Tag: Vancouver Canucks

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (28-12-5 – 61 Points) vs.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (17-18-3 – 37 Points)

SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2021

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
TORONTO	1	1	0	0	2
VANCOUVER	0	1	1	1	3

GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

• William Nylander opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs and later had the primary assist on Auston Matthews’ second period goal. His first period goal was his 100th career NHL goal. Tonight’s game is Nylander’s 10th multi-point game of the season and the third consecutive multi-point performance in games he has skated in. He has recorded five points (1-4-5) in six games against Vancouver this season. In 20 games on the road in 2020-21, Nylander has registered 14 points (6-8-14).
• Auston Matthews scored the second Toronto goal of the game on the power play at 14:57 of the second period. Matthews has six goals and eight points (6-2-8) over his last five games played. He has scored six goals in six games against the Canucks in 2020-21. In 19 games on the road this season, he has registered 22 points (13-9-22). Matthews leads the NHL in goals (33) and has scored a team-high 10 goals on the power play this season.
• John Tavares registered the primary assist on Nylander’s first period goal and collected the secondary assist on Matthews’ second period goal. Tonight’s game is Tavares’ sixth multi-assist game and 12th multi-point game of 2020-21, as well as his third consecutive multi-point game. He has assists (5) in three consecutive games and points (2-6-8) in five consecutive games. His assist in the second period of tonight’s game is his 100th assist as a Maple Leaf. His 12 points (4-8-12; 9 GP) since April 1 are tied for the seventh most in the NHL during the month of April.
• Jack Campbell stopped 21 shots in the overtime loss.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	12 (12)	15 (8)	12 (11)	0 (0)	39 (31)
VANCOUVER	8 (6)	5 (4)	10 (6)	1 (0)	24 (16)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	25 (23)	37 (18)	19 (18)	0 (0)	81 (59)
VANCOUVER	15 (13)	12 (11)	14 (9)	3 (0)	44 (33)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Record on the Road	14-5-2 (21 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Vancouver	64-64-22-4 (154 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Vancouver on the Road	26-39-11-3 (79 Games)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots	7 (Matthews)
Shot Attempts	15 (Matthews)
Faceoff Wins	9 (Matthews)
Faceoff Win Percentage	64% (Tavares – 7 won, 4 lost)
Hits	3 (Bogosian, Galchenyuk)
Blocked Shots	4 (Muzzin)
Takeaways	2 (Matthews)
TOI	24:00 (Rielly)
Power Play TOI	5:35 (Matthews)
Shorthanded TOI	1:56 (Bogosian)
Shifts	28 (Marner, Matthews, Rielly)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage	84.2% (Thornton – 16 for, 3 against)

RECORD WHEN…

Scoring first	21-4-2
Lead after 1	13-2-3
Lead after 2	17-2-3
Score 1 power play goal	9-1-3
Do not allow a power play goal	19-2-3
Outshooting opponent	14-8-3
Overtime	6-5
Sunday	2-1-1

OF NOTE…

• The Maple Leafs were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the power play tonight.
• TJ Brodie and Jake Muzzin started 33.3% of their 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which was the lowest mark among Toronto skaters.
• Zach Hyman (knee) left tonight’s game and did not return.
• Auston Matthews was 4-for-6 (67%) when taking offensive zone faceoffs tonight.
• Jake Muzzin was on the ice for a team-high 29 shot attempts for at 5-on-5. He finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 67.4 percent (29 for, 14 against).
• John Tavares won 67% (4 won, 2 lost) of his faceoffs in the offensive zone tonight.

UPCOMING GAMES:

• Tuesday, April 20, 9:00 p.m. at Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)
• Thursday, April 22, 7:00 p.m. at Winnipeg Jets (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
• Saturday, April 24, 7:00 p.m. at Winnipeg Jets (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
• Wednesday, April 28, 8:00 p.m. at Montreal Canadiens (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
• Thursday, April 29, 7:30 p.m. vs. Vancouver Canucks (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.

SHELDON KEEFE

Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: This third period started out okay, but what did you see from your vantage point as the Canucks got the power play going and things unfolded from there?

Sheldon Keefe: I thought we had an excellent start to the third period. Our second period was not very good at all and then started off the third period really well. All the things that we wanted to do with a lead and I thought we gave ourselves a few chances even to extend the lead and couldn’t get it to go in. We shoot the puck over the glass and give them a free power play, and then we just don’t get the kill. Obviously, we didn’t get any kills against Vancouver here in these two games and it’s a huge part of the game, but it’s a tie game and we’re on the road, end of a long trip and a chance to either win the game or ensure we get a point out of it. Then we get back to the things that were a problem for us in the second period. We force a play on the entry, turn it over and we stop playing on defending it and that’s the game. When you only score two goals, the games are fragile and you have to take care of them. We didn’t do that very well here. More lessons for us here.  

