Maple Leafs – Page 23 – The view from left field

Oilers 4, Leafs 3 (OT) quotes

SHELDON KEEFE

Q. Luke Fox, Sportsnet: Curious what went into the decision to have Jake and Zack wear the As tonight and who were the decision makers on that?

Sheldon Keefe: That’s been in place for quite some time. Before the training camp even began we had the discussion, myself, and Kyle and Shanny, but had the discussion with the players before camp began. My take on last season and getting to know the players and getting to know our leadership group, it’s very clear that Hyman and Muzz are both big parts of our core, big parts of our leadership group. I think our established captains recognize that as well. This just was an opportunity to recognize that. I just thought it makes sense with the additional jerseys that we wear. Just for myself, with all the teams, for the most part, that I’ve coached, I believe in trying to recognize the larger group than just what you’re allowed in a particular game be it a C, and two As. I think you need to recognize more people than that when you can so it was a chance to do that.

Q. James Mirtle, The Athletic: You’re 10 games into the season now, you’re 7-2-1. Who’s been the biggest pleasant surprise on the roster so far this year?

Sheldon Keefe: Well, I really wouldn’t say we’ve had any surprises. I think the guys that we expect to be good have been good. I think that we’ve gotten good performances from the players that have come in here that we’re just getting to know and are still getting comfortable with our system and with their surroundings, and their teammates, and all those kind of things. I wouldn’t say there’s been really any pleasant surprises. I think we’ve met expectations in a lot of ways and there still remains many areas for us to get better.

Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: You’ve said a few times getting the group to play its best hockey, knowing that without exhibition games that’s not going to happen right away. What does it say about the group that you have won seven of 10 to start? You want the second point tonight but you do get to one instead of none.

Sheldon Keefe: I thought our guys, first of all just on tonight, did a really good job. We haven’t played from behind really since the first game of the season. And then maybe the Ottawa game, I think that’s a little bit of a different type of game, but the games that we’ve been in here of late, we’ve had the lead, and then gave up the lead and then had to get it back again to get our wins.

Today is a little bit different. We had to push back and it was similar to what other teams have done to us on this trip. We’ve had leads, and they’ve come back, and we’ve had to find our way to get a win. I was happy that our guys didn’t get rattled. At the end of the trip that’s gone very well and when fatigue is definitely a factor here with the way it’s been a long road trip, it’s been a busy stretch to get to 10 games here.

The guys pushed back right away and squared the game away. I thought we were pretty good again in the third period, didn’t give up very much, obviously the exception of right at the buzzer, basically, with that point saving save by Fred. We were good there. Then the overtime is, I mean, overtime is what it is, right? We miss our breakaway and they come down and score on their 2-on-1. That’s sort of the way overtimes go.

In relation to the 10 games, we obviously feel really good about the results that we’ve gotten. As I said before, we still think we’ve got a lot of areas we can continue to get better in. That’s exciting for us as a team. We’ve got a chance here now to take a bit of a breath, four days off. What we’ll do is we’ll take tomorrow as a full day off and then our second day, Monday, we’ll have just some mandatory stuff for those who haven’t played as much, but optional for those that have played a lot.

There’s a number of guys I would like to just stay away for a second day as well. Then we get two really good practice days before it heats up again here for us. We have lots to continue to work at in my mind in a lot of ways. I think just the way this lines up here, we didn’t get a traditional exhibition season, obviously, but in my mind with the break here coming now, I think it’s sort of a turning of the page in some sense where we’ve got a pretty good sense of what we are as a group and where we need to go and grow and get better. We expect to bring it to another level when we come back to play after this break.

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: Mikko Lehtonen gets his first assist tonight, he’s playing a little bit more. Did you see anything more out of him tonight than you have earlier in the games he’s played?

Sheldon Keefe: Once again, he looked really comfortable on the power play, did a good job of delivering that puck to the net. It worked out well for us. I think at 5-on-5, again, it’s tough to find him much rhythm here playing on the road. They’re doing their best to get favourable matchups and they’re looking for it and you’re trying to protect him and keep them away from two of the best players in the world. It makes it hard to find much rhythm there.

I think he still doesn’t look comfortable out there. We’ve put him in two of the last three games here and given him that opportunity. Now we have a break. And we’ll continue to work with him in some areas of development where we’d like to see him really get better now that we’ve got lots of examples and film of him playing in the NHL and where we think he can get better. We’re hoping and expecting for continued progress there.

I think it’s important to point out one thing, just in regards to Travis Dermott, though, I think that for me, he’s a guy that hasn’t deserved to sit out and have to come out of the lineup, but much like some of the rotations we’ve had in the fourth line here, the only way to get people in is to take people out. We’re actually very encouraged with Dermott’s game. He’s really done everything that we’ve asked of him, and lots of positive things about his game. We shouldn’t be reading anything into him coming out other than the fact that we’re just trying to create opportunity for Mikko to show what he can do.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: Sheldon, what are the areas of growth and improvement you’ll be looking for from the team coming out of this break?

Sheldon Keefe: I think one of the big things would be for us just to get really comfortable in playing with leads and having a good process in place that can allow us to take care of that lead, but push more on the offensive side of it. And, when I say that, that’s doing it responsibly. Spending more time in the offensive zone in general through games.

I think we need to find ways to control play a little bit better and generate more shots, more opportunities offensively. So that’s part of it. The whole situational awareness piece with playing with a lead and being responsible with the puck, those areas. Then it’s just details all over the ice, continuing to clean those types of things up. Having back-to-back practice days now for the first time since we’ve broke camp would be a good opportunity for us to do that.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: Just want your thoughts after 10 games. A four game road trip that was pretty successful overall and where you feel your game is as you go into a three, four day break here.

Frederik Andersen: I feel like it’s been good. I think I feel like I’m moving really efficiently. I think after the first few games I figured out how I’m supposed to play and how I play my best. I think I got back to that more in the last few games. Overall, I think pretty good. I think we’ve got to be pretty happy with where we are at in the standings and we know we can be a whole lot better, so that’s a positive. I think, to touch on this this road trip, was good. I think we’d have liked the last point, of course, but overall pretty successful.

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: I know you want to stop every puck, but are you going to look at the highlights and see what McDavid is able to do because there’s almost no stopping him sometimes.

Frederik Andersen: Of course I’ll break down the game and do my video and see what I could have done differently. I think we’ve shown a lot of positives shutting him down especially, and containing him as much as possible. Obviously, he’s a great player where if he does create that space and speed for himself I think obviously he showed just how good he is, but I think we’ve showed we can do better and do really well against him. There’s lots of positives.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: Freddie, what did you see on the on the save on Archibald in the dying seconds of regulation?

Frederik Andersen: Just the 2-on-1 obviously, he passed it over trying to get over and main focus for me is obviously the shot and then try to slide over and take as much as possible of the net. Just happy to make that save and try to see if we can push it to overtime.

JUSTIN HOLL

Q: Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: Happy Birthday. I’m guess you wanted the win tonight, but can you talk about the trip as a whole?

Justin Holl: The win was something we were definitely after. We knew we’d have a motivated group coming out tonight. I think that was obviously disappointing to not win, but in the grand scheme of things taking seven out of eight points on the road is never going to be a bad thing for our group. We’ll learn from it and move forward.

Q: Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: What did you think of the new sweaters?

Justin Holl: I like them. Honestly, I didn’t love them right away. I didn’t know where the grey came from but they’ve really grown on me. I thought we looked really sharp tonight.

ZACH HYMAN

Q. Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: I’m sure you wanted the win tonight to complete the trip but how did you feel about the goal and being part of Mikko Lehtonen’s first NHL point?

Zach Hyman: Yeah, obviously we wanted to win. That was a great road trip. Anytime you go 3-0-1 on the road, it’s a good trip. It sucks that we ended off on an OT loss, but still a great trip for us. And Mikko, he’s really good at walking the line and getting a shot through so we’ve kind of told him before if he has a shot, take it, and he found the lane and Johnny tipped it and then it kind of went to me. So it’s great for him to get his first point and I thought he played great.

Q. Marty Klinkenberg, Globe and Mail: I know that teams kind of usually in their normal season, look at, you know, break it down by 10 games, 20 games, whatever. If you look at the first 10 games, what do you think right now?

Zach Hyman: I think they were all hard fought games. I think that we played in a ton of one-goal games. Two of them were OT, I think. And at the end of the day, we came out with a 7-2-1 record. So pretty great start for us. We like where we’re at. We like our team. We like what we’re building and yet the season’s a condensed season. So 10 games goes by really quick. It was a pretty shortened schedule for us here. We have a little break, but I think we’re in a good spot.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: When you look at McDavid’s goal in the second, is there any way to defend that or do you just tip your hat to one of the greats?

Zach Hyman: No, I think that we could have defended it better. I think that I was the first guy up and I’ve got to take away speed a little bit and give Hollsy, Muzz and, I think, Mitch a little bit more time kind of wedge him out of the middle. But, you know, once he gets that time and space, he’s a special player, obviously. So he can make moves like that. I think we’ve played him four times now. He’s a great player, and we just got to be aware of him.

