallied 19 points (two goals and 17 assists) in 37 games for the struggling Sabres this season.

As the No. 1 pick by the Oilers in the 2010 NHL Draft, Hall has scored 582 points (220 goals, 362 assists) in 664 regular-season games for the Sabres, Devils, Coyotes and Oilers. He won the Hart Trophy in 2017-18 when he was voted as the NHL most valuable player after scoring an NHL career-high 93 points (39 goals, 54 assists) in 76 games for the Devils.

Adding Reilly also helps bolster Boston’s defense. The 27-year-old has 19 assists in 40 games this season. The Bruins’ defense has been extremely banged up this season so Reilly will be a welcome addition to Boston.

Right now, the Bruins are in fourth place in the MassMutual East Division. Since the top four teams make the playoffs, this move should help Boston’s chances of making a Stanley Cup run.

Other Moves:

11) The Winnipeg Jets acquired defensemen Jordie Benn from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2021 sixth-round draft pick.

12) The Nashville Predators received defenseman Erik Gudbranson from Ottawa in exchange for defenseman Brandon Fortunato and 2023 seventh-round draft pick.

13) The Montreal Canadiens acquired defenseman Erik Gustafsson from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round draft pick.

14) The Florida Panthers added forward Sam Bennett and a 2022 sixth-round draft pick from Calgary in exchange for forward Emil Heineman and a 2022 second-round draft pick.

15) The Canucks acquired defenseman Madison Bowey and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft from Chicago in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

16) Anaheim landed defenseman Haydn Fleury from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Jani Hakanpaa and a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

17) The Vegas Golden Knights acquired forward Mattias Janmark, defenseman Nick DeSimone and a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft from Chicago and San Jose in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. San Jose additionally receives a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft.

18) The Tampa Bay Lightning acquire defenseman Fredrik Claesson from the Sharks for goaltender Magnus Chrona.

19) The Edmonton Oilers landed defenseman Dmitry Kulikov from the Devils for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

20) The Blackhawks acquired forward Adam Gaudette from Vancouver in exchange for forward Matthew Highmore.

21) The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Jeff Carter from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for conditional draft picks in 2022 and 2023.

An unlikely hero emerged for the Carolina Hurricanes in their 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. When both of their goaltenders left with injuries, 42-year old Dave Ayres came in as the emergency goaltender.

Ayres is a Zamboni driver and arena maintenance worker for Toronto’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. He has been the regular practice goaltender for the Marlies and has also made appearances at the Maple Leafs practices and skills sessions. He was available to either team if needed.

The first two shots Ayres faced went in, but after gathering himself, he stopped the final eight shots in succession.

“Obviously, that second period was a little shaky, but I told the boys in the dressing room, ‘Once we come out for the third, I’ll be settled down and ready to win this one,'” Ayres said.

Ayres was paid $500 for the game, as per NHL rules. He was allowed to keep his game-worn jersey and was greeted by his team-for-the-night in the locker room postgame.

https://twitter.com/Canes/status/1231423595735396354?s=20

Ayres is now heading to Raleigh on Tuesday night to sound the warning siren before the Hurricanes take on the Dallas Stars.

Raleigh mayor Mary–Ann Baldwin also announced that Tuesday would be declared “David Ayres Day.”

The Hurricanes will start selling shirts with Ayres’ name and the number 90 on it. He will receive royalties and a portion of the proceeds will also go to a kidney foundation in his honor.

Ayres’ hockey career was derailed in 2004 when he underwent a kidney transplant. His mother, Mary, was his donor.

The Hurricanes lost goaltenders James Reimer and Petr Mrazek in Toronto due to injuries and have called on Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic from the AHL to play in their place.

Former Maple Leafs defenseman Brian Glennie has died at age 73. Glennie, who played 554 of his 572 games with Toronto, wore the blue and white jersey from 1969-78.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Glennie, who was never the biggest goal scorer on the ice, was known for his hip checks, providing a physical presence that gave offensive-minded players the chance to put up big points.

Glennie was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1978 and played 18 games before retiring with Los Angeles due to a back injury.

He won a bronze medal with Canada at the Grenoble Olympics in 1968 and was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. He was named one of the 100 greatest players in Maple Leafs history in 2016.

Glennie was easy to spot, with his mop of curly hair stuck underneath a helmet that looked like a bowling ball.

There was no immediate word on the cause of death, although his health had been declining. Funeral arrangements are pending.

After being down, the Boston Bruins were able to come up with a big 6-4 victory on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Wednesday night’s Game 4.

