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Tavares shines in debut, Leafs top Senators; Plus/Minus; New Convo

September 18, 2018, 7:40 PM ET [555 Comments]
Mike Augello
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Leafs Nation has been oozing optimism ever since July 1 when John Tavares signed a seven-year, $77 Million contract to join the Toronto Maple Leafs and his debut in Blue and White will do nothing to extinguish their excitement.

The Leafs opened their eight-game exhibition schedule with a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Lucan, ON on Tuesday. Tavares tallied twice and added an assist on Mitch Marner’s third period goal and Andreas Borgman also scored for Toronto.

Toronto surrendered the opening goal just 21 seconds into the first period, as Nazem Kadri’s giveaway in the defensive zone led to a Ryan Dzingel goal.



Tavares scored his first goal on the power play just over five minutes into the opening period, receiving a Marner pass down low, cutting towards the middle and firing a wrist shot past Ottawa goalie Mike Condon. Toronto took the lead for good moments later as Borgman converted on a redirection of an Emerson Clark pass.

After a scoreless middle frame, the Leafs extended their lead as Tavares converted on a rebound of a Justin Holl point shot past Marcus Hogberg and set up Marner for a blast from the slot to beat the Sens goalie.



Pluses and minuses


Plus - The top unit of Tavares, Marner and Zach Hyman were extremely effective in their first game action, showing signs that they will be difficult to contain during the season. Leafs head coach Mike Babcock was quick to point out after the contest that Hyman (who did not score a point) was an integral part of the line’s success.

“There’s another guy on the line, his name is Hyman. He’s the guy that keeps getting the puck for (them).” Babcock said. (That line) had a good night.”

Plus - McElhinney/Sparks even in start of backup battle : Both Curtis McElhinney and Garret Sparks made a good debut in their contest to be the #2 behind Frederik Andersen. The 35-year-old veteran had little chance on Dzingel’s early goal, but made 12 saves on the night, including a great glove stop on Colin White that was reminiscent of his save on Sidney Crosby at the end of the 2016-17 season.



Sparks stopped all 22 shots he faced, but also was saved by the iron on a couple of occasions, as two shots got past the AHL’s top goalie and rang off the bar.

Plus - O-Dog looking good: KHL import Igor Ozhiganov played well in his first NHL action, pairing with Travis Dermott. The big Russian did not seem uncomfortable with the smaller ice surface after playing his entire career in Russia.

“(Ozhiganov) can pass the puck, he can get it through.” Babcock said. “He’s a worker. We are hoping he continues to make progress. It’s a good start for him.”

Minus - Nazem Kadri: The Leafs third line center had a rough go in his first game, with the early giveaway and being a target of abuse for the Sens. Kadri took a hit from Ottawa blueliner Mark Borowiecki in the first period and was shaken up after being checked by Sens forward Rudolf Balcers in the third period.

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