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The Toronto Maple Leafs appeared well on their to being swept by three Eastern Conference playoff clubs on Sunday, trailing 3-1 in the third period against the Washington Capitals, but a late rally tied the game and shootout goals by Jason Spezza and Alex Kerfoot snapped the Leafs two-game losing skid with a 4-3 victory at the Capital One Arena on Sunday.
Ilya Lyubushkin, Ilya Mikheyev, and Spezza scored for Toronto and Erik Kallgren made 34 saves and six stops in the shootout in the win that reduced the Leafs magic number to one to secure home-ice advantage in the first round.
Toronto without John Tavares, Timothy Liljegren, and Michael Bunting in the lineup appeared lethargic for most of the game in their third game in four nights and fell behind by two goals in the third on goals by Lars Eller and Marcus Johansson, but Mikheyev’s 20th of the season with less than eight minutes left in regulation injected some energy and Spezza tied the contest in the final minute with Kallgren pulled.
“It was a real gutsy and gritty effort for the guys to find a way there. We didn’t have much today it seemed like we were playing on fumes most of the night.… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “(We) were encouraging the guys at 3-1 just to not accept their fate and keep pushing and start with one, huge goal by Mikheyev gets us going there and then the six-on-five comes through.…
Tavares and Liljegren were rested for the purposes of load management going into the final week, while Bunting suffered a leg injury against Florida on Saturday. Keefe indicated on Sunday that Bunting was feeling better and that the club would have an update on his condition after being checked out by their medical staff on Monday.
Jake Muzzin missed his sixth straight game and Carl Dahlstrom played in place of Liljegren vs. the Capitals.
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The Toronto Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association has voted winger Ondrej Kase its nominee for the 2022 Bill Masterton Trophy, recognizing perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
The 26-year-old winger has been challenged to fulfill his NHL dream several times in his career as a low draft pick and because of health, most recently this season when he missed the past five weeks with a concussion from a game on March 19 in Nashville. Head injuries also limited his playing time with the Anaheim Ducks and Boston Bruins, holding him to as few as three games with the Bruins in 2020-21, but he worked diligently in the summer of 2021 to make a competitive Toronto lineup and amass 14 goals and 13 assists in 50 games as one of the team’s most effective two-way forwards.
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The Maple Leafs have signed 2022 Hobey Baker Award winner Dryden McKay to a two-year AHL contract.
The 24-year-old goalie posted a 38-5-0 record, 1.31 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage in 43 games with Minnesota State University (NCAA) during the 2021-22 season, and reached the NCAA Championship game before losing to Denver on April 9. McKay was also named the CCHA Player of the Year, CCHA Goaltender of the Year, First Team All-CCHA and established NCAA Division 1 men’s hockey records for single-season wins (38) and career shutouts (34).
Leafs newest goalie Dryden Mckay.
— Rink Rat Report (@RinkRatReport) April 25, 2022
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McKay accepted a six-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping violation on April 14. He will be eligible to voluntarily enter the organization’s facilities on August 25 and play for the Marlies on October 11.
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Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
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