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The Toronto Maple Leafs were able to turn around their season after a slow start, taking advantage of a schedule heavy on home games, but now the club will have to translate what it took to win to the road, with 10 of their next 15 games away from Scotiabank Arena.
The Leafs got off to a great start on Sunday, playing a near flawless road game in a 3-0 win over the New York Islanders at the new UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. Mitch Marner scored twice, Ondrej Kase added a single, and rookie Joseph Woll stopped 20 shots for his second win and first NHL shutout.
"It was unbelievable, especially when you see guys going down and blocking shots when it's 3-0 towards the end of the game.… Woll said. “I think that's really special. I think that's a testament to how strong the culture is and how everyone really likes to support everyone."
Toronto took advantage of a COVID and injury-depleted Isles squad, taking the lead on Marner’s breakaway short-handed marker early in the first, but then battened down the hatches for the rest of the night, extending the lead with Kase’s fifth of the season and put New York away with Marner’s second of the game.
“I just thought it was a very sound effort from our guys all the way through. I thought we played hard. It’s not an easy building to play in.… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “I thought at the beginning the fans were engaged and the Islanders are going to play hard and be competitive and I thought our guys matched that and played through it. Just played a really sound game with great goaltending.…
With the win, the Leafs pulled to within two points of first place Florida in the Atlantic Division (who have two games in hand), and now head out to the West Coast for three straight in California against Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim.
Toronto recalled forward Joey Anderson from the AHL Marlies with the club being far away from home for the rest of the month. All three Golden State clubs have exceeded expectations this season, with the Ducks holding third spot in the Pacific with a 10-5-3 record and the Kings and Sharks hovering around .500.
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Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
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