Nylander pots nifty OT winner, Leafs win wild one in St. Louis: Muzzy’s Muzings

Nylander pots nifty OT winner, Leafs win wild one in St. Louis: Muzzy’s Muzings

The Leafs and Blues are incapable of playing a boring hockey game —Tuesday night was further proof of that.
They’ve now combined to hit the over in four consecutive meetings.
William Nylander potted the OT winner as Toronto outlasted St. Louis 5-4 to snap a mini two game winless skid on the road.

Most OT goals in Maple Leafs history
Mats Sundin 14Auston Matthews 9William Nylander 7Thomas Kaberle 7
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 28, 2022

Calle Jarnkrok tallied a goal and two helpers for his first career three-point outing. Meantime, John Tavares, Alex Kerfoot and Justin Holl had the other goals while Ilya Samsonov made 30 stops to improve to 11-3-0 on the season.
Mitch Marner picked up an assist. Remarkably, the 25-year-old has now notched at least a point in 25 of his past 27 outings.
Toronto, who’s 7-2-1 in December, upped its OT record to 3-6. Additionally, they’re 12-2-2 since Morgan Rielly went down. By the way, earlier on Tuesday, his status was upgraded to day-to-day. He’s on the mend.

Leafs are 3-0-0 since acquiring Dryden Hunt.
He has yet to a play game, though.
— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) December 28, 2022

 
MUZZY’S MUZINGS:
 
FOOD COMA
As per usual, the game following the holiday break always seems to produce general unpredictability and wildness. And this one did not disappoint. Suffice it is to say, neither team had it defensively, but you won’t hear any complaints out of me. Furthermore, it was great to see Toronto’s depth come to the forefront. Once again, I thought the bottom-six had a solid night. They’ve really found their identity since the slow start to the season. Come playoff time, the Leafs will take the offence wherever they can get …

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Author: Nick Alberga / The Leafs Nation

Robert Williams injury gives Raptors chance at Atlantic crown

Robert Williams injury gives Raptors chance at Atlantic crown

The Toronto Raptors have the misfortune of playing in the NBA’s Atlantic Division, which might be the toughest division in the league. The Boston Celtics, led by stars like Jayson Tatum and defensive stalwarts like center Robert Williams, represent the sternest test Toronto will have to face in the division. Williams, who was being considered […]
Robert Williams injury gives Raptors chance at Atlantic crown – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Big Blue Jays bats pound Twins bullpen in 9-3 win

Tonight’s game officially confirmed that playing at the Trop significantly affects the way the Toronto Blue Jays swing the bat.

Despite a slow start, the Blue Jays elevated almost all of Minnesota’s relievers’ ERAs tonight in a 9-3 rout of the Twins to kick off a four game set. Toronto had 13 hits tonight, one more hit than they had total in their last series against Tampa Bay. Alek Manoah got his 17th quality start of the season, putting the cherry on top of a very enjoyable win for Blue Jays fans.
Sonny Gray got the start for Minnesota, and, although his numbers were very good, those who watched the game could see that Gray did whatever he could to throw pitches on the outside parts of the zone. Gray finished the night with five walks in five innings. 46 of his 96 pitches were balls. He did paint some corners nicely, but it was frustrating watching the Jays only tally one hit off of him due to Gray throwing several borderline pitches.

However, in the 6th inning, with Gray out of the game, the Jays were able to find some hits. With one out, Teoscar Hernandez hit an absolute moonshot to left field. The ball was hit so high that the Sportsnet cameras couldn’t track where the ball absolutely landed. Viewers were led to believe that the ball was hit into the first row of seats in left field, but in reality, the ball landed 409 feet into the second deck.

Teoscar with the bat drop pic.twitter.com/Jf1mRcJDl1
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 5, 2022

Bo Bichette followed the home run with a double, and he was cashed in by the steaming hot Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The exact same Bichette-Gurriel combo occurred in the 8th, as Gurriel sin …

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Author: Evan Stack / Blue Jays Nation