The Leafs were in Washington, DC, last night to do battle with the Capitals. Coming into this one, Ovechkin was still looking for his first goal of the year, the longest drought to start a season in his illustrious career thus far. While Joseph Woll was looking to build off of the performance he put forth after relieving Samsonov on Saturday night in Tampa Bay, where he stopped all 27 shots he faced. John Tavares and William Nylander were both riding five game point streaks to start the season as well. Let’s get into the three stars.
First Star – Joseph Woll
Woll was simply fantastic in this one. The Leafs were outshot 17-5 in the opening frame, but they would head to the dressing room with a 1-0 lead thanks to the outstanding play from Woll. The Capitals had several great scoring chances, but Woll slammed the door shut. Every time Woll takes to the ice, he seems to become even more calm and composed than the previous time, if that is even possible. The Capitals outshot the Leafs 37-17 overall last night, and Woll stopped 36 of 37. The only shot that got past him was off of the stick of Ovechkin on the power play as the Leafs left the slot completely wide open, and Ovechkin made no mistake burying his first of the year past Woll. I seriously don’t see how Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe can take Woll out of the net right now, given the way he is playing. In his last two performances, he has faced a total of 64 shots, and he has stopped 63 of them, good enough for a 0.984 save percentage; not bad for the kid.
Second Star – William Nylander
Nylander was dancing from start to finish last night. He was creating chances every single time he took to the ice, including finishing off a gorgeous pass from Auston Matthews for his fifth goal of the season and extending his point streak to six games. Nylander played a total of 17:41 last night, he fired four shots on goal and had one blocked shot and one hit to go along with his goal. His playmaking was on full display in this one as well as he had the puck on a string in the offensive zone, simply making it look way too easy. With each passing game, Nylander continues to prove that he deserves to get paid on his next contract. He is also making the case to ask for more with each passing game as well as he shows zero signs of slowing down, as he now has 10 points in six games to start the year.
Third Star – John Tavares
Oh Captain, My Captain! The 33-year-old Mississauga Native continues to prove the Toronto media, as well as some portions of Leafs Nation wrong. For several years now, everyone in the Toronto media has been trying to sell the fact that Tavares has been “slowing down,” which simply is not the case. He is off to the best start to a season since joining the blue and white back in July 2018. He had another fantastic performance in last night’s game. He played a total of 16:43, scored a goal, had three shots on goal, threw two hits, went 71% in the face-off dot, and was a force at both ends of the rink all night long. His goal also extended his point streak to six games, and he scored it in textbook Tavares fashion. Battling for position in front of the net while making a perfect tip off of a point shot by Morgan Rielly. Tavares, like Nylander, has 10 points in six games to start the season. The duo have been leading the charge for the Leafs so far, and it will be interesting to see how long they can keep it up.
The next stop on this road trip for the Leafs is in Dallas to take on the Stars on Thursday night. The Stars are off to an outstanding start this year, as they have a 4-0-1 record through their first five games. It will be interesting to see what Keefe does with his goaltending situation. Will he keep riding the hot hand in Joseph Woll? Or will he get Samsonov back there? Woll has a 2-1-0 record with a 1.44 goals against average and a 0.957 save percentage. While Samsonov is off to a very rocky start this year. He has appeared in four games, and has a 2-1-0 record, with a 4.34 goals against average and a 0.831 save percentage. What will the Leafs bench boss do? Only time will tell!
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