The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off one of their best games of the season this past Saturday night. They beat the Anaheim Ducks 9-2 in what could have been their best game from start to finish. Today, they took on the St. Louis Blues in a holiday matinee. In the United States, it is Presidents Day, and here in Ontario, it is Family Day, which means a nice relaxing day to sit on the couch and enjoy a day of Maple Leafs hockey.
The Maple Leafs didn’t disappoint, either, albeit in a pretty slow first period. But the rest of the game had a good amount of pace. Toronto topped the Blues by a score of 4-2 to extend their winning streak to five games and keep them in third place in the Atlantic Division. The Blues needed these two points as much as the Maple Leafs did, as they are both right in the thick of things in their respective conferences.
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Needless to say, the remaining 28–30 games, depending on how many each team has played, matter. Especially when you have just over two weeks until the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, it can help upper management decide whether to buy or sell. This winning streak for the Maple Leafs has come at the perfect time and helps them start their road trip off the right way.
Marshall Rifai NHL Debut
Congratulations to Marshall Rifai, who was called up and played in his first NHL game against the Blues. He played 11:33 total time on the ice in his debut, which is a good amount for a rookie who was undrafted and had to work his way up to this level. Rifai played at Havard University alongside fellow Toronto Marlies player Nick Abruzzese and played three seasons there before going undrafted in the NHL draft.
Rifai signed a two-year contract with the Maple Leafs organization with an annual average value (AAV) of $775K. With the Marlies, he plays in the top four and has shown that he isn’t afraid to get involved physically. Last season, he had 118 penalty minutes, and within his first few shifts with the Maple Leafs, he was involved in a pushing match with Blues forward Brayden Schenn. The expectation is that the Maple Leafs will keep him on the trip and send him back to the AHL when they return home. However, the team is awaiting the verdict on the Morgan Rielly appeal, which could have him return to the lineup against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday instead of the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
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