From street hockey of Oakville to his first NHL goal at Scotiabank Arena, it has been quite a journey for Isaiah George.
The New York Islander waited 20 games to net his first in the NHL and it turned out to be the winner in a 6-3 decision over his childhood team, the Maple Leafs.
Well, they used to be.
“Not since I was drafted,” George assured Saturday night, a thousand-watt smile lighting up the visitors’ quarters. “I got into quite a bit of (Leaf games at SBA), pretty much every NHL game I’d been to was in this rink. Really cool to play here.”
The defenceman, the 98th overall pick in 2022 from the London Knights, beat Joseph Woll from long range on a shot that appeared to hit a Leaf. Not that the 6-foot-1 George or his family and friends cared much. Hockey Night In Canada grabbed him afterwards for an interview.
“That was cool. I got to keep the towel. That’ll be a gift for my parents.”
QUITE A DUEL
William Nylander and Ilya Sorokin might have passed each other on the floor of the 2014 draft in Philadelphia, but got up close and personal on Saturday night in Toronto.
Nylander scored twice on the Russian, but was denied five other times in leading Toronto’s 29 shot total with seven. But Sorokin ran his two-year streak against Toronto to 6-1.
After Nylander came right down Santa Claus Lane to bury a high backhander, the Leaf winger tried the same corner forehand, but Sorokin was wise to him and grinned in his direction.
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Nylander notched another as he was hitting the deck and taking a nice pass from David Kampf. But there wasn’t a lot of work for Sorokin until the third period, his team taking full advantage of three days off compared to the Leafs on a back-to-back.
The Isles had goals on their first three shots against Joseph Woll, while it took Toronto about 12 minutes to match that shot total.
MOVIN’ ON UP
It would’ve been more fitting for John Tavares to have achieved NHL assist No. 600 on Saturday against the Isles, instead of 601. With New York he had his first 349 apples.
Getting his 200th goal as a Leaf Saturday would’ve helped, too, but he wasn’t alone in being denied by New York.
When he does, Tavares will become the fifth player in NHL history to record at least 200 with multiple franchises, per Sportsnet. The others are Wayne Gretzky, Lanny McDonald, Mark Messier and Keith Tkachuk.
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In becoming the 102nd player to 600 assists on Friday in Buffalo, Tavares also passed Canucks’ Hall of Famer Henrik Sedin for sole possession of 70th place in points with 1,071. But after moving ahead of someone on the ladder just about every time he had a goal and assist this year, Tavares trails 14 points behind the still-active Claude Giroux of the Senators.
He’s still amazing his younger teammates.
“It’s the way he prepares,” Nick Robertson said. “There’s no surprise why he has success with the commitment to the game and the way he takes care of his body.”
He won Craig Berube’s trust in the summer when the coach saw his frequent appearances in summer workouts.
“He’s been a great player a long time,” Berube said. “You go back to the Island when I was coaching Philly and that hasn’t changed. He’s a highly competitive guy who is detailed. That’s what allows him to be the player he is at the age he is.”
CLEAN SLATE
Given the rivalry between these teams that’s simmered almost 50 years, it was a shock the game had no penalties.
According to NHL Stats, that last occurred between them on Feb. 28, 2013, a 5-4 Toronto win. The last penalty-free game for Toronto and its opponent had been Nov. 24, 2018 versus the Flyers, another club you’d think would be at war every night against the Leafs.
STAR SPENGLER BANNER
There will be a strong Marlie/ex-Marlie presence on Team Canada’s entry to next week’s Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland.
Toronto’s farm team is loaning captain Logan Shaw to the national side, Shaw just signing a two-year AHL extension with the club that begins in 2025-26. The former Leaf farmhands are goalie Antoine Bibeau (now playing in Finland), defenceman Noel Hoefenmeyer and forwards Sam Gagner (who was still in the NHL with Edmonton up to last year) and Brett Seney (who appeared in two games with the Leafs in ‘2021-22).
Canada opens against the Davos club on Boxing Day.
LOOSE LEAFS
Saturday was Woll’s 50th NHL game, passing Dunc Wilson and Rick St. Croix. Five more appearances would move him into the top 40 in franchise history … Nice pre-game gesture by Max Domi, spotting a little boy at the glass with a sign; “My Dad Got A Stick From #28 (Max’s Dad Tie), Can I Get One from #11?” Max went to the bench for his extra twig and squeezed it through the photographer’s knot hole to the excited lad … After Saturday’s 7-3 road win in Hershey, the Marlies are off until the annual Boxing Day move to Scotiabank Arena, where they take on the Belleville Senators at 2 p.m. … Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of Toronto’s first road game in an American city, the original Boston Garden. The St. Patricks laid a 10-1 beating on the expansion Bruins with Babe Dye netting five goals.
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