For the ninth consecutive season, the Toronto Maple Leafs will partake in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Thanks to their well-deserved 3-2 win against the rival Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena, they punched their ticket to the postseason.
Obviously, reaction to that is where the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take started as Jay Rosehill returned to the mix. Things got a bit hairy late in the game, but the Leafs found a way to close the door. And that’s all that matters.
Brought to you by Sobeys, we offered up a full game recap. Simply put, Anthony Stolarz was tremendous making 29 stops for his career high 17th victory of the campaign. On top of that, most importantly, the big boys came to play. John Tavares, who leads the NHL in goals since the 4 Nations with 15, scored No. 36. Meantime, the top line was incredible, specifically in the third period. Mitch Marner potted a goal and added an assist on Matthew Knies’ game winner. Marner’s now just seven points shy of his first career 100-point season. Additionally, we talked about the injuries to David Kampf and Jake McCabe. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious on either front. Toronto’s won three in a row and seven of nine. All in all, there’s reason to feel optimistic and positive about this team right now.
Thanks to GRETA BAR YYZ, TSN Hockey Analyst Jamie NOODLES McLennan dropped by the show once again. We talked a lot about last night’s game. Noodles weighed in on the magnitude of the win, Stolarz’s performance, and how he would deploy the crease moving forward. Furthermore, we discussed Marner/Matthews showing up at an important time and Tavares’ brilliance. Has the former captain become an auto re-sign? It’s all about the price tag for Noodles.
After that, we got to the CRISPI HOT TAKE OF THE DAY, presented by the Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 Portable Glass Air Fryer. Producer Vick fired up this hot take: Mitch Marner learned the lesson… he is now a big game player. That’s some spicy stuff.
Be sure to join us for the Friday edition of Leafs Morning Take (11 AM ET) as we tee up Leafs/Jackets, Toronto’s penultimate home game of the season.
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