vs New York

The Leafs managed to escape with a five to four win in a game that had absolutely no business being that stressful. Easton Cowan started things off early with his fifth of the season and then the depth chart decided to actually show up for work. Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime both found the back of the net which is a nice change of pace considering the big names were mostly just vibing. Duhaime ended up with three points and five hits while Zack MacEwen chipped in two assists. It is truly peak Toronto hockey when the bottom six carries the load while the stars combine for a whole lot of nothing on the scoresheet.

The second period was a classic display of defensive indifference as we let New York climb back into the game with two quick goals. Kirill Marchenko bailed us out on the power play after Alexis Lafreniere got caught hooking Jack Roslovic. Sergei Bobrovsky finished with an eighty four percent save percentage which is usually a recipe for a blowout loss but somehow worked out this time. We outshot them thirty six to twenty five and dominated the second frame with fourteen shots but still found a way to make it a nail biter.

Just when it looked like we were heading for a demoralizing overtime period after Lafreniere tied it late in the third Troy Stecher stepped up. He fired a wrist shot home with less than thirty seconds left to save us from our own incompetence. Morgan Rielly and Duhaime picked up the helpers on the winner to seal a victory that felt way more difficult than it should have been. It was a chaotic mess of a game that provides just enough hope to ensure the next inevitable collapse hurts even more.