Auston Matthews scored on a Toronto power play opportunity at 3:18 of the first period. Matthews recorded his second goal of the game at 9:03 of the third period and his third at 19:18 of the third period. Matthews has posted 43 goals this season. Matthews has registered seven points through his last three games (6G, 1A).
John Tavares scored for the Maple Leafs at 9:55 of the first period. Tavares recorded his 19th goal of the season. Tavares also recorded the primary assist on Marner’s power play goal. Tavares registered his 35th assist of the season.
William Nylander scored on a Maple Leafs power play opportunity at 5:14 of the second period. Nylander recorded his 22nd goal of the season. Nylander also posted the primary assist on Matthews’ first goal of the game. Nylander registered his 30th assist of the season.
Mitch Marner scored on a Toronto power play opportunity at 9:43 of the third period. Marner recorded his 23rd goal of the season. Marner also posted the secondary assist on Matthews’ second goal of the game. Marner notched his 39th assist of the season. Marner is currently on an eight-game point streak where he has recorded 17 points (6G, 11A).
Morgan Rielly recorded the secondary assist on Matthews’ first goal of the game. Rielly posted his 40th assist of the season.
Pierre Engvall registered the primary assist on Tavares’ goal. Engvall posted his 12th assist of the season. Engvall has registered an assist in consecutive games.
TJ Brodie recorded the secondary assist on Tavares’ goal and the primary assist on Nylander’s goal. Brodie has recorded 14 assists this season. Brodie has posted a multi-assist outing in backto-back games.
Ondřej Kaše recorded the secondary assist on Nylander’s goal. Kaše posted his 13th assist of the season.
Michael Bunting posted the primary assist on Matthews’ second goal of the game and the secondary assist on Matthews’ third goal of the game. Bunting has recorded 27 assists this season. Bunting is currently on a six-game point where he has posted 12 points (3G, 9A).
Timothy Liljegren registered the primary assist on Matthews’ third goal of the game. Liljegren recorded his 13th assist of the season. Liljegren has recorded an assist in three-consecutive games, the first time in his NHL career to do so. GOALTENDER NOTES
Jack Campbell stopped 26 of 30 shots in tonight’s win. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Maple Leafs were 3-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill tonight.
This is the second time this season that the Maple Leafs have recorded three power play goals during a game (the first occasion dating back to January 26, 2022 vs. ANA). Toronto currently leads the league with a power play percentage of 29.9%.
Toronto allowed just their second shorthanded goal of the season. The Maple Leafs are tied for first in the league with the fewest shorthanded goals against. OF NOTE…
Auston Matthews scored three goals during tonight’s game marking his third hat trick of the season and sixth of his NHL career. With his three-goal performance, Matthews continues to lead the league in goals with 43.
Ilya Lyubushkin recorded a season-high seven hits during tonight’s game (his single-game careerhigh is eight).
Auston Matthews was on the ice for a team-high 21 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
Mitch Marner finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 75.00 percent (18 for, 6 against). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL SEATTLE 11 (11) 10 (6) 9 (7) 30 (24) TORONTO 11 (10) 11 (4) 10 (6) 32 (20) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL SEATTLE 14 (14) 20 (13) 13 (10) 47 (37) TORONTO 23 (22) 20 (9) 18 (13) 61 (44) ON HOME ICE
The Maple Leafs are 19-7-1 at home this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 2-0-0-0 in two games against the Seattle Kraken and 1-0-0-0 in one game played in Toronto.
Toronto is 17-8-2 against the Western Conference this season and 11-5-0 against the Pacific Division this season. RECORD WHEN…
Toronto is 25-4-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 23-2-2 when leading after one period and 6-2-2 when tied after two periods.
Toronto is 22-11-3 when outshooting their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 7-0-1 in Tuesday games and 4-4-1 in the second game of a back-to-back. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 4 (Matthews) Shot Attempts 8 (Matthews) Faceoff Wins 12 (Matthews) Faceoff Win Percentage 67% (Matthews – 12 won, 6 lost) Hits 7 (Lyubushkin) Blocked Shots 3 (Brodie) Takeaways 2 (Rielly) TOI 24:24 (Brodie) Power Play TOI 4:14 (Nylander) Shorthanded TOI 2:42 (Holl) Shifts 28 (Brodie) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 75.00% (Marner – 18 for, 6 against) UPCOMING GAMES: March 10 Leafs vs. Arizona Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 13 Leafs at Buffalo Tim Hortons Field 4:00 pm ET March 15 Leafs vs. Dallas Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 17 Leafs vs. Carolina Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 19 Leafs at Nashville Bridgestone Arena 7:00 pm ET March 23 Leafs vs. New Jersey Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET
POSTGAME QUOTES: AUSTON MATTHEWS On the team’s resiliency after giving up the lead: “Obviously it’s not a position that we like to be in. Especially over the course of the last couple weeks but we pulled out the two points and just the resiliency and poise of the group to just keep playing even when the momentum switches and I think we’d really just like to be more consistent throughout the 60 minutes, especially in that second period. Obviously some things for us to clean up but I just think the resiliency of the team is to stick with it and continue to play and some good goals.” MITCH MARNER On tonight’s game: “Obviously we don’t want to give up that lead, we’ve been doing it too much lately but kind of from that 10-minute point on in the third to the end I thought we did a great job of maintaining that neutral zone and making it hard to get through us. I thought we were breaking out cleanly and breaking the puck up the ice and making it kind of ugly for them to try and create anything there in that last 10.” On tonight’s powerplay: “A lot of puck movement, guys moving to the net and getting shots through and we were getting results off of it.” MICHAEL BUNTING On the team’s response after losing the lead: “I thought our team played great, obviously we can’t be giving up leads like that again and they took the lead but I thought we responded pretty well and our line had a good tying goal and then Mitch right away on the powerplay scored a really nice one. I thought we responded pretty well tonight.” On the team’s ability to come back in games: “As a team we don’t want to be giving up leads like that but we have faith in one another and we have the offensive power through all four lines to come back. We always believe in ourselves no matter what the score is we believe that we can come back and that’s huge for us.” JACK CAMPBELL On tonight’s win: “It was great, we got two points and the team played well. Happy for Simmer, we got the win for him.” On how he felt in net tonight: “Stevie [Briere] came up with a good game plan, it doesn’t change much from the rest of the year but I just executed it better tonight. I gave up four but I’m not going to beat myself up too hard tonight. I’m going to look at it and keep working on some details, but I felt much better, and the team played great in front of me.”
RECENT TRANSACTIONS March 4, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled defenceman Mac Hollowell from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 25, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 24, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 5 at Columbus 4 Date: Monday, March 7, 2022 TOR Goals: Mikheyev, Marner, Matthews, Kerfoot, Bunting CBJ Goals: Kuraly, Bjorkstrand, Roslovic, Laine TOR Goaltender: Mrazek, 31/35, .886 SV% CBJ Goaltender: Merzlikins, 28/33, .848 SV% TOR Power Play: 0-for-1 TOR Penalty Kill: 2-for-3 Team Notes:
Auston Matthews recorded his 40th goal of the season during Monday’s game. He is the first player this season to reach the 40-goal mark. Matthews has recorded the fourth 40-goal season of his NHL career; he is only the second player in Maple Leafs franchise history to do so alongside Darryl Sittler.
With his game-winning goal on Monday, Michael Bunting became the first rookie to reach the 20-goal mark this season.
TJ Brodie recorded his second multi-assist game of the season (2A).
NEXT GAME Date: Thursday, March 10, 2022 Opponent: vs. Arizona Coyotes Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), TSN 1050 (Radio) INJURY REPORT
Ondrej Kaše Day-to-Day Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN: First Matchup between Clubs: February 14, 2022 (Toronto 6 at Seattle 2) All-Time Record: 1-0-0-0 (1 Game) All-Time Record at Home: N/A All-Time Record on the Road: 1-0-0-0 (1 Game) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: N/A Record in Last Five Games: 1-0-0 Record in Last 10 Games: 1-0-0
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN: Games Played: Ilya Lyubushkin (2), 18 skaters tied at (1) Goals: Jake Muzzin (1), Alexander Kerfoot (1), Mitch Marner (1), Ondej Kaše (1), Michael Bunting (1), David Kämpf (1) Assists: Mitch Marner (2), Auston Matthews (2), Timothy Liljegren (2), Ilya Lyubushkin (2), William Nylander (2) Points: Mitch Marner (3), Auston Matthews (2), Timothy Liljegren (2), Ilya Lyubushkin (2), Michael Bunting (2), William Nylander (2) Penalty Minutes: Justin Holl (2), Jake Muzzin (2), Mitch Marner (2), David Kämpf (2)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 43/148 (29.1%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 131/157 (83.4%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Tuesday games 8th of 14 (8 home, 6 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 5-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 March games 4th of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie Four points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Seven assists away from his 300th career NHL assist
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, March 5 vs. VAN Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT l (July 2) 2021-22 TEAM LEADERS
CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 40 – Matthews HITS 97 – Simmonds ASSISTS 39 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 78 – Brodie POINTS 72 – Matthews (40G, 32A) TAKEAWAYS 60 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) TOI PER GAME 24:04 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) PP TOI PER GAME 2:53 – Marner, Matthews PIMs 51 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:41 – Muzzin SHOTS 239 – Matthews WINS 23 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.5% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 2.61 – Campbell SHOT ATTEMPTS% 59.03% – Matthews SAVE PERCENTAGE .915 – Campbell
KRAKEN
LAST GAME Sunday, March 6 Seattle 2 at Carolina 3 Goals: Wennberg, Jarnkrok Goalie: Grubauer (30 saves/33 shots) PP: 1/3; PK: 1/3; Shots: Carolina 33 – Seattle 30 CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 199) Brandon Tanev (ACL; IR) – 28 games Karson Kuhlman (upper body; IR) – 14 games TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS March 3: Reassigned F Kole Lind to Charlotte (AHL) March 5: Activated F Jared McCann and F Jaden Schwartz off IR; Placed F Austin Czarnik on waivers March 6: F Austin Czarnik claimed off waivers by NYI UPCOMING GAMES Thursday, March 10: Seattle at Ottawa 4 p.m. Saturday, March 12: Seattle at Montreal, 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 16: Tampa Bay at Seattle, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 19: Detroit at Seattle, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 22: Seattle at Arizona, 7 p.m. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW Tonight’s game will mark the ninth of 13 games the Kraken will play against Original Six teams this season. They will play the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs twice each this season and the Chicago Blackhawks three times. Jared McCann is the only former Maple Leaf on the Kraken’s roster. However, McCann was a member of the Maple Leafs organization for only four days – he was traded from Pittsburgh to Toronto on July 17, 2021 and then selected by Seattle in the Expansion Draft of July, 2021. Kraken Head Coach Dave Hakstol and assistant coach Paul McFarland both previously worked as assistant coaches for the Maple Leafs. General Manager Ron Francis and assistant general manager Ricky Olczyk both also have ties to Toronto – Francis played for the Maple Leafs for part of the 2003-04 season and Olczyk worked as a scout for the team during the 2018-19 season. An assist tonight would give Adam Larsson assists in three consecutive games for the first time since he had five assists in three games from Feb. 20 to 23, 2015. The Kraken have recorded at least 30 shots in their last four games played, a season high. Kraken captain Mark Giordano became the 364th player in NHL history to skate in 1,000 NHL games in the Kraken’s game on March 5 at Washington. Marcus Johansson enters tonight’s game two points shy of tallying 400 NHL points. There are currently only 11 skaters from the 2009 NHL Draft class and 12 active Swedish players to have 400 points. Jordan Eberle recorded an assist in the Kraken’s game on Feb. 21 for his 30th point of the season. Eberle has scored at least 30 points in each of his 12 NHL seasons. HOT AGAINST TORONTO Mason Appleton has four points (one goal, three assists) in his last four games against the Maple Leafs. Jordan Eberle has 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 20 career games against Toronto. Jaden Schwartz has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 11 career games against the Maple Leafs. Toronto is one of five teams (Boston, Buffalo, Edmonton, Washington) that Schwartz has averaged a point-per-game or better against in his career. Alex Wennberg has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last five games in Toronto.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • WHAT MCCANN’T HE DO? Jared McCann enters tonight’s game leading the Kraken in goals (21), points (33), even-strength goals (14), power-play goals (seven), power-play points (12) and multi-point games (eight). His 33 points are just two shy of matching his career high of 35 that he had in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. McCann scored his 20th goal of the season in the Kraken’s game on Feb. 14 vs. Toronto, setting a new career high. The goal also tied his career high in power-play goals (seven) that he first set during the 2020-21 season. McCann’s 21 goals are the most among players who are in their first year with a new team. McCann’s two-point performance (one goal, one assist) against the New York Islanders on Feb. 2 was his eighth multi-point game of the year, which leads all Kraken skaters. Despite only playing in 47 games this season, McCann’s eight multi-point games the most in his career. He previously had a career-high seven multipoint games during the 2018-19 season. McCann tallied his 100th NHL assist on Feb. 2 against the New York Islanders, becoming the 14th skater from the 2014 draft class to reach this milestone. He is on pace to finish the year with 49 points (31 goals, 18 assists), which would set a new career high. HE CALM SO I ADD HIM TO THE CALLE Calle Jarnkrok had two points (one goal, one assist) in the Kraken’s last game on March 6 at Carolina, marking his fifth multi-point game of the season. Despite only playing in 46 games this season, Jarnkrok is only one multi-point game shy of tying his career high of six that he set during the 2016-17 season and then matched in both 2017-18 and 2019-20. Jarnkrok’s goal on Feb. 9 at Calgary was his 10th of the year. It is the seventh-consecutive season that he has scored double-digit goals. He enters tonight’s game one power-play goal shy of matching his career high (three). Since Dec. 1, Jarnkrok has recorded 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 32 games played, which leads all Kraken skaters. With 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 46 games this season, the 30-year-old is on pace to finish the year with 18 goals, 20 assists and 38 points, all of which would set new career highs. His 12 goals this season are tied with Yanni Gourde for the third-most on the team. BLACKWELL’S BACK, ALRIGHT! Colin Blackwell has tallied three points (two goals, one assist) in the Kraken’s last three games, including scoring his first game-winning goal of the season in Seattle’s win over Nashville on March 2. Blackwell’s game-winner on March 2 was also the first shorthanded goal in his career. Since Feb. 24, Blackwell and linemates Mason Appleton and Yanni Gourde have played 52:40 at five-on-five together. During that span, the duo has outshot their opponents 25-23 and outscored them 2-1.* With 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 34 games this season, the 28-year-old is on pace to tie his career highs in goals (12), assists (10) and points (22). *According to Natural Stat Trick SETTING THE PACE Fifty-eight games into the season, five Kraken skaters are on pace to set new career highs in scoring: Ryan Donato, Calle Jarnkrok, Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak and Carson Soucy. Colin Blackwell (22) and Adam Larsson (24) are both one pace to tie their respective career highs in points. Morgan Geekie has already set new career highs in goals (four), assists (10) and points (14) this season. He is on pace to finish the year with six goals, 15 assists and 21 points.
