Family night 'special' for John Tavares as Maple Leafs to honour his 1,000th-point milestone

Get the latest from Terry Koshan straight to your inbox

Article content

A night out for the family will have a different meaning for John Tavares on Tuesday.

Advertisement 2

Article content

Before the Maple Leafs play host to the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Arena, the Leafs captain will be honoured in a ceremony recognizing his recent accomplishment of reaching 1,000 points in his National Hockey League career. 

Article content

On Tuesday morning, Aryne and sons Jace and Axton watched as Tavares talked to reporters following the Leafs’ optional morning skate. The plan was to have Tavares’ family on hand for the ceremony as well.

“It’s really special to have my family be a part of a milestone like this, means the world,” Tavares said. “So much (goes on) behind the scenes throughout the course of my career, and my life really, from my parents, my siblings, now my wife, my three kids, everything they sacrifice and help contribute to me being at my best and going out there to be able to perform. 

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

“A chance to share it with them really means a lot. Great to have a few moments this morning as well.”

Tavares notched his milestone point in the Leafs’ 4-3 overtime loss in New York against the Islanders last Monday, getting an assist on the tying goal by Morgan Rielly late in regulation. In doing so, Tavares became the 98th player in NHL history to record 1,000 points. 

Since becoming a dad for the first time in Sept. 2019, Tavares has written his kids’ names on his sticks. Jace and Axton are big brothers to sister Rae.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

“It just naturally happened,” Tavares said of his additions to his sticks. “Different athletes do different things. I don’t think it was anything in particular. It was something I wanted to do daily in preparation. Any time I get my sticks ready, it was a moment to do that.”

Advertisement 4

Article content

Tavares takes a seven-game point streak into Tuesday night. 

Martin Jones, coming off a 38-save shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, will start in goal for the Leafs. The Rangers will counter with Igor Shesterkin.

Auston Matthews and TJ Brodie, who have been battling illness in recent days, are expected to play, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. Neither was in the lineup when the Leafs crushed the Penguins 7-0 on Saturday, ruining Kyle Dubas’ first work trip to Toronto since he was fired by the Leafs in May.

The Leafs’ 7-3 victory against the Rangers last week at Madison Square Garden remains fresh for both sides.

Toronto goes into the game with a 10-1-4 record in its past 15 games, while New York is 9-4-0 in its past 13. 

Advertisement 5

Article content

“You’d expect them to bounce back tonight, as they have bounced back and played very well (two wins in two games) since that game we played them,” Keefe said. “We’ll expect them to be at their best.”

Special teams, as always, could be a significant factor in the outcome. The Rangers’ power play is third in the NHL at a success rate of 29.8%, while the Leafs are fifth at 25.9%. The bigger gap is on the penalty kill. New York is sixth at 85.3% and Toronto is 18th at 80%.  

Recommended from Editorial

The Leafs’ projected lineup

FORWARDS

Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-William Nylander

Tyler Bertuzzi-John Tavares-Mitch Marner

Nick Robertson-Max Domi-Calle Jarnkrok

Bobby McMann-David Kampf-Noah Gregor

DEFENCE

Morgan Rielly-TJ Brodie

Jake McCabe-Timothy Liljegren

William Lagesson-Simon Benoit

GOALIES

Martin Jones

Ilya Samsonov

[email protected]

X: @koshtorontosun

Article content