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The Toronto Maple Leafs returned to the win column with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, thanks mostly to the efforts of Frederik Andersen.
Calgary’s Mark Giordano and Toronto’s Morgan Rielly exchanged goals in regulation, and Auston Matthews and William Nylander beat Flames goalie Mike Smith in the shootout for the Leafs 18th victory of the season.
Andersen faced a season-high 47 saves and kept a sluggish club returning from a Western Canada road trip within striking distance.
“I thought (Freddy) was good, in particular in overtime. We gave up some grade-A chances.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “The neutral zone was clogged up and there wasn't a lot of quality chances until the end (of the game). Then that 3-on-3 thing was probably entertaining for the fans, but I don’t know, we weren't great I don't think.…
Although Andersen appears to thrive on a heavy workload, the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender currently leads the NHL in starts (25) and shots against (860) and based on the Leafs current method of using backup Curtis McElhinney in back-to-back situations, the Leafs starter is projected to start 68 games.
The Leafs had a difficult time corralling feisty Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk for most of the night. The 19-year-old scored for Calgary in the shootout and was at his irritating best throughout the game, crashing the net and distracting Andersen.
Freddy was about to unleash his inner viking on Tkachuk had it not been for the officials. pic.twitter.com/XtmmLxLwRJ
— Flintor (@TheFlintor) December 7, 2017
Tkachuk has drawn the attention of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Thursday for a first period spear of Leafs winger Matt Martin while sitting on the bench.
“The guys told me in between periods(about the spear).… Babcock said. “That's junior hockey stuff. He'll learn over time. You've got to give Tkachuk credit, he played a good game, he played hard, (but)no reason for that stuff.
Sorry, my original tweet was looking at the wrong part of the sequence. Matthew Tkachuk definitely spears Matt Martin from the bench during that scrum. pic.twitter.com/LQOMtvjHbR
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) December 7, 2017
The club is being given the day off on Thursday and will practice before heading to Pittsburgh for their first match against the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins on Saturday.
The Leafs face a busy stretch of five games in seven days, with the completion of their season series with Edmonton at ACC on Sunday, and road games in Philadelphia, Minnesota and Detroit next week.
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Auston Matthews will be getting a big payday either next summer or in 2019 on his new deal, but the Leafs franchise player got a head start on Thursday. Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reports that the 20-year-old center and Scotiabank have agreed to a sponsorship agreement.
The financial conglomerate earlier this year announced a 20-year agreement with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment for the naming rights of Air Canada Centre beginning in 2019 for $800 Million.
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