O’Reilly Shows How Well He Fits With Maple Leafs

Good morning and happy Wednesday, February 22nd.

80% of yesterday's poll voters predicted Pastrnak will hit the 50 goal mark this season for the first time in his career. With the Bruins final regular season game against the Canadiens on Thursday, April 13th, we'll be sure to remind you if your prediction was right or wrong on the 14th. 🔮😬

The Toronto Maple Leafs recently acquired Ryan O’Reilly with the idea that they were adding more fangs to their monstrous offense.

They gave the NHL a glimpse of their playoff potential Tuesday night when O’Reilly netted three goals and one assist to power the Maple Leafs to a 6-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres.

It was O’Reilly’s fourth NHL hat trick.

O’Reilly’s new line, which includes John Tavares and Mitch Marner, generated 13 points on the night. Marner totaled five assists and Tavares contributed a goal and three assists.

Marner tied Pep Kelly (March 14, 1940, at the Montreal Canadiens), Babe Pratt (Dec. 17, 1942, at Montreal) and Borje Salming (Dec. 16, 1977, at the Minnesota North Stars) for the most assists in a road game in Maple Leafs history.

O’Reilly hadn’t put up any points in his first two games with the Maple Leafs. He exploded in his third game, scoring on Toronto’s first two shots.

"That line, our team in general, our team game in that first period, it was as dominant as we've been all season long," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "It was tremendous to see."

O’Reilly is a forceful two-way center who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP when the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

The Maple Leafs are a more complete team with O’Reilly on the second line. The Maple Leafs rank seventh in team scoring (3.45 goals per game) and tied for fifth in goals-against average (2.67).

It’s anticipated that other prime contenders in the Eastern Conference, particularly the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins, will react to the moves already made by the Maple Leafs, New York Rangers (Vladimir Tarasenko) and New York Islanders (Bo Horvat ).

💨 Connor McDavid is 5th fastest to 800 career points in NHL history. With his secondary assist on Leon Draisaitl's third period power play goal (watch 👇), Connor McDavid collected his 800th NHL point in just his 545th game played — the only players who have collected 800 points faster were Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy, and Peter Stastny. The 26-year-old forward added two goals later in the period, including the game-winner, to defeat the Flyers 4-2 and finish the game with 802 career points.

🌀 Andrei Svechnikov's two goals power Hurricanes' 4th straight win. Svechnikov scored twice (watch his 1st 👇), Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis added goals, and Frederik Andersen made 35 saves at the Canes downed the St. Louis Blues 4-1 last night. Riding a 4-game-win streak, the Hurricanes are 13-1-1 in their past 15 games and hold a 5 point lead in the Metropolitan Division standings over the New Jersey Devils. Only the Boston Bruins (84 points) have more points than Carolina's 79.

Connor McDavid finished last night's game with 802 career points, all with the Edmonton Oilers. Where do his 802 points put him on the Edmonton Oilers' all-time points list? Bonus: name the Oilers with more points than Connor McDavid.

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• 😱 Blue Jackets' prospect Jordan Dumais collects 7 points in one game

• 3-shot breakout & shooting drill

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Connor McDavid's 802 points put him in 5th place on the Edmonton Oilers' all-time points list. Only Wayne Gretzky (1,669), Jari Kurri (1,043), Mark Messier (1,034), and Glenn Anderson (906) have scored more points in an Edmonton Oilers' uniform.