Morgan Rielly and MItch Marner troll the Jets after big win
Thursday night's tilt against the Winnipeg Jets was touted as a must watch all week. Leafs superstar Auston Matthews was on the precipice of his first 50-goal campaign, the Jets desperately needed the 2 points to stay in the Western Conference wild card race, and the last time these 2 teams played, multiple suspensions were levied by the Department of Player Safety. Its no secret that the Leafs and Jets don't like each other, a rivalry that came of the 10 games they played against each other in the NHL's North Division last season. There was a ton of hype surrounding this game, and boy did it live up to it.
Winnipeg jumped out to an early 2-goal lead before the Leafs stormed back, scoring 3 powerplay goals, a shorthanded goal, 2 even strength goals and an Auston Matthews empty netter to hit the 50-goal plateau. In short, the Leafs thumped the Jets in every conceivable manner. The real kicker was after Matthews put the game out of reach with his league leading 50th goal, Dominic Toninato took a run at Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren. Toninato took a charging penalty on the play, Liljegren buried a beautiful one timer just 6 seconds afterwards while Toninato watched helplessly from the box. Pure karma in action.
Any time it looked like the Jets might try to stir things up or start taking liberties with the Leafs, Sheldon Keefe sent his 4th line of Spezza, Simmonds and Clifford over the boards to remind the Jets what would happen if they got out of line. The tactic worked for the most part. The Jets got chippy, but any time one of Clifford or Simmonds stepped in, the Jets would hide behind the referees and hurl flaccid insults. Pierre-Luc Dubois in particular showed a lot of bark, but even when confronted by Pierre Engvall, was too scared to engage in anything beyond pushing and shoving. Probably a smart play. Pierre Engvall is surprisingly strong.
After the last meeting between these 2 teams. Jets captain Blake Wheeler walked into the dressing room shouting "VICTORY!" Mark Scheifele followed up with "Is there anything better than beating the Leafs?" The Leafs clearly saw the video, because after the game when the team took to the ice to salute the fans, Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner put their sticks over their arms like they were playing imaginary violins, clearly wanting to rub it in the Jets faces. What better way to rub it in than by laying a beating on them at home, having Matthews bury his 50th goal and effectively ending the Jets' playoff hopes? I have to say, it was extremely satisfying to watch, and it looks oh so good on the Jets.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 1 | 458 ANSWERS Morgan Rielly and MItch Marner troll the Jets after big win Who is the Jets' biggest crybaby? | ||
| Mark Scheifele | 138 | 30.1 % |
| Blake Wheeler | 73 | 15.9 % |
| Pierre-Luc Dubois | 220 | 48 % |
| Neal Pionk | 27 | 5.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
