These playoffs are a chance for Tavares to silence his critics and be the leader the Leafs are paying him to be. A Game 2 hat trick helps with that.
Loading...And during that game, the normally stoic Tavares showed an emotional, happy and smiling fist-pumping exterior he rarely releases. He scored the Leafs’ fourth goal, one that restored a three-goal margin after the Lightning were making a push.
“It’s emotional in the playoffs, and it’s always great to capitalize and extend our lead and to continue to build momentum off of a good start,” said Tavares. “Our building was jumping. The fans were phenomenal.”“That’s a game-changing goal,” said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe. “You take it from 3-1 to 4-1, and that’s a big moment in the game there for us.”
It’s only one game, but it’s precisely the kind of game Tavares seems to be built for. He’s among the best in the league from the dots to the crease. His game is tailor-made for the greasy goals that teams need in the playoffs. Yet he has won precisely one playoff round in his career, back in 2016 as an Islander. He proved his leadership chops then, scoring with 54 seconds left in Game 6 against Florida, then scoring the winner in overtime. That vaulted New York into the second round at a time when he’d looked as if he’d be an Islander for life and that team was going to be a force.dreams, the Maple Leafs, in 2018.
He’s racked up the points in the regular season, essentially a point-a-game player, 155 goals and 354 points in 360 games since becoming a Leaf.There have been moments. He looked like he scored what might have been the winner in
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