•Ryan Donato (16), Calle Jarnkrok (18), Adam Larsson (six), Jared McCann (31) and Carson Soucy (10) are all on pace to set new career highs in goals. Colin Blackwell (12) and Haydn Fleury (four) are on pace to match their career highs in goals. Mason Appleton (14), Calle Jarnkrok (20) and Jamie Oleksiak (18) are on pace to set new career highs in assists. Oleksiak tied his career high with his 12th assist of the season in the Kraken’s game on March 5 at Washington. Adam Larsson and Alex Wennberg remain the only two skaters to appear in every game this season. CHEERS TO BENIERS Matty Beniers and the #2 Michigan Wolverines will advance to the Big Ten Tournament Semi Finals after their two-game sweep of #7 Michigan State. Beniers scored the tying goal in the first period of the teams’ first matchup on March 2, an eventual 4-1 Michigan win. The sophomore went eight-for-14 at the faceoff dot and was a plus-4 in the Wolverines 8-0 rout of the Spartans on March 5. The Wolverines will next take the ice on Saturday, March 12 against Notre Dame in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Beniers had two goals and one assist in four regular-season games against the Fighting Irish this season. Beniers finished the regular season with 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 30 games, which led all Michigan skaters and ranked 12th in the NCAA. KRAKEN REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS Hits: Lauzon (165), Larsson (127), Oleksiak (124) Blocked Shots: Larsson (103), Giordano (93), H. Fleury (55) Shots: McCann (135), Eberle (119), Giordano (114) KRAKEN’S RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 3-6-1 (7), 25/33, 3/32, 20/23 11-20: 3-7-0 (6), 29/39, 7/27, 16/21 21-30: 4-4-2 (10), 30/35, 4/21, 16/21 31-40: 2-7-1 (5), 21/36, 5/29, 27/35 41-50: 4-6-0 (8), 27/33, 4/33, 16/25 51-60: 1-7-0 (2), 16/31, 1/16, 16/22 OVERTIME RESULTS (1-4) Oct. 16, 2021 at Columbus: Laine Dec. 11, 2021 vs. Columbus: Bean Dec. 29, 2021 vs. Philadelphia: Provorov Jan. 27, 2022 at Pittsburgh: Larsson Feb. 24, 2022 vs. Boston: DeBrusk SHOOTOUT RESULTS (1-1) Dec. 1, 2021 at Detroit: Erne Jan. 17, 2022 vs. Chicago: Donato MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone) Games Played Jaden Schwartz … 9 games … 600 career games Goals Yanni Gourde … 8 goals … 100 career goals Assists Alex Wennberg … 8 assists … 200 career assists Points Ryan Donato … 4 points … 100 career points Marcus Johansson … 2 points … 400 career points RECENT MILESTONES Jared McCann … 400th NHL game … Feb. 21, 2022 at VAN Mark Giordano … 1,000th NHL game … March, 2022 at WS
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (36-16-4 – 76 Points) at COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (28-26-3 – 59 Points) MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022 1 2 3 FINAL TORONTO 3 0 2 5 COLUMBUS 0 2 2 4
SCORING NOTES
Ilya Mikheyev scored for Toronto at 8:06 of the first period. Mikheyev recorded his 10th goal of the season.
Mitch Marner scored for the Maple Leafs at 14:01 of the first period. Marner recorded his 22nd goal of the season. Marner also registered the primary assist on Matthews’ goal. Marner posted his 38th assist of the season. Marner is currently on a seven-game point streak where he has recorded 15 points (5G, 10A).
Auston Matthews scored for Toronto at 17:06 of the first period. Matthews posted his 40th goal of the season. Matthews has scored in back-to-back games (3G). Matthews also recorded the primary assist on Bunting’s goal. Matthews registered his 32nd assist of the season.
Alexander Kerfoot scored for the Maple Leafs at 4:19 of the third period. Kerfoot posted his ninth goal of the season.
Michael Bunting scored the game-winning goal for Toronto at 11:21 of the third period. Bunting recorded his 20th goal of the season. Bunting also posted the primary assist on Marner’s goal. Bunting registered his 25th assist of the season. Bunting is currently on a five-game point streak where he has posted 10 points (3G, 7A).
Pierre Engvall posted the primary assist on Mikheyev’s goal. Engvall registered his 11th assist of the season.
David Kämpf recorded the secondary assist on Mikheyev’s goal. Kämpf posted his 13th assist of the season.
Timothy Liljegren recorded the secondary assist on Marner’s goal. Liljegren posted his 12th assist of the season. Liljegren has posted an assist in back-to-back games.
TJ Brodie registered the secondary assist on Matthews’ goal and the secondary assist on Bunting’s goal. Brodie has recorded 12 assists this season.
Jason Spezza posted the primary assist on Kerfoot’s goal. Spezza recorded his 10th assist of the season.
Wayne Simmonds registered the secondary assist on Kerfoot’s goal. Simmonds posted his 10th assist of the season. GOALTENDER NOTES
Petr Mrázek stopped 31 of 35 shots in tonight’s win. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Maple Leafs were 0-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill tonight. OF NOTE…
Auston Matthews recorded his 40th goal of the season during tonight’s game. He is the first player this season to reach the 40-goal mark. Matthews has recorded the fourth 40-goal season of his NHL career; he is only the second player in Maple Leafs franchise history to do so alongside Darryl Sittler.
With his goal tonight, Michael Bunting became the first rookie to reach the 20-goal mark this season.
Per NHL Stats, Mitch Marner became the fifth active player to start their career with at least six 60- point seasons. He joined Alex Ovechkin (7 from 2005-06 to 2011-12), Auston Matthews (6 from 2016- 17 to present), Anze Kopitar (6 from 2006-07 to 2011-12) and Sidney Crosby (6 from 2005-06 to 2010-11).
TJ Brodie recorded his second multi-assist game of the season (2A).
Timothy Liljegren was on the ice for a team-high 26 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
David Kämpf finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 77.78 percent (14 for, 4 against). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL TORONTO 13 (12) 13 (13) 7 (7) 33 (32) COLUMBUS 5 (3) 14 (13) 16 (11) 35 (27) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL TORONTO 31 (27) 21 (21) 13 (13) 65 (61) COLUMBUS 10 (7) 25 (24) 27 (18) 62 (49) ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Maple Leafs are 17-9-3 on the road this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 16-11-1-5 in 33 games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and 9-5-0-2 in 16 games played in Columbus.
Toronto is 20-8-2 against the Eastern Conference this season and 11-4-2 against the Metropolitan Division this season. RECORD WHEN…
Toronto is 24-4-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 22-2-2 when leading after one period and 27-1-2 when leading after two periods.
Toronto is 14-5-1 when outshot by their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 5-3-1 in Monday games and 5-3-1 in the first game of a back-to-back. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 7 (Matthews) Shot Attempts 11 (Matthews, Tavares) Faceoff Wins 11 (Tavares) Faceoff Win Percentage 65% (Tavares – 11 won, 6 lost) Hits 1 (Holl, Kerfoot, Marner, Matthews, Rielly, Lyubushkin, Bunting, Robertson, Tavares) Blocked Shots 4 (Lyubushkin) Takeaways 1 (Spezza, Simmonds, Engvall, Kämpf) TOI 25:06 (Brodie) Power Play TOI 1:09 (Marner, Matthews, Rielly, Nylander, Tavares) Shorthanded TOI 4:25 (Kämpf) Shifts 29 (Rielly, Brodie) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 77.78% (Kämpf – 14 for, 4 against) UPCOMING GAMES: March 8 Leafs vs. Seattle Scotiabank Arena 7:30 pm ET March 10 Leafs vs. Arizona Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 13 Leafs at Buffalo Tim Hortons Field 4:00 pm ET March 15 Leafs vs. Dallas Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 17 Leafs vs. Carolina Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 19 Leafs at Nashville Bridgestone 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 tonight’s game: “I liked a lot about our game. Obviously don’t like the start of the second period, that goal they scored early in the second that’s a real downer on the game for me that piece but obviously the first period was as good as we could ask for. You want to follow that up and keep building on it but we weren’t able to do that so that was the disappointing part of the game. But when you look at it we outscored them five-to-one on even strength, they score a four-on-four goal, power play goal and one with their goalie out so five at even strength. We probably could have had two or three in the second period there pucks laying on the goal line a couple times, we had a couple two-on-ones. I thought we actually out chanced them in the second period despite them carrying the play a little bit against us so the fact that we weren’t able to get the fourth goal I thought was significant in the second period. And then take a penalty and they get one to even it up but loved how our guys were calm and went out there and made plays to get us our lead back.” AUSTON MATTHEWS On tonight’s win: “Yeah it’s a big win for us. Obviously after dropping a couple, I think we felt like we did a lot of really good things on Saturday, so I think the start that we had was really positive. Obviously letting them back in the game but I thought our bench and team as a whole just stayed poised and confident and we just kept playing and scored a couple big goals to give ourselves a lead.” On the mood on the bench when Columbus tied the game: “I think the mood is just go out and win your next shift and just keep playing. Obviously nothing that we change after that, just keep playing ,everybody together, make sure structure wise that we are doing the right things and just a really, really nice all around play by Spezza, Simmonds and Kerfoot to give us that fourth goal and then just a little insurance on the fifth one too so just keep playing and stay calm and confident.” MICHAEL BUNTING On his season so far: “I think our lines mesh pretty well. We’ve built some good chemistry and I’ve had a little bit of success offensively and I’m just trying to keep rolling with it and just trying to stick to my game and stick to what’s working and right now it’s working so I don’t want to change anything up but it’s been so much fun playing with Mitch and Matthews both are great players to play with.” On Matthews’ offensive play this season: “Some of the stuff he does I just kind of giggle to myself mid-game because it’s pretty remarkable and he’s such an exceptional player. He’s fun to play with, you never know what he’s going to pull out, even last game when he tried the Michigan, he’s so quick and it’s too bad it didn’t go in but he’s a fun player to play with and he’s one of the best or the best in the league.” PETR MRÁZEK On tonight’s game: “A win is a win, that’s what matters the most. That’s what we came here for and that’s what we’re taking home so I’m happy with that.” On his mindset when Columbus tied the game in the third period: “Just regroup. We gave them an early power play in the third period where they tied the game and we did a really good job after that scoring two goals and getting the lead back
2021-22 Matchups vs. Columbus: Third of Three 2021-22 Record vs. Columbus: 1-0-1 Toronto Season Record: 35-16-4 Toronto Road Record: 16-9-3 TV: Sportsnet RADIO: Sportsnet 590
RECENT TRANSACTIONS March 4, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled defenceman Mac Hollowell from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 25, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 24, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 4 vs. Vancouver 6 Date: Saturday, March 5, 2022 TOR Goals: Tavares, Robertson, Matthews (2x) VAN Goals: Miller, Hamonic, Boeser, Pearson, Chiasson, Motte TOR Goaltender: Campbell, 23/28, .821 SV% VAN Goaltender: Demko, 34/38, .895 SV% TOR Power Play: 1-for-2 TOR Penalty Kill: 1-for-2 Team Notes: – Wayne Simmonds skated in his 1,000th career NHL game.
Nick Robertson recorded the first regular-season goal of his NHL career. Robertson scored his first career NHL goal in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers on August 6th against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
John Tavares tied a season-high 17 face-off wins on Saturday. Tavares leads the Maple Leafs with a 61.4 face-off win percentage.
Auston Matthews recorded two goals during Saturday’s game. Matthews regained sole possession of first place among league goals leaders with 39.
NEXT GAME Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 Opponent: vs. Seattle Kraken Time: 7:30 pm ET Broadcast Information: TSN4 (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio) INJURY REPORT
Ondrej Kaše Day-to-Day Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: First Matchup between Clubs: February 14, 2001 (Toronto 2 vs. Columbus 2) All-Time Record: 15-11-1-5 (32 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 7-6-1-3 (17 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 8-5-0-2 (15 Games) Last Road Win vs. Opponent: October 4, 2019 (Toronto 4 at Columbus 1) Record in Last Five Games: 3-0-2 Record in Last 10 Games: 5-2-3
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Games Played: Wayne Simmonds (42), John Tavares (29), Jason Spezza (23) Goals: John Tavares (15), Wayne Simmonds (10), Auston Matthews (6) Assists: John Tavares (20), Morgan Rielly (13), Jason Spezza (8), Mitch Marner (8) Points: John Tavares (35), Wayne Simmonds (17), Morgan Rielly (14) Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (40), Kyle Clifford (23), John Tavares (16)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 43/147 (29.3%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 129/154 (83.8%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Monday games 9th of 10 (3 home, 7 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 4-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 March games 3rd of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie Six points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Eight assists away from his 300th career NHL assist.
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, March 5, 2022 vs. VAN Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
2021-22 TEAM LEADERS CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 39 – Matthews HITS 97 – Simmonds ASSISTS 39 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 76 – Brodie POINTS 70 – Matthews (39G, 31A) TAKEAWAYS 60 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) TOI PER GAME 24:08 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) PP TOI PER GAME 2:56 – Marner PIMs 51 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:41 – Muzzin SHOTS 232 – Matthews WINS 23 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.4% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 2.61 – Campbell SHOT ATTEMPTS% 58.95% – Matthews SAVE PERCENTAGE .915 – Campbell
BLUE JACKETS
THE LAST GAME: MAR. 5, 2022 – CBJ 4 vs. BOS 5 (SO) CBJ Goal Scorers: Nyquist (14), Gavrikov (3), PP – Werenski (9), PP – Voracek (3) BOS Goal Scorers: DeBrusk (15), Haula (8), Smith (10), PP – Bergeron (16), SO – Pastrnak Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (28/32; 63:33); BOS– Swayman (20/24; 64:57) CBJ PP: 2/3; PK: 1/2 | Shots: CBJ: 24 / BOS: 32 3 Stars: 1. Pastrnak, BOS; 2. Voracek, CBJ; 3. Bergeron, BOS Noteworthy: CBJ fell in the shootout for the 2nd time this season and 3rd time after reg. (9-1-2)… CBJ scored game-tying goal with 2.8 seconds left – 2nd latest tying goal in club history (3/7/08; 59:59)… Laine recorded team-leading 13th multi-point game of campaign with 2 assists… Voracek tallied 10th multi-point effort of season (1-1-2)… Domi skated in 100th career CBJ game. OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT Tarasov (hip); Placed on Injured Reserve (1/4); out for season (26 games) Texier (fractured finger); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 1/26); 4 weeks (16 games) Bean (groin strain); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 1/30); 4 weeks (14 games) Robinson (MCL strain right knee); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 1/31); 6 weeks (13 games) Korpisalo (lower body); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 2/15); day-to-day (9 games) Boqvist (upper body); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to 2/27); day-to-day (3 games) TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 229 RECENT TRANSACTIONS Mar. 5 Assigned Christiansen to Cleveland (AHL) Mar. 4 Placed Boqvist on IR retroactive to 2/27 Feb. 28 Added Christiansen to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL) Feb. 26 Assigned Christiansen to Cleveland (AHL) Feb. 25 Activated Merzlikins off IR and assigned Greaves to Cleveland (AHL) AGAINST THE MAPLE LEAFS 2021-22 Series: 1-1-0 (1-0-0 vs. TOR) 2020-21 Series: Did Not Play 2019-20 Series: 1-1-0 (0-1-0 vs. TOR) All-Time Series: 16-15-1-0 (7-8-0-0 vs. TOR) Last 10 (Overall | Home): 5-5-0 | 5-5-0 All-Time GF/GA: 94/99 All-Time SF/SA: 1,001/978 All-Time PP: 19-of-102 All-Time PK: 79-of-96 THE LAST GAME VS TOR: FEB. 22, 2022 – CBJ 4 vs TOR 3 (OT) CBJ Goal Scorers: Laine (17), PP – Boqvist (10), Gaunce (3), OT – Laine (18) TOR Goal Scorers: Bunting (17), Matthews (34), Spezza (10) Goalies: CBJ – Berube (39/42; 60:20); TOR– Campbell (26/30; 59:50) CBJ PP: 1/2; PK: 3/3 | Shots: CBJ: 30 / TOR: 42 3 Stars: 1. Laine, CBJ; 2. Berube, CBJ; 3. Gaunce, CBJ Noteworthy: CBJ won 3rd-straight game… CBJ came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficit… Berube notched 1st career NHL point (assist)… Gaunce scored in 2nd-straight game (2-2-4)… Jenner recorded assist in new career-high 4th-straight game (2-5-7)… Laine recorded 5th multi-goal game of the season (2- 0-2), including GWG 20 seconds into OT, giving him points in 10-straight (12-8-20)… Werenski stretched points-streak to 6 games with 2 assists (2-6-8). SEASON SERIES LEFT: Series complete.
