It appears Martin Marincin better get used to the popcorn in the arena suites as it’s going to be awfully difficult to crack this Maple Leafs lineup. Ladies and gentlemen, we were reintroduced to Calle Rosen and it was magical.

Less Marty, more Rosey.  The 25-year-old Swede came out and played solid from the get-go. He made two solid reads in the neutral zone to step up in the first five minutes of the game. He was able to get two shots past the challenging winger early on, something the Leafs desperately need lately as it feels like half the shots have either been blocked or gone wide. And then wouldn’t you know it.

A Flick of the wrist

From the new Bobby Orr in town to Johnny Tavares and his second chance to reacquaint with the collection of wonderful people on Long Island. Perhaps fewer nerves for everyone involved. or maybe even because the coach chose to play Freddie this time around, either way, JT was great and the boys were buzzing in a building which wasn’t as crazy this time around.

This had to feel good

A rare occurrence Monday night on Long Island as ‘The Franchise’ Auston Matthews was flanked by Kasperi Kapanen and William Nylander. Let’s just remind everyone of one thing from this trio, they are a combined 65 years old. Speaking of Auston Matthews, it appears he avoided quite the scare, as he took a clapper off the inside of his left foot. Nothing like a frozen piece of rubber to basically bone at 90mph.

Auston Matthews blocks the shot and was in considerable pain. Please be ok. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/YmhDAJNmn4

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) April 2, 2019

It took Matthews a few shifts to shake the pain, but he did eventually get back to looking like he has the past two weeks. Which can be described as an elite hockey player.

Lately, Freddie Andersen has been allergic to ‘elite’, but against the Islanders, Andersen was almost perfect. He was committing to his angles, his motion was quiet, Freddie was solid. A great sign for anyone cheering for the Blue and White.

By the way, the Maple Leafs won 2-1, Freddie made 29 saves, they have 3 games left, and with the two points officially clinched their spot for a chance at the Stanley Cup. It’s been 15 years since the Maple Leafs have made the playoffs 3 seasons in a row. Are you ready for this?