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The Toronto Maple Leafs snapped a two-game losing streak thanks to a strong second period and superb goaltending from Frederik Andersen in a 5-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on Friday, but were fortunate to earn two points after another sluggish beginning and nearly surrendering a three-goal lead in the third period.
(Wings GM) Kenny Holland always used to say it'll be a Picasso in the morning when you look at the standings. That's what it is.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “(The Hurricanes) were quicker and jumped better than us. Obviously, we scored some good goals and some timely goals, but Freddie was the main event for sure.…
Zach Hyman, Josh Leivo, Ron Hainsey, James van Riemsdyk and Patrick Marleau scored for Toronto and Frederik Andersen faced a season-high 47 shots in his 13th victory of the season.
The Leafs once again stumbled out of the gate and allowed their opponents to take control early on. Toronto was outshot 10-1 in the first ten minutes, but survived as Andersen made 14 first period saves to keep the game scoreless.
Toronto jumped on Cam Ward early in the middle frame, with Hyman opening the scoring at 53 seconds. The Leafs scored three more times on Canes veteran netminder in the second, who was replaced by starter Scott Darling to start the third.
After Jordan Staal and Marleau traded goals, Carolina once again took control, getting goals from Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm to narrow the Toronto lead to 5-4. Staal won the last four offensive zone draws against Nazem Kadri to keep the Leafs sequestered in their own zone, but a key block by Hainsey in the waning seconds preserved the victory.
“I don't worry about getting outshot if we start on time and get the lead, and the way the game is, you get outshot. That wasn't the case here tonight.… Babcock said. “That's a different kind of outshot. I think lots of times when you have the lead, especially in the third, you get outshot. I don't worry about that. Tonight, when they start on time and we didn't, that's a concern, so we'll fix it.…
The Leafs play the second of back-to-back games on Saturday against the Washington Capitals at Air Canada Centre. The Caps also played on Friday, a 3-1 home win over Tampa Bay with backup Philipp Grubauer in goal. Braden Holtby, who has a 6-3-1 career record, 2.05 GAA and .934 save percentage against Toronto will get the start on Saturday.
Backup Curtis McElhinney (2-1-0, 3.05 GAA, .910 save percentage) makes his fourth start for the Leafs, who will sit youngsters Nikita Soshnikov, Leivo and Connor Carrick in favor of veterans Dominic Moore, Matt Martin and Roman Polak.
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