CBJ/TOR CONNECTIONS CBJ: McRae (Beaverton), who played in four games for TOR (1983-85), served as GM of London Knights from 2014-16)… Legace (Toronto), Danforth (Oshawa), Gaunce (Sudbury) and Jenner (Dorchester) were all born in Ontario. NOTED (Team Highlights vs. TOR) The teams met in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifying Round with the Blue Jackets winning the series 3-2… CBJ are 9-6-0 since 1/13/16, but TOR has earned victories in 5 of the last 8 meetings since 2/14/18… Winning team has scored 3+ goals in 19-straight games and 4-plus in each of the last 8 meetings… CBJ have both shutouts (MR: Bobrovsky, 4/8/15) in all-time series… Most goals scored vs. TOR: 5 – 3x (MR: 2/15/17)… Most goals allowed vs. TOR: 6 – 2x (MR: 10/16/15). NOTED (Player Highlights vs. TOR) Berube notched 1st career NHL point (assist) on 2/22/22… Carlsson posted 1st NHL point (assist) on 4/9/17 at TOR… Domi tallied 100th NHL career assist on 10/3/18 at TOR… Voracek played 500th NHL game on 1/31/15 vs. TOR. HOW THE JACKETS WERE BUILT (Active: 21, Injured Reserve: 6) Drafted (13): Bemstrom, Bjorkstrand, Carlsson, Chinakhov, Gavrikov, Jenner, Korpisalo (IR), Merzlikins, Peeke, Sillinger, Tarasov (IR), Texier (IR), Werenski Trade (6): Bean (IR), Boqvist (IR), Domi, Laine, Roslovic, Voracek Free Agent (8): Bayreuther, Berube, Danforth, Gaunce, Kukan, Kuraly, Nyquist, Robinson (IR) BLUE JACKETS NOTES HONORING NASH Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets’ all-time leader in goals, assists, points and games played, became the first player in CBJ history to have his number retired when his number “61” was lifted to the rafters at Nationwide Arena prior to Saturday’s game vs. Boston. The former captain, who finished his NHL career with the Bruins in 2017-18, registered 289-258-547 in 674 games and appeared in five All-Star games as a Blue Jacket from 2002-12. HOME AT NATIONWIDE The Blue Jackets picked up a point for the third consecutive game with a 5-4 shootout loss to Boston on Saturday. The team picked up a point in both games of a back-to-back set vs. the Kings and Bruins. The club closes out its five-game homestand on Monday vs Toronto. It’s part of a stretch of 9-of11 contests played at Nationwide Arena from Feb. 27-Mar. 19. CBJ moved to 10-4-2 in their last 16 games and rank second-T in the NHL in wins and third-T in points since Jan. 27. COMEBACK JACKETS The Blue Jackets have earned their victories this season with the club coming back at some point in the game in 18 of their 28 wins, including eight of their last ten victories. The 18 comeback victories are tied for the most in the NHL (COL, NYR & TBL). The club leads the league with seven wins when trailing heading into the third period. Columbus also has five multi-goal comeback wins this season (Nov. 3 at COL, Nov. 15 vs. DET, Jan. 27 vs. NYR, Feb. 8 at WSH and Feb. 10 at BUF). PUTTING PUCKS IN THE NET Columbus has been able to fill the back of the net this season, averaging 3.27 goals-per-game through 56 contests (9th in NHL). The club ranks third in the NHL in goals-per-game since Jan. 27 (4.06 avg), trailing only Florida (4.33) and Toronto (4.31). Columbus has scored three-plus goals in 34 of its contests (includes SO goals). The club is 23-3-1 when scoring four goals or more in a contest this season, recording four-plus goals in six of the last nine games. CBJ, who averaged 2.39 goals-a-game in 2020-21, have twice finished a campaign averaging better than three goals a game (club record 3.12 avg. in 2018-19 and 3.01 avg. in 2016-17). LAINE HOT STREAK Patrik Laine notched his team-leading 13th multi-point effort of the season and stretched his points streak to three-straight games (2-3-5) with two assists on Saturday. The forward leads the NHL in goals and GWG (tied) and ranks third in points since Jan. 27 with 15-11-26 and four GWG in 16 contests, recording points in 14 of those outings. He also leads the League in overtime winners (3, tied) and ranks third-T in game-winners (7) this season. JENNERATING RESULTS Boone Jenner has posted 5-9-14 in the last 13 games and 11-13-24 with six multi-point efforts in the last 24 contests. The 28-year-old captain leads the club in goals, points and PPG with 23-21-44 and 8 PPG in 56 appearances. He is on pace to set single-season career highs in both goals and points (30-19-49 in 82 GP in 2015-16). His 144 career goals are the third-most in club history, trailing only Rick Nash (289) and Atkinson (213). UPCOMING MILESTONES •Bemstrom is 7 games from 100 for his NHL career •Domi is 1 goal from 100 for his NHL career •Kuraly is 11 points from 100 for his NHL career •Merzlikins is 3 games from 100 for his NHL career •Werenski (74-149-223, 384 GP) is 1 point from surpassing Seth Jones (50-173-223, 381 GP) for the most in CBJ history among blueliners 2021-22 TEAM QUICK HITS •CBJ are 9-1-2 in OT/SO this season (3-1 in SO) with the club ranking 2nd the NHL in W% (.750) and 2 off the League-lead in wins •CBJ rank 2nd in the NHL in goals (33) and 11th-T in the NHL in points (126) by defensemen •CBJ are 3-0-0 when their game has been on ESPN+/Hulu this season (6-0 W at CAR on 1/13, 6-3 W at FLA on 2/24 and 4-3 W vs NJD on 3/1) •CBJ are 3-1-0 in Mon. games this season 2021-22 PLAYER QUICK HITS •Bjorkstrand has recorded points in 4-straight games (3-1-4) and has points in 10 of last 13 games (7-4-11) •Danforth picked up his 5th goal of the season on Fri., recording 4 of his 5 goals in his last 10 games played •Gavrikov, who notched a goal on Sat. and has points in 2-straight (1-1-2), has already set single-season career highs in assists and points (3-22-25, 54 GP) •Kuraly is on pace to set single-season career highs with 8-13-21 in 55 GP •Nyquist has 4-7-11 in last 16 games and 10-12-22 with 7 multi-point outings in 29 games since 12/16 •Peeke has played 21-plus minutes in each of the last 22 games since 1/13 (avg. 24:54, 19th in NHL), including a career-high 29:09 vs. NJD on 3/1 •Voracek notched his 10th multi-point effort on Sat. (1-1-2), including the game-tying goal with 2.8 seconds left in regulation; has 1-9-10 in the last 9 appearances, ranks 3rd in the NHL in primary assists (30) and leads the club in assists (39) •Voracek averaging .72 A/GP – 2nd highest avg. in CBJ history, trails only Panarin .75 A/GP (2018-19; 59 assists, 79 GP) •Werenski notched his 9th goal of season on Sat. and has 3-10-13 in his last 14 games CBJ 2021-22 TEAM GAME HIGHS GOALS: 8 (10/14 vs ARI)… GOALS AGAINST: 9 (1/15 at FLA)… PPG: 2 – 5x (MR: 3/5 vs BOS)… PPGA: 3 – 2x (MR: 1/4 vs TBL)… SHOTS: 46 (11/18 at ARI)… SHOTS AGAINST: 62 (1/26 vs CGY)… PIM: 22 (10/14 vs ARI)… HITS: 43 (2/24 at FLA)… FOW: 44 (3/1 vs NJD)… BKS: 24 (3/1 vs NJD) CBJ 2021-22 PLAYER SEASON HIGHS GOALS: 3, Laine (2/17 at CHI)… ASSISTS: 3 – 2x, Werenski (MR:1/27 vs NYR)… POINTS: 4, Bjorkstrand (10/14 vs ARI)… HITS: 9, Kuraly (10/16 vs SEA)… PLUS/MINUS RATING: +4 – 3x, MR: Gavrikov (1/13 at CAR)… SOG: 10, Werenski (11/6 vs COL)… TOI: 33:03 – Werenski (10/31 at NJD)… SAVES: 56, Merzlikins (1/26 vs CGY, 62 shots
2021-22 Matchups vs. Vancouver: Second of Two 2021-22 Record vs. Vancouver: 0-1-0 Toronto Season Record: 35-15-4 Toronto Home Record: 19-6-1
BROADCAST INFORMATION TV: Sportsnet RADIO: TSN 1050
RECENT TRANSACTIONS March 4, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled defenceman Mac Hollowell from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 25, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 24, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 1 vs. Buffalo 5 Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2022 TOR Goals: Sandin BUF Goals: Bryson, Olofsson, Thompson, Skinner, Okposo TOR Goaltender: Mrazek, 26/31, .839 SV% BUF Goaltender: Anderson, 29/30, .967 SV% TOR Power Play: 0-for-1 TOR Penalty Kill: 1-for-2 Team Notes: – Mitch Marner skated in his 400th career NHL game.
With his assist recorded on Wednesday, Michael Bunting holds sole possession of second place among rookie scoring leaders with 42 points (19G, 23A).
NEXT GAME Date: Monday, March 7, 2022 Opponent: at Columbus Blue Jackets Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio)
INJURY REPORT Ondrej Kaše Day-to-Day Jake Muzzin Concussion ALL-TIME VS. VANCOUVER CANUCKS:
First Matchup between Clubs: October 11, 1970 (Toronto 3 at Vancouver 5) All-Time Record: 66-66-22-4 (158 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 40-25-11-1 (77 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 26-41-11-3 (81 Games) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: May 1, 2021 (Toronto 5 vs. Vancouver 1) Record in Last Five Games: 2-2-1 Record in Last 10 Games: 5-4-1
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. VANCOUVER CANUCKS: Games Played: TJ Brodie (46), Jake Muzzin (41), Kyle Clifford (39) Goals: Auston Matthews (15), John Tavares (13), Jason Spezza (9) Assists: John Tavares (17), Mitch Marner (15), Jason Spezza (14) Points: John Tavares (30), Jason Spezza (23), Auston Matthews (19) Penalty Minutes: Kyle Clifford (61), Jake Muzzin (30), Wayne Simmonds (28)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 42/145 (29.0%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 128/152 (84.2%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Saturday games 17th of 23 (9 home, 14 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 4-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 March games 2nd of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie Six points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Nine assists away from his 300th career NHL assist Wayne Simmonds One game away from 1,000 career NHL games played.
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT HOW THE MAPLE LEAFS WERE BUILT
J2021-22 TEAM LEADERS CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 37 – Matthews HITS 93 – Simmonds ASSISTS 38 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 74 – Brodie POINTS 68 – Matthews (37G, 31A) TAKEAWAYS 59 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) TOI PER GAME 24:10 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) PP TOI PER GAME 2:57 – Marner PIMs 49 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:41 – Muzzin SHOTS 224 – Matthews WINS 23 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.3% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 2.55 – Campbell SHOT ATTEMPTS% 58.72% – Matthews SAVE PERCENTAGE .917 – Campbell 0 10-4-2
CANUCKS AT MAPLE LEAFS PREVIEW TV: Sportsnet Radio: SN650 MATCH-UP INFO Tonight marks the second and final meeting between Vancouver and Toronto this season: Feb. 12 (3-2 W), Mar. 5 (away). Vancouver has a 70-63-22-3 all-time record against the Maple Leafs, including a 26-39-11-1 record on the road against Toronto. The Canucks are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games vs Toronto (3-2-0 in their last 5). Among active Canucks skaters, J.T. Miller leads the team in career scoring vs Toronto with 23 points (10-13-23) in 29 games. Thatcher Demko has faced the Maple Leafs six times (3-3-0) in his career, owning a .913 SV% and a 3.20 GAA. Jaroslav Halak has a record of 10-4-5 in 20 games vs Toronto, posting a .910 SV% and a 2.90 GAA. QUICK NUMBERS Elias Pettersson has 14 points (6-8-14) in his last 10 games. J.T. Miller has 17 points (6-11-17) in his last 10 games and is currently on an eight-game point streak. Brock Boeser has 12 points (5-7-12) in his last 14 games. Quinn Hughes has 11 points (2-9-11) in his last 10 games. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has seven points (1-6-7) in his last 10 games. Tanner Pearson has six points (4-2-6) in his last six games. Bo Horvat has eight points (4-4-8) in his last 10 games. LAST MEETING – FEB. 12/22: VAN 3 vs TOR 2 J.T. Miller opened the scoring with a goal at 1:29 in the first period…Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser recorded assists on the play…Boeser followed up with a power play goal at 6:00 in the first…Oliver Ekman-Larsson and J.T. Miller collected assists…Juho Lammikko scored the GWG in the second period, assisted by Alex Chiasson and Tyler Motte…Luke Schenn led the game in hits (7)…Bo Horvat led the team in shots (4)…J.T. Miller (1-1-2) led the team in TOI (25:59)…Thatcher Demko made a career high 51 saves tying a franchise record for most saves in a win (51), matching Richard Brodeur on Feb. 10/85 vs WPG. 2021.22 TEAM RANKS LAST GAME PLAYED – MAR. 3/22: VAN 4 at NYI 3 Brad Hunt notched his first goal of the season (unassisted) and first as a Canuck to even the score at 7:19 in the second period…J.T. Miller gave the Canucks their first lead of the game with his team-leading 21st goal of the season at 11:50 in the second…Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes assisted on the play…Nils Höglander pulled Vancouver even again at 9:34 in the third period, assisted by Conor Garland and Hughes…Vasily Podkolzin netted the GWG just 45 seconds later on a backhand pass from Bo Horvat…Luke Schenn led the team in hits (4)…Bo Horvat went 15-4 on face-offs…Thatcher Demko made 24 saves. LAST 5 vs TORONTO
Feb. 12/22: VAN 3 vs TOR 2
May 1/21: VAN 1 at TOR 5 Apr. 29/21: VAN 1 at TOR 4 Apr. 20/21: VAN 6 vs TOR 3 Apr. 18/21: VAN 3 vs TOR 2 (OT)
2021.22 TEAM RANKS VAN TOR Goals For/Game 2.77 (23rd) 3.63 (4th) Goals Against/Game 2.82 (t-11th) 2.89 (15th) Power Play % 20.6 (17th) 29.0 (1st) Penalty Kill % 70.4 (32nd) 84.2 (6th) Penalty Min./Game 8:28 (13th) 7:03 (2nd) RECENT TRANSACTIONS Tucker Poolman placed on LTIR, Feb. 26 Kyle Burroughs placed on IR, Feb. 26 Phillip Di Giuseppe recalled from Abbotsford, Feb. 25 STREAK-KING Extending his point streak to eight games (5-10-15) with a goal on Mar. 3 at NYI, J.T. Miller became the only player in the NHL to record three separate point streaks of 8+ games this season: Feb. 6-Mar. 3, 5-10-15, 8GP Dec. 6-Jan. 1, 3-10-13, 9GP Oct. 30-Nov. 14, 6-4-10, 8GP Miller is also the seventh player to have accomplished the feat in the last 10 years, joining Connor McDavid (x2), Leon Draisaitl (x2), Nikita Kucherov, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Johansen, and Evgeni Malkin. COMEBACK COMPLETE Clawing back from 1-0 and 3-2 deficits on Mar. 3 at NYI, the Canucks recorded their second regulation win on the season when coming back from multiple deficits. They also came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to win 4-2 in regulation on Oct. 23 at SEA. HOMETOWN HUNT-ING With Maple Ridge-native Brad Hunt netting his first goal of the season on Mar. 3 at NYI, the Canucks have received goals from multiple Greater Vancouver-born defenders (Kyle Burroughs – Vancouver) in the same season for the first time in club history. PEARSON-AL BEST Collecting his 11th goal of the season and fourth in five games on Feb. 28 at NJD, Tanner Pearson established a career-high five-game point streak (4- 2-6). It also represented his 100th point as a Canuck (51-49-100) in his 190th game. SCORING IN BUNCHES The Canucks scored at least five goals for the third straight game during a 5-2 win at NYR on Feb. 27, accomplishing the feat for just the fifth time in the past 25 years. The other instances occurred from Oct. 22-30/19 (4 GP), Dec. 1-6/11 (3 GP), Oct. 14-18/05 (3 GP), and Feb. 6-25/98 (3 GP). PUTTING UP THE POINTS Recording three points (2-1-3) on Feb. 24 vs CGY, Elias Pettersson registered his fourth consecutive multipoint game for the first time in his career. In four games from Feb. 17-24, Pettersson collected 10 points (3-7-10). DIFFERENT FASHIONS Trouncing the Flames 7-1 on home ice on Feb. 24, Vancouver scored four different types of goals for the first time in franchise history: Power play (Pettersson, Miller, Horvat), shorthanded (Pettersson), penalty shot (Miller), even strength (Horvat, Garland). THREE CAN PLAY THAT GAME J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Bo Horvat each notched two goals on Feb. 24 vs CGY, marking the first time the Canucks had multiple goals from three or more players in a game since Oct. 29/11 vs WSH (Higgins, Lappiere, Edler). STREAK SNAPPERS Defeating Calgary by a score of 7-1 on Feb. 24, Vancouver became the first team in NHL history to beat an opponent on a 10+ game winning streak by six or more goals.
