Tonight will also mark Dallas forward and Toronto native Andrew Cogliano’s 1,000th NHL game. Read More
Andersen back in net for Leafs — Toronto Sun
Andersen back in net for Leafs — Toronto Sun
Tag: Frederik Andersen
‘HIS ENERGY IS AWESOME’: Campbell gets another start in Leafs net — Toronto Sun
Freddy is getting steady, but he’s not quite ready to resume his goaltending duties with the Maple Leafs. Read More
‘HIS ENERGY IS AWESOME’: Campbell gets another start in Leafs net — Toronto Sun.
Goaltender Andersen hits the ice, Maple Leafs lose Ceci to ankle injury — Toronto Sun
As media filed into the Maple Leafs’ dressing room at the Ford Performance Centre on Thursday afternoon to talk to general manager Kyle Dubas and newcomers Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford, going the other way was goaltender Frederik Andersen. Read More
Goaltender Andersen hits the ice, Maple Leafs lose Ceci to ankle injury — Toronto Sun
By Terry Koshan
As media filed into the Maple Leafs’ dressing room at the Ford Performance Centre on Thursday afternoon to talk to general manager Kyle Dubas and newcomers Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford, going the other way was goaltender Frederik Andersen.
In full equipment.
Andersen, who suffered a neck injury against Florida on Monday, then spent the next 35 minutes on the ice, taking shots from goaltending coach Steve Briere.
A positive development, to be sure, after there was some speculation that Andersen could be out for a while.
“(His) status is that he is continuing to work through the injury and see where he is at,” Dubas said. “I would say he is unlikely (to play against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday), but we will see.”
PANTHERS 5, LEAFS 3 — WHAT THEY SAID: “(Frederik Andersen) went through that whole (concussion) process. My understanding is the results were positive on that. Given the nature of the injury, we wanted to take caution and give it time. We’ll give it tonight and see how he is in the morning.” –SHELDON KEEFE.
HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE
On Frederik Andersen’s status:
I guess he’s feeling better. That’s what I’m told. They’re just going to have to give him the night and see how he is in the morning.
On what collision caused the injury:
I don’t know those details.
On if Andersen underwent concussion testing:
He was, he went through that whole process. My understanding is the results were positive on that. Given the nature of the injury, we wanted to take caution and give it time. We’ll give it tonight and see how he is in the morning.
On if he knows whether Andersen will travel to New York tomorrow:
No. We’ll see how he is in the morning and if he’s on the ice for practice and all that kind of stuff. Practice hasn’t been ruled out for tomorrow at this point.
On the team’s play tonight:
I thought we played a really good game. If we play that type of game 100 times, we probably win 99 of them, something in that neighborhood. But you don’t get the points and that hurts. Obviously, we get the 3-1 goal and it should be over from there. We lose our focus a little bit and then we let them get the second one, and we just never really recovered. That was a challenge for us.
On the loss as an example of the team’s immaturity:
Yes and no. The result sucks, right? I don’t think the result is in any way indicative of the way the game went. When you talk about the maturity of our team, a lot of the narrative is how we can’t defend. That’s the best defensive game we’ve played the entire season. I don’t know if we gave up over four scoring chances at even-strength the whole hockey game. That’s the way it goes. We would have liked to have more offence and score more and grow a bigger lead. We had plenty of opportunities to do that and we didn’t. We let them hang around in the game and then, as I said, we did lose composure, I thought. Not composure, but just got distracted by the 3-1 goal and perhaps that’s an area we’d like to have back and do better job of. There’s a lot of things to like about what we did today.
On his level of confidence in Hutchinson if he needs to take over as the starter:
I’m not going to answer that tonight.
On how Hutchinson fared coming into the game after Andersen’s injury:
Obviously, it didn’t go very well but it’s a challenging scenario. He comes in cold and he’s not expecting to play. He goes in the second period and other than a couple of dump-ins, I don’t know if he had any shots. So that’s a tough ask of any goalie. He is part of the team and wants the opportunity and he’s in the net. You’d like to see positive results. I’d take a lot more from the games played for us previous to tonight.
MICHAEL HUTCHINSON (10 SAVES)
On the challenge of coming into a game cold:
It’s definitely difficult. It’s one of those things that you try to do your best to get your body ready and prepared. It’s probably the hardest thing in pro sports as far as going in cold. Baseball players have bullpen, football quarterbacks going in cold can throw a few balls on the sideline. As a goalie, you go from sitting around to jumping right in the game and being thrown right into it. So I thought our guys did a great job playing the second period and letting me get a chance to get my feet wet.
On when he knew he was going into the game:
A few minutes into the second intermission I got the heads up I was going in.
On his mindset if he needs to play more often going forward:
The same as it has been. Just take it one day at a time. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing every single night or once every two weeks, you have to approach each day. Try and get better and try to take advantage of each day and if I happen to get more starts than that, that’s what it is. Hopefully Freddie is good.
AUSTON MATTHEWS (1 GOAL)
On tonight’s loss:
I think it just got away from us. We played 45 to 50 minutes of really, really good hockey. Some of our best over the last couple weeks and then we had the puck quite a bit, we had plenty of chances. It just got away from us, I think. Just maybe a lack of focus and concentration and obviously we didn’t take advantage. These were valuable points that were on the line for us and we were in a really good spot going into the third.
On the team’s reaction after Andersen didn’t return in the second period:
You’ve still got to play. He’s a big part of this team, obviously, but when he goes down, we’ve got faith in Hutch. We just didn’t play well in front of him for the last 20 minutes.
On the focus shifting back to the week’s upcoming games:
Yeah, absolutely. We have three more games. This is a team that is obviously in our division and these were important points. This one got away from us, move on to Wednesday in New York and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
WILIAM NYLANDER (1 GOAL)
On what happened in the third period following a strong first 40 minutes:
I think we just relaxed a little bit and they capitalized on their chances and that’s obviously something we can’t do.
On how difficult it will be to turn the page after tonight’s loss:
No, it’s fine. We take what we did well from this game and move on. There’s nothing about being upset about this.
JOHN TAVARES (1 GOAL)
On a tough loss tonight:
Yeah, obviously disappointing. It’s not going to be a good feeling leaving the rink, especially I think overall the way we played, we got sloppy early in the third and just didn’t do a good enough job exiting our zone clean at times. That obviously led to some of their opportunities. There’s a lot of hockey left so we just have to turn the page as disappointing as this one is we have to get ready for three more this week.
On making sense of the third period breakdown:
Well we came out really well, got a big goal and, for whatever reason, we just didn’t have a good response, good momentum after that and led to some opportunities and they started to get some belief and some momentum and we weren’t able to do a good enough job the rest of the period.
PANTHERS AT MAPLE LEAFS PREGAME NOTES: Auston Matthews is third in the NHL with 36 goals. – Leads the league with 27 even-strength goals.- Leads in goals scored at 5-on-5 (22).- Tied for the lead in wrist shot goals (23).- Second in multi-goal games (9).- Tied for 11th among in points (36-25-61).- Fifth with 205 shots on goal.
