The Maple Leafs first playoff game will be in about two weeks, though the day isn’t yet certain, and neither is the health of Auston Matthews.
The Toronto Maple Leafs crushed the New York Islanders last night. While it was only a 4-2 win, it was decisive and also eliminated the Islanders from the playoffs. Here’s our play-by-play recap of last night’s game:
Notable last night was the absence of Auston Matthews. What was wrong and how long he will be out has not been specified, though Coach Sheldon Keefe indicated he won’t be gone for long.
Sheldon Keefe says Auston Matthews will not play tonight and is day-to-day. Something happened last night. They say it is minor.
— David Alter (@dalter) April 17, 2022
The Leafs next game is on Tuesday at home in Toronto when they host the Flyers. The Flyers are already eliminated, and also an out-of-division team, so the playoff seeding implications are limited, though there is still a small amount of relevance as the Leafs need wins to cement home ice advantage. Who the Leafs will play in the first round is still not confirmed, but given the current Wild Card standings it’s increasingly likely it will be the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Other news
An Easter Miracle! Our old friend Calle Rosen scored his first and his second goal of the season last night in part of the St. Louis Blues 8-3 win over the Nashville Predators.
HAPPY EASTER HOLY JUMPIN’ pic.twitter.com/YoT5kvhbrW
— x – St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 17, 2022
His two goals helped make history. If you think there were a lot of goals this weekend, you are correct.
The highest-scoring weekend in NHL history concluded with 153 goals (102 Saturday, 51 Sunday) and boosted the goals-per-game rate to 6.3 on the season. It’s been 26 years since a season ended with a scoring rate that high (6.3 G/GP in 1995-96).#NHLStats: https://t.co/Nx7m9gNV5o pic.twitter.com/4zz9ELx0yX
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 18, 2022
Oilers’ Connor McDavid Will Score 50 – The Copper & Blue
[SPECIES: 50? Yawn.]
Joel Lundqvist points out important details for Frölunda against Luleå – Expressen
[Translated] Joel Lundqvist, 40, is in a record hour. The twin brother of Henrik is setting SHL records.
Sombreros: B-Sides to the Best of Mike Bossy – Lighthouse Hockey
Like a band whose greatest hits you can guess before you even turn the CD over, or an actor whose biggest movies you can list before even looking at their IMDB page, Mike Bossy – the man and the legend – have been cemented into the public consciousness of hockey fans for a very long time. Yet, there are still more legendary moments.
Secret negotiations, endless crisis management: How the ’72 Summit Series became reality – CBC
An insider account of the intrigue on and off the ice that surrounded the famous Canada-Russia hockey series of 1972, written by former diplomat Gary J. Smith.