1 HOME SWEET HOME John Tavares darted back and forth in front of the net He and the Toronto Maple Leafs were facing the Florida Panthers in March 2019 A Leafs teammate flicked a long pass toward the crease Tavares and a Panthers defender battled for the puck But neither player could control it Somehow the puck slid under the goalie's legs The Toronto crowd roared as the goal horn blasted It wasn't pretty but Tavares had just scored his first goal of the night Tavares celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers in 2019
Later in the first period HAT TRICKS Before 2019 John Tavares Leafs forward Zach Hyman had never scored four streaked toward the left goals in a game But he had recorded quite a few side of the net Meanwhile hat tricks His first came Tavares stood near the in 2010 during his second right side of the crease season in the National Hockey League NHL By Hyman zipped a quick pass the end of the 2018 2019 to Tavares who blasted a season he had racked up ten hat tricks in his career one timer past the goalie That was seventh most In the second period the among active players Leafs had a three on two rush Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly launched a shot but it bounced off the goalie's pads Fortunately Tavares was in great position to knock in the rebound It was his third goal of the night To celebrate the hat trick fans launched their hats over the glass and onto the ice
Tavares skates past a hat after scoring his third goal of the night But Tavares wasn't done yet In the third period he tapped in another rebound for his fourth goal of the game Best of all he did it as a member of the team he grew up cheering for