FLORIDA PANTHERS (28-17-5 – 61 Points) vs.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (28-17-7 – 63 Points)
FEBRUARY 3, 2020 ▪ 7:00 PM EST
SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON) ▪
TV: TSN4 ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN
MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus FLORIDA
| ALL-TIME RECORD: | 43-34-7-5 (89 Games) |
| ALL-TIME AT HOME: | 25-15-2-1 (43 Games) |
| 2019-20: | 0-1-0 |
| LAST FIVE: | 2-1-1 |
| LAST 10: | 5-2-3 |
MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus FLORIDA
| GAMES PLAYED: | Jason Spezza (49), John Tavares (33), Morgan Rielly (26) |
| GOALS: | John Tavares (20), Jason Spezza (11), Mitch Marner (7) |
| ASSISTS: | Jason Spezza (27), Morgan Rielly (17), John Tavares (10) |
| POINTS: | Jason Spezza (38), John Tavares (30), Morgan Rielly (18) |
| PENALTY MINUTES: | Jason Spezza (20), John Tavares (12), Tyson Barrie (10), William Nylander (10) |
MAPLE LEAFS – PANTHERS TEAM STATS
| TORONTO | FLORIDA | |
| GOALS FOR (Rank): | 187 (2nd) | 180 (5th) |
| GOALS AGAINST (Rank): | 167 (25th) | 164 (22nd) |
| POWER PLAY [%] (Rank): | 35/142 [24.6%] (4th) | 38/161 [23.6%] (6th) |
| PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank): | 113/146 [77.4%] (25th) | 108/139 [77.7%] (24th) |
| SHOTS (Rank): | 1751 (4th) | 1660 (12th) |
| 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank): | 2646 (3rd) | 2235 (t-22nd) |
| 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank): | 52.6% (5th) | 49.8% (16th) |
| FACEOFF % (Rank): | 52.9% (3rd) | 50.2% (13th) |
MAPLE LEAFS – PANTHERS NOTES
| FIRST MATCHUP BETWEEN CLUBS: | October 21, 1993 (Toronto 4, Florida 3 OT) |
| ALL-TIME RECORD: | 43-34-7-5 (89 Games) |
| ALL-TIME RECORD AT HOME: | 25-15-2-1 (43 Games) |
| ALL-TIME RECORD ON THE ROAD: | 18-19-5-4 (46 Games) |
| LAST WIN VS. OPPONENT ON THE ROAD: | March 25, 2019 (Toronto 7, Florida 5) |
MAPLE LEAFS MILESTONES vs. PANTHERS
| Michael Hutchinson | Appeared in four games for Florida during the 2018-19 season. |
| Zach Hyman | Selected by Florida in the fifth round (123rd overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. |
| Mitch Marner | 100th NHL game (Nov. 22, 2017 at FLA) |
| John Tavares | 500th NHL point (Jan. 13, 2017 (NYI) at FLA) |
MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
| CATEGORY | LEADER |
| GOALS | 36 (Matthews) |
| ASSISTS | 37 (Marner) |
| POINTS | 61 (Matthews) |
| POWER PLAY POINTS | 18 (Marner, Matthews) |
| SHORTHANDED POINTS | 2 (Engvall, Kapanen) |
| PIMs | 34 (Muzzin) |
| SHOTS | 205 (Matthews) |
| FACEOFF WIN% | 57.9% (Gauthier) |
| 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % | 55.4% (Nylander) |
| BLOCKED SHOTS | 76 (Muzzin) |
| TAKEAWAYS | 55 (Matthews) |
| HITS | 92 (Muzzin) |
| TOI PER GAME | 24:15 (Rielly) |
| PP TOI PER GAME | 3:06 (Marner) |
| SH TOI PER GAME | 2:52 (Ceci) |
MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES
| Frederik Andersen | – Is 10-5-6 at home this season with a 3.16 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. – Second in the NHL in wins (24).- Has recorded a save percentage over .900 in 24 of his starts, which is tied for fourth-most starts with a save percentage of .900 or higher. |
| Tyson Barrie | – Has five multi-assist games, which is tied for ninth-most among NHL defencemen.- Tied for sixth among NHL defencemen in multi-point games (9). – Has been on the ice for 53 Toronto goals at even-strength, which is tied for 13th among NHL defencemen in on-ice goals for at even-strength.- Leads the Maple Leafs in slap shots taken (43). Lone Toronto skater to have taken over 30 slap shots. |
| Cody Ceci | – One of 19 NHL defencemen to appear in at least 40 games and maintain a 5-on-5 on-ice goals-for percentage over 52 percent (52.3%) while starting fewer than 48 percent of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone (47%).- One of two Maple Leaf defencemen (Jake Muzzin) to have appeared in 40 games and average at least four hits per 60 minutes of ice time (4.70) and four blocked shots per 60 minutes of ice time (4.15). |
| Pierre Engvall | – Has started 40.5 percent of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which is the fourth lowest percentage among NHL rookies.- Is the lone Maple Leaf to average at least 1:00 per game in shorthanded ice time (1:09) and be even in on-ice goals while shorthanded (2 SHGF, 2 PPGA). |
| Justin Holl | – One of 24 right-handed defencemen in the NHL to have an on-ice goals-for percentage of at least 53 percent (53.9%) at even-strength.- Has the highest unblocked shot attempt percentage at 5-on-5 (52.6%) among right-handed defencemen to have started fewer than 45 percent (44.9%) of their shifts in the offensive zone. |
| Michael Hutchinson | – Has a 3-1-1 record with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage on home ice this season. |
| Zach Hyman | – Fourth among Toronto skaters in points since January 1 (5-5-10; 11 GP).- Has eight points (3-5-8) in seven games against Atlantic Division opponents this season.- Ranks fifth among Maple Leafs skaters in points per game (0.76). |
| Andreas Johnsson | – Has registered 44 (21 goals, 23 assists) of his 64 career points in 62 games at Scotiabank Arena.- Averages 2.00 shots per game, which ranks seventh among Toronto forwards.- Has drawn 11 penalties this season, which is tied for third-most among Toronto skaters. |
| Kasperi Kapanen | – Fifth among Toronto skaters in even-strength points (8-15-23).- Has been on the ice for four of Toronto’s five shorthanded goals this season.- Has 10 points (3-7-10) in 14 games against Atlantic Division opponents. |
| Alex Kerfoot | – Tied for seventh among Maple Leafs in even-strength goals (7). – 10th among Maple Leafs in even-strength points (7-11-18).- Has eight points (4 goals, 7 assists) in 12 games against Atlantic Division teams. |
| Mitch Marner | – Has 10 multi-assist games, which is tied for the sixth-most among NHL skaters.- Averaging 1.24 points per game, which is the 11th-highest average in the NHL.- Averaging 1.49 primary assists per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which ranks second among NHLers who have appeared in at least 30 games.- Ninth in the NHL in primary assists (25). His 25 primary assists are the most among NHLers who have appeared in 45 or fewer games.- Ranks fifth among NHL right wingers in shorthanded ice time per game (2:14). |
| Auston Matthews | – Third among NHL skaters in goals (36).- Leads the League with 27 even-strength goals.- Leads the NHL in goals scored at 5-on-5 (22).- Tied for the NHL lead in wrist shot goals (23).- Second in the NHL in multi-goal games (9).- Tied for 11th among NHL skaters in points (36-25-61).- Fifth in the NHL with 205 shots on goal. |
| William Nylander | – Ranks first in goals (24) and second in points (24-23-47) among Swedish skaters this season.- Tied for the Maple Leaf lead in game-winning goals (4).- Has scored the first goal of the game three times for the Maple Leafs, which is tied for the most first goals among Toronto skaters.- One of 11 NHLers to average at least 14:00 minutes per game at 5-on-5 (14:34) while maintaining a goal per 60-minute rate of at least 1.20 (1.27). |
| Jason Spezza | – Averaging 2.08 points per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5 this season, which is the fifth-highest average among Toronto skaters who have appeared in at least 20 games.- Averaging 1.12 assists per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5 this season, which is tied for fourth among Maple Leafs who have appeared in at least 20 games. |
| John Tavares | – Tied for 25th among NHL skaters in multi-point games (13).- Has 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 12 games against Atlantic Division opponents this season.- Has won 58.0 percent (235 won, 170 lost) of his faceoffs on home ice this season, which ranks seventh among NHL skaters who have taken 300 draws at home.- Has an on-ice shot attempt percentage of 54.8 percent at 5-on-5 when the Maple Leafs are leading in games, which is the highest percentage when leading among NHL forwards who have appeared in at least 40 games and average 15 minutes per game in 5-on-5 ice time (15:43).- Has drawn a team-high 14 penalties this season. |
CURRENT POINT STREAKS
| Zach Hyman | Has points (2-2-4) in three consecutive games. |
| Mitch Marner | Has points (1-4-5) in four consecutive games. |
| Auston Matthews | Has assists (2) and points (2-2-4) in three consecutive games. |
| William Nylander | Has points (5-4-9) in seven consecutive games. |
UPCOMING MILESTONES
| Jason Spezza | Five assists from 600 assists |
| John Tavares | Four games from 800 games |
RECENT MILESTONES
| Rasmus Sandin | First NHL goal (January 27 at Nashville) |
INJURY REPORT
| Travis Dermott (Illness) | Did not play on February 1 vs. Ottawa. |
| Ilya Mikheyev (Wrist Laceration) | On injured reserve. |
| Morgan Rielly (Foot) | On injured reserve. |
| Man Games Lost: 126 |
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
| January 31 | Loaned defenceman Kevin Gravel to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). |
| January 31 | Recalled defenceman Kevin Gravel from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). |
| January 30 | Loaned forward Tyler Gaudet to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). |
BLACKHAWKS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 2– WHAT THEY SAID: “I think it’s time to just look in the mirror right now for everyone here, myself included. I think it’s not a time to point fingers or anything like that. I think you’ve got to use this week to reflect and make sure we come with more intensity and more purpose when we play after the break.” –FREDERIK ANDERSEN.
HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE
On what led to the team’s lack of jump at the start:
I don’t have that answer. I didn’t have that vibe going into it but clearly from the drop of the puck here we just didn’t have a lot of life. Then we’re down, we’re down early and it’s a tough game.
On the level of frustration after tonight’s loss on the heels of the loss in Florida:
Very frustrating. I think when you go through these types of things, such as Florida, such as this, it’s just a sign of where you are, that you’re not when you want to be. Reality checks come. I thought we were an immature team down in Florida, I thought we were an immature team here today. That’s how we’re approaching these things. We’re not performing, we’re not playing with any level of discipline or consistency. That’s what happens.
On what needs to be improved in the team’s game defensively:
We just need to recognize that it’s important. How we have to prioritize it. We need the discipline, the consistency like we’re saying. We have a great defensive game last time out, we put together a great game. The players this week I thought responded very well to the loss of Morgan Rielly. You’ve got good efforts, but it’s the discipline, it’s the consistency to be able to do it all the time and I think that’s what we’re looking for and that’s what I think is reflected in the journey of our group. It’s a test even more with the loss of Muzzin and Rielly, two workhorses on the team. It’s a reflection of where we are and how we need to get better in that and do it all the time.
FREDERIK ANDERSEN (28 SAVES)
On the group’s mindset after tonight’s loss:
I think it’s time to just look in the mirror right now for everyone here, myself included. I think it’s not a time to point fingers or anything like that. I think you’ve got to use this week to reflect and make sure we come with more intensity and more purpose when we play after the break.
On If these are issues that can be worked through:
Of course we’ve got to work through it. There’s no sense in not doing that. Obviously, we’ve got to push forward and try to be better and that goes when you play well and when you play bad.
AUSTON MATTHEWS (8 SHOT ATTEMPTS)
On the start to tonight’s game:
I think they just came out really hard, came out with a purpose and we were pretty flat. They score a goal on the first shift, so I think it just means we weren’t really ready to play.
On how the team can rediscover its consistency:
I think we just hit the reset button and have a nice week to rest, recharge. Hopefully guys that have been out with injury can get themselves back and ready to play, but there’s really no excuse for how we played tonight. It doesn’t really matter who we’re missing or what guys are out. The way we played wasn’t really good enough. I don’t really know what else to say.
JOHN TAVARES (17:56 TOI)
On how the team contributed to Chicago’s fast start:
Sloppy, missed assignments, careless with the puck. Obviously put us behind and gave them a lot of confidence and feeling good about themselves. Just not good enough.
On what Chicago did well to prevent Toronto from gaining momentum:
Yeah, they did some good things. They were well organized and made plays. They’ve got a good team, obviously a lot of very proven players and we just didn’t handle it well. We didn’t stick to what we need to do to break them down and what makes us successful. We got away from what our game plan was and got into the way they play.
ISLANDERS AT MAPLE LEAFS PREGAME NOTES: Frederik Andersen is 9-4-4 at home this season with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. In 10 career appearances against the Islanders, he is 7-2-1 with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.- Leads the NHL lead in wins (21) and saves (961) and ranks second in even-strength saves (810). Michael Hutchinson — who is 2-5-1 with a 4.03 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage — will start against the Islanders.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS (25-11-3 – 53 Points) vs.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (23-14-5 – 51 Points)
JANUARY 4, 2020 ▪ 7:00 PM EST
SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON) ▪
TV: SPORTSNET/HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA ▪
RADIO: TSN 1050
MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus NEW YORK
| ALL-TIME RECORD: | 73-68-7-10 (158 Games) |
| ALL-TIME AT HOME: | 42-30-4-4 (80 Games) |
| 2019-20: | 0-1-0 |
| LAST FIVE: | 2-3-0 |
| LAST 10: | 5-4-1 |
MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus NEW YORK
| GAMES PLAYED: | Jason Spezza (40), Morgan Rielly (18), Cody Ceci (17) |
| GOALS: | Jason Spezza (17), Auston Matthews (6), Mitch Marner (4), William Nylander (4) |
| ASSISTS: | Jason Spezza (24), Tyson Barrie (7), Jake Muzzin (5), Morgan Rielly (5) |
| POINTS: | Jason Spezza (41), Auston Matthews (9), Mitch Marner (8), William Nylander (8) |
| PENALTY MINUTES: | Jason Spezza (16), Jake Muzzin (10), Auston Matthews (8) |
MAPLE LEAFS – ISLANDERS TEAM STATS
| TORONTO | NEW YORK | |
| GOALS FOR (Rank): | 151 (t-1st) | 112 (25th) |
| GOALS AGAINST (Rank): | 133 (22nd) | 101 (t-1st) |
| POWER PLAY [%] (Rank): | 28/116 [24.4%] (5th) | 18/92 [19.6%] (17th) |
| PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank): | 92/122 [75.4%] (26th) | 91/112 [81.4%] (t-11th) |
| SHOTS (Rank): | 1413 (4th) | 1115 (31st) |
| 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank): | 2150 (2nd) | 1663 (28th) |
| 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank): | 52.8% (5th) | 46.1% (30th) |
| FACEOFF % (Rank): | 52.4% (t-3rd) | 50.0% (t-16th) |
MAPLE LEAFS – ISLANDERS NOTES
| FIRST MATCHUP BETWEEN CLUBS: | January 10, 1973 vs. New York (Maple Leafs 4, Islanders 1) |
| ALL-TIME RECORD: | 73-68-7-10 (158 Games) |
| ALL-TIME RECORD AT HOME: | 42-30-4-4 (80 Games) |
| ALL-TIME RECORD ON THE ROAD: | 31-38-3-6 (78 Games) |
| LAST WIN VS. OPPONENT AT HOME: | February 22, 2018 (Toronto 4, New York 3 SO) |
MAPLE LEAFS MILESTONES vs. ISLANDERS
| Travis Dermott | First NHL goal (January 31, 2018 vs. NYI) |
| Justin Holl | First NHL game (January 31, 2018 vs. NYI) First NHL goal (January 31, 2018 vs. NYI) |
| Jake Muzzin | 200th career NHL game (March 26, 2015 (LAK) at NYI) |
| Jason Spezza | 500th NHL point (February 15, 2011 (OTT) vs. NYI) |
| John Tavares | Selected by NYI in the first round (1st overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft Had 621 points (272 goals, 349 assists) in 669 games for NYI from 2009-18. 100th point as a Maple Leaf (November 13, 2019 at NYI) |
MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
| CATEGORY | LEADER |
| GOALS | 27 (Matthews) |
| ASSISTS | 27 (Marner) |
| POINTS | 49 (Matthews) |
| POWER PLAY POINTS | 15 (Matthews) |
| SHORTHANDED POINTS | 2 (Engvall, Kapanen) |
| PIMs | 34 (Muzzin) |
| SHOTS | 152 (Matthews) |
| FACEOFF WIN% | 57.9% (Gauthier) |
| 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % | 55.7% (Nylander) |
| BLOCKED SHOTS | 69 (Muzzin) |
| TAKEAWAYS | 46 (Marner) |
| HITS | 87 (Muzzin) |
| TOI PER GAME | 24:20 (Rielly) |
| PP TOI PER GAME | 3:05 (Marner) |
| SH TOI PER GAME | 3:02 (Ceci) |
MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES
| Frederik Andersen | – Is 9-4-4 at home this season with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. – Has made 10 career appearances against the Islanders and is 7-2-1 with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.- Leads the NHL lead in wins (21).- Leads the NHL in saves (961) and ranks second in even-strength saves (810).- Fifth in the NHL in shootout saves (11). |