AUSTON MATTHEWS

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: How do you sum up this road trip and the start to the season you guys have had?

Auston Matthews: I think it was a pretty positive road trip taking three out of four, playing some good teams. When you’re playing the same team back to back twice in a row, it’s hard to win twice and you see the two in Calgary were solid and it would have been nice to get this one. But I think overall there are some really positive things we’re doing that we can build off and just continue these next couple of games, get a couple of days off here and regroup. It’s kind of been a bit of a shotgun start to the season so it’ll be nice to reenergize, regroup as a team and get right back to it.

Q: Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: How much fun was it playing Connor McDavid two games in a row?

Auston Matthews: I don’t know if I’d describe it as fun but it’s always a challenge. Obviously, himself, Draisaitl are two of the top players in the League so it’s always a challenge going up against that amount of talent and speed coming at you. We’ll take that extra point. It would have been nice getting the second one, but we’ll move on and learn and just continue to move forward

Q: Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: 7-2-1 to start but you say in 10 games, you guys haven’t played your best hockey yet. Is it encouraging there’s still a lot of room to grow but while you’re growing you’re putting wins like tonight with one point?

Auston Matthews: That’s definitely pretty positive 10 games in. Like you said, there’s a lot of things that we can do better. I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of the best hockey that we can play collectively as a team. I think that’s always encouraging moving forward as we go on to the season knowing that we can play a lot better but that we’re still getting points, we’re still winning. Freddie made some big saves for us tonight, that last one with not a lot of time left. Those little things that we have to continue to move forward and get better in little areas and continue to win games, of course.

Oilers 4, Maple Leafs 3 postgame notes

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (7-2-1 – 15 Points) vs.

EDMONTON OILERS (4-6-0 – 8 Points)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2021

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
TORONTO	1	2	0	0	3
EDMONTON	2	1	0	1	4

GAME SUMMARY | EVENT SUMMARY | FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

William Nylander put the Maple Leafs on the board at 17:46 of the first period. Nylander has goals (2) in two consecutive games. He has four points (2-2-4) in four games against Edmonton this season and 12 points (4-8-12) in 12 career games against the Oilers. The Maple Leafs are 4-1-1 when Nylander records a point this season.
Auston Matthews scored the second Toronto goal of the night at 8:08 of the second period. Matthews has goals (4) and points (4-1-5) in four consecutive games. He has recorded at least one point in nine of the Maple Leafs’ 10 games this season. He has seven points (5-2-7) in six games on the road in 2020-21.
Zach Hyman scored the Maple Leafs’ third goal of the game at 9:16 of the second period. He has a goal and an assist in four games against the Oilers in 2020-21. His goal is his first power play goal of the season after he recorded three power play goals in 2019-20.
John Tavares registered the primary assist on Nylander’s first period goal before adding the primary assist on Hyman’s third period goal. Tavares has assists (3) in two consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his second multi-assist and third multi-point game of 2020-21. He has four points (1-3-4) in four games against Edmonton this season.
Ilya Mikheyev had the secondary assist on Nylander’s first period goal. Mikheyev has two assists through 10 games this season. He had eight goals and 15 assists in 39 games played in 2019-20 as an NHL rookie.
Mitch Marner recorded the primary assist on Matthews’ second period goal. Marner has assists (6) and points (2-6-8) in five consecutive games. He has four points (1-3-4) in four games against the Oilers this season. Marner is tied for second among NHLers in points with 14 (5-9-14).
Jake Muzzin picked up the secondary assist on Matthews’ second period goal. Muzzin has three points (1-2-3) over his last four games. He is tied for third among Maple Leafs defencemen in points with four (1-3-4).
Mikko Lehtonen collected the secondary assist on Hyman’s second period goal. Lehtonen’s assist is his first career NHL point. He had 17 points (8-9-17) in 17 games with Jokerit (KHL) in 2020 before joining the Maple Leafs for the 2020-21 season.
Frederik Andersen stopped 27 of the 31 shots he faced tonight.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	9 (9)	10 (9)	9 (6)	1 (0)	39 (24)
EDMONTON	13 (13)	11 (7)	6 (6)	1 (0)	31 (26)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	14 (14)	15 (13)	16 (12)	1 (0)	46 (39)
EDMONTON	21 (20)	24 (18)	14 (14)	1 (0)	60 (52)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Record on the Road	4-1-1 (6 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Edmonton	54-44-8-2 (108 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Edmonton on the Road	24-25-6-2 (57 Games)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots	5 (Hyman)
Shot Attempts	7 (Matthews)
Faceoff Wins	11 (Matthews)
Faceoff Win Percentage	100% (Engvall – 1 won, 0 lost)
Hits	2 (Seven players tied)
Blocked Shots	2 (Five players tied)
Takeaways	1 (Eight players tied)
TOI	24:43 (Rielly)
Power Play TOI	1:49 (Nylander, Tavares)
Shorthanded TOI	2:22 (Holl, Muzzin)
Shifts	31 (Muzzin)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage	66.7% (Spezza – 8 for, 4 against)

RECORD WHEN…

Opponent scores first	3-1-1
Trail after 1	1-1-1
Tied after 2	1-0-1
Scored 1 power play goal	4-0-1
Allowed 1 power play goal	2-2-1
Outshot by opponent	4-1-1
Saturday	1-0-1

OF NOTE…

The Maple Leafs went 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and 1-for-2 on the power play tonight.
Toronto has scored at least one power play goal in nine of the club’s 10 games this season.
Toronto’s line of Alex Kerfoot, Wayne Simmonds and Jimmy Vesey started 30% of their 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which was the lowest mark among Toronto skaters.
Auston Matthews was on the ice for a team-high 20 shot attempts at 5-on-5 tonight. Matthews finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 47.6% (20 for, 22 against).
Auston Matthews was 8-for-14 (57%) in the faceoff circle when matched up with Edmonton centre Leon Draisaitl.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Thursday, February 4, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (TSN4, FAN 590)
Saturday, February 6, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
Monday, February 8, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)
Wednesday, February 10, 7:30 p.m. at Montreal Canadiens (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
Saturday, February 13, 7:00 p.m. vs. Montreal Canadiens (Sportsnet, FAN 590)

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.

Maple Leafs-Oilers pregame notes

Leafs PR@LeafsPR·21h

Friday’s @MapleLeafs practice lineup in Edmonton:

Hyman−Matthews−Marner

Nylander−Tavares−Mikheyev

Vesey−Kerfoot−Simmonds

Barabanov−Engvall−Spezza

Brooks−Boyd−Anderson

Rielly−Brodie

Muzzin−Holl

Lehtonen−Bogosian

Sandin−Dermott

Andersen Hutchinson

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (7-2-0 – 14 Points) vs.

EDMONTON OILERS (3-6-0 – 6 Points)

JANUARY 30, 2021 ▪ 7:00 PM EST

ROGERS PLACE (EDMONTON, AB) ▪
TV: SPORTSNET ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN

MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus EDMONTON

ALL-TIME RECORD:	54-44-8-1 (106 Games)
ALL-TIME ON THE ROAD:	24-25-6-1 (55 Games)
2020-21:	2-1-0
LAST FIVE:	3-2-0
LAST 10:	8-2-0

MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus EDMONTON

GAMES PLAYED:	Joe Thornton (68), TJ Brodie (42), Jake Muzzin (34)
GOALS:	Joe Thornton (12), Jason Spezza (10), Wayne Simmonds (9)
ASSISTS:	Joe Thornton (58), Jason Spezza (19), TJ Brodie (17)
POINTS:	Joe Thornton (70), Jason Spezza (28), John Tavares (20)
PENALTY MINUTES:	Joe Thornton (28), Wayne Simmonds, (24), Zach Bogosian (23)

MAPLE LEAFS – OILERS TEAM STATS

	TORONTO	EDMONTON
GOALS FOR (Rank):	30 (t-3rd)	26 (8th)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):	25 (t-21st)	33 (29th)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):	12/28 [42.9%] (2nd)	7/35 [20.0%] (t-14th)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):	29/37 [78.4%] (15th)	21/29 [72.4%] (23rd)
SHOTS (Rank):	270 (4th)	285 (2nd)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):	375 (3rd)	367 (4th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):	51.8% (13th)	47.4% (24th)
FACEOFF % (Rank):	54.8% (4th)	49.5% (19th)

