Nylander a shootout hero as Leafs edge Flames

TORONTO Mike Babcock was saying the other day that the Toronto Maple Leafs “should be a dominant, dominant home team.”

They’re not quite there yet. But before a crowd of 19,217 at the Air Canada Centre, in their first of just three home games in December, the Leafs beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 in a shootout, getting the deciding goal from William Nylander.

This after the Leafs could not score on a brief power play to end overtime, as Johnny Gaudreau was called for holding.

The Leafs wouldn’t have won without the goaltending of Frederik Andersen, who made 47 saves.

Mike Smith stopped 28 for the Flames.

The Leafs visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday before hosting Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 24 hours later in Toronto’s only Sunday home game of the 2017-18 regular season.

The win over Calgary was the fifth time this season the Leafs have allowed at least 40 shots on goal, with all coming in the past 10 games.

Much of the talk in the morning regarded the pest that Flames forward Matt Tkachuk has become in his brief NHL career and the 19-year-old came as advertised.

During a scrum in the first period, Tkachuk, while on the bench, appeared to spear the Leafs’ Matt Martin, which could lead to supplementary discipline.