The Leafs got their California road trip started the right way with a victory over the Los Angeles Kings. And not just any victory, a 5-1 defeat.

John Tavares scored, Nazem Kadri scored, Morgan Reilly scored. Everyone scored! But San Jose will be a different beast. Mostly because of the fact that the Kings are in the #LoseForHughes race while the Sharks...aren’t.

There should be incentive to push for this one though. It’s a rare feat to go through California without a loss if your name team name starts with a T. Additionally, the Leafs themselves have had several bad experiences playing games at the SAP Centre.

  • 2013/14: 6-2 loss (two-goal night for Joe Pavelski)
  • 2014/15: 3-1 loss (Marleau scored the game winner...irony)
  • 2015/16: 7-0 loss (Tomas Hertl with a three-point game)
  • 2016/17: 3-1 loss (but Josh Leivo got a primary assist!)
  • 2017/18: 3-2 loss (Tim Heed scored the game winner. Who is that? Exactly.) /

The 16/17 defeat was a special one as the game was heading into overtime until this happened:

I think I’ve driven the point home.

Play well and win the game. And for the warriors who are staying up to watch it, let’s hope it doesn’t go into overtime yeah?

In Case You Missed It

Women’s Hockey links: Cassie Campbell-Pascall joins HHOF Committee - Pension Plan Puppets
Jayna Hefford joins the Hall, Jenn Botterill joins the MSG crew and Chloé Aurard has herself a week in the NCAA

The three paths William Nylander can walk - Pension Plan Puppets
Sign, trade or sit out.

Mailbag: Leafs’ Defence and Saved By The Bell - Pension Plan Puppets
All that and more in this edition of the mailbag.

Around the Hockey World

Doughty laments 'most embarrassing' season of hockey career - Sportsnet
Drew Doughty isn’t happy with how his last-place Los Angeles Kings have performed this season and he isn’t keeping quiet about it.

Daniel Sprong, Jesse Puljujarvi Offer Trade Opportunities for the Rangers - Blueshirt Banter
Two areas where the Rangers would benefit most from addressing are their lack of skilled wingers and their lack of right-handed forward shots.

29 Reasons the Lightning should trade for William Nylander - Raw Charge
Ughhhh these folk and their foolish ideas.

Which skaters have been better or worse than they were last season? - Broad Street Hockey
The Flyers remain pretty average, just like they were at this point last year. Who’s been better or worse than they were then?

Penguins acquire Pearson, send off Hagelin in trade with Kings - PensBurgh
The Penguins work in tandem with another struggling team and make a major trade to shake up the roster..

The Half-Glass Full Outlook of Your Blue Jackets - The Cannon
Here’s a dose of Blue Jackets optimism.

Haula now considered ‘month-to-month’ with lower-body injury - Knights On Ice
Ooof.

From The Branches