With the series all tied up (2-2), the Bruins are headed back home another dazzling performance.

Bruins Top Leafs To Tie Series

The Maple Leafs were able to slow the Bruins down in the first three games by playing great team defense. The Maple Leafs had done a great job at keeping the Bruins outside of the offensive zone for most of the series. They have been playing physical, getting into other players on defense and clogging the slot, not giving their opponents any easy chances to score during the game.

Charlie Mcavoy got things going for the Bruins, scoring what would be their first goal of the night. During the regular season, the Bruins relied on a concentrated attack from three of their main stars: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak.

During the regular season, these three combined to be virtually unstoppable. As the group has struggled to manufacture shot attempts, never mind scoring chances, rumors began to swirl the group could be broken up if goals are not produced in Game 4. The Maple Leafs had done a great job of contesting them so far throughout the series.

Marchand kept the momentum going by scoring a goal of his own, coming off of being set up.

Toronto wasn’t done yet though, as they quickly tied the score back at two only a minute and a few seconds into the second period.

Proving that the Bruins core shouldn’t be broken up just yet, Pastrnak was able to convert on two back-to-back quick goals, giving them a 4-2 lead in this elevator-match of a game.

Toronto was down but the Maple Leafs hadn’t quite given up yet. The game seemed to finally be out of reach when Zdeno Chara scored a goal, putting them up 5-3. Many teams would have been put away at this point but the ever-resilient Maple Leafs still had some fight left in them.

Later on in the third, the Leafs were able to convert on a power-play making it 5-3. They would soon score again to catch up to the Bruins.

Joakim Nordy was able to expand on the led and put the game to rest with his two goals late in the period. Nordy was able to convert the first goal on an empty net, and punched in the last one right before time expired.

For nine years, John Tavares reaped the benefits of a cutthroat home crowd that sickened opposing players. That all changed 18 seconds into Thursday night’s game at the Nassau Coliseum. For the first time since leaving for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tavares was back on the ice in Long Island.

The fans gave him the usual guest treatment. “JT Sucks!” and “We don’t need you!” chants rained down on him. Whenever the puck approached him, he was booed. And the result couldn’t have been worse. His team lost 6-1.

“They always made it tough on the opponent when I played here,” Tavares said after the poor performance against the Islanders. “They have their feelings, and that’s out of my control.”

During warmups, fans chanted and tried to get in his head. They pushed signs up to the glass, trying to intimidate him. One fan even threw a Tavares jersey at him as he left the ice. Outside the stadium, fans had replaced his nameplate with “Traitor” and “Judas.” His number 91 was turned into images of snakes. Some even burnt jerseys in oil drums.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Still, he insisted he was ready for it. “I don’t expect it to be a very welcoming return,” he said. “I’m just going to go out there and play the best I can and not worry about what I can’t control.”

Tavares was originally drafted by the Islanders first overall in 2009. Though he only played in 24 games in his tenure with the team, he was an offensive threat. In 669 games, he was good for 272 goals and 349 assists.

But he handled free agency poorly. For months he insisted that he’d stick with the team. When unrestricted free agency hit, things changed. He took pitches at his agents’ office and his boyhood team, the Leafs, dropped a seven-year, $77 million dollar contract that blew the Ontario native away.

The Boston Bruins have reached the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a thrilling, 7-4 home victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7.

Bruins vs. Maple Leafs Game 7 score, highlights

The Bruins, which finished second in the Atlantic Division, had been leading the first-round series 3-1, and then third-seed Toronto caught up, but Boston advanced in the end. The Leafs were hoping to win the series after their 3-1 Game 6 win on Monday, the same day their city was the site of a van attack that left 10 dead and many more injured.

Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, David Pastrnak and Danton Heinen all scored for the Bruins in the contest, and Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal. Jake DeBrusk, the team’s rookie winger, broke a 4-4 tie 5:25 into the third period. As DeBrusk beat Frederik Andersen, Toronto’s goalie collided hard into the boards behind him. Toronto pulled Andersen with 2:33 remaining.

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“I’ll never forget this series just in general,” DeBrusk stated. “First playoffs and I was really happy to contribute and obviously tonight with the home crowd here, too, and how the game was going. It was back and forth and emotions were pretty crazy…it was nice to get on the board and it was nice to help the team win.”

DeBrusk, 21, logged five goals and seven points in the seven contests of the first-round series. He is tied with Pastrnak for his team’s lead in scoring. Bergeron’s goal with 37 seconds left in the first period, his first of the playoffs, put Boston up 4-2.

