Banged-up Bozak proves to be Leafs’ charm
Veteran centre goes from questionable to quantifiable with key goal against Flyers
For a guy who was a game-time decision, the Maple Leafs were sure glad that Tyler Bozak was healthy enough to play.
The veteran Leaf centre had missed the morning skate with an undisclosed injury, but suited up nonetheless and scored the go-ahead goal in Toronto’s 4-2 Thursday night over the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I was a little banged up, but that happens this time of year,” said the 30-year-old Bozak. “Getting older. Body is not as nice to you as it is when you’re younger.
“I still wasn’t sure in warm-ups, but I felt good enough. It was a pretty important game for us, and not one you want to miss. I was happy I was able to play.”
The win gave the Leafs a four-point cushion over Philadelphia, with both teams in pursuit of a playoff spot in the tight Eastern Conference. It was also the second Leaf win in a row after a five-game skid.
“They’re in the same position as us, they’re fighting to get in,” said Bozak. “It was a huge game. There are going to be a lot of games like that ’til the end of the year.”
His goal was a thing of beauty. Bozak stripped the puck off Sean Courturier, and wristed a shot past Michal Neuvirth for the 2-1lead. It came less than 20 seconds after goalie Freddie Andersen had made a couple of tough saves, including one on Michael Del Zotto, and helped swing the momentum.
“Everything kind of worked out,” Bozak said. “I was just backchecking, and was able to get the puck, was able to weave through the middle and shoot the puck. I was lucky enough it went in.”
Bozak is a bit of a lucky charm. The Leafs are 19-7-7 when he registers at least one point. He picked up an assist, as well.
“We didn’t know till the last second if he was going or not, and obviously he was able to fight through,” coach Mike Babcock said of Bozak. “That was really impressive. “It was a real big effort by him.” Rookies Mitch Marner and William Nylander, as well as Nazem Kadri with an empty-netter, also scored for the Leafs. Nylander’s goal was his 18th goal overall, and ninth on the power play. He tied a rookie record for power-play goals, set by Dan Daoust and Walt Poddubny in 198283 and equalled by Alex Steen in 2005-06.
“He’s got an absolute cannon,” Babcock said. “And he’s got a great skill set. But I think Willie’s five-on-five play is his biggest improvement. Nylander, early in the year, wasn’t as competitive to score five-on-five. But Willie has done a fantastic job.”
Marner’s 16th, also on the power play, held up as the winner.
“We played the way we wanted to,” said Marner. “There was not a lot of space. It was hard getting the puck in. It felt like a playoff game.”
Marner’s goal came at 13:44 of the third, and gave the Leafs a two-goal cushion, needed when Shayne Gostisbehere fired a rocket past Ander- sen with 2:28 to play and the Flyers net empty.
“What I liked about it was we were ahead, and we were assertive, and kept playing really well,” Babcock said. “I didn’t like the (Gostisbehere) goal. Other than that, I liked a lot of things about us.”
The Leafs actually have somewhat of a favourable schedule right now — games spaced out with a day or two between, against opponents beneath them in the standings. That includes a game Saturday in Raleigh, N.C., against the Hurricanes, followed by a game Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla., and Thursday in Tampa.
The Leafs are 5-2-0 against Hurricanes, Panthers and Lightning this season.
But schedule-watching is a fool’s game.
The New York Islanders remain in the hunt in large part by overcoming an unfavourable schedule. They were one of the worst road teams in the league when they embarked on a nine-game road trip, and were 4-2-1 through the first seven.
Simmonds, the Scarborough native who seems to save his best when skating against his hometown team, opened the scoring. It was his fourth goal against the Leafs this season.