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Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1st Month of the NHL In Review

By Andrew Kogut

TORONTO, ON - MARCH 27: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up prior to playing against the Edmonton Oilers in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on March 27, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MARCH 27: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up prior to playing against the Edmonton Oilers in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on March 27, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 22: Zach Hyman #18 of the Edmonton Oilers  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 22: Zach Hyman #18 of the Edmonton Oilers  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

7. Buffalo: 5-2-1 (11 points)

Enjoy it while it lasts, Buffalo fan (there might be a second fan somewhere but I didn’t want to assume);  40-year-old Anderson and career scrub Dustin Tokarski aren’t going to both have a sub-2.00 GAA and high-.930’s SV% for too long. Remember, Eichel-ed it!

Random Note: 29-year-old Jeff Skinner, he of 22-goals in his last 120 games with Buffalo, has five years @ $9M per with NMC left after this year. Skinner-marinka, dinky, DON’T!

6. Edmonton: 6-1 (12 points)

The Oilers are top-ten in every main team stat because of: 1. McDavid, 2. Draisaitl and 3. It’s the regular season. Hyman shooting at nearly 40% is as likely as Koskinen’s .934 SV%; unlike a Marvel movie this team is only a two-man show with no post-credits action.

Random Note: 38-year-old Duncan Keith has 1 assist in 7 games, a CF% of 40.5 and another year @ $5.5M after this one. Worst deal since the remake of “Let’s make a”

5. St. Louis: 6-1 (12 points)

2nd in GA, PP and PK and 5th in GF, the Blues are hotter than Jordan Binnington’s temper (way to razz him, Nazem). Hard not to fawn over Perron who, in STL, is always “on.”  But four of their six wins have been against LA, CHI and ARI, so that record may be a bit of a fa-Saad.

Random Note: Appreciation for forward quality. C: Schenn, O’Reilly, Bozak, Thomas (2017 1st-rounder), Sundqvist. LW: Kyrou, Saad, Neal, Barbashev, Kostin (2017 1st-rounder), Neighbours (2020 1st-rounder). RW: Perron, Tarasenko, Buchnevich, Clifford.  

4. Calgary: 6-1-1 (13 points)

The Flames returned home with a win after 5 consecutive wins away from the Saddledome: what a jolly good-reau-d trip (it works). Calgary is top-5 in GF, GA and PP but Markstrom’s numbers (1.33 GAA, .957 SV%) are flying under the Vladar.

Random Note: Who has the most annoying face? Flames’ Matthew Tkachuck; Sens’ Brady Tkachuck or Bruins’ Brad Marchand? Answer: By a broken chair-leg, the winner is former Jet/Blue/Coyote Keith Tkachuck

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