MAPLE LEAFS – OILERS NOTES

First Matchup between Clubs:	Nov. 11, 1979 (Toronto 6, Edmonton 3)
All-Time Record:	54-44-8-1 (107 Games)
All-Time Record at Home:	30-19-2-0 (51 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road:	24-25-6-1 (56 Games)
Last Win vs. Opponent on the Road:	Jan. 28, 2021 (Toronto 4, Edmonton 3)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER
GOALS	5 (Marner, Matthews)
ASSISTS	8 (Marner)
POINTS	13 (Marner)
POWER PLAY POINTS	6 (Marner)
SHORTHANDED POINTS	N/A
PIMs	17 (Simmonds)
SHOTS	35 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%	65.2% (Spezza)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	66.3% (Thornton)
BLOCKED SHOTS	15 (Holl, Muzzin)
TAKEAWAYS	8 (Muzzin)
HITS	19 (Holl)
TOI PER GAME	23:34 (Marner)
PP TOI PER GAME	3:09 (Matthews)
SH TOI PER GAME	4:12 (Holl)

MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES

Frederik Andersen	– Tied for the NHL lead in wins (5).- Tied for fifth among NHL goaltenders in saves made (172).- Has an 14-1-1 record with a 2.26 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in 17 career games against Edmonton. – Earned his 139th win as a Maple Leaf on January 22 vs. Edmonton to move past Curtis Joseph for fourth on the Maple Leafs’ all-time goaltender win register.
TJ Brodie	– Averaging 17:51 in even-strength ice time, which ranks second among Toronto defencemen.- Ranks third among Maple Leafs defencemen in points (0-4-4)- Ranks third among Maple Leafs in blocked shots (9).
Justin Holl	– Ranks 13th among NHL defencemen who average at least 15 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (16:53) with a shot attempt percentage of 56.0%.- Averaging 22:00 per game in ice time after averaging 18:31 per game in 2019-20.- Ranks third among right-handed NHL defencemen in shorthanded ice time per game (4:12).
Zach Hyman	– Leads Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (3:03).- Has the highest on-ice goals for percentage (70.0%) at 5-on-5 among Toronto forwards.- One of six forwards in the NHL to start average over 12:00 minutes per game (14:07) of 5-on-5 ice time and start fewer than 35% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone (32.8%), while having a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage above 50% (52.8%).
Alex Kerfoot	– Averaging 1.85 penalties drawn per 60 minutes of ice time.- Has won 60.0% (9 won, 6 lost) of his offensive zone faceoffs.
Mitch Marner	– Tied for second among NHLers in points (5-8-13).- Tied for the NHL lead in even-strength goals (5).- Leads NHL forwards in time on ice per game (23:34).- Has played 42.7% of Toronto’s shorthanded ice time.
Auston Matthews	– Averaging 22:12 in time on ice per game, which ranks sixth among NHL forwards.- Ranks fourth among Maple Leafs in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (55.8%).- Tied for second in the NHL in shots on goal (35).- Has won the 12th-most faceoffs in the NHL (80).
Ilya Mikheyev	– Ranks third among Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:29).- Has an average of 18.8 shot attempts per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, which ranks third among NHLers who have played at least 20 minutes of shorthanded ice time.
Jake Muzzin	– Ranks eighth among NHL skaters in shorthanded ice time per game (4:03).- Ranks 12th among NHL defencemen who have appeared in five games in shot attempts per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (13.45).- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 54.2%.
William Nylander	– Has the third highest points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (2.05) among Toronto skaters.- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 58.9%, which is the second-highest percentage among Maple Leafs forwards.- Has recorded 11 points against the Oilers (three goals, eight assists) in 11 career games against Edmonton.
Morgan Rielly	– Ranks second among Maple Leafs in average time on ice (23:24).- Tied for third among NHL defencemen in assists (6).- Tied for ninth among NHL defencemen in even-strength points (1-3-4).- Had his eighth career game with three-plus assists on January 24 at Calgary. Per NHL PR, only two defensemen in history have recorded more with the franchise: Borje Salming (29) and Tomas Kaberle (12).
John Tavares	– Tied for 24th in the NHL in points (4-4-8).- Tied for the NHL lead in power play goals (4).- Tied for 17th among NHLers in shots on goal (27).- Has the third-highest faceoff win percentage (61.2%) among NHLers who have taken at least 125 faceoffs (134).

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

Travis Boyd	Points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games.
Mitch Marner	Assists (5) and Points (2-5-7) in four consecutive games.
Auston Matthews	Goals (3) and points (3-1-4) in three consecutive games.
Morgan Rielly	Assists (6) in three consecutive games.
Wayne Simmonds	Goals (3) in three consecutive games.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Zach Bogosian	Four points from 200 NHL points

RECENT MILESTONES

Joey Anderson	First game as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 26 at CGY)
Travis Boyd	First game as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 26 at CGY) First goal as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 26 at CGY) First point as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 26 at CGY)
Mitch Marner	300th NHL point (Jan. 24 at CGY)
Wayne Simmonds	First goal as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 24 at CGY) First point as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 24 at CGY) 500th NHL point (Jan. 24 at CGY)

INJURY REPORT

Jack Campbell (Leg)	Week-to-week.
Nick Robertson (Knee)	On long term injured reserve.
Joe Thornton (Rib)	On long term injured reserve.
	Man Games Lost: 13

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Jan. 24	Added forward Travis Boyd to roster.
Jan. 23	Placed forward Joe Thornton on long term injured reserve.

Leafs 4, Oilers 3 quotes

SHELDON KEEFE

Q. Josh Clipperton, The Canadian Press: What have you liked about your team and how have they grown in these one goal games so far this season?

Sheldon Keefe: I like the way that we’ve found ways to come out on the positive side of it when it counts the most. Whether it’s how many games now we’ve had a really big penalty kill very late in the game with the game on the line, we find our way through those. We gave up the lead and then we bounce right back and get it and then make sure we finish the job. That’s been a theme. I like that. I think the thing I like most of all, for the most part, we’ve defended really well as a team, not perfect, but we’ve defended — I guess well maybe is not the right term, we’ve defended hard.

The guys are working in and have really significantly cut down on the high danger chances and odd-man rushes. The players have been really committed to that. It’s been far from perfect. We’ve got a lot of areas to grow. We’re not even close to being the team that I think we can be and the team that we would need to be, but a lot of positive things that have gotten us to be 7-2. I think the greatest news of all is that none of the games have been perfect and there’s lots of room for growth still.

Q. Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: Sheldon, specifically tonight, what do you think of the team’s performance, especially when it got a little bizarre there towards the end with all the penalties?

Sheldon Keefe: I really liked our first period, liked a lot of things about it, liked how we defended. Again, offensively, we didn’t have a great deal, but we defended real well, they broke loose a couple times and it was really just as a result of some of our mistakes with the puck. When we make mistakes with the puck, like they do as a team, the Oilers, they transition very well and that’s when their best players come alive. When it was time to defend, we didn’t give them anything in the first period at all.

The same thing in the second period. When we made it hard on ourselves and we gave them the puck back they got some life, but, for the most part — I didn’t like the third goal, the Kassian goal. I didn’t like that goal defensively, but aside from that our team’s defended really well. Ultimately that’s why we’re sitting where we are. There’s a lot of things within our process of how we play with the puck that can improve and obviously we have to stay out of the penalty box. The penalties have been crazy. It’s just not good enough.

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: Lots will be made, of course, of the guys that scored tonight, but Morgan Riley had a terrific game. He looks really like he did two years ago. You didn’t see that firsthand. What have you thought of the way Morgan is as a healthy defenceman, as opposed to the guy that was a bit sidelined last year?

Sheldon Keefe: I think he’s skating really well. I think these three Oiler games that we’ve played, in particular, he’s played for the most part against McDavid, he and Brodie, and that’s a matchup that a year ago he wouldn’t have had. Now we’ve given him that and he’s taken that on and I think he’s done a really good job with it. He’s still played his game offensively, but he’s defended fast and hard and competitive. He’s been really good.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: Sheldon, other than the fact that it’s scoring so often, what have you liked the most about how the power play is operating to start the year?

Sheldon Keefe: I just like that the guys have adjusted well whether it’s Simmonds going in on the net front, whether it’s the fact that, for the most part, we’ve used two competitive units and spread it out, and the guys have adjusted well with that, whether when Jumbo was there, it was going well, and now Kerfoot’s come in and he’s done well.

Times when we’ve put the two units together and put Tavares, Nylander, Matthews and Marner together, those guys have done well as a group. Whatever we’ve done, the players have responded well, and in a season with no exhibition and very limited practice time that’s a really, really good, positive thing. Credit to the players for executing and for Manny for the plan that he’s put together for those guys.

Sheldon Keefe: Yeah, I think the rest is important. We’ve got to try to manage that when we can when it comes to Spezz. I thought he gave us some good things here today, whether it was power play, obviously got us a goal, that line had some good shifts at different times. I think he needs to not take that penalty, but whenever we called on him today, power play, faceoffs, 5-on-5, he did a good job. That’s what you’re looking for in terms of the depth on your team.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN

Q. Joshua Clipperton, Canadian Press: What have you liked about your team in one goal games this year?

Frederik Andersen: It’s just finding a way. I think it’s big, that’s how you get points by not letting them tie the game up late and, I think, sticking with the process even though it’s a game that goes back and forth. Obviously, we don’t want to put ourselves in that situation every time we have a lead, but from what I’ve seen so far I like the way we keep playing. Our resiliency has been good.

