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The Toronto Maple Leafs successfully rebounded from a sluggish and sloppy effort against Montreal with a better overall performance in a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in the home opener at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. The night was filled with the pomp and circumstance that usually accompanies the first home game of the season, including the 48th Highlanders marching onto the ice, and an appearance by Dwayne “The Rock… Johnson, who was promoting his new superhero movie “Black Adam… in Toronto.
The Rock has come back to Toronto. #Leafs pic.twitter.com/NrRfayHVzo
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) October 14, 2022
Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews scored his first of the season on a deflection early in the third period to give Toronto the lead and their first win of the campaign. John Tavares and Calle Jarnkrok also scored, and Ilya Samsonov made 24 stops against his former club in his first start for the Blue and White.
Samsonov admitted he was nervous and indicated that there was some chatter from former teammates during the game, and that was reflective in his play, as goals by Nic Dowd and Marcus Johansson were leaky, but the 26-year-old Russian calmed down later in the game and made a few key saves.
The Leafs penalty-killing units were key to their victory, shutting down Alex Ovechkin and the Caps power play on five occasions, including three third-period chances with the man advantage.
Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down
Up – New anthem singer Natalie Morris, who replaced Martina Ortiz-Luis. Really good voice with a good pace, which is always appreciated.
Down – The Rock is great, loved him during his wrestling days, but he clearly popped in to promote his movie and was not given the heads up to lead the traditional chant of “Go Leafs Go…, opting instead of “Let’s Go Leafs….
“Maybe somebody should have told him….… A laughing Matthews said after the game.
Up – Another solid performance by 39-year-old Mark Giordano, who assisted on Matthews game-winner and played nearly 20 minutes for the second straight game.
Down – Hall and Oates is back for another year. The Leafs did not heed the desires of the fan base and some of the players in replacing the tired “You Make My Dreams Come True… as the club’s goal song. Down the QEW, the Sabres revealed that their players have been given the option of individual goal songs, but that is something Toronto is not prepared to do at this point.
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The Leafs announced the signing of forward Fraser Minten to a three-year, entry-level contract on Thursday.
The 18-year-old center recorded 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) in 67 games with the WHL Kamloops last season and helped the Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in the 2022 WHL Playoffs where he collected 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 17 games. Minten is still with the club after having been injured during training camp and will be sent back to the WHL in the near future.
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