MOTTE SO FAST Tyler Motte (0:11) scored the fastest goal from the start of a game by any player this season on Feb. 21 vs SEA. It also equaled the fourth-fastest to begin a game in franchise history: Alex Burrows (Mar 16/13) :06, Trevor Linden (Jan 16/94) :09, Henrik Sedin (Oct 24/14) :10.
RECENT CANUCKS MILESTONES Brock Boeser – 300 GP, Feb. 24 vs CGY Travis Hamonic – 200 points, Feb. 21 vs SEA J.T. Miller – 400 points, Feb. 8 vs ARI Oliver Ekman-Larsson – 400 points, Feb. 8 vs ARI CURRENT INJURIES Jason Dickinson – 3 games Kyle Burroughs – 5 games Tucker Poolman – 13 games Brady Keeper – 56 games Brandon Sutter – 56 games Total man games lost (due to injuries or illness): 289 games
THE LAST TIME… The Canucks won when leading after 1P: Feb. 27/22 at NYR The Canucks lost when leading after 1P: Nov. 13/21 at VGK The Canucks lost in OT/SO when leading after 1P: Jan. 21/22 vs FLA The Canucks won when leading after 2P: Feb. 27/22 at NYR The Canucks lost when leading after 2P: Nov. 28/21 at BOS The Canucks lost in OT/SO when leading after 2P: Jan. 25/22 vs EDM The Canucks won when trailing after 1P: Feb. 21/22 vs SEA The Canucks lost when trailing after 1P: Feb. 28/22 at NJD
The Canucks lost in OT/SO when trailing after 1P: Nov. 9/21 vs ANA The Canucks won when trailing after 2P: Dec. 29/21 at ANA The Canucks lost when trailing after 2P: Feb. 28/22 at NJD The Canucks lost in OT/SO when trailing after 2P: Dec. 30/21 at LAK The Canucks won when tied after 1P: Mar. 3/22 at NYI The Canucks lost when tied after 1P: Feb. 1/22 at NSH The Canucks lost in OT/SO when tied after 1P: Jan. 29/22 at CGY The Canucks won when tied after 2P: Mar. 3/22 at NYI The Canucks lost when tied after 2P: Nov. 26/21 at CBJ The Canucks lost in OT/SO when tied after 2P: Jan. 29/22 at CGY PLAYER MILESTONE ENTERING 2021.22 NEEDS Travis Hamonic 700 GP 675 8 Elias Pettersson 200 Points 153 9
HIGHS Player Number Date Opponent Goals Miller 3 Jan. 27 at WPG Assists Hughes 4 Dec. 1 at OTT Points Miller (2x), Hughes 4 Latest Feb. 24 vs CGY (Miller) Shots Miller, Pearson 7 Latest Dec. 29 at ANA (Pearson) Blocked Shots Myers (2x), Schenn 7 Latest Feb. 19 vs ANA (Schenn) Hits Schenn 12 Jan. 31 at CHI Face-Off Wins Horvat 21 Nov. 9 vs ANA Penalty Minutes Myers, Chiasson 12 Latest Jan. 29 at CGY (Myers)
. 2021.22 SEASON HIGHS AND LOWS Most Goals Scored, Game: 7, Feb. 24 vs CGY Most Goals Scored, Period: 5, Feb. 24 vs CGY, 2nd period Most Goals Allowed, Game: 7 (4x), Latest Feb. 28 at NJD Most Goals Allowed, Period: 5, Feb. 9 vs NYI, 1st period Fewest Goals Scored, Game: 0 (2x), Latest Jan. 29 at CGY Fewest Goals Allowed, Game: 0, Dec. 6 vs LAK Most PPG Scored, Game: 3 (2x), Latest Feb. 24 vs CGY Most PPG Allowed, Game: 3, Nov. 17 vs COL Most SHG Scored, Game: 1 (3x), Latest Feb. 24 vs CGY Most SHG Allowed, Game: 1 (3x), Latest Jan. 11 at FLA Most Shots, Game: 46, Feb. 21 vs SEA Most Shots, Period: 23, Oct. 16 at DET, 3rd period Fewest Shots, Game: 15, Jan. 29 at CGY Fewest Shots, Period: 1, Jan. 29 at CGY, 1st period Most Shots Allowed, Game: 53, Feb. 12 vs TOR Most Shots Allowed, Period: 24, Feb. 12 vs TOR, 2nd period Fewest Shots Allowed, Game: 21 (5x), Latest Jan. 13 at TBL Fewest Shots Allowed, Period: 3 (2x), Latest Jan. 23 vs STL, 3rd period Most Hits, Game: 41, Oct. 28 vs PHI Fewest Hits, Game: 5, Oct. 16 at DET Most Blocked Shots, Game: 25 (2x), Latest Feb. 24 vs CGY Fewest Blocked Shots, Game: 8 (3x), Latest Jan. 23 vs STL Largest Margin of Victory: 6 goals, Feb. 24 vs CGY (7-1) Largest Margin of Defeat: 6 goals, Nov. 11 at COL (7-1) Longest Win Streak: 7 games, Dec. 6-29 Longest Point Streak: 9 games, Dec. 6-Jan. 1 Longest Winless Streak: 5 games, Nov. 9-17 Longest Pointless Streak: 4 games (2x), Latest Nov. 24-28
VANCOUVER’S 2021.22 RECORD WHEN… Score 4+ Goals: 18-2-0 Score 3 Goals or Less: 9-21-6 Scoring First: 19-5-2 Allow 4+ Goals: 2-15-0 Allow 3 Goals or Less: 25-8-6 Allowing First Goal: 9-17-4 On 0 Days Rest: 2-5-1 On 1 Day Rest: 17-11-3 On 2 Days Rest: 5-6-1 On 3+ Days Rest: 3-1-1 Score a PPG: 21-3-3 Give up a PPG: 11-18-3 25 or More Shots on Goal: 25-19-4 Less than 25 shots: 2-4-2 THREE STARS – MARCH Hughes – 5 pts Miller – 5 pts FEBRUARY WINNIER – MILLER (20) JANUARY WINNER – MARTIN (15) DECEMBER WINNER – DEMKO, MILLER (20) NOVEMBER WINNER – GARLAND (15) OCTOBER WINNER – DEMKO (15) *5 points are awarded for each Three Stars selectio
2021-22 Matchups vs. Buffalo: Second of Four 2021-22 Record vs. Buffalo: 1-0-0 Toronto Season Record: 35-14-4 Toronto Home Record: 19-5-1
RECENT TRANSACTIONS TV: Sportsnet RADIO: Sportsnet 590 February 25, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 24, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 5 at Washington 3 Date: Monday, February 28, 2022 TOR Goals: Bunting, Nylander, Holl, Sandin, Engvall WSH Goals: Sheary, Wilson (2x) TOR Goaltender: Mrazek, 30/33, .909 SV% WSH Goaltender: Samsonov, 7/10, .700 SV% – Vanecek, 16/17, 941 SV% TOR Power Play: 0-for-4 TOR Penalty Kill: 2-for-3 Team Notes:
With his ninth goal of the season scored on Monday, Pierre Engvall recorded an NHL career-high.
Mitch Marner recorded his 11th multi-assist game of the season.
Michael Bunting has scored in three-straight road games (3G). Bunting is ranked first in the league among rookie point leaders on the road with 30 (15G, 15A).
NEXT GAME Date: Saturday, March 5, 2022 Opponent: vs. Vancouver Canucks Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), TSN 1050 (Radio)
INJURY REPORT Ondrej Kase Day-to-Day Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. BUFFALO SABRES:
First Matchup between Clubs: November 18, 1970 (Toronto 2 vs. Buffalo 7) All-Time Record: 84-106-18-11 (219 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 51-40-12-5 (108 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 33-66-6-6 (111 Games) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: December 17, 2019 (Toronto 5 vs. Buffalo 3) Record in Last Five Games: 3-2-0 Record in Last 10 Games: 8-2-0
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. BUFFALO SABRES: Games Played: Jason Spezza (67), John Tavares (35), Wayne Simmonds (30) Goals: Jason Spezza (23), John Tavares (22), Auston Matthews (11) Assists: Jason Spezza (50), John Tavares (20), Morgan Rielly (14) Points: Jason Spezza (73), John Tavares (42), Auston Matthews (18) Penalty Minutes: Jason Spezza (44), Wayne Simmonds (27), John Tavares (18)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 42/144 (29.2%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 127/150 (84.7%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Wednesday games 10th of 11 (6 home, 5 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 4-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 March games 1st of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie Six points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner One game away from 400 career NHL games played Mitch Marner 10 assists away from his 300th career NHL assist Wayne Simmonds Two games away from 1,000 career NHL games played
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
SABRES
LAST GAME Sunday, Feb. 27 Buffalo 2 at Dallas 4 Goals: Thompson, Eakin Goalie: Anderson (27 saves/31 shots) PP: 0/1; PK: 2/3; Shots: Buffalo 40 – Dallas 31 CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 373) Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed Drake Caggiula (upper body, Nov. 26; IR) – 35 games Malcolm Subban (upper body, Jan. 13; IR) – 19 games Colin Miller (upper body, Jan. 17; IR) – 17 games Vinnie Hinostroza (lower body, Jan. 18; IR) – 16 games Zemgus Girgensons (undisclosed, Jan. 29; IR) – 12 games Will Butcher (lower body, Jan. 30; IR) – 11 games Henri Jokiharju (lower body, Feb. 25) – 2 games TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS 2/22: Recalled F Brandon Biro from Rochester (AHL) 2/25: Reassigned F Brandon Biro to Rochester (AHL) 3/1: Reassigned F Jack Quinn to Rochester (AHL) UPCOMING GAMES Friday, March 4: Minnesota at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Sunday, March 6: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Monday, March 7: Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10: Vegas at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Sunday, March 13: Toronto at Buffalo, 4 p.m. (2022 NHL Heritage Classic – Tim Hortons Field – Hamilton, ON) TODAY’S GAME SABRES at MAPLE LEAFS This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Maple Leafs this season. Last meeting: Toronto defeated Buffalo 5-4 in Buffalo on Nov. 13, 2021. Next meeting: Sunday, Mar. 13, 2022 in Hamilton. The Sabres are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games against the Maple Leafs; 3-6-1 on the road. This is the 220th game all-time between Buffalo and Toronto; Buffalo has a 117-74-28 series record. The Sabres are 45-44-19 on the road against the Maple Leafs all-time. THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY The Sabres are 10-7-3 all-time on March 2. March 2, 1998: Alexei Zhitnik scores the game’s only goal and Dominik Hasek gets his second shutout in as many nights as the Sabres top the New York Rangers 1-0 at Madison Square Garden. March 2, 2007: The Sabres score eight goals, including the first two of Mike Ryan’s career, to top the Montreal Canadiens 8-5 and improve to first place in the NHL. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW Tonight’s contest marks the Sabres’ first game in Toronto since Dec. 17, 2019. Buffalo has successfully killed off 16 of its last 18 penalties (88.9 percent). Buffalo Sabres: Media Notes Tage Thompson has 24 points (12+12) in his last 23 games played, including 15 points (10+5) in his last 13 contests. Thompson’s eight goals during the month of February tied him for sixth in the NHL during that span. Thompson has tallied eight shots on goal in each of his last two games. Since making his Sabres debut on Dec. 29, Sabres forward Alex Tuch has recorded 22 points (7+15) in 22 games. Tuch currently ranks seventh among all Sabres players in points this season despite playing less than half as many games as five of the six players ahead of him (Thompson, Skinner, Dahlin, Okposo, and Cozens) and half as many games as the sixth player (Olofsson). Kyle Okposo has three points (2+1) in his last three contests. TAKIN’ IT TO TORONTO Rasmus Dahlin has seven points (2+5) in seven career games against the Maple Leafs and currently holds a four-game point streak against Toronto, registering five points (2+3) in the four contests. Dahlin has registered a plus-2 rating in each of his last two games against Toronto. In three career games at Toronto, Dahlin has tallied four points (1+3). Kyle Okposo has five points (2+3) in his last five games against Toronto, including at least a point in each of the last three meetings, tallying four points (2+2) during that span. Okposo tallied two assists and registered a plus-2 rating against Toronto on Nov. 13, 2021 in Buffalo. Okposo has recorded 11 points (3+8) in 14 games against Toronto as a member of the Sabres. In the first matchup with Toronto this season on Nov. 13, 2021, Jeff Skinner recorded three points (2+1). Tage Thompson tallied two points (1+1) against Toronto on Nov. 13, 2021. In 32 career starts against Toronto, Craig Anderson holds a record of 17-9-4, along with a .917 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average. WHAT’S THE SKINNY? Jeff Skinner has already recorded 20 goals this season, marking the eighth 20-goal season of his 12-year NHL career. Since entering the league in 2010-11, Skinner ranked 15th among all NHL skaters with 285 goals and was seventh in the league during that span with 228 even-strength tallies before Tuesday’s games. Among all players to have played at least 25 career games for the Sabres, Skinner ranks ninth with .280 even-strength goals per game (69 EVG in 246 GP). CHASING 300 Craig Anderson is three wins away from the 300th victory of his NHL career. 38 goaltenders in NHL history have won 300 games in their career, including six active netminders. With three more wins, Anderson would become the sixth American-born goaltender to reach the 300-win plateau. Anderson won his 297th career game at Montreal on Feb. 13 to move into 40th all-time in wins by an NHL goaltender. SETTING THE PACE A number of Sabres players are on pace for or have already established new career highs in goals, assists and points this season. With two goals on Nov. 26 in Buffalo’s 20th game of the season, Tage Thompson set a new single-season career high in goals (10) and points (15). His previous career highs of eight goals and 14 points came in 38 games during the 2020-21 season. Dylan Cozens has already eclipsed his 2020-21 totals in goals (4), assists (9) and points (13). Cozens established new career highs in goals (5 goals in 21 GP), assists (10 assists in 38 GP) and points (14 points in 23 GP) in fewer games than the 41 contests he played in as a rookie. Rasmus Asplund has already set a new single-season career high in assists and points and is on pace to establish a new career high in goals. Asplund reached 12 points (5+7) in 19 games this season. He recorded 11 points (7+4) in 2020-21 over 28 games played. Despite missing 10 games this season, Victor Olofsson is on pace for 28 assists, which would establish a new career high. Kyle Okposo is on pace for 21 goals and 48 points this season, which would be Okposo’s highest totals since he registered 22 goals and 64 points in his last season as a member of the New York Islanders in 2015-16. Rasmus Dahlin is on pace for 12 goals, 40 assists and 52 points, all of which would surpass his previous career-high marks. Despite playing in just 22 of Buffalo’s 54 games this season, Alex Tuch is on pace to record 34 assists, which would eclipse his career-high total of 32 assists from the 2018-19 season in which he played 74 games. Despite missing 18 games this season, Henri Jokiharju is on pace for five goals, 16 assists and 21 points, all of which would be new career highs. HEY NOW, YOU’RE A DAHL-STAR Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was selected to represent Buffalo on the Atlantic Division team at the 2022 All-Star Game on Feb. 5. It’s Dahlin’s first career All-Star Game selection. Dahlin tallied two points (1+1) and led the Atlantic Division team in ice time (7:41) and shots on goal (4) on Feb. 5 at the 2022 All-Star Game. Dahlin currently leads the Sabres in assists (26) and is third on the team in points (34). Dahlin’s 13 power-play points are also good for the team lead. Dahlin’s eight goals this season tied him for 12th in the NHL among defensemen entering play Tuesday. Since Nov. 21, 2021, Dahlin was tied for 11th among NHL defensemen in scoring entering play Tuesday, tallying 26 points (6+20) during that span. In less than four full seasons, Dahlin is already climbing up Buffalo’s record books. Among all Sabres defensemen in franchise history, Dahlin ranks… 17th in goals (26), one away from matching Richie Dunn for 16th all-time 14th in assists (115) 16th in points (141), four away from tying Dmitri Kalinin for 15th all-time 14th in power-play goals (10), two shy of moving into a five-way tie for 10th all-time 10th in power-play points (63), one away from tying Mike Ramsey and Brian Campbell for eighth all- time Among Sabres defensemen to play at least 82 games for the franchise, Dahlin ranks fifth in both assists per game (0.46) and points per game (0.57) and 11th in goals per game (0.10). Including this season, Dahlin owns two of the three most productive seasons by a Sabres defenseman in the last 25 years (dating back to 1996-97). Brian Campbell, .683 P/GP (2008-09) Rasmus Dahlin, .678 P/GP (2019-20) Rasmus Dahlin, .654 P/GP (2021-22) SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS Hits: Hayden (87), Hagg (75), Dahlin (67) Blocked Shots: Hagg (77), Pysyk (75), Dahlin (61) Shots: Skinner (164), Thompson (164), Okposo (121) SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK] 1-10: 5-4-1 (11), 29/27, 7/27, 25/28 11-20: 3-6-1: (7), 28/40, 4/26, 17/26 21-30: 2-5-3: (7), 24/36, 3/23, 18/21 31-40: 2-6-2 (6), 23/35, 6/30, 20/31 41-50: 4-5-1 (9), 30/36, 7/31, 24/30 51-60: 0-4-0 (0), 8/20, 1/9, 7/9 OVERTIME RESULTS (1-7; 127-145 all-time) Oct. 23 at NJD: L, 2-1 (GWG-Zacha) Oct. 28 at ANA: W, 4-3 (GWG-Asplund) Nov. 6 vs. DET: L, 4-3 (GWG-Seider) Nov. 27 at DET: L, 3-2 (GWG-Raymond) Dec. 17 at PIT: L, 3-2 (GWG-Carter) Jan. 1 at BOS: L, 4-3 (GWG-Coyle) Jan. 17 vs. DET, L, 3-2 (GWG-Larkin) Feb. 10 vs. CBJ, L, 4-3 (GWG-Voracek) SHOOTOUT RESULTS (2-1; 83-75 all-time) Oct. 16 vs. ARI: W, 2-1 (GDG-Ruotsalainen) Dec. 11 vs. WSH: L, 3-2 (GDG-Oshie) Dec. 16 at MIN: W, 3-2 (GDG-Thompson) MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone) Games Played Tage Thompson … 5 games … 200 career games Dylan Cozens … 8 games … 100 career games Henri Jokiharju … 11 games … 200 career games Assists Alex Tuch … 7 assists … 100 career assists Wins Craig Anderson … 3 wins … 300 career win
2021-22 Matchups vs. Washington: First of Three Toronto Season Record: 34-14-4 Toronto Road Record: 15-9-3 TV: Sportsnet RADIO: Sportsnet 590
RECENT TRANSACTIONS February 25, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 24, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 10 at Detroit 7 Date: Saturday, February 26, 2022 TOR Goals: Nylander, Bunting, Kämpf, Marner (4x), Matthews, Mikheyev, Kaše DET Goals: Raymond (2x), Gagner, Hronek, Rowney, Veleno, Rasmussen TOR Goaltender: Campbell, 20/25 .800 SV% – Mrazek, 6/8, .750 SV% DET Goaltender: Nedeljkovic, 19/25, .760 SV%, Greiss, 10/14, .714 SV% TOR Power Play: – TOR Penalty Kill: 3-for-3 Team Notes:
Mitch Marner posted his first career NHL hat trick and added another goal for a single-game NHL career-high of four goals. Marner also recorded a single-game NHL career-high with six points (4G, 2A).