Q. Joshua Clipperton, Canadian Press: It was sort of a weird game with all the penalties, momentum shifts, what did you see from where you sat?

Frederik Andersen: Yeah exactly, a lot of calls, a lot of opportunities for both teams to score on special teams. I think that was huge for us again. Just answering when they tied it up and we go right down and score on our power play. That was big and, again, shows you the resiliency and not letting those momentum swings bother us too much.

AUSTON MATTHEWS

Q. Josh Clipperton, Canadian Press: You guys only had 10 one-goal victories last year. You’re already at your fifth and Mitch also scored an empty-netter with less than a second left, which would have been a sixth. What have you seen differently with the group in terms of how you’ve been able to battle in these tight games?

Auston Matthews: I think we just, as a five man unit as well as Fred, try to keep it tight back there and limit their chances, limit them to the outside, and just do the best job that we can.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: A bit of a weird game with all of the special teams time tonight. What’s your sense of how the team handled it and got it done eventually when the powerplay chances did come your way?

Auston Matthews: We got the win which is all that matters. Obviously, a lot of disruptive flow, I think. We’re taking way too many penalties right now but special teams came up big. A couple big penalty kills. A couple of big power play goals for us and sometimes that’s the way the game goes, special teams have got to come through. Obviously, we squeak out with this one but some guys came up with big plays on both ends for us tonight and Freddie was a brick wall for us as well.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: What’s standing out to you about the power play to start the season? What’s making it so effective?

Auston Matthews: I think we’ve been flowing pretty nice with these two units. We’re moving it well. I just think the biggest thing is that when we need a goal it seems like we’re coming through. It’s obviously a positive for us and special teams is a big part of the game so we just want to continue that momentum.

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: What have you liked about the way Morgan has been playing this year?

Auston Matthews: I love it. He’s a huge part of this team. When he’s healthy like he is right now, he’s an elite defenceman. Plays a huge role for us. It’s always fun getting out there with him when he’s moving the way he is and the way he can, getting involved on both ends of the ice, it just makes our jobs easier in all three zones. He’s been doing an awesome job for us. Like I said, he’s a huge part of this team so obviously we’re very lucky to have him.

JASON SPEZZA

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: How did you how did you feel coming into this game? You feel like the legs were fresher? How did you feel?

Jason Spezza: Sheldon told me that it’s been a lot of hockey in a short period of time, thought I could benefit from a day of rest and with a day off yesterday, it gave me some time to recover. Obviously, he was right. I felt good tonight and a little bit extra jump. It’s good when things like that work out.

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: Jason, have you seen this team mature in your time with them? You guys look a little bit more confident, look a little bit more structured, it’s mostly the same players. What’s the difference in your mind?

Jason Spezza: I think there’s definitely a belief that’s growing within our group. We feel like we can still do better when we have leads, we’ve had lots of leads and given a few up, but been resilient and find a way to be gritty and just get wins at the end. Winning breeds confidence and we’re starting to believe that we can win every night. That’s a good feeling for a team, but we still feel like there’s little ways we can go to locking games down better, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Q. Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: Jason in the bigger picture, Sheldon’s wanted to bring the fourth line guys in and out to utilize the taxi squad. That seems to have been working, certainly, in this little streak you’re on. Could you comment on that?

Jason Spezza: As a player, you just get yourself ready to play. When you’re told to play, you try to play and do your role. Obviously, you like to play every night, but you have to respect the coach’s decisions. When you’re not playing, you’ve got to take the rest and make sure you’re ready to go. For us on the fourth line, we want to be able to give good shifts, we want to be able to help out when we can, and really try to drive possession and make sure that we’re setting the other lines up for good shifts, too. It’s an important role, and you have to stay in the game. I thought tonight we did a good job and just keep moving forward.

Maple Leafs 4, Oilers 3: postgame notes

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (7-2-0 – 14 Points) vs.

EDMONTON OILERS (3-6-0 – 6 Points)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
TORONTO	2	0	2	–	4
EDMONTON	0	1	2	–	3

GAME SUMMARY | EVENT SUMMARY | FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

Jason Spezza put the Maple Leafs on the board at 9:29 of the first period before collecting the secondary assist on William Nylander’s first period goal. Spezza has three points (1-2-3) over his last three games played. Tonight’s game is his first multi-point performance of 2020-21 after having three in 2019-20. He has three points (1-2-3) in three games against Edmonton this season. In 32 games against the Oilers, Spezza has registered 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists)
William Nylander scored Toronto’s second goal of the night at 18:22 of the first period. Nylander has three points (1-2-3) in three games against the Oilers this season. The Maple Leafs are 4-1-0 when Nylander registers a point this season. He has 11 points (3-8-11) in 11 career games against Edmonton.
Wayne Simmonds scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the game on the power play at 7:56 of the third period. Simmonds has goals (3) in three consecutive games. He is one of three Maple Leafs (Matthews, Tavares) with multiple power play goals this season.
Auston Matthews scored the fourth Toronto goal of the night on the power play at 13:36 of the third period. Matthews has goals (3) in three consecutive games. He has recorded a point in seven of his eight games played this season. In two games against Edmonton this season, he has recorded a pair of goals.
Travis Boyd recorded the lone assist on Spezza’s first period goal. Boyd has assists (1-1-2) in two consecutive games. He has three assists in two career games against Edmonton.
John Tavares registered the primary assist on Nylander’s first period goal. Tavares has two points (1-1-2) in three games against Edmonton this season. He has three points (1-2-3) in five games on the road this season. He has 20 points (7-13-20) in 19 career games against Edmonton.
Mitch Marner registered the primary assist on Simmonds’ third period goal. Marner has assists (5) and points (2-5-7) in four consecutive games. Marner has three points (1-2-3) in three games against the Oilers this season. In four games on the road, he has recorded eight points (2-6-8). He ranks second among NHLers in points this season (5-8-13).
Morgan Rielly picked up the secondary assist on Simmonds’ third period goal. Rielly has assists (6) in three consecutive games. The Maple Leafs are 4-0-0 when Rielly records a point this season.
TJ Brodie registered the primary assist on Matthews’ third period goal. Brodie has three assists over his last five games played. He has three assists in three games against the Oilers this season.
Alex Kerfoot collected the secondary assist on Matthews’ third period goal. Kerfoot has two assists in three games against Edmonton this season. His assist tonight is his first power play point of the season.
Frederik Andersen stopped 26 shots to earn his fifth win of the season.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	11 (7)	4 (4)	12 (6)	–	27 (17)
EDMONTON	11 (11)	8 (5)	10 (5)	–	29 (21)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	25 (17)	8 (8)	15 (8)	–	48 (33)
EDMONTON	18 (17)	20 (13)	20 (12)	–	58 (42)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Record on the Road	4-1-0 (5 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Edmonton	54-44-8-1 (107 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Edmonton on the Road	24-25-6-1 (56 Games)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots	5 (Nylander)
Shot Attempts	7 (Nylander)
Faceoff Wins	8 (Tavares)
Faceoff Win Percentage	100% (Marner – 1 won, 0 lost)
Hits	6 (Holl)
Blocked Shots	2 (Four players tied)
Takeaways	2 (Matthews, Muzzin)
TOI	24:50 (Holl)
Power Play TOI	4:16 (Rielly)
Shorthanded TOI	7:50 (Holl)
Shifts	27 (Rielly)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage	65.4% (Dermott – 17 for, 9 against)

RECORD WHEN…

Scoring first	4-1-0
Lead after 1	3-0-0
Lead after 2	6-0-0
Score multiple power play goals	3-1-0
Allow multiple power play goals	2-0-0
Outshot by opponent	4-1-0
Thursday	1-0-0

OF NOTE…

The Maple Leafs went 4-for-6 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play tonight.
Toronto has scored at least one power play goal in eight of the club’s nine games this season.
Toronto’s line of Ilya Mikheyev, William Nylander and John Tavares started 25% of their 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which was the lowest mark among Toronto skaters.
Travis Dermott was on the ice for a team-high 17 shot attempts at 5-on-5 tonight. Dermott finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 65.4.0% (17 for, 21 against).
John Tavares was 3-for-4 (75%) in the faceoff circle when matched up with Edmonton centre Leon Draisaitl and 3-for-5 (60%) in the faceoff circle when matched up with Edmonton centre Connor McDavid.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Saturday, January 30, 7:00 p.m. at Edmonton Oilers (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
Thursday, February 4, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (TSN4, FAN 590)
Saturday, February 6, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
Monday, February 8, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)
Wednesday, February 10, 7:30 p.m. at Montreal Canadiens (Sportsnet, FAN 590)

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.

Maple Leafs at Oilers pregame notes

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (6-2-0 – 12 Points) vs.

