LEAFS RECEIVE THE PERFECT GIFT WITH THIRD-PERIOD COMEBACK
Merry Christmas, kids.
In their first Next Gen game of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs roared down the chimney and stuffed children’s stockings with a thrilling victory on Monday afternoon, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 8-6 in a wildly entertaining affair at Scotiabank Arena.
Follow the bouncing puck:
The Leafs had an early 3-0 lead, gave up five goals in a row, were down 6-4 in the third period and then scored four in a row to take an improbable victory before a crowd of 19,176.
“New Year’s Eve, I think,” goaltender Frederik Andersen said when he was asked what he saw from his end as the Leafs mounted an otherwise unbelievable comeback. “Fireworks everywhere and it looked pretty. Incredible.”
A five-point game by Mitch Marner — tying his career high — was among the twinkling ornaments the Leafs put on their 11th win in 15 games under coach Sheldon Keefe.
Captain John Tavares set a team record when he had three points — two assists and a goal — in the opening five minutes 10 seconds, the quickest three points to start a game in Leafs history.
“I’d have rather lost 8-0,” said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’amour, whose team has now dropped two straight games after points in seven consecutive and watched the Leafs creep closer in the standings. “We were so bad at the start. Unless you finish it off (his team’s fivegoal rally) then there’s no point coming back. We had a couple of guys with really good games and a couple who really fell asleep in the third. In today’s game, you need 20 guys ready to go. When you have a few guys not ready, it has the potential to look like it did in the third.”
It was the Leafs’ first eightgoal game since Dec. 19, 2017, when they beat Carolina 8-1 in a similar afternoon game in Toronto.
Marner and Auston Matthews, playing on a line with Zach Hyman, were the catalysts as the Hurricanes’ two-goal lead evaporated.
A span of 59 seconds, starting at 11:01 of the third, sent the Leafs into the break with a cup of cheer and no lumps of coal.
Matthews made like Marner and hit No. 16 with a cross-ice spinarama pass, with Marner one-timing a shot past Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek.
At 11:54, Marner spotted Tyson Barrie in the slot and it was 6-6 when Barrie moved to his backhand to beat Mrazek.
Six seconds after the faceoff, Marner scored again. Marner’s ability to anticipate the next play has few equals in the NHL, and so it was that Marner leaped from the circle, intercepted defenceman Trevor van Riemsdyk’s
pass to Jake Gardiner and swept in on Mrazek, scoring on a forehand deke.
“Our adrenalin is pumping, our hearts are pumping, you’re fired up,” Marner said of the outburst.
On goals by Jason Spezza, William Nylander and Tavares early in the first, the Leafs appeared to be well on their way.
But when Tavares chased starter James Reimer — the ex-leaf was gone in favour of Mrazek after allowing three goals on seven shots — the Hurricanes recovered and took over until the third-period lapse.
The Leafs’ comeback came 24 hours after the Toronto Raptors stunned the Dallas Mavericks, rallying from a 23-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win. So, yes indeed, Merry Christmas from your friends at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
Toronto enters the Christmas break with 44 points, entrenching them in second place in the Atlantic Division, and turkey dinner suddenly will taste a lot better on Wednesday.