Michael Bunting posted a single-game NHL career-high in assists with four. Bunting also posted a single-game NHL career-high in points with five (1G, 4A).
Auston Matthews posted a single-game NHL career-high four points during Thursday’s game (1G, 3A). He has recorded a four-point game on 10 occasions during his NHL career. With his 37th goal of the season, Matthews leads the league in goals.
Ondrej Kaše posted the second shorthanded goal of his NHL career. With Kaše’s shorthanded goal, the Maple Leafs are tied for second in the league among shorthanded goal leaders only trailing the Vegas Golden Knights (9). The Maple Leafs are also the only team in the NHL to have not allowed a shorthanded goal against.
With three assists on Thursday, Justin Holl posted a single-game NHL career-high in both assists and points.
With his ninth goal of the season posted on Thursday, Ilya Mikheyev recorded an NHL career season-high in goals.
With his eighth goal of the season posted on Thursday, David Kämpf tied an NHL career season-high in goals. NEXT GAME
Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2022 Opponent: vs. Buffalo Sabres Time: 7:30 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio)
INJURY REPORT Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. WASHINGTON CAPITALS: First Matchup between Clubs: October 27, 1974 (Toronto 4 at Washington 3) All-Time Record: 63-71-10-5 (149 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 38-27-6-2 (73 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 25-44-4-3 (76 Games) Last Road Win vs. Opponent: October 13, 2018 (Toronto 4 at Washington 2) Record in Last Five Games: 2-2-1 Record in Last 10 Games: 3-5-2
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Games Played: Jason Spezza (41), Wayne Simmonds (38), John Tavares (38) Goals: John Tavares (17), Jason Spezza (14), Wayne Simmonds (11) Assists: Jason Spezza (24), John Tavares (16), Wayne Simmonds (11), Morgan Rielly (11) Points: Jason Spezza (38), John Tavares (33), Wayne Simmonds (22) Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (40), Kyle Clifford (20), Jason Spezza (16)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 42/140 (30.0%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 125/147 (85.0%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Monday games 8th of 10 (3 home, 7 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 4-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 February games 12th of 12 (4 home, 8 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES TJ Brodie Six points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Two games away from 400 career NHL games played Jake Muzzin Nine points away from 300 career NHL points
2021-22 MILESTONES Wayne Simmonds Three games away from 1,000 career NHL games played TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
2021-22 TEAM LEADERS
CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 37 – Matthews HITS 87 – Simmonds ASSISTS 37 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 71 – Brodie POINTS 68 – Matthews (37G, 31A) TAKEAWAYS 59 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) TOI PER GAME 24:13 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) PP TOI PER GAME 2:58 – Marner PIMs 47 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:41 – Muzzin SHOTS 221 – Matthews WINS 23 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.5% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 2.55 – Campbell SHOT ATTEMPTS% 60.00% – Robertson SAVE PERCENTAGE .917 – Campbell
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
LAST GAME Washington 1, Philadelphia 2 February 26, 2022 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA Shots: WSH: 28; PHI: 22 Power Plays: WSH: 1/3; PHI: 0/2 Three Stars: 1. Atkinson (PHI), 2. Giroux (PHI), 3. Oshie (WSH) RECENT TRANSACTIONS Re-assigned Vitek Vanecek and Pheonix Copley to AHL Hershey, 2/27 Re-assigned Brett Leason to AHL Hershey, 2/24 CAPITALS MILESTONES WITHIN REACH Alex Ovechkin – Three game-winning goals shy of passing Gordie Howe (121) for the second most in NHL history, five goals shy of passing Jaromir Jagr (766g) for the third most goals in NHL history, one game shy of passing Sergei Fedorov (1,248) for third among Russian players Nicklas Backstrom – Five points shy of 1,000 career points, two assists shy of passing Bernie Nicholis (734a) for the 47th most assists in NHL history Ovechkin and Backstrom – Four games shy of playing 1,000 career games together Justin Schultz – One assist shy of 200 career assists Carl Hagelin – Four points shy of 300 career points Conor Sheary – Five points shy of 200 career points, two assists shy of 100 career assists, three goals shy of 100 career goals CAPITALS MILESTONES RECENTLY ACHIEVED Nicklas Backstrom – Passed Rod Brind’Amour (732) for the 48th most assists in NHL history, 2/26 at PHI CURRENT INJURIES/ILLNESSES Anthony Mantha: 11/6-2/26 (44 games) Vitek Vanecek: 12/29-1/8, 2/2-2/26 (13 games) Justin Schultz: 11/26-11/30, 2/17, 2/26 (5 games) Man Games Lost: 203 (For a full season injury report, please check the Supplemental Stats package available in Caps Today) UPCOMING SCHEDULE March 3, 7 p.m. (ET) vs. Carolina (ESPN+, Hulu, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7) March 5, 7 p.m. (ET) vs. Seattle (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7) March 8, 9 p.m. (ET) at Calgary (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7) March 9, 8 p.m. (ET) at Edmonton (TNT, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7) March 11, 10 p.m. (ET) at Vancouver (NBCSW+, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7) Tonight’s Game The Capitals face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Capital One Arena for the first time this season. This marks the first time the Capitals have played the Maple Leafs since Oct. 29, 2019, a 4-3 overtime win at Scotiabank Arena. Washington has won three straight games against Toronto, a streak that began on Feb. 21, 2019, and each of the last three games have been one-goal games. Among active players in the NHL, Alex Ovechkin ranks first in goals (41g) and points (73) against the Maple Leafs, despite never playing in the same division as Toronto. Ovechkin’s 0.82 goals per game rate against the Maple Leafs is the highest rate he has against any Eastern Conference team. Washington Capitals: Media Notes HOME vs. TORONTO Record Goals For Goals Against Current Streak 47-23-4-2 272 207 1 WSH win (10/16/19) IN THE ZONE Evgeny Kuznetsov – Two game point streak (2a), two game assist streak (2a) John Carlson – Points in five of his last seven games (1g, 5a) Carl Hagelin – Seven points (1g, 6a) in his last nine games CAPS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS (through games played Feb. 26)
Alex Ovechkin is tied for eighth in the NHL in points (63) and fourth in goals (32)
John Carlson is tied for ninth among defensemen in points (40) NOTE OF THE NIGHT Osh Babe
T.J. Oshie returned to the lineup on Feb. 24 against the New York Rangers after missing the previous 14 games due to injury and has a goal in his last two games.
With Oshie in the lineup this season, the Capitals are 12-4-4 this season, good for a .800 points percentage, which equates to 131-points over an 82- game season. Additionally, the Capitals hold a record of 6-2-2 when Oshie records a point.
With 14 points (6g, 8a) in 20 games, Oshie is averaging 0.70 points per game. Should he maintain that pace, it will mark the fourth consecutive season with Washington Oshie has recorded a points per game rate of 0.70 or higher.
Oshie is scoring at a 24-goal pace over an 82-game season.
Oshie has additionally scored on 18.2% of the shots he’s taken this season (six goals on 33 shots). Over the last four seasons, Oshie ranks third in the NHL in shooting percentage (19.0%) among players with 150 games played, only behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (20.1%) and Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point (19.1%). TOP CAPS FACTS Celebrating Black History
The Capitals will celebrate Black History Night Monday night when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Capital One Arena. The evening will honor the organization’s history, celebrate Black achievement in hockey and highlight how the Capitals are working to further grow the game in the region.
Capitals alumnus Bill Riley and his granddaughter Kryshanda Green will participate in a ceremonial puck drop. Riley made his NHL debut with the Capitals in 1974, becoming the first Black Nova Scotian to play in the NHL and the third Black player to play in the League. In 125 games with the Capitals, Riley recorded 28 goals and 28 assists.
Green is the former and first Black captain of the Ryerson University Rams women’s hockey team. While at Ryerson, Green broke the all-time points and assists records, graduating from Ryerson with a B.A. in politics and governance and currently serves on the NHL’s Youth Hockey Inclusion Council.
During warmups, Capitals players will wear special black warmup jerseys with a Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club shoulder patch in honor of the Fort Dupont Cannons. The jerseys will be signed and auctioned off along with signed pucks commemorating Black History Month and other items to benefit the Capital Impact Fund.
Additionally, during the game, players will wear special helmet decals featuring Neal Henderson’s likeness in honor of his contributions to hockey. In 2019, Henderson became the first Black individual to be inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame. Great 8
Alex Ovechkin ranks fourth in the NHL with 32 goals this season and tied for eighth in points (63).
Ovechkin’s most recent goal on Feb. 24 against the New York Rangers pulled him within four goals of matching Jaromir Jagr (766g) for third place on the NHL’s all-time goals list.
With his game on Saturday against the Flyers, Ovechkin passed Sergei Fedorov (1,248) for the third-most games played by a Russian player in NHL history. Next on the list is Sergei Gonchar with 1,301 games played.
The Capitals hold a record of 17-3-4 when Ovechkin scores a goal this season and a 23-8-6 record when he records a point.
Ovechkin is on pace to record 48 goals this season. If he’s able to reach the 50-goal mark, he will tie Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the most such instances in NHL history (9x). Ovechkin would additionally tie Gretzky for the most 40-goal seasons in NHL history (12). CAPITALS vs. MAPLE LEAFS ALL-TIME (CAREER TOTALS) Games Goals Assists Points Ovechkin (50) Ovechkin (41) Backstrom (36) Ovechkin (73) Backstrom (41) Backstrom (9) Ovechkin (32) Backstrom (45) Eller (39) Eller (7) Carlson (19) Carlson (24) Nice and Kuzy
Evgeny Kuznetsov has recorded an assist in two-straight games and leads the Capitals with 35 assists.
This could mark the third time in his career Kuznetsov has led the Capitals in assists in a season (also 2015-16 and 2017-18).
Kuznetsov is on pace for 53 assists this year, which would be the third-most in a season in his career, the most since his 56 in 2017-18 and the fourth time in his career he’d reach the 50-assist mark.
Since his first time reaching the mark in 2015-16 (career high 57 assists), Kuznetsov’s 292 assists in that span rank 16th among forwards.
Kuznetsov is one of just 14 players in the NHL with three 50-assists seasons since 2015-16.
Sweet Nicky
Nicklas Backstrom recorded an assist on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers, marking his 15th point of the season (4g, 11a) and the 995th of his career (262g, 733a).
Backstrom is now five points shy of becoming the second player in franchise history to reach the 1,000 point mark, where he would join Alex Ovechkin (1,383).
Since his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2007, Backstrom would become the fifth player to record 1,000 points during that span, where he will join Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin.
With 733 career assists, Backstrom will have the sixth-most assists by any player who reached the 1,000 point mark in NHL history and will be the only active player with at least 733 assists at the milestone.
Super Carly
John Carlson has recorded points in five of his last seven games (1g, 5a) and is currently tied for ninth in the NHL in points (40) among defensemen.
Carlson’s five game assist streak came to an end on Thursday against the New York Rangers. He is one of 17 defensemen this season with an assist streak of at least five games.
Among active defensemen, Carlson’s 562 career points are the 11th most. Additionally, his 0.66 points per game rate is tied for fourth among the top20 defensemen in points, only trailing Erik Karlsson (0.79), Kris Letang (0.69), Roman Josi (0.68) and tied with Victor Hedman (0.66). Did you Know?
The Capitals have allowed 28.8 shots per game this season, the third-lowest per game total in the NHL (Los Angeles: 28.3 shots against per game; Carolina: 28.7). Real Time Leaders Goals: Alex Ovechkin, 32 Assists: Evgeny Kuznetsov, 35 Points: Alex Ovechkin, 63 Shots: Alex Ovechkin, 232 Hits: Garnet Hathaway, 165 Blocked Shots: Trevor van Riemsdyk,
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (34-14-4 – 72 Points) at DETROIT RED WINGS (23-24-6 – 52 Points) SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2022 1 2 3 FINAL TORONTO 3 4 3 10 DETROIT 1 1 5 7 SCORING NOTES
William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs at 3:52 of the first period. Nylander posted his 20th goal of the season.
