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The Toronto Maple Leafs benefited from effective special teams, the solid goaltending of Frederik Andersen and opportunistic offense in a 4-0 victory over the Calgary Flames. The win broke the Leafs two-game losing streak and moved them back into an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Nazem Kadri scored twice to reach the 20-goal and 100th career goal marks, Zach Hyman scored short-handed and Mitch Marner added a goal and an assist to take over the NHL rookie scoring lead from teammate Auston Matthews.
It was a feisty affair between the young squads, as Leo Komarov wiped out Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau along the boards in the second period and tussled with Flames captain Mark Giordano.
Komarov hit on Gaudreau pic.twitter.com/UYa1wlqWXq
— GIF Grand Maester (@myregularface) January 24, 2017
Rookie Matthew Tkachuk also got into the fray, slew-footing Leafs defenseman Martin Marincin at the end of the game.
Marincin appeared injured after the incident, but looked unaffected and participated in Tuesday’s practice at the MasterCard Center.
The Leafs spread out the ice time more evenly between their six defensemen on Monday than they did in the two previous games without Morgan Rielly in the lineup.
The trio of Marincin, Roman Polak, and Nikita Zaitsev all played over 20 minutes, Jake Gardiner saw just 19:07(down almost eight minutes from his avg TOI since Rielly injury), Matt Hunwick 16:28 and Connor Carrick 14:03.
The club’s ability to win in convincing fashion may have an influence on the Leafs timetable to get Rielly back in the lineup. Toronto plays back-to-back in Detroit and Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday before a four-day break for the All-Star festivities in Los Angeles.
TSN’s Darren Dreger believes it’s possible but unlikely that Rielly will return before the break and that the extra four days will help his injured ankle heal.
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In his 30 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Leafs may be looking to add some depth up the middle.
The top three spots are set with Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak, but the fourth line center has been a merry-go-round through the first half.
After Peter Holland’s sluggish start, the Leafs claimed Ben Smith off of waivers from Colorado and the journeyman played regularly until suffering a hand injury on December 17.
Rookie Frederik Gauthier has not looked out of place during his 15-game stint with the big club, but Friedman believes that Toronto is looking for some insurance beyond Gauthier.
The Marlies have four centers (Marc-Andre Cliché, Colin Smith, Brett Findlay and Tony Cameranesi) on AHL deals, meaning that first call up options would be Byron Froese and veteran Brooks Laich.
With the Leafs having cap flexibility, (using LTIR this season and space opening up next summer) an acquisition would not necessarily be a rental, it could be a player with term left on a contract.
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Listen to the Blue N’White Tonight podcast. TSN's Craig Button drops by for a full hour and gives his views on "The Shanaplan" and takes a detailed look at players in the Leafs system.
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