Middle briefly left OT loss to Senators on Saturday after hit from Zub, has historical past of clutch postseason targets
©<\/span> Claus Andersen\/Getty Photographs
TORONTO —<\/strong> John Tavares<\/a> isn\u2019t about to let some aches and pains in his face stand in the best way of doing his half for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Recreation 5 of the Japanese Convention First Spherical towards the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Enviornment on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET: CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN).
The Maple Leafs middle missed greater than 10 minutes of sport time in additional time of Recreation 4 on Saturday when he was despatched to concussion protocol after absorbing a success from Senators defenseman Artem Zub<\/a>. Tavares did return to take three shifts in a 4-3 loss victory at Canadian Tire Centre and was one of many first gamers on the ice for follow Monday.
\u201cI really feel good,\u201d Tavares mentioned. \u201cA little bit of soreness simply in my jaw and cheek space, however [I] felt good. I felt good on the ice as we speak.\u201d
That\u2019s optimistic information for a Maple Leafs staff that wants Tavares to be a difference-maker like he\u2019s been previously, particularly given Toronto\u2019s historical past of being unable to place postseason opponents away when given the chance.
The Maple Leafs could have one other likelihood to do it Tuesday, being up 3-1 within the best-of-7 collection, and shall be trying to him to repeat previous heroics.
In spite of everything, he\u2019s had a historical past of with the ability to thrust the ultimate dagger into groups throughout elimination video games, a feat his high-profile teammates have but to perform.
Since forwards Auston Matthews<\/a>, Mitch Marner<\/a> and William Nylander<\/a> first began enjoying collectively in 2016, Toronto is 1-12 in video games by which it might have eradicated the opposition with a victory. Its solely win in that point got here courtesy of Tavares, who scored at 4:36 of additional time to offer the Maple Leafs a 2-1 victory towards the Tampa Bay Lightning in Recreation 6 of their 2023 Japanese Convention First Spherical and a 4-2 victory within the best-of-7 collection.
It’s the solely postseason collection win the franchise has managed to have previously 21 years.
Previous to signing a seven-year, $77 million contract ($11 million common annual worth) with the Maple Leafs on July 1, 2018, Tavares already had produced a series-deciding postseason second.
In Recreation 6 of the 2016 first-round collection between the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers, Tavares tied it with 54 seconds left within the third interval, then received it at 10:41 of the second additional time for a 2-1 victory and the Islanders\u2019 first collection win since 1993.
It speaks to Tavares\u2019s capacity to return by way of within the clutch, a trait the Maple Leafs hope he\u2019ll replicate Tuesday.
\u201cI simply assume it\u2019s the entire alternative,\u201d Tavares mentioned. \u201cI feel it\u2019s the entire sport the place you go on the market and attempt to make a distinction and attending to compete within the Stanley Cup Playoffs and have a chance to pursue that aim and that dream. Any time you may have an opportunity to maneuver on, that\u2019s what it comes all the way down to.
\u201cIt\u2019s a scenario the place you need to go on the market and make a distinction, whether or not that\u2019s doing one thing defensively, making a play that may result in a aim, or placing it behind the web your self. So, you proceed to play your sport the correct solution to play effectively and play at a excessive stage and execute when the alternatives come.\u201d
With the scenario from Recreation 4 within the rearview mirror, the agenda of the Maple Leafs is straightforward — discover a solution to win their fourth sport within the collection, which has confirmed to be a tough job.
\u201cWe simply must match the desperation they\u2019re going to return with,\u201d defenseman Chris Tanev<\/a> mentioned. \u201cWe felt we did lots of good issues the final sport, however the end result clearly wasn\u2019t what we needed.
\u201cLook, it\u2019s going to be a tougher sport tomorrow than it was final sport. They\u2019re going to be extra determined, and we’ve to match that desperation. Hopefully we are able to feed off the power of our crowd and use that to our benefit.\u201d
\ud83d\udd39Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>
\ud83d\udd39Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a>
\ud83d\udd39Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals<\/a>
\ud83d\udd39New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes<\/a>
\ud83d\udd39St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets<\/a>
\ud83d\udd39Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars<\/a>
\ud83d\udd39Minnesota Wild vs. Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>
\ud83d\udd39Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings<\/a><\/p>\n

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Middle briefly left OT loss to Senators on Saturday after hit from Zub, has historical past of clutch postseason targets © Claus Andersen\/Getty Photographs TORONTO — John Tavares isn\u2019t about to let some aches and pains in his face stand in the best way of doing his half for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Recreation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-324573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n