Toronto Maple Leafs
www.nytimes.com
The Leafs started the game with pace and control. Most of the opening 10 minutes were spent in the Rangers’ end, and the Leafs were rolling shifts and quickly reloading if the puck was cleared. Despite the start, Alexis Lafrenière put the Rangers on the board first after a bad bounce off the official, an error in structure and a well-placed shot. New York turned it up in the second as the game opened up. The two teams exchanged rush chances, and the Rangers doubled the lead on a delayed call thanks to Chris Kreider. Auston Matthews put the Leafs on the board in the third period and the team finally started to create havoc and chaos in front of Shesterkin. The Leafs threw 18 shots at Shesterkin in the third and couldn’t put a second past him to tie the game. Kreider and Artemi Panarin scored with Stolarz out of the net and the team’s three-game winning streak ended. The Leafs get a B on this one. [Archive](https://archive.is/40Nuy)
www.nytimes.com
Aleš Hemský was the player that Bobby McMann adored most as a kid growing up in Alberta. McMann loved the speed and the skill of the longtime Edmonton Oilers’ winger. He also couldn’t get enough of Patrick Kane. . . . But then, as he got a little older and a little more realistic about his prospects as a hockey player, McMann realized the player he should actually try to model his game after wasn’t Hemský or Kane. It was Zach Hyman, then a young-ish, late-blooming winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs. McMann, 28, is bringing similar late-bloomer vibes to the Leafs right now. He’s scored three times in his first three games this fall after breaking out late last season. [Archive](https://archive.is/YHccT)
www.sportsnet.ca
Seems pretty reasonable to me.
www.pensionplanpuppets.com
Don't know if this is officially confirmed yet. He will be a free agent Monday, but acquiring his rights allows the Leafs to sign him for a longer term than any other team.
Anyone watching the draft? Interesting that the Leafs traded down in the first round.
theathletic.com
Keefe on Thursday, five days after they were eliminated from the playoffs. The Leafs lost a seven-game first-round series to the Boston Bruins, the fourth time in Keefe’s five postseasons as coach that his team failed to advance beyond the opening round. Nothing will define the Keefe era in Toronto more than that. [Archive](https://archive.is/2nvtV)
www.youtube.com
From yesterday (May 07) but some of it may still interest others. I always enjoy Ray Ferraro's insight etc.
theathletic.com
Management took a different approach this year, one that swerved away from past precedent: They would speak on Thursday, three days after players and Keefe. (Who exactly will speak was left unclear. GM Brad Treliving is a given. Team president Brendan Shanahan not so much. He’s spoken only sporadically throughout his decade in charge.) Which makes for three days of uncertainty about which direction the Leafs plan to take, including whether Keefe will return next season. What we do know is that more than a year’s worth of missteps from the people in charge are partly to blame for another lost Leafs season. [Archive](https://archive.is/wlVFF)
thehockeywriters.com
I'd like us to get Jon Cooper as our new coach. Maybe Marner traded? Feels like Keefe is the new Bylsma. That Pittsburgh team couldn't dominate with peak Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Fleury, and Staal. Except for the first season, I mean. Maybe I'm just dumb.
Let's goooooooooooo! Welcome to the TML Museum of Excitement and Anxiety! Submit your exhibits in the space below! **Line-up** (via [Maple Leafs Hotstove](https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2024/05/04/toronto-maple-leafs-vs-boston-bruins-game-7-2024-nhl-playoffs/)) **Forwards** #59 Tyler Bertuzzi – #11 Max Domi – #16 Mitch Marner #23 Matthew Knies – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander #29 Pontus Holmberg – #34 Auston Matthews – #19 Calle Jarnkrok #24 Connor Dewar – #64 David Kampf – #18 Noah Gregor **Defensemen** #44 Morgan Rielly – #46 Ilya Lyubushkin #2 Simon Benoit – #22 Jake McCabe #20 Joel Edmundson – #37 Timothy Liljegren **Goaltenders** Starter: #35 Ilya Samsonov #31 Jones **The Fuzz** (via [Scouting the Refs](https://scoutingtherefs.com/2024/05/45069/todays-nhl-referees-and-linespersons-5-4-24/)) Kelly Sutherland #11 Eric Furlatt #27 ~~ According to Chris Johnston and Jonas Siegel, ~~Matthews is [unlikely to play](https://theathletic.com/5471522/2024/05/04/auston-matthews-maple-leafs-bruins-game-7-status/)~~. Just need one more huge effort to win the game and the series for AM34! Game 7 Let's gooo! **UPDATE**: Stop the presses! Chris Johnston is now reporting, citing "sources" that **Auston Matthews is "a good bet to return" in game 7**. I'll update the roster when we learn more (**done!**). **CONFIRMED** **Update 2**: [Woll is out](https://theathletic.com/5471977/2024/05/04/maple-leafs-joseph-woll-injury-ilya-samsonov/). Sammy backed up by Jones tonight.
