Toronto can't stop blocking shots.
The Toronto Maple Leafs earned an enormous 4-3 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night — and they also set a franchise record in the process.
“Maple Leafs set a single-game franchise record with 33 blocked shots,” confirmed Sportsnet Stats shortly after the triumph.
Morgan Rielly led the charge with an eye-opening seven blocks, while Chris Tanev and Scott Laughton compiled five each. Matthew Knies, who scored a hat trick in the victory — including the game-winner — did his part defensively with six blocks of his own.
While the blocks record is impressive work by Toronto, they'll be more pleased by the scoreboard result. The Leafs now have a three-point lead on the Lightning at the top of the Atlantic Division with four games left in each team's regular-season.
“It's huge for us. Especially after last night, we really weren't at our best,” said goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who made 25 saves, per NHL.com's Corey Long. “I think tonight you could see the intensity, you can see the dedication in the defensive zone as well in the offensive zone. The guys were blocking a ton of pucks. Kudos to those guys in front of me. They made my job a lot easier.”
The Leafs lost 3-1 to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday night, but were able to bounce back 24 hours later at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay.
“It's two hard back-to-back games, two very top-end teams in this league,” said superstar forward Mitch Marner, who recorded a goal and two assists. “I was very happy with our effort tonight. We just stuck with our game plan and had confidence in it.”
“We're fighting for every inch out there,” echoed captain Auston Matthews, who set up Knies' game-winner. “There's not a lot of space, they're a really good team over there and they've been playing great hockey lately. I just thought we did a good job when the momentum got away from us getting it back.”
If Toronto is able to hold onto the top spot in the division, they'll likely play the top wildcard team in the Eastern Conference — which, as of Thursday, is the Ottawa Senators.
Maple Leafs could be in for Battle of Ontario with Senators
The Leafs and Senators haven't met in the postseason in over two decades. In the first-round of the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Toronto beat Ottawa in a thrilling seven-game series in the Battle of Ontario. The Leafs would go on to lose in the next round to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
While it isn't set in stone, the Panthers are currently third in the Atlantic Division and have a four-point lead on the Sens. Unless Ottawa is able to make up those four points over their last four regular-season tilts to leapfrog Florida — and assuming the Leafs hold on to win the division — Toronto and Ottawa will be battling in Round 1 for the first time in 21 years.
That would be sure to be an electric series, especially as both teams have something to prove. The Sens just locked up their first trip to the postseason since 2016-17, while the Leafs are looking to finally get over the hump in what could be the last dance for the ‘Core Four.'
Toronto is back in action against the Montreal Canadiens — another rival that is making a triumphant return to the playoffs in 2025 — at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
