"Core 4'd": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 80: Hurricanes vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

The Hurricanes played their final home game of the regular season on Sunday night, completing a back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both teams played on Saturday, and both were victorious in different ways. The Canes controlled the Rangers, while the Maple Leafs scratched out a 1-0 overtime victory over the Canadiens. While the Canes are playing for very little, the Maple Leafs still have division title aspirations that can be realized today with a win and a Tampa loss. 

Scoring Summary
1st Period
TOR (19:43)- Pontus Holmberg (7) (Morgan Rielly (32) & Brandon Carlo (11))
2nd Period
TOR (10:20)- Auston Matthews (31) (Morgan Rielly (33) & Mitch Marner (73))
3rd Period
TOR (1:25)- William Nylander (45) (Max Domi (24) & Simon Benoit (9))
CAR (7:58)- Sebastian Aho (29) PP (Seth Jarvis (35) & Brent Burns (23))
TOR (15:43)- John Tavares (38) (Max Domi (25) & Morgan Rielly (34))

My Thoughts
It's a tale as old as time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. If you all their core to get going, they're a tough team to beat. During the final 40 minutes of this game, they dominated, with all four finding the scoresheet in their win over the Canes. Auston Matthews scored in the second, William Nylander and John Tavares scored in the third, and Mitch Marner picked up an assist on Matthews' goal. Add three assists from Morgan Rielly and a strong game in the net by Joseph Woll, and it was a recipe for disaster for the Hurricanes. They finish their home slate with 31 wins, falling one short of setting the new franchise record, while finishing one point shy of 2005-06's mark. 

The difference in tonight's game was the second period. The Canes dominated the first period, but found themselves on the wrong side of a 1-0 score after Pontus Holmberg scored with 16 seconds left. That seemed to completely strip the Canes of their mojo, allowing Toronto to keep them on their heels. The Leafs only scored once in the second, but they held the Canes to two shots by playing the Canes' game to a T. They kept Woll out of the game, forced Frederik Andersen to be under fire for almost 20 straight minutes, while extending their lead. Toronto was ready for this game despite a quick turnaround with travel. 

I'm not going to belabor any points about this game because it doesn't really matter for the Hurricanes, and neither do their final two games. I didn't think this was the group's best effort. They played like the second-best team in the game, and the scoreboard reflected that. I liked the effort from the top line, which provided two-thirds of the connection on the Canes' PPG in the third period to break the shutout. It was good to see Sebastian Aho get in the net. Andrei Svechnikov also had a solid game. He was throwing pucks at the net and allowing his physical game to speak without doing anything reckless. The Canes played an unusually physical style tonight, outhitting the Leafs, 27-18. I thought Frederik Andersen was fine and that none of the goals were soft or on him. It was just one of those games.

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Sebastian Aho
Sebastian Aho scored his first goal since the wild 6-4 win over the Islanders at the end of March, moving him one goal closer to another 30-goal campaign. Better yet, it came on the power play, which hadn't scored in six games. Along with four shots, Aho laid four hits, finishing tied for second on the team with Eric Robinson and one behind Jordan Staal. On a night when a lot of the lineup didn't look to be on their game, Aho stood out for the right reasons.

The Road Ahead- The Hurricanes are off until Wednesday when they begin another back-to-back against the Canadiens. The final game of the regular season is the following night against the Ottawa Senators. They're likely going to start their series with the Devils next Sunday. 

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