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: What do you make of this particular road trip? Some incredible highs in sweeping Edmonton and keeping their big names shut down, and then you get swept yourself by Vancouver and your own big names get shut down. What do you make of that going forward, say, lessons you take into your homestand against Winnipeg?

Sheldon Keefe: Two completely different series. The games are completely different. The style of play is different. Like I said, I think the lessons we take away from it are, especially tonight’s game, we have enough offence to win the game or at least be in control at 2-1 in the third period. You have an excellent start, everything’s going the way we want it to and, as I said, we take a penalty that we can’t take — can’t just give them a freebie like that — but then you’ve got to get a kill. We’ve got to get a kill. We’ve got to get a blocked shot. These are the kind of things that make a big difference. We didn’t really go through that in the Edmonton series. We were in full control. We built big leads for the most part. It’s different type of games. These are really close, very fragile games. You’ve got to be good every single shift and every puck. Vancouver plays four lines. They play extremely hard and very competitive. They don’t give you anything for free. We weren’t good enough in the details of our game and staying with it all the way through. It just goes to show that, first of all, anybody in our division can beat you on any given night. We’ve got to be good all the time and we’ve got to stay with the process that works for us. Go off script and get the results you get here.

Q. Jonas Siegel, The Athletic: Have you felt like the Matthews line has been a little out of sync the last couple here? 

Sheldon Keefe: No. You go back through it, I don’t know how many shots Auston had tonight, but he had five last game, some point blank opportunities, open nets and if those fall in you’re not asking me the question. 

Q. Luke Fox, Sportsnet: It failed you tonight but overall how satisfied are you with your penalty kill?

Sheldon Keefe: I thought we had shown tremendous growth in our penalty kill. These two games, I thought if you go back and watch the penalty kill we had the other night against Vancouver, I thought we actually did an unbelievable job killing the penalties. In fact we had more chances to score than they did and they score a funny one on a bad angle on us. Chalk that one up as not a big deal, but today the goal we give up on the rush that’s not good enough and then we’ve got to get a block and keep the puck out of our net with the game on the line in the third. It’s not a great sign for us there, but there has been a lot of really good things happening on our penalty kill here for the last 10 games or so. We’ll hope we can get back to it.  

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: How do you feel the Tavares line is coming along here of late? John was just saying him and William are starting to feel it a bit?

Sheldon Keefe: Yeah I would agree with that. I thought that line in the first period, I thought they were our best line. They were moving very well. Willy himself could have had two or three in the first period, some really great looks. Obviously, it was great to see John get one in, it was a big goal for us. I would definitely say that line looked good.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN

 Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: What did you see that Vancouver was doing out there that was successful for them?

Frederik Andersen: I thought they were working really hard to pressure us and eliminate our time through the neutral zone. They came hard at us and obviously worked hard all night.

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: How are you feeling? You’re able to head home now, sleep in your bed and get ready for Winnipeg. How does the end of a road trip and the beginning of a homestand feel for you? 

Frederik Andersen: Obviously, the end of the road trip we’d like to finish on a good note. We can go home and work on some things and get ready for Winnipeg. That’s what we’re going to do. Look forward and work on improving some things and keep trying to set a high standard for ourselves. 

MITCH MARNER 

Q. Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: Do you think your line is a little out of sync or a lot out of sync?

Mitch Marner: Obviously, these two games weren’t what we wanted. Time to refresh, get a couple practice days. Just make sure we get talking trying to find our chemistry. I just think for our line we’ve just got to control the puck more in the O zone, keep the puck in our hands, try and make the right play when it’s there. Right now maybe we’re just forcing it a little bit too much.

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: You guys have been pretty good at playing with the lead down the stretch in games this season. What was your perspective on what happened in the third period tonight and what allowed the Canucks to get a grip on this game?

Mitch Marner: We almost kill of that whole kill and they got that tipped one in. Then obviously the next one just trying to make a play in, doesn’t go the way we want, quick up, bobbling puck, bounces everywhere, goes in. I think we’ve done a great job holding leads. I think sometimes it slips away. It happened tonight. Turnovers were the reason for it so just make sure we clean that part up, obviously starting for myself.   

MORGAN RIELLY

Q. Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: Usually guys have done a better job this year in general facing adversity, but things fell apart towards the end of the game tonight. Can you talk about that please?

Morgan Rielly: In games past recently we’ve done a good job with holding leads and we talked about that going into the third. Obviously, it’s not the outcome that we wanted and there areas that we can clean up moving forward to get back to how we were playing before this. I think we have to learn from it and move forward. 

Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: What do you think the difference is in your game – I mean the team game, not your personal game – against Vancouver as opposed to what it was against Edmonton?

Morgan Rielly: They’re two different teams so it’s hard to compare. It’s a completely different game playing completely different pace of play. The special teams are different. It’s tough to compare. I think as a broad statement we’re happy with the outcomes we got in Edmonton and the way that we competed and held on to leads. We weren’t able to do that here in Vancouver, but in terms of comparing the two series, I think it’s tough just because the teams are so different.  

JOHN TAVARES

Q. Mark Masters, TSN: You guys have done a good job playing with the league a lot of this season. What was your perspective on the third period tonight and what allowed the Canucks to grab this game?

John Tavares: I think we were having a really good third and then the power play goal really gave them some life. It happened quickly and changed quickly and all of sudden bang, bang, they’re up one. We just have to find a way to regroup well after they tie it up. It’s a long season, things like that are going to happen even when you’re playing well and controlling a lot of the play. I thought before the penalty we had a lot of opportunities. We were on their half of the ice a lot. We didn’t give them much room. And then after that, we were trying to generate offence and try to find a way to tie one up and we just weren’t able to come through and unfortunately they found the next one too to get the lead as we were pressing and trying to find it. 

Q. Jonas Siegel, The Athletic: What you think had led to you and Nylander heating up a little bit here?

John Tavares: We’re just both of us individually feeling a little bit better. Just continuing to stay with it and good habits, doing a good job away from the puck without it to get the puck in good spots. As you continue to play, continue to get a better feel for one another and create more time and space. Building confidence off your instincts and taking what’s given to us and simplifying a little bit and being predictable and seem to be moving well off the puck. I think we’re doing a pretty good job in our own end for the most part and we’re able to break out quick and have the ability to enter the zone with control or at least give yourself a good chance to recover pucks.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (18-5-2 – 38 Points) vs.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (10-15-2 – 22 Points)

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
TORONTO	1	0	0	–	1
VANCOUVER	1	1	1	–	3

GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Pierre Engvall put the Maple Leafs on the board with a goal at 17:15 of the first period. Engvall has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games. He has three points (1-2-3) over his last three games played. Engvall has registered four (1-3-4) of his five points on the road this season.
• Ilya Mikheyev had the lone assist on Engvall’s first period goal. Mikheyev has points (1-2-3) in three consecutive games. He has registered six (2-4-6) of his eight points on the road this season. He has a pair of assists in four games against Vancouver in 2020-21.
• Michael Hutchinson stopped 24 shots in the loss.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	15 (11)	10 (8)	8 (4)	–	33 (23)
VANCOUVER	7 (7)	12 (11)	8 (8)	–	27 (26)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	22 (17)	17 (12)	19 (13)	–	58 (42)
VANCOUVER	14 (13)	16 (15)	17 (17)	–	47 (45)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Record on the Road	9-2-1 (12 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Vancouver	64-63-22-3 (152 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Vancouver on the Road	26-38-11-2 (77 Games)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots	6 (Matthews)
Shot Attempts	8 (Matthews)
Faceoff Wins	8 (Spezza)
Faceoff Win Percentage	80% (Spezza – 8 won, 2 lost)
Hits	3 (Kerfoot, Mikheyev)
Blocked Shots	4 (Brodie)
Takeaways	2 (Holl)
TOI	26:00 (Rielly)
Power Play TOI	2:37 (Matthews, Rielly, Tavares)
Shorthanded TOI	1:14 (Muzzin)
Shifts	24 (Four players tied)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage	64.0% (Hyman – 16 for, 9 against)

RECORD WHEN…

Opponent scores first	5-3-1
Tied after 1	6-2-0
Trail after 2	0-4-0
Do not score a power play goal	4-4-0
Allow 1 power play goal	5-3-1
Outshooting opponent	7-3-1
Thursday	3-1-0

OF NOTE…

• The Maple Leafs were 0-for-1 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play tonight.
• William Nylander and John Tavares were on the ice for a team-high 18 shot attempts for at 5-on-5. Nylander finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 60% (18 for, 12 against), while Tavares finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 58.1% (18 for, 13 against).
• Jason Spezza won 88% (7 won, 1 lost) of his offensive zone faceoffs. He was 5-for-5 (100%) in the faceoff circle against Vancouver centre Bo Horvat. 

UPCOMING GAMES:

• Saturday, March 6, 7:00 p.m. at Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
• Tuesday, March 9, 7:00 p.m. vs. Winnipeg Jets (TSN4, FAN 590)
• Thursday, March 11 7:00 p.m. vs. Winnipeg Jets (TSN4, FAN 590)
• Saturday, March 13, 7:00 p.m. vs. Winnipeg Jets (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
• Sunday, March 14, 7:00 p.m. at Ottawa Senators (Sportsnet, 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.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (18-4-2 – 38 Points) vs.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (9-15-2 – 20 Points)

MARCH 4, 2021 ▪ 10:00 PM EST

ROGERS ARENA (VANCOUVER, BC) ▪
TV: TSN4 ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN

MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus VANCOUVER

ALL-TIME RECORD:	64-62-22-3 (151 Games)
ALL-TIME on the ROAD:	26-37-11-2 (76 Games)
2020-21:	3-0-0
LAST FIVE:	5-0-0
LAST 10:	7-1-2

MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus VANCOUVER

GAMES PLAYED:	Joe Thornton (70), TJ Brodie (39), Jake Muzzin (35)
GOALS:	Joe Thornton (18), Auston Matthews (10), John Tavares (10)
ASSISTS:	Joe Thornton (56), John Tavares (12), TJ Brodie (12)
POINTS:	Joe Thornton (74), John Tavares (22), Mitch Marner (13), Auston Matthews (13)
PENALTY MINUTES:	Joe Thornton (51), Jake Muzzin (28), Wayne Simmonds (23)

MAPLE LEAFS – CANUCKS TEAM STATS

	TORONTO	VANCOUVER
GOALS FOR (Rank):	87 (1st)	73 (t-5th)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):	56 (10th)	90 (30th)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):	25/77 [32.5%] (2nd)	15/86 [17.4%] (23rd)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):	58/72 [80.6%] (t-11th)	78/97 [80.4%] (t-13th)
SHOTS PER GAME (Rank):	29.7 (19th)	31.2 (8th)
SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME (Rank):	28.6 (6th)	32.8 (30th)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):	957 (11th)	1089 (2nd)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):	47.8% (25th)	48.8% (21st)
FACEOFF % (Rank):	52.4% (t-8th)	52.4% (t-8th)

MAPLE LEAFS – CANUCKS NOTES

First Matchup between Clubs:	Oct. 11, 1970 (Vancouver 5, Toronto 3)
All-Time Record:	64-62-22-3 (151 Games)
All-Time Record at Home:	38-25-11-1 (75 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road:	26-37-11-2 (76 Games)
Last Win vs. Opponent on the Road:	Dec. 10, 2019 (Toronto 4, Vancouver 1)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER
GOALS	18 (Matthews)
ASSISTS	24 (Marner)
POINTS	34 (Marner)
POWER PLAY POINTS	12 (Marner)
SHORTHANDED POINTS	N/A
PIMs	22 (Bogosian, Simmonds)
SHOTS	89 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%	59.7% (Tavares)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %	54.4% (Thornton)
BLOCKED SHOTS	40 (Holl, Muzzin)
TAKEAWAYS	23 (Marner)
HITS	41 (Muzzin)
TOI PER GAME	23:41 (Rielly)
PP TOI PER GAME	3:37 (Matthews)
SH TOI PER GAME	3:06 (Holl)

MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES

Frederik Andersen	– Second in the NHL in wins (12).- Tied for 10th among NHL goaltenders in saves made (437).- Has a 13-2-5 record with a 1.57 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage in 20 career games against Vancouver.
Travis Boyd	– Averaging 2.86 points per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5, which ranks fourth among Toronto skaters who have appeared in multiple games.
TJ Brodie	– Averaging 18:47 in even-strength ice time, which ranks second among Toronto skaters.- Fourth among Maple Leafs defencemen in points (0-7-7).
Jack Campbell	– Is 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage this season.- Earned his first shutout of the season and the third of his career on February 27 at Edmonton.
Justin Holl	– Ranks 21st among NHL right handed defencemen who average at least 15 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (17:19) with a shot attempt percentage of 52.2% when the score is within one goal.- Ranks 22nd in the NHL in shorthanded ice time per game (3:06).- Tied for the lead among NHL defencemen in primary assists at 5-on-5 (5).
Michael Hutchinson	– Has a .943 save percentage and a 1.77 goals-against average through four starts this season. – Earned his first shutout of the season and sixth of his career on March 1 at Edmonton.
Zach Hyman	–  Leads Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:09).- Has the second-highest on-ice goals for percentage (71.4%) at 5-on-5 among Toronto forwards.
Alex Kerfoot	– Hails from Vancouver, BC.- Has recorded a goal in three games against the Canucks this season.- Sixth among Toronto forwards in shifts per game (20.0).
Mitch Marner	– Third among NHLers in assists (24)- Tied for fourth among NHLers in points (10-24-34).- Tied for second in the NHL in even-strength goals (10).- Leads NHL forwards in time on ice per game (22:26).- Has played 39.2% of Toronto’s shorthanded ice time.- Has the highest on-ice goals for percentage (72.9%) at 5-on-5 among Toronto forwards..
Auston Matthews	– Leads the NHL in goals (18).- Tied for fifth among NHLers in points (18-13-31).- Averaging 21:45 in time on ice per game, which is fifth among NHL forwards.- Third among Maple Leafs forwards in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (50.9%).- Tied for third in the NHL in shots on goal (89).
Ilya Mikheyev	– Ranks third among Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (1:56).- Has an average of 16.8 shot attempts per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, which ranks fifth among NHLers who have played at least 45 minutes of shorthanded ice time (46:34).  – Has started 35.6% of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which is the lowest percentage among Maple Leafs.
Jake Muzzin	– Tied for 32nd among NHL skaters in shorthanded ice time per game (2:57).- Tied for 22nd among NHL defencemen and ranks eighth among Maple Leafs in points (1-12-13). – Has started 45.7 percent of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which is the lowest mark among Toronto defencemen.
William Nylander	– Has the seventh highest points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (1.92) among Toronto skaters who have appeared in over five games.- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 51.9%, which is the second-highest percentage among Maple Leafs.- Has an on-ice goals for percentage of 57.8% at 5-on-5.- Averaging 2.17 takeaways per 60 minutes of ice time, which ranks fourth among Maple Leafs.
Morgan Rielly	– Hails from Vancouver, BC.- Leads Maple Leafs in average time on ice (23:41).- Tied for fourth among NHL defencemen in points (3-16-19).- Has a goal and 10 assists in 11 games on the road this season.- Tied for sixth among NHL defencemen in assists at 5-on-5 (7).
Jason Spezza	– Has the highest points per 60 minutes rate (3.21) at 5-on-5 among Maple Leafs who have appeared in over five games.- Has won 58.9% of his defensive zone faceoffs, which is the fifth highest percentage among NHLers who have taken at least 100 defensive zone draws (107).
John Tavares	– Has the fifth-highest faceoff win percentage (59.7%) among NHLers who have taken at least 350 faceoffs (355).- Has two goals and 10 assists in 11 games on the road this season.- Has a goal and an assists in three games against Vancouver in 2020-21.- Has an on-ice goals for percentage of 58.8% at 5-on-5 in 2020-21.
Joe Thornton	– Has the highest 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage among Toronto skaters at 54.4%.- Averaging 2.61 points per 60 minutes of ice time this season, which ranks fifth among Toronto skaters.- Has three goals and eight assists in 12 games this season.

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

Zach Hyman	Goals (3) in three consecutive games and points (3-2-5) in four consecutive games.
Mitch Marner	Assists (3) and points (1-3-4) in three consecutive games.
Ilya Mikheyev	Points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games.
William Nylander	Goals (5) and points (5-1-6) in four consecutive games.
Morgan Rielly	Assists (2) and points (1-2-3) in two consecutive games.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Zach Bogosian	Two points from 200 NHL points
William Nylander	Four goals from 100 NHL goals
Joe Thornton	Three assists from 1,100 career NHL assists

RECENT MILESTONES

Travis Boyd	100th NHL game (March 1 at EDM)
Jake Muzzin	600th NHL game (March 1 at EDM)

INJURY REPORT

Jack Campbell (Lower Body)	Did not play on March 3 at EDM.
Wayne Simmonds (Wrist)	On injured reserve.
	Man Games Lost: 64

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Feb. 27	Reassigned forward Kenny Agostino and defenceman Timothy Liljegren to the taxi squad. Loaned forward Alex Galchenyuk and defenceman Martin Marincin to the Toronto Marlies.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (6-10-0 – 12 Points) vs.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (10-2-1 – 21 Points)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2021

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
VANCOUVER	0	1	0	–	1
TORONTO	1	0	2	–	3

GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Morgan Rielly put the Maple Leafs on the board at 6:38 of the first period. Rielly has points (1-3-4) in three consecutive games. Both of Rielly’s goals have come on home ice this season. The Maple Leafs are 7-0-0 when he records are point in 2020-21.
• Auston Matthews scored the second Toronto goal of the night at 9:22 of the third period. Matthews’ goal is his 300th career NHL point. He has goals (9) and points (9-1-10) in seven consecutive games. With goals in seven consecutive games, Matthews has established a new career-long goal streak. He leads the NHL in goals scored (11).
• Alex Kerfoot scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the game at 9:33 of the third period. Kerfoot’s goal is his second of the season and first on home ice. He has a goal and two assists in seven games at Scotiabank Arena this season.
• Mitch Marner registered the primary assist on Matthews’ third period goal. Marner has assists (12) and points (3-12-15) in eight consecutive games. He has registered seven points (1-6-7) over this three game series with Vancouver. He has 12 points (4-8-12) over seven games on home ice.
• Rasmus Sandin picked up the secondary assist on Matthews’ third period goal. Sandin’s assist is his first point of the 2020-21 season. He had a goal and seven assists in 28 games with the Maple Leafs last season.
• Ilya Mikheyev had the lone assist on Kerfoot’s third period goal. Mikheyev has two assists over his last four games played. His assist tonight is his first point on home ice this season.
• Frederik Andersen stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced to earn his eighth win of the season.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
VANCOUVER	13 (11)	14 (12)	5 (4)	–	32 (27)
TORONTO	4 (3)	3 (2)	12 (11)	–	19 (16)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
VANCOUVER	17 (15)	23 (20)	15 (6)	–	55 (41)
TORONTO	11 (10)	9 (7)	19 (16)	–	39 (33)

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Record at Home	6-1-0 (7 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Vancouver	64-62-22-3 (151 Games)
All-Time Record vs. Vancouver at Home	38-25-11-1 (75 Games)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots	3 (Marner, Tavares)
Shot Attempts	6 (Marner)
Faceoff Wins	8 (Matthews)
Faceoff Win Percentage	100% (Boyd – 1 won, 0 lost)
Hits	4 (Matthews)
Blocked Shots	4 (Muzzin)
Takeaways	1 (Six players tied)
TOI	24:49 (Matthews)
Power Play TOI	3:36 (Matthews)
Shorthanded TOI	4:59 (Muzzin)
Shifts	28 (Hyman, Marner)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage	75.0% (Rielly – 18 for, 6 against)

RECORD WHEN…

Scoring first	7-1-0
Lead after 1	6-0-0
Tied after 2	9-0-0
Do not score a power play goal	1-1-0
Allow 1 power play goal	5-2-1
Outshot by opponent	6-1-0
Monday	2-0-0

OF NOTE…

• The Maple Leafs went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play tonight.
• Morgan Rielly was on the ice for a team-high 18 shot attempts at 5-on-5 tonight. Rielly finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 75.0% (18 for, 6 against).
• Jason Spezza won 67% (4 won, 2 lost) of his defensive zone faceoffs.
• John Tavares won 71% (4 won, 2 lost) of his faceoffs when matched up with Vancouver centre Bo Horvat.

UPCOMING GAMES:

• Wednesday, February 10, 7:30 p.m. at Montreal Canadiens (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
• Saturday, February 13, 7:00 p.m. vs. Montreal Canadiens (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
• Monday, February 15, 7:00 p.m. vs. Ottawa Senators (TSN4, TSN 1050)
• Wednesday, February 17, 7:00 p.m. vs. Ottawa Senators (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
• Thursday, February 18, 7:00 p.m. vs. Ottawa Senators (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)

Stats reflect official NHL stats at the time of distribution. Please consult official NHL game sheets (links above) to confirm no statistical changes were made.

SHELDON KEEFE
Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: Any sort of update on Simmonds?
Sheldon Keefe: No real update here yet, he’s still getting looked at and evaluated. We’ll have that for you
guys on Monday morning when we get back together again.
Q. Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun: Auston had commented on the consistency of the group tonight through
60, just your thoughts on how that unfolded from your vantage point?
Sheldon Keefe: Yeah, I’m going to go back and look at it. I don’t know if I’d be able to say it was 60
minutes consistent. Vancouver had their pushes, but I did like our start, obviously, and we knew the start
was going to be really important here tonight. We wanted to establish our game.
Once again, I thought we were able to do that. Vancouver pushed back pretty hard in the last seven, eight
minutes of the first period and then we were able to extend our lead in the second, which is really
important. I thought Vancouver put a lot more pressure on us here today. We capitalized when we had
our chances. Obviously, the Matthews line was really rolling here today. That just was the real difference
for us.
Q. Luke Fox, Sportsnet: What goes through a coach’s mind when you see a goal like Auston’s first one?
Does he still do stuff that surprises you?
Sheldon Keefe: He does. I think that just speaks to his ability and how special he is. That goal tonight,
just one of those, it happened so fast that I don’t think anybody on the ice was really ready for it. Just with
how quickly he went around a defender to put it in the net. It was impressive. These last two games — all
season I really think he’s been very good for us — but these last two games, he’s really had jump and I
think, if anything, I’ve probably gotten in his way a little bit here just with us getting in the lead and, maybe
not necessarily reducing his minutes because he’s still had pretty good minutes, but disrupting his flow
and times that I would normally get him out there and O-zone starts and shifts in succession, I’m holding
him back and getting more of a one to four type of rotation, disrupting his flow a bit.
I think in both these games that we’ve played here, he could have had four or five. He was really feeling it.
That’s really good for us, obviously, and good for him that he’s having that confidence. He was doing it in
all zones for us to start the season, and now he’s starting to get the consistent rewards around the net.
That’s great for him to get that.
Q. Luke Fox, Sportsnet: Safe to say this was Mikko Lehtonen’s best game?
Sheldon Keefe: Yeah, I would say so, definitely. He looked really confident and comfortable out there. I
thought his touches to the puck were real efficient. He didn’t have to defend a great deal here today,
which I think allowed him to get more comfortable, but definitely his touches were good. Not just on the
ones that resulted in goals, but throughout the game here, real solid moving with the puck.
Q. Jonas Siegel, The Athletic: I just wondered if you ever played against anyone who seemed to score
as easy as Auston makes it look.
Sheldon Keefe: There’s been a lot of really good players over the years. Obviously, we knows there’s a
number of special players, Auston certainly is one of them. Like I said, he does surprise me still, yet you
just expect something special because he’s capable of that and watching him in practice every day is a
pleasure. He’s certainly special and unique. A unique talent.
Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: I’m just curious what you think of your third line’s performance tonight
with Kerfoot, Mikheyev and Vesey.
Sheldon Keefe: I thought they skated really well. I thought they had the puck a great deal. With those
guys, just like I did the other night, I’d have to go back and just roll through just their shifts and focus just
on them. I did that last game as well. Have to do that again just to see the detail inside of it. Offensively,
we’ve got three guys there that are really trying to find themselves offensively. But I thought the speed
they had on the puck and the work ethic that they had, we can’t take that away from them. That makes
them effective. I think in terms of chemistry as a line, I think they’re still looking to find it.
Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: How much do you need them to score or prefer that they just don’t get
scored on?
Sheldon Keefe: Well, it depends on the game. On a night like tonight, we don’t need them to score, but
we need them to be hard to play against, we need them to win shifts and keep our positive progression
going as a team. That’s what you’re looking for. I think I said all three are trying to find themselves
offensively, looking to break out a little bit, but we’re finding ways to win games without that type of
offense. Those guys are still important players for us, all three of them are penalty killers.
Our penalty kill again here tonight, we end up taking too many and it ends up hurting us and costing Fred
a shutout. Not sure if we necessarily needed to kill as many penalties towards the end there. I thought
they were maybe looking to give them some calls, it cost Fred a shutout. I thought that our penalty kill has
constantly been good for us.
When we look and break it down with our process and how it’s gone, we like a lot of things about it. Yet
there’s one moment and I see it in each game where we’re costing ourselves a goal and it’s hurting the
overall results of our PK, but those three guys have all been really important pieces of what we think is a
PK that’s got a good process that over time will have better results.
Q. Josh Clipperton, Canadian Press: When you were envisioning what this team could look like or what
it could be, I’m sure you had some kind of framework or roadmap of what it would look like. How close is
this group right now on this streak to what you kind of envision them being?
Sheldon Keefe: I think it’s close, but obviously when you take someone like Joe out of our lineup it
changes a lot of things in terms of what we had envisioned. But in terms of how we’re playing I think
these last couple games are a little more of a reflection of that. We think we put together two good games
here of having some good offensive pieces to our game and really having that connection offensively
from our zone through the neutral zone into the offensive zone.
I think we were really disconnected in that area, especially on the Alberta trip. That’s matching what I
think has been not perfect detail defensively, but the fact that we’ve done a much better job on odd-man