EDMONTON OILERS (3-5-0 – 6 Points)

JANUARY 28, 2021 ▪ 10:00 PM EST

ROGERS PLACE (EDMONTON, AB) ▪
TV: TSN4 ▪ RADIO: TSN 1050

MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus EDMONTON

ALL-TIME RECORD:	53-44-8-1 (106 Games)
ALL-TIME ON THE ROAD:	23-25-6-1 (55 Games)
2020-21:	1-1-0
LAST FIVE:	3-2-0
LAST 10:	8-2-0

MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus EDMONTON

GAMES PLAYED:	Joe Thornton (68), TJ Brodie (41), Jake Muzzin (33)
GOALS:	Joe Thornton (12), Jason Spezza (9), Wayne Simmonds (8)
ASSISTS:	Joe Thornton (58), Jason Spezza (18), TJ Brodie (16)
POINTS:	Joe Thornton (70), Jason Spezza (27), John Tavares (19)
PENALTY MINUTES:	Joe Thornton (28), Wayne Simmonds, (24), Zach Bogosian (23)

MAPLE LEAFS – OILERS TEAM STATS

	TORONTO	EDMONTON
GOALS FOR (Rank):	26 (4th	23 (t-8th)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):	22 (t-22nd)	29 (29th)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):	10/24 [41.7%] (2nd)	5/28 [17.9%] (19th)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):	24/30 [80.0%] (14th)	19/25 [76.0%] (20th)
SHOTS (Rank):	243 (3rd)	256 (2nd)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):	342 (2nd)	325 (4th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):	52.7% (t-11th)	45.6% (26th)
FACEOFF % (Rank):	55.7% (3rd)	49.1% (18th)

MAPLE LEAFS – OILERS NOTES

First Matchup between Clubs:	Nov. 11, 1979 (Toronto 6, Edmonton 3)
All-Time Record:	53-44-8-1 (106 Games)
All-Time Record at Home:	30-19-2-0 (51 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road:	23-25-6-1 (55 Games)
Last Win vs. Opponent on the Road:	Dec. 14, 2019 (Toronto 4, Edmonton 1)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER
GOALS	5 (Marner)
ASSISTS	7 (Marner)
POINTS	12 (Marner)
POWER PLAY POINTS	5 (Marner, Tavares)
SHORTHANDED POINTS	N/A
PIMs	17 (Simmonds)
SHOTS	31 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%	65.6% (Spezza)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	66.3% (Thornton)
BLOCKED SHOTS	14 (Holl)
TAKEAWAYS	7 (Nylander)
HITS	16 (Hyman, Muzzin)
TOI PER GAME	23:45 (Rielly)
PP TOI PER GAME	3:13 (Matthews)
SH TOI PER GAME	3:45 (Holl)

MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES

Frederik Andersen	– Tied for the NHL lead in wins (4).- Ranks seventh among NHL goaltenders in saves made (146).- Has an 13-1-1 record with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage in 16 career games against Calgary. – Earned his 139th win as a Maple Leaf on January 22 vs. Edmonton to move past Curtis Joseph for fourth on the Maple Leafs’ all-time goaltender win register.
TJ Brodie	– Averaging 18:09 in even-strength ice time, which ranks second among Toronto defencemen.- Averages 2:34 per game in shorthanded ice time, which ranks third among Maple Leafs defencemen.- Ranks third among Maple Leafs in blocked shots (9).
Justin Holl	– Sixth amon NHL defencemen who average at least 15 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (16:53) with a shot attempt percentage of 59.3%.- Averaging 21:38 per game in ice time after averaging 18:31 per game in 2019-20.- Ranks fifth among right-handed NHL defencemen in shorthanded ice time per game (3:45).
Zach Hyman	– Leads Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:50).- Has the highest on-ice goals for percentage (66.6%) among Toronto forwards.- One of 10 forwards in the NHL to start average over 12:00 minutes per game (14:16) of 5-on-5 ice time and start fewer than 35% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone (33.3%), while having a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage above 50% (54.0%).
Alex Kerfoot	– Ranks fifth among Toronto forwards in points per 60 minutes of ice time (1.31).- Tied for the lead among Maple Leafs in penalties drawn (3).- Has won 64.3% (9 won, 5 lost) of his offensive zone faceoffs.
Mitch Marner	– Tied for the lead among NHLers in points (5-7-12).- Tied for the NHL lead in even-strength goals (5).- Leads NHL forwards in time on ice per game (23:33).- Has played 37.3% of Toronto’s shorthanded ice time.
Auston Matthews	– Averaging 22:29 in time on ice per game, which ranks fourth among NHL forwards.- Ranks fourth among Maple Leafs in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (57.2%).- Ranks third in the NHL in shots on goal (31).- Has won the 11th-most faceoffs in the NHL (73).
Ilya Mikheyev	– Ranks third among Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:14).- Has an average of 23.0 shot attempts per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, which ranks second among NHLers who have played at least 15 minutes of shorthanded ice time.
Jake Muzzin	– Ranks 18th among NHL skaters in shorthanded ice time per game (3:42).- Ranks 12th among NHL defencemen who have appeared in five games in shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time (14.17).- Has the 21st highest 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (56.7%) among NHL defencemen who have appeared in five games.
William Nylander	– Has the fourth highest points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (1.69) among Toronto skaters.- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 60.4%, which is the second-highest percentage among Maple Leafs forwards.- Has recorded 10 points against the Oilers (two goals, eight assists) in 10 career games against Edmonton.
Morgan Rielly	– Leads the Maple Leafs in average time on ice (23:45).- Tied for third among NHL defencemen in assists (5).- Tied for sixth among NHL defencemen in even-strength points (1-3-4).- Had his eighth career game with three-plus assists on January 24 at Calgary. Per NHL PR, only two defensemen in history have recorded more with the franchise: Borje Salming (29) and Tomas Kaberle (12).
John Tavares	– Tied for 24th in the NHL in points (4-3-7).- Tied for the NHL lead in power play goals (4).- Tied for 11th among NHLers in shots on goal (26).- Has the third-highest faceoff win percentage (61.7%) among NHLers who have taken at least 100 faceoffs (120).

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

Mitch Marner	Assists (4) and Points (2-4-6) in three consecutive games.
Auston Matthews	Goals (2) and points (2-1-3) in two consecutive games.
Jake Muzzin	Points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games.
Morgan Rielly	Assists (5) in two consecutive games.
Wayne Simmonds	Goals (2) in two consecutive games.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Zach Bogosian	Four points from 200 NHL points

RECENT MILESTONES

Joey Anderson	First game as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 26 at CGY)
Travis Boyd	First game as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 26 at CGY) First goal as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 26 at CGY) First point as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 26 at CGY)
Adam Brooks	First NHL goal (Jan. 22 vs. EDM)
Mitch Marner	300th NHL point (Jan. 24 at CGY)
Wayne Simmonds	First goal as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 24 at CGY) First point as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 24 at CGY) 500th NHL point (Jan. 24 at CGY)

INJURY REPORT

Jack Campbell (Leg)	Week-to-week.
Nick Robertson (Knee)	On long term injured reserve.
Joe Thornton (Rib)	On long term injured reserve.
	Man Games Lost: 10

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Jan. 24	Added forward Travis Boyd to roster.
Jan. 23	Placed forward Joe Thornton on long term injured reserve.
Jan. 21	Placed forward Nick Robertson on long term injured reserve. Added forward Joey Anderson to the taxi squad.

Leafs-Flames quotes

SHELDON KEEFE

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: You spoke this morning about how it’s not easy to beat a team twice in a row and it certainly wasn’t easy tonight. How did you see your team find a way?

Sheldon Keefe: Obviously, we were reeling there for quite a while, but the fact that our best people just got to work when things were all even again and went out there and found a way to get us another one, and then we were pretty good there right to the very end. Again, with the penalty kill, we made it even harder on ourselves, but it was a pretty gutsy win that way. We don’t like a lot of things about the game today in terms of how we let them back in it, of course. That just shows, again, where we need to continue to grow as a team.

At the same time, that’s a good team over there. That’s two games they played us hard. They carried play for good chunks of time in both games. We knew they were going to push back. I wish we could have been a little better there, but to come out of it with another win here tonight is a really good sign for our team. In terms of the resiliency and not folding and not feeling sorry for ourselves when we give up the lead when they find their way back, all really good healthy signs for our team. There’s lots of things we’ll take away from here tonight that will help us get better from here.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: A bit of a wild ride for the team and for you, in terms of the action you were seeing. Not much at first and then quite a lot of pucks near the end. From your perspective, how did the team pull this one out?

Frederik Andersen: Yeah, you said it pretty good. We scored some big goals at the right moments and then had some good kills at big moments as well so I think we can chalk that up to a few timely goals and couple PKs. Pretty good first period, obviously. We didn’t really give them anything and got some goals so that was a good start.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: You’ve obviously been teammates with Mitch Marner for a while now, what’s your perspective and what’s standing out to you about the way he’s started this season?

