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Toronto Maple Leafs players Auston Matthews and William Nylander have praised Bobby McMann for his performance against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. McMann scored two goals in the 6-2 win. He scored both goals in the first period against Kings goalie David Rittich.
McMann did not play in the season opener due to a knee injury. Since returning, he has three goals in three games.
Auston Matthews told the media that Bobby McMann was hungry to perform his best and help the team post-injury.
“He just looks hungry out there," Matthews said. "He's making plays, making good on his opportunities. He's an easy guy to play with. He works extremely hard on both ends of the puck, so it's great to see him get rewarded."
Maple Leafs' $92 million star William Nylander also praised McMann's play:
"He's been unbelievable since he got in. Obviously, we have a lot of great players, so it's great when a player like that comes in from resting and does a great job."
The Leafs have had a good start to the 2024-25 season. They have won three out of four NHL games and that too with great goaltending and defense. They have allowed only six goals so far, and their goal for and against ratio is 14:7. This is a continuation of their preseason efforts in which they had won four out of six games.
Bobby McMann's early goals helped the Leafs beat the Kings
The Toronto Maple Leafs won 6-2 against the Los Angeles Kings at Scotiabank Arena. They took control early in the game. Bobby McMann scored the first goal at 6:54 in the first period. He got the puck and quickly shot it into the net.
Auston Matthews followed up by scoring his first goal of the season at 8:49, making the score 2-0. McMann scored again, making it 3-0. In the second period, Morgan Rielly increased the lead to 4-0 with a redirection off Jake McCabe’s pass.
The Maple Leafs played well as a team. They rolled all four lines effectively, making it hard for the Kings to keep up. Coach Craig Berube praised the team's performance.
“I thought our special teams were excellent, our goalie was really good,” Berube said per NHL.com.
Berube highlighted the strong play of goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who made 32 saves. The Maple Leafs also scored their first power-play goal of the season, thanks to William Nylander.
