MAPLE LEAFS 4, BRUINS 3 (OT)
HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK
On tonight’s game:
Obviously, we got off to a good start. We struggled in the second with penalty trouble. I thought that really got us out of flow and gave a good power play good opportunities. In the end, that probably affected us. How many penalties did we take? [Four]. How many [power plays] did we get? [Zero]. I didn’t know that.
On Johnsson’s status:
I think he’s going to be fine. The X-Rays were negative. We’ll see in the morning. He might not practice tomorrow, but he’ll be back at it.
On the decision to play Marner on Matthews’ wing:
He wasn’t in Willy’s [Nylander] spot. We had talked about it two days ago. We kind of knew what we were going to do. We were going to play Willy with [Matthews] when he was in the offensive zone and that way it would set up when it was a matchup situation, we were going to play Mitchy. If we went with Matty in the O-zone, we wanted Mitchy to play with [Kerfoot] so we could match that up and then we were going to match up [Gauthier] in D-zone.
On if those matchups are limited to tonight:
We’ll just try to evaluate for the next game what we’re going to do. We’ll look at it tomorrow, get it figured out and then go from there. I mean, when we lost [Johnsson] we were a little short-staffed so we were moving guys around. I thought we had some guys who had strong, strong games. Mikheyev I thought had a real good game, I thought [Timashov] had a real good game, I thought [Gauthier] was outstanding. You go through and there were lots of guys that really contributed here.
On how valuable a tool the fourth line is:
You wouldn’t have trusted [Gauthier] in these situations before. You know, it’s no different than [Holl], you get better every year. Sometimes you don’t get to play, but you’re getting better. You’re around NHL practice every day, you’re training, you’re working, you’re getting better. Then when they make the step and they earn the confidence, then they really get better. Obviously, Goat has been important for us. Really important for us.
On Timashov scoring his first career goal:
I think he’s got four points or something. What I like about him is he’s nasty. He hits everything that moves and he’s heavy on the puck, he’s on the forecheck all the time, he provides speed for [Shore] and Goat.
On if he’d like to give Marner more time with Matthews in the long-term:
Not really. I’m tempted to have the best lineup we can and if that’s them together then I’d do that. John Tavares is a pretty good player too and that line, when we get Hyman back, that’s a pretty dominant, dominant line for us. Matty and [Johnsson] and Willy have been a good line for us as well. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I can’t predict that, I just know that you go day-to-day. You get to write about it after, I have to decide during. It’s not as easy to second-guess during. You’ve got to make those decisions in advance. Sometimes it goes good and you feel great. Sometimes it goes terrible and you wish you wouldn’t have done it.
On the impact a win like tonight can have:
I don’t know if it’s a statement game, but what I’d say to you is it was more important for our team than their team. It was important because John [Tavares] was out, to find a way to win it and it was probably even more important when we lost [Johnsson] that we got it done. I thought Freddie had a real good – it looks like he’s back. That’s an important part for us as well. I thought he had an unbelievable night for us.
FREDERIK ANDERSEN (43 SAVES)
On tonight’s game:
Yeah, outstanding hockey, right? It doesn’t get much better. It was fun.
On tonight’s intensity level:
I thought that was a fun game. I think we got off to a good start. We got some energy in the building. I think they carried it on all night. It was a fun, fun game to be part of.
On Matthews and Marner making plays with one another:
Yeah, they seem to find each other pretty well and, like you said, they have an unbelievable skill set and both guys can shoot it pretty good too.
ALEX KERFOOT (1 GOAL)
On how satisfying tonight’s win is:
Yeah, it felt good. I mean, obviously, the Washington game didn’t go the way we wanted it to and kind of gave up a leave there and gave up one in the third again, but we found a way to come back. Obviously, our best players made a play to win the game.
On Andersen’s play tonight:
He was outstanding. There were times in the game where we got hemmed in our D-zone, we had some late changes, got out there with some guys gassed and he made a bunch of great saves to keep us in it.
MITCH MARNER (2 ASSISTS)
On the game-winning goal:
Saw [Matthews] go around the back of the net and I didn’t want to get to close. I knew that if there were sticks in the way he couldn’t make the pass so tried to stay higher in the slot. I’m almost certain it hit [Rielly] and went in but it’s a good feeling getting that game over with and moving on.
On tonight’s line shuffling:
Yeah, we kind of got told in the morning that we were just going to watch and what the other team does with their lines and kind of go off that. I thought we played well together, had some chemistry out there. Defensively speaking I thought we played a really well-rounded game.
AUSTON MATTHEWS (1 ASSIST)
On playing alongside Marner for portions of the game tonight:
Yeah, it’s always exciting, we haven’t played with each other much but I think every time we get paired up together, we get pretty excited out there. We just try to make the most of it, make plays and try to create offense and obviously, keep the puck out of our net.
On setting up the game winning goal tonight:
I just tried to hold it and I think their guy slid on their first post and I tried to get around, find somebody open and got Mitch and I think it tapped [Rielly] and then went in, so that’s all that matters. That’s a big extra point for us, this was going to be a statement game. They’ve gotten off to a hot start so wanted to make sure we came out on time and played well.
MORGAN RIELLY (2 GOALS)
On if he’s willing to confirm the overtime goal went off him and in the net:
No… no.
On what he saw on the overtime goal.
Two really good players going back-and-forth with it. When they’re on the ice together, it’s great. You just kind of let them do the work.
On what this win means for the team:
Yeah, it’s big. A team within the division, not having John [Tavares]. Just kind of a point in our year where we want to get going and I think we answered the bell. Not as clean as we wanted to win, but we got it done anyways so we’ll take it.
DMYTRO TIMASHOV (FIRST CAREER NHL GOAL)
On if physicality is part of his game:
I like it, I think it’s fun to hit the guys. I think I played like that with the Marlies too. It’s fun for sure.
On scoring his first career NHL goal:
It’s a dream come true, always a dream to score my first goal. I didn’t think it would come this soon because I don’t score a lot of goals, I’m more of a passer, but I’m happy to score my first one.
The view from left field 