The Leafs were seeking their first Stanley Cup since 1967.

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The Bruins’ postseason series victory is their first since 2014. They will next face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. Game 1 of that series will begin Saturday at 3pm EST in Tampa, where Game 2 will also take place. The Lightning, who finished first in the Atlantic Division, beat the New Jersey Devils in five games (4-1) after winning 3-1 on Saturday.

See highlights from Wednesday’s game here:

The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 at home in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series on Monday night to force a Game 7, but before doing so they took a moment to honor the victims of a tragedy in the city.

Maple Leafs’ Moment Of Silence For Toronto Attack

The Leafs held a moment of silence out of respect for the 10 people who were killed and 15 others who were injured after a van plowed into a crowd on a busy street in Toronto on Monday. The suspect, a 25-year-old man named Alek Minassian from a suburb of Toronto, was arrested and charged with murder.

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Maple Leafs defenseman Ron Hainsey addressed the crowd at Air Canada Centre in a recorded message.

“On behalf of myself and my teammates, we’d like to send our deepest thoughts and sorrow to all the victims and the families, and the brave men and women first on the scene who do so much to keep everybody safe, thank you so much,” he said, per ESPN. “Hold your loved ones tight. Give them an extra kiss ’cause I know I will, ’cause you just never know anymore.”

After the few seconds of silence, Canada’s National Anthem was sung, and the crowd joined in for the emotional moment:

Several other Toronto sports teams, including the Blue Jays of MLB and the Raptors of the NBA, also voiced their condolences and support to the victims of the attack.

Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said Boston also supported Toronto during this difficult time. Bergeron said he remembers what the feeling was like in his team’s city after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. Two weeks after that attack, the Bruins and Maple Leafs faced off in the first round of the playoffs.

“I can guarantee you, the city of Boston is behind the city of Toronto right now,” said Bergeron, per ESPN. “Unfortunately, Boston’s been through it in 2013 and same thing with my teammates. So my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this.”

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Leafs coach Mike Babcock also took time to praise Toronto’s first responders and said the city shouldn’t let the attack stop its citizens from living their lives.

“We’re fortunate to live in such a fantastic city with great first responders, and the work they’ve done,” Babcock said after Monday’s game. “But it’s so important that we rally around these people, help out and do whatever we can. We have a fantastic city. We can’t let this get in the way of what we’ve got going. Tragic to say the least.”

Game 7 will be played in Boston at 7:30pm EST on Wednesday.

Ottawa winger Clarke MacArthur scored in overtime on Sunday at TD Garden to lift the Senators to a 3-2 Game 6 victory over Boston, thus ending the Bruins’ season early.

NHL Playoffs: Senators Eliminate Bruins With 3-2 OT Game 6 Win, Face Rangers In Round 2

The Senators thus won the Eastern Conference first-round best-of-seven series 4-2, and next host the New York Rangers for Game 1 of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday at 7 pm EST.

MacArthur’s game-winning goal came on the power play, 36 seconds after David Pastrnak took him down to the ice to set up a fifth Ottawa man-advantage. After Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask initially made a save on a centering pass, MacArthur took the rebound and shot it past Rask 6:30 into overtime to make it 3-2 and propel the Senators to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

FOX Sports’ Pete Blackburn shared the moment:

Ottawa scored five times on the power play in the first-round series.

Bobby Ryan and Kyle Turris also scored, and Craig Anderson made 28 saves for the Senators, who have reached the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Drew Stafford and Patrice Bergeron scored, and Rask made 26 saves for the Bruins, who were missing four key players due to injuries: center David Krejci, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 5, and regular defensemen Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo, and Adam McQuaid.

Four games in the Ottawa-Boston series went to overtime, and all six were decided by one goal. On Sunday, the Bruins found themselves on the opposite end of where they were on Friday, when they won Game 5 3-2 in overtime.

The Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night to win their own first-round series 4-2.

New York came from behind 1-0 and won thanks to two second-period goals from Mats Zuccarello — a small winger whom Rangers coach Alain Vigneault endearingly described as “a competitive little bugger” — and an empty-net goal from Derek Stepan with 18 seconds remaining in the game. One of Zuccarello’s goals came on a power play at 2:26 of the second, the first time in the series the Rangers scored on the man-advantage. With Jordie Benn in the penalty box for holding, Zuccarello fired a shot from the right circle that sneaked past Price.

