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The Toronto Maple Leafs overcame some spotty defense and a subpar outing by goaltender Frederik Andersen in a 5-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Air Canada Center on Tuesday.
The Leafs trailed 4-3 after 40 minutes, but William Nylander tied the game on the power play early in the third and Jake Gardiner scored the game winner at 2:29 of overtime.
The top defensive pairing of Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev were on the ice for all four Winnipeg goals and Andersen allowed four goals on 15 shots in the first two periods.
“Obviously early we were good and (Andersen) wasn't and then he made some good saves down the stretch and we won the game.” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “Some nights Freddy picks us up, tonight we picked him up. I thought that was positive. It was one of those games where we're on top of it lots so we knew we would get our chances if we just stayed with it.”
In the second showdown between Calder Trophy candidates, Jets forward Patrik Laine took the lead in NHL rookie goal scoring withs with his 29th and 30th goals, while Auston Matthews had three assists, including helpers on Nylander and Gardiner’s goals.
Toronto played the second half of the game with five defensemen, as Connor Carrick did not return after a collision with Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault.
Carrick suffered an upper-body injury and his status is day-to-day. Babcock indicated that Alexey Marchenko will replace Carrick on the pairing with Gardiner. The 25-year-old defenseman was claimed off of waivers from Detroit earlier this month and has settled in with his new club.
“I know (Nikita Zaitsev) from the World Cup and World Championships and we are very good friends and (Nikita Soshnikov) is a great guy.” Marchenko said on Wednesday. “When you know someone in the locker room and you know the coach, it’s really good for you. It helps you. He knows what to expect from me.”
Marchenko was one of five Leafs players who skated at the MasterCard Center in Etobicoke, as the team was given the day off after the win over Winnipeg.
Injured forward Mitch Marner took to the ice for the first time since suffering an upper body injury against Columbus last week, but he will not return to the lineup on Thursday against the New York Rangers.
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As expected, Marlies forward Brooks Laich went unclaimed after being placed on waivers on Tuesday. The 33-year-old indicated in an interview with “The Athletic” on the weekend that he feels like he can still play in the NHL and would like to get a chance with the Leafs or another team.
Being placed on waivers was likely done to advertise that the veteran’s availability, but
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston believes that Laich could be more valuable as a trade piece now because he is waiver exempt for the next 30 days, which would give a team who trades for him the ability to move him to the AHL and back to the NHL.
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