The win on Friday evening in opposition to the Buffalo Sabres was all in regards to the return of goaltender Matt Murray to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup after greater than 600 days out of the NHL. However their depth scoring and physicality was additionally on show — one thing followers must be enthusiastic about.
Exterior of that, their prime gamers got here to play on Friday, and others set private milestones en path to a 6-3 victory for Murray and the Maple Leafs. A kind of gamers was first-year Maple Leafs’ defenceman Chris Tanev, who recorded his two hundredth profession NHL level on William Nylander’s third interval empty-net purpose.
This help was his ninth of the season for the 35-year-old who’s extra recognized for his defence and bodily play than he’s for his offence. However it was additionally his tenth level in 33 video games this season for the Maple Leafs.
The helper marked his two hundredth level in 825 common season video games with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars and the Maple Leafs giving him a profession common of 0.24 factors per recreation over his profession.
Tanev turns into the 395th defenceman in NHL historical past to file 200 profession factors and simply the 78th lively defenceman to achieve the milestone. As an undrafted participant, Tanev additionally turns into the 415th undrafted participant in NHL historical past to file 200 factors.
A blocked shot machine, Tanev is already 9 factors shy of his level whole from final season — unfold between the Flames and Stars — and simply 18 factors shy of his career-high 28 factors recorded as a member of the Flames again in 2021-22.
Tanev has been a giant addition to the Maple Leafs lineup this season, averaging 19:37 of ice-time per recreation this season and blocking extra pictures than some other participant within the NHL this season. If nothing else, it’s fairly a milestone for a participant recognized for his defensive recreation.
