3 Takeaways - Leafs at Stars - 10/9/18

MARNER, MATTHEWS PUSH LEAD TO 2-1 BY END OF THE FIRST 20 MINUTES OF PLAY
1. In their second outing of a four-game road swing, the Leafs' offense showed no signs of losing its potency when they hit the Texas ice Tuesday. Winger Mitch Marner - who generated a pair of assists Sunday against the Hawks - began the scoring against the Stars when he took a pass from linemate Zach Hyman and fired a wrist shot past Dallas goalie Ben Bishop to make it 1-0 at the 9:40 mark:

STARS PULL EVEN MIDWAY THROUGH SECOND, BUT MATTHEWS SCORES SECOND OF NIGHT TO PUSH LEAFS AHEAD, AND HAINSEY EXTENDS LEAD FOUR MINUTES LATER
2. Stars centre Tyler Seguin is one of the most skilled players in the game, and he showed why when, on a breakaway on Andersen, he scored his third goal of the season at the 9:04 mark to tie the contest at two goals apiece. Unfortunately for Stars fans, Dallas gave the Leafs their first power play of the evening at 11:20 of the second, and Toronto's special teams unit continued their hot performance courtesy of Matthews:

    Video: TOR@DAL: Matthews scores PPG as pass deflects in<br>Matthews banked a shot off a Stars defender to register the power play marker and make it 3-2 for the visitors. And just four minutes later, blueliner Ron Hainsey extended Toronto's lead to two goals when his wrist shot from the point finds its way through traffic and past Bishop for a 4-2 advantage at the 16:00 mark of the second.<br>Exactly one minute later, center John Tavares made it 5-2 for the Leafs when, on the power play, he was the beneficiary of a cross-ice feed from Marner that left him alone and open in front of BIshop's net. That allowed him to register his fifth goal of the season, and gave Marner and Rielly three-point nights:  

    Video: TOR@DAL: Tavares nets Marner's slick feed for PPG<br><strong><em>STARS TRY TO CLIMB BACK IN IT, BUT LEAFS' OFFENCE TOO DOMINANT; TORONTO NOW ON FIRST WIN STREAK OF SEASON</em></strong><br>3. The Stars are a talented club that's won their first two games of the season, so even when Toronto went up by three, Dallas attempted valiantly to get back into the game - and they did, scoring once (via Jamie Benn's third goal of the year) with 1:58 in the second, and then again (just 2:39 into the third frame via John Klingberg's second of the season). But 2:16 after Klingberg brought the Stars within a single goal of tying the game, Tavares netted his second of the game to give Toronto a 6-4 lead at 4:55:  

    Video: TOR@DAL: Tavares banks in shot on wraparound<br>Tavares' second goal of the game was the second-last goal scored in the third period. The final goal was an empty-netter scored by winger Connor Brown with 3:20 left that restored Toronto's three-goal lead and took the air out of the home side.

All things considered, this was another demonstration of the Leafs' outstanding offensive firepower - a weapon that can bail them out of defensive frustrations, including a power play that just may be the best the NHL has seen in years. Toronto's next challenge comes Thursday in Detroit, and although their defensive form could definitely improve, it's difficult to see their offense operating any better. Scoring seven goals two consecutive games is no small feat.