NYLANDER NOTCHES SHOOTOUT WINNER
ANDERSEN’S BRILLIANT NIGHT IN GOAL SETS STAGE FOR VICTORY OVER FLAMES
Mike Babcock was sayi ng the other day that the Maple Leafs “should be a dominant, dominant home team.” They’re not quite there yet. Before a crowd of 19,217 at the Air Canada Centre, and 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 don’t win without the goaltending of Frederik Andersen, who made 47 saves in regulation and overtime.
Mike Smith made 28 saves for the Flames.
The Leafs visit Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday before playing host to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 24 hours later in Toronto’s only Sunday home game of the 2017-18 regular season.
It marked the fifth time this season the Leafs have allowed at least 40 shots on goal, with all coming in the past 10 games.
With 2 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation, Patrick Marleau walked into a shot and hit the post on Smith’s glove side.
The Leafs didn’t have a lot of jam out of the gate. Certainly, having not played since Saturday, there was no excuse, not that there would have been had they played more recently.
But, as even casual observers of the team have come to learn, slow starts have been habitual.
“We’ve had time to recover ( since losing in Vancouver last Saturday), so there should be no issue,” Babcock said following the morning skate.
“We should be ready to play. Any way you look at it, when you’re chasing the game you’re pressing and it’s harder to score. Start on time in the NHL you have a much better chance.”
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 s crum near t he Flames bench in the first period, Tkachuk, while on the bench, appeared to spear the Leafs’ Matt Martin. If the NHL deemed it a spear, there could be discipline coming Tkachuk’s way.
On several occasions, Tkachuk got in Andersen’s kitchen and was agitating to the point that the Flame drew a cross- checking minor on Jake Gardiner late in the second period.
The Leafs, up and down through much of the first two periods and at times guilty of playing some tepid hockey ( especially on the power play), tied the game 1-1 at 18:47 of the second period.
Morgan Rielly intercepted a lame Flames clearing attempt around the boards and fired the puck at the net, getting the better of Smith with a high shot as the goalie was screened.
The goal was unassisted and Rielly’s fourth of the season, and was his first in 10 games.
Five minutes into the third, the Flames figured they had taken a 2-1 lead, but a review confirmed that the net was displaced before Sean Monahan jammed the puck over the goal line.
Flames captain Mark Giordano opened the scoring at 10:37 of the first period as Matt Martin served a holding penalty. Giordano’s seeing- eye shot through traffic got past Andersen, beating the goalie high.
Tyler Bozak returned to the Leafs lineup after missing the game in Vancouver with a bout of food poisoning and centred James van Riemsdyk and Mitch Marner.
During the second period, Babcock took Nylander off the fourth line and put him with Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman. Leo Komarov was dropped to the fourth line, while Connor Brown skated with Nazem Kadri and Marleau.
Later, Nylander and Brown were flipped.
Earlier in the day, the NHL revealed that Matthews, after one week, is third in the Atlantic Division in fan voting for the all- star game, behind Tampa Bay Lightning teammates Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov.
The Leafs honoured the Toronto Argonauts before the game for their recent Grey Cup win, showing highlights of the Argos’ 27-24 victory against the Calgary Stampeders in Ottawa on Nov. 26 as many in the crowd cheered.
Lirim Hajrullahu, Matt Black, Shawn Lemon and Tyler Holmes participated in the ceremonial faceoff, taken by Giordano and Rielly.