Tavares scored his first goal of the season in Thursday's 4-2 win over New Jersey.
Tavares broke in on Jacob Markstrom and scored from the slot on a nice touch feed from Max Domi. The former captain has come into 2024-25 looking freer and lighter, perhaps because he's no longer carrying the weight of the C on his jersey. Tavares, who put up 65 points in 80 games last season, could rebound to the mid-70s with this reduced pressure.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Back in lineup Saturday
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Tavares (lower body) will return to the lineup Saturday against Detroit,
Tavares has missed the last week of action but will be ready for the start of the season. The 34-year-old center had 29 goals and 36 assists in 80 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs in 2023-24. Tavares will occupy a top-six role and see time on the first power-play unit during the 2024-25 campaign.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Labeled day-to-day
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Tavares is dealing with a lower-body injury and will not skate Friday as a result.
Tavares took a hit from Montreal's Michael Pezzetta in Thursday's preseason contest, which has given the former an injury designation. Tavares returned to the game after taking the hit and even scored a goal -- this could be a sign that the injury is not overly serious, but more of a precautionary move by the team. Expect an update on the status of the 34-year-old ahead of Saturday's rematch versus Montreal.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Power-play tally in Game 2 win
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Tavares scored a goal on two shots in Monday's 3-2 victory over the Bruins.
Tavares tied the game 2-2 on the man advantage late in the second period, beating Linus Ullmark with a turnaround wrister for his first goal of the playoffs. The 33-year-old Tavares finished the regular season with at least one goal in each of his final four contests. He tallied 29 goals and 65 points across 80 outings this year.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Snags 27th goal of season
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Tavares scored his 27th goal of the season Saturday in a 5-4 overtime loss to Detroit.
Tavares has three goals in his last two games after putting up just one in his previous 10. His overall production has dropped off a bit (63 points in 78 games), but those 27 goals are right in line with his other seasons in Toronto. Tavares' shooting percentage (9.9) is well below his career mark of 12.8, so that bears watching heading into 2024-25, but he'll also be 34 years old by the start of next season and may have lost a step.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: First goals in six games
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Tavares scored twice in a 6-5 loss to the Devils on Thursday.
Tavares scored 18 seconds into the first period when he took a pass from Mitchell Marner in the slot and cut around Luke Hughes in the left circle to beat Jake Allen with a wrister as the goaltender fell to his knees. Tavares tied the game 5-5 late in the third with a wrist shot from the top of the crease. Tavares snapped a five-game goal drought with the snipes, which pushed his season mark to 26. He has delivered at least 24 goals in every season of his career except the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Continues to produce
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Tavares scored the game-winning goal Saturday in a 3-0 win over the Sabres.
It was his 1,100 game. William Nylander threaded a backhand pass to Tavares inside the blue line, and Tavares drove to the high slot, where he ripped a wrist shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen early in the first period. Tavares now has 1,033 points (451 goals, 582 assists), which is fifth-most among all active players through their 1,100th game.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Three points in Wednesday's win
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Tavares scored a power-play goal and added two even-strength assists in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Capitals.
After helping to set up tallies by William Nylander in the second period and Bobby McMann in the third, Tavares capped the scoring on the night by flipping a backhand past Charlie Lindgren from in close. It's the third straight multi-point performance for Tavares, and over the last 14 games the 33-year-old has churned out eight goals and 14 points.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Three-point effort in loss
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Tavares registered one goal and two assists in the 4-3 road loss to the Flyers on Tuesday.
After being down 3-0 going into the third period, Tavares tried to will his team to a comeback victory by contributing on all three of the Maple Leafs' goals. The 33-year old captain scored the final goal of the game, his 22nd of the season, but Toronto could not get another to tie it up. This was Tavares' second multi-point game in a row, scoring two goals and adding three assists over that span. While his point production might be lower this season -- he has 51 points in 65 games -- his recent performance shows he's still capable of providing plenty of offensive production.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Notches one of each Saturday
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Tavares scored a goal and added an assist Saturday in a 5-4 shootout loss to Carolina.
Tavares may not have great foot speed, but he managed to break in all alone on Pyotr Kochetkov after taking a stretch pass from T.J. Brodie, and he went roof. Tavares also delivered a perfect one-timer set-up to Nick Robertson in the middle frame. His scoring pace has slowed this season, and it was his first multi-point performance in 11 games, but the Toronto captain remains a reliable offensive producer. He only needs two more points for his 14th 50-point campaign.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Offense slowing, but getting goals
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Tavares scored a goal in a 3-2 win over Montreal on Saturday.
