Understudies outshine young guns in another OT game
LEAFS 3, COYOTES 2 (OT)
On a night when the Maple Leafs’ three young guns — Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander — were united on one line and seemed destined to shine, it was their unheralded understudies who were the game’s stars.
Zach Hyman scored twice and Kasperi Kapanen had the overtime winner as the Leafs beat the Arizona Coyotes, 3-2, on Tuesday night.
The Leafs’ third overtime game in a row — they picked up five of a possible six points — keeps them in third place in the Atlantic Division.
“As you get closer and closer to the playoffs, games get tighter and tighter,” said Hyman. “Teams need points. Arizona’s in a battle themselves in the other conference. Montreal is chasing us. So I mean, yeah, you’re going to get more OT games because the games are tighter and teams become more desperate. And I think that you need that desperation moving forward.”
The Leafs are 5-2-1 in their past eight games since the all-star break and stayed two points ahead of the Florida Panthers, who beat the New Jersey Devils.
“Every game matters, whether it’s Tuesday against Arizona or Saturday against Montreal or against Florida,” said Hyman. “We have two more games against Florida and three against Tampa. It doesn’t really matter who you play. These points all matter.”
á Close call: The Leafs dodged a bullet 1:30 into OT when Jakob Chychrun’s slapshot beat Jack Campbell for the apparent winner. After video review, the officials determined there was goaltender interference and the goal was disallowed. Campbell was so confident the goal wouldn’t count, he never left the crease.
“I usually don’t get too emotional in the game, but the guy (Derek Stepan) bumped me pretty good and (Chychrun) shot it five-hole, so I knew I would have saved that if he didn’t bump me,” said Campbell. “You never know how it’s going to be called, but I tried to state my case a little bit and thankfully it got overturned and we won the game.” Campbell is 2-0-1 in his first three games as a Leaf, picking up five of a possible six points. “I was hoping to be six out of six,” said Campbell, who faced 37 shots, “but I think we’ll take the five and get ready for a big game against Dallas here at home Thursday.”
á Kappy’s capper: Kapanen scored on a breakaway — his forte, given his speed. “Everybody here knows that’s my go-to move,” said Kapanen. “It’s been working for me and I decided to try it and (hoped) it would go in, and it did.” It was his first goal in 13 games. There was a 14th in which he was scratched for oversleeping and missing a team meeting. “It’s not like I’ve been playing poorly,” said Kapanen. “There have been a lot of chances and sometimes hockey is like, you’re not going to be scoring goals for a while. But you still want to try to do other things with my physicality and forechecking and whatnot.”
á Zach attack: Hyman deflecting a Tyson Barrie slapshot to tie the game 1-1 in the first after Radek Dvorak opened the scoring, and took a John Tavares no-look pass early in the third to tie the game 2-2 after Carl Soderberg had scored late in the second period. “I think he’s very underrated,” Kapanen said of Hyman. “I think people don’t give him enough credit and he works his heart out every night and gets the puck to his linemates who are making plays, and sets himself up in front of the net, and he scores lots goals. He’s a big part of this team, and he always has been.” Hyman now has 27 points in 27 games. “I’m doing the same thing I did in years past,” said Hyman. “I think I’ve just been more patient and more confident with the puck. I guess I’m going to spots where you can score.”
á What’s my line? The Leafs started William Nylander on left wing with Auston Matthews at centre and Mitch Marner at right, instantly exciting Twitter — the three rarely play together — and setting off possible nicknames. The best candidates: The Money Line, the Finishing Line, the Negotiation Line and MNM.
About Phil: The game seemed to be searching for a Phil Kessel moment. It almost got one when Kessel took a penalty in the third period with the game tied 2-2. But Arizona killed it and the former Leaf was neither goat nor hero. Kessel has been held to just 12 goals this season.
The race: The Leafs remain ahead of the Panthers, who’ve had trouble winning lately. The Leafs will take any help they can get from the scoreboard, but they want to be masters of their own fate. “What’s really important is to just take it one day at a time and focus on what you can control and recognize that, overall, if you find a way to kind of ride the wave and win more than you lose, then you give yourself a great chance,” said coach Sheldon Keefe.
Roster notes: Frederik Gauthier and Dmytro Timashov were healthy scratches … Leafs’ Pontus Aberg got into his fourth game of the season. Aberg has 16 goals and 22 assists with the Marlies this season … The Leafs placed No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen (neck) on injured reserve, but remain hopeful he’ll return to action soon.
Up next: Thursday vs. Dallas Stars, 7 p.m.