TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (24-9-3 – 51 Points) at
ST. LOUIS BLUES (22-11-5 – 49 Points)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022
1 2 3 FINAL
TORONTO 3 1 2 6
ST. LOUIS 1 3 1 5
ON THE SCORESHEET
- Michael Bunting scored for Toronto at 5:43 of the first period. Bunting recorded his eighth goal of the season. Bunting has registered four points (1G, 3A) through his last four games.
- Mitch Marner scored for the Maple Leafs at 7:32 of the first period. Marner recorded his seventh goal of the season. Marner also registered the primary assist on Matthews’ power play goal. Marner posted
his 16th assist of the season. - John Tavares scored for Toronto at 9:27 of the first period. Tavares recorded his 15th goal of the season.
- Timothy Liljegren scored for the Maple Leafs at 8:18 of the second period. Liljegren posted his first career NHL goal.
- Auston Matthews scored on a Toronto power play opportunity at 11:24 of the third period. Matthews posted his 25th goal of the season. Matthews has scored a goal in 10-straight road games (12G). Matthews also recorded the primary assist on Bunting’s goal. Matthews registered his 15th assist of
the season. Matthews has posted seven points (5G, 2A) through his last five games. - Ilya Mikheyev scored the game-winning goal for the Maple Leafs at 16:45 of the third period. Mikheyev posted his fifth goal of the season, scoring all five goals through his last six games.
- Alexander Kerfoot registered the primary assist on Tavares’ goal. Kerfoot recorded his 20th assist of the season.
- Morgan Rielly posted the secondary assist on Tavares’ goal as well as the secondary assist on Matthew’s power play goal. Rielly has registered 27 assists this season.
- Travis Dermott recorded the primary assist on Liljegren’s goal. Dermott posted his third assist of the season.
- Pierre Engvall registered the secondary assist on Liljegren’s goal as well as the primary assist on Mikheyev’s goal. Engvall registered his eighth assist of the season. Engvall recorded his second-multi point game of the season and third of his NHL career.
SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)
1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL
TORONTO 14 (14) 13 (10) 13 (10) 40 (34)
ST. LOUIS 10 (8) 11 (11) 4 (1) 25 (20)
SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)
1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL
TORONTO 18 (18) 20 (15) 20 (16) 58 (49)
ST. LOUIS 15 (13) 15 (15) 11 (7) 41 (35)
ON THE ROAD AGAIN - The Maple Leafs are 10-5-2 on the road this season.
- Toronto’s all-time record is 95-96-25-6 in 222 games against the St. Louis Blues and 35-63-14-1 in
113 games played in St. Louis. - Toronto is 13-4-2 against the Western Conference this season and 5-2-2 against the Central Division
this season.
MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
Shots 8 (Matthews)
Shot Attempts 12 (Tavares)
Faceoff Wins 14 (Tavares)
Faceoff Win Percentage 100% (Engvall – 1 won, 0 lost)
Hits 3 (Muzzin)
Blocked Shots 2 (Matthews, Brodie)
Takeaways 1 (Brodie)
TOI 28:27 (Rielly)
Power Play TOI 4:18 (Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Tavares)
Shorthanded TOI 1:22 (Muzzin)
Shifts 30 (Rielly)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 72.41% (Nylander – 21 for, 8 against)
RECORD WHEN… - The Maple Leafs were 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill tonight.
- Toronto is 7-7-2 when the opponent scores the first goal of the game.
- The Maple Leafs are 14-1-1 when leading after one period and 4-0-2 when tied after two periods.
- Toronto is 15-5-2 when outshooting their opponent.
- The Maple Leafs are 7-2-2 in Saturday games.
OF NOTE… - Per NHL Stats, Auston Matthews collected a point in his 10th straight road game (11-3—14) – the
second double-digit road point streak of his career (11 GP in 2016-17). - Timothy Liljegren scored his first career NHL goal.
- Ilya Mikheyev skated in his 100th career NHL game.
- Timothy Liljegren was on the ice for a team-high 24 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
- William Nylander finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 72.41
percent (21 for, 8 against).
