Takeaways - Leafs at Sharks - 11/15/18

TAVARES STRIKES AGAIN, PUTS LEAFS AHEAD WITH GAME'S FIRST GOAL
Toronto was in the middle game of a three-game California road swing Thursday, and after thoroughly thrashing the L.A. Kings Tuesday, their confidence was high. It got higher against the Sharks two days later, when, for the second straight game, the Maple Leafs scored the night's first goal within the first three minutes of the first period - in this case, courtesy of centre John Tavares:
Video: TOR@SJS: Tavares stakes Maple Leafs to early lead
Tavares showed the value of just getting the puck toward the net; although his pass was intended for linemate Zach Hyman, the puck ricocheted off of Sharks defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and past goalie Martin Jones at the 2:10 mark of the opening frame. Tavares wound up with his team-leading 12th goal of the year - and his fifth goal in his past six games - and the Buds had the home team playing catch-up almost immediately.

SHARKS EVEN THINGS UP, BUT KAPANEN PUSHES TORONTO IN FRONT
Leafs winger Kasperi Kapanen has had a strong start to the season - with six goals and 12 points entering Thursday's game, he'd already smashed his previous career-high of nine points in a single NHL season - but since linemate Auston Matthews was injured against Winnipeg Oct. 27th, Kapanen hasn't scored in any of the seven games that followed.

    That pattern ended in a major way against the Sharks, who'd tied the game up at the 5:28 point of the first on a Kevin Labanc goal. The first of Kapanen's two goals (both of which were go-ahead markers) came 11:47 into the first frame, when he equalled his career-best in NHL goals in a single regular season by roofing a pass from linemate Patrick Marleau past Jones for his seventh goal of the year:

Like most, if not all NHL scorers, Kapanen's goals come in bunches, and although not having Matthews around didn't make Kapanen's life easier, he's persevered and broke through Thursday with a multi-goal effort.
SAN JOSE SCORES TWICE BEFORE END OF FIRST, BUT LEAFS GET ONLY TWO GOALS OF SECOND
The Sharks replied to the first of Kapanen's goals by scoring twice (via goals from Joe Pavelski and Vlasic) before the end of the first period, but Toronto played one of its best periods of the season in the second, outshooting San Jose 17-14 and netting the only two goals of the period to enter the third leading the Sharks 4-3.

    Winger Josh Leivo scored the game-tying goal 2:30 into the middle period, taking a pass from winger Tyler Ennis on a 2-on-1 rush and snapping a shot past Jones for his second goal of the season:<br>Video: TOR@SJS: Leivo wires high shot past Jones<br>Kapanen then put the Leafs ahead for the second time at the 12:06 mark, making the most of a shorthanded breakaway to score his eighth of the year:

Kapanen's new career-high in goals is a reflection of his progress as an NHLer, and another indication of the impact the 22-year-old Finn can have in all game situations.
ANDERSEN STELLAR BETWEEN LEAFS' PIPES, PICKS UP ASSIST ON MARNER'S GOAL IN TORONTO'S SECOND STRAIGHT VICTORY
Leafs netminder Frederik Andersen has, for yet another season, had a particularly strong month of November, and Thursday's game rewarded him with a rarity of sorts - a primary assist on a Toronto scoring play:
Video: TOR@SJS: Marner scores off Andersen's long pass
Andersen - who stopped 42 of 45 Sharks shots in the Buds' eighth road win and 13th overall win this season - recognized winger Mitch Marner's position up-ice and flipped the puck up to him; Marner quickly moved into San Jose's zone and fired it past Jones for his sixth goal of the year and a two-goal lead that stood up the rest of the way.

    The Leafs' final game of their California trip comes Friday in Anaheim, and although Andersen may not play (as has been his habit in the second game of back-to-back contests) that game, the poise and positioning he's displayed in Toronto's recent swing of games has boosted his teammates' already-high confidence in him. You can't have sustained winning at the NHL level without sustained solid netminding, and that's what Andersen has provided for his entire Leafs career thus far.