Michael Bunting scored for Toronto at 6:18 of the first period. Bunting recorded his 18th goal of the season. Bunting also posted the secondary assist on Marner’s first goal of the game and second goal of the game as well as the primary assist on Marner’s third goal of the game and fourth goal of the game. Bunting has recorded 22 assists this season.
David Kämpf scored for the Maple Leafs at 11:06 of the first period. Kämpf posted his eighth goal of the season. Kämpf also posted the primary assist on Kaše’s shorthanded goal. Kämpf recorded his 12th assist of the season.
Mitch Marner scored for Toronto at 0:33 of the second period, 4:13 of the second period and 9:19 of the second period and 15:41 of the third period. Marner recorded his first career NHL hat trick. Marner has recorded 21 goals this season. Marner also registered the secondary assist on Bunting’s goal and the secondary assist on Matthews’ goal. Marner has recorded 33 assists this season.
Auston Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs at 18:38 of the second period. Matthews recorded his 37th goal of the season. Matthews also posted the primary assist on Marner’s first goal of the game and second goal of the game as well as the secondary assist on Marner’s third goal of the game. Matthews has registered 31 assists this season.
Ilya Mikheyev scored for Toronto at 7:04 of the third period. Mikheyev recorded his ninth goal of the season. Mikheyev also posted the primary assist on Kämpf’s goal. Mikheyev recorded his fourth assist of the season.
Ondřej Kaše scored shorthanded for Toronto at 10:33 of the third period. Kaše posted his 11th goal of the season. Kaše also recorded the secondary assist on Nylander’s goal. Kaše posted his 12th assist of the season.
Justin Holl posted the primary assist on Nylander’s goal, the primary assist on Bunting’s goal and the secondary assist on Kaše’s shorthanded goal. Holl has registered 10 assists this season.
Alexander Kerfoot registered the secondary assist on Kämpf’s goal as well as the primary assist on Mikheyev’s goal. Kerfoot has posted 29 assists this season.
TJ Brodie recorded the primary assist on Matthews’ goal. Brodie registered his 10th assist of the season.
Ilya Lyubushkin registered the secondary assist on Mikheyev’s goal. Lyubushkin posted his 10th assist of the season, his first with the Maple Leafs. GOALTENDER NOTES
Jack Campbell stopped 20 of 25 shots tonight. Petr Mrázek relieved Campbell during the third period and stopped 6 of 8 shots. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Maple Leafs were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill tonight. OF NOTE…
Mitch Marner recorded his first career hat trick with three goals in the second period tonight. This is the 37th time in Maple Leafs history that a player has recorded 3+ goals in a period, a feat most recently accomplished by Andreas Johnsson in the first period on Nov. 24, 2018 vs. PHI.
Mitch Marner recorded a single-game NHL career-high four goals during tonight’s game. Marner also recorded a single-game NHL career-high with six points (4G, 2A).
Michael Bunting posted a single-game NHL career-high in assists with four. Bunting also posted a single-game NHL career-high in points with five (1G, 4A).
Auston Matthews a single-game NHL career-high four points during tonight’s game (1G, 3A). He has recorded a four-point game on 10 occasions during his NHL career.
With three assists tonight, Justin Holl posted a single-game NHL career-high in both assists and points.
With his eighth goal of the season posted tonight, David Kämpf tied an NHL career season-high in goals.
With his ninth goal of the season posted tonight, Ilya Mikheyev recorded an NHL career season-high in goals.
Ilya Mikheyev recorded two points during tonight’s game (1G, 1A), tying a single-game NHL career-high which he has marked on 10 occasions.
Ondřej Kaše posted the second shorthanded goal of his NHL career.
Ilya Lyubushkin recorded his first point as a Maple Leaf with his assist on Mikheyev’s game-winning goal.
Timothy Liljegren was on the ice for a team-high 28 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
Mitch Marner finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 71.05 percent (27 for, 11 against).
Per NHL Stats, the Maple Leafs scored 10 or more goals in a game for the first time in 15 years, most recently a 10-2 win at BOS on Jan. 4, 2007.
Per NHL Stats, the Maple Leafs (10) and Red Wings (7) combined for 17 goals – the most in a single game since the Jets and Flyers on Oct. 27, 2011 (17). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL TORONTO 15 (15) 12 (12) 12 (11) 39 (38) DETROIT 8 (6) 10 (9) 15 (15) 33 (30) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL TORONTO 26 (26) 17 (17) 18 (17) 61 (60) DETROIT 11 (8) 16 (14) 23 (14) 50 (44) ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Maple Leafs are 15-9-3 on the road this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 296-281-93-5 in 675 games against the Detroit Red Wings and 120-173- 46-2 in 341 games played in Detroit.
Toronto is 18-7-2 against the Eastern Conference this season and 9-3-0 against the Atlantic Division this season. RECORD WHEN…
Toronto is 22-4-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 20-2-2 when leading after one period and 25-0-2 when leading after two periods.
Toronto is 21-10-3 when outshooting their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 10-4-2 in Saturday games. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 6 (Marner) Shot Attempts 8 (Marner) Faceoff Wins 11 (Tavares) Faceoff Win Percentage 75% (Kämpf – 9 won, 3 lost) Hits 4 (Lyubushkin) Blocked Shots 2 (Kerfoot) Takeaways 1 (Spezza, Kaše, Brodie) TOI 22:34 (Brodie) Power Play TOI N/A Shorthanded TOI 3:56 (Holl) Shifts 25 (Rielly, Liljegren) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 71.05% (Marner – 27 for, 11 against) UPCOMING GAMES: Feb. 28 Leafs at Washington Capital One Arena 7:30 pm ET March 2 Leafs vs. Buffalo Scotiabank Arena 7:30 pm ET March 5 Leafs vs. Canucks Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 7 Leafs at Columbus Nationwide Arena 7:00 pm ET March 8 Leafs vs. Seattle Scotiabank Arena 8:00 pm ET March 10 Leafs vs. Arizona 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 tonight’s game: “I thought we played an excellent game. Let’s not let the craziness of the third period take away from the fact that we played an excellent game, even within the third period, but then all that nonsense. The way Mikheyev responded on his goal, that line scored us a huge goal there. The way the penalty kill responded in a key moment. So the craziness of the period, that is going to be the focus but our guys played a really good game today. You go into the third period and you really just want to get out of there, then all of a sudden they throw a floater at the net and it goes in and they get life and they get a couple more just like that and it changes things. Things changed there quickly but let’s not lose sight of the fact that our guys played a really good game today.” MITCH MARNER On what he’ll remember about tonight’s win: “A lot of great plays by my line mates. A lot of great plays by our team. Wild game completely. Obviously, not how we wanted to be in that third but just good on the guys for sticking with it believing in that process and getting it done.” AUSTON MATTHEWS On what changed during the third period: “They just got a couple quick goals, just the momentum. You could feel the energy in the crowd turn on a little bit and when you score like that, shift after shift, obviously they got the fans into it they get belief now on their side and all of a sudden it’s a hockey game.” MICHAEL BUNTING On tonight’s win: “I thought we played great the first two periods. Especially our start, I thought our start was one of the best of the year. We were creating chances and we were able to get a lead but hockey is a funny game like that, you kind of step off the pedal a little bit there and they get momentum and the crowd gets into it and they start rolling and all of a sudden it’s a one-goal game so I thought we responded great and I thought we didn’t panic and we got the win so that’s all that matters. We’re walking away with two points and we just have to move on from this. A win is a win and looking forward to Monday.” JUSTIN HOLL On what changed during the third period: “Obviously the third period was crazy. You go out there with the intention to not give them anything. They get a couple early goals and get some life and all of a sudden you’re in a hockey game so I thought it was a great response by some guys to get some goals back and put the game away in the end.”
2021-22 Matchups vs. Detroit: Third of Four 2021-22 Record vs. Detroit: 2-0-0 Toronto Season Record: 33-14-4 Toronto Road Record: 14-9-3 TV: Sportsnet RADIO: Sportsnet 590
RECENT TRANSACTIONS February 25, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 24, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). February 21, 2022 The Maple Leafs acquired goaltender Carter Hutton from Arizona in exchange for future considerations. February 21, 2022 The San Jose Sharks claimed forward Ryan Dzingel off waivers from Toronto. February 19, 2022 The Maple Leafs acquired forward Ryan Dzingel and defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for forward Nick Ritchie and choice of Toronto’s third-round selection in 2023 or second-round selection in 2025.
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 3 vs. Minnesota 1 Date: Thursday, February 24, 2022 TOR Goals: Matthews (2x), Kerfoot MIN Goals: Gaudreau TOR Goaltender: Mrazek, 29/30, .967 SV% MIN Goaltender: Kahkonen, 22/24, .917 SV% TOR Power Play: 0-for-2 TOR Penalty Kill: 4-for-4 Team Notes: – Auston Matthews currently leads the league in goals with 36.
Auston Matthews tied a season-high (and a career second-best) with 17 face-off wins during Thursday’s game.
TJ Brodie tied a season-high with five blocks.
NEXT GAME Date: Monday, February 28, 2022 Opponent: at Washington Capitals Time: 7:30 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio) INJURY REPORT
Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. DETROIT RED WINGS: First Matchup between Clubs: January 4, 1927 (Toronto 2 at Detroit 1) All-Time Record: 295-281-93-5 (674 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 176-108-47-3 (334 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 119-173-46-2 (340 Games) Last Road Win vs. Opponent: January 29, 2022 (Toronto 7 at Detroit 4) Record in Last Five Games: 5-0-0 Record in Last 10 Games: 8-0-2
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. DETROIT RED WINGS: Games Played: Wayne Simmonds (36), Morgan Rielly (29), John Tavares (27) Goals: Auston Matthews (12), John Tavares (12), Jason Spezza (8) Assists: John Tavares (28), Morgan Rielly (16), Wayne Simmonds (14) Points: John Tavares (40), Wayne Simmonds (21), Auston Matthews (21) Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (49), Jake Muzzin (15), Travis Dermott (12)
2021-22 AVERAGES AND RANKINGS Points % GF/Game GA/Game PP% PK% SF/G SA/G FO% Toronto .686 3.53 2.77 30.0% 84.7% 34.7 30.6 56.2% Detroit .500 2.81 3.46 17.0% 76.4% 29.4 32.7 50.8% Power Play: 42/140 (30.0%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 122/144 (84.7%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 3 – Marner (2G, 1A), Kämpf (2G, 1A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%)
FAST FACTS Saturday games 16th of 23 (9 home, 14 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 4-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 February games 11th of 12 (4 home, 8 road) UPCOMING MILESTONES
TJ Brodie Seven points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Three games away from 400 career NHL games played Jake Muzzin Nine points away from 300 career NHL points Wayne Simmonds Four games away from 1,000 career NHL games played
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
RED WINGS
LAST GAME DET 2 vs. COL 5 (2/23/22) 1ST PERIOD: COL Landeskog (Makar, Helm) 1:12-EV; COL Jost (O’Connor, Newhook) 11:47-EV 2ND PERIOD: DET Zadina (Seider, Larkin) 11:35-EV; COL Kadri (Rantanen, Toews) 18:19-EV 3RD PERIOD: COL Nichushkin (Burakovsky, Newhook) 2:11-EV; DET Fabbri (Seider, Larkin) 9:38-PP; COL Landeskog (Rantanen, Makar) 19:21-EN SHOTS: DET 34 (7-13-14) / COL 31 (11-10-10) GOALIES: DET Greiss (L, 26-30) / COL Francouz (W, 32-34) PP: DET 1-3 / COL 0-3 MAN GAMES LOST (games missed / out since) Jakub Vrana – shoulder (52 / Oct. 11) Mitchell Stephens – lower body (36 / Nov. 15) Riley Barber – lower body (15 / Jan. 11) Total Man Games Lost: 219 Individual Man Games Lost: Stecher (37), Rowney (18), Lindstrom (11), Bertuzzi (8), Staal (7), Greiss (6), Larkin (5), Leddy (5), DeKeyser (4), Veleno (3), Fabbri (2), Hronek (2), Namestnikov (2), Rasmussen (2), Erne (1), Nedeljkovic (1), Smith (1), Zadina (1) RECENT TRANSACTIONS 2/23 – Recalled F Joe Veleno from Grand Rapids…Removed F Carter Rowney from IR RED WINGS vs. MAPLE LEAFS TONIGHT: 675th all-time meeting…341st in DET…3rd of 4 games this season…2nd of 2 at LCA ALL-TIME vs. TOR: 286-288-93-7 / HOME: 175-115-46-4 / LAST 10: 2-7-1 / IN 2019-20: 0-3-0 / THIS SEASON: 0-2-0 DET top scorers vs. TOR: Dylan Larkin (8-8-16 in 20 GP), Nick Leddy (3-12-15 in 23 GP), Marc Staal (3-12-15 in 39 GP), Sam Gagner (6-8-14 in 23 GP), Vladislav Namestnikov (5-4-9 in 19 GP), Tyler Bertuzzi (3-2-5 in 8 GP), Robby Fabbri (0-4-4 in 8 GP), Moritz Seider (0-3-3 in 2 GP) TOR top scorers vs. DET: John Tavares (12-28-40 in 27 GP), Auston Matthews (12-9-21 in 16 GP), Wayne Simmonds (7-14-21 in 36 GP), Morgan Rielly (4-16-20 in 29 GP), Jason Spezza (8-11-19 in 25 GP), Mitch Marner (6-8-14 in 16 GP), T.J. Brodie (2-10-12 in 21 GP), William Nylander (6-5-11 in 18 GP), Alexander Kerfoot (2-3-5 in 8 GP), Michael Bunting (4-0-4 in 2 GP) NOTES: DET F Givani Smith is a Toronto native while Robby Fabbri was born in Mississauga…DET F Sam Gagner had 37 points (12-25-37) in 43 GP for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2018-19…TOR D T.J. Brodie logged 107 points (20-87-107) in 170 GP for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit from 2006- 09…TOR G Jack Campbell is a Port Huron native who played for the U.S. NTDP from 2008-10…TOR F Auston Matthews skated for the NTDP from 2013-15 prior to turning pro…TOR G Petr Mrazek was DET’s 5th choice (141st overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and made 166 appearances for the club from 2013-18; Mrazek also won a Calder Cup title with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in 2013…TOR F William Nylander is the son of Michael Nylander, who tallied 18 points (2-16-18) in 24 GP for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in 2009-10…TOR F Nick Robertson is a Little Caesars Amateur Hockey product…TOR F Jason Spezza made his pro debut with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins during the 2002 Calder Cup playoffs…TOR head coach Sheldon Keefe had 12 points (7-5-12) in 13 GP for the IHL’s Detroit Vipers in 2000-01…TOR asst. coach Spencer Carbery was head coach of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit in 2016-17…TOR goaltending coach Steve Briere appeared in 21 games for the ECHL’s Toledo Storm in 2001-02…TOR president Brendan Shanahan won 3 Stanley Cup championships in DET and amassed 633 points (309-324-633) in 716 GP for the club from 1996-06. RECENT RESULTS Feb. 23 vs. COL – 5-2 L DET fell against COL to move to 23-23-6 overall and 15-10-3 at LCA…Filip Zadina put DET on the board with his 7th goal of the season…Moritz Seider recorded a pair of assists to extend his point streak to 5-straight games (1-7-8 in 5 GP)…Dylan Larkin also tallied 2 assists to boost his point streak to a season-long 8-straight games (6-10-16 in 8 GP)…It marks Larkin’s longest point streak since a 14-game run (7-10-17 in 14 GP) from 12/4- 12/31/18…With an assist on Zadina’s goal, Larkin became the 29th skater in DET history to reach the 200-assist mark; he is also the 3rd player from the 2014 NHL Draft class to log 200 career assists, joining Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak…Robby Fabbri added his 14th goal of the season, tying Larkin for the team lead with his 5th PPG of the campaign…Carter Rowney returned to the lineup after missing 17 games with a lower-body injury.
LOVE TO “C” IT
Dylan Larkin (26-28-54 in 47 GP) has surpassed his point total from the 2019-20 season (19-34-53 in 71 GP).
Notched 6 multi-point games during his current 8-game point streak.
Has amassed 22 points (10-12-22) in his last 14 games, and 32 points (16-16-32) in 23 contests since 12/14 vs. NYI.
