John Tavares' Hat-Trick Sets Torts Over the Edge (VIDEO)
The Maple Leafs are home after a brutal road trip on which they won 4 out of a possible 10 points facing a resilient Philadelphia Flyers team. Toronto is facing intense media & fan pressure to right the ship, and even though it is early, this is about as close to a must-win game as one could have ten games in.
Flyers coach John Tortorella spoke in defense of Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe but joked that Toronto's struggles could persist another night.
Well, as you might expect, this game was pretty much all Toronto from the opening draw. Philly scored the first goal, but they were hemmed in their own zone most of the game. The Leafs would get out to a 3-1 lead before allowing another goal, and that is when captain John Tavares took over. He scored an absolute beauty to stretch the Leafs' lead back to two:
It wouldn't take long for #91 to cap off the hat-trick, putting this one out of reach for Tortorella's Flyers:
The Leafs took this one by a final score of 5-2, a huge win for a team in need of one. Toronto was the better team and deserved the win, but John Tavares took control when it called for it, which is why they pay him the big bucks.
Torts was less than impressed, though.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 2 | 414 ANSWERS John Tavares' Hat-Trick Sets Torts Over the Edge (VIDEO) Will the Leafs finally win a playoff series this year? | ||
| Yes | 108 | 26.1 % |
| No | 193 | 46.6 % |
| Never | 40 | 9.7 % |
| Never Ever | 73 | 17.6 % |
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