The win on Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres was all about the return of goaltender Matt Murray to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup after more than 600 days out of the NHL. But their depth scoring and physicality was also on display — something fans should be excited about.
Outside of that, their top players came to play on Friday, and others set personal milestones en route to a 6-3 victory for Murray and the Maple Leafs. One of those players was first-year Maple Leafs’ defenceman Chris Tanev, who recorded his 200th career NHL point on William Nylander’s third period empty-net goal.
This assist was his ninth of the season for the 35-year-old who is more known for his defence and physical play than he is for his offence. But it was also his 10th point in 33 games this season for the Maple Leafs.
The helper marked his 200th point in 825 regular season games with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars and the Maple Leafs giving him a career average of 0.24 points per game over his career.
Tanev becomes the 395th defenceman in NHL history to record 200 career points and just the 78th active defenceman to reach the milestone. As an undrafted player, Tanev also becomes the 415th undrafted player in NHL history to record 200 points.
A blocked shot machine, Tanev is already nine points shy of his point total from last season — spread between the Flames and Stars — and just 18 points shy of his career-high 28 points recorded as a member of the Flames back in 2021-22.
Tanev has been a big addition to the Maple Leafs lineup this season, averaging 19:37 of ice-time per game this season and blocking more shots than any other player in the NHL this season. If nothing else, it’s quite a milestone for a player known for his defensive game.