Frederik Andersen: It’s good. He’s a skillful player. He sees the ice so well, and creates a lot of time and space out there. Great shot today so that was nice to see.

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: I wanted to ask you about Mitch’s shot. We all know how good of a shot Auston had all his career but Mitch has really seemed to have stepped up his game shot-wise. What have you seen of his progression as a shooter when you face him in practice?

Frederik Andersen: I think it’s underrated. I think he’s good at picking spots and being pretty elusive and tricky about where he’s going to go. That’s probably what he’s been really good at. I think he wants to be more than an incredible passer and playmaker. I know he wants to add to his game and I think he’s done that throughout the years I’ve played with him.

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: As a goalie, when you’re looking at guys who have good shots and are good playmakers, is it all the more tough to anticipate what they’re going to do with the puck?

Frederik Andersen: Yeah, of course. There’s more options so you’ve got to respect both the shot and the pass option so the better you can be at both, the more it’s going to help you.

Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: When you guys have a game like that where it’s kind of one story in the first and then another one in the second period, and you still manage to battle back and win, what do you think that says about the team and some growth that has been made in the last couple of years, or do you see it that way?

Frederik Andersen: Yeah, of course. It’s good character to battle these games out and get the two points. Obviously, we had a chance to take all four today in this little mini-series and we wanted to do that so it’s really nice to see the way we battled to the end and got away with the two points again tonight. Obviously, we don’t want to make it this hard every night but again, it’s a good character win.

TRAVIS BOYD

Q. Chris Johnston, Sportsnet: I’m wondering since the camp ended, what was the priority for you to work on to stay sharp? What approach did you take into tonight’s game?

Travis Boyd: Coming out of camp was just trying to get up to speed. I think, just like everybody else, you only had a week of camp this year and I think it only ended up being six ice days or something like that. Just trying to get up to speed, get your conditioning going and, for me personally, also just trying to get used to the systems. My first year with the organization so just getting used to how they play and the structure that they want to play with every night.

Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: That aside, and a nice by Muzzin and Engvall to get that going, but how difficult did you find it to get into the rhythm of the game and that sort of thing, or did you after watching the first seven?

Travis Boyd: I actually thought, myself personally and my line, I thought we were good from the start tonight. Really had some good O zone shifts in the first and even in the second before we ended up scoring. Once you start playing you’re right back into it. Obviously, like I said, I felt a few times out there tonight I had maybe been a little out of position or whatever versus how the structure is that we want to play with here, but other than that I thought we were good tonight. I thought my line was really good, I thought we had some good O zone shifts and didn’t give up a whole lot.

TJ BRODIE

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: How did you get it done tonight?

TJ Brodie: We came out hard. I thought we played well in the first. We had some looks. We let it go in the second a little bit there and started chasing it but we found a way to hold on and get the two points.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: What’s your perspective on working alongside Frederik Andersen as a defenceman back there? What stands out the most to you about him?

TJ Brodie: He’s great. He’s always in position and I’ve been really impressed with the way he handles the puck. I haven’t had the chance to play against him too much, it’s definitely something that he does well.

Q: Luke Fox, Sportsnet: What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about Mitch Marner that you didn’t know before coming to Toronto?

TJ Brodie: Just how great defensively he is. He’s always in the right spot, great stick and on the penalty kill, he’s real effective. Whether it’s up ice or in the zone, it’s something like I said not playing too much in Toronto through the years, it’s something that I didn’t really get to see or notice.

JUSTIN HOLL

Q. Chris Johnston, Sportsnet: From your perspective, after a strong first period, why was it difficult to maintain that as Calgary had a push back in the middle of the game?

Justin Holl: I thought they did a really good job of squeezing us in our defensive zone. They had four guys on one side while we were trying to breakout so I think we need to do a better job of finding the weak side D. That’s kind of our way out of it and we didn’t do a very good job of doing that. Then a little bit of panic set in where guys are throwing pucks and obviously I’m guilty as well. Some things we need to clean up but we’re just happy to get in here and get two wins in a row and onwards.

Q. James Mirtle, The Athletic: How do you feel your season has gone so far through eight games for you personally?

Justin Holl: I think it’s been good so far. The way I measure my game mostly, especially if I’m playing a lot of minutes like I have been, is if we win, really. Having a 6-2 record through eight games is positive for our team. I don’t think the games have been perfect, I don’t think we’re rolling yet, but that’s kind of how I measure success in terms of Muzz and I on the ice.

MITCH MARNER

Q: Mark Masters, TSN: Mitch, not easy to beat a good team back-to-back, especially on the road . Your perspective on how the team got it done tonight.

Mitch Marner: I think the first period we came out how we wanted to. Second period, obviously we sat back, gave them everything, game them all the opportunities, Freddie stood strong for us there. I think we gave up way too many shots, chances against. O-zone wasn’t there for us, controlling it wise puck. Like I said, Freddie kept us strong in there. Then it came to us in the third, again we were sitting back a little too much. I think everyone got their feet under them, kind of calmed down the bench and did what we needed to do.

Q: Mark Masters, TSN: What did you see the on game-winning goal? An example of that kind of shot mentality you talked about wanting to establish?

Mitch Marner: I’ve really been working on that shot with Matts. I think if I can try to find that shot more, I know that Matts can find me there. We’ve been trying to work on that shot a lot. For me, it’s just trying to get it off my stick quickly and on to the net, for a chance on net, for a rebound or something for [Hyman] to go in, which it did. But again, I mean I’m trying to get more of a shot mentality in there, trying to be more of a threat. It was a great dish by Matty and that’s big goal.

Q: Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: About your shot, how much do you work on it like 12 months a year, all season and you seem to have really gotten better with it in the last year or two. What are you doing to get to another level with that shot?

Mitch Marner: I think obviously weight helps, put on a lot of weight since first and second year, got a lot stronger on my stick and everything like that, more flex. I guess less flex on my stick actually got higher up in that range. I mean I think just the last two years I’ve been trying to work on it. I feel like it’s a mentality thing. I feel like I really want to try and make an extra play most of the time but this year around, trying to be more of a threat. More of a guy that can be more a consistent shooter on net, kind of change things up on goalies and that’s what I did tonight. I had a couple of good opportunities in the second. I just missed the net on both which I’ve got to fix that opportunity but like I said, great play by Matty there, great dish by him and great space and for me, it’s just trying to put it in.

Maple Leafs-Flames postgame notes

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (6-2-0 – 12 Points) vs.

CALGARY FLAMES (3-1-1 – 5 Points)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2021

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
TORONTO	2	1	1	–	4
CALGARY	0	2	1	–	3

GAME SUMMARY | EVENT SUMMARY | FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

Wayne Simmonds put the Maple Leafs on the board at 3:44 of the first period. Simmonds has goals (2) in two consecutive games. He has 16 points (8-8-16) in 27 career games against the Flames.
Auston Matthews scored the second Toronto goal of the night on the power play at 14:16 of the first period and later had the primary assist on Mitch Marner’s third period goal. Matthews has goals (2) and points (2-1-3) in two consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his second multi-point performance of the season. He has registered seven points (4-3-7) over his last five games played.
Travis Boyd scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the game at 2:09 of the second period. Boyd’s goal is his first goal as a Maple Leaf and his first point as a Maple Leaf. He had 10 points (3-7-10) in 24 games as a member of the Washington Capitals last season. Tonight’s game is his first game as a Maple Leaf.
Mitch Marner registered the primary assist on Matthews’ first period goal and later scored Toronto’s fourth goal of the night at 12:14 of the third period. Marner has assists (4) and points (2-4-6) in three consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his fifth multi-point game of the season. He is tied for the NHL lead in points with 12 (5-7-12) through eight games played. He leads the NHL in even-strength goals (5). Toronto is 6-0-0 when Marner records a point this season.
Justin Holl recorded the primary assist on Simmonds’ first period goal. Holl has five assists in eight games played this season. The Maple Leafs are 3-1-0 when Holl records a point this season.
Jimmy Vesey collected the secondary assist on Simmonds’ first period goal. Vesey has two points (1-1-2) over his last three games played. Tonight’s assist is his first point on the road in 2020-21.
Morgan Rielly had the secondary assist on Matthews’ first period goal and later had the secondary assist on Marner’s third period goal. Rielly has assists (5) in two consecutive games. He has recorded five (0-5-5) of his six (1-5-6) points on the road this season.
Pierre Engvall recorded the primary assist on Boyd’s second period goal. Engvall’s assist is his first point of the 2020-21 season. In 48 games as a rookie in 2019-20, Engvall registered eight goals and seven assists.
Jake Muzzin picked up the secondary assist on Boyd’s second period goal. Muzzin has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games. He has 19 points (3-16-19) in 33 career games against the Flames.
Frederik Andersen stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced to earn his fourth win of the season.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	10 (6)	5 (5)	6 (6)	–	21 (17)
CALGARY	1 (1)	18 (17)	7 (5)	–	26 (23)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	12 (8)	16 (16)	11 (10)	–	39 (34)
CALGARY	9 (7)	27 (26)	17 (14)	–	53 (47)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Record on the Road	3-1-0 (4 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Calgary	63-60-12-5 (140 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Calgary on the Road	27-41-5-2 (75 Games)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots	3 (Marner)
Shot Attempts	6 (Marner)
Faceoff Wins	11 (Matthews)
Faceoff Win Percentage	100% (Engvall – 1 won, 0 lost)
Hits	3 (Muzzin)
Blocked Shots	3 (Anderson)
Takeaways	1 (Eight players tied)
TOI	23:53 (Muzzin)
Power Play TOI	1:46 (Marner, Matthews)
Shorthanded TOI	3:43 (Holl)
Shifts	31 (Muzzin)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage	53.3% (Simmonds – 8 for, 7 against)

