Dear Toronto,
It’s time for a new goal song.
I’ve had it.
Seriously.
Anyway, Auston Matthews notched a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup after missing five games with a knee injury as Toronto smothered Chicago 5-2.
In general, five was a consistent number for the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night. That’s because they scored five goals from five different goal scorers.
Surprise, surprise, William Nylander led the way once again notched yet another three-point outing (one goal, two assists). With his first period tally, the 26-year-old hit the 30-goal plateau for the second straight season and the third time in his career. Meantime, John Tavares and Rasmus Sandin each chipped in with a goal and an assist apiece. Additionally, Ilya Samsonov made 27 stops to improve to 19-6-2 overall and 16-2-1 at Scotiabank Arena.
You won’t have to wait long to see Patrick Kane and the Hawks again. The Leafs will visit the United Center on Sunday night.
Announce the trade already.
MUZZY’S MUZINGS:
FIRST 20
That first frame was dedicated to anyone who was adventurous enough to take the under. Yeah, about that. Just nine seconds in, William Nylander kicked off the scoring. After that, the offence just kept on coming. Honestly, it reminded me a lot of that game in Chicago a few years back where every shot seemed to be going in. Poor Petr Mrazek. Additionally, good on Toronto to take control of that game quickly, especially knowing their track record throughout this season against inferior opponents. We all expected a response of sorts after that stinky showing against Columbus, and to their credit, we got it. Fun hockey to watch —not so much for the coaches.
MUCH BETTER SECOND
Despite surrendering another early goal, I thought Toronto did a good job of improving upon Saturday’s showing in the second frame. It could’ve easily went the same way, but they dug deep. Yes, they allowed Chicago to get on the board, but after that, I thought they were locked in and took over the game. Very rarely do the Leafs wipe the floor with a lesser opponent, so when they do, I almost begrudgingly feel the need to commend them. Much better.
AUSTON MATTHEWS
It’s funny, sometimes you don’t realize how good Auston Matthews is until you don’t see him for a couple of games. And then bam, you see him out there and you get all the feels back. All in all, I thought he was fantastic on Wednesday night. Not bad for someone who’s been out five games and three weeks, right? Most importantly, the knee looked fine. On top of that, it was good to give Patrick Kane an up-close look at what life could be like in Toronto riding shotgun with No. 34 and company. I’m probably in the minority, but I’d love to see the Leafs get into those sweepstakes —assuming Kane would be open to the idea, of course. Any way you slice it, that dude’s clutch; just look at his track record and resume. He’s a winner.
NEW GOAL SONG, PLEASE
I feel like it takes games like this one when Toronto’s scoring at will to remind me how much I dislike the current goal song. Look, in the grand scheme of things, I’ve got nothing against Hall & Oates. That said, I just don’t think the song relates very well to Toronto’s young core. I’d love to see them polled about it. It’s 2023; let’s get with the times. What they should do is go the personalized goal song route for every player, much similar to how the Buffalo Sabres have been doing things this season. We want more personality in the sport, right? That’s one way to foster it. In conclusion, that song does not make my dreams come true.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT:
AUSTON MATTHEWS!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/m2JfiYzMtc
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 16, 2023
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Leafs will be off until Saturday when they host the Montreal Canadiens for the first time this season. In case you’ve forgotten, Toronto is 0-1-1 against their rivals so far this season. Yeah, it’s been ugly.
Don’t forget to check out ‘Leafs Morning Take’ with yours truly, Nick Alberga, and former Leaf Jay Rosehill every weekday morning LIVE at 11 a.m. ET on The Nation Network YouTube page.
