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Welcome back to our “Leafs Nation votes” games of the year series. Yesterday we kicked things off with our first edition of the series, taking things back to November 19th, 2023, when the Leafs played a global series in Sweden and William Nylander iced the game in his home country with a highlight reel goal. Today, the series continues with the return of former general manager Kyle Dubas to Scotiabank Arena with his new team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Let’s get one thing off the bat – the Leafs previously had an opportunity to make a statement against Dubas and the Penguins when they visited them nearly a week after the Nylander OT winner game against Minnesota. They, of course, lost that game 3-2, because they can never do things right the first time.
But the second time, they did it right. And oh boy did they ever do it right.
Matthew Knies took less than two minutes to open the scoring with his seventh goal of the season, and one of the cleaner ones he’s scored before. Then, soon after, he dropped the gloves. It came en route to a Gordie Howe hat trick.
Matthew Knies’ Gordie Howe Hat-Trick pic.twitter.com/7k2v4rT9Pu
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 17, 2023
This game specifically showcased what Knies could bring to the Leafs. His deceptive speed off the rush, his sneaky playmaking ability, and his willingness to stand up for his teammates were all on display that night. After Penguins defenceman John Ludvig cross-checked Max Domi from behind, Knies chased him down and essentially forced him into a fight. His assist on Domi’s goal eventually completed his first Gordie Howe hat trick.
After Mitch Marner scored midway through the period to make it 2-0, Bobby McMann further lifted the spirits of the crowd with his first NHL goal. It was a special goal for the 27-year-old, who played in 13 games the previous year and had what would have been his first NHL goal before it was eventually disallowed. You can see the emotion in his face when he cleans up the garbage in front and puts it past Tristan Jarry.
There’s not much else to single out from there. Domi kept the crowd lively with his second goal of the season (scoring had been a struggle for him, if you don’t recall) and once the game was 4-0, there was never much of a world where the Pens would come back. It was a rare display of resiliency that didn’t see the Leafs take their foot off the gas at any point, while simultaneously giving some of their depth players an opportunity to step up. John Tavares made it 5-0 on the power play, Noah Gregor followed it up with a power play goal of his own to make it 6-0 (Noah Gregor being on the power play should tell you everything you need to know about the state of the game) and William Nylander added one for good measure in the third period to make it 7-0, and that’s where the score would remain.
Oh, pardon me. I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out Martin Jones, who stepped into the fountain of youth and put up a 38-save shutout. The Leafs were without Joseph Woll at the time and couldn’t rely on Ilya Samsonov to stop a beach ball, so the lockdown effort between the pipes on his end was welcomed and needed at the time.
Below are the full highlights to the game. It features a couple of fun cameos, including Dubas as well as a nonchalant Tie Domi in the stands. Hope you enjoy!
