Lyon and the Cats scratch out a 3-2 overtime win in Toronto: Game Highlights

Toronto dominated Florida for most of the game on Wednesday night. All four lines were creating chances for the Leafs but Alex Lyon was the best player on the ice. The 30 year old goaltender stopped 38 of the 40 shots he faced to pick up two points for a team desperately pushing for a playoff spot. Below are the highlights from the game.
One minute into the game, the Panthers got on the board first. Jake McCabe turned the puck over with a weak pass into the skates of John Tavares. Seconds later, Anton Lundell put it in the back of the net…

The Cats strike first! 💥 pic.twitter.com/GN3IL4FcFR
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 29, 2023

Auston Matthews had the Leafs first quality chance about 7:30 into the first. He picked the puck up off the offensive zone draw, circled the net and tried to tuck home the wraparound. Lyon stood tall…

Matthews on the wraparound pic.twitter.com/VvjUKWk8Eo
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 29, 2023

Toronto controlled most of the period but Lyon was the best player on the ice over the first 20 minutes. Late in the frame Timothy Liljegren set up Zach Aston-Reese in front. The Panthers goaltender came out on top again…

closer look at the Liljegren to ZAR deflection pic.twitter.com/orMkS5Y6zf
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 30, 2023

The Leafs finally solved Lyon a couple minutes into the second. Aston-Reese perfectly deflected TJ Brodie’s point shot to make it 1-1…

ZAR!! pic.twitter.com/dtkDP4aDln
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 30, 2023

Just over halfway through the period Florida had a rare scoring chance. Aaron Ekblad joined the attack and tried to beat Ilya Samsonov short side…

Samsonov makes the shoulder save on Ekblad pic.twitter.com/gfrFFBzLAJ
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 30, 2023

Aston-Reese …

Read More

Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation

Raptors news: Jeff Dowtin deadline approaching, Tracy McGrady rips Heat

The Toronto Raptors have been boosted by the performance of backup point guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. in the last few weeks. Dowtin, who is currently on a two-way contract, has beaten out two draft selections in Malachi Fynn and Dalano Banton that were hand-picked by Masai Ujiri. Dowtin’s 4.7 points and 3.0 assists per game […]
Raptors news: Jeff Dowtin deadline approaching, Tracy McGrady rips Heat – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Read More

Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

been boosted have performance Raptors Toronto

‘We have to do the digging’: Marlies looking to get past adversity as playoffs approach

The Toronto Marlies are trying to claw their way out of a rut with only eight games remaining in the regular season.
It’s been a rough stretch for the team in their last five games. At times, they’ve dominated play — looking like the team they’ve been all season — until they haven’t.
Toronto has been outscored 18-4 during this five-game losing streak, even being shut out twice in that span. It’s a bout with adversity that the team hasn’t faced all year while dominating the AHL’s North Division.
“At any point, during the season when you go through adverse moments as a team you come out on the other side eventually and you dig your way out, and you learn lessons from it.” Said Marlies head coach Greg Moore.
“We’re still in it right now. We have to do the digging.”
This is uncharted territory for this Marlies team. Only 24 times this season have they lost a game, with 19 of those losses coming in regulation. The rest of their games — 40 to be exact — have been wins, placing them third in the entire AHL in that category.
For a team that’s won this many games in one season, and having a playoff spot locked down, you’d think a five-game …

Read More

Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

claw Marlies’ their Toronto trying with

3 Raptors who have earned a spot on the 2023-24 roster

The Toronto Raptors have played most of the year with a very suspect second unit, as the lack of consistent 3-point shooting off the bench and inability to perform when the chips are down are part of the reason Toronto is a play-in contender rather than a playoff fixture. It’s not unreasonable to suggest that […]
3 Raptors who have earned a spot on the 2023-24 roster – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Read More

Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

have most played Raptors Toronto year

Raptors news: Gregg Popovich backs Ime Udoka amid Raptors links, Fred VanVleet shouts out fans

The Toronto Raptors will likely head into next season with Nick Nurse as the team’s head coach, but that doesn’t mean that they are totally done looking for a replacement that could step in if Nurse’s performance is not deemed satisfactory. In fact, Toronto is reportedly extending feelers out to gauge the availability of former […]
Raptors news: Gregg Popovich backs Ime Udoka amid Raptors links, Fred VanVleet shouts out fans – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Read More

Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

head into likely Raptors Toronto will

Raptors draft: 1 prospect from each 2023 Final Four team to consider

The Toronto Raptors have been watching the NCAA Tournament like a kettle of hawks over the last few weeks, as they are trying to find which players have the skills needed to join this team and contribute instantly. They’ve found some standouts, but none of them have made it to the Final Four festivities. Those […]
Raptors draft: 1 prospect from each 2023 Final Four team to consider – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Read More

Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

been have NCAA Raptors Toronto watching

Raptors news: Raptors 905 season ends, ex-Raps big man shares cancer diagnosis

The Toronto Raptors have placed a ton of energy in making their G League team the pride of the NBA’s minor leagues. Names like Ron Harper Jr. and David Johnson have been grinding in Mississauga for most of the season with Raptors 905, with additional NBA players like Christian Koloko and Dalano Banton have also […]
Raptors news: Raptors 905 season ends, ex-Raps big man shares cancer diagnosis – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Read More

Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

energy have making placed Raptors Toronto

The Leafs can clinch a playoff spot this weekend, here’s how

That tiny little “x” next to the Toronto Maple Leafs on the standings tables can be a real mood elevator. We should all feel pretty confident the Leafs are going to get there but there is a benefit to getting things squared away early too. Here’s what the Leafs need to do in their back-to-back this weekend or what other teams need to do over the next couple of days to give the Leafs their x, and what is still required to clinch home ice advantage in the remaining games of the season.

As it sits right now the Panthers winning all ten of their remaining games would give them 99 points and if they win their way out in regulation or overtime they’d have 44 regulation or overtime wins. With the season tiebreakers like goal differential and season series results still not fully determined, Toronto wouldn’t clinch this week if the Leafs won both of their games, they’d still require a Panthers loss. The Panthers have a game Saturday against the Rangers, if they win that it wouldn’t be until Monday that the Panthers can help the Leafs clinch.
Pittsburgh has the potential to reach 100 points if they won their way out of the season, but they can still help the Leafs clinch this weekend if they lose to Washington on Saturday. If the Leafs win both of their games and the Penguins lose, the Leafs are in. It would be nice if Brian Burke could successfully get the Leafs into the playoffs.
(Save for Islanders section)
Clinching Home in the first round
It goes without saying that this is going to take a bit more time to pull off, but as strange as it is to say, I don’t think the Leafs can really screw this up. The Leafs have a 5 point lead over the …

Read More

Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

“x” little next That tiny Toronto

3 Players who must get axed from the Raptors’ playoff rotation

The Toronto Raptors are trying everything in their power to make it to the postseason despite their injury troubles, lackluster bench, and issues with consistency making it very tough for Nick Nurse and the rest of the squad to sustain any sort of positive winning streak. The Raptors’ depth has been the biggest bugaboo for […]
3 Players who must get axed from the Raptors’ playoff rotation – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Read More

Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

everything power Raptors their Toronto trying

3 offseason tasks the Raptors should already be working on

Masai Ujiri, Fred VanVleet, and the Toronto Raptors are one of many teams that are currently locked in a very uneven middle ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Toronto would be in the play-in tournament (at the time of writing) if the season ended today. The Raptors need to pull off a serious balancing […]
3 offseason tasks the Raptors should already be working on – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Read More

Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Fred Masai Raptors Toronto Ujiri VanVleet