theathletic.com
Auston Matthews appears poised to return to the Maple Leafs lineup in Game 7 after all, according to league sources. Matthews arrived at TD Garden on the first players’ bus early on Saturday evening ahead of Game 7. He missed Games 5 and 6 with an undisclosed injury and appeared unlikely to play against the Bruins on Saturday morning. While coach Sheldon Keefe said that Matthews is “progressing,” he made it sound like the Leafs would play a third straight potential elimination game without their best player. “As of right now, we’re proceeding as we’ve been,” Keefe said. [Archive](https://archive.is/D7SfB) Edit: Updated story to reflect changes. I'll update the archive in a bit.
theathletic.com
In Game 5, the Toronto Maple Leafs planted a seed of doubt in the Boston Bruins, whose 3-1 series lead fell to a 3-2 lead. In Game 6 back in Toronto, the Leafs cultivated, fertilized and watered that seed to make the doubt grow. And now, after a convincing but tense 2-1 win, the Leafs have forced a Game 7 back in Boston with yet another chance to exorcise their playoff demons. In the process, they brought to mind some of the Bruins’ demons of their own, having blown a 3-1 series lead against the Florida Panthers in the first round of last year’s playoffs. [Archive](https://archive.is/mpEDx)
Let's gooooooooooooo! *[This space for rent -- your semi-amusing hockey quip could appear here -- inquire below!]* **Projected Line-up** (via [Leafs Nation](https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-vs-bruins-game-6-starting-lineups-and-other-notes)) **Forwards** Tyler Bertuzzi – Max Domi – Mitch Marner Matthew Knies – John Tavares – William Nylander Nick Robertson – Pontus Holmberg – Calle Jarnkrok Connor Dewar – David Kampf – Ryan Reaves **Defense** Morgan Rielly – Ilya Lyubushkin Simon Benoit – Jake McCabe Joel Edmundson – Timothy Liljegren **Goalie** Joseph Woll **The Fuzz** Chris Rooney #5 Dan O’Rourke #9 ~~ Per Chris Johnston, Matthews has been [ruled out](https://theathletic.com/5467143/2024/05/02/maple-leafs-auston-matthews-injury-game-6/) again. Harrumph. Oh well, if you ask me it's gonna be a big night for big nights!
**On this day in 1967, the TML won the Stanley Cup by defeating the Habs, 3-1**
theathletic.com
Auston Matthews will be unavailable to the Toronto Maple Leafs as they look to avoid elimination for the second straight game Thursday. The 69-goal scorer has been ruled out for Game 6 against the Boston Bruins with an undisclosed injury, according to Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. Matthews also missed Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime victory at TD Garden and the third period of a Game 4 loss on Saturday. He played through an illness in Game 3. [Archive](https://archive.is/dudne)
theathletic.com
This wasn’t training camp. This wasn’t a Tuesday in January. This was Monday afternoon, hours before the Toronto Maple Leafs would fly out to Boston for Game 5. And there was John Tavares, the captain of the team, still on the ice fine-tuning his game. He was the last player — by far — to leave the ice, staying out to work long past even the black aces. “He loves hockey,” a member of the Leafs staff said. Tavares definitely loves hockey. And he’s trying to give the Leafs every last bit he has at a point in his career — at age 33, in his 15th NHL season — when decline has clearly set in. Nights like Game 5 are reminders that his hard work can still pay off. [Archive](https://archive.is/yaCRW)
theathletic.com
Joseph Woll didn’t hear no bell. The Toronto Maple Leafs were facing elimination and were without Auston Matthews, but their young goaltender made key save after key save in the final minutes to give his team a chance. John Tavares made a fantastic play to drive the puck to the net in overtime, and Matthew Knies jumped on a rebound to be the hero. Toronto’s scoring woes continued in a 2-1 victory, but it’s tough to argue that this was anything but an excellent road win. Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins better catch a flight to Toronto. 3 Stars: 1. Joseph Woll 2. Matthew Knies 3. John Tavares [Archive](https://archive.is/xsDvC)