UPCOMING GAMES:
Jan. 19 Leafs at New York Rangers Madison Square Garden 7:30 pm ET
Jan. 22 Leafs at New York Islanders UBS Arena 7:00 pm ET
Jan. 26 Leafs vs. Anaheim Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET
Jan. 29 Leafs at Detroit Little Caesars Arena 7:00 pm ET
Feb. 1 Leafs at New Jersey Prudential Center 7:00 pm ET
Feb. 24 Leafs vs. Minnesota Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET
Stats reflect official NHL stats at the time of distribution. Please consult official NHL game sheets (links
above) to confirm no statistical changes were made.
For Maple Leafs notes, transcripts, audio clips and media guides, please visit MapleLeafs.com/pressbox.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE
On the emotions of tonight’s game:
“A little bit crazy. You know, it’s just in the way it works out – a game like this – which kind of sums up the way the road trip went for us but obviously thrilled the way it worked out. Each time, when we needed to push back and respond, we did. Whether it was after the first goal of the game, whether it was after giving up the lead and getting it back, or in the third period there having to get a key goal on the power play and then grinding it out in the end, it was good to see for our guys. This is an important win for us going home.”
On Liljegren’s first NHL goal:
“It’s huge and we’re happy for him. It’s interesting you say I’ve been with him so long. I’ve been with him so long that I had to be reminded that it was his first goal. It feels like he’s been here a while and I’ve certainly seen him score but I guess that was just as the AHL level. I wasn’t really aware that it was his
first one, but it certainly was a great one and we’re thrilled for him. I thought he played a great game today. He moved the puck really well, helped us on the breakout, got us out of trouble sometimes and, at times, got himself into trouble but then bailed himself out. It was great for him and huge to see him get
rewarded.”
On Marner’s return to the lineup:
“I thought he was great tonight. For a guy who hasn’t played in a while and just had the one team practice
on this trip, he had good legs. Whether it was his goal or the big-time pass he makes on Matthews’ power
play goal to tie the game. That’s what Mitch does. He’s a game-breaker like that. It was certainly nice to
have him back in the mix here tonight.”
AUSTON MATTHEWS
On tonight’s game:
“Tough one and fun. I think you kind of hit it right on the head, just back-and-forth and up-and-down a bit of rollercoaster but we found a way to win and we’re going home with two points which is all that matters.”
On Marner’s return to the lineup:
“Well anytime he’s in the lineup he’s going to give you a lot of looks. He’s a world class player and he just
finds a way out there. He makes plays, he’s sees the ice really well and he’s extremely dynamic so we’re a better hockey team when he’s playing so we’re happy to have him back.”
MITCH MARNER
On his return to the lineup after missing the last three games:
“Coming in yesterday, it was just great being back with the guys. Especially with the injury and then the COVID situation, I didn’t really get to see the guys for two months or something like that so just being back with the guys brings me a lot of energy and a lot of joy. Obviously tonight, I just wanted to come in
and keep it simple. If I had plays to be made, then try them, but obviously it feels nice to come back and contribute and help this team win.”
On tonight’s win:
“It was crazy. A rollercoaster ride. Obviously, that’s not the kind of game we want to play but I think we did a great job of staying with it, making sure we’re doing the right things no matter if we gave up the lead, they took it or anything like that, we just kept fighting back. Obviously, our power play wasn’t doing what we needed it to do tonight but that’s a big goal when we needed it. It’s a gritty win. We wanted to finish the trip off right and I think we’re all happy with how we finished this game.”
TIMOTHY LILJEGREN
On his first NHL goal:
“I think we moved the puck well there in the o-zone and [Dermott] got the puck and I was open, got the pass and just thought I’d give it a go. I actually didn’t see the puck go in myself so I was kind of hesitant to
celebrate there at first but it was nice.”
On assessing his game with increased ice time tonight:
“I don’t know. I felt kind of good out there. Obviously, I was on the ice for three goals in our net so the play in front of our net was not good enough today, especially from my side. I think all of the goals they scored
when I was in was in front of the net so just not good enough. Other than that, I thought it was better than last game for my part.”
ILYA MIKHEYEV
On his improvement this season:
“Just trying to help the team be better because we want to have progress ever game and step-by-step I just feel more confident now.”
The view from left field 