A rare 2:00 PM EST start time for the blue and white as they were in Minnesota to take on the Wild. The Leafs wore a gorgeous patch to honor and celebrate the life of the legend Börje Salming who passed away yesterday after battling for the past six months with ALS. We would witness a battle between two former Pittsburgh Penguins goalies, Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury, who both led that franchise to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Murray was tested a couple of times in the opening minutes of this one, but he held his ground. Mitch Marner was riding a 14 game point streak coming into this one, and he wasted absolutely no time extending that streak to 15 as he fired a shot from the point on net, and it deflected in off of Mat Dumba’s leg and past Marc-Andre Fleury giving the Leafs an early 1-0 lead. Timothy Liljegren and John Tavares with the assists on Marner’s 5th goal of the year. The Wild applied some pressure in the Leafs zone for a couple of shifts, but an errand stick from Jordan Greenway clipped Sandin in the face at 8:28, and the Leafs would be awarded the first power play of the game as a result. The Leafs were unable to add to their lead with the man advantage. Shortly after the Leafs power play concluded, the Wild were rewarded with a power play as Justin Holl high-sticked Kirill Kaprizov. It took 47 seconds for the Wild to strike and tie this game up 1-1 as Kaprizov buried his 12th goal of the year past Matt Murray. Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello with the assists on the goal. The Leafs wasted no time responding to the Wild goal as Zach Aston-Reese beat Fleury for his 3rd goal of the year with a shot that didn’t look all that dangerous from the side boards regaining the one goal lead for the Leafs just 42 seconds after the Wild tied it up. The lone assist on the goal went to Pierre Engvall. The first period would close with a score of 2-1 in favor of the blue and white. Shots on goal after 20 minutes were 12-10 in favor of the Wild. TOI leader for the Leafs after the first was Mitch Marner with 7:12.
It didn’t take long for the Wild to tie this game up again. Matt Bouldy finished off a fantastic passing play by the Wild for his 8th goal of the year just 2:38 into the second period. Alex Goligoski and Jordan Greenway with the assists on the game-tying goal. The Wild primarily controlled the play during the first five minutes of the second period. Rasmus Sandin stepped on Alex Goligoski’s stick while trying to track down a loose puck, and it looked like he may have injured his groin. Sandin left the ice in a considerable amount of pain, but he did remain on the Leafs bench. The last thing the Leafs need is to lose yet another defenceman as a result of an injury. The blue and white are already without their top three defencemen in Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, and Jake Muzzin. Thankfully Sandin took his next shift, and he didn’t look any worse for wear. These two teams continued to trade goals as the Leafs regained the lead yet again on a goal from Calle Jarnkrok, his 5th of the year. Mark Giordano and John Tavares with the assists. The Leafs were given their second power play as Ryan Reaves tripped Timothy Liljegren at 11:35 off the middle frame.
The power play was an absolute waste, however, as the blue and white could not generate much of anything offensively. The Leafs had a couple of good shifts cycling the puck down low in the Wild zone. It resulted in the Wild taking another minor penalty giving the Leafs their third power play of the game as Jon Merrill was called for tripping on Michael Bunting. The Leafs power play was once again a non-factor. The Wild generated a short-handed breakaway, forcing Matt Murray to make an outstanding save in the second period’s final minute. The Leafs would head to the dressing room with a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes of play in this one. Shots on goal in the middle frame were 11-6 in favor of the Leafs and 21-18 overall in favor of the Leafs as well. TOI after two periods was Rasmus Sandin with 14:29.
The first five minutes of the third period saw both teams spending a couple of shifts, each in their own zone, respectfully. The Wild were given their second power play of the game as Alex Kerfoot was called for slashing Nic Petan’s stick in half. The Leafs successfully killed off the man advantage. The Wild didn’t generate any dangerous scoring chances during the power play. Aston-Reese managed to spring free on a breakaway, but he was turned aside by Fleury. Aston-Reese lost his footing and flew into Fleury and the Wild net knocking it off its pegs. With 6:37 to go, William Nylander received a pass from Michael Bunting in the slot, and he made absolutely no mistake as he ripped home his 11th goal of the year, giving the Leafs a 4-2 lead. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that that goal was extra special for Nylander, given the circumstances. Michael Bunting recorded the only assist on the goal. With 4:24 to go in regulation, the Wild elected to pull Marc-Andre Fleury to get the extra attacker out there. With 3:24 to go in regulation, the Wild struck and pulled within one as Mats Zuccarello managed to get his 7th goal of the year past Matt Murray making it a 4-3 game. Kirill Kaprizov and Alex Goligoski with the assists on the goal. With exactly 2:00 to go in regulation, the Wild once again pulled Marc-Andre Fleury with an offensive zone face-off. Matt Murray made an unbelievable save in the dying seconds on Kaprizov, who had an empty bet to shoot at, but Murray shut the door, and the Leafs hung on for the 4-3 victory. The Wild had the 10-6 edge in shots on goal in the 3rd period and 28-27 overall. Justin Holl led the way in ice time in this one with 23:46 TOI. Another nice touch in this one, at least one Swedish player factored in on each Leafs goal in this one. A very nice coincidence on an emotional day just 24 hours after the passing of Leafs legend Börje Salming.
Today’s Three Stars
1. Matt Murray: 25 Saves
2. Kirill Kaprizov: 1 Goal 1 Assist
3. John Tavares: 2 Assists
The Leafs have a quick turnaround as they leave Minnesota and head to Pittsburgh as they take on the Penguins tomorrow night, on Hockey Night in Canada.
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