| Tyson Barrie | – Had nine points (1 goal, 8 assists) in 13 games during the month of December, which was tied for the 13th-highest point total among NHL defencemen in December.- Averaging 14.3 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time, which is the seventh-highest average among NHL defencemen who have appeared in 30 games.- Averaging 7.5 shots on goal per 60 minutes of ice time, which is tied for the fifth-highest average among NHL defencemen who have appeared in 30 games. – Has an on-ice shot attempt differential of plus-111, which is 16th among NHL defencemen. |
| Cody Ceci | – 10th among NHL skaters in shorthanded time on ice (127:29).- Has played 62.3 percent of Toronto’s shorthanded ice time, which is tied for the 12th-highest shorthanded time on ice percentage among NHLers who have appeared in at least 30 games. |
| Justin Holl | – Has started 45.0 percent of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which is the lowest mark among Toronto defencemen who have appeared in at least 20 games.- Has an unblocked shot attempt percentage of 53.7 percent at 5-on-5, which is the highest percentage among Toronto defencemen who have appeared in at least 20 games.- Has a 5-on-5 on-ice goals-for percentage of 56.3 percent, which is the highest percentage among Maple Leafs defencemen. |
| Michael Hutchinson | – Second among NHL goaltenders who have appeared in 10 or fewer games in saves (250). Hutchinson is 0-0-1 with a 4.09 goals-against average and an .833 save percentage in two career games against the Islanders. Last Appearance (Dec. 27 at NJD): Shots (28); Saves (24) 2019-20: Recalled from the Toronto Marlies on Nov. 25. In his second season as a Maple Leaf after being acquired in a trade with Florida on December 29, 2018. Games lost to Injury: 0 NHL Single-Game Highs: Saves (45 – Oct. 29, 2015 WPG vs. CHI); Shots (46 – Oct. 29, 2015 WPG vs. CHI) Career as a Maple Leaf: 14 GP, 4-8-1 |
| Zach Hyman | – Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 53.6 percent, which is tied for seventh among Toronto skaters who have played 20 games.- Has an on-ice goals for percentage of 55.5 percent at 5-on-5, which is tied for sixth among Toronto skaters who have played 20 games. – Averaging 15:17 per game in 5-on-5 ice time, which ranks seventh among Maple Leafs. |
| Kasperi Kapanen | – Has scored 10 goals this season, which is tied for 10th most among NHLers with no power play goals.- Tied for sixth among Toronto skaters in even-strength points (8-10-18). |
| Alex Kerfoot | – Tied for sixth among Maple Leafs in even-strength goals (6). – Ninth among Maple Leafs in even-strength points (6-8-14).- Only Toronto forward to have recorded at least 25 hits (29) and 25 blocked shots (25) this season. |
| Mitch Marner | – Averaging 1.23 points per game, which is the 10th-highest average among NHLers who have played in at least 30 games.- Averaging 1.22 primary assists per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which is 11th among NHLers who have appeared in at least 30 games.- Tied for 16th in the NHL in primary assists (16).- Recorded 19 points (6 goals, 13 assists) in 12 games during the month of December, which was the fourth-highest point total in the NHL. – Tied for 10th among NHL forwards in shifts per game (25.2). |
| Auston Matthews | – Second among NHL skaters in goals (27).- First NHLer to score 20 even-strength goals this season, which leads the League.- Leads the NHL in goals scored at 5-on-5 (18).- 11th among NHL skaters in even-strength points (20-14-34).- Ninth in the NHL with 152 shots on goal.- Scored 11 goals during the month of December, which was tied for the NHL lead in goals in December. |
| William Nylander | – Averages 1.28 goals per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which ranks second among Toronto skaters.- One of 10 NHLers to average at least 14:00 minutes per game at 5-on-5 (14:31) while maintaining a goal per 60-minute rate of at least 1.2 (1.28).- Has recorded eight points (4-4-8) in 11 career games against the Islanders. |
| Morgan Rielly | – Tied for 11th among NHL defencemen in even-strength points (3-15-18).- Tied for fourth among NHL defencemen in assists recorded at 5-on-5 (14).- 13th among NHL skaters in TOI per game (24:20).- Tied for eighth among NHL skaters in shifts per game (28.5).- Averaging 14.3 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time, which ranks eighth among NHL defencemen who have appeared in at least 30 games. |
| Jason Spezza | – Averaging 2.36 points per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5 this season, which is the fifth-highest average among Toronto skaters.- Averaging 1.07 primary assists per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time in 2019-20, which ranks second on the Maple Leafs and is the 27th-highest average among NHLers who have appeared in at least 25 games. |
| John Tavares | – Named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week for the week ending Dec. 29 after recording seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) in three games, including a pair of three-point performances.- Tied for 12th among NHL centres in goals (16) and tied for 16th among NHL centres in points (36).- Averaging 17.8 shot attempts per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which is the third-highest average among NHL centres who have appeared in 20 games.- Averaging 9.3 shots on goal at 5-on-5 per 60 minutes of ice time, which is ninth among NHL centres who have appeared in 20 games. |
CURRENT POINT STREAKS
| Tyson Barrie | Has assists (6) and points (1-6-7) in five consecutive games. |
| Travis Dermott | Has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games. |
| Alex Kerfoot | Has points (1-2-3) in two consecutive games. |
| Mitch Marner | Has assists (2) in two consecutive games. |
| Auston Matthews | Has assists (3) and points (3-3-6) in three consecutive games. |
| William Nylander | Has assists (5) in four consecutive games and goals (6) and points (6-5-11) in five consecutive games. |
| John Tavares | Has assists (8) and points (3-8-11) in six consecutive games. |
UPCOMING MILESTONES
| Jason Spezza | Five games from 1,100 NHL games |
RECENT MILESTONES
| Frederik Andersen | 20,000 career minutes (December 28 vs NYR) |
| Adam Brooks | First NHL game (December 28 vs. NYR) |
| Adam Brooks | First NHL point (Assist) (January 2 at WPG) |
| Alex Kerfoot | 100th NHL point (December 31 at MIN) |
| Mason Marchment | First NHL game (January 2 at WPG) |
| William Nylander | 200th NHL point (Goal) (January 2 at WPG) |
INJURY REPORT
| Andreas Johnsson (Leg) | On injured reserve. |
| Ilya Mikheyev (Wrist Laceration) | On injured reserve. |
| Trevor Moore (Concussion) | On injured reserve. |
| Jake Muzzin (Foot) | Is week-to-week with a broken foot sustained on December 27 at New Jersey. |
| Man Games Lost: 91 |
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
| January 1 | Recalled forward Mason Marchment from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). |
| December 30 | Loaned defenceman Timothy Liljegren to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). |
| December 30 | Recalled defencemen Teemu Kivihalme and Timothy Liljegren from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). |
| December 29 | Loaned forward Kenny Agostino and defenceman Timothy Liljegren to the Toronto Marlies (AHL). |
ISLANDERS NOTES
LAST GAME: Dec. 31, 2019 – NYI 1 vs NJD 2 SUMMARY: Nico Hischier scored the game-winning goal 1:09 into the third period to help the New Jersey Devils top the New York Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night on Long Island. Scott Mayfield skated in his 200th NHL game, while Brock Nelson scored in his second straight game in the loss.
NYI vs TOR SEASON SERIES: NY Islanders are 1-0-0 Nov. 13, 2019: NYI 5 vs. TOR 4 Jan. 04, 2020: Toronto, ON Mar. 19, 2020: Toronto, ON
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: Tonight, The Islanders travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs for the second of three meetings this season. In November, New York head off a Toronto rally in the third period to win, 5-4. Derick Brassard and Anthony Beauvillier factored in on three of the five goals, while Casey Cizikas scored his lone game-winning goal of the season. Tonight is the Isles’ first of two appearances this season on Hockey Night in Canada.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS: 01/03/19: Adam Pelech was placed on IR. Sebastian Aho was recalled from Bridgeport (AHL) 12/27/19: Andrew Ladd was returned to Bridgeport. 12/23/19: Cal Clutterbuck out indefinitely with an injury. 12/21/19: Andrew Ladd was recalled from Bridgeport (AHL) 12/19/19: Tom Kuhnhackl was removed from LTIR 12/17/19: Oliver Wahlstrom was been reassigned to USA Hockey (from AHL) for the World Junior Championships. 12/16/19: Tom Kuhnhackl was recalled from loan (Bridgeport). 12/05/19: Tom Kuhnhackl was played on LTIR and loaned to Bridgeport 11/06/19: Otto Koivula was returned to Bridgeport (AHL). 11/14/19: Andrew Ladd was assigned to Bridgeport (AHL). 11/14/19: Andrew Ladd was placed on waivers 11/12/19: Leo Komarov was activated off the team’s IR list.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS INJURIES
**Players on injured reserve
PLAYER DATE 2019-20 GAMES MISSED
CAL CLUTTERBUCK 12/21/19 6
ADAM PELECH 01/02/20 1
NOTE: 01/03/20 – Islanders Injury/Transaction Update: Adam Pelech sustained an injury to his Achilles tendon prior to the team’s game on Thursday, Jan. 2 vs. the New Jersey Devils. Pelech is out for the remainder of the regular season.
MAN GAMES LOST TO INJURY: 2019-20 Season: 96 2018-19 Season: 153
-TODAY’S GAME NOTES – – – – – – – – – – – –
- The New York Islanders are 22-1-2 this season when scoring at least three goals in the game (including OT winners). They are 3-101 when they do not. The Islanders are 60-3-4 when scoring three or more under Barry Trotz.
In 2019… – Seven New York Islanders played in all 82-games during the 2019 calendar year: J. Bailey, M. Barzal, A. Beauvillier, A. Lee, B. Nelson, R. Pulock & D. Toews – The New York Islanders recorded 52 wins in the 2019 calendar year, good for T-3rd in the NHL this past year. Their 52 wins also ties a franchise record for most wins in a single calendar year (1978 & 1982).
TONIGHT… – Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier tallied a pair of goals in the Islanders’ 5-4 win over Toronto in November. Beauvillier, 22, has four points in four games against the Maple Leafs since the start of the 2018-19 season. The Sorel-Tracy, QC native, is two assists shy of matching his career-high (15). He ranks third on the Islanders with 23 points (10G, 13A) through 39 games.
-Mathew Barzal leads the team in goals (16), assists (18), points (34) through 39 games, including seven points (3G, 4A) in his last six games. On Monday, Barzal, 22, was selected to represent the Islanders in his second straight NHL All-Star weekend. The Coquitlam, BC native has nine points (5G, 4A) in seven career games against Toronto, including two points (1G, 1A) in the November meeting earlier this season.
-On On Dec. 27th in Chicago, Mathew Barzal played in his 200th consecutive NHL game. The milestone marks the first time since November 1978 the Islanders have had three players with active 200+ consecutive game streaks.
- Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal are three of only 32 active NHL players that currently hold ironman streaks of 200+ games. Anders Lee has played in 239 consecutive NHL games, good for longest on the team and 15th longest in the league (B. Nelson— 216, M. Barzal— 203).
- – – – – – – – – –CAREER NOTES – – – – – – – – – – – –
- Second-year Islanders captain Anders Lee is the team’s reigning Ironman at 239 consecutive games. Since his rookie season in 2013-14, Lee ranks in the Top Ten among all American-born players in goals (163). Drafted by the Islanders in 2009, Lee ranks second among all active sixth-round draft picks in goals and is top ten in games played and points.
- 2018 Calder Trophy winner Mathew Barzal has led the team in both points and assists through each of his first two (full) seasons in the NHL. Barzal, 22, has appeared in every Islanders game since his 2017-18 rookie season.
- Brock Nelson is one of two players in the NHL with three overtime GWG this season. His three overtime winners are equal to the total amount of OT GWGs he has in his six prior NHL season combined.
- In October, longest tenured Islander Josh Bailey became just the second player & first forward from the 2008 draft class to reach the 800-games played milestone (D. Doughty). Bailey ranks 5th in all-time franchise games played.
- 22-year-old forward Anthony Beauvillier (1st RD, 28th overall) ranks in the top 15 among 2015 draftees in games played (257) and in goals (58).
- Since making his NHL debut last season (Dec. 23 vs DAL), Devon Toews is one of seven defensemen in the NHL to have recorded multiple overtime game-winning goals. Toews ranks seventh among all 2014 drafted defensemen in career points (31), despite having played 60+ fewer games than the next closest player ahead of him.
Ryan Pulock is just the fourth defenseman in franchise history to appear in 166 consecutive games. Pulock is the Islanders reigning ironman on defense dating back to Dec. 2017.
11-year NHL veteran and 6th year Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss ranks fifth in Islanders’ franchise history in wins (96), sixth in shutouts (10) and sixth in games-played (181).
– – – – – – – – –ROOKIE NOTES – – – – – – – – – – – –
19-year-old rookie defenseman and 2018 First Round draft pick Noah Dobson recorded an assist and plus-1 rating in his NHL debut on 10/08/19 vs Edmonton. With the assist, the Summerside, PEI native became the first NYI defenseman to record a point in his NHL debut since 2011 (M. Katic). Dobson also became the first teenage defenseman to play for the Islanders since 1999 (M. Biron).
MILESTONES REACHED THIS SEASON:
JOSH BAILEY – 800th NHL GAME – Oct. 08, 2019 vs EDM NOAH DOBSON – 1st NHL GAME – Oct. 08, 2019 vs EDM NOAH DOBSON – 1st NHL POINT – Oct. 08, 2019 vs EDM OLIVER WAHLSTROM – 1st NHL GAME – Oct. 14, 2019 vs STL COLE BARDREAU – 1st NHL GAME – Oct. 19 at CBJ CAL CLUTTERBUCK – 800th NHL GAME – Nov. 2 at BUF DERICK BRASSARD – 800th NHL GAME – Nov. 5 vs OTT JOSH BAILEY – 300th ASSIST – Nov. 13 vs TOR ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER – 100 POINTS – Nov. 16 at PHI CASEY CIZIKAS – 500th NHL GAME – Nov 19, 2019 at PIT BROCK NELSON – 500th NHL Game – Nov 21 vs PIT MATHEW BARZAL – 200th NHL GAME – Dec. 22 vs ANA RYAN PULOCK – 200th NHL GAME – Dec. 22 vs ANA NICK LEDDY – 300th POINTS – Dec. 29 at MIN SCOTT MAYFIELD – 200th NHL GAME – Jan 2 vs NJD
MULTI-POINT GAMES: BROCK NELSON – 10 MATHEW BARZAL – 9 ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER – 7 JOSH BAILEY – 6 ANDERS LEE – 6 DERICK BRASSARD – 5 JORDAN EBERLE – 5 NICK LEDDY – 3 RYAN PULOCK – 3 CASEY CIZIKAS – 3 CAL CLUTTERBUCK – 1 ADAM PELECH -1 JOHNNY BOYCHUK – 1 MATT MARTIN – 1
MULTI-GOAL GAMES: ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER -2
PLAYER MILESTONE NEEDS
JOHNNY BOYCHUK 700 Games 11
CASEY CIZIKAS 100 Assists 3
JORDAN EBERLE 700 Games 5
LEO KOMAROV 100 Assists 4
NICK LEDDY 700 Games 9
BROCK NELSON – 3 CASEY CIZIKAS – 1 MATHEW BARZAL – 1 JORDAN EBERLE – 1 NICK LEDDY – 1
MULTI ASSIST GAMES: DERICK BRASSARD -4 JORDAN EBERLE – 4 BROCK NELSON – 2 RYAN PULOCK – 2 MATHEW BARZAL – 1 ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER -2 ANDERS LEE – 1 NICK LEDDY -2
TOI LEADER: Record when that player leads the team in TOI Adam Pelech: 8-2-0 Ryan Pulock: 12-3-2 Nick Leddy: 0-2-0 Devon Toews: 3-3-0 Scott Mayfield: 1-1-0 Brock Nelson: 1-0-0 Mathew Barzal: 1-0-0
IRONMAN STREAKS: Anders Lee: 239 Brock Nelson: 216 Mathew Barzal: 203 Ryan Pulock: 166 Josh Bailey: 124
NYI COACHES CHALLENGES Last Season Trotz was 4-1 2019-20: 2-1 Offsides on PIT (Successful) – Nov. 19 at PIT Offsides on TBL (Successful) – Dec. 9 at TBL Goaltender INT (Unsuccessful) – Dec 22 vs ANA
Maple Leafs’ goalies splitting weekend workload — Toronto Sun
Crease is the word for the Maple Leafs this weekend. While goalie Frederik Andersen gets a chance for a ninth win in his past 13 starts on Friday at Madison Square Garden, Saturday’s home game versus the Detroit Red Wings will be Michael Hutchinson’s chance to end an embarrassing personal six-game losing streak. It will […]
Maple Leafs’ goalies splitting weekend workload — Toronto Sun
MAPLE LEAFS 4, OILERS 1 NOTES: Frederik Andersen stopped 36 shots to earn his 16th win of the season and the 200th of his NHL career.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (16-14-4 – 36 Points) vs.
EDMONTON OILERS (18-13-4 – 40 Points)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2019
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | FINAL | |
| TORONTO | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 |
| EDMONTON | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | 1 |
GAME SUMMARY | EVENT SUMMARY | FACEOFF SUMMARY
ON THE SCORESHEET
- Alex Kerfoot opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs at 4:38 of the first period and later registered the primary assist on Ilya Mikheyev’s second period goal. Tonight’s game is Kerfoot’s third multi-point game of the season. He has seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) in six career games against the Oilers.
- Ilya Mikheyev scored the second Toronto goal of the game at 5:27 of the second period. Mikheyev has registered 12 (3-9-12) of his 18 points on the road this season. He has six points (2-4-6) in eight games against Pacific Division opponents.
- Frederik Gauthier scored the Maple Leafs’ third goal of the night at 13:49 of the third period. Gauthier has three goals and three assists in 30 games played this season.
- Mitch Marner scored Toronto’s fourth goal of the game on the power play into an empty net 18:39 of the third period. Marner has goals (2) in two consecutive games and points (2-5-7) in four consecutive games. He has eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in six games against Pacific Division teams this season.
- Pierre Engvall registered the primary assist on Kerfoot’s first period goal and later had the secondary assist on Mikheyev’s second period goal. Tonight’s game is Engvall’s first career multi-assist and multi-point night. He has three assists over his last four games.
- Morgan Rielly collected the secondary assist on Kerfoot’s first period goal. Rielly has 11 assists in 19 road games this season. He has eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) in 14 games against Western Conference teams this season.
- Dmytro Timashov had the lone assist on Gauthier’s third period goal. Timashov has two goals and five assists in 22 games played this season. He has registered three points (1-2-3) in his last six games played.
- Zach Hyman recorded the lone assist on Marner’s empty net goal. Hyman has five points (4-1-5) over his last five games. He has seven points (6-1-7) in eight games against Western Conference opponents in 2019-20.
- Frederik Andersen stopped 36 shots to earn his 16th win of the season. Tonight’s victory is Andersen’s 200th career NHL win.
SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | TOTAL | |
| TORONTO | 13 (13) | 9 (9) | 10 (10) | – | 32 (32) |
| EDMONTON | 12 (12) | 11 (10) | 14 (12) | – | 37 (34) |
SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | TOTAL | |
| TORONTO | 22 (22) | 19 (19) | 13 (13) | – | 54 (54) |
| EDMONTON | 20 (20) | 18 (16) | 24 (21) | – | 62 (57) |
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
| Record on the Road | 9-10-0 (19 Games) |
| All-Time Record vs. Edmonton | 52-42-8-1 (103 Games) |
| All-Time Record vs. Edmonton on the Road: | 23-25-6-1 (55 Games) |
| Record vs. Western Conference | 9-5-0 (14 Games) |
| Record vs. Pacific Division | 6-2-0 (8 Games) |
MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
| Shots | 5 (Matthews, Tavares) |
| Shot Attempts | 8 (Hyman) |
| Faceoff Wins | 14 (Tavares) |
| Faceoff Win Percentage | 100% (Gauthier, Mikheyev – 1 won, 0 lost) |
| Hits | 4 (Muzzin) |
| Blocked Shots | 3 (Muzzin) |
| Takeaways | 3 (Matthews) |
| TOI | 27:01 (Muzzin) |
| Power Play TOI | 1:00 (Five players tied) |
| Shorthanded TOI | 1:22 (Hyman, Marner) |
| Shifts | 31 (Holl) |
| 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage | 64.1% (Tavares – 25 for, 14 against) |
RECORD WHEN…
| Scoring first | 9-3-1 |
| Lead after 1 | 7-2-1 |
| Lead after 2 | 12-1-2 |
| Score one power play goal | 6-3-2 |
| Allow one power play goal | 5-6-3 |
| Outshot by opponent | 8-9-3 |
| Saturday | 7-2-2 |
OF NOTE…
- The Maple Leafs went 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and went 1-for-1 on the power play tonight.
- At 12:53 of the second period in tonight’s game, a video review was initiated to determine how the puck entered the Edmonton net. Video review confirmed the puck went under the Edmonton net, therefore, did not enter in a legal fashion. The original call was upheld – No goal Toronto
- Toronto’s line of Pierre Engvall, Alex Kerfoot and Ilya Mikheyev started 16.7 percent of their 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which was the lowest mark among Toronto skaters.
- Jake Muzzin was on the ice for a team-high 28 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 tonight. Muzzin finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 54.9 percent (28 for, 23 against).
- John Tavares was 6-for-10 (60%) in the faceoff circle when taking defensive zone draws.
UPCOMING GAMES:
- Tuesday, December 17, 7:00 p.m. vs. Buffalo Sabres (TSN4, TSN 1050)
- Friday, December 20, 7:00 p.m. at New York Rangers (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)
- Saturday, December 21, 7:00 p.m. vs. Detroit Red Wings (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
- Monday, December 23, 2:00 p.m. vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)
- Friday, December 27, 7:00 p.m. at New Jersey Devils (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)
AVALANCHE 3, MAPLE LEAFS 1 POSTGAME QUOTES: “The way the guys got called out after last game, I figured I wanted to be out there battling with them. That’s why I asked to play.” –FREDERIK ANDERSEN.
HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE
On what he liked from tonight’s performance:
I liked that our guys competed. I thought we stayed in the game all the way through it. At times when they had their push, I thought we withstood it fine and then had pushes of our own. After that, obviously I really liked how our penalty kill dug in in the third period and found its way through a tough task. We were set up pretty well after that getting a power play thereafter. Of course, I don’t like how that one finished. All in all, I liked the fight in our team. We just have to find ways to generate more offence.
On Johnsson’s status:
The only update is just that he was too sore to return. It’s not looking like anything serious at this point, but we’d love to get some pictures and stuff like that.
On if the decision to shuffle the lines was to spark offence:
That’s part of it, but also, as you say, losing Johnsson, it does change things quite a bit. We’re trying to get a spark and trying to score and trying to move things around, but I do intend on moving things around a little bit with those top guys, in particular, but probably not as much as I had to there in the third.
On Spezza taking blame for the loss after a miscue on the power play:
It’s a tough play. I’m sure he’d like to have that one back, but things happen on the ice and it’s unfortunate how that one worked out. I don’t think there’s any ill-intent there at all for us.
On the way the penalty kill rebounded in the third period:
Obviously, the first one, the goal went in in a hurry on us the first time. The confidence is — you’re not quite there when you’re going in and have to kill a double minor, but the guys did a terrific job all the way through it. I thought it was a big moment in the game, it gave us momentum, I thought, with the power play soon thereafter. We couldn’t get anything really established, had the puck on the power play there and we shot and missed the net and didn’t get things going really from there. Worst case scenario when it went in our net at the end.
On if he’s worried about a long road trip without extra skaters available:
I’m not concerned about the extra bodies; we’ll manage that if we need to. We’ll have enough guys to get through.
On why the team doesn’t draw many penalties:
It’s a good question, it’s one I’ve been asking. It’s not the first time for this team. I think last season there were long stretches of a very similar situation, so we’ve got to figure that out. The natural thing for me is to say we’ve got to get the puck to more dangerous areas and we’ve got to attack the middle of the ice a lot more. We do have to skate a little bit harder and be a little more competitive to fight through situations and things like that to perhaps cause infractions. It is a concern and something we have to look at and go back to last season to look at what the situations might be and see what we can do a little bit differently to hopefully generate something. Now, we don’t take a lot of penalties either. I think that in itself creates a situation where you’re not going to get a lot. We certainly want to generate more than we are.
On the sense of urgency within the team:
I think it’s high and I think our play reflected that. That’s a very good team, a rested team, sitting here waiting for us. We’ve been watching them. We played them not too long ago ourselves, but just watching them in the pre-scouts, they’re feeling pretty good about themselves and scoring a lot. It was a real challenge for us defensively today. I thought the urgency was fine and I think some of the adjustments we’ve been working at and focusing on defensively have been there for us, today in particular. At times not so much yesterday, but today I thought we withstood a pretty potent offence and that top line, for the most part. While our attention has gone there, we’ve gotten away from some of the things offensively we focused on in the early going and that has caused us to revert back to some things we don’t necessarily like. We’ll have to try to fix that.
On if Hutchinson will play on the upcoming road trip to give Andersen a night off:
Yeah, that’s something we’ve talked about. When Freddie was pushing us to play here and compete with his teammates, we sort of said that would probably be one of the things that we’ll have to make an adjustment on and get Hutch a game on the road here. I’m not sure exactly which one, but we would intend on doing that.
On the defensive pairings:
We just thought that given the back-to-back and given the challenge of the game today and the way that things went yesterday for us, we just thought a change would be good. We changed not just the pairs but the matchups to just try and get guys different looks, just spread it out a little more and manage minutes a little better. We were just trying some different things.
On Muzzin and Holl matching up against Colorado’s top line:
We wanted to see what it would look like and the challenge was great for them today so we did want to see what it would look like. We think Holl has really been making great progress, not just in his defending but also he’s using his feet and his skating to move the puck up the ice, which is a big part of playing against the other teams’ best players and then Muzzin has done that a great deal over his career and in his time here. We wanted to give that a look today and for the most part we liked it. We’ll have to look a little closer to see how everything else worked out.
FREDERIK ANDERSEN (27 SAVES)
On why he wanted to play tonight’s game:
The way the guys got called out after last game, I figured I wanted to be out there battling with them. That’s why I asked to play.
On the way the team performed tonight:
I think we responded well. We played well; they just found a way to get the win on special teams. It’s a good team and I thought we played well, especially 5-on-5.
On the challenge of fatigue playing both games in a back-to-back:
Obviously, you’re going try to get some rest to get up for the second game. I thought I felt pretty good and just unfortunate I couldn’t get the win.
MITCH MARNER (22:53 TOI)
On how he felt in his first game back from injury:
It was good, it felt nice to be back with the guys and back on the ice with them. Not the outcome we wanted, but I thought we competed well tonight.
On his conditioning level:
There weren’t many times out there that I felt like I was out of breath or felt like I couldn’t go right away again. I really just focused on trying to keep my conditioning up and making sure I was ready when I came back and felt that I was tonight.
MORGAN RIELLY (25:41)
On his takeaways from tonight’s game:
I thought we worked hard. I’d have to go back and watch it, but I thought we battled for a back-to-back. I thought we wanted to play better after what we did last night, so I thought we did that. Obviously, not the outcome we wanted, but we’ll move forward.
On his play with Spezza that led to the game-winning goal:
I’d have to watch it again. I know he broke a stick and I think he tried to play it with his feet. Not sure.
JASON SPEZZA (8:27 TOI)
On the play that led to Colorado’s winner:
Obviously, a tough play. I’m coming downhill, I got a good look at the net, stick breaks, I’m going to the bench and then I hear somebody yell the puck is coming, so I make a split second decision to play it and [Rielly] yells that he’s there. I kind of just froze to try to not get in his way and, in turn, got in his way more. That game falls on me now. I thought we were playing good up to that point.
On moving past that play going forward:
Yeah, we made a push after that, but it’s frustrating now. You work to get — we don’t have many power plays; you work to get that power play. You want to score the goal, not give up a shorthanded goal. A game of inches and split-second decisions. I made the wrong one tonight there and it cost us.
JOHN TAVARES (9 SHOT ATTEMPTS)
On tonight’s effort:
I thought overall we competed extremely hard and gave ourselves a chance to win. We obviously just weren’t able to get a couple behind him. We had a lot of good looks in the third and unfortunately, we gave the one up that put us behind. Just have to stay with it and the effort tonight and the way we responded was a real positive. We’ve got to bounce back and get some results heading into this weekend and then a road trip out west.
On Andersen wanting to play the second game in the back-to-back:
He’s a real leader for us and he’s one of the best in the league, so no question his determination, his confidence, he sets a real tone for us and the backbone of our group. He played great, he gave us a great chance to win, it’s too bad we didn’t reward him.
LEAFS 2, SABRES 1 (OT) POSTGAME QUOTES: “Well just that it’s nice to have Freddie there and it’s nice to have a guy that’s capable of that. You’re going to need that at different times, without question. I thought that gives us confidence as well in doing so. …obviously he’s a big reason why we get a chance to keep the lead as long as we did and then gives us a chance to get it to overtime.” SHELDON KEEFE
HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE
On coaching his first game at Scotiabank Arena:
It was fun being here. Different circumstances than when I’ve been here in the past. Fitting that the Marlies were in the building this afternoon, that’s more what I’m familiar with. It’s nice, it’s special. A lot of my family here to enjoy it as well. It wasn’t the prettiest game at times, but we found a way to get the two points and finish off a good week here.
On what he thinks when he watches Andersen make several key saves:
Well just that it’s nice to have Freddie there and it’s nice to have a guy that’s capable of that. You’re going to need that at different times, without question. I thought that gives us confidence as well in doing so. It was nice and obviously he’s a big reason why we get a chance to keep the lead as long as we did and then gives us a chance to get it to overtime.
On the atmosphere in the arena:
Fans are into it. There’s a lot of them, it’s a big crowd. It’s nice to be at home. As I said, I’ve been in this environment before but never quite like this. Never quite as full and never quite as much emotion and energy and all those types of things. It was nice and we’re hoping it gets better from here.
On tonight’s effort:
I would say inconsistent. I’d say that we had some really good moments. I thought the start of the second and the third period, especially, were really good for us. Not where we would want it to be, not what we think we’re capable of. I think we’ve got to give some credit to Buffalo. I think they did a really good job in both games against us and made it a little harder on us than it’s been in previous games. That’s the next phase for us is to try to find a way to play the way we want to and the way we’re capable of when the other team has a good plan and is making it difficult on us.
On John Tavares picking up some momentum on the scoresheet:
I think it’s big. Players that have scored a lot expect to score a lot. Whether you’re a veteran or not, you want to score, you want to feel good, you want to know that you’re making an impact on the team in that manner. We expect him to score, we need him to score. He’s been very good in a lot of other areas for us as well. He’s taking a lot of heavy matchups and it’s nice to see him this weekend and, here in particular, put it in the net.
On his relationship with Tavares as the captain:
He’s been very consistent for me, both in his effort, his performance and, then, just in his demeanor. He’s a very consistent man. He comes to the rink every day, he’s prepared, prepared himself mentally, physically, does the work. He’s got a great perspective to be able to offer me in terms of what the team needs or what the feeling around the team is. He’s also a great voice for the team. He’s plugged into a lot of things that are happening and it’s just been real nice for me to have him to lean on here early.
FREDERIK ANDERSEN (29 SAVES)
On if he knew he kept the shot that was reviewed out of the net:
I didn’t know it was that close. I haven’t seen it yet, so you guys had a better view than me. I thought I had it; I didn’t know they were going to go upstairs. I thought it was a save. I tried to get some eyes on the pass and get my glove over to his blade so when he released, I was set up. It was just a matter of trying to get my body across and taking up as much space as possible.
On how much of a change it was to play the second leg of a back-to-back:
It was a little different. We didn’t really have a skate yesterday because of the early game but I made sure to skate a little bit this morning with [Steve Briere]. I think the guys that played yesterday had a little bit more of a relaxed morning and got ready for tonight. That’s just the way I like it. Since I didn’t play last night I wanted to come in sharp.
AUSTON MATTHEWS (1 ASSIST)
On Andersen’s performance tonight:
I think there were points in the game where we kind of got hemmed in the D-zone and he made some big saves. We turned some pucks over and a couple incredible saves. He kept us in it and we were able to get that extra point which was huge for us.
On what Buffalo did well to limit their scoring chances:
I think they tracked back hard and were able to sustain pressure on the forecheck. As soon as we got the puck, we found we didn’t have as much time and space as we really thought so it was tough to make plays. Similar to last night, I think we’re still four or five games in and trying to find that identity – when to make a play and when to make the safe play and chip the puck out and create some space in behind. I think that’s still a work in progress for us but all-in-all we’re happy to get the two points and move onto the next one.
WILLIAM NYLANDER (1 GOAL)
On his powerplay goal:
It was a little lucky, I think it hit his stick and deflected off his arm and in. It was nice to get one on the powerplay that’s for sure.
On if he caught Hutton off guard:
I think maybe they thought I was going to pass it backdoor or something, so I had some space to go to the net which was nice.
On if his unit stayed out longer on the powerplay by design:
It’s nothing that we’ve talked about. I guess we just happened to be out there. We’re usually out there for a minute but we just happened to be out there a little longer today.
JOHN TAVARES (1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST)
On getting his 400th career assist:
I’ve played with some pretty good shooters. They’re not always pretty. I’ve just tried to play my game and be effective, whether it’s putting the puck in the net or setting up teammates. I want to be able to help my team in different ways. It’s nice to continue to be productive. I didn’t know it was right around the corner. Always good to get it, especially in a win.
On his overtime goal:
Well, my first shot I thought it kind of surprised him and when I got a bit of separation again and had a little bit of a screen, I tested it again. I was towards the end of my shift, so I wanted to be sure with it. I had some good room and I think I got good wood on it. I was able to time it right and happy I picked a corner.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 2 POSTGAME QUOTES: “The streak doesn’t really look too pretty, but I thought we made some steps in the right direction today. I definitely think we came ready to play and obviously a great hockey game, too. Fleury played really well down there and I think it could have gone either way. I thought we definitely had something to build on.”–FREDERIK ANDERSEN.
HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK
On tonight’s game:
I thought we played a good first, I thought we didn’t win any faceoffs in the second and spent more time in the D-zone. We had lots of chances. I was in here the other night and Fleury was real good the other night. I thought he was real good. We had some chances, hit some posts. I think Petan — I could be wrong, I haven’t seen the replay — I thought the net was empty there and Fleury made a great save. The bottom line is we’ve got to stick with it and just keep grinding. We had a chance on the power play at the end there and we didn’t execute on that. It’s disappointing but I’m always about the process and how hard guys play. We played way harder so I thought that was good. I thought Hyman was back, I thought Mikheyev really had a good step. That was positive for us.
On what needs to be changed on the penalty kill:
We’ve got to keep it out. I didn’t think we were that bad tonight on it, to tell you the truth, but they got two on it so that’s not good enough. We’ve just got to keep working at it, we’ll spend more time at it. Maybe early in the year when we didn’t skate as much in the pregame skates, we should have spent more time doing it. We did that because we were trying to keep our guys fresher and the science part of it, but, in the end, you’ve got to execute on those things so that’s on me.
On how deflating it is to give up a goal immediately after tying the game:
It’s disappointing, obviously. We turned the puck over and they came in and shot it in. I still thought we were resilient. We talked about it before the game, we have to show good mental toughness and just keep grinding every shift, shift after shift, whether it goes good or bad. We’ve been guilty of when it goes bad, when they score, we wilt. There’s no sense doing that, just keep playing. I’ve been around a long time, you’re in lots of situations where you don’t win for a while and you end up having a real good year. Just keep grinding.
FREDERIK ANDERSEN (33 SAVES)
On the team’s play tonight:
The streak doesn’t really look too pretty, but I thought we made some steps in the right direction today. I definitely think we came ready to play and obviously a great hockey game, too. Fleury played really well down there and I think it could have gone either way. I thought we definitely had something to build on.
On how the team is processing the current stretch:
We had a good talk yesterday to try and improve and I thought we answered pretty well today. It could have gone either way, I think. I got outplayed a little bit by Fleury down there. That happens. Again, I thought we had some good things to keep going.
ZACH HYMAN (1 GOAL)
On tonight’s game:
I think there’s a lot of positives to take away from today. I think when you’re losing, it’s hard to stay the course but I think we played really well today. We had our chances when the game was on the line there. It was a tight game; we just couldn’t finish it. We need to be better on the PK, better on special teams there. It was good to get a powerplay goal. I think we took a big step today even though we lost. The next game is going to be really important for us but I think that we can build some confidence from this game moving forward.
On what the team can take away from tonight’s game:
I think we didn’t quit. I think that we stuck with it. You go down 3-1, you can kind of pack it in, but I think we were strong throughout that third period and really pushed back. Fleury made a big save on [Petan] there, [Mikheyev] hit the crossbar. These aren’t excuses, this is just reality. They won the game but I think that we had a chance to win that game, we were in the game the whole way through and we didn’t quit so I think that’s really important and something to build off of moving forward.
JASON SPEZZA (1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST)
On if the team can take some positives out of tonight’s loss:
Yeah, definitely a much better effort. It was good hockey game. We lost the special teams battle and that ends up being the game. It’s something to build off of but it’s frustrating. We need to get a win here; it doesn’t matter how it is. If it’s ugly, we’ve got to find a way to get a win.
On what the team needs to do moving forward:
Just work. We can’t take a step back. We laid an egg of a game in Pittsburgh. A better effort tonight, but when you go through these losing streaks, it always seems like it’s harder to dig yourselves out of it, just like when you’re winning it’s easy to keep winning. We can’t take a step back next game. We’ve got to watch the tape and see what we can do better and keep moving forward.
JOHN TAVARES (20:05 TOI)
On tonight’s game:
I thought we were right there. We had a great opportunity in the third and we just didn’t maximize it so we’ve just got to regroup and find a way to get it done.
On his third period hooking penalty:
Yeah, I just got caught trying to lift his stick. Obviously, I’ve just got to try to be smarter and not get my stick caught up.
On Marc-Andre Fleury’s save late in the third period:
It was obviously a great save and a great opportunity. We had some really good looks in the third and we’ve got to find a way to put those in. Give him credit, he made it tough and made some good saves.
On the team’s mindset at the moment:
We want the results. We just want different results. We want to win. It’s obviously frustrating when you’re not getting them and I think we’ve talked about resolve and resiliency and trying to stay with it. It’s all we can do is continue to move forward and find ways to get better and get the job done when we have opportunities like this.
The view from left field 