The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Chicago Blackhawks on what was a very special night for the Maple Leafs’ organization. It was all about long-time play-by-play commentator Joe Bowen, who is set to retire at the end of the 2025-26 season. The night started with a very nice ceremony, and what made it even more special is that Bowen started his career back in 1982 calling a game against the Blackhawks.
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Now, more than 40 years later, he was honoured against the same team. And I’m sure I can speak for Bowen when I say that all he wanted was for the Maple Leafs to win against the Blackhawks.
So, without further ado, let’s get into the game recap.
Game Recap
1st Period:
The first period started exactly how you’d expect. The pace was quick, there was urgency from the Maple Leafs, and the Blackhawks looked a bit lost without Connor Bedard controlling play. However, after the first five minutes, things settled in and the pace slowed down. That was until the Blackhawks fired a long-range shot on net and beat Joseph Woll to open the scoring, 1-0.
Just a few minutes after that, they scored again. However, the Maple Leafs challenged the play, as it looked like Jason Dickinson shoved Woll’s pad before the puck crossed the line. It was determined there was goaltender interference, and the goal was overturned.
The first period had just about everything. The Maple Leafs’ urgency faded, and when they had a chance to tie it on the power play, they gave up a shorthanded goal. After that, the Blackhawks had a few more chances but couldn’t find the back of the net. Still, they took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
2nd Period:
The second period started with the Maple Leafs pushing to get back into the game. Within the first three minutes of the frame, they had two strong scoring chances, including one from Matthew Knies, who had a wide-open net but was robbed by Spencer Knight sliding across with the pad.
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About five minutes into the period, the pace slowed down again, similar to the first. Both teams continued to trade chances, but the score remained the same. Toronto went to the power play late in the period but couldn’t capitalize, and the game headed into the second intermission with the Blackhawks still up 2-0.
3rd Period:
For most of the third period, the Blackhawks had the neutral zone locked down and looked like they were on their way to a shutout victory. That was until the Maple Leafs won an offensive-zone face-off, and on the ensuing play, Oliver Ekman-Larsson fired a puck on net that beat Knight to cut the lead to 2-1.
Chicago held the lead until the Maple Leafs earned another power play with less than five minutes remaining. Auston Matthews came up clutch, scoring a power-play goal to tie the game at 2-2. Then, just eight seconds later, Dakota Joshua buried a rebound off a long stretch pass from Troy Stecher to give Toronto the lead with just under three minutes left.
Despite a strong push from Chicago late, the Maple Leafs held on and came away with a 3-2 win which felt fittingly special given it was Holy Mackinaw Night.