RECORD WHEN…

Scoring first	3-1-0
Lead after 1	2-0-0
Lead after 2	5-0-0
Score 1 power play goal	4-0-0
Allow 1 power play goal	2-2-0
Outshot by opponent	3-1-0
Tuesday	1-0-0

OF NOTE…

The Maple Leafs went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill and 1-for-2 on the power play tonight.
Toronto has scored at least one power play goal in seven of the club’s eight games this season.
Joey Anderson skated in his first game as a Maple Leaf.
Zach Hyman and Jake Muzzin started 33.3% of their 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which was the lowest mark among Toronto skaters.
Auston Matthews was 9-for-15 (60%) in the faceoff circle when matched up with Calgary centre Elias Lindholm.
Jake Muzzin was on the ice for a team-high 14 shot attempts at 5-on-5 tonight. Muzzin finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 40.0% (14 for, 21 against).

UPCOMING GAMES:

Thursday, January 28, 10:00 p.m. at Edmonton Oilers (TSN4, TSN 1050)
Saturday, January 30, 7:00 p.m. at Edmonton Oilers (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
Thursday, February 4, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (TSN4, FAN 590)
Saturday, February 6, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
Monday, February 8, 7:00 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)

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.

Leafs-Flames

Maple Leafs-Flames pregame notes

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (5-2-0 – 10 Points) vs.

CALGARY FLAMES (2-1-1 – 5 Points)

JANUARY 26, 2021 ▪ 9:00 PM EST

SCOTIABANK SADDLEDOME (CALGARY, AB) ▪
TV: SPORTSNET ONTARIO ▪ RADIO: TSN 1050

MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus CALGARY

ALL-TIME RECORD:	62-60-12-5 (139 Games)
ALL-TIME ON THE ROAD:	26-41-5-2 (74 Games)
2020-21:	1-0-0
LAST FIVE:	2-2-1
LAST 10:	6-3-1

MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus CALGARY

GAMES PLAYED:	Joe Thornton (66), Jake Muzzin (32), Jason Spezza (29)
GOALS:	Joe Thornton (11), John Tavares (8), Wayne Simmonds (6), Jason Spezza (6)
ASSISTS:	Joe Thornton (44), Jake Muzzin (15), John Tavares (11)
POINTS:	Joe Thornton (55), John Tavares (19), Jake Muzzin (18)
PENALTY MINUTES:	Jason Spezza (33), Joe Thornton (31), Wayne Simmonds (23)

MAPLE LEAFS – FLAMES TEAM STATS

	TORONTO	CALGARY
GOALS FOR (Rank):	22 (t-2nd)	13 (t-21st)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):	19 (t-20th)	9 (5th)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):	9/22 [40.9%] (3rd)	7/20 [35.0%] (6th)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):	21/26 [80.8%] (t-13th)	14/16 [87.5%] (7th)
SHOTS (Rank):	222 (2nd)	126 (28th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):	308 (1st)	161 (27th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):	54.2% (5th)	53.6% (t-7th)
FACEOFF % (Rank):	57.3% (2nd)	46.3% (24th)

MAPLE LEAFS – FLAMES NOTES

First Matchup between Clubs:	Nov. 5, 1972 (Toronto 2, Atlanta 2)
All-Time Record:	62-60-12-5 (139 Games)
All-Time Record at Home:	36-19-7-3 (65 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road:	26-41-5-2 (74 Games)
Last Win vs. Opponent on the Road:	January 24, 2021 (Toronto 3, Calgary 2)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER
GOALS	4 (Marner, Tavares)
ASSISTS	6 (Marner)
POINTS	10 (Marner)
POWER PLAY POINTS	5 (Tavares)
SHORTHANDED POINTS	N/A
PIMs	17 (Simmonds)
SHOTS	29 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%	100% (Marner, Mikheyev)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	66.3% (Thornton)
BLOCKED SHOTS	13 (Holl)
TAKEAWAYS	6 (Nylander)
HITS	15 (Hyman)
TOI PER GAME	24:08 (Rielly)
PP TOI PER GAME	3:27 (Matthews)
SH TOI PER GAME	3:45 (Holl)

MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES

Frederik Andersen	– Ranks seventh among NHL goaltenders in saves made (123).- Has an 8-2-2 record with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 14 career games against Calgary. – Earned his 139th win as a Maple Leaf on January 22 vs. Edmonton to move past Curtis Joseph for fourth on the Maple Leafs’ all-time goaltender win register.
TJ Brodie	– Averaging 18:00 in even-strength ice time, which ranks second among Toronto defencemen.- Averages 2:34 per game in shorthanded ice time, which ranks third among Maple Leafs defencemen.- Ranks third among Maple Leafs in blocked shots (8).
Jack Campbell	– Is 3-2-0 in five career appearances against the Flames with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage.
Justin Holl	– Leads NHL defencemen who average at least 15 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (16:44) with a shot attempt percentage of 61.6%.- Averaging 21:30 per game in ice time after averaging 18:31 per game in 2019-20.- Tied for sixth among right-handed NHL defencemen in shorthanded ice time per game (3:45).
Zach Hyman	– Leads Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (3:00).- Has the highest on-ice goals for percentage (57.1%) among Toronto forwards.- One of nine forwards in the NHL to start average over 12:00 minutes per game (13:57) of shorthanded ice time and start fewer than 35% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone (33.9%), while having a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage above 50% (51.9%).
Alex Kerfoot	– Ranks sixth among Toronto forwards in points per 60 minutes of ice time (1.47).- Leads the Maple Leafs in penalties drawn (3).- Has won 66.7% (8 won, 4 lost) of his offensive zone faceoffs.
Mitch Marner	– Tied for the lead among NHLers in points (4-6-10).- Tied for the NHL lead in even-strength goals (4).- Leads NHL forwards in time on ice per game (24:03).
Auston Matthews	– Averaging 23:07 in time on ice per game, which ranks third among NHL forwards.- Ranks fourth among Maple Leafs in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (60.4%).- Ranks second in the NHL in shots on goal (29).- Has won the 12th-most faceoffs in the NHL (62).
Ilya Mikheyev	– Ranks third among Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:14).- Has an average of 23.0 shot attempts per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, which ranks second among NHLers who have played at least 15 minutes of shorthanded ice time.
Jake Muzzin	– Ranks 23rd among NHL skaters in shorthanded ice time per game (3:42).- Ranks 13th among NHL defencemen in shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time (15.57).- Has the 17th highest 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (59.3%) among NHL defencemen.
William Nylander	– Has the third highest points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (1.93) among Toronto skaters.- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 62.8%, which is the second-highest percentage among Maple Leafs forwards.- Has recorded six points against the Flames (two goals, four assists) in nine career games against Calgary.
Morgan Rielly	– Tied for 23rd among NHLers who have appeared in multiple games in average time on ice (24:08).- Had his eighth career game with three-plus assists on January 24 at Calgary. Per NHL PR, only two defensemen in history have recorded more with the franchise: Borje Salming (29) and Tomas Kaberle (12).
John Tavares	– Tied for 13th in the NHL in points (4-3-7).- Leads the NHL in power play goals (4).- Tied for fourth among NHLers in shots on goal (24).- Has the highest faceoff win percentage (64.1%) among NHLers who have taken at least 100 faceoffs (103).

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

Mitch Marner	Assists (3) and Points (1-3-4) in two consecutive games.
Jason Spezza	Assists (2) in two consecutive games.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Zach Bogosian	Four points from 200 NHL points

RECENT MILESTONES

Adam Brooks	First NHL goal (Jan. 22 vs. EDM)
Mitch Marner	300th NHL point (Jan. 24 at CGY)
Wayne Simmonds	First goal as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 24 at CGY) First point as a Maple Leaf (Jan. 24 at CGY) 500th NHL point (Jan. 24 at CGY)

INJURY REPORT

Nick Robertson (Knee)	On long term injured reserve.
Joe Thornton (Rib)	On long term injured reserve.
	Man Games Lost: 7

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Jan. 24	Added forward Travis Boyd to roster.
Jan. 23	Placed forward Joe Thornton on long term injured reserve.
Jan. 21	Placed forward Nick Robertson on long term injured reserve. Added forward Joey Anderson to the taxi squad.
Jan. 19	Loaned forward Travis Boyd to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).

