The Toronto Maple Leafs had Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies return to the lineup and they rode the good vibes to a 4-0 blowout....until they almost lost control and crashed into the side of a metaphorical mountain.
Overall though, the Toronto Maple Leafs didn't really come too close to blowing it and "garbage time" hockey is unpredictable and weird, so no I would say the first two periods should be weighted far more heavily in reviewing this game.
The first two periods were great. Joseph Woll made a case for being the Leafs starter (and seriously, if these two guys are going to go back and forth all year, we all win) and Mitch Marner continued his MVP run with another two points (which is becoming routine for him, as he has only 2 games in his last ten without a multi-point effort and has scored at a 140 point pace during this time.
Overall, this was a great game in which the Leafs utterly destroyed one of the NHL's best teams for two periods and came away with a much deserved victory.
Matthews returns, Woll + Marner stay hot, Toronto Maple Leafs beat Tampa
There was a lot to like about this game for the Leafs, despite the fact they didn't really dominate anywhere but the scoreboard.
First, Nick Robertson scored. That was awesome. He's such a great kid and trys so hard, it was great to see him score after being so unlucky. Kudos to the coach and GM for sticking with him.
Second, Tanev - whoah baby is this guy awesome. You have to love the goal and assist to go with the routine great defensive play.
Third, Marner - they should have signed him already and hopefully they do so any day now cause this is getting ridiculous.
Fourth, fifth etc: Joseph Woll, scoring 4 x 5v5 goals, not putting Marner back with Matthews, and the fact that Jake McCabe wasn't hurt badly when he was hit in the neck with a shot - Berube has already said that he's fine and won't miss time.
There weren't really any bad things about last night's game other than Oliver Ekman-Larson who made several terrible giveaways and took an unforgivably brutal and lazy penalty at the end of the game that led to a power-play goal that made it 4-3.
Next up: Chicago tomorrow and a chance to watch Connor Bedard.