John Tavares recalled watching a Toronto Maple Leafs game where Mats Sundin scored his 500th goal against the Calgary Flames back in 2006. On Tuesday, he has the chance to do the same thing as he sits on career goal No. 499 with the Flames in town. “Obviously it would be great to get it, but I'm trying not to make it the focus of my game,” Tavares said of the milestone. He continued, outlining his approach: “I think just going out there and playing well, executing, doing the things that I talk about that allow me to help the team, and then obviously leads to opportunities.” "Hopefully [it] creates some chances offensively," he added. "And yeah, you get a chance to put them in the net, you want to do that to obviously help the team and produce, and obviously be pretty cool.” Tavares has certainly been playing well, currently tied for the team lead with five goals and second in team scoring with 12 points. This production shows no signs of slowing down from the 38-goal pace he achieved last season. The 35-year-old captain is normally stoic about these types of accomplishments, but he admitted that there may be more family members than normal in attendance. If that is the case, his teammates certainly want to see him get his due. “He's just a real example of what hard work and complete commitment will lead to, and he's just been a great leader since day one,” Morgan Rielly said of Tavares. “We’re always very happy for guys when you hit a milestone. But, you know, obviously that's a big one.” Tavares is known for his dedication to his craft and the hard work he puts into preparing his body. Maple Leafs goaltender Cayden Primeau recently took note of how Tavares brought an extra suitcase for a short trip. It turned out to be an extra pillow from home. “It takes up a little bit of room though, so on those short trips, obviously the suitcase is a little bit bigger, but just try to keep things consistent as best I can,” Tavares said. Whatever he has been doing, it’s certainly working, as his stability on the second line has helped fill the gap offensively while the first line still figures out the right mix. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NYLANDER AND JARNKROK LOWER-BODY INJURIES While William Nylander’s status for the game is still in question, joining the forward with a lower-body ailment was Calle Jarnkrok, who missed practice on Monday. If Nylander and Jarnkrok can’t go, it would open the door for Sammy Blais, who was claimed off waivers before the regular season began, to finally get into the game this season. “I just think that we've had numbers here, right? We've got an Easton Cowan going and different guys. So that's really the reason this is the numbers thing more than anything,” Berube said of Blais’ lack of playing time. “I think we had our guys here, we picked him off waivers, which is great. But that's really what it boils down to.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHERE TO WATCH: SPECIAL START TIME Viewers in the Maple Leafs’ region can watch or stream the game on TSN4. Viewers in the Flames’ region can stream or watch it on Sportsnet+. For the rest of Canada, the game will stream on Sportsnet+ premium. In the United States, the game will stream on ESPN+. For the rest of the world, the game will stream on DAZN. The broadcast will start at 6 p.m. ET. All 32 teams are in action, and this game was originally scheduled for 6:15 as ESPN intended to have every game have different 15-minute staggered start times for 'Frozen Frenzy'. However, the Leafs recently got permission to move the game up 15 minutes to try and avoid as much conflict as possible with Game 4 of the World Series, which features the Toronto Blue Jays taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Latest stories: Maple Leafs Hope William Nylander Can Return Against Flames Following Lower-Body Injury [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-hope-william-nylander-can-return-against-flames-following-lower-body-injury] 'We Miss Our Goalie Hug': Maple Leafs React To Having Joseph Woll Back At Practice After Lengthy Leave Of Absence [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/we-miss-our-goalie-hug-maple-leafs-react-to-having-joseph-woll-back-at-practice-after-lengthy-leave-of-absence] Maple Leafs' Anthony Stolarz Feels Mentally Recharged After Having Night Off Vs. Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-anthony-stolarz-feels-mentally-recharged-after-having-night-off-vs-sabres]
