Leafs knock off Lightning 4-3 in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead: Game Highlights

The Leafs won their biggest game of the year on Saturday night. Game three was the first close one of the series. There was plenty of scoring and several lead changes. Toronto tied the game late and won it overtime. Below are the highlights from the game.
Noel Acciari scored the game’s first  goal just over three minutes into the game. Matthew Knies set him in the slot and he ripped a wrist shot by Andrei Vasilevskiy…

COOKIE TIME!! 🍪⏰ pic.twitter.com/lPOwqUsBPm
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 22, 2023

Toronto didn’t hold the lead for long. A minute and 26 seconds later Anthony Cirelli tied it up with a wrist shot of his own…

Anthony Cirelli answers right back! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/L0HEHJszlB
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 22, 2023

Later in the first Auston Matthews found the back of the net for the first time in the series. He tipped in Mitch Marner’s point shot for the go-ahead goal…

TONE TIME! 👀⏰ pic.twitter.com/O4YdWFOYZU
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 22, 2023

The first period scoring wasn’t done there. In the final minute Brandon Hagel’s shot somehow wound up in the Leafs net. The puck deflected off TJ Brodie and Ilya Samsonov before trickling across the line. After review it was determined a good goal…

GOOD GOAL FOR TAMPA! 🚨
Brandon Hagel buries the late period equalizer for the Lightning. pic.twitter.com/lVFE98WO9r
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 22, 2023

Tampa Bay pressed early in the second period and Samsonov kept the game tied with two massive saves…

SAMMY 🗣SAMMY 🗣 pic.twitter.com/idVHNWfSUq
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 23, 2023

Late in the middle frame the Lightning took their first lead of the game. Darren Raddysh circled the net, bounced off a check from Jake McCabe and wired home his first career playoff goal…

Top shelf for Darren Raddysh. 🎯
Catch all the Game 3 action on Sportsnet! pic.twitter.com/uqkZJTZoQ4
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 23, 2023

There was a scary moment in the third when Brayden Point crashed hard into the boards after engaging with Morgan Rielly. Rielly was assessed a five minute major on the play but after review no penalty was called on the hit…

Scary p …

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Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation

Murray and Jarnkrok shine in overtime win versus Ottawa: Game Highlights

The Leafs didn’t have their best on Saturday night yet they came out on top. Matt Murray made 48 saves, Calle Jarnkrok potted two and the most snake bitten player on the roster may have got off the schneid by scoring the game winner. Below are the highlights from the game.
Jake McCabe opened the scoring with his first goal as a Leaf. He made a nice stretch pass to John Tavares to start the play. Then he cleaned up a Mitch Marner rebound to make it 1-0….

🔵 HIS FIRST AS A BUD!! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/PBWGpYr0Pg
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 18, 2023

 
The Senators tied it up with a lucky one late in the first period. Erik Brannstrom’s point shot deflected twice and bounced over Murray. Julien Gauthier got credit for the goal…

The blooper bounce off the draw beats Murray 😯 pic.twitter.com/27xYB2tjr3
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 18, 2023

Murray kept the game tied with an athletic pad save on Shane Pinto. Gauthier set him up with a beauty cross ice pass but Murray shut the door…

Murray makes the toe save on Pinto pic.twitter.com/IGDeiiy39H
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 18, 2023

 
Tim Stutzle continued his breakout season with a shorthanded goal early in the second. The Sens’ superstar sniped one through the legs Timothy Liljegren and put Ottawa on top…

Tim Stützle shorty alert! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/mmNvNf386H
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 19, 2023

The Leafs weren’t behind for long. Marner tied it up before the penalty ended. He beat Mads Sogaard with a wrist shot short side to even it up 2-2…

A magical response 🪄 pic.twitter.com/anlDTfSfKN
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 19, 2023

Jarnkrok got on the board midway through the second. Auston Matthews teed one up for him and he blasted it past Sogaard. 3-2 Leafs…

HOLYYY CALLEEEEE!!! 🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/lYPY6gr4Lh
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 19, 2023

 
The Matthews to Jarnkrok connection did it again in the third period. Matthews feathered a pass through Thomas Chabot on the 2-on-1 and Jarnkrok buried his second of the night to put the Leafs up two…

STAY HOT, CALLE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EebnZxKqCX
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 19, 2023

The Senators would not quit though. J …

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Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation

Potential target: Scott Mayfield

This past Saturday the Islanders lost 6-2 to the Bruins. A far bigger loss, however, was Matt Barzal. The dynamic forward left the game with a lower-body injury, and his status is week-to-week. Barzal has put up 51 points in 58 games and is heavily relied upon at even strength and special teams.
The Islanders are hopeful he may return before the playoffs, but they will undoubtedly be without their most skilled player during the push. New York currently sits in a wild card spot, and they have virtually no chance of catching the high-flying Devils, Hurricanes, or Rangers. Despite currently sitting in a playoff spot, the Red Wings, Sabres, and Penguins all have a higher point percentage.
Off the back of losing their star man and with hungry teams licking their chops just below them, could the New York Islanders become sellers? Perhaps they don’t fully tear it down, but instead, look to capitalize on some of their expiring contracts. If that becomes the case, the Leafs should consider acquiring Scott Mayfield.
Mayfield has spent his entire career with the New York Islanders having been drafted by them in the second round of the 2011 NHL draft. He’s played 406 games and amassed 102 points so far. He …

