> MAPLE LEAFS
The Winnipeg Jets’ Andrew Copp goes for a tumble courtesy of Leafs defenceman Travis Dermott during second-period action Wednesday. The Jets won 4-3 in a shootout after the Leafs tied the game late in the third.
Blake Wheeler ruined the party that Auston Matthews was hosting. Wheeler scored the shootout difference-maker as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Maple Leafs 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Until then, it was Matthews who had done everything he could to try to snap a win from the jaws of defeat.
He scored twice in regulation, the second coming with 14 seconds left in the third period to force overtime. And Matthews also scored in the shootout, though Wheeler’s shot past Frederik Andersen stood as the dagger.
Matthews has goals in seven straight home games and eclipsed 30 goals for the fourth time in his four seasons in the NHL, the first Leaf to do so.
His second goal — his 31st of the season — was a blistering shot from the point, off a faceoff win, that allowed the Leafs to avoid their second regulation loss in a row.
It was a thrilling overtime with Matthews and Mitch Marner providing some oohs and ahhs and the Scotiabank Arena crowd chanting “Freddie” for some mighty saves by the Leaf goalie.
“We had the confidence throughout the game that we could come back and win this game,” Matthews said. “And I mean, I guess we got one out of two (points) but it would have been nice to have both.”
The strain of injuries may be getting to the Leafs with so many players forced into roles further up the lineup and players called up from the Marlies playing important roles. The Leafs dug themselves a hole in the first period and chased the game.
But it was the veterans who made the eye-popping mistakes: Andersen stumbling to create Winnipeg’s first goal by Nik Ehlers (after which the Jets never trailed) and captain John Tavares making a pair of errors that led to two more.
Dmytro Timashov had the other Leafs goal.
Captain troubles: Tavares has had better nights. The captain took a holding penalty that the Leafs’ penalty kill handled. But two of his giveaways led directly to Winnipeg goals. The second one came with Tavares in control in the Winnipeg end. But a bad pass intended for Justin
Holl missed its target and the Jets went in on a 4-on-1, finished ably by Mark Scheifele. It was Scheifele’s 11th goal in 14 games against the Leafs, the most he has scored against any Eastern Conference team.
“There were some plays, obviously, I'd like to have back and I think there was some good looks and some good opportunities too,” Tavares said. “Just the way it goes some nights … you just try to stay focused on the next shift.”
Tinkering continues: Defenceman Travis Dermott took on a larger role on defence, moving up to the second pair with Justin Holl, while Martin Marincin was paired with Cody Ceci. The move was made in part because of the continued absence of Jake Muzzin, out with a broken foot. But there was another motivation. “Part of that is just to try to get Dermott to take that next step at this phase in the season,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.
Strange start: It was a strange first period as far as the Leafs were concerned, a period played mainly in the neutral zone that ended with Winnipeg up 2-1. Even Winnipeg’s goals were odd. The first came on a dump-and-chase that made it all the way around the boards from Wheeler to a waiting
Ehlers, who had an empty net to shoot at because Andersen fell in an ill-fated attempt to intercept the around-the-boards pass. Winnipeg got its second goal from Mason Appleton, his first of the year, on a shorthanded breakaway right after the Leafs thwarted a shorthanded breakaway attempt from Kyle Connor.
30-something: Matthews is one of 15 players in NHL history to have scored 30 or more goals in each of their first four seasons, with Alex Ovechkin (14) the only active player in that group.
Something in common: Jets coach Paul Maurice, like the Leafs’ Sheldon Keefe, once coached the Toronto Marlies en route to the big job with the Leafs. He took the job as a place to bide his time before he got another shot at the NHL. “So that was the mentality for me coming here,” he said. “It was not to coach the Leafs ... And then, of course, things changed far sooner than I thought they would. And the next thing you know, I was at the bigger building. And then not.”
Up next: The Leafs hold their annual outdoor practice Thursday at noon at Nathan Phillips Square, then fly to the warmth of Florida for a game Sunday in Sunrise, 7 p.m.