Leafs 3, Flames 2: Quotes

SHELDON KEEFE

Opening Remarks: A good two points for us here today. I do think before I take any questions it’s important to acknowledge the passing of George Armstrong today. It was tough news for our organization and our fans and people that love the game. We actually took a moment today as a team – normally 90 minutes before a game we have a meeting. That’s where we cover a lot of our plans for the game and preparing for the opposition.

Today we made it about George and shared a video of him and had a conversation about him and his impact on our organization. Leaf Nation is as strong as it is because of the efforts of people like George and, in particular, that era when they were winning the Stanley Cups. Generations of Leaf fans were bred through those efforts. We felt that it was important to acknowledge that.

Condolences to the Armstrong family, his friends and people who loved him. For myself, I didn’t get a chance to see him play or anything like that, but, like I said, we feel the efforts of people like George and the efforts that they put forth in that era. We feel that every day here with the Leafs and are grateful for that.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: A couple of the guys said it was maybe a big of an ugly win. Jack Campbell also said it could be a character building win. What do you want the group to take from this game?

Sheldon Keefe: I think there’s no doubt that it was an ugly one. I think the reality is we looked at this game, it was our seventh game in 12 days, traveling out here and then having to play a two o’clock game. It’s a tough ask, and then you’re playing against a rested team. This one, we felt, would not be pretty. To get the two points is real big for us to have found a way to get those wins and found a way to bounce a few pucks our way into the net. It’s enough for us to get out of here with a win and now we’ll get a good night’s rest and have good practice tomorrow and regroup for the next time out.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: How would you describe the effort of Jack Campbell in net, especially near the end there? It appeared he might be dealing with something physically. What did he mean to you guys today?

Sheldon Keefe: He was huge. You don’t get through ugly games like this with a win without your goaltender being your best player. He was that today. He gave our guys great confidence, maybe too much confidence at times, but he was outstanding. It’s another great effort by him today.

Q. Jonas Siegel, The Athletic: I’m wondering what’s running through your mind when you see Jack struggle there at the end physically?

Sheldon Keefe: You’re hoping he’s alright. He got a little bit of attention there and obviously it happened late in the game so I think he’s feeling the effects of that a little bit, but he was able to shake it off and get through the remainder of the game. Luckily there was no other flurry around the net the rest of the way.

Q. Jonas Siegel, The Athletic: How did you feel Auston looked in his first game back?

Sheldon Keefe: I thought he, like a lot of guys on our team, just weren’t themselves today. His situation probably even more difficult. I don’t know how many days its been since he’s really skated here. We just didn’t have legs today and it was real tough for all of our top guys to really get going tonight.

Q. Chris Johnston, Sportsnet: Was there anything about George Armstrong in particular you wanted the players to know or anything about his career or his life that you shared?

Sheldon Keefe: We went through that recapped his accomplishments and what he meant to the organization, his taking part in all those Stanley Cups and his abilities as a leader and as a captain. I think the message really, we talked about just how efforts like that back in the 1960s, in particular, the last time the Leafs won a Cup, that’s the reason why Leaf Nation is as strong as it is. That’s why generations of families grow up as Leaf fans, because of those efforts.

We have a role to play to continue to build upon that. That was part of it. Just celebrating his legacy. When you’re in this every single day, you’re in the moment, you’re taking care of what you can control every single day. I do think it’s important to stop and pause every now and again just to look at the bigger picture and recognize what we’re doing here every day is for a greater purpose beyond ourselves. We have a role to play within how we prepare and how we play, and people like George showed the way there.

TJ BRODIE

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: What are you going to remember most about your first game back in Calgary?

TJ Brodie: I think it’s a hard one to forget with the situation and everything. Looking back when I do retire, it’s definitely something to tell the kids and grandkids about the masks and no fans and stuff. It was different, that’s for sure.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: It’s obviously so different with no fans, there would have been a standing ovation for you, I’m sure. What was that moment like when they did the video tribute in the first period? Your teammates and your old teammates were showing their appreciation.

TJ Brodie: It was special. I owe a lot to the people in Calgary, the teammates, everyone in the organization, the fans. I didn’t really know what to do there. I’ve never been on a different team and with no fans I didn’t know whether to wave or what to do. It was a little awkward.

Q. Kristen Shilton, TSN: What was your take on how the team played tonight, thinking about how you felt overall about the game defensively?

TJ Brodie: I think there’s things to clean up, for sure. That’s not the way we wanted it to go, it was a little ugly at points. At the end of the day, those games are going to happen and those are the ones that count at the end of the year. Those messy ones that you end up with the two points at the end.

JACK CAMPBELL

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: You seemed to be in a bit of pain at the end, how are you holding up physically after a gutsy effort?

Jack Campbell: I feel great. The boys played really well and it’s just huge to come out of this barn with two points.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: Was there any thought in your mind that you’d have to leave the game?

Jack Campbell: Never.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: How would you describe the challenge of going up against someone like Matthew Tkachuk? Obviously, he’s there to agitate and also has so much skill, he fell on top of you at the end there. How would you describe the challenge?

Jack Campbell: I don’t really look at him as a menace out there, he’s just a really good hockey player. Anytime he’s out there I’m always aware. He’s really good in front of the net and setting up his teammates. I think we did a great job as a unit shutting him down. We’re going to need that every night to keep getting these two points.

Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: Was there any worry there with what was happening in the final minute, health-wise?

Jack Campbell: I was just really focused on trying to get out of this place with two points. I think the guys did a good job of helping me out and we accomplished that. It’s all I’m focused on right now.

AUSTON MATTHEWS

Opening Remarks: First off, I just want to extend my condolences to the Armstrong family. Obviously, George was an incredible ambassador for the City of Toronto and the Maple Leafs. He paved the way for the guys like us who are trying to accomplish something big here. I just want to extend my condolences to his family.

Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: What was your take overall? You guys had the day of travel yesterday, the early start could have played a factor. The Flames hadn’t played in six days but you guys seemed to come out from the opening faceoff and do some good things and carry that through. Did you see it that way?

Auston Matthews: I don’t know. I mean, I think it was a pretty ugly game for us to be honest, for us. There’s a lot of things we could have done better. I think we had good sequences in the game. Obviously, a couple of solid lucky bounces that went our way today and we’ll definitely take them but definitely some stuff that we can clean up. Obviously, we can’t make excuses for travel and time change and that stuff. Coming in here we’ve got a job to do. We’ve got to use this time now, a day and a half until we play next, to rest and recover and get used to this schedule here.

Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: Is that a difference in the team then, that you can “win ugly” and some things might not go your way but you’re still able to pull out a victory?

Auston Matthews: Yeah, [Campbell] was a rock star for us tonight. He made some big saves, especially toward the end there. He was a brick wall for us. He definitely saved us there for sure. It always, I guess, encouraging to win ugly games like this where you just stay with it shift-by-shift and just try to get what we can done.

Q. Jonas Siegel, The Athletic: I was just wondering at practice the other day, what is it that you were feeling that you decided not to practice?

Auston Matthews: I just had some issues here with my hand that I was going through. I’m not really going to go any further than that but obviously if I could have skated or played and felt comfortable then I would have done that but it’s fine now and we’re good to move forward here.

Q. Jonas Siegel, The Athletic: Is it something you’ll have to keep your eye on moving forward?

Auston Matthews: A little bit. I’ll obviously have to take care of it here in the next couple of weeks but it feels a lot better. It feels more than good enough to play and good enough to go out there and contribute and help the team.

WAYNE SIMMONDS

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: Wayne, that was a milestone moment for you — first as a Leaf, 100th on the power play, 500th point in your career. What did it mean to you?

Wayne Simmonds: It’s pretty big. It felt a lot better that we got the two points. Obviously, it’s nice to get it out of the way, but it’s even nicer to get the two points. Not too happy with our performance, we’ve got a few things we’ve got to fix, but a good two points to start off the road trip.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: What’s your perspective on the power play that seems to be clicking very well to start this season? All the weapons that are there and your role on it.

Wayne Simmonds: We’ve got two great units. I don’t think it matters which unit is on the ice at this moment. Both units are clicking really well. For me it’s pretty much status quo, get in front of the net, get loose pucks, present myself as an option for the other guys. It’s been great so far and we’ll look to continue to improve.

Sharks make plans after early February games at SAP Center are nixed — Red Bluff Daily News

Now knowing they’ll have to stay away from San Jose for longer than they had first hoped, some Sharks players have been busy trying to find out what it will mean for them to be the home team in another city. Sharks coach Bob Boughner said Sunday that players have been reaching out to the…
Sharks make plans after early February games at SAP Center are nixed — Red Bluff Daily News