Matthews identifies one teammate who provided the bench with a ton of energy last night in Boston
Early in the first period of last night's game in Boston, we saw former Leaf Nick Foligno and Wayne Simmonds drop the gloves and go to war. The fight between the two lasted for what seemed like multiple minutes with both landing some heavy shots.
Knowing it was going to be a physical game, and that the team would need a bit more toughness against the Bruins is one of the reasons why Sheldon Keefe dressed Simmonds. The other reason is that he didn't have much of a choice with Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann sidelined due to an illness.
Shortly after Simmonds' fight, the Leafs opened the scoring on a beautiful feed from John Tavares to Michael Bunting in the slot. It was obvious that the fight got the Leafs energized. Following the game, Auston Matthews praised Simmonds for getting the Leafs going.
-Matthews on Simmonds dropping the gloves with Foligno in the first
For Simmonds, it was his third game this week after not playing for a full month and it would appear that he has earned some traction with Keefe on the fourth line. Between Simmonds, Zach Aston-Reese and Dryden Hunt, it gives the Leafs a few options to be able to play a heavy game when needed. Once Holmberg and McMann are clear of their illness though, Simmonds could once again become a situational player.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 15 | 429 ANSWERS Matthews identifies one teammate who provided the bench with a ton of energy last night in Boston Should the Leafs dress Simmonds more frequently? | ||
| Yes | 249 | 58 % |
| No | 70 | 16.3 % |
| At this stage, he's more of a situational player | 110 | 25.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