Paces the NHL with 10 game-opening goals, and is tied for the league lead with 3 OTGs. Detroit Red Wings: Media Notes THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Lucas Raymond ranks among the NHL rookie leaders with 13 goals (T3rd), 26 assists (T2nd), 39 points (T1st), 4 PPG (1st), 13 PPP (2nd) and 113 shots (T2nd).
Moritz Seider ranks among the NHL’s top rookie d-men with 5 goals (T1st), 32 assists (1st), 37 points (1st), 2 PPG (1st), 16 PPP (1st), 2 OTG (1st), 3 GWG (1st), 109 shots (1st) and 22:53 TOI (1st).
Alex Nedeljkovic leads all NHL rookie goalies with 14 wins.
DET tops the NHL in rookie scoring with 83 points (22-61-83). GUELPH FOREVER
DET has utilized Tyler Bertuzzi, Robby Fabbri and Pius Suter on the same forward line since 1/15 vs. BUF. The trio won the J. Ross Robertson Cup with the Guelph Storm in 2014 before reaching the Memorial Cup Final.
Bertuzzi has 16 points (6-10-16) in his last 14 games, and 26 points (14-12-26) in 23 contests since 12/16 at CAR.
Fabbri has 9 points (3-6-9) in his last 10 games, and 12 points (5-7-12) in 14 outings since 1/15 vs. BUF.
Suter has won 67 of 102 faceoffs (65.7%) dating back to 1/31 vs. ANA. STAAL APPROACHES 1,000
Marc Staal is set to appear in his 994th career regular-season game. He can reach the 1,000-game milestone as early as 3/12 at CGY.
On pace to join siblings Eric (1,293 GP) and Jordan Staal (1,063 GP) as the 1st 3-brother set in NHL history to each skate in 1,000 regular-season games. In all, 7 sets of brothers have each played in at least 1,000 regular-season games (see full list below): MILESTONE WATCH
Fabbri is 1 point from 150 and 4 games from 300
Leddy is 2 points from 350
Rasmussen is 4 points from 50
Rowney is 4 games from 250
Blashill is 5 wins from 200 as an NHL head coach
Staal is 7 games from 1,000 THIS DATE IN RED WINGS HISTORY Feb. 26, 2002 – Brendan Shanahan scored twice while playing with a broken thumb, netting the winning goal 2:55 into OT in a 4-3 victory at TB. 2021-22 INDIVIDUAL STATS Most Goals: 4, Bertuzzi, Oct. 14 vs. TB Most Assists: 3, Larkin, Feb. 12 vs. PHI/Oct. 24 at CHI; Raymond, Nov. 6 at BUF Most Points: 4, Larkin, Dec. 18 vs. NJ; Bertuzzi, Nov. 6 at BUF/Oct. 14 vs. TB; Raymond, Oct. 24 at CHI Most SOG: 8, Larkin, Jan. 13 vs. WPG; Bertuzzi, Nov. 27 vs. BUF Most PIM: 20, Smith, Jan. 4 vs. SJ Most TOI: 27:47, Hronek, Jan. 9 at ANA Most Hits: 8, Erne, Nov. 13 vs. MTL Most Blocked Shots: 6, Lindstrom, Oct. 23 at MTL Most Saves: 41, Nedeljkovic, Nov. 30 at BOS/Oct. 14 vs. TB Longest Goal Streak: 3, Larkin, Dec. 14-18/Nov. 13-16 Longest Assist Streak: 6, Larkin, Jan. 29-Feb. 14 Longest Point Streak: 8, Larkin, Jan. 29-pres. NAME GP NAME GP Daniel Sedin 1,306 Henrik Sedin 1,330 Scott Niedermayer 1,263 Rob Niedermayer 1,153 Eric Staal 1,293 Jordan Staal 1,063 Ron Sutter 1,093 Brent Sutter 1,111 Kevin Hatcher 1,157 Derian Hatcher 1,045 Saku Koivu 1,124 Mikko Koivu 1,035 Geoff Courtnall 1,048 Russ Courtnall 1,029 2021-22 REGULAR SEASON HIGHS AND LOWS Longest Win Streak – Overall: 5, Nov. 24-Dec. 4 / Home: 5, Nov. 13-Dec. 4 / Road: 2, twice (MR: Jan. 28-Feb. 9) Longest Winless Streak – Overall: 4, three times (MR: Jan. 8-13) / Home: 3, Jan. 21-29 / Road: 6, Dec. 9-Jan. 11 Longest Point Streak – Overall: 6, Nov. 20-Dec. 4 / Home: 5, Nov. 13-Dec. 4 / Road: 3, Jan. 9-17 THE LAST TIME… PROSPECT WATCH The AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins (21-20-5-2) lost 2-0 to the Bakersfield Condors on Friday at Van Andel Arena. Calvin Pickard stopped 35 of 36 shots. Next Game: Feb. 26 vs. Bakersfield. DETROIT OPPONENT Most GF, Game 6, four times (MR: Feb. 9 at PHI) 8, Jan. 26 vs. CHI Fewest GF, Game 0, five times (MR: Jan. 13 vs. WPG) 0, Jan. 15 vs. BUF Most GF, Period 4, twice, (MR: Oct. 24 at CHI, 2nd) 5, Jan. 29 vs. TOR, 3rd Most SOG, Game 45, Oct. 19 vs. CBJ 48, Oct. 14 vs. TB Most SOG, Period 22, Jan. 15 vs. BUF, 1st 27, Jan. 8 at LA, 1st Fewest SOG, Game 15, Nov. 4 at BOS 15, Jan. 31 vs. ANA Fewest SOG, Period 2, Jan. 8 at LA, 1st 3, twice (MR: Dec. 4 vs. NYI, 1st) Most PPG, Game 2, twice (MR: Jan. 15 vs. BUF) 3, three times (MR: Feb. 14 at MIN) Most PIM, Game 38, Jan. 4 vs. SJ 25, Jan. 4 vs. SJ Fewest PIM, Game 2, seven times (MR: Jan. 31 vs. ANA) 0, Nov. 24 vs. STL Fastest Consec. Goals 0:37, Jan. 4 vs. SJ, shorthanded (Suter, Bertuzzi) 0:10, Nov. 11 vs. WSH (Orlov, Eller) Fastest Goal, Start of Game 0:16, Nov. 6 at BUF (Suter) 1:12, Feb. 23 vs. COL (Landeskog) Fastest Goal, Start of Period 0:13, Jan. 15 vs. BUF, 3rd (Raymond) 0:17, Oct. 30 at TOR, 3rd (Kerfoot) HOME AWAY DET recorded a shutout 1/15/22, 4-0 vs. BUF (Nedeljkovic) 4/27/21, 0-1 at CBJ (Greiss) DET was shutout 1/13/22, 3-0 vs. WPG (Hellebuyck) 1/8/22, 4-0 at LA (Petersen) DET scored in OT 1/31/22, Oesterle vs. ANA (Gibson) 1/17/22, Larkin at BUF (Dell) Opp. scored in OT 1/21/22, Hintz vs. DAL (Nedeljkovic) 1/11/22, Couture at SJ (Nedeljkovic) DET had a hat trick 12/18/21, Larkin vs. NJ 10/24/21, Raymond at CHI Opp. had a hat trick 1/29/22, Bunting vs. TOR 2/14/22, Boldy at MIN DET player had 4 goals 10/14/21, Bertuzzi vs. TB 12/2/95, Kozlov at MTL Opp. player had 4 goals 4/2/09, Backes vs. STL 11/4/21, Bergeron at BOS DET player had 5 goals 12/26/96, Fedorov vs. WSH 2/2/11, Franzen at OTT Opp. player had 5 goals Never 2/2/77, I. Turnbull at TOR DET player had penalty shot 2/14/19, Athanasiou vs. OTT (Nilsson, goal) 11/15/18, Rasmussen at OTT (Anderson, save) Opp. player had penalty shot 4/8/21, Arvidsson vs. NSH (Greiss, goal) 2/11/20, Sheary at BUF (Bernier, save) DET player scored SHG 1/4/22, Bertuzzi vs. SJ 1/17/22, Namestnikov at BUF DET player scored 2 SHGs 12/31/09, Helm vs. COL 10/10/02, Maltby at S
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (33-14-4 – 70 Points) vs. MINNESOTA WILD (31-15-3 – 65 Points) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022 1 2 3 FINAL MINNESOTA 0 1 0 1 TORONTO 0 1 2 3
SCORING NOTES
Auston Matthews scored for Toronto at 9:04 of the second period. Matthews scored his second goal of the game at 10:22 of the third period. Matthews has recorded 36 goals this season. Matthews has posted five points through his last two games (3G, 2A).
Alexander Kerfoot scored on Minnesota’s empty net at 19:18 of the third period. Kerfoot recorded his eighth goal of the season.
Timothy Liljegren posted the primary assist on Matthews’ first goal of the game. Liljegren recorded his 10th assist of the season.
Travis Dermott registered the secondary assist on Matthews’ first goal of the game. Dermott posted his fourth assist of the season.
Mitch Marner recorded the primary assist on Matthews’ second goal of the game and the primary assist on Kerfoot’s goal. Marner has posted 31 assists this season. Marner has posted an assist in back-to-back games (3A).
John Tavares registered the secondary assist on Kerfoot’s goal. Tavares posted his 31st assist of the season. Tavares has recorded an assist in back-to-back games. GOALTENDER NOTES
Petr Mrázek stopped 29 of 30 shots in tonight’s win. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Maple Leafs were 0-for-2 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill tonight. OF NOTE…
Auston Matthews currently leads the league in goals with 36.
Auston Matthews tied a season-high (and a career second-best) with 17 face-off wins during tonight’s game.
TJ Brodie tied a season-high with five blocks recorded during tonight’s win.
Travis Dermott was on the ice for a team-high 20 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
Travis Dermott finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 66.67 percent (20 for, 10 against). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL MINNESOTA 6 (6) 11 (6) 13 (9) 30 (21) TORONTO 5 (4) 10 (7) 10 (9) 25 (20) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL MINNESOTA 16 (15) 20 (11) 21 (15) 57 (41) TORONTO 14 (9) 16 (12) 20 (19) 50 (40) ON HOME ICE
The Maple Leafs are 19-5-1 at home this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 13-11-0-2 in 26 games against the Minnesota Wild and 9-5-0-0 in 14 games played in Toronto.
Toronto is 16-7-2 against the Western Conference this season and 6-3-2 against the Central Division this season. RECORD WHEN…
Toronto is 12-10-2 when the opponent scores the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 10-5-0 when tied after one period and 5-2-2 when tied after two periods.
Toronto is 12-4-1 when outshot by their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 4-3-0 in Thursday games. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 4 (Matthews, Nylander) Shot Attempts 10 (Nylander) Faceoff Wins 17 (Matthews) Faceoff Win Percentage 100% (Kerfoot – 1 won, 0 lost) Hits 3 (Lyubushkin) Blocked Shots 5 (Brodie) Takeaways 6 (Matthews) TOI 24:48 (Brodie) Power Play TOI 2:36 (Marner, Matthews, Nylander) Shorthanded TOI 5:03 (Brodie) Shifts 26 (Marner) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 66.67% (Dermott – 20 for, 10 against) UPCOMING GAMES: Feb. 26 Leafs at Detroit Little Caesars Arena 7:30 pm ET Feb. 28 Leafs at Washington Capital One Arena 7:30 pm ET March 2 Leafs vs. Buffalo Scotiabank Arena 7:30 pm ET March 5 Leafs vs. Canucks Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 7 Leafs at Columbus Nationwide Arena 7:00 pm ET March 8 Leafs vs. Seattle Scotiabank Arena 8:00 pm ET
POSTGAME QUOTES: HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE On tonight’s defensive effort: “I thought it was really solid. We were disciplined and committed to it. It was a low event hockey game, not the most exciting game for sure and our guys I thought just stayed committed to it. Just kept trying to find ways to crack through offensively. We weren’t great offensively today but give Minnesota credit for how they competed and how they played but we’ve been challenging our guys to be more committed defensively and be more focused on it. So the fact that we stayed disciplined in this type of game when there is not a lot happening offensively is really big for our team.” AUSTON MATTHEWS On his team’s defensive effort tonight: “I just thought we stuck with it for the full 60 minutes. There wasn’t a whole lot going on out there offensively for both teams, pretty structured game but I thought Mrázek made some pretty incredible saves when we had breakdowns and we were able to capitalize on a couple of chances so it’s nice to get back in the win column and going to keep this momentum going.” PETR MRÁZEK On the importance of tonight’s game: “Every game is important especially after not winning the last three games so being patient in this game was a big factor and I think we waited for the right moment and great play by Matthews on the blue line there and finished it.” On showing some excitement after Kerfoot’s empty net goal: “I feel like I’m always excited after every win and empty net goal we score. Every game you want to bring joy and get the win, especially after three losses in a row.
2021-22 Matchups vs. Minnesota: Second of Two 2021-22 Record vs. Minnesota: 0-0-1 Toronto Season Record: 32-14-4 Toronto Home Record: 18-5-1 TV: TSN4 RADIO: TSN 1050
RECENT TRANSACTIONS February 21, 2022 The Maple Leafs acquired goaltender Carter Hutton from Arizona in exchange for future considerations. February 21, 2022 The San Jose Sharks claimed forward Ryan Dzingel off waivers from Toronto. February 19, 2022 The Maple Leafs acquired forward Ryan Dzingel and defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for forward Nick Ritchie and choice of Toronto’s third-round selection in 2023 or second-round selection in 2025.
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 3 at Columbus 4 – OTL Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2022 TOR Goals: Bunting, Matthews, Spezza CBJ Goals: Laine (2x), Boqvist, Gaunce TOR Goaltender: Campbell, 26/30, .867 SV% CBJ Goaltender: Berube, 39/42, .929 SV% TOR Power Play: 0-for-3 TOR Penalty Kill: 1-for-2 Team Notes:
Auston Matthews posted an NHL career-high 11 shots during Tuesday’s game.
Auston Matthews recorded his fourth outing of the season with three or more points (1G, 2A).
Ilya Lyubushkin appeared in his Maple Leafs debut.
