1. Leafs take a while to register first shot on net, but make first two count to take early lead. Although they had a couple of solid scoring chances early, the Leafs didn't get their first shot on Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard until nearly six minutes into the first period. However, centre Nazem Kadri made that first shot meaningful, putting a wrister high over Howard's shoulder on the short side and into the net for his fourth goal of the season and a 1-0 Toronto lead at the 5:56 mark.

Air Canada Centre announcer Mike Ross was in the middle of announcing Kadri's goal when the Buds boosted their lead: this time, blueliner Morgan Rielly's shot went off the skate of winger Zach Hyman and past Howard just 43 seconds after Kadri scored, and the Leafs led by a pair of goals at 6:39. Toronto only had two shots at that point, but both of them went in and the visitors were digging out of a hole before they knew it. 

1. Leafs dictate play for majority of first, but neither side scores in first 20 minutes. The Leafs jumped on the puck to begin Tuesday's contest and had a number of golden scoring opportunities in the opening period, but couldn't convert any of them into goals; meanwhile, the Capitals did have a couple of offensive opportunities themselves, but Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen stopped all seven shots he saw prior to the first intermission. Neither side was as good in terms of limiting chances as they'd have liked to be, but both Andersen and counterpart Braden Holtby entered the second frame as they began the first - with a shutout intact - and prevented their opponent from building momentum in the early stages of the game. 
                                                                                               

1. Leafs surrender game's initial goal, but rebound before first intermission with two goals - including dazzler from Matthews. The Leafs and Canadiens began their first meeting of the season in front of a typically loud crowd in Montreal, and it took the Habs 2:19 to score the initial goal of the night when blueliner Jeff Petry beat netminder Frederik Andersen.

However, the visitors battled back toward the middle of the first period and took the lead thanks to a two-goal burst of offence in a 44-second span: first, winger James van Riemsdyk scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season at 7:32 off a quick shot following a faceoff in Montreal's zone; then, centre Auston Matthews pulled even with van Riemsdyk by registering his fourth of the year on a magnificent individual effort. Matthews took the puck in the Leafs' zone, flipped it up the ice, took it back just inside the Habs' blueline, and ripped a sizzling shot past goalie Carey Price to give the Buds their first lead.

Yet again, Matthews showed why he is one of the NHL's brightest young stars: his vision, hand-eye coordination and ability to finish plays he started himself are all as good as just about anyone in the game. And all those factors came together to give the Leafs fans in attendance at Bell Centre a reason to make themselves heard.

 

Coming off their first loss of the 2017-18 regular season, the Maple Leafs prepared for a visit to Montreal Saturday to take on the arch-rival Canadiens at Bell Centre. And one way they know they can help get back on the winning track is to reduce the number of visits to the penalty box they've been taking thus far.

Video: NJD@TOR: van Riemsdyk fires home power-play goal

1. Leafs get on scoreboard first, but Devils answer back with two consecutive goals from son of Buds alumnus. Toronto was riding a three-game win streak heading into Wednesday's tilt against the unbeaten (2-0-0) Devils, and the Leafs took advantage of a power play early in the opening period to grab a 1-0 lead. The goal came via winger James van Riemsdyk, who netted his team-leading third goal of the season at 8:33 of the first.

However, New Jersey quickly returned fire, tying the game 34 seconds later on winger Miles Wood's first of the year. Wood - the son of former Leaf winger Randy Wood - struck again 1:38 after that, grabbing the puck at Toronto's blueline, breaking in alone on Buds goalie Frederik Andersen and giving the visitors a 2-1 lead at 10:45. The Buds' defensive performance has been uneven thus far this season, and the first half of the period was no different.
 

Riding the wave of a three-game win streak to start the 2017-18 regular season, the Maple Leafs went back to work Tuesday at their practice facility focused on their next opponent - the New Jersey Devils, who finished the 2016-17 campaign with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. However, this year's Devils team is also unbeaten - they've won both of their first two games in convincing style, beating their opponents by a combined score of 10-3 - and Toronto head coach Mike Babcock stressed the dangers of taking their talents for granted when they face off at Air Canada Centre Wednesday.

Riding the wave of a three-game win streak to start the 2017-18 regular season, the Maple Leafs went back to work Tuesday at their practice facility focused on their next opponent - the New Jersey Devils, who finished the 2016-17 campaign with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. However, this year's Devils team is also unbeaten - they've won both of their first two games in convincing style, beating their opponents by a combined score of 10-3 - and Toronto head coach Mike Babcock stressed the dangers of taking their talents for granted when they face off at Air Canada Centre Wednesday.

1. Hawks stake out early lead as Leafs struggle with puck control. The Leafs and Blackhawks began their regular season with some identical numbers - a pair of wins and 15 goals-for for each club - but Chicago established themselves early in Monday's contest by capitalizing on Toronto breakdowns in their defensive zone and jumping out to a two-goal lead (on markers by defenceman Jan Rutta and centre Jonathan Toews) by the 7:57 mark of the first period.

The Leafs settled down after that and the two sides finished the opening frame with an almost equal amount of shots on net - Toronto had seven, while the Hawks had nine - but the most important and telling stat of the frame was in the giveaways department: the Buds surrendered the puck 10 times, while Chicago did so just four times. Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said at the morning skate his players had to be better when they had possession, and that wasn't the case in the first 20 minutes.

1. Leafs roar out of the gate, score five times in first 20 minutes. The Leafs quickly delighted the sold-out ACC for their first home contest of the year, scoring a game's worth of goals in the first period: centre Dominic Moore - back in a Buds uniform for the first game of his second tour of duty with the club - was the first Toronto player to beat Henrik Lundqvist when he deflected a Nikita Zaitsev shot at the 2:30 mark of the opening frame; and although the Rangers rebounded to tie it 1:12 later on J.T. Miller's first of the season, winger Zach Hyman put the Leafs back in front at the 5:34 mark on a terrific second effort all alone on Lundqvist.

Toronto continued coming in waves after that, with blueliner Jake Gardiner completing an exhilarating rush from centre ice through a pair of Blueshirts defenders and firing the puck past Lundqvist for his first of the year for a power play marker at 11:07. Zaitsev netted his first of the season 2:52 later with a shot from the point, and Hyman notched his second of the game at the 17:19 mark by forechecking behind the Rangers' net and getting the puck to bounce off a Blueshirts defender.

Defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk scored on a man advantage with 23 seconds left in the period to cut Toronto's lead to 5-2 heading into the intermission, but the Buds left the ice to a deserved ovation from the crowd and a major advantage entering the middle frame.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the club has acquired goaltender Calvin Pickard from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Tobias Lindberg and a sixth-round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Pickard, 25, posted a 15-31-2 record with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 50 games with Colorado in 2016-17. He was selected by the Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion draft on June 21, 2017. In 86 career NHL games, all with Colorado, Pickard has a record of 28-44-6 with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has loaned defenceman Martin Marincin to the Toronto Marlies (AHL), while defenceman Calle Rosén has been recalled from the Marlies.

Marincin, 25, skated in 25 regular season games for the Maple Leafs in 2016-17 and registered a goal and six assists. He also appeared in six Stanley Cup playoff games for Toronto. Marincin has skated in 128 career AHL games - all with the Oklahoma City Barons - and has recorded 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists).