MAPLE LEAFS SIGN RODION AMIROV TO ENTRY LEVEL CONTRACT
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has signed forward Rodion Amirov to a three-year entry level contract for the 2021-22 season. As his season with Ufa is now complete, Amirov will be joining the Marlies and Maple Leafs development program after visa and quarantine requirements are met.
“Our Club is pleased to have Rodion formally signed today. We look forward to welcoming Rodion to Canada in the coming weeks and having him begin working with our player development staff in Toronto,” said Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas. “We also look forward to continuing to work with Ufa with his development next season. Ufa has done an excellent job guiding Rodion’s development as a player to date and we are excited to work very closely with them through the summer and into the future.”
Amirov, 19, skated in 39 games for Salavat Yulaev (KHL) in 2020-21, recording 13 points (nine goals, four assists) to rank third among U20 skaters in the KHL before skating in nine playoff games for the club. He also appeared in three games for Toros Neftekamsk (VHL) and recorded a goal and an assist and later registered three assists in five playoff games for Tolpar Ufa (MHL). He has recorded 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 60 career KHL games, five points (two goals, three assists) in eight career VHL games and 51 points (25 goals, 26 assists) in 60 career MHL games.
Internationally, Amirov was an alternate captain for Russia at the 2021 World Juniors and recorded a pair of goals and four assists, earning a fourth place finish. He took home a silver medal and was named a tournament All-Star and a Top 3 Player on Team for Russia at the 2019 World U18 Championships after registering nine points (six goals, three assists) in seven games during the tournament. He also captured a bronze medal at the 2018 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, recording a pair of assists in five games.
Amirov was selected by the Maple Leafs in the first round (15th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Dating back to the 2018 tournament, TFC have now eliminated three of the last four Liga MX teams they have met in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League.
Toronto FC advance to the quarterfinals of the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League where the team will face Mexican side Cruz Azul over two legs.
LINEUPS
TORONTO FC – Alex Bono; Richie Laryea, Omar González, Luke Singh, Auro Jr.; Michael Bradley (C), Ralph Priso (Griffin Dorsey 76’), Marky Delgado, Noble Okello (Justin Morrow 66’), Jacob Shaffelburg (Nick DeLeon 60’); Patrick Mullins (Jordan Perruzza 60’) Substitutes Not Used: Quentin Westberg, Liam Fraser, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty
CLUB LEÓN – Rodolfo Cota; José Ramírez, Jaine Barreiro, Osvaldo Rodríguez (Yairo Moreno HT), William Tesillo; Santiago Colombatto (Nicolás Sosa 76’), Fernando Navarro, Jean Meneses; Ángel Mena (Jesús Godínez 75’), Víctor Dávila (Emmanuel Gigliotti HT), Luis Montes (C) Substitutes Not Used: Alfonso Blanco, Andrés Mosquera, Fernando González
CHRIS ARMAS – HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC
Q.A famous victory given the circumstances. Can you give us your thoughts on your team’s play tonight, and I know it’s a small sample size, but what do you think this bodes for the rest of the season, given the performance?
Well, the locker room right now is electric because there’s a lot of belief that the players gain from experiences like that. If you were inside of the locker room, you’d see all the veteran players, Pozuelo, Jozy, rallying around the young guys that stepped up in a big way tonight.
Listen, how it bodes for the rest of the year, I can only say what I have said, that there’s a togetherness, there’s a playing style that players are sticking to, that they’re believing in, they’re experiencing some success, and I think it’s empowering that we can be dangerous when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball.
Obviously, we’re just getting started, but there’s also a no-excuse mentality in that locker room. It would have been easy to go to México and start making excuses about this, that and the other, but just really proud of the team tonight and to be part of this organization, and yeah, what an effort tonight. Whether we took it to them, what an effort.
Q.Big performance from a lot of players for you guys tonight. Alex Bono was a guy that didn’t see a ton of minutes last year. What did you see from him, and in particular that big save late?
Well, I think it was clear. He made some big saves, took care of all the moments he should have taken care of, and then makes a couple of big ones. But he looked really sure of himself in distribution, in crosses and all the handling. Just a real mature, solid performance, and you love when your goalkeeper can help the team and reward himself with some really big saves late. He was a big presence in there, did a nice job. I’m happy for him.
Q.Playing competitive matches as opposed to preseason friendlies is obviously going to the team in much better shape, playing meaningful games. Do you feel this is going to give you a little competitive advantage now at the start of the season? I guess you won’t know until you hit the pitch, but is that what you’re thinking just from what you’ve seen from the guys, that they’re a different level from what some of the other teams might be?
Yeah, I think it’s a good question, but you think about having to prepare for these types of matches early on, there’s positives and negatives, right? We’re forced to push the envelope, right? We’re representing Canada in this tournament. We have that privilege, and we have to go to México with difficult circumstances. There’re certain things that are working against us.
But as we’ve tried to push the intensity of training each day and each week, we’ve had some injuries along the way, right, so it just — as much as you get this playoff-type mentality early on, which is a big plus, we’ve taken some hits, too, along the way. But we’ve made no qualms about we’re going after it, so we were going to push. I think we prepared the team, and the guys deserve that credit. What an effort.
But yes, either way, we internally, from Bill Manning, Ali Curtis, we said we’re going to go after this tournament, but as the head coach I’m in on that and driving that messaging and pushing it every day, I was expecting momentum after this, win, lose, the momentum that would carry into the MLS season, especially getting young players valuable minutes, this is going to help us moving forward.
PATRICK MULLINS – FORWARD, TORONTO FC
Q.Big win for the side tonight. Can you take us through your thoughts on the match and what the emotions of the celebration we got a little glimpse of there? How are you feeling?
Sure, yeah, we left León last week, and I think that’s when this match started up. It was halftime, and we had an amazing week of preparation where we really focused on us and how we could be dangerous. I think we also wanted to be really tough to play against, and I think that’s what we saw tonight.
We came out in the first half against a team that we knew was talented and created chances, and we wanted to really put them under pressure and do that in a synchronized way where we’re all together and causing turnovers and trying to be dangerous once we do get the possession level.
I think you saw that throughout the first half and I think even into the second half it became even more difficult for them to deal with and dangerous, which you saw how it led up to our goals.
My goal, just — things happened very quickly in that goal. Jacob is a player who I feel like we’ve trained similar movements like that all the time off of starting attacks, and then once the ball was in the net, a lot of things hit me. But then I heard Michael come over and say, “That’s for the Mullins family.” Then things really came down to earth to me. I had lost my grandmother this past week, so I had very much had a heavy heart in this game, and I think the team supported me so much through that loss of my family.
Once again, in that moment, in that goal, in a big game, that meant a lot to me, and then just to see how we continued on the last 20 to 25 minutes, even when it got close there at the end, I think once again, it just shows where our group is at now and kind of a little taste of what we can do when we put it all together and as we move forward now with the MLS season starting this weekend, and now of course we’ll be into the next round here.
Q.A lot of the young players, the young talent really put their hand up tonight and also in León last week. Can you just tell us a little bit about what you saw from these youngsters the last two games?
I saw a group of players that not only stepped up in this moment, they embraced it. They shined in that moment.
We’ve been seeing their qualities ever since they’ve been with us in training in this preseason, and I think we all had belief in what we could do as a group when they were all on the pitch, so we saw what Ralph does tonight and covering ground and turning balls over and being kind of the start of our attacks, and then Luke Singh anchoring us down in the back, making plays, blocking crosses. I already talked about Jacob Shaffelburg, some of the success he has, and Noble, when he’s on the ball and he’s getting touches, I think it excites our team.
So I think we saw in their performances from the guys who started and the guys who came in, too, that we have quality players, and I think we have hungry players that are just wanting to get started and keep showing what they can do on these types of stages.
Q.Sort of building off what you said there about Luke Singh, can you take us into the locker room before the match? Was there any sort of advice anyone was giving him, and how commendable was his story tonight making his first career start?
Well, we were all just so happy for him because, as I said before, we had been seeing these types of levels that he’s been hitting in training, and I think we all had a lot of belief in him to step up into the lineup tonight. I think he started the game well, and that continued on throughout the rest of the night.
Everything that I saw from him in the buildup to this game I think is a great credit to him to be ready for his moment and to take it, and he absolutely did. I think everyone was just so happy to congratulate him on his first start, and obviously he made the appearance last week in León. It must be an amazing feeling for him tonight.
Paul George continued to dominate his former team by scoring 36 points on Tuesday night, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 126-115 victory at Indiana.
They have 17 games left, and with the threat of a date in the play-in tournament a nagging reality, the Celtics may be playing their best basketball of the season. Jayson Tatum’s 3-pointer with seven seconds left gave the Celtics just enough room in a 116-115 win over Portland. Tatum’s 32-point performance, to go along […]
Zach Hyman put the Maple Leafs on the board at 10:37 of the first period and later had the secondary assist on Alex Kerfoot’s third period goal. Hyman has assists (6) and points (3-6-9) in six consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his eighth multi-point performance of 2020-21. He has recorded six points (2-4-6) in eight games against the Flames in 2020-21. He ranks second among Toronto skaters and tied for 31st among NHLers in goals (15). He is tied for 18th among NHL skaters in even-strength goals.
Alex Kerfoot scored the second Toronto goal of the game at 6:17 of the third period. He has a goal and an assist in his last two games against Calgary. He has recorded 10 points (4-6-10) in 23 games on home ice this season. Toronto is 5-1-1 when he scores a goal this season.
Morgan Rielly recorded the primary assist on Hyman’s first period goal. Rielly has assists (3) in three consecutive games. His assist is his 300th career NHL point as he becomes the sixth defenceman to register 300 points with the Maple Leafs franchise. He has recorded eight points (1-7-8) in nine games against the Flames this season.
John Tavares collected the secondary assist on Hyman’s first period goal and later had the primary assist on Kerfoot’s third period goal. Tavares has points (1-3-4) in three consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his fifth multi-assist and 10th multi-point game of the season. He has eight points (3-5-8) in seven games during the month of April. In nine games against the Flames, he has recorded seven points (2-5-7).
David Rittich stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced in the overtime loss. Tonight’s game was his first game as a Maple Leaf.
The Maple Leafs were 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play tonight.
Auston Matthews was 5-for-7 (71%) in the faceoff circle when taking defensive zone draws and 5-for-8 (63%) when taking offensive zone draws.
Morgan Rielly was on the ice for a team-high 21 shot attempts for at 5-on-5. He finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 63.6 percent (21 for, 12 against).
Nick Robertson and Scott Sabourin were the lone Maple Leafs to not start a 5-on-5 shift in the offensive zone.
Scott Sabourin skated in his first game as a Maple Leaf.
UPCOMING GAMES:
Thursday, April 15, 7:00 p.m. vs. Winnipeg Jets (TSN4, TSN 1050)
Saturday, April 17, 7:00 p.m. at Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
Monday, April 19, 9:00 p.m. at Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)
Wednesday, April 21, 7:00 p.m. at Winnipeg Jets (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
Friday, April 23, 8:00 p.m. at Winnipeg Jets (TSN4, TSN 1050)
Stats reflect official NHL stats at the time of distribution. Please consult official NHL game sheets (links above) to confirm no statistical changes were made.
Joe Thornton (70), Jake Muzzin (37), Jason Spezza (35)
GOALS:
Joe Thornton (11), John Tavares (10), Jason Spezza (9)
ASSISTS:
Joe Thornton (44), Jake Muzzin (19), John Tavares (14)
POINTS:
Joe Thornton (55), John Tavares (24), Jake Muzzin (22)
PENALTY MINUTES:
Jason Spezza (33), Joe Thornton (31), Wayne Simmonds (27)
MAPLE LEAFS – FLAMES TEAM STATS
TORONTO
CALGARY
GOALS FOR (Rank):
140 (t-4th)
107 (t-24th)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):
109 (10th)
123 (19th)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):
27/118 [22.9%] (11th)
27/135 [20.0%] (t-17th)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):
86/111 [77.5%] (21st)
106/132 [80.3%] (13th)
SHOTS PER GAME (Rank):
31.0 (8th)
29.8 (t-16th)
SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME (Rank):
28.5 (9th)
29.4 (12th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):
1835 (7th)
1756 (t-13th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):
50.5% (13th)
52.0% (9th)
FACEOFF % (Rank):
51.4% (t-8th)
50.0 (16th)
MAPLE LEAFS – FLAMES NOTES
First Matchup between Clubs:
Nov. 5, 1972 (Toronto 2, Atlanta 2)
All-Time Record:
67-62-12-5 (146 Games)
All-Time Record at Home:
38-21-7-3 (69 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road:
29-41-5-2 (77 Games)
Last Win vs. Opponent at Home:
March 20, 2021 (Toronto 2, Calgary 0)
MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
CATEGORY
LEADER
GOALS
32 (Matthews)
ASSISTS
39 (Marner)
POINTS
53 (Marner, Matthews)
POWER PLAY POINTS
13 (Marner)
SHORTHANDED POINTS
1 (Five players tied)
PIMs
47 (Bogosian)
SHOTS
161 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%
56.8% (Spezza)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %
54.3% (Thornton)
BLOCKED SHOTS
70 (Muzzin)
TAKEAWAYS
37 (Matthews)
HITS
72 (Muzzin)
TOI PER GAME
23:49 (Rielly)
PP TOI PER GAME
3:13 (Matthews)
SH TOI PER GAME
2:39 (Holl)
MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES
TJ Brodie
– Averaging 19:06 in even-strength ice time, which ranks second among Toronto skaters.- Has the highest on-ice goals-for percentage (64.6%) at 5-on-5 among Maple Leafs defencemen.- Leads the Maple Leafs in shifts per game (26.0).- Ranks 12th among NHL defencemen in takeaways (20).
Jack Campbell
– Is 11-1-0 with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage this season.- Has a 5-2-0 record with a 1.82 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage in eight career games against Calgary.- Established a Maple Leafs franchise record for consecutive wins by a goaltender (10) on April 7 vs. Montreal.- Established an NHL record for consecutive wins to start a season (11) on April 10 vs. Ottawa.
Alex Galchenyuk
– Averaging 2.41 points per 60 minutes of ice time, which ranks fourth among Toronto skaters who have appeared in multiple games.- Averaging 13.63 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time as a Maple Leaf, which ranks fifth among Toronto skaters who have appeared in over five games.- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 51.9% through 12 games with the Maple Leafs.
Justin Holl
– Ranks 21st among NHL right handed defencemen who average at least 15 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (17:47) with a shot attempt percentage of 52.2% when the score is within one goal.- Is 43rd in the NHL in shorthanded ice time per game (2:39).- Has recorded nine of his 12 assists on home ice this season.
Michael Hutchinson
– Has a .919 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average with a 4-2-1 record through eight starts this season.
Zach Hyman
– Leads Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:03).- Has the highest on-ice goals for percentage (67.9%) at 5-on-5 among Toronto skaters.- Tied for second among Maple Leafs in goals (14).
Alex Kerfoot
– Sixth among Toronto forwards in shifts per game (19.6).- Has the seventh highest points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (1.69) among Toronto skaters who have appeared in over five games.- Averaging 1:26 per game in shorthanded ice time, the highest mark of his career.
Mitch Marner
– Tied for third among NHLers in assists (39).- Second in the NHL in assists at 5-on-5 (22).- Tied for fourth among NHLers in points (14-39-53).- Tied for eighth in the NHL in even-strength goals (14).- Leads NHL forwards in time on ice per game (22:34).- Tied for second in the NHL in primary assists (26).- Has the second highest on-ice goals for percentage (65.6%) at 5-on-5 among Toronto skaters.
Auston Matthews
– Leads the NHL in goals (32).- Leads the NHL in game-winning goals (9).- Leads the NHL in even-strength goals (23).- Has scored the first goal of the game on eight occasions, which leads the NHL.- Tied for fourth among NHLers in points (32-21-53).- Second in the NHL in shots on goal (161).- Second among Maple Leafs forwards in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (53.5%).- Became the first American born player to score 30 or more goals in each of his first five seasons on April 10 vs. Ottawa.
Ilya Mikheyev
– Has averaged 15.5 shot attempts per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, which is tied for the seventh highest among NHLers who have played at least 65 minutes of shorthanded ice time (65:49). – Has started 35.2% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which is the lowest percentage among Maple Leafs skaters.- Averages 8.15 shots per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which ranks third among Maple Leafs who have appeared in at least five games.
Jake Muzzin
– Tied for 17th among NHL defencemen in assists at 5-on-5 (11).- Tied for 24th among NHL defencemen and tied for eighth among Maple Leafs in even-strength points (1-14-15). – One of 11 NHL defencemen to have recorded at least 70 hits (72) and 70 blocked shots (70).
Morgan Rielly
– Leads the Maple Leafs and is 21st among NHLers in average time on ice (23:49).- Tied for 12th among NHL defencemen in points (4-25-29).- Tied for 10th among NHL defencemen in assists (25).- Tied for 11th among NHL defencemen in assists at 5-on-5 (12).
David Rittich
– Had a 4-7-1 record with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 15 games with Calgary prior to being acquired by Toronto on April 11.
Jason Spezza
– Has the third highest points per 60 minutes rate (2.74) at 5-on-5 among Maple Leafs who have appeared in over five games.- Has won 56.6% of his defensive zone faceoffs, which is the ninth highest percentage among NHLers who have taken at least 175 defensive zone draws (189).
John Tavares
– Has the seventh highest faceoff win percentage (56.0%) among NHLers who have taken at least 625 faceoffs (639).- Has an on-ice goals for percentage of 62.8% at 5-on-5 in 2020-21, which is sixth among Toronto skaters.- Averages 13.89 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which is fourth among Toronto skaters who have appeared in multiple games.- Has recorded a pair of goals and three assists in eight games against Calgary this season.
Joe Thornton
– Has the highest 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage among Toronto skaters who have appeared in at least five games at 54.3%.- Averaging 1.35 points per 60 minutes of ice time this season, which is 10th among Toronto skaters.
CURRENT POINT STREAKS
Zach Hyman
Assists (5) and points (2-5-7) in five consecutive games.
Mitch Marner
Assists (5) and points (1-5-6) in three consecutive games.
Auston Matthews
Goals (8) and points (8-3-11) in five consecutive games.
Ilya Mikheyev
Assists (3) and points (1-3-4) in three consecutive games.
Morgan Rielly
Assists (2) in two consecutive games.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
Travis Dermott
Five games from 200 NHL games
Zach Hyman
Two assists from 100 NHL assists
Mitch Marner
Three goals from 100 NHL goals
William Nylander
One goal from 100 NHL goals
Morgan Rielly
One point from 300 NHL points
Jason Spezza
One games from 100 games as a Maple Leaf
John Tavares
Four assists from 100 assists as a Maple Leaf
Joe Thornton
Two assists from 1,100 career NHL assists
RECENT MILESTONES
TJ Brodie
First goal as a Maple Leaf (April 7 vs. MTL)
Alex Galchenyuk
First goal as a Maple Leaf (April 4 at CGY)
John Tavares
800th NHL point (April 5 at CGY)
INJURY REPORT
Frederik Andersen (Lower Body)
On Injured Reserve.
Riley Nash (Knee)
On Injured Reserve.
William Nylander (COVID Protocol)
Did not play on April 12 at Montreal.
Man Games Lost: 91
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
April 12
Acquired defenceman Ben Hutton from Anaheim in exchange for a fifth round pick in 2022.
April 12
Acquired forward Antti Suomela from San Jose in exchange for forward Alexander Barabanov.
April 11
Acquired goaltender David Rittich from Calgary in exchange for a third round pick in 2022.
April 11
Acquired forward Nick Foligno from Columbus and forward Stefan Noesen from San Jose in exchange for a first round pick in 2021 and a fourth round pick in 2022 to Columbus, and a fourth round pick in 2021 to San Jose.
April 9
Acquired forward Riley Nash from Columbus in exchange for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
The Nuggets have interest in adding free agent guard Austin Rivers as they look to bolster their roster ahead of the postseason, league sources told The Denver Post. Rivers, who played 21 games with the Knicks this season, was traded to Oklahoma City at the trade deadline and then waived. In addition to Rivers, the…
Jason Spezza (71), Joe Thornton (57), John Tavares (40)
GOALS:
Jason Spezza (32), Auston Matthews (15), John Tavares (15), Joe Thornton (15)
ASSISTS:
Jason Spezza (39), Joe Thornton (29), John Tavares (21)
POINTS:
Jason Spezza (71), Joe Thornton (44), John Tavares (36)
PENALTY MINUTES:
Zach Bogosian (57), Wayne Simmonds (54), Joe Thornton (39)
MAPLE LEAFS – CANADIENS TEAM STATS
TORONTO
MONTREAL
GOALS FOR (Rank):
138 (5th)
117 (t-15th)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):
105 (t-8th)
105 (t-8th)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):
27/116 [23.3%] (t-9th)
21/105 [20.0%] (t-16th)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):
85/109 [78.0%] (20th)
97/127 [76.4%] (24th)
SHOTS PER GAME (Rank):
31.1 (8th)
33.1 (3rd)
SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME (Rank):
28.5 (9th)
28.2 (6th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):
1793 (7th)
1887 (4th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):
50.5% (13th)
55.6% (2nd)
FACEOFF % (Rank):
51.4% (t-8th)
49.1 (t-21st)
MAPLE LEAFS – CANADIENS NOTES
First Matchup between Clubs:
Dec. 26, 1917 (Toronto Arenas 7, Montreal 5)
All-Time Record:
304-343-88-17 (752 Games)
All-Time Record at Home:
192-129-45-10 (376 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road:
112-214-43-7 (376 Games)
Last Win vs. Opponent at Home:
Feb. 20, 2021 (Toronto 5, Montreal 3)
MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
CATEGORY
LEADER
GOALS
31 (Matthews)
ASSISTS
38 (Marner)
POINTS
52 (Marner, Matthews)
POWER PLAY POINTS
13 (Marner)
SHORTHANDED POINTS
1 (Five players tied)
PIMs
45 (Bogosian)
SHOTS
158 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%
56.8% (Spezza)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %
54.7% (Thornton)
BLOCKED SHOTS
68 (Muzzin)
TAKEAWAYS
37 (Matthews)
HITS
69 (Muzzin)
TOI PER GAME
23:48 (Rielly)
PP TOI PER GAME
3:14 (Matthews)
SH TOI PER GAME
2:41 (Holl)
MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES
TJ Brodie
– Averaging 19:09 in even-strength ice time, which ranks second among Toronto skaters.- Has the highest on-ice goals-for percentage (64.5%) at 5-on-5 among Maple Leafs defencemen.- Leads the Maple Leafs in shifts per game (26.0).- Ranks 12th among NHL defencemen in takeaways (20).
Jack Campbell
– Is 11-0-0 with a 1.88 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage this season.- Has a 2-0-1 record with a 1.32 goals-against average and a .962 save percentage in three career games against Montreal.- Established a Maple Leafs franchise record for consecutive wins by a goaltender (10) on April 7 vs. Montreal.- Established an NHL record for consecutive wins to start a season (11) on April 10 vs. Ottawa.
Alex Galchenyuk
– Averaging 2.66 points per 60 minutes of ice time, which ranks fourth among Toronto skaters who have appeared in multiple games.- Averaging 14.17 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time as a Maple Leaf, which ranks second among Toronto skaters who have appeared in multiple games.- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 52.3% through 11 games with the Maple Leafs.
Justin Holl
– Tied for 17th among NHL right handed defencemen who average at least 15 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (17:42) with a shot attempt percentage of 52.4% when the score is within one goal.- Tied for 41st in the NHL in shorthanded ice time per game (2:41).- Has a goal and an assist in five games against Montreal this season.
Michael Hutchinson
– Has a .919 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average with a 4-2-1 record through eight starts this season.
Zach Hyman
– Leads Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:02).- Has the highest on-ice goals for percentage (68.6%) at 5-on-5 among Toronto skaters.- Tied for second among Maple Leafs in goals (14).
Alex Kerfoot
– Sixth among Toronto forwards in shifts per game (19.5).- Has the seventh highest points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (1.73) among Toronto skaters who have appeared in over five games.- Averaging 1:25 per game in shorthanded ice time, the highest mark of his career.
Mitch Marner
– Tied for third among NHLers in assists (38).- Tied for third among NHLers in points (14-38-52).- Tied for seventh in the NHL in even-strength goals (14).- Leads NHL forwards in time on ice per game (22:35).- Tied for second in the NHL in primary assists (25).- Has the second highest on-ice goals for percentage (66.1%) at 5-on-5 among Toronto skaters.
Auston Matthews
– Leads the NHL in goals (31).- Leads the NHL in game-winning goals (9).- Leads the NHL in even-strength goals (22).- Has scored the first goal of the game on eight occasions, which leads the NHL.- Tied for third among NHLers in points (31-21-52).- Second in the NHL in shots on goal (153).- Second among Maple Leafs forwards in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (53.6%).- Became the first American born player to score 30 or more goals in each of his first five seasons on April 10 vs. Ottawa.
Ilya Mikheyev
– Has averaged 15.6 shot attempts per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, which is the sixth highest among NHLers who have played at least 65 minutes of shorthanded ice time (65:17). – Has started 35.2% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which is the lowest percentage among Maple Leafs skaters.- Averages 8.39 shots per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which ranks third among Maple Leafs who have appeared in multiple games.
Jake Muzzin
– Tied for 14th among NHL defencemen in assists at 5-on-5 (11).- Tied for 22nd among NHL defencemen and tied for eighth among Maple Leafs in even-strength points (1-14-15). – One of 12 NHL defencemen to have recorded at least 65 hits (69) and 65 blocked shots (68).
Morgan Rielly
– Leads the Maple Leafs and is 21st among NHLers in average time on ice (23:48).- Tied for 12th among NHL defencemen in points (4-24-28).- Tied for ninth among NHL defencemen in assists (24).- Tied for 14th among NHL defencemen in assists at 5-on-5 (11).
Jason Spezza
– Has the third highest points per 60 minutes rate (2.81) at 5-on-5 among Maple Leafs who have appeared in over five games.- Has won 56.4% of his defensive zone faceoffs, which is the ninth highest percentage among NHLers who have taken at least 175 defensive zone draws (188).
John Tavares
– Has the sixth highest faceoff win percentage (56.7%) among NHLers who have taken at least 600 faceoffs (623).- Has an on-ice goals for percentage of 63.6% at 5-on-5 in 2020-21, which is sixth among Toronto skaters.- Averages 13.95 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which is fourth among Toronto skaters who have appeared in multiple games.- Has recorded a goal and five assists in five games against Montreal this season.- Has 19 points (6-13-19) in 19 games on the road in 2020-21.
Joe Thornton
– Has the highest 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage among Toronto skaters who have appeared in at least five games at 54.7%.- Averaging 1.40 points per 60 minutes of ice time this season, which is 10th among Toronto skaters.
CURRENT POINT STREAKS
Zach Hyman
Goals (2) in two consecutive games, assists (4) and points (2-4-6) in four consecutive games.
Mitch Marner
Assists (4) and points (1-4-5) in two consecutive games.
Auston Matthews
Goals (7) and points (7-3-10) in four consecutive games.
Ilya Mikheyev
Assists (2) and points (1-2-3) in two consecutive games.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
Zach Hyman
Three assists from 100 NHL assists
Mitch Marner
Three goals from 100 NHL goals
William Nylander
One goal from 100 NHL goals
Morgan Rielly
Two points from 300 NHL points
Jason Spezza
Two games from 100 games as a Maple Leaf
Joe Thornton
Two assists from 1,100 career NHL assists
RECENT MILESTONES
Alexander Barabanov
First NHL point (April 7 vs. MTL)
TJ Brodie
First goal as a Maple Leaf (April 7 vs. MTL)
Alex Galchenyuk
First goal as a Maple Leaf (April 4 at CGY)
John Tavares
800th NHL point (April 5 at CGY)
INJURY REPORT
Frederik Andersen (Lower Body)
On Injured Reserve.
Riley Nash (Knee)
On Injured Reserve.
William Nylander (COVID Protocol)
Did not play on April 10 vs. OTT.
Man Games Lost: 88
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
April 11
Acquired goaltender David Rittich from Calgary in exchange for a third round pick in 2022.
April 11
Acquired forward Nick Foligno from Columbus and forward Stefan Noesen from San Jose in exchange for a first round pick in 2021 and a fourth round pick in 2022 to Columbus, and a fourth round pick in 2021 to San Jose.
April 9
Acquired forward Riley Nash from Columbus in exchange for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Didi Gregorius hit a three-run homer in Philadelphia’s four-run fourth inning and had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth to help the Phillies snap the Atlanta Braves’ four-game winning streak with a 7-6 victory Sunday night.
Laval: L. Dauphin (3) (R. Harvey-Pinard, G. Olofsson), L. Dauphin (4) (R. Harvey-Pinard, J. Lucchini), M. Pezzetta (2) (J. Brook) (T. Paquette-Bisson (1) (Y. Veilleux) Goaltender: V. Demchenko (19/22)
Toronto: T. Gaudet (8) (Unassisted), K. Kossila (4) (J. McKenna, N. Hoefenmayer), T. Gaudet (9) (T. Liljegren, C. Rosén) Goaltender: I. Scott (24/28)
ON THE SCORESHEET
Tyler Gaudet put the Marlies on the board unassisted at 5:28 of the second period and later scored at 17:21 of the third period. Gaudet is tied for 13th in goals (9) overall. Gaudet has three unassisted goals this season, leading the AHL.
Kalle Kossila scored at 12:49 of the second period. He has points (2-2-4) in two consecutive games. Kossila has 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) this season.
Jeremy McKenna recorded the primary assist on Kossila’s second period goal. McKenna has seven point (3 goals, 4 assists) in 15 games with the Marlies.
Noel Hoefenmayer registered the secondary assist on Kossila’s second period goal. This was Hoefenmayer’s second assist this season.
Timothy Liljegren had the primary assist on Gaudet’s third period goal. Liljegren has nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 14 games this season.
Calle Rosén picked up the secondary assist on Gaudet’s third period goal. He has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 19 games with the Marlies.
Ian Scott stopped 24 of the 28 shots he faced in his first start of the season. He is now 0-1-0-0 on the season with a 4.17 goals against average and 0.857 save percentage. This was Scott’s first start since May 21, 2019 with Prince Albert (WHL). This was his second start with the Toronto Marlies. His first start was on April 15, 2018 in a 4-3 win over Belleville.
OF NOTE…
Toronto went 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and 0-for-1 on the power play. Toronto’s penalty kill at home (84.8) is ranked seventh overall.
Laval had a 28-22 edge in shots in all situations. Tyler Gaudet led the Marlies with five shots on goal.
The Marlies are 10-11-0-1 against Canadian Division opponents and are 1-2-0-1 against the Rocket.
RECORD WHEN… Trailing after 1 2-4-0-1 Tied after 2 3-2-0-0 Did not score a power play goal 5-8-0-0 Allow a power play goal 9-4-0-0 Outshot by opponent 4-4-0-1 Saturday 0-4-0-0
On Ian Scott: Ian did a great job. If you take into consideration how long it’s been for him to get into a live action game like that against an opponent like that. You could tell in the first period he had some nervous energy and movement, but he settled right in, made some big saves. Then in the second period, he looked very comfortable. It’s incredible just how poised and calm he looks back there. Kind of mirrors his personality. For his first game, he should be really proud of that.
On today’s game: The process was in place, the competitiveness was there, the consistency was there. To fight back in the second period the way we did to get the game even after being down, the team showed a lot of character. There was definitely a lot more consistency today.
IAN SCOTT
On his first start since returning from injury: There’s not a lot of words. It’s been a long time and I was just happy to be out there again.
On how the game developed for him: There were definitely a few nerves but at the end of the day, I can trust that I’ve prepared enough for this and that I’ve put in the work. A lot of work went on behind the scenes and after a while coming back, I was able just to roll with things.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Apr. 9 Joseph Duszak (D) – Recalled from loan to Toronto (NHL Taxi) Apr. 8 Timothy Liljegren (D) – Returned on loan from Toronto (NHL Taxi) UPCOMING GAMES: *All times Eastern Standard Time
Thursday, April 15 at Laval – 7:00 p.m. Sunday, April 18 at Laval – 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 21 at Belleville – 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 23 at Belleville – 7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at Belleville – 3:00 p.m.
The view from left field 