This time around, former New York Islanders forward John Tavares had the last laugh.
The 28-year-old, who joined the Leafs last summer in free agency, made his second return to New York on Monday night in front of a more tame Islanders fan base. After getting shalacked 6-1 on February 28, Tavares & co. took care of business with a 2-1 win and wouldn’t ya know it, JT ended up scoring the game-winning goal. This wasn’t just any goal though people; we’re talkin’ MILESTONES, and they couldn’t have come against a better team.
With the tally, Tavares has officially scored against every team in the NHL, a pretty impressive accomplishment considering he’s not even 30. But the real cherry on top was the goal being his 87th of the season; a new career high. TSN’s Kristen Shilton was quick to point both out on Twitter.
Not a big deallllll.
With the win, Toronto clinched a trip to the playoffs for a third consecutive season and are officially set to face Boston (AGAIN) in the first round of the playoffs. But let’s face it; last night’s game, even with a win, was inevitably going to have at least one hiccup, and it came when Tavares took a trip to the box in the third period. Obviously there was an Isles fan in attendance who just had to give the Mississauga native a piece of his mind… just ruthless.
Yeah… pretty sure Isles nation is still feeling a bit salty about the whole thing.
Monday night marked the last time the two teams will meet during the regular season but with an impressive playoff run from each over the next few months, they could find themselves squaring off against each other in the Eastern Conference Final.
Imagine that!
(H/T Kristen Shilton)