rushes and generally allowing people to get behind us, comparing that with the offensive start, it’s starting
to look like what we expect from our group.
FREDERIK ANDERSEN
Q. Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: A couple of the guys tonight talked about how patient the team is and
how they look on breakouts, what does it look like from your angle?
Frederik Andersen: It’s been good. I think we’ve been working on supporting each other throughout the
three different zones and obviously not spending too much time in our zone. I think we did that, especially
in the first 10 minutes. We came out really good and the guys spent a lot of time in their zone and wore
them down a little bit. We got off to a good start with the lead so good habits and, again, good start.
Q. Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: National anthems, you come to the blueline and stand with the team
versus standing in your net. Is that a superstitious thing or a team unity thing?
Frederik Andersen: Maybe both. A little of both.
Q. Kevin McGran: Is this as good of a Leaf team, as good a role as you’ve seen in your time here?
Frederik Andersen: I don’t know, I don’t like to spend too much time thinking about comparing to old
teams and stuff like that. We’re really focused on staying present and trying to win each game. I think
we’ve seen a lot of good periods and got a lot of good leads, especially the last two games, and jumping
on them pretty hard and not giving them too much. I think we’re just happy, keep playing well and keep
helping each other out to play more simple and more structured. That’s how we can succeed in the later
part of the season, but we want to build it out by being present and playing every game and every period
like it’s the only thing that matters. That’s really all I’ve seen so far.
MIKKO LEHTONEN
Q. Josh Clipperton, Canadian Press: You would have seen videos of Auston, heard a lot about him but
what’s it like to see him up close?
Mikko Lehtonen: It’s been awesome. He’s so professional. His skills on the ice, they’re amazing. It’s fun
to play with him. It’s really fun to play with him.
Q. Josh Clipperton, Canadian Press: You got your chance tonight, two points. How did you feel?
Mikko Lehtonen: Really good. I felt confident. I think I played a good game. I felt good today.
Q. Mark Masters, TSN: Sheldon felt that that was your best practice with the team yesterday and said
you had been working hard with Stephane Robidas and coach Hakstol. In what ways do you feel you
were better tonight?
Mikko Lehtonen: I think all over. We had done a lot of little drills to help me play here and it has helped
me a lot here so that’s been good for me. For sure I felt good today and those practices have been
helping me.
Q. Mark Master, TSN: On the play where you set up Hyman, what did you see there and maybe for a
second might have been your goal?
Mikko Lehtonen: First I thought I was going to take my shot but then I saw Zach’s stick was wide open
there in the back door so it was kind of an easy pass for him.
MITCH MARNER
Q. Josh Clipperton, Canadian Press: What can you say about the heater Auston’s on right now?
Mitch Marner: He’s been playing great. He’s been getting himself in scoring areas. He’s working below
the puck in our d-zone especially coming out of our zone mostly with the puck in the middle of the ice and
when you give him that much space and time, he’s going to make something happen. I think just like our
team right now, we’re working well on our d-zone coming out with the puck with control, coming out
through the middle of the ice. I think as a unit we’re doing it very well. Like I said when you give him time
and space, it’s usually a goal.
Q. Josh Clipperton, Canadian Press: Just Wayne’s performance, two goals. What can you say about
what he’s brought tonight and throughout the whole season?
Mitch Marner: He’s brought everything really. He’s a guy that’s not afraid to speak up in our locker room.
He’s been with a lot of great teams. He knows what it takes. Every night he comes ready to play. He
always has everyone’s back on the bench. It’s something you need, something you love to have. He’s
been great with us, it’s been a lot of fun being with him. I’ve seen that goal a couple of times with Philly. It
was impressive to see with my own eyes tonight.
Q. Kevin McGran, Toronto Star: What can you say about the roll that the whole team feels like it on right
now, you guys aren’t taking your foot off the gas?
Mitch Marner: As I said, as a unit in the d-zone, we’re not panicking, we’re talking to each other, coming
out with the puck cleanly. I think it’s just something we’ve got to keep continuing to do. Often when we are
doing it well, it transforms into our offence and makes our offence go very well. Finding each other,
another impact I think is our offensive line changes. I think we’ve gotten a lot better at that in recent
games. Something we’ve just got to keep doing, keep getting better at. Something we need to fix is our
penalty taking, we’ve got to get that down. But I thought as a unit, we played well. We didn’t give a lot of
space or time, tried to make it hard on everyone on the other side.
AUSTON MATTHEWS
Q. Mark Masters, TSN: What did you like most about the team’s performance tonight?
Auston Matthews: I think we’re just consistent throughout the whole game. I don’t think we really had
any big lapses. They obviously had their chances and they had their possession time, but I thought we
really stuck with it, we stayed inside and forced them to the outside and just stuck with our structure for a
full 60 minutes/ I think it was a really, really solid game for us.
Q. Mark Masters, TSN: Being around Wayne Simmonds day in day out his teammate what stands out
the most to you?
Auston Matthews: Yeah, he’s a great teammate, he’s a great player and he really elevates our
competitiveness with the way he plays and the way he leads this team. The addition of him, as well as
[Bogosian], [Thornton], all these other guys that have come in, they’ve made an impact right away on
everybody. It’s only been positive for us. It’s great to see him get into his spot and he’s scoring goals and
pretty nifty won tonight. He’s been really, really good for us.
Q. Luke Fox, Sportsnet: When the offense is rolling like it has been the last couple of games, how much
do you miss not having fans in the building?
Auston Matthews: I think we miss the fans every single night. They play such a big part in what we do
and just the atmosphere and everything that goes into it. We definitely miss them. Can’t wait to have them
back, for sure.