The Maple Leafs captain is scoring all the time again, but is he back to peak Matthews? Also, what's behind Rielly's struggles?

A weekly gauge of the players who are controlling substantial buzz around the league. When a player is included on this list it may not be a good thing -- it means that they are capturing a large amount of the hockey world's attention.

Bobby McMann, Nicholas Robertson, William Nylander, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Steven Lorentz, Auston Matthews and David Kampf found the back of the net for Toronto. Joseph Woll made 32 saves.

Matthews and Nylander both scored two goals as Toronto battled back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in the third period to beat New Jersey 4-3.

Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Monday night.

Code of Conduct | FAQ | RSS Copyright © 2025 Eklund's Hockey, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form. Please click above for legal restrictions and terms of use applicable to this site.

Adam Fantilli scored three goals for his first career hat trick, Elvis Merzlikins stopped 28 shots, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1.

The Maple Leafs' dependence on their 'Core Four' forwards is even more pronounced this season as their blueliners struggle to put up points. That's not likely to change.

For the last several seasons, the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs have been the best Canadian teams in the NHL. The Oilers have had more playoff success out of the two, but have failed to reach their ultimate goal,

Matthew Knies joins a long list of injured Leafs that has had a trickle-down effect on the rest of the lineup.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was a partial participant in Friday’s practice, departing before line rushes started. It was Stolarz’s first practice since suffering a knee injury on December 12 against the Anaheim Ducks.

Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Cooper knows the Toronto Maple Leafs well. He thinks new coach Craig Berube has had a massive influence on the Leafs squad.