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Author: Bennett Jull / The Leafs Nation

O’Reilly/Acciari reaction, the potential flattening of the cap and prospects worth keeping: Leaflets

It’s time for another Saturday morning round of Leaflets, everyone’s favourite column where I largely talk out of my ass hoping that a nugget of wisdom slips out along the way. wouWhen I originally wrote this on a Friday afternoon, I thought, hey, this is a pretty standard around the NHL, I’ve waited for the 5pm new drop and nothing happened, I should be able to go and watch this Oilers and Rangers game in peace. That held up for two periods and then the Leafs decided they’d give us all some news that would change a lot of the context of what originally written. So her is the hastily adapted version of Leaflets.
O’Reilly and Acciari breakdown
Here’s the thing. There are going to be a lot smarter and a lot more sober people than I am tackling this in a meaningful way. I’m hoping the fact that I’m three sheets to the wind when I write this will add a certain level of honesty you won’t get in other articles, but the analysis will surely be lacking.
So let’s start with the fact that like Kyle Dubas, I don’t like the idea of the Leafs giving up a first for a rental. The fact that it’s two …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Stop overcomplicating Timo Meier, guessing who’s on the 2023-24 Leafs, and the Kings D: Leaflets

Stop overcomplicating Timo Meier, guessing who’s on the 2023-24 Leafs, and the Kings D: Leaflets

Welcome back to a Saturday Morning Leafs column that absolutely exists. If you’ve been waiting anxiously all week for a collection of hot takes that didn’t find their way into other TLN posts, good news. Here they are. Let’s get to it.
Timo Meier’s situation isn’t as complicated as people make it out to be
Out of one side of the mouth people are saying that Timo Meier is more like a rental because there is a limited number of teams that can afford his qualifying offer or fit him under their cap next season. And out of the other side of their mouths they are also saying that giving up a first or top prospect for a rental is too damned high. The reality is that there is really good news and Timo Meier is not a rental and paying a first or top prospect as part of the package to get him isn’t too high a price because of that. Paying a first for Vladimir Tarasenko is too high a price and the Rangers removed that option, so let’s look at a good option.
Here’s the thing. At least around these parts (meaning the TLN contributors) we all really like William Nylander. He’s added goal scori …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Is this the year for the Leafs to overpay, Sandin vs. Liljegren and a tip of the hat to a legend: Leaflets

Is this the year for the Leafs to overpay, Sandin vs. Liljegren and a tip of the hat to a legend: Leaflets

It’s Saturday morning and we’re hours away from the Leafs vs. Habs. It feels good. It feels like the these two teams are never good at the same time, but that also hasn’t stopped the Habs from knocking off the Leafs before so it’s not a game to be taken for granted. If the Leafs can beat up on just one lottery team, this is the one they should commit to.
Now here are the stray thoughts rattling around in my head…
It’s time for the Leafs to go all-in (but in a smart way)
On the Leafs Morning Take yesterday, Nick Alberga was discussing possible Leafs trade targets with Frank Seravalli. One of the players that was swiftly dismissed in the conversation was Bo Horvat. Then not a minute later it was mentioned that Boston could be a possible landing spot for Horvat. The belief is that the price on Horvat is more than the Leafs are willing to pay, but at the same time, the Bruins would be willing to pay it. So let’s break that down.
The Bruins find themselves in a situation where their prospect pool is even more drained than the Leafs. They have a very similar draft pick situation, and their salary cap situation is even more …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

The Blue Jays drop series finale with an ugly 7-2 loss to the Guardians

The Toronto Blue Jays got in the win column Saturday afternoon, but they made a swift U-turn back in the loss column with a 7-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon.
 
It was certainly not the prettiest of starts for Kevin Gausman, who came into this game not allowing a run in each of his last two outings. Gausman dealt with traffic on the base paths all day, which showed in his final line. Gausman went 4 and 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits, five earned runs, one walk, and striking out five.
While his performance may not look very good on paper, Cleveland didn’t have their way by dominating with home runs and ringing doubles. All year, Gausman has dealt with a fairly low ERA, but an unusually high BABIP. For the non-advanced metric crowd, that stands for “Batting Average on Balls In Play”, meaning that when opponents are hitting the ball, it’s finding ground for a base hit rather than turning into an out. Today, Gausman’s bad luck with batted balls continued.
In the top of the 1st, Gausman allowed a solo HR to Amed Rosario that went 422 feet to center field. That home run had nothing to do with bad luck, it was simply Gausman leaving a 96 mph fastball …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation