Suffice it is to say, Leafs Nation is still buzzing after Toronto’s resounding 7-0 beatdown victory over Kyle Dubas’ Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
It was a chipper start to the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take. First and foremost, I had Jay Rosehill break down Matthew Knies’ first NHL scrap. The 21-year-old registered his first Gordie How hat-trick. Chalk that up to things you love to see.
Present by Door Dash, The Appetizer zoned in on the Leafs’ most complete effort of the season thus far. No Auston Matthews and T.J. Brodie, no problem. Of note, Sheldon Keefe stumbled upon the Knies-Domi-Marner trio, which down the road, I would love to see him toss out there again. Meantime, by the game, Martin Jones is becoming a bigger and bigger story. Lost in the shuffle of the blowout victory was the fact that the veteran netminder was very solid. He’s stepped up big-time since Joseph Woll went down.
Additionally, thanks to Charm Diamond Centres, we dissected Timothy Liljegren’s return to the lineup. The 24-year-old logged a shade over 20 minutes in his first game action since suffering a high ankle sprain against Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins on November 2. Furthermore, in the long run, it’s very possible that the Leafs could use Liljegren as a trade chip to upgrade their blue line.
Meantime, we also discussed the holiday season and how draining it could be for players. For what it’s worth, the Leafs have three games this week ahead of the three-day CBA mandated holiday break (Dec. 24-26).
At any rate, join us on Tuesday at 11 AM ET as we preview Toronto’s second encounter with the New York Rangers in the past week. Of course, last Tuesday, they went into Madison Square Garden and pulled off a really impressive 7-3 victory.
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