INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – The Kansas City Mavericks topped Central Division leader Toledo by a 4-2 final score Sunday at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena.
Here are three observations from the game:
Big Series Win
The Mavericks came into the series against Toledo fresh off a 6-1 loss in the Walleye’s barn on Saturday and missing six of their top eight scoring forwards on the season for a variety of reasons. KC dropped the first game, getting blanked 2-0 Friday night but didn’t blink and earned two victories to close out the weekend triple-header and take the series. It was as blue-collar as it gets, the Mavericks coming in wave after wave and doing the little things right – physical on the forecheck, fighting for every loose puck and battling along the boards for all 60 minutes in each of the last two games.
Trend Breakers
The Mavericks snapped Toledo’s five-game win streak last night with the team’s 3-1 victory, and tonight KC was able to stop another strong trend from the Walleye. Toledo entered tonight’s game with an impressive 18-1-1-1 mark on the season when scoring the first goal, as they did on this night, and the Walleye were 14-1-0-1 when leading after 20 minutes of play.
Off Script
In each of the Mavericks’ last two wins, Kansas City went off their usual route to victory. The indicator of a win this season has been scoring on the power play, and more specifically outscoring opponents on the power play, entering Sunday’s game with records of 15-5-0-1 and 11-1-0-0 in those two categories, respectively. Neither happened over the last two nights, with Kansas City going 0-for-2 each night. It was encouraging to see the Mavs gut out new paths to victory and against one of the tougher opponents on the schedule.
The Mavericks host Rapid City for Military Appreciation Weekend on Friday and Saturday, both at 7:05 p.m. All fans in attendance at Saturday’s game will receive a Mavericks t-shirt courtesy of Black Rifle Coffee Company.
With Kansas City Mavericks release
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