Alexei Emelin scored the lone goal for Montreal, who lost the last three games of the series, at 6:19 of the first period. Carey Price made 20 saves for the Canadiens, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots for the Rangers. Lundqvist allowed 11 goals in total in the six-game set.

The Washington Capitals also eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime with a 2-1 Game 6 victory at Air Canada Centre on Sunday.

After two scoreless periods, Auston Matthews netted a goal for the Leafs for a 1-0 lead at 7:45 of the third, but the Capitals rallied to win thanks to two goals from Marcus Johansson, one at 12:51 of the third and one 6:31 into overtime.

Braden Holtby made 37 saves for Washington, which won the first-round, best-of-seven Eastern Conference series 4-2 and next hosts the reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round. Game 1 of that semifinal series is Thursday night.

The Capitals won the game without defenseman Karl Alzner, who missed his fourth straight contest with an upper-body injury.

Frederik Andersen stopped 34 shots for Toronto.

Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators will visit the St. Louis Blues for Game 1 of Round 2 on Wednesday night at 8 pm EST. Later that night, at 10:30 pm EST, the Edmonton Oilers will visit the Anaheim Ducks for their own second-round Game 1 matchup.

The Predators swept the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 in the first-round series, the Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 in Round 1 thanks to a 3-1 Game 6 road win on Saturday, and the Blues eliminated the Minnesota Wild in five games (4-1) with a 4-3 overtime road victory, also on Saturday.

BOSTON, MA – APRIL 23: Clarke MacArthur #16 of the Ottawa Senators and Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins battle for control of the puck during the second period of Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 23, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie both scored early in the first period to lift the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 Game 4 road victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

Capitals Beat Maple Leafs 5-4 In Game 4 To Tie Series

With the win, the Capitals have tied the first-round Eastern Conference series 2-2 after losing the past two games to the Maple Leafs.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Friday in Washington.

Wilson and Oshie had two goals each, Alexander Ovechkin also scored, and Braden Holtby made 29 saves for the Capitals, who were up 2-0 just 4:34 into the game.

“We had everyone going. We were putting pucks to the right areas” Oshie said. “We were shooting a little bit more, getting guys to the net, and I think that gave us some more chances. You’ve got to tip your hat because they kept coming at the end there, but we were able to hold them off.”

Oshie opened scoring for Washington at 2:58 of the first period for his first goal of the playoffs, and Ovechkin made it 2-0 1:36 later on a power-play goal that went in off the post. The Maple Leafs scored 42 seconds later when Jake Gardiner’s shot bounced off Zach Hyman’s skate at the top of the crease and slipped past Holtby’s left pad.

Toronto enjoyed a 5-on-3 advantage for the first 1:53 of the third period, when it trailed 4-2, but was unable to score on the power-play despite taking five shots. Washington’s Lars Eller was called for delay of game, and then two seconds later Brooks Orpik was whistled for slashing.

Wilson then scored two goals in quick succession late in the first (at 13:41 and 16:04) to put the Capitals up 4-1. Moments after diving to swat away a puck that got past Holtby and dangerously close to the goal line, Wilson raced to the other end of the ice for a breakaway and fired a shot past goalie Frederik Andersen that deflected off a Toronto defenseman near the crease to give Washington a 3-1 lead.

Thus far, Wilson has three goals in the series after scoring seven in 82 regular-season games.

James van Riemsdyk scored on a power play at 5:39 of the second period to cut Washington’s lead to 4-2 with a shot that deflected into the net off Dmitry Orlov. 

Oshie scored at 8:11 of the third period, but his goal was waved off after officials called Nicklas Backstrom for interfering with Andersen.

Auston Matthews scored for Toronto to make it 4-3 with 8:00 left in the game to make the jovial crowd at Air Canada Centre sing “Sweet Caroline” in unison during a brief stoppage in play. However, Oshie netted the game-winning goal 59 seconds later on an odd-man rush.

Tyler Bozak, who scored the game-winner for Toronto in overtime in Game 3 on Monday, scored the Maple Leafs’ fourth goal to make it 5-4 with 27 seconds left while his team had an extra attacker. By then, however, it was too late.

Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner missed his second game with an upper-body injury.

Game 5 begins Friday at 7 pm EST at Verizon Center.

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 19: T.J. Oshie #77 of the Washington Capitals blocks a puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Capitals defeated the Maple Leafs 5-4 to even series 2-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Tyler Bozak netted a power-play goal 1:37 into overtime to propel the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 home victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of the First-Round Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night.

Tyler Bozak Scores In OT, Leafs Beat Capitals In Game 3

The Maple Leafs now lead the Stanley Cup Playoff series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Wednesday at 7 pm EST at Air Canada Centre.