Tavares scored the go-ahead goal with 6:46 remaining in the third period. He punched the puck over the goal line from the left edge of the crease after battling for position with Tanner Pearson. It was Tavares' 20th goal of the season, which marks the 14th time in 15 seasons that he's hit that plateau. He came out of the blocks fast after the All-Star break, picking up five points in two games, but Tavares only has five goals and six points over the past 13 outings. The goals are great, but at his current pace, he'll deliver the lowest point total of his career outside the COVID-19-shortened season and an injury-shortened campaign with the Islanders.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Scores late goal in loss
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Tavares tallied late in the game to get Toronto on the board, but it wasn't enough to get a win as the Bruins took a 4-1 victory Monday.
That's Tavares' 19th goal of the season and his fourth in the last seven games. He doesn't look like he'll come anywhere close to the 36-goal, 80-point campaign he posted last season. He's tied with Morgan Rielly for fourth on the team in points, but he's a long way back from Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitchell Marner. It may be time to think of the team as having three dynamic forwards instead of four, at least until Tavares proves otherwise.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Scores in Thursday's win
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Tavares scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 7-3 win over the Golden Knights.
Tavares has three points over his last two contests. The center tallied in the first period Thursday, chasing Adin Hill from the game. Tavares is up to 17 goals, 43 points, 196 shots on net, 70 hits and a minus-2 rating over 54 appearances this season. He's been centering the third-line lately, though he still sees close to top-six minutes on most nights.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Pair of points in win
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Tavares scored a goal on four shots, dished a power-play assist and added two PIM in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Coyotes.
Tavares helped out on a William Nylander tally in the first period before scoring a goal of his own in the third. Prior to Wednesday, Tavares had gone three games without a point while missing two contests due to an illness and an injury in that span. The 33-year-old center is having a down year on offense, but he's still been solid with 16 goals, 42 points, 194 shots on net, 68 hits and a minus-3 rating over 53 appearances.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Poised to play
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Tavares (undisclosed) is expected to play Monday against St. Louis, per David Alter of The Hockey News.
Tavares, who sat out Saturday's 9-2 win over Anaheim, is slated to play on the second line and top power-play unit in Monday's contest. He has generated 15 goals, 40 points and 188 shots on net through 51 games this season.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Game-time decision
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Tavares (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision Monday against St. Louis, per Joshua Kloke of The Athletic.
Tavares participated fully in Sunday's practice after sitting out Saturday's 9-2 win over Anaheim. Barring any setbacks, he appears to be on track to return to the lineup Monday. Tavares has amassed 15 goals, 40 points and 188 shots on net through 51 outings this campaign.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Won't play against Ducks
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Tavares (undisclosed) won't be in the lineup Saturday against Anaheim, per David Alter of The Hockey News.
Tavares is dealing with a minor injury and will miss at least one contest as a result. He will be replaced on the second line by Max Domi. Tavares is considered day-to-day ahead of Monday's matchup against St. Louis. He has accounted for 15 goals, 40 points and 188 shots on net over 51 games this season.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Expected back versus Flyers
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Tavares (illness) is slated to play in Thursday's clash with Philadelphia, NHL.com's Dave McCarthy reports.
Tavares will return following a one-game absence due to his illness, returning to his spot anchoring the second line. Following a 10-game goal drought for much of January, the veteran has scored in three of his last four contests, adding three assists and 15 shots along the way.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Late scratch Tuesday
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Tavares (illness) won't play Tuesday versus the Blues.
Tavares' absence was announced just before the start of warmups. Alex Steeves and Bobby McMann will enter the lineup with Tavares and Mitchell Marner (illness) both out Tuesday. Tavares has five points over three games since the All-Star break.
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Maple Leafs' John Tavares: Three more points Wednesday
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Tavares tallied a goal and two assists in Wednesday's 5-4 win over Dallas.
Tavares tied the game 2-2 with a power-play marker early in the second period before adding a pair of assists later in the contest. The veteran center now has five points (two goals, three assists) in two games since the All-Star break and six in his last three outings following a nine-game scoring drought. Overall, Tavares is up to 15 goals and 40 points through 49 games this season.
