Leafs set a pair of franchise records in most satisfying way possible
The Toronto Maple Leafs welcomed the New York Islanders to Scotiabank Arena Sunday night, less than 24 hours after a hard fought 5-4 comeback victory in overtime against the Ottawa Senators.
They were missing Auston Matthews and Jake Muzzin, but still put up a solid performance to win the game 4-2.
With the win, the Leafs broke their all time records for both points and wins in a single season, now sitting at 106 points and 50 wins, and it couldn't have happened more perfectly.
Four seasons ago, John Tavares left Long Island to sign with the Maple Leafs as a free agent, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Islanders fans felt betrayed by their long-time captain.
What followed was a multi-year temper tantrum that even my 2-year-old would say was "a little much." From the cringeworthy fan made video tribute to burning jerseys and throwing rubber snakes on the ice, Islanders fans really laid it on thick.
They still take every opportunity to boo Tavares, or mockingly chant "We don't need you" at the top of their lungs every time he returns to the Island. Something tells me that the Islanders, who sit 24th this season in goals per game, could have used a centre who scored at a point-per-game pace this season.
The former high mark of 105 points and 49 wins was set by Lou Lamoriello's Leafs in 2017-18. Kyle Dubas' Leafs breaking the record by beating Lamoriello's New York Islanders seems almost poetic.
Even more satisfying is the fact that the loss the Leafs handed to the Isles was the one to eliminate them from playoff contention.
The only way the game could have gone more perfectly would have been a Tavares goal. He did record an assist at least. Yes, I'm being extremely petty, and no, I don't feel the least bit bad about it.
Its amazing that in the team's 100+ year history there has never been a season this good. The Leafs are quite literally better than they've ever been. What's equally amazing is how little the fans seem to care about this feat.
Fans are sick and tired of good regular season results without playoff success to go with them. If these Leafs want to make their way into the hearts of their fans, they absolutely must have a better playoff showing.
The team knows and embraces this, as you can see by Morgan Rielly's This Morgan Rielly quote is an all-timer from earlier today.
Until the playoffs come to pass, all we can do is watch the games in front of us.
I, for one, am going to enjoy this win, this record breaking season and the fact that in breaking said record, they left Islanders fans crying into their beers without a hope of making the playoffs.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 18 | 251 ANSWERS Leafs set a pair of franchise records in most satisfying way possible How many points will the Leafs finish the season with? | ||
| 106-108 | 41 | 16.3 % |
| 109-112 | 99 | 39.4 % |
| 113-115 | 90 | 35.9 % |
| 116-118 | 21 | 8.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
