Marner. Matthews. Nylander. Maple Leafs share the wealth in goal rush against NHL's worst team

It's not that It's just that a four point night from Marner, three points from Nylander and stood as a good reminder of just what a “I grew up here. I've been watching this team my whole life. There's been some great players come through here,” said coach Sheldon Keefe. “But these guys are special.

They're homegrown. We're very fortunate to have these guys.” Nylander got a nice round of applause from the Scotiabank Arena crowd the day after he signed an eight year, and went on to register three assists in a 7 1 shellacking of the lowly San Jose Sharks. “Obviously it was special, Nylander said after Tuesday night's victory.

“That (cheer) was nice.” Marner scored twice and added two assists to make his own history, into seventh place in Leafs scoring with 598 career points. “Obviously everyone knows I grew up in this area, grew up wearing this jersey as a fan,” said Marner. “To have your name (associated) with some of the greats, it's a cool moment to enjoy and to sit back and just really take it in." There have been times this season when the Leafs played down to the level of the competition, or took their foot off the gas after establishing a lead and let an opponent back into the game.

This wasn't either of those. It was the second game of a rare home and home series against the NHL's last place club, and the Leafs dominated with across the lineup scoring. Beyond the big guns, Pontus Holmberg scored his first of the season, and Jake McCabe scored his second and Morgan Rielly his fifth, surpassing his total from last year.

The Leafs have now won four in a row and given up precisely one five on five goal over their last five games. “We've just found a groove,” said Keefe. “We've found some comfort in playing close games. We come out of that Columbus game (a 6 5 overtime loss) which, I thought we played a good game in that one, but it's a mess — you give up six and lose.

The game gets the team's attention. You get a chance as a coach to get the team's attention. Nobody likes that, you don't feel good, but you come out of that game and things snap into place.” Meanwhile, if there was any doubt, Among goalies who have played at least 10 games, Jones has the best save percentage in the league (.934) after stopping 22 of 23 San Jose shots.

“We do make mistakes; we've been getting saves,” said Keefe. “And that just settles the team, too. That's why it's been so important for us to keep Jones going, because he's a part of this." The team seems just yet. The schedule is also a factor. “He's handling it great,” Keefe said of Jones.

“There hasn't really been much of a workload. Going into the game tonight, it's only one game in the last five days.” Tuesday marked Jones' fifth start in a row, and 10th appearance in the team's last 11 games. Jones went 3 0 0 on the recent California road trip with a 0.66 goals against average and .976 save percentage.

“A couple of these games haven't been, uh, you know, overly taxing,” said Jones. “We've controlled a lot of the play. But it is nice to get into a bit of a rhythm. Any goalie will tell you when you can string a few together and start feeling good, that usually helps a little bit.” Nylander, got a big cheer when he was introduced, and the team got just as big a cheer when the first period ended with the home team up 2 0.

It was a textbook effort with the Leafs finally showing their mojo against lesser lights. The pressure was relentless, and Rielly broke through on their 14th shot. The Leafs earned a power play shortly after, and Matthews connected on the first shot of the man advantage: a one timer from the boards that he's become famous for.

The Leafs outshot San Jose 16 5 in the first period of a game that looked like keep away. Nobody wants to be the team that loses to San Jose. The Sharks had lost 11 in a row in regulation — including 4 1 to the Leafs in San Jose on Saturday — and were beginning a five game road swing in what is becoming a long season for the NHL cellar dwellers.

The Leafs kept it up in the second period with a goal by Marner, 54 seconds in, followed by Holmberg's absurd first of the year. The little used forward drove the net and shovelled a shot past Kaapo Kähkönen to end the San Jose starter's night just 2:06 into the second. The Leafs got four by him on 20 shots and he was replaced by Mackenzie Blackwood.

That appeared to awaken the Sharks, who managed a power play goal from rookie Henry Thrun. It was his first NHL goal, a deflection of a Mikael Granlund shot with Simon Benoit off for hooking. and scratched, opening the door for Robertson after a pair of healthy scratches. Keefe said he was sending Robertson a message: “He's found ways to produce for us, and he's shown that he can play in the league.

I don't know that he's really fully separated himself from the pack. That's the next step: taking care of the puck, learn how to execute plays as an offensive guy. A lot of those plays have slipped off his stick or haven't been smooth, and it's disrupted the offence, which leads to having to defend more.” Robertson responded with a strong game, including a third period power play goal.

While Hildeby backed up Jones for the fourth game in a row, there was movement among the Leafs' other goalies: for the second day in a row as he recovers from a high ankle sprain. “No timeline,” said Keefe. “It's great to see him on the ice, but he's a ways away.” for the first time.

He had been working out on his own for the first week of his reassignment. The second stage, as the team tries to get him back on track, is live practice. “That's a step for him,” said Keefe..