Auston Matthews and William Nylander each scored his first-ever NHL Playoff goal for Toronto, Nazem Kadri also contributed a goal, and Frederik Andersen finished with 23 saves for the Maple Leafs.

“It’s a lot of emotions,” Bozak said. “You just want to be with your teammates and celebrate. Obviously, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs in this series. Every game is overtime. So those are the most fun games to play definitely, so it’s nice that we got rewarded tonight.”

Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for the Capitals. Backstrom added an assist, and Braden Holtby made 24 saves for Washington.

The Capitals held a two-man advantage for two full minutes at 6:52 of the second period after Matt Hunwick was called for hooking and Matt Martin was given a double minor for roughing, but Toronto killed that penalty off.

“We should have scored there, absolutely I think so,” Backstrom said. “You have to take advantage of that.”

Andersen felt it was a turning point.

“That was phenomenal,” Andersen said. “I think it led to us being able to come back.”

Shortly after this, Toronto’s Mitchell Marner exited the penalty box and chased after a look puck. Holtby came far out of his net to poke-check the puck away above the right face-off circle before racing back to the goal.

The Leafs killed off another penalty for too many men on the ice at 9:48 of the second.

Washington scored on each of its first two shots to gain a 2-0 lead just 4:49 into the game. Backstrom took a centering assist from Nate Schmidt, who brought the puck deep into the Maple Leafs zone and one-timed a shot past Andersen at 2:43. Ovechkin made it 2-0 just 2:06 later on a one-timer from the top of the left circle.

Mathews made it 2-1 at 14:08 when he fired his own rebound past Holtby.

Bozak’s goal came on a redirection of Kadri’s pass in the slot after carrying the puck down the left win boards.

Andersen made a brilliant toe save on a wraparound shot from Kuznetsov at 18:41 of the second period, although Nylander scored 39 seconds later to tie it 3-3.

The other three first-round Game 3s on Monday night ended in overtime. The Chicago Blackhawks lost to the Nashville Predators 3-2 to trail their series 3-0, the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 to 2-1, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Calgary Flames 5-4 to lead their series 3-0.

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 17: Tyler Bozak #42 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his game winning goal in the 1st overtime against the Washington Capitals in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre on April 17, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Capitals 4-3 in overtime and take a 2-1 series lead.(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Six different NHL teams played in their first playoff game on Thursday night, and the three who emerged the winners were the Nashville Predators, the Washington Capitals and the Anaheim Ducks.

NHL Playoffs Round 1: Capitals Top Maple Leafs In OT, Predators beat Blackhawks

Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne stopped 29 shots, and winger Viktor Arvidsson scored a goal at 7:52 of the first period to lift the Predators to a 1-0 road victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Predators now lead the Western Conference first-round series 1-0.

“We did a really good job messing up their systems and didn’t give them too much flow,” said Rinne, who recorded his second NHL postseason shutout. “They like to play with a lot of speed and puck possession, and we did the right things on the ice. I think that’s a credit for us to interrupt their style of play.”

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be held Saturday night at 8 pm EST in Chicago.

The previous two times the Blackhawks and Predators faced off in the postseason, (2010, 2015) the former eliminated the latter in the first round.

Chicago outshot Nashville 29-20, including 23-9 in the last two periods.

Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane combined for just 10 shots on goal for the Blackhawks, while Jonathan Toews didn’t record a single shot on goal in 20:38 of ice time.

Corey Crawford made 19 saves for the Blackhawks, who were shut out in a home playoff game for the first time since 2012. Meanwhile, it was the Predators’ first road shutout in their nine-year postseason history.

“We’ve just got to keep getting better in this series,” Crawford said. “That was a pretty good game by us, but we have better in us.”

Arvidsson’s goal came off a defensive error from Chicago. Predators centre Ryan Johansen took the puck from Arvidsson and drew three defensemen to him before passing to Filip Forsberg, who passed to Arvidsson.

“I figured Ryan would put it over there [to Forsberg],” Arvidsson said. “I just tried to get lost behind them, and [Forsberg] made a great shot-pass. I just tapped it in.”

Rinne made a sprawling left-skate save against Artem Anisimov with 8:15 left in the second period to stop the Blackhawks from tying the game. Anisimov returned after missing the last 13 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, while Predaotrs forward Calle Jarnkrok came back from his own lower-body injury after missing the regular-season finale. Nashville forward Colin Wilson (lower body) missed his third consecutive game.