NEXT GAME Date: Saturday, February 26, 2022 Opponent: at Detroit Red Wings Time: 7:30 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio)
INJURY REPORT Jake Muzzin Concussion Protocol
ALL-TIME VS. MINNESOTA WILD:
First Matchup between Clubs: October 25, 2000 (Toronto 6 vs. Minnesota 1) All-Time Record: 12-11-0-2 (25 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 8-5-0-0 (13 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 4-6-0-2 (12 Games) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: October 15, 2019 (Toronto 4 vs. Minnesota 2) Record in Last Five Games: 3-1-1 Record in Last 10 Games: 4-5-1
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. MINNESOTA WILD: Games Played: Jason Spezza (32), Wayne Simmonds (30), TJ Brodie (30) Goals: John Tavares (8), Wayne Simmonds (7), Jason Spezza (7) Assists: Wayne Simmonds (13), Morgan Rielly (13), Jason Spezza (11) Points: Wayne Simmonds (20), Jason Spezza (18), John Tavares (17) Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (28), TJ Brodie (16), Alexander Kerfoot (10)
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 42/138 (30.4%) Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 118/140 (84.3%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 3 – Marner (2G, 1A), Kämpf (2G, 1A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%)
FAST FACTS Thursday games 7th of 13 (9 home, 4 road) Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 4-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1 February games 10th of 12 (4 home, 8 road) UPCOMING MILESTONES
TJ Brodie Seven points away from 300 career NHL points Mitch Marner Four games away from 400 career NHL games played Jake Muzzin Nine points away from 300 career NHL points Wayne Simmonds Five games away from 1,000 career NHL games played
2021-22 MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
MINNESOTA WILD
UPCOMING GAMES (all times Central) 2/26 at CGY 9 p.m. – BSN, KFAN 100.3 FM 3/1 vs. CGY 7 p.m. – BSN+, KFAN 100.3 FM 3/3 at PHI 6 p.m. – BSN, KFAN 100.3 FM INJURIES Matt Dumba (lower body) – 5 Mats Zuccarello (upper body) – 1 2021-22 Total Man Games Lost: 95 UPCOMING MILESTONES Jordan Greenway – 99 career points Dmitry Kulikov – 191 career points Jared Spurgeon – 740 career games; 3 shy of tying Nick Schultz for all-time GP by Wild defensemen (743) RECENT TRANSACTIONS 2/23 – Recalled F Mason Shaw from Iowa (AHL) SERIES NOTES VS. MAPLE LEAFS All-Time Wild Record: 13-12-0 (8-4-0 at Xcel Energy Center, 5-8-0 at Toronto) 2021-22: Minnesota earned a 4-3 shootout win against Toronto in its first season meeting at Xcel Energy Center (12/4)…C Joel Eriksson Ek led the Wild with two assists…LW Marcus Foligno, LW Jordan Greenway and RW Mats Zuccarello each netted a goal…G Cam Talbot stopped 39-of-42 shots…D Morgan Rielly (0-3=3) and C Jason Spezza (2-1=3) scored three points apiece…C Auston Matthews collected two points (1-1=2)…G Jack Campbell made 37 saves. WILD LEADERS: Zuccarello leads the Wild with 23 points (11-12=23) in 20 contests against Toronto…D Dmitry Kulikov owns 12 points (5-7=12) in 29 games…D Alex Goligoski has 11 assists in 24 matches…Foligno owns 12 points (4-8=12) in 29 contests…C Nick Bjugstad has 10 points (6-4=10) in 22 games. WILD GOALIES: G Cam Talbot is 5-2-1 with a 2.80 GAA and a .909 SV% in nine games (eight starts) vs. the Maple Leafs…G Kaapo Kahkonen has not faced Toronto. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS: RW Wayne Simmonds leads the Maple Leafs with 20 points (7-13=20) in 30 career games against Minnesota…C John Tavares owns 17 points (8-9=17) in 18 matches…Spezza has 18 points (7-11=18) in 32 contests. MAPLE LEAFS GOALIES: G Petr Mrazek is 3-2-0 with a 2.38 GAA and a .917 SV% in five starts vs. the Wild…G Jack Campbell is 0-2-1 with a 2.31 GAA and a .920 SV% in three starts. CONNECTIONS: Wild Assistant Coach Darby Hendrickson was selected by Toronto in the 1990 NHL Draft and skated in 233 games with the Maple Leafs (1994-99)…D Justin Holl hails from Tonka Bay and skated in four seasons with the University of Minnesota (2010-14). FAST FACTS: Minnesota is 10-4-0 in its last 14 games against Toronto, including a seven-game win streak (11/13/13-12/7/16)…The Wild has scored one goal or less in eight of its 12 all-time losses to the Maple Leafs…In its 12 wins, Minnesota has outscored Toronto, 42-20, including two Wild shootout goals. TOTAL TEAM EFFORT
The Wild is 12-4-1 in its last 17 games, ranking fourth in the NHL in points percentage (.735) and T-4th in wins and seventh in points (25) since Jan. 6.
Minnesota has netted seven-plus goals in six of its games this season, the most seven-plus goal games in a single season in franchise history. The Wild is one of two teams to net seven-plus goals in six-or-more games this season: COL (7).
The Wild is one of four NHL teams to record multiple six-plus game win streaks this season: CGY, COL &PIT.
Minnesota won six straight from Jan. 21-Feb. 2 and recorded a season-high eight-game win streak, Nov. 24-Dec. 9.
The Wild went on a season-high 10-game point streak from Jan. 6-Feb. 2 (9-0-1) – tied for the third-longest point streak in team history. The team also posted a nine-game point streak from Nov. 21-Dec. 9 (8-0-1) – making it the first time in team history the Wild has recorded multiple point streaks of eight-or-more games in a single season.
Minnesota leads the League with a franchise-best 14 6-v-5 goals.
The Wild has scored three-plus goals in 17 of its last 19 games, ranking second in the NHL in goals/game (4.05) since Dec. 20.
Minnesota ranks third in the NHL in goals/game this season (3.79), netting three-plus goals in 38-of-48 games. Minnesota Wild: Media Notes ROAD TRIPPIN’
Minnesota continues its four-game Canadian road trip Thursday in Toronto (1-1-0) – tied for its longest road trip of the season.
The Wild is 6-3-1 in its last 10 road games, including a season-high six game point streak (5-0-1) from Jan. 6-Feb. 2.
Minnesota is 12-8-2 in its last 22 road games, including four shootout contests.
The Wild has scored three-plus goals and has held opponents to two goals or less in 12 of its 15 road wins this season. POWER PLAY
The Wild owns 12 PPG since Jan. 22, ranking T-5th in the NHL in PPG in that span.
The Wild has netted 18 of its 31 PPG this season on the road, including 14 PPG in the last 18 road contests.
Minnesota ranks T-2nd in the NHL in road PPG and fourth in road PP% (27.5) since Nov. 20 and ranks T-4th in road PPG this season.
The Wild set a season-high six-game road PPG streak (eight PPG) Dec. 7-Jan. 6 – tied for the second-longest road PPG streak in franchise history.
The Wild has seven games with multiple PPG this season and has netted a season-high three PPG twice (10/19 &2/14). FA-LA-LA FIALA
Kevin Fiala tallied two points (1-1=2) Tuesday in Ottawa, his second consecutive game with multiple points (3-2=5).
He owns 27 points (14-13=27) in the last 23 games and 34 points (15-19=34) in the last 34 contests.
He owns 42 points this season, his third straight campaign recording 40-plus points. He becomes the third Swiss-born NHL skater to reach 40-plus points in four-or-more seasons: Roman Josi (8) &Mark Streit (6).
The winger recorded 16 points (9-7=16) in a career-high 12-game point streak from Dec. 20-Feb. 2. He tied Mikael Granlund for the longest point streak in team history (last, 1/12-2/4/17) and the point streak is the fifth longest in the NHL this season. ZUCCY
Mats Zuccarello owns 10 points (3-7=10), including multiple points in four consecutive games and five PPP (1-4=5) in his last five games.
His assist Feb. 20 at EDM marked his 19th PPP of the season, setting a new career high for PPP in a season.
The Norwegian native owns 52 points this season, his most in a Wild sweater since joining the team in 2019-20. It’s his fifth NHL season reaching 50- plus points, first since 2017-18.
He owns 30 points (9-21=30) in his last 18 games, including 11 multi-point contests in the last 14 games. He ranks T-4th in the NHL in assists and points since Dec. 20.
He collected 18 points (5-13=18) in a career-high 10-game point streak, Dec. 20-Jan. 28. His and Fiala’s 12-game point streaks this season made them the third pair of NHL teammates to record point streaks of 10-plus games this season (COL &PIT).
The winger owned a franchise record of six consecutive games with multiple points from Jan 14-28. Per NHL Stats, he joined Connor McDavid as the only players to record multiple points in six straight games this season.
The 34-year-old has 39 points (13-26=39) in his last 27 games and 43 points (14-29=43) in his last 31 contests. KIRILL THE THRILL
Kirill Kaprizov saw his five-game point streak (4-5=9), including four PPP (1-3=4), come to an end Tuesday in Ottawa.
He has 22 points (9-13=22) in the last 15 games, including a career-best eight-game point streak (5-8=13) from Jan. 14-Feb. 2.
He owns 30 points (13-17=30) in his last 19 games, including 10 multi-point contests and 10 PPP (3-7=10).
He has 51 points (20-31=51) in his last 32 games, ranking second in the NHL in scoring, T-2nd in EVP (38), third in EVG (17) and T-4th in assists since Nov. 18.
The Russian ranks third in the NHL in EVP (46), T-6th in points and T-8th in assists.
The winger skated in his 100th career game Feb. 18 vs. FLA to become the 88th skater, third Russian native, in team history to reach the milestone.
He collected 112 career points in 100 career games. Per NHL Stats, the last time a player scored more than 110 points in their first 100 NHL games was Evgeni Malkin (114) in 2006-07. OH MY JEE
Joel Eriksson Ek saw his four-game point streak (3-2=5) come to an end Tuesday.
He owns eight points (5-3=8), including five power-play points (4-1=5) in the last 12 contests.
He leads the Wild with a career-high 10 PPG (T-8th in the NHL) and ranks third with 11 PPP.
The 25-year-old has tied his career-high two-game goal streak three times this season (11/20-11/21, 12/7-12/9 &2/14-2/16) and tied his career-best three-game assist streak (12/4-12/9).
He skated in his 300th career game Jan. 28 at NYR. HERE TO STAY
Matt Boldy has six points (4-2=6) in the last five games.
He recorded a career-high four points (3-1=4) and six shots, including his first career hat trick and three power-play points (2-1=3) Feb. 12 vs. DET. He is the sole NHL rookie to record three PPP in a game this season.
The 20-year-old became the first rookie in Wild history to record four points in a game and tied Kaprizov (4/7/21) for most PPP in a game by a Wild rookie.
He became the fourth rookie in team history to record a hat trick: Justin Fontaine (1/9/14), Kaprizov (3/12/21), and Rem Pitlick (11/13/21).
Per NHL Stats, the forward is the third NHL rookie to register four-plus points this season (Anton Lundell, Lucas Raymond) and fourth to earn a hat trick (Michael Bunting, Rem Pitlick, Lucas Raymond).
He owns 16 points (8-8=16) in his 17 career NHL contests, ranking second amongst NHL rookies in goals and T-2nd in points since making his debut on Jan. 6. FINNISH FLARE
Kaapo Kahkonen is 8-1-1 in his last 10 starts with a 2.47 GAA and a .930 SV% since Jan. 6.
He stopped a season-high 40-of-43 shots Jan. 30 at NYI – his second career game with 40-plus saves.
The left-glove backstop set a season-high six-game point streak (5-0-1), Jan. 6-22 – the longest point streak by an NHL rookie goaltender this season.
He also set a career-high six-game consecutive start streak, Jan. 6-22.
He is 12-3-2 in 19 games (17 starts) this season and ranks second amongst NHL rookie goalies in wins, GAA and SV%.
Since entering the NHL in 2019-20, he leads NHL rookies in wins (31) and surpassed Pekka Rinne for most wins by a Finnish-born rookie goaltender
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (32-14-4 – 68 Points) at COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (26-23-1 – 53 Points) TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022 1 2 3 OT FINAL TORONTO 1 1 1 0 3 COLUMBUS 0 1 2 1 4
SCORING NOTES
Michael Bunting scored for Toronto at 12:50 of the first period. Bunting recorded his 17th goal of the season. Bunting also recorded the secondary assist on Matthews’ goal. Bunting posted his 18th assist of the season.
Auston Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs at 15:23 of the second period. Matthews recorded his 34th goal of the season. Matthews registered the secondary assist on Bunting’s goal and the primary assist on Spezza’s goal. Matthews has posted 28 assists this season.
Jason Spezza scored for Toronto at 17:54 of the third period. Spezza posted his 10th goal of the season. Spezza has recorded a point in back-to-back games (1G, 1A).
Mitch Marner posted the primary assist on Bunting’s goal. Marner recorded his 29th assist of the season.
David Kämpf registered the primary assist on Matthews’ goal. Kämpf recorded his 11th assist of the season.
John Tavares recorded the secondary assist on Spezza’s goal. Tavares posted his 30th assist of the season. GOALTENDER NOTES
Jack Campbell stopped 26 of 30 shots in tonight’s overtime loss. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Maple Leafs were 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill tonight. OF NOTE…
Auston Matthews posted an NHL career-high 11 shots during tonight’s game.
With a goal and two assists recorded during tonight’s game, Auston Matthews recorded his fourth outing of the season with three or more points. He also posted three points (2G, 1A) in Toronto’s first meeting against Columbus earlier this season on Dec. 7, 2021.
Michael Bunting paces all NHL rookies with 24 points (13G, 11A) recorded on the road this season.
Ilya Lyubushkin appeared in his Maple Leafs debut.
TJ Brodie was on the ice for a team-high 21 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
Ilya Mikheyev and Ondřej Kaše finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 77.78 percent (7 for, 2 against). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd OT TOTAL TORONTO 10 (8) 17 (12) 15 (10) 0 (0) 42 (30) COLUMBUS 14 (13) 5 (3) 10 (9) 1 (0) 30 (25) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd OT TOTAL TORONTO 15 (10) 24 (17) 28 (22) 0 (0) 67 (49) COLUMBUS 23 (22) 8 (6) 15 (14) 1 (0) 47 (42) ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Maple Leafs are 14-9-3 on the road this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 15-11-1-5 in 32 games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and 8-5-0-2 in 15 games played in Columbus.
Toronto is 17-7-2 against the Eastern Conference this season and 9-4-2 against the Metropolitan Division this season. RECORD WHEN…
Toronto is 21-4-2 when scoring the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 19-2-2 when leading after one period and 24-0-2 when leading after two periods.
Toronto is 20-10-3 when outshooting their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 6-0-1 in Tuesday games and 3-4-1 in the second game of a back-to-back. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 11 (Matthews) Shot Attempts 14 (Matthews) Faceoff Wins 10 (Tavares) Faceoff Win Percentage 57% (Spezza – 4 won, 3 lost) Hits 2 (Liljegren, Sandin) Blocked Shots 4 (Rielly) Takeaways 2 (Engvall, Tavares) TOI 26:09 (Rielly) Power Play TOI 4:18 (Marner, Matthews, Rielly, Nylander, Tavares) Shorthanded TOI 1:49 (Brodie, Liljegren) Shifts 26 (Brodie) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 77.78% (Mikheyev and Kaše – 7 for, 2 against) UPCOMING GAMES: Feb. 24 Leafs vs. Minnesota Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET Feb. 26 Leafs at Detroit Little Caesars Arena 7:30 pm ET Feb. 28 Leafs at Washington Capital One Arena 7:30 pm ET March 2 Leafs vs. Buffalo Scotiabank Arena 7:30 pm ET March 5 Leafs vs. Canucks Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 7 Leafs at Columbus Nationwide Arena 7:00 pm ET POSTGAME QUOTES: HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE On tonight’s game: “I thought our effort structurally was entirely better than it was last night, so I was happy with that. Even in the first period, I thought Columbus certainly won the territorial game in the first period while our guys were recalibrating a little bit in terms of how we were asking them to play and you could see they were really focused on it so it took away from some of their offensive play and puck play but I liked how we defended in that period despite losing the territorial game. We didn’t give up a whole lot in terms of quality looks, so that was good. We built on that into the second period which I thought was an excellent period, with the exception of the Laine goal, it’s as perfect of a period as it could probably be, in terms of our structure, in terms of carrying the play and all those kind of thing but then you take that penalty at the end of the second. That’s the one there we can’t take, we’ve got to manage the game better in that situation and we didn’t so we opened the door for them to get a power play opportunity to start the third and I thought that was the difference. I thought our guys competed hard today. The play was structured and I thought we easily could have had two points here today and the fact that we got the game even and got out of here with a point but lose the extra in overtime – we don’t like that but there were a lot of positive things here today and that’s a good team over. They’re feeling it, that’s eight games in the last 11 for them, they played hard against us, so it wasn’t any easy night for us and I liked a lot of things about how we played.” JACK CAMPBELL On tonight’s game: “I thought the team played amazing and deserved two points.” On the goals that got past him tonight: “They just shot and beat me and it’s not acceptable on my part. We should have won 3-0 so just have to move on.” AUSTON MATTHEWS On tonight’s effort: “I think we can be a lot more proud of our effort tonight. We found our way back and got one point but obviously leaving the rink sour but thought we did a lot of good things tonight, better than our last two outings so definitely some positive stuff that we can take and move forward but we can be more proud of the effort tonight.” On Kämpf’s playmaking ability: “Just a really nice play by Bunts, to get the puck in and I was screaming for it and Kämpf made an unbelievable pass. I think his play making abilities are pretty underrated. He makes really good little plays even for the most part kind of in our d-zone. He makes really nice five-foot plays that go a long way to help us breakout but even in the o-zone he makes sneaky plays and that was really nice pass by him and I just had to bring it over and had an empty net to shoot at.”
The view from left field 