Leafs Live in Lucan

John Tavares right hand man Mitchell Marner

John Tavares was saying on Tuesday that he still gets the butterflies on game day, even on the cusp of his 10th season in the National Hockey League.
The nerves for the Maple Leafs centre were gone once the puck dropped against the Ottawa Senators in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game at the Lucan Community Memorial Centre.
In Toronto’s 4-1 pre-season victory, Tavares scored two goals, including the Leafs’ first of the game, making it 1-1 at 5:12 of the first period when he waited out Senators goalie Mike Condon and beat the netminder on the stick side.
The place — jammed as it was with approximately 1,300 fans, many of them kids — went nuts.
Tavares and linemate Mitch Marner each had three points, with Zach Hyman contributing his usual fair share of grunt work.

“You have not played a game in five months, I think it’s nice to get back into it,” Tavares said. “Some of that rhythm to your game, some of that feel again, absorbing contact. You want to do good things and it’s always good to get rewarded.
“I just thought (the line) got better as the game went on. It’s one exhibition game. It’s a start. It’s good to get some results and get some positive things going, but we know we have a lot to work on.”



Tavares also scored in the third period, fighting off Ottawa defenceman Patrick Sieloff to put a Justin Holl rebound past goaltender Marcus Hogberg at 6:06. At 11:48 of the third, Tavares set up Marner.
Tavares took a pass from Marner on a Leafs power play on the sequence that led to his first goal, an occurrence that could become common for Toronto in 2018-19.
And consider that Auston Matthews told reporters in Toronto on Tuesday that he thinks he will be playing with Tavares and Marner on the power play.
 Scary isn’t the word.


Overall, Tavares played with some spice, winning one-on-one battles and being defensively responsible.
“I know I can be a lot quicker with my game, my pace of play and moving my feet, making quicker plays and getting to linemates when they are open,” Tavares said.
The teams, with different lineups, will meet again in Ottawa on Wednesday night.


WELCOME TO TOWN

The Leafs were thrilled with the rock-star greeting they received upon arriving at the rink at approximately 8:45 on Tuesday morning.
As they stepped off their bus in the arena parking lot, the Leafs were inundated with cheers from the hundreds of fans, mostly kids, who were awaiting the arrival of their heroes.
Especially popular were the three former members of the London Knights — Tavares, Marner and Nazem Kadri.

“It was great,” Kadri said. “We loved it. We were waiting for the suspense of it and we certainly appreciate that dedication and the passion that the community of Lucan has shown both organizations. It’s overwhelming.”

Tavares was of a similar mind.
“It’s a lot of your childhood (memories coming back), a lot of these small arenas and seeing a lot of the kids in these communities that get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a game in their town,” Tavares said. “I can only imagine what it would have been like for me as a kid, so it’s a lot of fun. You want to enjoy it.”

Johnny Tavares signing autographs

FROM THE HASH MARKS
Emerson Clark set up Andreas Borgman for a goal that gave the Leafs at 2-1 lead at 6:34 of the first, which they held at the intermission. After a Kadri turnover, Ryan Dzingel beat Curtis McElhinney at the 21-second mark as Ottawa went up 1-0 … Smart game for Igor Ozighanov, who wasn’t rushed on the Leafs blue line despite the smaller ice surface. Considering the 25-year-old Russian is working against a language barrier and getting accustomed to a different game, he held up well. “He can pass the puck, he can get it through, he sees it, his head is up, he is big, good-looking player,” coach Mike Babcock said afterward. “We asked him to go to English lessons once a week. He said, no, I will go five times a week. He is just mowing it down in a hurry. He is a good kid, he is a worker, we’re hoping he continues to make progress.” … Also singled out by Babcock: Clark, Josh Leivo, Connor Brown, McElhinney and Garret Sparks … McElhinney finished with 12 saves on 13 shots before he was relieved by Sparks at 10:17 of the second, and Sparks stopped all 22 shots he faced. One will back up Frederik Andersen when the regular season opens, but who? “I don’t have any mind on anything other than just watch the players and they are going to solve it,” Babcock said. “Andersen is our goalie and these guys are battling to be Andy’s teammate and they will sort it out.” … Marner created a scoring opportunity while killing a penalty in the second period with some determination deep in the Ottawa end. Quickness will do that … Morgan Rielly took a Travis Dermott shot off the ankle during the morning skate but was not hindered during the game … Jake Gardiner and his wife Lucy welcomed a baby boy, named Henry, on Tuesday … Among the Leafs scheduled to play on Wednesday night: Matthews, Patrick Marleau, Tyler Ennis, Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen, Par Lindholm, Connor Carrick, Calle Rosen, Nikita Zaitsev, Gardiner and Andersen.