The Maple Leafs converted three power plays and added a shorthanded goal en route to breaking their eight-game losing streak. Toronto topped Anaheim 6-4 Thursday night at the Scotiabank Arena.
It appeared that for the first time since the Olympic break, Leaf fans would have something to cheer about. Toronto did get the win. However, the joy was tempered due to a second-period knee-to-knee hit by Radko Gudas on Auston Matthews that sent the centreman to the dressing room. Matthews’ status moving forward is unknown. In his press conference following the game, Coach Craig Berube was at a loss as to why his players did not respond to the questionable hit on their captain.
Now back to the good stuff. Matias Maccelli opened the scoring for Toronto at the 7:19 mark of the first period. The winger, who has scored a goal in three out of his last four games, stole the puck from Ducks’ blue-liner Jackson Lacombe, skated down the ice, and wristed a shot past goaltender Lukas Dostal for the 1-0 lead.
That was the lone highlight for the Leafs in the period. Anaheim had the better of the play throughout most of the first twenty minutes, scoring a pair of goals to take the lead. Cutter Gauthier netted his 33rd of the season at 12:19, and Ian Moore added his 4th of the year, a rocket from the slot that beat Joseph Woll at 14:26.
Pavel Mintyukov extended the Ducks’ lead early in the second, ripping home a snap shot from the face-off dot to make it 3-1. Toronto closed the gap with its first power-play goal of the night. Matthews beat Dostal with a one-timer off a feed from Matthew Knies at 10:29.
Gudas knocked Matthews out of the game at 15:47 of the period, earning a five-minute major for kneeing plus a game misconduct.
On the ensuing power-play, John Tavares jammed home a loose puck in front of the Ducks’ net for the equalizer. Then, still on the man advantage, William Nylander tapped in a rebound off a Knies shot to make it 4-3 Leafs.
Toronto’s penalty killers got in on the action in the third. Bo Groulx took a stretch pass from Brandon Carlo and rifled a shot by Dostal to make it 5-3. The shorthanded tally was Groulx’s first NHL goal in five years.
Knies scored an empty net goal at 18:12, stretching the lead to 6-3. Anaheim’s Alex Killorn got one back, scoring his 10th of the season with time winding down for a 6-4 final.
Next up, Toronto takes a Saturday night trip down the QEW to face the Buffalo Sabres.
