2. John Tavares Named Maple Leafs 25th Captain in Franchise History (Oct 2, 2019)
At my number two spot I have the night when the Toronto Maple Leafs revealed who the new captain of the team was going to be, and as we all know it was John Tavares.
There was a lot of speculation who would become the Maple Leafs new captain, some thought it should’ve been Auston Matthews others thought Morgan Rielly and others said the veteran John Tavares should become captain and that’s what happened.
This night was special, the Toronto Maple Leafs name a new captain, its a home opener for a brand new season, they pick up a big 5-3 win, as well as Ilya Mikheyev and Rasmus Sandin picking up their first NHL point and Tyson Barrie picking up two assists in his Maple Leafs debut. (Stats from NHL.com).
1. Toronto’s 8-6 Thrilling Win Against Carolina (Dec 23, 2019)
At my number one spot… ahh you guessed it. The afternoon game that had me full of mixed emotions until the final buzzer went. Now this game here on December 23rd might have to be in the conversation as the game of the year in all of the NHL this past season.
This thrilling game started 3-0 for the Toronto Maple Leafs just over five minutes into the game and John Tavares picking up three points on all three goals (1 G – 2 A), towards the end of the first Carolina cuts the lead to one as they score twice to make it 3-2.
By the second period it went downhill for the Maple Leafs and this is where I started to get frustrated myself. As Carolina scores three times in the second period they score five unanswered goals and wipe away a 3-0 deficit and now lead 5-3 heading into the third period.
The third period was the best part of the game if somehow you didn’t watch this game. Down by two early in the third period Auston Matthews scores to cut the lead to one.
Until Haula scored right after to make it 6-4 and by this point I went back to feeling sad. Until the unthinkable happened at the Scotiabank Arena… with around nine minutes left in the game down by two the Toronto Maple Leafs used their offensive powers and scored three goals in 59 seconds to take a 7-6 lead.
The three goals were led by obviously Mitch Marner as he picked up three points in 59 seconds (2 G – 1 A) and by the end of the night he had five points (2 G – 3 A) Pierre Engvall capped it off with an empty net goal to seal the 8-6 victory on home ice and the Toronto Maple Leafs walked into the Christmas break with their winning streak still in place.
What do you guys think of these ten memorable moments? If I missed a memorable moment from this years 2019-20 season, let me know.