In Washington, meanwhile, Tom Wilson scored 5:15 into overtime to lift the Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

The Capitals now lead the Eastern Conference first-round series 1-0.

“Lots of emotion,” Wilson said. “Obviously, pretty crazy. Once the puck goes in, it’s a whirlwind. Got to watch it briefly on an interview. You know what? It’s a good feeling. Hopefully we keep building those good feelings and keep it rolling here.”

The winger knocked the puck down with his hand to keep it in the zone on a clearing attempt by the Leafs, and then shot past goalie Frederik Andersen for his first goal in 29 playoff games. Wilson is also the first Capitals player to net his first postseason goal in overtime.

Toronto gained a 2-0 lead 9:44 into the game thanks to goals from Mithcell Marner (at 1:35 of the first period of his first-ever playoff game) and Jake Gardiner. However, Washington tied it with two goals from Justin Williams.

“Everything’s about momentum,” Williams said. “They certainly had it to start, and we kind of calmed down, settled the nerves and we did what we wanted to do: Come back from (down) two goals, and now you keep the pressure on.”

Williams’ first goal came on a power play at 12:24 of the first period, and then his second tied it 2-2 with 4:00 remaining in the middle period. On his second goal, Williams got a puck loose in the crease and scored through Andersen’s legs.

Gardiner’s goal was initially waved off for goaltender interference, although the call was reversed following a coach’s challenge from the Maple Leafs.

“A confidence-builder, for sure,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “I liked our game. I didn’t like that we wouldn’t shoot the puck. We had so many opportunities to shoot and we wouldn’t, we wanted to pass. I thought Wilson did a good job of doing that, you just throw it on net. That’s playoff hockey. Things bounce to somebody and it goes in.”

Andersen stopped 41 shots, while Capitals goalie Braden Hotlby made 35 saves.

Wilson’s goal came after he intercepted Martin Marincin’s clear from near the end boards five minutes into overtime. Wilson then shot past defenseman Morgan Rielly and over Andersen’s shoulder from the right face-off circle to seal the victory.

Andersen made two great saves in succession in overtime: he fell to the ice to block Brooks Orpik’s shot, and then denied Andre Burakovsky with his toe.

Capitals defenseman John Carlson played 19:27 after missing the last four games of the regular season.

The Capitals and Leafs face off again for the second game of the series at 7 pm EST on Saturday at Verizon Center.

Finally, the Ducks beat Calgary 3-2 in Anaheim on Thursday for their 28th straight win over the Flames at Honda Center, including an NHL-record 25 straight regular-season games against Calgary.

Anhaeim now lead the Western Conference first-round series 1-0. The Ducks and Flames will meet for Game 2 of the best-of-seven series in Anaheim at 10:30 pm EST on Saturday.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Wednesday, and here is a preview of the five series starting that day.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs start wednesday

In the Eastern Division, the NHL-leading Washington Capitals will play the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will host the rival Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Dvision.

In the Atlantic group, the division champion Montreal Canadiens face the wild-card New York Rangers, and the Ottawa Senators hold home-ice advantage over the Boston Bruins.

In the West, the Central Division champion Chicago Blackhawks first play the wild-card Nashville Predators. The Minnesota Wild, meanwhile, will enjoy home-ice advantage against former coach Mike Yeo and the St. Louis Blues.

Finally, on the Pacific side, the division champion Anaheim Ducks play the wild-card Calgary Flames, while the Edmonton Oilers will host the defending Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks.

The postseason begins in Ottawa and Montreal on Wednesday, with the Habs back in the playoffs against the Rangers, whom they lost to in the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals, and the Senators, who host the Bruins.

All other teams except for Washington, Toronto, Chicago, Nashville, Anaheim and Calgary play on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Capitals and Maple Leafs play in Washington, the Blackhawks host the Predators, and the Ducks host the Flames.

Nine of the 16 playoff-qualifying teams have a different coach than the one they started last season with: the Canadiens (Claude Julien), Senators (Guy Boucher), Penguins (Mike Sullivan), Blue Jackets (John Tortorella), Bruins (Bruce Cassidy), Wild (Bruce Boudreau), Blues (Mike Yeo), Ducks (Randy Carlyle) and Flames (Glen Gulutzan).

Toronto and Washington have never faced off in an NHL playoff series.

Bruins rookie defenseman Brandon Carlo’s status remains uncertain after he was injured on a hit from Alex Ovechkin on Saturday.

The Rangers defeated the Penguins 3-2 at home in their regular season finale on Sunday night.